E-Rate Funding Slowly Starts Again
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 12/3/2004
Funding resumed on November 22 for the federal E-Rate program, which helps schools and libraries pay technology costs, including computer wiring and internet connectivity.Citing E-Rate's role in providing equal access to new technologies, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights urged the FCC last month to support lifting funding freezes that the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) imposed on the E-Rate program. USAC is the non- profit organization that finances the E-Rate program on behalf of the FCC.
"As you know, there continue to be significant gaps regarding access to and utilization of technology, referred to by many as the 'digital divide,'" LCCR said in a letter to FCC Chair Michael K. Powell. "The E-Rate program, which has committed more than $10 billion to connect to the Internet schools and libraries nationwide, has played and continues to play a pivotal role in bridging the digital divide."
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, classroom Internet connectivity rates grew from 14 percent in 1996, when the E-Rate program became law, to 92 percent in 2002.
Proponents for equality in education say that the program has helped reduce the gap in Internet access for low-income and minority students by helping the most economically disadvantaged schools first.
In August 2004, USAC froze funding in order to determine implementation of new accounting standards for federal agencies and to decide whether provisions of the Anti-Deficiency Act, a cornerstone of control over federal spending, apply to E-Rate.
USAC's decision left hundreds of underserved communities scrambling to pay for their technology needs. Some schools actually turned off their Internet service this summer for fear of no funding, while others are contemplating pulling out of the program if they cannot count on the money.
Although E-Rate funding resumed after almost four months, reports say that the program still faces funding challenges due to the new accounting rules. As of mid-August, USAC had committed about $800 million of the $2.5 billion budget for 2004.
