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The FCC Opened a Review That Could Cut Internet Funding for Schools and Libraries.

Resist Now 3 min read
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The Federal Communications Commission voted on June 25, 2026, to open a “top-to-bottom” review of E-Rate, the program that helps pay for internet at public schools and libraries. The review questions whether the roughly $2.4 billion a year the program spends should continue, and library and school groups are calling it an attack.

What E-Rate Does

Congress created E-Rate in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to connect schools and libraries to the internet. It is funded through the Universal Service Fund, which collects fees from telecom companies rather than the general budget.

The program reaches schools and libraries in every state. It pays for broadband connections, internal Wi-Fi networks, and, since a 2024 expansion, Wi-Fi hotspots that students can borrow to get online at home. For a rural district or a small-town library, E-Rate is often the difference between a working connection and none.

Why the Chairman Says He Is Reviewing It

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr frames the review around screen time. He said that “over the last several years, and especially during COVID, many schools dramatically increased screen time for kids, with many students now swiping for hours every day.”

Carr has pointed to research linking heavy screen use to lower reading and math performance, and has questioned whether a program built to put kids online still serves them. His review takes specific aim at the 2024 expansion that funds off-campus Wi-Fi hotspots.

What Critics Say

The American Library Association and national school groups have mobilized against the review. Their argument is direct. Cutting the funding does not reduce screen time. It removes connectivity from the students and communities that have the least.

The hotspot lending Carr targets is what many low-income students rely on to do homework at home. A child without home internet does not stop needing it because the subsidy ends. They lose the library computer, the lent hotspot, and the connection their school provides.

Why It Matters

E-Rate is one of the main tools the country uses to close the digital divide. The students who depend on it most are rural, low-income, and least able to absorb the loss. Take the funding away and the homework gap widens for exactly those kids.

The review is a process, not a final cut. That is what makes the public comment period the moment to act, before the FCC decides how far to go.

What You Can Do Now

  1. File a comment with the FCC. The agency is taking public input on the E-Rate review now. You can submit a comment through the FCC’s electronic filing system, and a short note about why school and library internet matters in your community counts.

  2. Use the letter below to ask your members of Congress to defend E-Rate. The specific ask is to publicly support the program, press the FCC to keep funding school and library internet including hotspot lending, and use their oversight power over the review.

  3. Call your senators and representative at (202) 224-3121. Tell them E-Rate connects schools and libraries in your state and you want it protected, not quietly cut.

Sources

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