The E-Rate Program and Screen Time: NTIA Listening Session

On June 4, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking comment on “measures the Commission can take…to better protect children when using E-Rate funded networks, including to limit screen time.” In response, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration held a virtual listening session, FCC’s E-Rate and Screen Use NPRM, on September 16, 2026. NTIA may “use the feedback received to develop a comment” for the FCC proceeding on the E-Rate program. The virtual listening session lasted more than two hours. NTIA asked participants to respond to one of three prompts, presented in sequence during the session.

• The first solicited comments from parents, teachers, and others about how screens are used during the school day and their knowledge of decision-making in the procurement and use of education technology in schools.
• The second called for comments about parents’ experiences requesting an “opt-out” of screen time at schools. This prompt pointed directly to a proposal in the FCC’s E-Rate NPRM that schools should be required to provide such an option to parents as a condition of receiving E-Rate funding.
• The third prompt noted that schools must comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act to receive E-Rate subsidies and requested feedback from parents and teachers about school Internet safety policies and the effectiveness of CIPA.