The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 on June 18, 2026, to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that asks whether the E-Rate program should be limited, narrowed to rural or single-provider areas, or sunset entirely. The program distributes over $2 billion annually in discounts on telecom and internet services for eligible schools and libraries, funded through Universal Service Fund fees. Discounts range from 20 percent to 90 percent of costs, determined by poverty level and whether the location is urban or rural. [1][2]
Chairman Brendan Carr, who led the vote, framed the review partly around student screen time, stating the NPRM asks how E-Rate-funded networks are used for educational purposes. Commissioner Gomez dissented, saying the NPRM has been erroneously portrayed as an inquiry into screen time to float speculative and unwarranted proposals, including whether the Commission should terminate the program or limit its scope to only rural areas or areas served by a single provider. [1]
Earlier cuts and legal context
The FCC already scaled back E-Rate in 2025 by ending funding for schools and libraries to lend Wi-Fi hotspots and by stopping funding for Wi-Fi service on school buses. Those changes were backed by Senator Ted Cruz and described as cruel by advocates. [1] Legal challenges to any final FCC decision are considered likely, with advocates arguing that the FCC exceeded the authority granted by Congress, since nothing in the statute empowers the FCC to end the program. [1]
Advocacy and research response
The American Library Association and SHLB Coalition launched a national Save Our E-Rate advocacy campaign on June 25, 2026, including a website and a planned webinar to help stakeholders file FCC comments. [4] The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society has urged every school and library to file comments in the proceeding, indicating the organization views the NPRM as a credible threat to the program's continuation rather than a routine review. [5]
Scaling back E-Rate would hit hardest in lower-income communities, rural and urban alike, widening the digital divide that Congress established the program to close, according to the advocacy groups. This is an advocacy position, not an independent research finding. [4]
Update - August 23, 2026
The FCC published the E-Rate NPRM in the Federal Register on August 14, 2026, officially opening the public comment period. Comments are due October 13, 2026, and reply comments are due November 12, 2026. The FCC extended the comment window from the standard 30 days to 60 days, and the reply period from 60 to 90 days, after education and library groups requested more time, noting that a shorter window would fall during the summer when school staff are hardest to reach. [11][12]
Separately, the nonprofit group Consumers' Research has filed a new lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit specifically challenging E-Rate and the Rural Health Care Program, arguing that only Congress—not the FCC—has authority to fund them. The challenge follows the Supreme Court's June 2025 ruling upholding the Universal Service Fund's overall constitutionality but leaves the legal basis for E-Rate under renewed attack while the FCC's own rulemaking proceeds. [13]