Press Release

Sens Katie Britt (R-AL) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the Stop the Scroll Act, which would create a mental health warning label requirement for social media platforms. This bipartisan legislation would ensure all users, especially adolescents, are aware of the potential mental health risks posed by social media usage and are provided access to mental health resources. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy recently recommended a warning label be placed on social media platforms.

XKL confirms its compliance with Build America Buy America (BABA). The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD), part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), will provide $42.45 billion in funding to states to support the deployment of high-speed broadband internet access to underserved areas. Subgrantees (service providers) must maintain BABA compliance through the life of their BEAD-funded projects, directly influencing vendor selection.

Building on his calls for school districts to restrict the use of smartphones on school campuses, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed Assembly Bill 3216, the Phone-Free School Act, to require every school district, charter school, and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026.

This document was created to support applicants in applying for the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program: Native Entities (2024). The Notice of Funding Opportunity establishes a competitive process to make both State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program funds and State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds available to Native Entities to carry out digital equity and inclusion activities consistent with the Digital Equity Act. Proposed projects should address barriers to digital equity and promote:

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed SB 976 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), which prohibits online platforms from knowingly providing an addictive feed to a minor without parental consent. The bill also prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications to minors during school hours and late at night. The new law prohibits internet service and applications from providing “addictive feeds,” defined as media curated based on information gathered on or provided by the user, to minors without parental consent.

Charter Communications awarded $1.3 million in grants to 66 nonprofit organizations through its 2024 Spectrum Digital Education program. Since launching in 2017, the program has committed more than $10 million to nonprofits focused on improving digital literacy, workforce development and educational access in unserved and undeserved communities across Charter’s 41-state service area.

Gov Tony Evers (D-WI), together with Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairperson Summer Strand, announced that the PSC awarded more than $27.8 million in funding from the Digital Connectivity and Navigators Program to fund 11 projects throughout Wisconsin that will improve internet connectivity by providing access to devices, technology, and digital navigators. Through the 11 projects awarded funding under the Digital Connectivity and Navigators Program, an estimated 52,409 households will receive a loaned device and 33,682 households will have access to free Wi-Fi.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel continued her 2024 Connectivity Tour, focused on closing the Homework Gap, with a visit to Winters’ Well Elementary School in Tonopah (AZ). She was joined by Saddle Mountain Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Mike Winters to meet with parents, teachers, and school staff to discuss access to broadband for students in rural communities through the federal E-rate program and how updates to this foundational program can improve internet access to students regardless of where they live.

Collecting data and opinions from our members is one of the best tools we have to really tell the story of rural America to policymakers and stakeholders in Washington, D.C. You may have seen that NTCA released the results of a member survey conducted to show how the potential disruption of Universal Service Fund (USF) support could affect rural consumers, broadband investment in rural America and the viability of existing rural broadband networks.

One in five U.S. students attends K-12 school in a rural district. The reduced economies of scale in those schools can result in limited funding, barriers to on-going professional training for teachers and other factors that implicate trickle-down impacts on student experiences. However, many schools are developing creative solutions to address their needs, relying on technology and innovative solutions.