Arizona schools and libraries could become responsible for a larger share of their internet costs as the Federal Communications Commission considers changes to a program that has subsidized their connectivity for decades. 

That subsidy, known as the E-Rate, offers eligible schools and libraries discounts of up to 90% on eligible internet and network costs, according to the Arizona State Library. Arizona schools and libraries received $1.84 billion through the program between 1998 and 2025. 

The FCC voted in June to review the E-Rate program. At the time, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr cited children’s screentime as motivating the commission’s decision to consider changes.

E-Rate was created as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to help address disparities in internet access, said Karen Mossberger, professor emerita in Arizona State University’s School of Public Affairs who studies digital inequality and broadband policy. 

“Almost all of the schools and libraries in the United States now are connected through E-Rate,” she said. “So it’s been really effective.” 

That also means changes could cause major disruptions.

In Tucson Unified School District, E-Rate typically covers 60% to 90% of eligible internet and network costs, such as broadband service, Wi-Fi equipment and internal network infrastructure, Karla Escamilla, the district’s communications director, said in an email. 

TUSD uses the program to support its wide area and local area network infrastructure, which connects schools across the district and provides connectivity within individual buildings, she wrote. 

She described reliable internet as “absolutely necessary for district education and operations.”  Potential changes would affect the entire district, she wrote.

Schools would likely try to maintain internet access if federal support declined amid the FCC’s review, Mossberger said, but doing so could put pressure on other areas of their budgets. 

“That means less money for teachers, teachers’ aides, less money for maintenance in the schools, for all the other things that need to be accommodated in school budgets too,” she said.

Libraries could face similar tough choices, said Chinyere Olumba, branch manager at Woods Memorial Library on North First Avenue.

Libraries build internet access into their budgets, she said, but losing federal support could mean taking money away from other needs to maintain that access. 

At Woods Memorial, Olumba said patrons heavily use both the library’s computers and its public Wi-Fi. 

“I’ve heard a lot of people say that they come here for the internet because they can’t afford it or don’t have access at home,” she said. “They even bring their own computers because we provide public Wi-Fi.”

But reductions to the E-Rate would not necessarily impact all libraries equally, she added.

“The places you’ll see the loss affect most are libraries in rural areas,” she said. 

Disparities in reliable internet access are particularly noticeable in lower-income and Tribal communities, Mossberger said. 

”So, this will have a big impact on some of the communities that are least connected, which are also concentrated in Arizona,” she said. 

The FCC has cited children’s screen time on E-Rate-funded networks and services as motivating its review of the subsidy. But Mossberger said concerns about how much time children spend on screens is unrelated to whether schools and libraries should receive support for internet access. 

Schools can address online safety and digital literacy without eliminating support for connectivity, she said. 

“Cutting off funding for schools and libraries because of screen time concerns is like cutting off all the electricity to your household because you are worried that your kids watch too much TV,” she said.

The FCC’s proposal has not been finalized. The commission is accepting initial public comments through Oct. 13, with reply comments due Nov. 12.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.