The FCC is asking whether to end E-Rate. Every school, library, and community should answer.
#SaveOurERate
How to Take Action
Contact Your Elected Official
Use our partners' e-mail templates to tell your elected officials why E-Rate matters to you. Choose your community below to get started: Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the American Library Association (ALA), and the School Superintendents Association (AASA).
Comment on the FCC's Proposal
The FCC is asking whether to end or limit E-Rate, the program that makes internet access affordable for schools and libraries. When the comment window opens, you'll be able to tell the FCC directly why E-Rate matters to you. We'll have templates, sample comments, and instructions on how to submit. Check back here to file your comment.
Resources
Check out these resources to help you make the case for E-Rate:
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Download total E-Rate funding data organized by state for FY 21-25
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Opinion piece by Joey Wender published on Benton Institute for Broadband & Society's Digital Beat
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Ex Parte Filing - E-Rate - Meetings with Chairman Carr, Commissioner Gomez and Commissioner Trusty re. E-Rate review
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Press Release - SHLB Coalition and Partners Vow to Fight FCC’s Attack on School and Library Funding
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Press Release - SHLB Coalition Responds to FCC's Planned Review of the E-Rate Program
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Read Commissioner Gomez' statement from the FCC's June 25 Open Meeting
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Read the Benton Institute's full analysis Who Stands to Lose in the Current E-Rate Debate?
Attend AnchorNets
Join us October 7–9 in Arlington, VA. You'll be in the room with the E-Rate experts tracking every development, alongside peers navigating the same uncertainty you are. The connections and lessons that come out of those conversations are hard to find anywhere else, and they matter more this year than ever.
Join Our Webinar
The FCC has released a draft proposal asking whether E-Rate should be limited or terminated. In this webinar, we will walk through what it says and what it could mean for schools and libraries, including the questions around rural and urban funding, and the program's future. We will also cover how to file a comment with the FCC, what to include, and when the comment window opens. Join us to learn what's at stake and how to respond.
July 16, 2026 @ 2PM ET
How the E-Rate Program Works
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E-Rate lowers the cost of the broadband, internet, and internal network services that schools and libraries buy. The support arrives as a discount on those specific purchases.
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The discount is based on need. Schools and libraries serving more low-income communities receive larger discounts, ranging from 20% to 90% of eligible costs.
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Funding covers only eligible services and equipment, and applicants must run a competitive bidding process to select their providers. The competitive bidding process ensures that cost is the primary factor in applicants’ choice of provider.
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E-Rate does not pay for laptops, tablets, software, or digital content. The program supports connectivity and the network that carries it.
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The program operates under an annual spending cap, and participants are subject to audits and oversight.
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E-Rate supports more than 100,000 schools and roughly 11,000 libraries across the country, providing approximately $3 billion in discounts every year.
