Five Alaska groups ask FCC to keep E-Rate school and library internet discounts

Five Alaska organizations filed comments by Tuesday's deadline asking the Federal Communications Commission to keep E-Rate, the program that discounts internet service for schools and libraries. The state Department of Education and Early Development, the Alaska Municipal League, the Alaska Library Association, the Alaska Telecom Association and the Delta Greely School District responded to an FCC review that could limit or end the program, as Alaska News reported Sept. 16. The review asks whether E-Rate should be "limited or sunset to reflect today's extensive connectivity rates." Reply comments are due Nov. 12.

The FCC also asks whether to phase out funding where school lunch participation is lowest, change the discounts under which rural schools and libraries get more than urban ones and end special construction support.

Commissioner Deena Bishop signed the department's comments, which support the goal of protecting children but oppose a uniform federal daily screen-time limit as a condition of E-Rate funding. "A uniform measure of time spent on a connected device does not, by itself, establish whether the use is educationally appropriate," the comments say.

The department reports that 41 Alaska public libraries received E-Rate funding commitments in 2025, 23 of them at discounts of 80 percent or more and nine at the maximum 90 percent. Bishop wrote that existing connectivity in those communities should not be taken as evidence that the support is no longer necessary.

The municipal league's comments, signed by Executive Director Nils Andreassen, note that eligibility for the state's School Broadband Assistance Grant depends on qualifying for E-Rate. Sitka School District officials reported about $67,000 in E-Rate support that leverages reimbursements worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, the league writes, warning that reduced federal aid could shift costs onto city budgets and local taxpayers.

The library association's letter, signed by President Rebecca Moorman, cites 326,321 registered public library users in 2023 who used library computers or Wi-Fi 913,823 times. "Universal service should not draw a distinction between a disadvantaged child in a rural town and a disadvantaged child in a city," Moorman wrote.

The telecom association's comments, signed by Executive Director Christine O'Connor, say its members serve schools and libraries in many remote Alaska communities. They ask the FCC not to presume that a procurement drawing only one bid is flawed.

Delta Greely Superintendent Michael Lee reports about $727,000 in E-Rate commitments since 2017 and asks the FCC to keep support across all discount levels. "E-Rate's work does not end when a school becomes connected," Lee wrote.