Fifty National Organizations Rally Behind E-Rate Overhaul

[Commentary] Supporters of revamping the federal E-rate program have a long list of education and policy organizations—in addition to President Barack Obama and Education Sec Arne Duncan—in their corner.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn proposed significant changes and upgrades to the federal E-rate program, an important piece of President Obama's ConnectED Initiative, which aims to provide high-speed Internet and broadband to 99 percent of the nation's schools within five years. Chairwoman Clyburn not only called for improvements to schools' technology infrastructure, but also for changes in the E-rate program's purchasing power and administrative oversight. Her proposal will have to undergo a review process by FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai, followed by an extensive period of public comment, before any such changes could become final.

More than 50 national organizations signed a letter to Commissioners Clyburn, Rosenworcel, and Pai, urging them to act quickly on the chair's proposal. The signatories include a long and diverse list of education and policy groups, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, the nation's two largest teachers' unions; the NAACP; advocacy groups like Democrats for Education Reform; and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, a pair of consortia of states designing tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Many tech advocates have said administering online exams linked to the common core will place a heavy strain on schools, and that increased E-rate funding could ease that burden.