69传媒

Ed-Tech Policy

FCC: 69传媒 Can Use E-Rate Funds to Cover WiFi on Buses

By Alyson Klein 鈥 October 19, 2023 2 min read
Photograph of a school bus loading children on a busy road.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

It will soon be easier for schools to cover the cost of providing Wi-Fi on school buses so that students鈥攑articularly those in rural areas with long commutes to and from school鈥攃an use the time to study or complete homework.

Starting next year, schools will be allowed to use federal E-rate funding to pay for school bus Wi-Fi, under a change approved Oct. 19 by the Federal Communications Commission.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, supported the measure along with the two other Democrats on the five-person commission. Both Republicans on the panel voted against it.

During the debate over the change, Rosenworcel recalled her recent visit to a community in rural Vermont where some students commute an hour each way to school. The district had outfitted its buses with Wi-Fi so that students could use the time to study.

鈥淭hey decided to turn ride time into connected time for homework. Call it Wi-Fi on wheels,鈥 Rosenworcel said.

Before the district connected its buses, one student without internet at home would rush to the library just before school ended and print out her assignments, web pages for research, anything she might need for homework, a librarian told Rosenworcel.

This student 鈥減rinted stacks of paper day after day because she had no broadband at home,鈥 Rosenworcel said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 be clear. This is a kid with extraordinary grit. But it shouldn鈥檛 be this hard.鈥

But Republicans on the commission argued that the change is unnecessary and goes against Congress鈥 intent when it created the E-rate program explicitly to connect classrooms鈥攏ot other types of learning spaces.

What鈥檚 more, Nathan Simington, one of the Republicans, thinks the change is 鈥渨asteful and unlikely to benefit students and teachers,鈥 he said.

鈥淎nyone who鈥檚 ever been in a school bus should have a healthy skepticism that most children will, in fact, sit quietly and do homework on their laptops, instead of socializing with the friends on the bus and browsing social media on their phones,鈥 he said.

Education organizations鈥攊ncluding the Consortium for School Networking, or CoSN鈥攃heered the move.

鈥淲e think it鈥檚 a good step forward,鈥 said Keith Krueger, CoSN鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淚t鈥檚 logical that we would extend the learning space, just like we do in schools. It鈥檚 not just classrooms but cafeterias and study halls where students can do their homework.鈥

What鈥檚 more, he said, research shows having Wi-Fi on board improves student behavior on buses.

Currently, the E-rate program has a spending cap of $4.4 billion, but it has been allocating far less than that. Last year, the program doled out about $2.5 billion, and the year before that, it gave out a little less than $2.1 billion. The lower demand for the funds is due, in part, to changes made to the program in 2014 as well as declining data costs.

Extending E-rate to provide Wi-Fi on buses is part of Rosenworcel鈥檚 broader push to provide the technology services that she thinks schools need.

She has also proposed a pilot program to provide up to $200 million in competitive grants over three years to help schools and libraries guard against cyberthreats, which have become more frequent and sophisticated in recent years. That proposal will also need to be approved by the full commission.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Ed-Tech Policy Cellphone Restrictions Are Coming to California 69传媒
A new law requires all public schools in California to limit students' access to cellphones during the school day.
2 min read
Young girl using a cellphone in class. On her desk is an open notebook and a pencil.
skynesher / iStock/Getty
Ed-Tech Policy From Our Research Center Why 69传媒 Are Getting a Jump on Their Smartwatch Policies
A small but growing number of schools are adding smartwatches to their cellphone policies.
4 min read
Student is working in a school notebook with a pen. He has a smart watch on his wrist.
Forty percent of educators think smartwatches pose a behavioral or disciplinary challenge, new research shows.
galitskaya/iStock/Getty
Ed-Tech Policy Teachers Want Cellphones Out of Classrooms
Members of the nation's largest teachers' union say they want bans on cellphones during class time.
3 min read
A sign is shown over a phone holder in a classroom at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. At the rural Utah school, there is a strict policy requiring students to check their phones at the door when entering every class. Each classroom has a cellphone storage unit that looks like an over-the-door shoe bag with three dozen smartphone-sized slots.
A sign in a classroom at Delta High School in February reinforces the policy of the rural Utah school that students check their phones at the door as they enter each classroom.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Ed-Tech Policy E-Rate Is in Legal Jeopardy. Here鈥檚 What 69传媒 Stand to Lose
The FCC released a fact sheet about how the E-rate helps schools in response to a court ruling that threatens the program's funding.
1 min read
Photograph of a young girl reading, wearing headphones and working at her desk at home with laptop near by.
iStock/Getty Images Plus