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Schools across US protest FCC plan that could disconnect kids from Internet

Schools and libraries from around the US pleaded with the Federal Communications Commission to drop the idea of ending E-Rate, a $2 billion-a-year program that connects students and library visitors to the Internet. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has criticized school districts for having “experimented with a massive increase in screen time for students,” and said E-Rate expanded too far beyond its original purpose of “supporting basic Internet access to schools and libraries for educational purposes.”

来自美国各地的学校和图书馆纷纷恳求联邦通信委员会（FCC）放弃终止“E-Rate”项目的想法。该项目每年耗资 20 亿美元，旨在为学生和图书馆访客提供互联网连接。FCC 主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）批评学区“在学生屏幕使用时间大幅增加方面进行了实验”，并称 E-Rate 的发展已远远超出了其“支持学校和图书馆进行基础互联网接入以实现教育目的”的初衷。

In June, Carr led a 2-1 vote to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comment on whether E-Rate should be “limited or sunset to reflect today’s extensive connectivity rates.” Carr’s proposal could result in E-Rate cutting the discounts that schools and libraries receive for telecom services and equipment, and imposing more restrictions on how E-Rate money can be used. The FCC seeking comment on whether to sunset the program also raises the possibility that Carr might choose to axe E-Rate entirely.

今年 6 月，卡尔以 2 比 1 的投票结果通过了一项拟议规则制定通知（NPRM），就 E-Rate 是否应“为了反映当今广泛的连接率而受到限制或逐步取消”征求公众意见。卡尔的提议可能导致 E-Rate 削减学校和图书馆在电信服务和设备方面获得的折扣，并对 E-Rate 资金的使用方式施加更多限制。FCC 就该项目是否应逐步取消征求意见，也引发了卡尔可能选择彻底废除 E-Rate 的可能性。

The National Association of Elementary School Principals told the FCC that it “strongly supports the continued operation of the E-Rate program and urges the Commission to reject proposals that would eliminate, substantially restrict, or impose new conditions on this essential source of connectivity assistance for schools and libraries.” The Carr FCC already scaled E-Rate back last year by ending funding for schools and libraries to lend out Wi-Fi hotspots and for Wi-Fi service on school buses.

全美小学校长协会向 FCC 表示，它“强烈支持 E-Rate 项目的持续运作，并敦促委员会拒绝那些会取消、大幅限制或对这一学校和图书馆连接援助的重要来源施加新条件的提议。”卡尔领导下的 FCC 去年已经缩减了 E-Rate 的规模，停止了对学校和图书馆出借 Wi-Fi 热点以及校车 Wi-Fi 服务的资助。

The FCC docket received comments this week opposing the proposal from state and national associations, and from many individual schools and libraries. The American Library Association told the FCC that E-Rate is working as Congress intended it to when it passed the 1996 telecommunications law that resulted in E-Rate’s creation. “Importantly, the FCC does not have the authority to terminate the E-Rate program. The E-Rate program is mandated by Congress, and the FCC is responsible for administering it,” the national library group said.

本周，FCC 的备案系统收到了来自州级和全国性协会以及许多学校和图书馆个人提交的反对该提议的意见。美国图书馆协会告诉 FCC，E-Rate 的运作符合国会在 1996 年通过电信法案并创建该项目时的初衷。该全国性图书馆组织表示：“重要的是，FCC 无权终止 E-Rate 项目。E-Rate 项目是由国会授权的，FCC 仅负责管理。”

If Carr goes through with eliminating E-Rate, he may argue that its original mission has been completed and that the FCC therefore has authority to end it. “In establishing the program in 1996, Congress was addressing a specific problem: limited access to advanced telecommunications and Internet services in schools and libraries,” Carr’s proposal said. “Given the substantial expansion of broadband access in schools and libraries over the last three decades, we seek comment on whether and to what extent the E-Rate program has fulfilled that mission and whether continued funding is consistent with Congress’s original objective.”

如果卡尔执意要取消 E-Rate，他可能会辩称其最初的使命已经完成，因此 FCC 有权将其终止。卡尔的提案中写道：“国会在 1996 年建立该项目时，是为了解决一个具体问题：学校和图书馆在获取先进电信和互联网服务方面受限。鉴于过去三十年来学校和图书馆宽带接入的显著扩张，我们寻求各方评论，以了解 E-Rate 项目在多大程度上完成了该使命，以及继续提供资金是否符合国会的最初目标。”

There are other questions about FCC authority raised by the proceeding. For example, the American Library Association said “the FCC lacks the authority and expertise to regulate screen time or determine educational outcomes.” The group’s filing pointed out that under US law, determinations about what content is inappropriate for children “shall be made by the school board, local educational agency, library, or other authority responsible for making the determination.” The law says the US government may not establish criteria for making those decisions or review the decisions made by local schools and libraries.

此次程序还引发了关于 FCC 权力的其他质疑。例如，美国图书馆协会表示，“FCC 缺乏监管屏幕时间或决定教育成果的权力和专业知识。”该组织的备案文件指出，根据美国法律，关于哪些内容对儿童不适宜的认定，“应由学校董事会、地方教育机构、图书馆或其他负责做出该认定的机构来决定。”法律规定，美国政府不得为做出这些决定设立标准，也不得审查地方学校和图书馆所做的决定。

The Texas Library Association told the FCC that E-Rate should be giving more money to libraries to help them raise broadband speeds to modern standards. The group also said public libraries in the state have implemented appropriate supervision and filtering for the Internet services they offer library users. “Only 35 percent of Texas public libraries currently receive E-Rate discounts, compared with 65 percent of public libraries nationwide, and only 55 percent meet the Commission’s own recommended broadband speed benchmarks,” the group said. “A gap this size, in the nation’s second-most populous state, is evidence of unmet need working through real obstacles—not evidence that the need has passed.”

德克萨斯州图书馆协会告诉 FCC，E-Rate 应该向图书馆提供更多资金，以帮助它们将宽带速度提升至现代标准。该组织还表示，该州的公共图书馆已经对其向用户提供的互联网服务实施了适当的监督和过滤。该组织称：“目前只有 35% 的德克萨斯州公共图书馆获得了 E-Rate 折扣，而全国这一比例为 65%；只有 55% 的图书馆达到了委员会建议的宽带速度基准。在全国人口第二多的州出现如此大的差距，证明了未满足的需求正面临现实障碍，而不是需求已经消失的证据。”

The New York Library Association told the FCC that “E-Rate is essential for reliable broadband speeds and for regular network maintenance, safety, and security. The library can’t operate without the Internet. If the FCC terminates or limits E-Rate funding, many of New York’s libraries will be forced to reduce programs and services in order to continue providing Internet access.”

纽约图书馆协会告诉 FCC，“E-Rate 对于可靠的宽带速度以及定期的网络维护、安全和保障至关重要。没有互联网，图书馆就无法运作。如果 FCC 终止或限制 E-Rate 资金，纽约的许多图书馆将被迫削减项目和服务，以便继续提供互联网接入。”

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium told the FCC that it should relax E-Rate’s eligibility restrictions and provide more funding for schools. It said that supporting Tribal colleges and universities is “one of the most cost-efficient ways the federal government can endeavor to uphold its treaty and trust obligations to Tribal Nations and Tribal citizens, while simultaneously benefiting the nation as a whole.”

美国印第安高等教育联盟告诉 FCC，它应该放宽 E-Rate 的资格限制，并为学校提供更多资金。该联盟表示，支持部落学院和大学是“联邦政府履行其对部落国家和部落公民的条约和信托义务的最具成本效益的方式之一，同时也能造福整个国家。”

A filing by the Alabama Association of School Boards urged the FCC to “preserve and strengthen the E-Rate program and to reject any proposal that would eliminate, sunset, substantially reduce, or unnecessarily restrict E-Rate support for schools and libraries.” The group said concerns about excessive screen use “should not be addressed by reducing the broadband infrastructure that students and teachers need for legitimate educational purposes.”

阿拉巴马州学校董事会协会提交的一份文件敦促 FCC“维护并加强 E-Rate 项目，拒绝任何会取消、逐步淘汰、大幅削减或不必要地限制对学校和图书馆的 E-Rate 支持的提议。”该组织表示，对过度使用屏幕的担忧“不应通过削减学生和教师进行合法教育活动所需的宽带基础设施来解决。”

The FCC received specific examples of how E-Rate helps local communities. “We estimate our annual Internet cost at approximately $3,120 and our annual E-Rate support at approximately $1,560,” Paul Lapka, the principal of Rock Valley Christian School in Iowa, told the US agency. “E-Rate support allows us to maintain reliable, high-speed Internet and network equipment. If support were reduced, we would face higher local costs, delayed network upgrades.”

FCC 收到了关于 E-Rate 如何帮助当地社区的具体案例。爱荷华州岩谷基督教学校（Rock Valley Christian School）校长保罗·拉普卡（Paul Lapka）告诉该机构：“我们估计每年的互联网成本约为 3,120 美元，而我们每年获得的 E-Rate 支持约为 1,560 美元。E-Rate 的支持使我们能够维持可靠的高速互联网和网络设备。如果支持减少，我们将面临更高的本地成本和网络升级延迟。”