NSBA Urges FCC to Preserve Local Governance and Focus E-rate on Core Connectivity Mission

National School Boards Association Urges FCC to Preserve Local Governance and Focus E-rate on Core Connectivity Mission

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The National School Boards Association (NSBA) submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the E-rate program, emphasizing the critical importance of keeping educational and classroom technology decisions in the hands of states, locally elected school boards, and educators.

“Locally elected school boards and educators are best positioned to determine how classroom technology and connectivity are used to serve their students,” said Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, Executive Director and CEO of the National School Boards Association. “E-rate has been a historic success because it combines a clear federal commitment to universal connectivity with respect for local governance. Conditioning federal broadband support on prescriptive screen-time or instructional mandates would undermine local flexibility and duplicate the shared accountability frameworks already working successfully in communities."

In its filing, NSBA stressed that while student safety and screen time are vital considerations, federal telecommunications programs should not blur the line between funding educational infrastructure and regulating local classroom instruction. The filing highlights that E-rate remains an essential federal lifeline to ensure high-capacity, affordable broadband access, authorizing approximately $2.38 billion in support in 2025 across more than 158,000 schools and libraries.
NSBA offered several key themes in its comments to the FCC:

• Preserving Local Control: Decisions regarding screen time, digital learning tools, and instructional methods vary heavily by student needs and curriculum. These decisions are best handled locally in partnership with parents and teachers.
• Protecting the E-rate Mission: The program must remain sharply focused on its core universal service mission—providing reliable, high-capacity, and affordable broadband infrastructure to schools and libraries.
• Building on CIPA: The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) already provides a balanced framework for online safety and public participation through local school board hearings, serving as a model that avoids unnecessary federal micromanagement.

Read NSBA's comment letter to the FCC.

###