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.
$17.2M committed · 14 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 consortium services IU21 delivers across both counties. Category 2 pays for the Wi-Fi and switching that carry it to every desk — and in Carbon and Lehigh counties, Category 2 does the heavy lifting: roughly three of every four E-Rate dollars here build the networks inside school buildings.1
Annual E-Rate commitments across Carbon & Lehigh Counties
FY2026 is still open — its lighter bar shows partial-year commitments to date. The tall FY2025 bar reflects a region-wide surge of Category 2 internal-network commitments. All 14 public districts across Carbon & Lehigh counties plus the Carbon Lehigh IU21 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: 7 of 14 districts qualify at the maximum 90% rate — Allentown, Pennsylvania’s third-largest school district, among them — and 9 of 14 at 80% or above.2 Yet need here doesn’t map to geography: USAC classifies 85% of the region’s funding as non-rural, so a rural-only rule would strand most of it, while a full sunset would fall hardest on the districts with the least room to absorb it.3
See every Carbon & Lehigh district by discount rate
Coordinated by IU21
A shared service backbone: the Carbon Lehigh IU21 Consortium.
The Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 Consortium brings 16 participating entities — public school districts, career & technical centers, and charter schools — onto one shared service backbone. Through the consortium, IU21 delivers internet connectivity, WAN connectivity, firewall and network security, content filtering, DNS services, network monitoring, and DDoS protection — the broadest shared-service catalog of any IU consortium featured in this campaign. $372K in connectivity funding flows through the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17000227), across 12 funded requests.4
The dollar figure understates the stakes: the consortium is how 16 schools and centers share enterprise-grade security and connectivity that no single district could staff or buy alone — exactly the regional coordination the NPRM would undercut.
The receipts
What E-Rate delivered, district by district.
Lifetime E-Rate commitments, funding years 2016–2026, for all 14 public districts in Carbon & Lehigh 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allentown City 90% | $650K | $6.2M | $6.9M |
| Parkland | $1.4M | $990K | $2.4M |
| East Penn | $137K | $1.2M | $1.3M |
| Whitehall-Coplay 90% | $164K | $997K | $1.2M |
| Jim Thorpe Area 90% | $321K | $455K | $776K |
| Catasauqua Area 90% | $381K | $361K | $742K |
| Panther Valley 90% | $278K | $461K | $738K |
| Northern Lehigh 90% | $205K | $343K | $548K |
| Palmerton Area | $493K | $0K | $493K |
| Lehighton Area 90% | $212K | $224K | $436K |
| Salisbury Township | $144K | $216K | $360K |
| Northwestern Lehigh | $199K | $126K | $325K |
| Weatherly Area | $175K | $138K | $313K |
| Southern Lehigh | $79K | $230K | $309K |
All 14 IU21 districts shown. Parkland files under Billed Entity Number 151383; USAC no longer publishes FY2016 commitments, so its row covers FY2017–2026. Figures are USAC-committed federal amounts, de-duplicated to the funding-request level (one commitment per request, not per school served). Consortium commitments are reported separately above.
See it on the map
See Carbon Lehigh 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 mapCarbon Lehigh IU 21 Consortium — 14 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 Carbon and Lehigh counties that means your two U.S. Senators — Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick — and your U.S. Representatives — Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (PA‑07) 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 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 14 Carbon & Lehigh county districts and the Carbon Lehigh IU21 Consortium — $17.2M, 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 (~58,400 students).
- Urban / rural classification. USAC's urban/rural status for each funded service — 10 of the region's funded districts Urban (87% of district funding), so a rural-only rule would strand most of the region.
- Carbon Lehigh IU21 Consortium. Connectivity committed under the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17000227) — the IU21-coordinated shared-services consortium ($372K, 12 funding requests).
- Target universe & Billed Entity Numbers. The 14 IU21 (Intermediate Unit 21) member districts in Carbon and Lehigh counties and the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit #21 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 consortium's 16 participating entities, from USAC's Form 470 consortium-entity records and the IU's own program description.
