WV digital literacy programs face setbacks after Trump cuts

For about a decade at the Burnsville Public Library, Beth Anderson has taught seniors and young adults how to set up email accounts, write resumes and book online doctors’ appointments. 

Anderson, the library’s director, wrote her own curriculum to help dozens of Braxton County residents with basic computer skills. 

“We’re just trying to help people navigate a computer and the Internet a little better, because it’s a scary place for people who don’t even know how to turn on a computer,” she said. 

This year, Anderson has been trying to revamp the classes and applying for federal funding to help. But those plans have stalled because the federal digital equity grant program was terminated. 

In May, President Donald Trump announced plans on Truth Social that he would cut $2.75 billion in federal funding from the Biden-era Digital Equity Act, claiming it was “racist”, “unconstitutional” and “illegal”. 

The act would’ve helped a wide swath of Americans who are low-income earners, live in rural areas, or are historically underrepresented and was passed by Congress into law.  

And the move will disproportionately hurt West Virginia, where 35% of residents still lack access to high-speed internet and another 12% lack basic computer literacy skills. 

Many people don’t have a device that can connect to the internet, can’t afford broadband or lack the skills to use it effectively, according to the state’s digital equity plan. If people know how to use the internet, they can better access government services, telehealth appointments and job opportunities. 

West Virginia already received $732,000 to create the equity plan and was set to get an additional $9 million to implement it. 

That funding would have helped residents in affording devices such as computers, tablets and laptops, enabling them to access affordable internet. Additionally, it would have provided them the fundamental skills to utilize the internet through a series of grant programs out of the Office of Broadband. 

State broadband officials planned to create a technology lending and recycling program to increase the number of West Virginians who own devices that can connect to the internet. 

They also planned to partner with libraries, senior centers and school districts to implement digital literacy courses to train individuals to teach computer skills. 

But now, those plans have been frozen. 

“The digital equity dollars would have been very nice, because that would have helped offset some of the costs,” Anderson said. “We could have hired someone to come in and do just those trainings instead of taking away our small staff’s time.”

Nearly every West Virginian would benefit from digital equity 

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance is an Ohio-based nonprofit at the forefront of helping ensure communities have equal access to technology and the internet. 

Angela Siefer, executive director, said the state was gearing up to implement its digital equity plan before the announcement. 

“Now, all of that is at risk,” she said. “They could lose that staff and the systems they built, and even if the funding is restored, that momentum they had may be gone.”

Digital equity means ensuring that everyone, regardless of income or background, has the tools, skills and access needed to fully participate in modern life, from school and work to healthcare. 

The Digital Equity Act was created to help communities that have long been underserved by internet infrastructure and technology access. 

The act was part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin voted for along with Rep. David McKinley. Reps. Carol Miller and Alex Mooney voted against it. 

It was to close the systemic digital divide by educating often underrepresented and first-time internet users how to use it for healthcare, education or workforce purposes.

The law identified eight categories of people who needed help getting online, including minorities, low-income earners and those living in rural areas. 

By that measure, 97% of West Virginians were set to benefit,  the highest percentage of any state. 

“This program was helping rural residents, older adults, veterans and people across the country,” Siefer said. “We thought that would be enough to show its value. But clearly, our hopes weren’t well placed.”

The Trump administration has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion funding nationwide. DEI programs exist to promote fair treatment and full participation of all groups of people, especially those historically underrepresented. 

Last week, 22 states joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel billions in federal funding. West Virginia is not part of the lawsuit. The states say the executive branch exceeded its authority to slash Congressional appropriated funding. 

Digital skills are in demand, but funding still falls flat 

For many in Buckhannon, the Upshur County Public Library is more than a place to check out a book; it’s a place to connect to the digital world. 

Inside, librarians shuffle pages. Children sit and read, others click away, sitting in front of bright computer screens. 

Paul Narko, the library’s director since 2018, regularly sees people come in needing help paying utility bills, filing taxes or going to telehealth appointments.  

“We deal with these requests all the time, almost every day and multiple times a day,” he said. “People come in to use our computers and they want us to sit down and do everything for them.” 

The library recently received a $20,000 private grant to buy laptops and pay a new staff member to teach free digital literacy classes for the first time. 

“I see the program eventually expanding beyond Upshur County, if we can get some more funding and find someone to teach the classes,” he said. 

For now, the classes will be in a single library in a single county, which is far from the vision of what state officials had planned. They hoped to expand similar programs until the funding was abruptly cut, derailing any goals they had.

In 2019, state lawmakers identified that students in schools needed to learn how to use the internet to succeed. They created a statewide program that served over 57,000 students and has seen positive results.

But that program was only targeting students, not other groups of West Virginians. The federal funding was meant to help lower-income families, older adults and minority communities access the internet. 

Now, without that support, many will continue to be left behind.