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# Education Groups Continue Advocacy Push as FCC Reviews E-Rate
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/education-groups-continue-advocacy-push-as-fcc-reviews-e-rate/
- Published: 2026-09-11T21:33:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:48:04.000Z
- Description: A pro-E-Rate group said it was prepared to litigate if funding was reduced.
- Author: Jake Neenan
- Tags: Funding, FCC, Joey Wender, SHLB, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, Mike O'Rielly, FSF, stacy hawthorne, jon bernstein, USF, #with-siderail

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2026 – Education groups are continuing an advocacy push as federal regulators consider rolling back a broadband discount program for schools and libraries.

Several advocacy groups, including the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition and AASA, the School Superintendents Association, told hundreds of school superintendents Wednesday to submit comments urging the Federal Communications Commission not to reduce funding for its E-Rate program.

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The FCC approved in June a proposal that asked questions about altering the program, including whether the agency should limit funding to rural areas or sunset E-Rate altogether. Comments are due by Oct. 13.

The inquiry also asked about limiting students’ screen time and potentially expanding content filters. On a June [call with reporters](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/fcc-e-rate-inquiry-to-ask-about-reducing-funding-expanding-school-internet-filters/), a senior FCC official said the agency was taking into account the fact that the majority of E-Rate’s $2.5 billion in annual spending went to monthly broadband bills.

The official said the thrust of the inquiry was the content filter issue. But advocates said the fact that the item asked about ending the program was cause to forcefully respond.

“My job is to read the words on the page in the item that was voted on by two FCC commissioners. Inside the item it asks, ‘Should the program end?’” **Joey Wender**, executive director of SHLB, said during the webinar. “That’s in the order, and I take that very seriously. We all take that — everyone on this call — very, very seriously.”

In a separate interview, **Jamar Rahming**, president of the Public Library Association, said the group had a similar reaction. PLA was also urging its library members to submit comments and reach out to federal legislators, he said.

“Many of us are already experiencing funding challenges,” he said. “We cannot take any type of proposal that presents a threat to our future sustainability lightly.”

In addition to broadband bills, E-Rate funds networking gear that connects school buildings and campuses like Wi-Fi access points and routers. The program supports [more than 96 percent](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/most-e-rate-funds-spent-in-highest-need-areas-researcher-says/) of public schools in the U.S., with higher need schools getting bigger discounts. 

**Stacy Hawthorne**, executive director of the Consortium for School Networking, said schools couldn’t afford to forego things like cybersecurity and would more likely cut programs or staff positions.

In a recent [blog post](https://freestatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Yes-To-an-E-Rate-Reality-Check-083126.pdf?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) for the Free State Foundation, former Republican FCC commissioner **Mike O’Reilly** argued it wasn’t out of bounds for the agency to ask whether E-Rate was having a positive effect.

“E-Rate should not get a forever pass because it began with good intentions,” he wrote. “The FCC’s item appropriately asks whether the program still fits today’s realities and whether consumers should keep paying for it.”

The [FCC’s docket](https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/results?q=%28proceedings.name:%28%2226-133%22%29%29&ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) on the issue already has nearly 400 comments. Many are from schools or school districts urging the agency against rolling back funding.

### *Litigation?*

**Jon Bernstein**, co-chair of the pro-E-Rate Education and Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC), said the group was prepared to sue if the FCC came down with a rulemaking rolling back funding. EdLiNC includes AASA.

“If the order comes out in a way that none of us want — that sunsets the program, scales back the program, applies onerous conditions, any of that stuff — I won’t speak for anybody else on the call, but I can tell you EdLiNC is fully prepared to litigate this and protect it at all costs,” he said.

He said the group’s position was that major changes to the program had to be approved by Congress. The program was stood up along with other FCC universal service programs in 1997.

The FCC has been reviewing other programs supported by its Universal Service Fund, like Lifeline and High Cost, with the goal of rooting out fraud and potentially unnecessary expenditures. 

At the same time, Congress is working on a new contribution base for USF. It’s currently funded by interstate voice revenues, a dwindling pool of cash.