Balancing E-Rate Funding and Social Media Access in Schools

Congress is currently deliberating changes to the E-rate program, and one proposal has raised eyebrows: requiring schools to ban social media access over their networks as a condition for receiving E-rate funding. While the intention—to protect children from social media risks—is commendable, we have reservations about using the E-rate program as a lever to address this issue. The proposed legislation introduces ambiguity and uncertainty, potentially affecting funding for schools and libraries. Recently, Sens Schatz (D-HI) and Cruz (R-TX) merged two bills into the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA). This comprehensive legislation prevents social media platforms from allowing children to set up their own accounts, require schools to certify plans for blocking social media access to qualify for E-rate funding, and mandates that schools and libraries establish screen time policies. However, there’s a glaring omission: neither SHLB nor other school/library organizations were consulted before this legislative move. Despite the lack of support from these stakeholders, the Senators pushed to include KOSMA in the mark-up agenda, even without prior hearings. Federal intervention risks circumventing community-level decisions regarding appropriate social media use. That’s why we joined forces with the American Library Association (ALA), the Coalition for School Networking (CoSN), and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) to express our opposition. We hope Senators take the time to thoroughly understand the implications of this legislation before rushing to pass it through the Senate.