Examining 5 Key Costs of PreK-12 Distance Learning

Just a few weeks ago, a quick scan of district reopening plans would have you believe many students might be returning to in-person school this fall. But now, as states and districts face increasing pushback from teachers and families concerned about safety amidst surging coronavirus cases and outbreaks in schools, many are swiftly adjusting those plans. An increasing number of districts are now starting with some version of distance learning.

A major part of the challenge in deciding back-to-school plans is the sheer number of factors states and districts must consider quickly, including student and teacher needs, safety, capacity, resources, and importantly, cost. Budget plans for the upcoming school year are typically finalized in the spring, and many districts must now contend with shifting funding priorities while not knowing exactly what costs will be. What does online learning cost in the longer term? Which expenses must be considered? Which resources are needed to ensure that online instruction is as useful, productive, and manageable as possible?

A recent New America report, Pandemic Planning for Distance Learning, explains that supporting distance learning involves a shift in budget priorities, rather than simply accounting for an additional set of costs. Where before district leaders allocated funding to physical facilities to support in-person learning, they must now meet a variety of technological and logistical challenges. Some of the largest and most variable costs associated with online learning will include funding reliable, high-speed internet for students and teachers; new instructional technologies and the appropriate devices to use them; adequate educator professional learning; appropriate and effective instructional materials; and salaries for personnel to support technical and digital skills, such as instructional designers, IT staff, instructional technologists, and librarians.

Reliable Home Internet Access

Of these, home internet access has received the most attention since the COVID-19 crisis began. As New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) explains in its recent Cost of Connectivity 2020 report, the cost of high-speed broadband is high in the U.S. compared to other countries, and within the U.S., the cost varies greatly from state to state. Roughly 9 million K–12 students in the U.S. don’t have reliable internet access at home—a problem known as the “homework gap” that disproportionately affects students of color. This is a challenge for teachers, as well, many of whom lack reliable home internet access. With larger factors such as increasing unemployment rates, an impending housing crisis, and a general economic downturn, districts will need to address this cost by forming new partnerships with regional government leaders and looking at nontraditional sources of funding.

In March, when schools first shut down, many attempted to solve this problem for the then short-term emergency using a variety of creative solutions, including hotspot rentals and temporary Wi-Fi hubs in buildings and buses. But now that online instruction will be a longer-term reality, districts need a more sustainable and cost-effective solution. Though CARES Act dollars may be useful, the longer the pandemic goes on, the harder it will be for schools to stretch one-time funding. What’s more, there is little clear information about the disbursement timeline for these funds, and many districts are reluctant to rely on it for time-sensitive costs, such as purchasing Wi-Fi or devices.

Digital Devices

Hand in hand with the cost of internet access is the challenge of ensuring all students have the appropriate and necessary devices to connect and learn, such as laptops or tablets. While these devices typically cost hundreds of dollars each, there isn’t much reliable information on the exact cost to districts purchasing them in large quantities, and indeed the price is dependent on both the number and brand of device purchased. Education Week conducted a survey of teachers in early June where 59 percent reported having one device for every student in their class, only a marginal increase from the number before the COVID-19 crisis began.

As the remaining 41 percent of schools consider which devices are needed and how to purchase them, some are looking to follow in the footsteps of those who have found alternative funding strategies to get devices into the hands of students. For example, the San Antonio Independent School District secured rental devices and the Detroit Public Schools Community District obtained in-kind donations from local community leaders to partially reduce costs. As with securing internet access, these approaches have worked for a handful of districts in the short term, but now more sustainable funding is needed.

Professional Learning to Support Online Teaching

For students and teachers who are connected and have the appropriate devices, another big challenge—and cost factor—is ensuring they are prepared to use those devices for effective teaching and learning. Research shows that simply providing students with internet access won’t solve the digital divide; they need formal training and informal practice to acquire and master digital technologies.

The same is true for teachers, especially those who might not have relied heavily on instructional technologies prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Professional learning opportunities to support online instruction—particularly ones which support educators in accessing and using new technologies adopted by the school—are essential. In 2011, research from Learning Forward estimated that ideally, given research-backed best practices for professional learning, districts would spend about $15,000 per teacher per year. To be clear, districts will need to embrace new approaches to educator professional learning to fully realize the potential of financial outlays on PD. Now, amidst the pandemic, teaching requires a higher level of proficiency around digital technology than ever before. As Pandemic Planning suggests, distanced instruction isn’t a straightforward transfer of in-person teaching skills to the digital space, but rather requires a whole new set of competencies. Districts will need to embrace new approaches to educator professional learning to finally realize the full potential of these financial outlays. High-quality micro-credentials are one strategy that holds promise, but must still be embedded within a larger culture and set of structures that promote adult learning.

Instructional Materials

Just as delivery methods will look different, so too will the types of instructional materials used. With many students unable to access traditional textbooks—which often live in the physical classroom—many schools are looking to digital resources to fill the gap. These might include a wide range of materials, from individual teacher-facing lesson plans, to fully scoped and sequenced online textbooks for students. Some are turning to openly educational resources, or OER, which are free to use, access, adapt, and share. While OER has become more prevalent in preK-12 over the last few years, both the number of resources available and usage of them have spiked during the COVID-19 crisis. (See our Resources to Get Started for a list of comprehensive and supplemental options.)

Though OER and many other digital materials are free to use, the shift away from traditional materials presents a shift in costs as well. Costs might include additional professional learning to help educators understand open licensing and use these resources effectively, personnel time to teach and learn these skills, and administrative costs of developing school policies and processes for using digital and open materials.

Technical Support

Prior to the pandemic, instructional technologists, technology coaches, librarians, and media mentors were part of the structures districts instituted to support teachers’ needs to successfully leverage instructional materials and technologies in their classrooms. Unfortunately, widespread school budget cuts mean these roles might be prioritized below those of teachers and school leaders, who, in many cases are also facing job insecurity. Districts now have to contend with both the increasing need for these roles and increasingly limited resources to fund them.

While these five cost areas might be overwhelming, it’s not an entirely bleak outlook for districts. Where districts have decided to shift entirely to remote learning this fall, the closure of physical buildings means less spending on janitorial functions, in-school health and safety measures, utilities (electricity, water, etc.) sports and extracurriculars. The possibility of reallocating some of these costs, along with the potential for CARES Act funding are the best bet for meeting the financial burden of online learning. Regardless of budget size, schools and districts across the country will be met with financial challenges this year that will likely require innovative approaches to funding and reallocation.

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