North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson Joins 22 States in Letter to FCC Defending E-Rate Internet Funding for Rural Schools
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, together with Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green and a coalition of 22 other state attorneys general, submitted a formal comment letter to the Federal Communications Commission on October 26 opposing major proposed changes to the federal E-Rate program, which distributes roughly $3 billion annually nationwide to discount telecommunications and broadband services for eligible schools and libraries.
The FCC is weighing options that include phasing out the initiative, severely cutting its budget, or placing conditional policy restrictions on funding awards. The coalition argued the FCC lacks statutory authority to dismantle or drastically reshape E-Rate, since Congress explicitly mandated the discount program under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
State data show how deeply North Carolina relies on the program: $54 million was delivered to North Carolina schools and libraries through E-Rate this year alone, more than $1 billion in cumulative discounts have supported the state's educational network since 1998, and nearly 2,800 schools and over 200 public libraries used E-Rate funding in 2024, with nearly half of participating schools in rural districts. "North Carolina relies on this federal aid to keep our schools running, especially our rural schools," Jackson said. Green added that E-Rate keeps classrooms connected from rural communities to the biggest cities.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 北卡罗来纳州首府罗利市天际线。图片：James Willamor，CC BY-SA 3.0，取自维基共享资源。
