What’s at stake
A proven program faces its biggest threat.
E-Rate is the fifth largest stream of federal funding in the nation’s schools. It is the only federal education technology program, and over nearly 30 years it has consistently, effectively and responsibly supported connectivity for schools and libraries in every one of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. In June 2026 the FCC opened a rulemaking that asks whether it should continue.
What you need to know
E-Rate helps schools and libraries access the affordable broadband that supports the connectivity and network modern buildings need to carry on the important work of serving students and patrons.
$42.3M committed · 22 public school districts and the shared regional networkSee it on the interactive map →E-Rate is a proven program that has single-handedly transformed internet access in classrooms. The program has a long track record of success and enjoys strong bi-partisan support on Capitol Hill. The FCC’s review is expansive and asks more than 100 questions about the program, its future, and its structure.
Read a summary of the FCC’s NPRM (PDF) →How you can engage
Here’s everything you need to know about WHY your voice matters, HOW to craft your response, and WHERE to file it with the FCC.
Comments are due October 13, 2026Read our Call to Action (PDF) →We are fielding a lot of questions as members work through the proposal and begin writing their comments. We have some answers!
Read our FAQ for more information (PDF) →The summary, Call to Action and FAQ are published by AASA, The School Superintendents Association and the Association of Educational Service Agencies, co-branded with the Pennsylvania Digital Trust Hub and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Read the AASA blog →
Where the money goes
Two categories. One connected classroom.
E-Rate funds arrive in two forms. Category 1 pays for the broadband circuits that reach the building — including the region's shared wide-area network. Category 2 pays for the Wi-Fi and switching that carry it to every desk. Lancaster and Lebanon schools depend on both.1
Annual E-Rate commitments across Lancaster & Lebanon Counties
FY2026 is still open — its lighter bar shows partial-year commitments to date. The FY2018 Category 1 spike reflects the WAN’s one-time dark-fiber network build. All 22 public districts across Lancaster & Lebanon counties plus the IU13 WAN consortium, funding years 2016–2026. Committed federal share, de-duplicated to the funding-request level. Source: USAC Open Data.
Support that follows need
The less a district can afford, the more E-Rate provides.
E-Rate scales its support to a district's share of economically disadvantaged students, so the region's least-resourced districts draw the deepest support: Lancaster, Lebanon, and Columbia Borough qualify at the maximum 90% rate, and 8 of 22 districts at 80% or above.2 Yet these are not rural communities — USAC classifies 88% of the region’s funding as non-rural — so a rural-only rule would strand nearly the entire region, while a full sunset would fall hardest on the districts with the least room to absorb it.3
See every Lancaster & Lebanon district by discount rate
Coordinated by IU13
A shared regional network: the IU13 WAN Consortium.
The IU13 WAN Consortium serves 40 direct members — public school districts, career & technical centers, charter, non-public, and parochial schools — and reaches 105 educational entities in all through partnerships with other Intermediate Units.7 It delivers reliable high-speed Internet and next-generation network security to K-12 schools across Lancaster, Lebanon, and surrounding counties: enterprise-grade bandwidth over IU13-managed dark fiber and carrier services, plus firewall/network security, content filtering, DNS, network monitoring, DDoS protection, and secure remote access — value no single district could secure alone. $16.32M in connectivity flows through the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17001356).4
This is exactly the regional coordination the NPRM would undercut — the shared backbone that lets 40 members, and 105 schools in all, buy enterprise fiber and security together at a price none could reach alone.
The receipts
What E-Rate delivered, district by district.
Lifetime E-Rate commitments, funding years 2016–2026, for all 22 public districts in Lancaster & Lebanon counties.1 The 90% badge marks maximum-discount, highest-need districts.
Select any district name to see it highlighted on the interactive map.
| District | Category 1 | Category 2 | Total funded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster 90% | $4.8M | $2.4M | $7.2M |
| Penn Manor | $1.7M | $937K | $2.7M |
| Lebanon 90% | $623K | $1.8M | $2.4M |
| Manheim Township | $491K | $960K | $1.5M |
| Hempfield | $510K | $921K | $1.4M |
| Conestoga Valley | $300K | $785K | $1.1M |
| Eastern Lancaster County | $593K | $465K | $1.1M |
| Ephrata Area | $154K | $731K | $884K |
| Solanco | $432K | $442K | $874K |
| Cornwall-Lebanon | $2K | $716K | $719K |
| Donegal | $65K | $650K | $715K |
| Warwick | $210K | $489K | $699K |
| Northern Lebanon | $317K | $383K | $699K |
| Eastern Lebanon County | $87K | $498K | $585K |
| Palmyra Area | $308K | $274K | $582K |
| Columbia Borough 90% | $250K | $320K | $569K |
| Cocalico | $147K | $419K | $566K |
| Elizabethtown Area | $153K | $352K | $505K |
| Manheim Central | $107K | $343K | $449K |
| Pequea Valley | $29K | $298K | $327K |
| Lampeter-Strasburg | $0 | $241K | $241K |
| Annville-Cleona | $3K | $237K | $240K |
All 22 IU13 districts shown. Figures are USAC-committed federal amounts, de-duplicated to the funding-request level (one commitment per request, not per school served). Consortium (WAN) commitments are reported separately above.
See it on the map
See Lancaster-Lebanon on the map.
Every district’s E-Rate funding, drawn straight from USAC’s public data. Hover or tap any district for its Category 1 and 2 totals, discount rate, and USAC urban/rural label.
See the shared network on the statewide mapIU 13 Consortium (Lancaster-Lebanon) — 81 districts →
Your voice is needed — now
Take action to protect E-Rate.
The FCC’s comment period on Docket 26-133 closes October 13, 2026 — a narrow window to show the Commission and Congress what these changes would cost our schools. Here are three ways to help, in the order that matters most.
Sign on with the Digital Trust Hub
Add your district or organization to our coalition standing up for E-Rate. One signature adds your name to the comment we file with the FCC on Docket 26-133 and to our coalition’s letters to lawmakers.
Sign your district on →Write your own comment to the FCC
Your own comment is counted separately from ours, and the Commission weighs individual, evidence-based comments far more heavily than identical form letters. Our partners at AASA (The School Superintendents Association) have a guided tool that turns your words and your organization’s real E-Rate figures into a comment ready to file.
Figures in the builder cover FY2021–25; this page covers FY2016–26. Both are USAC data — they count different years.
Build your FCC comment →Tell Congress to protect E-Rate
Reach out directly to your lawmakers. Our partners at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) have a one-click tool that finds your U.S. Senators and Representative and sends them your message.
Contact Congress now →Your Pennsylvania delegation
The tool routes to your exact offices automatically. For Lancaster and Lebanon counties that means your two U.S. Senators — Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick — and your U.S. Representatives — Rep. Daniel Meuser (PA‑09) and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA‑11) — depending on where you live.
Short on words? Use this template for Step 3 ↓
Make it local: find your district on the region map and drop your own numbers into the letter — a message grounded in your district’s figures lands hardest.
Sources
The data behind this page.
Every figure on this page comes from USAC's public federal E-Rate Open Data, funding years 2016–2026. Each source is linked below. How we pulled and de-duplicated this data →
- E-Rate funding committed to the region. The federal share of Funded requests for the 22 Lancaster & Lebanon county districts and the IU13 WAN Consortium — $42.3M, FY2016–2026.
- Discount rates & student need. Category 1/2 discount rates and the school-level free/reduced-lunch (NSLP) percentages that set them, plus full-time enrollment (~89,400 students).
- Urban / rural classification. USAC's urban/rural status for each funded service — 17 of 22 districts Urban (88% of district funding), so a rural-only rule would exclude nearly the entire region.
- IU13 WAN Consortium. Connectivity committed under the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17001356) — the IU13-coordinated shared wide-area network of 20+ districts ($16.32M, 176 funding requests).
- Target universe & Billed Entity Numbers. The 22 IU13 (Intermediate Unit 13) member districts in Lancaster and Lebanon counties and the IU13 WAN Consortium — each entity's Billed Entity Number confirmed against USAC's public entity records.USAC entity lookup 7i5i-83qf ↗
- Proposed FCC rule changes. Summarized from the member advocacy update by the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) — with the School Superintendents Association (AASA), the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), and the National Rural Education Association (NREA) — on the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) reviewing the E-Rate program.
- Consortium membership. The RWAN consortium's member districts, from USAC's Form 470 consortium-entity records.
