SHLB Hopeful Congress Won't Kill Wi-Fi Hot-Spots Support
Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen said Wednesday that the group is holding out hope that it can still head off a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. Windhausen, who will retire next month, spoke during a SHLB webinar.
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“We are working on it -- that’s one of the advantages of being based in Washington,” Windhausen said. “I was up on Capitol Hill yesterday, had a couple of meetings, had another meeting earlier this morning,” he added. “We are encouraging senators to be very thoughtful and look at the evidence … about the value of these hot spots.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday that he plans to seek a floor vote on the resolution, though not this week (see 2502250057).
Other webinar speakers described how the E-rate program is used throughout the U.S. Jeffery Herbel, director-information and instructional technology at Enid Public Schools in Oklahoma, said the program allows school districts that otherwise couldn’t afford Wi-Fi to provide their students with access. “That’s the biggest issue -- affordability,” he said.
The Gainesville City School System in Georgia has tight restrictions on how students use the hot-spot devices it lends, said Chief Technology Officer Jill Hobson. The filtering “is even more restrictive than the filtering we’re doing inside the school system,” she said. “We really make sure that the tool is being used for educational purposes.” For example, the devices can’t be used to stream a TV show or movie or for online gaming. Students use the devices an average of more than an hour a day as they do their homework, she added.