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.
$20.1M committed · 12 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 joint NEPA WAN that links schools across northeastern Pennsylvania. Category 2 pays for the Wi-Fi and switching that carry it to every desk. Among IU18's districts the balance tilts strongly to Category 2 — $9.4M for internal networks against $5.6M for connectivity — while the shared consortia carry the region's Category 1 backbone.1
Annual E-Rate commitments across the Luzerne region
FY2026 is still open — its lighter bar shows partial-year commitments to date. All 12 public districts of Intermediate Unit 18 plus the IU-coordinated RWAN consortia (including the joint IU18 & IU19 NEPA WAN), 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: 7 districts qualify at the maximum 90% rate — Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre Area, and Wyoming Valley West among them — and 9 of 12 districts at 80% or above.2 That need sits mostly in the region's cities and river towns — districts USAC labels non-rural — which is why a rural-only rule would strand the very schools that draw the deepest support, and a sunset would end it for every district at once.3
See every IU18 district by discount rate
Coordinated by IU18 & IU19
A shared regional backbone: the NEPA WAN.
Since 2005, the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 and the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19 have jointly administered the NEPA WAN — filed with USAC as the Intermediate Unit 18 & 19 RWAN Consortium — a regional wide area network serving 27 member entities, public school districts and career & technical centers alike, across six northeastern Pennsylvania counties spanning both IU regions.7 The consortium purchases internet access in bulk for the region and delivers internet connectivity, WAN connectivity, DNS, network monitoring, and DDoS protection — transforming what were once isolated, sluggish connections into affordable, seamless, high-speed network infrastructure. $4.6M in connectivity funding flows through the joint consortium's Billed Entity Number (17000529) — a total shared with the IU19 region, shown on both pages and counted once statewide.4 Alongside it, LIU18 coordinates its own smaller RWAN consortium (BEN 17004599), with $471K committed across 13 funded requests.
This is exactly the regional coordination the NPRM would undercut — the mechanism that lets two intermediate units pool demand across six counties and share one resilient backbone that no single district could build or buy on its own.
The receipts
What E-Rate delivered, district by district.
Lifetime E-Rate commitments, funding years 2016–2026, for all 12 public districts of the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18.1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hazleton Area 90% | $1.1M | $4.2M | $5.3M |
| Wilkes-Barre Area 90% | $1.6M | $1.5M | $3.2M |
| Wyoming Valley West 90% | $911K | $942K | $1.9M |
| Pittston Area 90% | $268K | $1.1M | $1.3M |
| Tunkhannock Area | $162K | $490K | $652K |
| Hanover Area 90% | $147K | $477K | $623K |
| Northwest Area 90% | $391K | $204K | $595K |
| Lake-Lehman | $326K | $90K | $415K |
| Crestwood | $251K | $139K | $390K |
| Wyoming Area 90% | $201K | $147K | $348K |
| Dallas | $137K | $89K | $227K |
| Greater Nanticoke Area | $116K | $0K | $116K |
All 12 IU18 districts shown. Figures are USAC-committed federal amounts, de-duplicated to the funding-request level (one commitment per request, not per school served). Wilkes-Barre Area files under Billed Entity Number 151009; USAC no longer publishes FY2016 commitments, so its row covers FY2017–2026. Consortium (RWAN) commitments — including the joint NEPA WAN — are reported separately above.
See it on the map
See Luzerne 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 mapNEPA WAN (IU 18 & IU 19) — 24 districts →Luzerne IU 18 RWAN Consortium — 9 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 the Luzerne region that means your two U.S. Senators — Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick — and your U.S. Representatives — Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (PA‑07), Rep. Robert Bresnahan (PA‑08), and Rep. Daniel Meuser (PA‑09) — depending on where you live.
Short on words? Use this template for Step 3 ↓
Make it local: find your district on the regional 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 12 Intermediate Unit 18 districts and the IU-coordinated RWAN consortia — $20.1M, 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 (~44,800 students).
- Urban / rural classification. USAC's urban/rural status for each funded service — 7 of the region's districts labeled Urban and 5 Rural (85% of district funding non-rural), so a rural-only rule would strand most of the region's funding.
- NEPA WAN & LIU18 RWAN consortia. Connectivity committed under the joint Intermediate Unit 18 & 19 RWAN Consortium — the NEPA WAN, administered together by IU18 and IU19 — via BEN 17000529 ($4.6M, 63 funding requests), plus the Luzerne IU18 RWAN Consortium via BEN 17004599 ($471K, 13 funding requests). Because the NEPA WAN is jointly administered, its total is shown on both the IU18 and IU19 regional pages and counted once in the statewide total.
- Target universe & Billed Entity Numbers. The 12 IU18 (Intermediate Unit 18) member districts across Luzerne and Wyoming counties and the two IU-coordinated RWAN consortia — 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 NEPA WAN's 27 member entities — public school districts and career & technical centers across six northeastern counties — from USAC's Form 470 consortium-entity records.
