As more schools integrate technology into the classroom, the need for fast, reliable internet is even greater.
Access to high-speed internet in schools has come a long way in the last decade. In 2013, 70% of U.S. schools lacked an internet connection of 100 Kbps per student, the minimum speed the Federal Communication Commission set to meet basic classroom needs. By 2018, fewer than 2% of schools failed to meet that threshold.
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As more schools integrate technology into the classroom, the need for fast, reliable internet is even greater. In 2020, the FCC upped the bandwidth minimum to 1 Mbps per student—10 times faster than the previous minimum. Nearly 6 in 10 school districts met or exceeded that benchmark in 2021—a 25% increase year over year, according to an analysis from Connect K-12.
Still, nearly 28 million U.S. students lack adequate internet speeds to effectively and regularly engage in digital classroom learning.
Stacker compiled a list of school districts in Virginia with the slowest internet speeds using data from Connect K-12. School districts are ranked by internet speed in Mbps. Ties are broken by the number of students in the school district.
#10. Wythe County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.31 Mbps
– Total students: 4,099
– Cost per Mbps: $3.56
– Total monthly cost: $3,919.99
#9. Carroll County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.3 Mbps
– Total students: 3,726
– Cost per Mbps: $1.62
– Total monthly cost: $1,615.00
#8. Pittsylvania County Public Schools
– Bandwidth per student: 0.29 Mbps
– Total students: 9,004
– Cost per Mbps: $1.65
– Total monthly cost: $3,300.00
#7. Amherst County Public School Division
– Bandwidth per student: 0.27 Mbps
– Total students: 4,146
– Cost per Mbps: $4.7
– Total monthly cost: $4,700.00
#6. Hopewell City School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.27 Mbps
– Total students: 4,272
– Cost per Mbps: $1.3
– Total monthly cost: $1,303.00
#5. Craig County Public Schools
– Bandwidth per student: 0.26 Mbps
– Total students: 590
– Cost per Mbps: $6.77
– Total monthly cost: $1,050.00
#4. Floyd County School Division
– Bandwidth per student: 0.26 Mbps
– Total students: 1,912
– Cost per Mbps: $3.05
– Total monthly cost: $1,525.00
#3. Mecklenburg County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.26 Mbps
– Total students: 4,393
– Cost per Mbps: $2.53
– Total monthly cost: $2,525.00
#2. Botetourt County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.25 Mbps
– Total students: 4,570
– Cost per Mbps: $1.35
– Total monthly cost: $1,350.00
#1. Accomack County School District
– Bandwidth per student: 0.18 Mbps
– Total students: 5,309
– Cost per Mbps: $7.2
– Total monthly cost: $5,760.00
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