Featured
Baltimore Mayor Launches Campaign to Expand In-Home Broadband Access
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced the launch of the Bmore Connected campaign intended to expand in-home broadband access across the city. The new campaign will be spearheaded by the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology's (BCIT) Office of Broadband and Digital Equity (BDE).
Recent News
  1. Maine Schools Using Teletherapy to Expand Access to Mental Health Services
    A school district in Washington County, Maine, in partnership with MCD Global Health (MCD), has rolled out a new behavioral health teletherapy program.
  2. Treasury Approves ARP Funds for Delaware, Idaho Broadband Efforts
    The U.S. Department of Treasury has approved Federal funding for broadband infrastructure projects in Delaware and Idaho. The funds come from the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
  3. Ed Dept. Releases First Ever Federal Report on AI in Education
    The Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology (OET) this week released a new report that summarizes the opportunities and risks for AI in teaching, learning, research, and assessment based on public input.
  1. Cybersecurity Local Governments Universally Cite Cybersecurity as Priority
    Ninety-seven percent of local government IT executives listed cybersecurity as a key priority for the current fiscal year (FY), according to the tenth annual State of City and County IT National Survey administered by CompTIA’s Public Technology Institute (PTI).
  2. TikTok Montana Becomes First State to Ban TikTok
    Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill last week banning TikTok in the state, making the Treasure State officially the first in the nation to ban the popular social media app.
  3. Tennessee Becomes 8th State to Ink Privacy Bill
    Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently signed the Tennessee Information Protection Act (TIPA), making it the eighth state in the nation to enact a comprehensive data privacy law.
  4. education Dept. of Education to Issue Digital Literacy Best Practices for Schools
    The White House announced this week that the Department of Education will be providing digital literacy best practices for school districts on the use of internet-enabled devices and services, as well as protecting students’ data.
  1. Missouri Launches Mobile App to Ensure Rapid Response to Emergencies
    Missouri public and charter schools can begin signing up to use a new state-funded mobile emergency alerting app that rapidly alerts school staff and first responders of emergencies.
  2. Virginia Universities Receive $1.8M to Train AI, Fight Cyberattacks
    Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., recently announced $1.8 million of funding or Virginia universities to research and develop AI capabilities to mitigate cyberattacks. 
  3. Chattanooga, Tenn. Makes Digital Modernization Push
    The city of Chattanooga, Tenn., is making a strong push to modernize its digital platforms for essential city services. The city said the push towards digital modernization is “an important step in the city’s journey to becoming a more data-driven civic organization delivering secure and effective services to local residents and key community stakeholders.”
  4. State and Local Governments Find Success with Enterprise Service Management
    In an organization, IT is rarely the only group that offers services – whether to employees, customers or citizens – and state and local governments are no different. But not every group has an organized system for service requests – that’s where Enterprise Service Management (ESM) comes in.
  5. FCC Publishes National Broadband Funding Map 
    The Federal Communications Commission on May 15 published the agency’s Broadband Funding Map which shows where the Federal government is providing financial support for broadband infrastructure development projects across the country.
  6. Bipartisan Bill Aims to Streamline USDA Broadband Programs
    A bipartisan group of policymakers recently introduced a House bill that aims to eliminate duplicative broadband programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
  7. NYS DoL Rolls Out New Digital Literacy Program
    The New York State (NYS) Department of Labor (DoL) has launched a new, free digital literacy program to help job seekers gain the skills they need to be more marketable to employers.5
  8. Chicago Rolls Out Recovery Plan Data Transparency Website
    Chicago has launched a new data transparency website intended to enhance public access to key information on the city services and community investments funded via the Chicago Recovery Plan.
  9. Montana National Guard Responds to University Cyberattack
    The Montana National Guard confirmed last week that its team responded to an April cyberattack against the Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman.
  10. FCC Allocates $24M+ for Emergency Connectivity Funding
    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that as part of its efforts to close the homework gap it has allocated more than $24 million in a new funding round for the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students across the country.