Legislative Column

Missed Connections
By Manish Naik
Director of Legislative Services

Education stakeholders have criticized countless policy decisions made by the Trump Administration in the past year and a half, but few of their actions have galvanized the school community as broadly as the recent proposal from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review the E-Rate program. The E-Rate provides discounts to eligible schools and libraries for telecommunications, Internet access, and internal connections. The program was authorized by Congress as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and is paid for through the Universal Service Fund, a fee collected from telecommunications providers.

In its recent proposal, the FCC is undertaking a wide-ranging review of the E-Rate program. As the regulatory agency overseeing the program, the FCC routinely seeks public comment on the eligibility of specific services and how certain aspects of the program are working. The current proposal, however, goes much further by first asking if the E-Rate has achieved its goal and if the program should be terminated. Of additional concern to urban school districts is a suggestion that reimbursements be limited to rural areas only.

The FCC is using the current debate on children’s screen time as the basis for their proposal and questions about funding the E-Rate program. However, policy decisions about screen time and children’s use of technology are being discussed and made at the state and local level already. A number of state legislatures have approved laws addressing screen time and even more are considering similar bills. Local school boards are adopting policies that limit screen time based on age-appropriateness and grade level. And every classroom teacher must determine whether computer-based instruction is necessary for a specific lesson, and an individual student’s screen time can vary based on their age, specific coursework, and the pedagogical approach used. Internet access is not synonymous with excessive screen time, and these instructional decisions need not be made by a federal agency charged with overseeing domestic and international telecommunications.

Educational stakeholders are also worried that the FCC doesn’t know how fundamental network connectivity is to school building operations. As important as the internet is for modern teaching and learning, school districts are warning that reliable connectivity is essential for much more. School and district networks are used for safety and security systems, HVAC, point-of-sales for school meals, bus tracking, student attendance, and other systems used throughout every school day. Teachers, building staff, and district leaders know that the internet is more than an instructional tool; it is part of the school’s infrastructure.

The FCC is accepting public comments on their proposal this fall. It is paramount for education leaders at all levels to underscore to the federal agency how important E-Rate reimbursements are for schools. Any reduction or narrowing of support for school network connectivity enacted by the FCC is a cut to essential services, and that cost must be found elsewhere in the school district budget.