E-RATE UNDER FIRE
The most immediate concern is the loss of new E-rate funding for Wi-Fi hot spots, which schools loan to students who lack Internet access at home. More than 700 school districts across 48 states are currently securing bids for Wi-Fi hot spots under E-rate, according to the consulting firm Funds For Learning.
But a resolution introduced in the House and Senate could void that funding with a simple majority vote before a single hot spot has been issued under E-rate. The funding could also be revoked by the five-member FCC, once a fifth commissioner is confirmed and the majority tilts Republican. Conservative members of Congress and the FCC have publicly opposed the use of E-rate funds for purposes other than on-campus connectivity.
For this reason, some experts said E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses could be next on the chopping block, along with a $200 million FCC cybersecurity pilot program for K-12 schools and libraries that launched last year. FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington voted against all three measures in the past.
Adding to the uncertainty is a July 2024 court ruling that found the Universal Service Fund (USF) unconstitutional. Established in 1996, USF collects around $8 billion a year in telecommunications fees to fund E-rate, along with three other universal service programs. The Supreme Court is scheduled to review that ruling on March 26.
FINDING OTHER OPTIONS
Given these issues, it’s important for school leaders to start looking at other funding options now, especially for students who lack Internet access at home, according to Carla Wade, senior director of external relations at the nonprofit Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).
CoSN is hosting an online petition against the congressional resolution that would end E-rate funding for school Wi-Fi hot spots, stating that the resolution would leave “many students — especially those in rural and low-income communities — without access to essential online learning resources.”
Pandemic-era relief funds that had been paying for school Wi-Fi hot spots, as well as Internet access for low-income households, expired in June, and the expansion of E-rate to include off-campus connectivity was meant to help offset those losses.
Without it, students who lack home Internet access will have less time and fewer opportunities for learning, Wade said, which can affect academic achievement.
“It’s going to increase the gaps in learning between students who don’t have the access at home and students whose families can afford that home connectivity,” she said.
If schools do lose E-rate funding for Wi-Fi hot spots, Wade said district leaders will need to find state and local partners to help pay for student home Internet access, whether via hot spots or another form of connectivity.
“They’re going to need to rely on increased state funding, and they’re going to need to look at potential local funding and community partnerships for discounted prices from Internet service providers,” Wade said. “Any and all of the above.”
Federal programs that offer state and local broadband funding may be able to help increase home Internet access for students as well, according to Julia Fallon, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association.
“We’re still waiting to see how the infrastructure act and BEAD [Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment] program are going to be impacted down the line, but that’s tied to a bigger and broader goal about Internet access, and it’s not just education’s to carry at the end of the day,” Fallon said.
She added that other federal programs, such as the ReConnect Loan and Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which provides money for rural broadband services, could also help get more student households online.
For the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), the nation’s largest regional education agency, the potential loss of any E-rate funds will require a greater dependence on public-private partnerships, according to LACOE Chief Technology Officer Jose Gonzalez.
He said LACOE is already using this strategy to make Internet access more affordable in under-resourced areas, working hand-in-hand with the county to secure low bids from multiple Internet service providers.
“It’s not just the school districts,” Gonzalez said. “It’s how do you partner with your city and the municipal county side and try to work together to fill these gaps?”
