GoKawiilFCC faces backlash from schools over proposal to end E-Rate internet subsidy
Schools, libraries, and education associations flooded the FCC with comments opposing a proposal from Chairman Brendan Carr to potentially sunset E-Rate, the $2 billion annual program that subsidizes internet connectivity for schools and libraries. The National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Library Association were among groups urging the FCC to preserve the program, which Carr has criticized for enabling excessive student screen time. The FCC already cut E-Rate funding last year for Wi-Fi hotspot lending and school bus internet service.
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The scale of opposition suggests schools view E-Rate as foundational infrastructure rather than an outdated subsidy, and a full sunset could disproportionately affect low-income districts and rural libraries that rely on discounted connectivity. Carr's framing around screen time suggests the FCC may be using policy concerns about student technology use to justify broader funding cuts, though the agency's authority to eliminate the program entirely remains legally contested.
- E-Rate provides roughly $2 billion annually in telecom discounts to schools and libraries.
- FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has proposed a rulemaking that could limit or end the program.
- Education and library associations are pushing back, citing the 1996 law that created E-Rate.
Source: arstechnica.com, 2026-10-14
Published there as: “Schools across US protest FCC plan that could disconnect kids from Internet”
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