The Federal Communications Commission is reevaluating a program that has long made broadband internet connections affordable to schools and libraries, leaving Vermont’s state leaders scrambling to identify cuts to other services if the program is changed.
The FCC’s proposed rule weighs possible restrictions to the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Program, commonly referred to as the “E-Rate program,” which has subsidized internet connection for schools and libraries for 30 years. The proposal was put out for public comment last week. The FCC said its reevaluation is based on “rising concerns about the impact of screen time” and a review of whether the program continues to align with Congress’ connectivity goals.
Schools and libraries rely on broadband and internet connectivity for a host of services, including security systems for buildings, student information systems, finance systems, HVAC systems, among other services, said Lisa Helme, who oversees the “E-Rate” program for the state education agency.
“If the E-rate program is changed substantially in a way that has been providing funding to our schools, our schools are going to have to cut somewhere else to be able to pay for that because it’s really not something they can go without,” Helme said.
Vermont schools and districts received a total of $3.7 million for broadband and internet connectivity infrastructure through the E-Rate program in fiscal year 2025, Helme said.
The Federal Communications Commission wrote in the proposed rule that the reason for the review of the program after three decades is partly to ask whether the program continues to align with Congress’s objective when it was created through the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Around three quarters of public schools in the US had slower dial-up internet access in 1996, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
“Does the Commission have the authority to limit or sunset the E-Rate program?” the proposed rule reads. “At what point should policymakers conclude that the program’s core objective has been achieved?”
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in an emailed statement provided to VTDigger that the program has provided affordable broadband and expanded internet connectivity for schools, libraries and school buses and helped support learning during the pandemic.
“Any attempts by the FCC to end the program would be detrimental to rural learning and would completely contradict our federal broadband buildout goals,” said Welch. “The FCC needs to work with Congress to close the connectivity gap, not widen it for rural kids.”
Some education leaders say they are concerned the FCC’s review is mixing apples and oranges. The program does not pay for student devices, according to Michael Leichliter, superintendent of schools for the Harwood Unified Union School District. He said he worries that the FCC is falsely conflating the program impacts with the national discourse regarding student screen time.
Rather, the program has provided reimbursements for connectivity and equipment, ensuring schools can update digital infrastructure for cybersecurity and other services, he said.
“The funding that we receive has nothing to do with student devices, and has everything to do with just having a modern infrastructure connected with modern fiber and secure equipment that allows us to connect our schools to the internet,” Leichliter said.
The FCC previously eliminated E-Rate funding for school bus connectivity hotspots in 2025. The current FCC Chairman Brendan Carr helped write the chapter on federal broadband initiatives in Project 2025, a policy playbook produced by the conservative group the Heritage Foundation, including recommendations to cut FCC funding, according to reporting by National Public Radio.
The proposed rule suggests revisiting whether to continue using federally designated urban and rural areas or National School Lunch Program eligibility to set discount rates for the E-Rate program. Also under consideration is whether to limit financial support only to federally designated rural areas or areas served by a single provider.
While most communities in Vermont are federally designated as rural, geographic restrictions would still cause parity issues because the urban areas of the state, such as cities in Chittenden County, do not necessarily have “the funds and the systems in place to be able to underwrite those services,“ Helme said.
Changes to the E-Rate program would also impact public libraries, but very few Vermont public libraries use the federal broadband subsidy currently and instead have moved to independent networks, according to a statement provided by Lilly Talbert, a spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Libraries.
A FCC spokesperson directed VTDigger to a federal blog post that stated that the FCC did not vote to eliminate the E-Rate program in June, but is instead questioning “how to ensure the E-Rate program is effective, how we empower parents, how to keep kids safe online, and whether there is a need to reduce screen time for kids during school hours.”
It also suggests cutting off funding for preschool and Headstart programs, and discusses how to ensure E-Rate program funding furthers student educational outcomes as well.
Jon Hoover, who is the Finance director for the South East Vermont Community Action Head Start, said that E-Rate funding allows the Head Start program to upgrade server systems, and without this funding they would not be able to ensure all Head Start centers had internet access that was reliable, according to an email statement provided to VTDigger.
The aim of the E-Rate program is to address the digital divide for school communities, and there are not any current state funding mechanisms that could plug the gap for schools that may lose E-Rate funding, said Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board.
The Children’s Internet Protection Act currently requires any schools or libraries receiving E-Rate funding to have protections in place to block dangerous sites for children, Hallquist said.
Among other measures, the proposed rule discusses how to prevent third-party devices from connecting to their networks under the Children’s Internet Protection Act.
While how technology is used in schools is an important conversation, Helme said internet connection is separate to that conversation and serves as a tool for learning and school infrastructure.
“(The E-Rate program) envisions that for an equitable and educated, fair citizenry, these connections are needed,” Helme said “The schools and libraries were targeted as a hub for that.”
