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Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft (NPRM) that raises serious concerns for the future of the E-Rate program. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr frames his proposal as a review of the program when, in reality, it aims to explore sweeping changes that would fundamentally reshape鈥攐r even dismantle鈥攖his critical source of connectivity for the nation鈥檚 schools and libraries. The proposal is scheduled for a vote at the upcoming June 25 meeting of the FCC, which would then kick off a 30 day comment period. 

The NPRM includes a handful of far-reaching, high-stakes proposals including: sunsetting of the program; restricting funding to rural schools, excluding PreK/Head Start, and penalizing or removing funding for CIPA compliance issues. The proposal includes questions on whether to requirements like screen time limits, expanded filtering (including social media bans), and mandatory digital literacy courses. The NPRM also explores a potential effort to redistribute funding in ways that could divide the education community, particularly by shifting resources away from non-rural districts. While expanding support for rural schools is an important goal, it should not come at the expense of other communities that also depend on E-Rate to meet basic connectivity needs. These proposals reflect a notable shift away from the FCC鈥檚 traditional focus on connectivity and into areas of education policy and practice that have long been governed at the state and local level.

The FCC is the agency of jurisdiction with oversight of the E-Rate program. The FCC has jurisdiction to review the E-Rate program. This proposal, though, is so much more than the review of a connectivity program. E-Rate, established under the 1996 Telecommunications Act as part of the Universal Service Fund, has a clear purpose: ensuring that schools and libraries can access affordable, reliable internet connectivity. It is not an educational program, nor was it designed to measure or dictate how technology is used in classrooms. Schools rely on E-Rate to get online; how they use that connectivity鈥攖o support teaching, learning, operations, transportation, safety, and infrastructure鈥攊s determined by local leaders. By tying this review to concerns about student screen time and educational outcomes, the FCC risks stepping outside its statutory role and expertise in communications policy. Evaluating E-Rate based on how schools use the internet鈥攔ather than whether they can access it鈥攔epresents a significant and concerning departure from the program鈥檚 purpose.