Governor Hutchinson shifted topics today to computer access and education. (Full discussion at the YouTube link.)

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He said the state would invest additional money to increase the speed of Internet service in public schools next year from 200 kilobits per second per user to at least 1 megabit per second. and that T Mobile was providing 18,000 Internet hotspots and data to schools in Arkansas without charge for five years. He also released an extensive report by a computer science/cybersecurity task force.

The last included many recommendations and Hutchinson announced his choices for top priorities beginning with making a computer science credit a requirement for high school graduation. His priorities:

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Some will take time and legislative action. He said he hoped the graduation requirement would be immediate, though phased in so that juniors and seniors wouldn’t be covered.

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