The FCC Is Asking Whether to End E-Rate. Every School and Library Should Answer.

The Federal Communications Commission released a draft proposal that should alarm schools and libraries around the country. Tucked inside a long document is a direct question: should the E-Rate program be “limited or sunset”? When E-Rate began in the late 1990s, most schools and libraries had little or no internet access. Today, nearly every school in the country has a high-speed connection. The FCC points to that success and suggests the job is finished. The reality is the opposite. That connectivity exists because E-Rate supports it year after year. A network is a continuing commitment. Bandwidth needs grow every year. Equipment ages and has to be replaced, and Wi-Fi that once served a few laptops now supports online testing, security systems, and daily building operations. In many schools and libraries, broadband now runs everything from the HVAC to door locks. Treating E-Rate as a finished project is like deciding to stop maintaining a highway because it has already been built. Congress understood this from the start. The 1996 Telecommunications Act, which created E-Rate, defines universal service as an “evolving level of telecommunications services,” a commitment meant to keep pace with advancing technology. So what happens if E-Rate goes away? Schools and libraries would have to absorb the full cost of their internet service. For institutions already working with tight budgets, that money has to come from somewhere. That money comes out of staff and program budgets that make a school or library more than a building. The deepest harms fall on the students who can least afford it since E-Rate discounts are tied to need.