A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to “Addressing the Homework Gap Through the E-Rate Program”.
Key claim: SJRES7 would nullify the FCC’s August 2024 E-Rate rule that allowed schools and libraries to buy discounted off-premises Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile service for students, staff, and patrons to close the homework gap.
Abstract
(SJRES7 · 119th Congress)
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Federal Communications Commission titled Addressing the Homework Gap Through the E-Rate Program and published on August 20, 2024. The rule permits schools and libraries participating in the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program (E-Rate) to purchase discounted Wi-Fi hotspots and associated mobile connectivity service for off-premises use by students, school staff, and library patrons. Under the rule, E-Rate participants must implement acceptable use policies that require hotspots to be used primarily for educational purposes.
Latest action (2025-05-09): Held at the desk.
Why this matters
The E-Rate off-premises hotspot rule is the primary federal universal-service mechanism extending subsidized broadband beyond school and library walls, so a CRA disapproval would directly reverse a recent expansion in how Title-adjacent connectivity funds reach students at home. For institutions, it changes what equipment and service plans are reimbursable under E-Rate; for students and library patrons, it determines whether take-home hotspots remain a supported pathway to close the homework gap.