Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced Monday that he will be stepping down from his role at the end of President Donald Trump鈥檚 term on Jan. 20, 2021. Education advocates are not sorry to see him go.
The FCC oversees the E-rate program, which helps schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband. And it is more important than ever, now that thousands of schools across the country are operating partially or fully remote to avoid spreading the coronavirus.
Education advocates have been clamoring for additional support for the E-Rate, including to help school districts expand broadband access for teachers and students who might not have a stable connection鈥攐r any connection鈥攁t home. But Pai, a Republican who was elevated to the helm of the commission by Trump, hasn鈥檛 taken steps to make that happen, even in the midst of unprecedented need.
鈥淭here鈥檚 never been a moment where connectivity has been so important in our country. It was the prime moment that was designed for the FCC to step up and it didn鈥檛 happen,鈥� said Richard Culatta, the chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education. 鈥淚鈥檓 not really sure what his vision was, what he was trying to do, but it didn鈥檛 feel like it was helping education and I鈥檓 not sure it was helping families.鈥�
Keith Krueger, the CEO of the Consortium for School Networking, or CoSN, a nonprofit organization serving education technology leaders, sounded a similar note.
鈥淭he FCC has an incredibly important role right now given the fact that families all across America need to be connected for school and for continuous learning. Frankly, under Chairman Pai鈥檚 leadership the FCC has been pretty slow to act,鈥� Krueger said.
Still, Krueger said, it 鈥渃ould have been worse.鈥�
When Trump took office, CoSN worried that his administration would move to scrap the E-rate program altogether. But Pai was upbeat about the program鈥檚 impact, according to Krueger. Still, he said while the chairman 鈥渉ad a lot of good rhetoric, [he] didn鈥檛鈥� do anything to ensure the things that we really needed.鈥� That included expanding the Lifeline Program, which is paid for out of the same larger fund as the E-Rate and helps provide broadband access to low-income families. 鈥淭he Lifeline program could have been ready for kids鈥� when they needed it during the pandemic, Krueger said.
What鈥檚 more, Pai supported steps that would have been damaging to the E-Rate program, including putting a cap on the overall universal fund, which covers the cost of the program.
That could have limited the amount of money the E-Rate receives. And it would have made the program compete for broadband funding with rural healthcare, rural communities and farms, and home internet access for those in poverty.
And in 2018, Pai also led the effort to roll back net neutrality rules put in place during the Obama administration that would have allowed the FCC to step in when service providers unfairly blocked or throttled the flow of content over the internet based on Internet users鈥� ability to pay for services. Education advocates worried the move would open the door to slower connectivity and higher prices for schools and libraries, especially in poorer communities.
For his part, Pai, who was initially appointed as a commissioner under President Barack Obama with the support of Senate Republicans, said in a statement that he and his colleagues have worked to 鈥渆xecute a strong and broad agenda. Together, we鈥檝e delivered for the American people over the past four years: closing the digital divide; promoting innovation and competition, from 5G on the ground to broadband from space; protecting consumers; and advancing public safety.鈥�
President-elect Joe Biden will get to name Pai鈥檚 replacement as chairman. Democrats will hold a majoriy on the commission. And education advocates are hoping that person will be in their corner.
CoSN would like to see the FCC expand home access for students and teachers, allow E-Rate funding to be used for cybersecurity, and create much better maps of where broadband access is available so that policy makers can better target federal resources to help connect teachers and students. Those maps need to show schools, libraries, and hospitals, Krueger said.
Culatta added: 鈥淚鈥檓 really hopeful for the future, there鈥檚 still time and there鈥檚 still need, there鈥檚 a lot of energy in the education community to get this right.鈥�
