Tweaks Expected in Cybersecurity Pilot Draft for Schools and Libraries

Industry experts are hopeful the FCC will make several changes in a proceeding on draft rules for a proposed $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries (see 2405160076). While commissioners are expected to approve the order Thursday, officials said dissents are possible from Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr or Nathan Simington.

USF issues have become political in some cases, noted lawyers in the proceeding. Carr and Simington dissented late last year on a proposal that would use E-rate funds for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2311090028). Their offices didn’t comment Tuesday.

Cybersecurity is a bipartisan issue and “we certainly hope it will be a unanimous decision,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). CoSN was among the groups that reported on meetings with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's staff and Commissioners Geoffery Starks and Anna Gomez, as well as Wireline Bureau staff last week. They were seeking changes to the order (see 2405310058).

“We have pointed out a number of clarifications we hope will be made quickly to the final order,” Krueger said: The FCC officials we discussed those issues with “said they appreciated our coalition's careful review, and we now await to see the final order and if any of those issues are fixed,” he said.

Megan Janicki, deputy director-strategic initiatives at the American Library Association (ALA), said her organization hopes for a few clarifications, including in the program spending limits. “As it is written, the language in the draft order is confusing,” she said. ALA favors figures in excess of the current funding limit of $175,000 for library systems with more than 11 branches. The current limit would “harm larger libraries,” she said.

The State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance advocated for improving "the clarity and level of detail in the report and order,” Debra Kriete, chair of the alliance, wrote in an email. FCC staff “were engaged and attentive during our ex parte virtual meeting, and we appreciated the opportunity to explain our reasoning,” she added.

Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen expects “fine-tuning of the draft” particularly around language on monetary floors and caps. “It is a complex issue and the FCC has been open to feedback about how to structure the pilot,” Windhausen said.

In the latest filing in the docket, 23-234, OpenPolicy reported on a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to discuss the growing threat to schools. “In the increasingly interconnected landscape of K-12 education, the significance of managing IoT and connected device threats and attack surfaces cannot be overstated,” OpenPolicy said: “These technologies, integral to modern learning environments, also present a broadened attack surface that cyber threats can exploit.”

OpenPolicy stressed the importance of updating devices with the latest security patches. “Regularly updating firmware and software is critical in preventing ransomware attacks and other malicious intrusions that can undermine educational infrastructures,” the group said. It called for robust authentication protocols, “such as multi-factor authentication and ensuring only authorized users can access the network.”