Schools/Universities

Last week, we covered some of the broadband and digital equity initiatives launched by the states this summer. From digital equity resources in Louisiana to historic investments in broadband infrastructure funding for the Navajo Nation, here are some more notable broadband news bites we've seen from states and Tribal governments around the country.

Judges probed the role of the $8 billion-per-year Universal Service Fund and its administrator. Conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research is challenging the Federal Communications Commission program again, after a defeat at the Supreme Court in 2025. USF supports building and maintaining rural broadband networks, plus voice and internet discounts for low-income households, schools, and healthcare centers.

Keith R. Krueger will step down as Chief Executive Officer of CoSN — The Consortium for School Networking in spring 2027, concluding a 32-year tenure that helped shape CoSN into the leading professional association for K-12 education technology leaders. Since becoming CEO in 1995, Krueger has guided CoSN through every major era of education technology, from early dial-up connectivity to generative artificial intelligence.

The stakes for schools, libraries, and health clinics could not be higher. Last year, the Supreme Court delivered us a historic victory in SHLB v. Consumers’ Research when the Court confirmed that the Universal Service Fund, a bipartisan program with a three-decade-long record of connecting communities across rural and urban America, is constitutional. Today we made sure the Fifth Circuit heard from the anchor institutions and the people who depend on this funding to serve their communities.

The cost of online access for schools and libraries across Alaska could increase dramatically if a long-standing federal subsidy ends. The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the E-rate program that for three decades has helped schools and libraries across the nation lower their connectivity costs. In the past, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has suggested the subsidy should be reduced or eliminated. Alaska school leaders and public librarians are worried about a potential cut at a time when districts are already struggling with budget deficits.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) projects a consolidated budget of $68.06 million for the federal Universal Service Support Mechanism in 4Q2026. Direct costs for all support mechanisms total $30.53 million. Joint and common costs (including billing, collection, and disbursement activities) total $37.53 million. Universal Service Support Mechanisms include High Cost, Low Income, Rural Health Care, Schools and Libraries, and Connected Care Pilot. 

On June 25, 2026, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeking comment on a wide array of questions about how to update the E-Rate program to reflect how schools and students actually use the Internet.  This item is part of the FCC’s “top-to-bottom” review of all Universal Service Fund programs to promote efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The E-Rate program was created in an era when many schools and libraries lacked access to the Internet, or service would be too expensive for schools to purchase themselves.

More than 32,000 students, teachers and staff in two southern New Mexico school districts and one charter school are now connected to the state’s broadband education network, a system that offers schools faster and more secure high-speed internet.

About three-quarters of U.S. adults (77%) support in-class cellphone bans for middle and high school students. This finding marks the second consecutive year of rising support for the policy. Just 18% say they oppose such a ban, while 6% are unsure. And for the first time, more Americans now support than oppose a ban on students using cellphones during the entire school day. About half of U.S. adults (48%) back “bell-to-bell” school cellphone bans for middle and high school students, up from 36% in 2024.

America has led the world in scientific progress because Americans have refused to stand still. We have adapted to changing conditions before by boldly reinventing how we structure science, and we must innovate again. Never has scientific and technological development been more essential to our national and economic security, and never has this progress been so deeply intertwined with our diplomatic relationships worldwide. President Trump has been very clear about his priorities, as he seeks to lay the foundations for a new Golden Age of American Innovation.