Dive Brief:
- A majority of school districts — 74% — said the loss of the E-rate program would have a “catastrophic” or “major” impact if the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal broadband discount for schools and libraries is unconstitutional, according to a Consortium for School Networking survey of K-12 ed tech leaders released Tuesday.
- While all districts said they would be negatively impacted to some extent if E-rate was eliminated, urban districts were the most likely to expect catastrophic effects at 48%, compared to 30% of both suburban and rural districts, CoSN found.
- Meanwhile, 80% of respondents reported their districts are implementing generative AI initiatives. The share of respondents whose districts are embracing AI jumped from 22% to 30% between 2024 and 2025, while the percentage without a defined AI approach dropped from 40% to 27%, the report said.
Dive Insight:
The threat of losing E-rate funds comes at a time when schools are more reliant than ever on digital connectivity — and as their interest in AI tools, which rely on high-speed internet access, is quickly growing. Digital tools, including AI, serve a wide range of purposes in schools, from enhancing classroom learning to managing a variety of school operations.
If the Supreme Court rules against E-rate’s funding mechanism in the FCC v. Consumers’ Research case, “such a decision would cut off access to essential digital learning tools and online resources,” CoSN said in a Tuesday statement.
“Digital infrastructure is now the backbone of teaching, learning and school operations — and EdTech leaders are the architects holding it all together,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN, in a statement. “District leaders and policymakers must act now to sustain the infrastructure and talent that keep learning accessible for all, secure and future ready.”
During March oral arguments for FCC v. Consumers’ Research, the justices acknowledged that the Universal Service Fund, which oversees E-rate, is a widely used program that schools and libraries depend on. The justices are specifically weighing whether Congress and the Federal Communications Commission violated the Constitution when it gave a private nonprofit company the power to administer the Universal Service Fund, which oversees E-rate.
As more districts tap into AI tools, federal support is likely to follow suit since President Donald Trump signed an April executive order promoting AI initiatives in schools through the development of teacher training and AI literacy in classrooms. The order came a month after the U.S. Department of Education “abolished” its 30-year-old Office of Educational Technology, which spent the last several years developing guidance on equitable and safe technology use in schools.
Districts responding to the CoSN survey were optimistic about the future of AI in schools, with 94% telling the organization they see AI’s potential to positively impact education. CoSN also found that the most common AI initiative reported among districts was training for educators on the use of instruction-focused generative AI tools, at 51%.
Some 645 districts responded to CoSN’s survey between January and March 2025. The survey was conducted in partnership with AASA, The School Superintendents Association, CDW Education, Lightspeed Systems, Sogolytics and MCH Strategic Data.
