Dive Brief:
- The Federal Communications Commission is now accepting public comment on a proposed rule weighing changes to or even discontinuation of the federal E-rate program. The 30-year-old program provides discounted rates for internet services to schools and libraries.
- E-rate — which accounted for $10.5 billion in federal funds to school districts between 2021 and 2025 — is the fifth-largest pot of federal funds that schools receive, according to a data analysis by E-rate advocates.
- FCC's proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on Aug. 14, asks if E-rate policy changes are needed in light of concerns over screen time in schools or indeed whether the program “should be limited or sunset” given “today’s extensive connectivity rates.” The public comment period closes Oct. 13.
Dive Insight:
The E-rate program came into being in 1996 when former President Bill Clinton signed the bipartisan Telecommunications Act. A year prior, only 8% of public school classrooms had internet access, National Center for Education Statistics data shows. That figure jumped to 93% of public school classrooms by 2003, the NCES data found.
Nearly 25,000 entities including districts, schools, consortiums and libraries received $13.2 billion in total E-rate funds between 2021 and 2025, according to the advocates' analysis. Notably, the majority of those funds went to school districts.
In a statement released after Friday's publication of the proposed rule, the Education and Libraries Network Coalition — co-chaired by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, along with the American Library Association and the Bernstein Strategy Group — called for the FCC to aim its rulemaking at E-rate’s key goal of providing affordable and reliable internet access to schools and libraries.
“The FCC should not be focused on whether E-Rate has fulfilled its mission and should be terminated, or which communities deserve access to it — the question is how to strengthen and modernize one of the nation's most successful education and connectivity programs,” EdLiNC’s co-chairs said.
The FCC approved its notice of proposed rulemaking on E-rate during a June 25 meeting. At the time, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the notice would consider changes to E-rate as concerns mount over growing ed tech use in schools.
With some districts and communities pushing back on ed tech use, the FCC’s proposed rule also asks if schools should receive E-rate on the condition that they “provide parents with a meaningful opportunity to opt their children out of screen-based instruction or screen use during the school day.”
E-rate advocates, however, say the federal program only covers eligible internet services and equipment. It does not provide funds for school devices or content — an issue that advocates said should be addressed at the state and local level.
“Questions about curriculum, instructional practice, or student behavior should not be used to undermine a proven program that helps schools and libraries maintain the networks modern education depends on,” the EdLiNC co-chairs said.
AASA is to host a live virtual town hall on the E-rate proposal on Sept. 9.
