E-Rate Under FCC Audit: What’s Happening and How to Respond

On Friday, August 14th, the Federal Communications Commission officially published a wide-ranging review of the E-Rate program, questioning its necessity in the modern technology ecosystem and casting doubt on its future. 

The FCC initially announced these inquiries about the E-Rate program and whether it should be reduced, limited in scope or geography, or eliminated altogether, in late June. Publishing the inquiries on the Federal Register on Aug. 14 now triggers a 60-day comment period. 

If even a fraction of this proposal is adopted, it could fundamentally alter your school or library’s ability to keep your community connected at its current level. 

But before we start sounding too alarmist, this review has a long way to go before anything concrete comes to pass. 

For starters, a few months ago the FCC announced it’s putting a new competitive bidding portal in place for E-Rate, effective Funding Year 2028. It doesn’t make much sense that they’d invest in building that if they weren’t planning to keep the program around. Plus, funding that’s been in place for nearly thirty years doesn’t disappear overnight. 

Still, we recognize that you probably have a lot of questions about this, so we’ve put together a resource guide to help answer them and provide you with the tools to take action now, and as this situation evolves.

What exactly is happening with E-Rate and the FCC? 

The short answer: On Friday, Aug. 14, the FCC published major inquiries on the Federal Register that could narrow or eliminate the E-Rate program.

Full FCC announcement on the Federal Register

Publication on the Federal Register has triggered a 60-day public comment period. 

Comments submitted between now and Oct. 13, 2026, will become part of the official record that the FCC considers before taking action.

What can you do to protect E-Rate? 

The most impactful way to safeguard E-Rate is to let the program’s success in your community speak for itself. That means telling the FCC how important this funding is to your institution and your community at large. 

Submitting comments and letters from your institution, local governments, and community members ASAP will let Commissioners know that there is widespread support for the E-Rate program. 

We’ve streamlined the process for you to make your voice heard:

• Submit an initial public comment or letter on behalf of your school or library to the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. 

• Need help with the FCC’s public comment form? Follow these instructions.

• Use SHLB's comment template as a jumping off point for your comment or letter. When crafting your response, keep in mind that personal success stories about the E-Rate program in your community will have the strongest impact.  

• Send an email to your local government officials or community boards urging them to submit their own comments or letters of support for E-Rate.

• For a deeper look at the issue, check out SHLB's ‘Save Our E-Rate’ explainer.

By moving forward with these inquiries, the FCC is essentially asking: Nearly 30 years after Congress established the E-Rate program, is it still necessary?

That’s not the only question the FCC is posing. The filing goes well beyond funding levels, looking at things like CIPA requirements, children’s screen time on E-Rate-funded networks, and new oversight rules for E-Rate consultants.

Despite this looming existential threat, the E-Rate program is still a vital funding mechanism for secure, reliable broadband connectivity. 

Cutting or getting rid of it could have a disastrous ripple effect at schools and libraries across the country: 

• 74% of schools said the loss of federal E-Rate funding would have “major” or “catastrophic” effects on their districts. (Consortium for School Networking)

• 73% of public libraries receive E-Rate discounts to make broadband internet accessible to their communities. (Benton Foundation)

And while the E-Rate program has come a long way since 1996, there’s still a lot of work to be done. According to analysis from the Benton Foundation, as of 2024: 

• 24 million Americans, or about 7% of the population, still lack dedicated broadband access. Eliminating or reducing the E-Rate program could make things worse by eliminating the reliable internet connection that many of these people can take advantage of at their local library.  

• 28 percent of people living in rural areas and 23 percent of those living on Tribal lands lack a fixed source of broadband access. The elimination of discounts or bonuses for these communities through the E-Rate program would greatly hinder future progress.

What’s next for E-Rate? 

Schools, libraries, and the communities they serve have until Oct. 13 to let the FCC know how valuable the E-Rate program is to keeping their region connected. After the October deadline, a 30-day reply comment period begins. 

Submitting your comment or letter in support for the E-Rate program will help lay the groundwork for grassroots community support. 

The more schools and libraries that make their voices heard, the harder it will be to ignore the positive impacts that E-Rate has had in communities across the country. 

Key dates

We know the FCC’s processes can be confusing. So, to close things out, we’ve created a simplified timeline for the E-Rate inquiries. We’ll update it as the FCC makes additional announcements or takes further action. 

• June 25, 2026- FCC Commissioners vote to open an inquiry into E-Rate.

• June 26, 2026- FCC makes formal announcement and publishes full documentation on E-Rate investigation. 

• August 14, 2026- The FCC publishes a formal proposal on the Federal Register, triggering a 60-day public comment period. 

• October 13, 2026- Deadline to submit initial comments in response to the Federal Register proposal and have them entered into the official FCC record. 

• November 12, 2026- Deadline for reply comments, which opens after the initial comment period ends on Oct. 13.

Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn to get notified when that deadline is announced. 

We’re here to help

If you have questions about these inquiries, or want help navigating the E-Rate program at your school or library, contact us and one of our E-Rate experts will be in touch!