Save Our E-Rate, Indeed

The Save Our E-Rate campaign—led by the American Library Association and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition—has the right name for this moment. On June 25, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking raising fundamental questions about the future of the Universal Service Fund's Schools and Libraries program. Known as E-Rate, this program has connected more than 96 percent of America's public schools and nearly three-quarters of its public libraries to high-speed internet. Now, for the first time in the program's nearly 30-year history, the FCC is asking whether E-Rate has "fulfilled its mission"—and whether it should be sunset, restructured, or made conditional on new federal mandates governing how children use technology in schools. Benton filed comments in this proceeding. Our answer is unambiguous: the FCC cannot legally sunset the E-Rate, and the Commission lacks the authority to transform a connectivity program into a federal school technology policy.