Van Hollen, Markey, Luján, Welch, Meng Condemn FCC Effort This Week to Strip Internet Access from Students

Today, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Representative Grace Meng (NY-6) in leading 47 of their colleagues in a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, decrying the FCC's effort to roll back two decisions helping students and educators connect to the internet. On Tuesday, the FCC is scheduled to vote on two items: (1) Repeal of a rule allowing libraries and schools to use E-Rate funds to provide Wi-Fi hotspots to students and educators, and (2) Reversal of the decision allowing E-Rate funds to support Wi-Fi on school buses. In an unusual move, Carr abruptly added these two items to the FCC's meeting agenda last week, instead of giving the public the traditional three weeks' notice ahead of Commission votes at an open meeting.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, "We write in strong opposition to the items you have circulated at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal the rule allowing libraries and schools to provide Wi-Fi hotspots to students and educators and reverse the decision allowing E-Rate funds to support Wi-Fi on school buses. Rolling back the E-Rate hotspot and school bus decisions would undercut some of the most effective tools for addressing inequities in home connectivity and would reverse progress in closing the 'Homework Gap.' For millions of students, especially those from low-income households, internet access outside of school walls is not a luxury but a prerequisite for academic success. We urge the Commission to preserve the E-Rate hotspot program and Wi-Fi on buses to ensure that low-income students are not left behind."

The lawmakers continue, "As you know, the FCC typically announces items to be voted on at an open meeting three weeks before the meeting date, including releasing a draft of the proposed items. The public then has two weeks to discuss the proposal with commissioners and their staff before all advocacy with the Commission must cease in the week before the open meeting. That is exactly how the Commission proceeded when it adopted both the E-Rate hotspots final rule and declaratory ruling on school bus Wi-Fi. In advancing these repeals, however, you did not include either the E-Rate hotspots or school bus Wi-Fi items when the meeting agenda was announced on September 9. Instead, you abruptly included them on an updated agenda released one week before the September open meeting, depriving members of the public of an opportunity to weigh in on the draft order. This non-transparent, last-minute process on such important matters is unacceptable. The Commission should remove these items from the meeting agenda and follow standard Commission protocol at a future open meeting."

Other Senate signers of the letter include: Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Other House signers of the letter include: Becca Balint (D-VT), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Jesús "Chuy" Garcia (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Greg Landsman (OH-01), George Latimer (NY-16), Summer Lee (PA-12), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Sarah McBride (D-DE), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Nydia Velázquez NY-07), and Eugene Vidman (VA-07).

In February 2024, Senator Van Hollen, Senator Markey and Representative Meng led 64 of their colleagues in a letter to then FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, supporting the Commission's proposal to expand the E-Rate program. Senator Markey is the House author of the original E-Rate program, which has invested nearly $62 billion to connect schools and libraries to the internet across the country. Maryland has received nearly $670 million from the E-Rate program and over $145 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund, a $7 billion program that Senators Van Hollen and Markey and Rep. Meng created within the American Rescue Plan to provide devices and connectivity for students and educators at home.

Text of the letter can be viewed here and below.

Dear Chairman Carr,

We write in strong opposition to the items you have circulated at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal the rule allowing libraries and schools to provide Wi-Fi hotspots to students and educators and reverse the decision allowing E-Rate funds to support Wi-Fi on school buses. Rolling back the E-Rate hotspot and school bus decisions would undercut some of the most effective tools for addressing inequities in home connectivity and would reverse progress in closing the "Homework Gap." For millions of students, especially those from low-income households, internet access outside of school walls is not a luxury but a prerequisite for academic success. We urge the Commission to preserve the E-Rate hotspot program and Wi-Fi on buses to ensure that low-income students are not left behind.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the stakes of connecting all students and educators to the internet at home and during their commutes. When classrooms shifted online, students without home internet were often unable to participate fully in lessons, complete assignments, or communicate with teachers. Studies have consistently shown that students lacking home connectivity perform worse academically than their connected peers. One study found that grade point averages were more than half a point lower for students without internet access, while Census data shows they spent less time learning outside the classroom. Moreover, providing Wi-Fi on the school bus gives students the opportunity to complete homework on their way to and from school. This connectivity is especially important in rural communities where daily commutes can be up to two hours each way. To that end, these programs reflect a simple truth: learning does not stop at the schoolhouse door, and neither should internet connectivity.

The E-Rate hotspots and Wi-Fi on school bus programs are clearly needed. Before the pandemic, roughly 15 million students lacked access to the internet at home, creating serious risks to students when schools moved online. In response, Congress created the $7 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which helped connect more than 18 million students to the internet at home. Due to that overwhelming demand, however, the ECF ran short on funds in 2024. The FCC stepped up to fill that gap by allowing E-Rate to support Wi-Fi on buses in 2023 and passing its E-Rate hotspot rule last year. School districts and libraries have already relied on these programs to bring Wi-Fi to students. In fiscal year 2024, the FCC provided $48 million to fund Wi-Fi on buses. And in just the first application window for Wi-Fi hotspots, over 8,000 schools and libraries requested tens of millions of dollars for over 200,000 hotspot connections for students and educators, helping bridge the digital divide. Removing E-Rate support at this time would force cutbacks in service and impose abrupt costs on schools and libraries across the country.

Critics of the decisions have repeatedly misled the Commission and public about their requirements. First, the hotspot and bus Wi-Fi programs do not put kids' safety at risk. The Children's Internet Protection Act applies to all E-Rate recipients, including recipients who choose to spend their E-Rate dollars on Wi-Fi hotspots or school buses. These requirements help ensure that children aren't accessing obscene or otherwise harmful content online. If anything, students with E-Rate-funded hotspots are safer online than their classmates with their own home internet access that is not subject to the Children's Internet Protection Act. Second, the programs are an efficient and targeted use of E-Rate funds. For example, the hotspot rule limits the amount of Wi-Fi hotspot support that can be requested by an applicant over three funding years, expressly prohibits using E-Rate support for hotspots funded through other sources, and requires the hotspots to be used for educational purposes and to be properly documented for compliance with these rules. Moreover, this program will not cost taxpayers any new money, as funding comes out of the existing E-Rate budget. Finally, the FCC has clear legal authority for the programs under Section 254 of the Communications Act, which directs the FCC to update the definition of universal service, including E-Rate, so that it evolves over time. Given the weaknesses in the critics' arguments, and the clear success of these critical programs, efforts to repeal the decisions reflect an ideological crusade against E-Rate itself.

Additionally, the Commission's process for removing these programs has been deeply flawed and prevented public input. As you know, the FCC typically announces items to be voted on at an open meeting three weeks before the meeting date, including releasing a draft of the proposed items. The public then has two weeks to discuss the proposal with commissioners and their staff before all advocacy with the Commission must cease in the week before the open meeting. That is exactly how the Commission proceeded when it adopted both the E-Rate hotspots final rule and declaratory ruling on school bus Wi-Fi. In advancing these repeals, however, you did not include either the E-Rate hotspots or school bus Wi-Fi items when the meeting agenda was announced on September 9. Instead, you abruptly included them on an updated agenda released one week before the September open meeting, depriving members of the public of an opportunity to weigh in on the draft order. This non-transparent, last-minute process on such important matters is unacceptable.

The Commission should remove these items from the meeting agenda and follow standard Commission protocol at a future open meeting. The Commission has both the authority and the responsibility to update the E-Rate program to meet the realities of modern education. We strongly urge the FCC to retain its hotspot rule and allow E-Rate funds to continue being used for Wi-Fi on school buses. If the Commission proceeds with overturning these decisions, however, it should ensure that E-Rate applicants that contracted for services with the expectation of reimbursement under both programs receive that reimbursement as promised.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,