Schools, libraries urge House not to repeal E-Rate’s Wi-Fi hotspot rule

A group of more than 80 national and state school and library organizations on Thursday sent a letter to House members, urging them to vote against a measure that would repeal a Federal Communications rule allowing schools and libraries to spend E-Rate funds on wireless hotspot lending by schools and libraries.

The letter comes after senators passed a joint resolution, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., last January, to roll back the FCC’s decision to allow schools and libraries to spend funds received through the E-Rate program on wireless hotspots. The House measure, the companion piece to Cruz’s resolution, would reverse the FCC’s decision, which was made last July by a 3-2 vote from the FCC along party lines.

Schools and libraries warned that repealing the FCC’s E-Rate hotspot program would jeopardize internet access for millions of students, educators, library patrons and other community members, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Many of those communities have already been impacted by the expiration of federal programs such as the Affordable Connectivity Program and the Emergency Connectivity Fund.

If enacted, the resolutions would force the FCC to reject thousands of pending hotspot funding applications, and permanently prohibit the agency from reinstating the program.

The FCC’s change to the E-Rate program last summer allowed schools and libraries to apply for subsidies for internet services that extend beyond institutions’ brick and mortar buildings, such as through the loan of Wi-Fi hotspots that can be installed to extend internet connectivity on locations such as school buses.

The program became particularly important during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the switch to virtual learning environments. It distributes up to nearly $4.5 billion in funds each year to more than 106,000 schools and 12,500 libraries, benefitting 54 million students nationwide according to an estimate from the Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition. Following the passage of the rule change last July, then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said extending E-Rate subsidies to hotspots was necessary to ensure students could continue learning remotely and that internet access would be made available in underserved communities.

Other signatories include the Consortium for School Networking, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, the American Library Association and the State Educational Technology Directors Association.

The letter mirrors one the SHLB Coalition and more than 30 K-12 education and library groups released last March, which urged senators to vote against Cruz’s measure. This week’s letter notes that despite uncertainty caused by these resolutions, more than 8,000 applicants have recently sought funding for more than 200,000 hotspot connections through the program.

They also note that lending programs are already widely implemented, with nearly half of public libraries now offering hotspot checkout services.

“In short, this resolution would prevent millions of students and library patrons across the country from obtaining internet access now and in the future,” the letter reads.