RTE summary ofListening Session on the FCC's E-Rate and Screen Use NPRM, event notice, NTIA,
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) scheduled a virtual listening session for September 15, 2026, on screen use in schools, tied to the Federal Communications Commission's proposed changes to E-Rate, the program that discounts internet service for schools and libraries. NTIA said it might use what it heard to prepare its own comment to the FCC.
The session was organized around three topics. The first asked parents and teachers about their experiences with screen-based instruction, including who decides which education technology a school buys and what evidence informs those decisions. The second asked whether schools should have to offer parents an option to opt their children out of routine screen-based instruction in order to receive E-Rate funding. The third invited comment on school internet safety policies, which E-Rate already requires under the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Speakers were limited to three minutes each, and participants under 18 were asked to keep their cameras off and share only their first names.
Why it matters
The first prompt gets at a question families rarely get to ask: who chooses classroom technology, and based on what evidence? Clear, independent answers to that question are useful no matter how the FCC rules.
For the wider context of the E-Rate review, see our summary of Chalkbeat's reporting.
This is RTE's summary. For the complete story, read it where it was originally published.
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