Keeping Utah's rural kids digitally connected during long school bus rides

SALT LAKE CITY — This year, the Moab-based Grand County High School boys basketball team played a road game against Duchesne High — an approximately 300-mile round-trip bus ride.

Other away games for the Red Devils included school bus travel from Moab to Draper and from Moab to Junction in Piute County, both about 200 miles away, one-way.

Those basketball trips with classmates likely made for some fun memories. But it's also likely that the student-athletes didn't get much homework done — at least for internet-dependent tasks on, say, school-issued Chromebook or tablet.

It's not a unique dilemma.

For many Utah kids living in rural communities, long school bus rides without reliable internet service are daily realities.

Now, a bill being considered by the Utah Legislature may allow rural students to remain digitally connected during long road trips to ballgames or other school-sponsored activities.

Sponsored by Rep. Tiara Auxier, R-Morgan, House Bill 462 would make state grants available to rural school districts to provide internet connectivity on school buses.

Rural school kids, noted Auxier in her bill presentation this week to the House Education Committee, are often involved in multiple extracurricular activities. Their frequent round-trip school bus rides often take several hours, and students are returning home long after dark.

The possible consequence? Missed homework and sleep-deprived kids.

"When I played sports, I could do my homework on the bus and get it done with a pencil and paper," Auxier said. "Now our kids don't have that same luxury because everything is online and submitted through Chromebooks."

Auxier's bill would establish a voluntary, state-sponsored grant program for rural schools. Each participating high school would receive the funds needed to equip a limited number of school buses being utilized for long road trips with internet connectivity.

The grant would pay for the equipment and the first year of associated expenses.

"The only schools that would be eligible (would be) the ones that were willing to take on the ongoing costs of staying connected," added Auxier.

Working with the Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN), the bill would ensure that the students' Chromebooks would have filtering and password restrictions to prevent misuse and inappropriate web searches.

And the kids would not have the ability to connect outside devices to the bus's wireless service.

"This will really help our kids," said Auxier. "We look so much at their sleep, especially at that age, and how important it is. And if this is one thing we can do to help them, then I'm happy to do it."

The bill sponsor said she has worked with the Utah Rural Schools Association, which supports school bus internet connectivity for their students.

Auxier added that school bus internet connectivity would also benefit Utah students living in Native nations who often have long bus rides simply getting back and forth to school each day.

'From Monticello to Randolph' — rural kids making frequent long bus trips

During public comment, Grand County School District Superintendent Matthew Keyes called the proposed legislation a "great opportunity" for rural Utah students.

Keyes referenced multi-hour school bus round-trips between locales such as Moab to Kanab and Monticello to Randolph. "These are trips that kids are making multiple times a year … and a lot of these students are involved in multiple sports."

The House Education Committee voted unanimously to send HB462 to the House Floor.

Prior to voting in favor, a few of Auxier's colleagues sought clarification on the bill.

Rep. Ariel Defay, R-Kaysville, asked why school districts, rather than the state, are not assuming the cost of retrofitting the buses with internet connection.

Rural kids, Auxier explained, are the Utah kids often spending long hours on school buses. And many of those rural school districts "could really use the help" with other funding programs now unavailable.

Related topics