北卡总检察长10月26日联合22州致信联邦通信委员会 力保农村学校上网资金
北卡罗来纳州总检察长杰夫·杰克逊（Jeff Jackson）10月26日与该州公共教育厅长莫里斯·格林（Maurice "Mo" Green）及另外22个州的总检察长联名致信联邦通信委员会（FCC），反对大幅改动联邦E-Rate校园上网补贴计划——该计划每年在全美分发约30亿美元，为学校和图书馆的电信与宽带服务提供折扣。
联邦通信委员会目前正考虑逐步取消该计划、大幅削减预算或给拨款附加政策条件。联名信指出，E-Rate由国会依据1996年《电信法》设立，委员会无权单方面废除或大幅重塑该计划，相关做法超出其法定权限。
北卡对该计划依赖甚深：今年E-Rate为该州学校和图书馆带来5,400万美元，自1998年以来累计折扣超过10亿美元；2024年全州近2,800所学校和200多家公共图书馆使用该资金，其中近半数参与学校位于农村地区。杰克逊表示，取消这笔资金将伤害学生并违反法律；格林称，E-Rate让从农村社区到大城市的课堂保持联网。
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson Joins 22 States in Letter to FCC Defending E-Rate Internet Funding for Rural Schools
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, together with Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green and a coalition of 22 other state attorneys general, submitted a formal comment letter to the Federal Communications Commission on October 26 opposing major proposed changes to the federal E-Rate program, which distributes roughly $3 billion annually nationwide to discount telecommunications and broadband services for eligible schools and libraries.
The FCC is weighing options that include phasing out the initiative, severely cutting its budget, or placing conditional policy restrictions on funding awards. The coalition argued the FCC lacks statutory authority to dismantle or drastically reshape E-Rate, since Congress explicitly mandated the discount program under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
State data show how deeply North Carolina relies on the program: $54 million was delivered to North Carolina schools and libraries through E-Rate this year alone, more than $1 billion in cumulative discounts have supported the state's educational network since 1998, and nearly 2,800 schools and over 200 public libraries used E-Rate funding in 2024, with nearly half of participating schools in rural districts. "North Carolina relies on this federal aid to keep our schools running, especially our rural schools," Jackson said. Green added that E-Rate keeps classrooms connected from rural communities to the biggest cities.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：北卡罗来纳州首府罗利市天际线。图片：James Willamor，CC BY-SA 3.0，取自维基共享资源。
