The following statement on the FCC’s review of the E-Rate program, announced June 3, 2026, can be attributed to Sara Kloek, Vice President, Education and Youth Policy, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).
SIIA is deeply alarmed by the announcement from FCC Chair Carr calling for a complete review of the E-rate program under the banner of “screen time” based on flawed data. Proposing major structural changes to a nearly 30-year-old program – which has long enjoyed bipartisan support – that connects rural, low-income, and Tribal schools and libraries could cut off access for the students who have the fewest alternatives and the most to lose, including children in rural schools and those who rely on assistive technology to access the curriculum under IDEA and the ADA. E-Rate does not put devices in children’s hands; it funds the broadband that makes high-quality instruction possible, on networks that already filter harmful content as a matter of federal law under CIPA. To treat that connectivity – which has long been a lifeline in rural communities – as the cause of declining test scores is quite simply a mischaracterization. It misreads the evidence and risks widening the very gap E-Rate was created to close. We urge the Commission not to sever the lifeline that millions of students and rural communities depend on, and we will continue to advocate for these students and for E-rate and other programs that support them.