FCC Deletes Programs That Fund Internet Hot Spots and School Bus Wi-Fi
FCC commissioners approved 2-1-- over dissents from Democrat Anna Gomez -- a declaratory ruling finding that school bus Wi-Fi is no longer eligible for E-rate support. Also approved over Gomez's dissent at Tuesday's meeting was an order canceling the funding of internet hot spots off school and library premises. Unlike other items voted on Tuesday, both were late additions to the meeting agenda, and drafts weren’t made public in advance.
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The school bus ruling instructs the Universal Service Administrative Co. to deny all pending 2025 funding requests to pay for services on buses. It “finds that funding Wi-Fi on school buses both exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority and does not promote sound policy choices,” said a news release.
The hot spots order “finds that the FCC lacked legal authority for this expansion and that the agency failed to properly justify its decision,” said a second release. “The prior agency action also represented unreasonable policy choices given the evidence in the record, poor stewardship of scarce funds, and invited waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Gomez sharply criticized how the E-rate items were handled. “Instead of following … well-functioning, longstanding practice,” they were “added to the September meeting agenda without releasing public drafts and just hours before the sunshine notice, the deadline after which parties can no longer meet with commissioners’ offices.”
Stakeholders weren’t “afforded the chance to read the items impacting their constituencies and were not afforded the chance to weigh in on the substantive details in each item,” Gomez added. The FCC's move “to roll back federal funding for hot spots and Wi-Fi on school buses ignores our nation’s educational landscape today and the need to equip students with digital skills for the future.”
Last week, advocates of the programs described a chaotic process, in which they had to scramble to craft a response hours before the sunshine notice took effect (see 2509260046).
Carr defended both items, saying they correct steps that the FCC took during the Biden administration that went beyond the agency's statutory authority to act. The school bus ruling “restores the FCC’s commitment to following the law as written and respecting the intent of Congress,” Carr said. “Section 254 of the Communications Act is clear -- E-rate funding is meant to enhance access to telecommunications services in classrooms and libraries. A school bus is neither.”
Carr also raised questions about how the hot spots order gives students unsupervised access to the internet, a concern of Republicans, including Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "Using millions of taxpayer dollars to fund unsupervised internet access was never Congress’ intent for E-rate, especially in a time when students are struggling to socialize due to excessive screen time,” Carr said.
Commissioner Olivia Trusty cited legal reasons for supporting both items. “As the Supreme Court has reminded us, an agency literally has no power to act unless, and until, Congress confers power upon it,” she said. “That doesn’t mean everyone will agree on what a statute will require.” Trusty said she had to act “based on what I believe is the best understanding of Congress’ direction.” Officials said after the meeting that Trusty got several edits on the items.
During a news conference, Carr stood by the handling of the items, noting that with just three commissioners, there are no “must-vote rules,” so putting them on the agenda was the best way to force a vote. “The only backstop we have is to put things on the meeting agenda,” he said. “These are items that were circulated internally more than three weeks ago,” and the FCC had issued a news release “that provided everybody with sort of a very detailed understanding of what it was that the agency was going to do,” he added. “Everyone understands the statutory issue at play, the policy issues at play.”
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, the American Library Association (ALA), the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and AASA, the School Superintendents Association, among other groups, said in a joint statement that they were disappointed by the decision to end the programs.
“ALA is both disappointed by the FCC’s takebacks and discouraged by the lack of due process, which left no opportunity for staff, patrons, and library advocates to give input on the draft order,” said President Sam Helmick. SHLB Executive Director Joey Wender added that “students who rely on long bus rides to complete assignments and library patrons who depend on hotspots for work, education, or telehealth will suddenly lose access to essential tools.”
“The FCC’s decision to repeal the E-Rate hotspots rule is a direct attack on our children’s future,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass, said in an emailed statement. “This short-sighted move will rip Wi-Fi from the hands of students and educators who rely on library and school loan programs to get online.”