New America’s Open Technology Institute and Education Policy Program Join Coalition Requesting Emergency E-Rate Funding and Flexibility to Close the Remote Learning Gap

Today New America’s Open Technology Institute, Wireless Future Project, and Education Policy program joined a coalition of national school and library associations to file an emergency Petition asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to authorize the additional E-Rate funding and flexibility needed to close the remote learning gap during the remainder of the pandemic crisis.

The Petition reiterates requests last year from OTI and the State of Colorado for the FCC to use its authority to immediately increase E-Rate funding and to grant school districts and libraries the flexibility to use E-Rate funds and facilities to extend connectivity to students at home.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition similarly requested FCC action last year, but the FCC took no action. Then-FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (now FCC Acting Chairwoman) highlighted the educational inequities that result from the broadband “homework gap” at an OTI event this past summer, reiterating concerns she emphasized even prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Rosenworcel repeated those calls in December at an event hosted by New America’s Education Policy program, as noted in a recent Slate column calling on the FCC to expand its program to discount the cost of internet access in schools and libraries.

The Petition is also informed by a recent OTI report—The Online Learning Equity Gap: Innovative Solutions to Connect All Students at Home—that details the nature, scope, and harmful impacts of the remote learning gap. The report profiles school districts and libraries that have used a variety of creative wireless broadband technologies to extend broadband access to their students and communities.

“Pandemic school closures have turned the homework gap into a remote learning chasm for millions of students in low-income and rural communities,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Project at New America’s Open Technology Institute. “School districts across the country have implemented innovative solutions to connect students at home for remote learning, but they need more resources.

“Under new leadership, we believe it’s time for the FCC to step up and provide the additional E-Rate funding and flexibility our schools and libraries need to invest in what works best for their students, teachers, and communities,” Calabrese said.

Lisa Guernsey, director of Teaching, Learning, and Tech in the Education Policy program at New America, described the E-Rate request as an important step toward educational equity: “Without the ability to get online to join classrooms with their peers, students are being denied equal access to a free public education,” Guernsey said. “And because they have limited ability to visit public libraries online, families are unable to gain access to online resources they have already paid for with their tax dollars. Updating E-Rate will allow schools and libraries to immediately help students and their families get online from home.”