<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>We encourage libraries to save the date July 16 and <a href="https://www.shlb.org/events/the-future-of-e-rate-inside-the-fccs-proposal-and-how-to-make-your-voice-heard/register">register for SHLB's webinar</a> about <b>new threats to the E-Rate program</b>. See details below.<div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><br> Don Yarman (he/him/his)<br> Director, Ohio Public Library Information Network<br> 2323 W Fifth Ave Suite 130, Columbus OH 43204<br> <a href="mailto:don@oplin.ohio.gov" target="_blank">don@oplin.ohio.gov</a> | 614.728.5250</div></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Joey Wender</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:jwender@shlb.org">jwender@shlb.org</a>></span><br>Date: Thu, Jun 11, 2026 at 4:20 PM<br>Subject: The FCC is asking whether to end E-Rate. Join us as we respond.<br><br></div><br><div class="msg4913856032017891838"><u></u>
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<span class="m_4913856032017891838mcnPreviewText" style="display:none;font-size:0px;line-height:0px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden">Free webinar July 16 + AnchorNets this October</span>
<div style="display:none;max-height:0px;overflow:hidden">͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ </div><div style="display:none"><img src="https://us.list-manage.com/5o3aavK_6neKJ0vvFftbvS?e=37b53ba065&c2id=98fae2489b341bd695f6ee85cad530c8" height="1" width="1" style="display:none" alt=""></div>
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</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff" valign="top" align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:660px" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="background-position:center;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:cover" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0" valign="top" class="m_4913856032017891838mceColumn" id="m_4913856032017891838mceColumnId--5" colspan="12" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#f6feff;padding-top:6px;padding-bottom:3px;padding-right:24px;padding-left:24px;border:0;border-radius:0" valign="top" id="m_4913856032017891838b29"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="background-color:#f6feff;width:100%" role="presentation" class="m_4913856032017891838mceDividerContainer"><tbody><tr><td style="min-width:100%;border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:#011d57;line-height:0;font-size:0" valign="top" class="m_4913856032017891838mceDividerBlock"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0" valign="top" id="m_4913856032017891838gutterContainerId-28"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse:separate" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0;border:0;border-radius:0" valign="top" id="m_4913856032017891838b28"><table width="100%" style="border:0;background-color:transparent;border-radius:0;border-collapse:separate"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-left:24px;padding-right:24px;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:0" class="m_4913856032017891838mceTextBlockContainer"><div class="m_4913856032017891838mceText" id="m_4913856032017891838d28" style="width:100%"><p style="text-align:left"><span style="color:#000000">Hi Don,</span></p><p style="text-align:left"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/1BZWXitycw3?e=37b53ba065&c2id=98fae2489b341bd695f6ee85cad530c8" target="_blank">a draft proposal</a> asking whether the E-Rate program should be "limited or sunset." This attack poses an existential threat to E-Rate and we're not going to stand by while a program that connects more than 100,000 schools and 11,000 libraries gets quietly unwound. We need you to be a part of how we respond.</p><p style="text-align:left"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">The first step is our <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/fZX36oiBM68?e=37b53ba065&c2id=98fae2489b341bd695f6ee85cad530c8" target="_blank"><strong>free webinar on July 16</strong></a>. It's the clearest path to making your voice count in this proceeding, and we hope you'll register and join us. You’ll learn:</p><ul><li><p style="text-align:left">What the proposal actually says</p></li><li><p style="text-align:left">What's at stake</p></li><li><p style="text-align:left">How and when to file a comment with the FCC</p></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color:transparent;padding-top:12px;padding-bottom:12px;padding-right:24px;padding-left:24px;border:0;border-radius:0" valign="top" align="center" id="m_4913856032017891838b49"><div></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" class="m_4913856032017891838mceButtonContainer"><tbody><tr class="m_4913856032017891838mceStandardButton"><td style="background-color:#0e4d6e;border-radius:8px;text-align:center" valign="top" class="m_4913856032017891838mceButton"><a href="https://us.list-manage.com/bwMzr4Qoesf?e=37b53ba065&c2id=98fae2489b341bd695f6ee85cad530c8" class="m_4913856032017891838mceButtonLink" style="background-color:#0e4d6e;border-radius:8px;border:2px solid #0e4d6e;color:#ffffff;display:block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;padding:16px 28px;text-decoration:none;text-align:center;direction:ltr;letter-spacing:0px" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Register for Future of E-Rate Webinar</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" class="m_4913856032017891838mceButtonContainer"><tbody><tr>
</tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0" valign="top" id="m_4913856032017891838gutterContainerId-50"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse:separate" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0;border:0;border-radius:0" valign="top" id="m_4913856032017891838b50"><table width="100%" style="border:0;background-color:transparent;border-radius:0;border-collapse:separate"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-left:24px;padding-right:24px;padding-top:12px;padding-bottom:12px" class="m_4913856032017891838mceTextBlockContainer"><div class="m_4913856032017891838mceText" id="m_4913856032017891838d50" style="width:100%"><p style="line-height:0"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">From there, we hope to see you at <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/72l0xibTYzJ?e=37b53ba065&c2id=98fae2489b341bd695f6ee85cad530c8" target="_blank"><strong>AnchorNets 2026</strong></a>, taking place from October 7-9 in Arlington, VA. You'll be in the room with the experts tracking every development on E-Rate and with peers navigating the same uncertainty you are. The connections and lessons from those conversations are hard to find anywhere else.</p><p style="text-align:left"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">The FCC points to E-Rate's success, noting that nearly every school now has high-speed internet, and suggests the job is done. The reality is the opposite. That connectivity exists because E-Rate sustains it year after year. Bandwidth needs grow, equipment ages, and in many buildings broadband now runs everything from online testing to door locks and HVAC. A network is a continuing commitment.</p><p style="text-align:left"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">The deepest harm would fall on the communities that can least afford it, since E-Rate's largest discounts go to schools and libraries in lower-income areas. Pull that funding, and the digital divide only grows. The proposal also asks whether E-Rate support should be limited to rural areas, which would draw a line between a disadvantaged child in a rural town and a disadvantaged child in a city. Congress never wrote that distinction into the law, and there's no reason to invent it now.</p><p style="text-align:left"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">The good news is that this is a proposal, not a decision. The FCC has to take public comments, and every one of our voices carries weight.</p><p style="text-align:left"><br></p><p style="text-align:left">I encourage you to read SHLB’s full argument in our <a href="https://shlb.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b8f06a885587335ee5c6b1717&id=d84379a328&e=37b53ba065" target="_blank">op-ed for the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society</a>.<br><br>Together, we will make our voices heard, and together we will protect E-Rate for the schools and libraries that depend on it.<br><br>Joey Wender</p><p style="text-align:left">Executive Director, SHLB Coalition</p></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color:transparent;padding-top:12px;padding-bottom:12px;padding-right:24px;padding-left:24px;border:0;border-radius:0" valign="top" align="center" id="m_4913856032017891838b48"><div></div><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" class="m_4913856032017891838mceButtonContainer"><tbody><tr>
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</div></td></tr><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0" valign="top" id="m_4913856032017891838gutterContainerId-13"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse:separate" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0;border:0;border-radius:0" valign="top" align="center" id="m_4913856032017891838b13"><table width="100%" style="border:0;background-color:#ffffff;border-radius:0;border-collapse:separate"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-left:16px;padding-right:16px;padding-top:12px;padding-bottom:12px" class="m_4913856032017891838mceTextBlockContainer"><div class="m_4913856032017891838mceText" id="m_4913856032017891838d13" style="display:inline-block;width:100%"><p><em><span style="font-size:12px">Copyright (C) 2026 SHLB Coalition. All rights reserved.</span></em><br><br><span style="font-size:12px">Our mailing address is:</span><br><span style="font-size:12px">
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