FCC Reconsiders 30-Year E-Rate Program as Vermont Warns $3.7 Million School Broadband Gap
Updated
Updated · The Christian Science Monitor · Aug 20
FCC Reconsiders 30-Year E-Rate Program as Vermont Warns $3.7 Million School Broadband Gap
2 articles · Updated · The Christian Science Monitor · Aug 20
Summary
The FCC has opened public comment on possible restrictions to the 30-year-old E-Rate program, raising the prospect that schools and libraries could lose federal broadband subsidies.
The agency says the review is driven by concerns about student screen time and whether E-Rate still fits Congress’s 1996 connectivity goals, even though the program funds networks and equipment rather than student devices.
Vermont schools received $3.7 million through E-Rate in fiscal 2025, and state officials say districts would have to cut other services because broadband supports security, finance, HVAC and student information systems.
The proposal also asks whether support should be narrowed to rural or single-provider areas, revisits discount formulas, and suggests ending eligibility for preschool and Head Start programs.
Critics including Sen. Peter Welch say further cuts would widen the rural digital divide, after the FCC already ended E-Rate funding for school-bus hotspots in 2025.