E-rate, a key to classroom internet connectivity and one of the biggest K-12 funding streams, could soon shrink or disappear, warns Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking
The Trump administration in mid-August opened public comment on proposed new rules that could overhaul or eliminate E-rate. District leaders can urge their elected officials and the Federal Communications Commission not to cut the 30-year-old program that keeps schools and students connected to the internet at discounted rates, Krueger says on the latest episode of District Administration’s “A Good Lesson” podcast with host Amy Dujon.
Krueger called the FCC’s proposed rulemaking an “existential threat” to the $3 billion program as technology gets ever more entrenched in school buildings. District networks now run everything from student information systems to payroll to door locks, Krueger notes.
“The first question [the rulemaking] starts with is, ‘Should we just declare that E-rate has accomplished its mission because all classrooms are basically connected?” says Krueger, who recently announced he will retire in spring 2027. “We think that’s a really problematic question.”
K12 leaders can go to saveourerate.com to learn how much E-rate funding their district has received and tell their stories to the FCC about how the program has benefited students. “We need to make sure that Congress, governors, the president and the administration hear loud from every school district, every company, everyone, that this is not a good idea—hands off our E-Rate,” he says.
Purposeful technology, powerful learning
Krueger doesn’t believe all screens are bad, all the time. Blanket bans on technology in schools are “not a very nuanced way of thinking,” he contends. Educators should keep social media and cellphones away from kids during the school day while using educational technology purposefully and teaching digital literacy.
“I think of the difference between ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘The Simpsons,'” Krueger points out. “One is instructionally designed and the other is just entertainment. We should be concerned about those things that are distractions, that are not designed for school.”
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