Connecting Students to 'The Net': Guiding Principles from State Constitutions

Jessica L. Malman

Yale Law School; Class of 2001

At a time when everyone is talking about the Internet and predicting the impact it will have on our society, Connecting Students to 'The Net': Guiding Principles from State Constitutions discusses an issue that could easily be overlooked in our race for connectivity: the possibility that politically popular programs that are intended to make the Internet available to K-12 students could actually exacerbate existing inequalities in our public schools. This Note considers what lawmakers should be doing to rectify the significant disparity between the quality of Internet-related education afforded to disadvantaged and more affluent students. To place this discussion in context, Jessica L. Malman uses the available empirical research to examine the theoretical and political arguments for and against the use of the Internet in schools. She then describes federal and state programs that have contributed to or helped to ameliorate the disparity in school Internet access, and examines whether the federal or state governments have any legal responsibility to address this problem. She concludes that, although the federal government has few educational obligations, state constitutions provide numerous standards and principles that should guide state programs for school Internet access.

Vol. VII, No. 1, p. 53

 

Revised July 16, 2003 (MD)