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Press Release: Planning for Digital Inclusion in Texas Report Emphasizes Need for New State Broadband Office to focus on Under-Served Populations

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Planning for Digital Inclusion in Texas Report Emphasizes Need for New State Broadband Office to focus on Under-Served Populations

On Monday, April 26th The Texas Black Caucus Foundation and The University of Texas Law School Civil Rights Clinic released their joint Planning for Digital Inclusion in Texas report. It emphasizes recommendations for the Texas Legislature and the anticipated state broadband office to prioritize digital equity and remove barriers to broadband access for not only people of color but for low income and rural communities across Texas. 

The report recommends that the 87th Legislature and the anticipated state broadband office expand access to affordable and reliable broadband, internet-enabled devices,  digital literacy training, and technical support. The report also outlines steps to improve data collection and analysis, provide grants to local communities, and pursue public-private partnerships to advance digital inclusion. 

Rudolph K. Metayer, Executive Director of the Foundation stated “A key to education and economic empowerment for the Black community in Texas is closing the digital divide. This report lays out practical steps to achieve equity as lawmakers set out to improve broadband access across the state.” 

Planning for Digital Inclusion in Texas is a valuable contribution to the debate around broadband access. It provides policymakers and researchers with a useful guide to digital inclusion, drawing on lessons learned from programs in Texas and other states across the country. 

MEDIA CONTACT
Alexandrina Obregon
alex@tbcfoundation.org

Link to report: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:83f7e6d6-5be7-4b79-83c0-4e7cf4949b50

About the Texas Black Caucus Foundation

The Texas Black Caucus Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan research institute founded in 1985 and restructured in 2020 to create awareness, inform policy, build community, and educate policymakers and the public on issues impacting Black Texans. txbcfoundation.org

 

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