Pennsylvania’s case for E-Rate is on file with the FCC.

On October 12, 2026, the Pennsylvania Digital Trust Hub filed its comment in the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate rulemaking, WC Docket Nos. 26-133, 13-184, 21-93 and 21-455. The comment carries the Pennsylvania statement in support of E-Rate and the names of the 420 people who had signed it by that date: school, library and intermediate unit leaders, educators, school board members and community members.

The signers come from 291 organizations, including 222 of Pennsylvania’s 499 public school districts and all 29 intermediate unit regions, along with career and technical centers, charter schools, nonpublic schools and libraries. Many added written statements in their own words, and the comment quotes several of them.

What the comment says

The comment makes the case that reliable broadband is essential infrastructure for public education, and that schools’ connectivity today is evidence of E-Rate’s success, not a sign that the need has passed. Since funding year 2016, E-Rate has committed more than $672 million to Pennsylvania schools and libraries in all 67 counties. The comment also distinguishes school connectivity from student screen time, a question that belongs to educators, families, school boards and states. It notes that need doesn’t stop at the rural line: suburban and urban districts serving students with high economic need rely on the program too.

It asks the Commission to:

1. Reject any proposal to sunset or eliminate the E-Rate program
2. Reject proposals that would unnecessarily narrow eligibility or restrict support based solely on geography or other criteria that would leave students without adequate support
3. Preserve support for the connectivity and internal network infrastructure schools need
4. Work with schools and other stakeholders to strengthen and modernize E-Rate rather than reduce its role in public education

“For nearly thirty years, E-Rate has helped schools solve connectivity challenges together. The challenges are changing. The need for E-Rate is not.”From the Hub’s comment, signed by Richard Platts, CETL, Chief Technology Officer, and Dr. Robert Scherrer, Executive Director, Allegheny Intermediate Unit

Thank you to the Pennsylvania Collaborative Effort

Pennsylvania’s statewide education associations joined the Hub in July to protect E-Rate. Each of them also filed its own comment with the Commission, bringing the voice of the people it represents:

• The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), signed by Hannah Barrick, Executive Director
• The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA), signed by Dr. Sherri Smith, Executive Director
• The Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU), signed by Dr. Mark K. Leidy, Executive Director, with Ashley White
• The Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology (PAECT), signed by Dominic Salvucci, President, with Laura Ebersole
• The Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units – Instructional Media Services (PAIMS), signed by Demetrius Roberts, President, on behalf of PAIMS officers Pamela Dinan, Kendy Schiffert and Brenda Calhoun

Allegheny Intermediate Unit also filed a comment on behalf of itself and its member school districts. Thank you to every one of the 420 signers, and to everyone who wrote a statement, pulled regional numbers or shared the effort with colleagues.

What happens next

Filings appear in the FCC’s public Electronic Comment Filing System as they are processed. Reply comments, which respond to other filers, are due November 12, 2026.