As students throughout Kentucky prepare for a new school year and more remote learning amid a pandemic, the state should view internet access as a public good similar to electricity and school buses, several education and workforce leaders said Monday.

The issue of the Bluegrass State’s “digital divide” was the focus of a Monday briefing featuring former Kentucky education commissioner Wayne Lewis, State Sen. Max Wise and Peter Hille, president of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development.

Hille, who leads the nonprofit focused on economic development in Eastern Kentucky, said internet access is the “modern school bus” that “we’ve got to make sure every kid has the opportunity to get on.”

Recent U.S. Census figures showed that Kentucky ranked 44th in the nation for broadband access, with roughly 25% of households lacking a subscription for high-speed internet and more than 15% of homes not having a computer.

A study from Common Sense Media, a digital access advocacy group, found more than 186,000 students in Kentucky do not have an adequate device for learning at home and over a third of the state’s more than 600,000 students lack high-speed internet access.

Without such access to the internet, it would be nearly impossible for those students affected to join their online classes and complete assignments as online instruction across Kentucky is slated to resume in late August.

Workforce leaders said investments in high-speed internet and laptops would also help the state’s economy. It would give parents the opportunity to search and apply for new jobs online, submit forms for government assistance and receive online training.