10 Educational Groups Say 5th Circuit Should Affirm FCC’s School Bus Wi-Fi Authorization

The FCC’s Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040) “is both appropriate and lawful,” the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and eight other educational groups said in a 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court amicus brief Monday (docket 23-60641) in support of the commission's ruling.

Maurine and Matthew Molak are challenging the ruling, contending that it will increase the federal universal service charge they pay each month as a line-item on their phone bill to fund the E-rate program. In addition, they argue that the ruling will give children and teenagers unsupervised social media access en route to and from school. This, they contend, would undermine the “crucial mission” of the nonprofit they co-founded in memory of their son David, a cyberbullied suicide victim.

Since E-rate’s inception nearly three decades ago, the program “has a track record of success at achieving the goals Congress set for it,” the amicus brief said. E-rate has helped thousands of schools and libraries “afford the cost of connecting students and library patrons to the internet,” it said. As such, people have gained access to online materials “crucial to digital learning and 21st century opportunities,” it added.

Data show that more than half the country’s K-12 students take the bus to school daily, the amicus brief said. It added that school bus Wi-Fi “can transform this ride time into an educational opportunity by enabling students to complete their schoolwork and keep up in class.”

For students with long rides to and from school or after-school activities, the FCC’s ruling “will be a game-changer,” the amicus brief argued. It will be “most transformative” for millions of students “who lack the connectivity needed to complete their daily schoolwork,” it said. Rural and minority students will particularly benefit, because the data show that they “disproportionately face the longest bus rides and are most likely to lack home internet.”

The FCC’s decision “rests on a strong legal foundation,” the amicus brief said. The commission “properly exercised its authority” in Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, consistent with precedent, to provide support for Wi-Fi on school buses because these services “are provided to schools and serve educational purposes,” it said. The Molaks’ petition contends that the ruling exceeds the FCC’s authority.

Even if the FCC’s authority to adopt the ruling depended on Section 254(h)(2)(A), which it doesn’t, congressional intent makes clear that E-rate “is meant to fund connectivity beyond just the schoolhouse door and into areas where student learning occurs,” the amicus brief said. The ruling “is entirely aligned with this congressional intent,” it said. The brief urges the 5th Circuit to affirm the FCC’s decision.