“FUTURE OF E-RATE” NPRM COMMENT DATES ANNOUNCED
- 24 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Back to School means administrators get homework too. Since the FCC announced the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Future of E-Rate, FCC 26-41, on June 26, over 260 stakeholders have already submitted comments to the FCC and hundreds, if not thousands, of additional comments are expected from schools, libraries, states, consortia, and public citizens of all walks of life. For the last 30 years, E-Rate has been a fundamental part of the education landscape. However, the questions the FCC asked in its NPRM included whether the E-Rate Program has completed its mission of connecting classrooms to the internet and sunset or drastically limit eligibility in the program. We all have homework to do and ask as many applicants as possible to submit comments to the FCC on the E-Rate program. This is not the time to snooze at the back of the room, but to sit up, at attention in the front row with your hand raised, taking notes.
The Federal Register recently set the comment dates deadline to be Tuesday October 13, 2026, for Comments, and Thursday November 12, 2026, for Reply Comments. 11 CSM applicants have already submitted comments. Let CSM know if you need help drafting your comments.
CALL TO ACTION SUBMITTING YOUR COMMENTS TO THE FCC | ||
When writing your comments to the FCC NPRM, consider the following questions: |
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In short, if E-Rate funding were reduced or removed, and your district had to pay 100% of your Internet Access services, how would that change learning in your district? |
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT CSM CLIENT SUBMITS COMMENTS TO NPRM |
Calexico Unified School District submitted the following insightful comments on the NPRM:
"For many years, E-Rate funding has been the primary lifeline that has enabled our district to provide reliable broadband connectivity throughout our campuses. Without this support, many of our students would not have access to the digital tools, online educational resources, and instructional technologies that are now essential components of a modern education. The question raised in this proceeding regarding whether E-Rate is still needed is easy to answer from our community's perspective: E-Rate remains absolutely essential." | ||||
EDUARDO PEREZ Technology Coordinator Calexico Unified School District | ||||
These are the types of comments from the heart that the FCC is looking for. Make your comments personal, specific, and relevant.
SHLB SHLB - SAVE OUR E-RATE |
The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) has partnered with COSN (Consortium for School Networking) to enable you to submit your comments to Congressional offices. Simply go to https://www.shlb.org/save-our-e-rate and submit your comments to your Congressperson and Senators.
Additionally, you can use this tool to find out how much E-Rate support you have received over the last 5 years. Simply navigate to the bottom of the page and type your data in. It is very useful to add dollar data to your comments to demonstrate the impact E-Rate has had on your district.
CALL TO ACTION SUBMITTING YOUR COMMENTS TO THE FCC | ||
To submit comments to the FCC, please use the Standard Filing by navigating to www.fcc.gov, select Submit a Filing, and then Standard Filing. |
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For shorter filings, you can also submit comments using Express Comments and copy and paste the text into the text box.
Giving props where props are due, E-Rate Central has built a very easy to use tool to aid you to submit comments called E-Rate Comment Compass. It also includes a video step-by-step tutorial of how to submit your comments to the FCC.
Whichever path you choose to submit the comments, the most important action is to submit your comments. This is your chance to tell the FCC how important the E-Rate Program is to your districts.
