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.
$6.8M 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 county's shared wide-area network. Category 2 pays for the Wi-Fi and switching that carry it to every desk. Beaver County's schools depend on both.1
Annual E-Rate commitments across Beaver County
FY2026 is still open — its lighter bar shows partial-year commitments to date. All 14 public districts across Beaver County plus the IU27 RWAN 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 county's least-resourced districts draw the deepest support: 5 districts qualify at the maximum 90% rate — Aliquippa, Ambridge, and Rochester among them — and 6 of 14 at 80% or above.2 Yet these are not what USAC calls rural communities — 75% of the county’s district funding is classified non-rural — so a rural-only rule would strand most of Beaver County, while a full sunset would fall hardest on the districts with the least room to absorb it.3
See every Beaver County district by discount rate
Coordinated by IU27
A shared regional network: the Beaver Valley IU27 RWAN Consortium.
For 20 years, the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit 27 has coordinated a regional wide area network (RWAN) that connects educational institutions across Beaver County. Its 18 participating entities reach beyond public districts to career & technical centers and charter schools — drawing internet connectivity and DDoS protection as one purchasing region. The RWAN also connects members to Internet2, the national research & education network — university-grade connectivity few districts could reach on their own. $1.6M in connectivity funding flows through the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17000579).4
This is exactly the regional coordination the NPRM would undercut — a shared backbone that has worked well for two decades, in a county where many member districts are low-income and the local commercial alternatives they would fall back on have proven unreliable.
The receipts
What E-Rate delivered, district by district.
Lifetime E-Rate commitments, funding years 2016–2026, for all 14 public districts in Beaver County.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambridge Area 90% | $557K | $601K | $1.2M |
| Big Beaver Falls Area 90% | $186K | $467K | $653K |
| Blackhawk | $315K | $221K | $536K |
| New Brighton Area 90% | $133K | $397K | $531K |
| Hopewell Area | $114K | $312K | $426K |
| Aliquippa 90% | $131K | $286K | $417K |
| Beaver Area | $0 | $327K | $327K |
| Freedom Area | $0 | $259K | $259K |
| Riverside Beaver County | $5K | $241K | $247K |
| Rochester Area 90% | $32K | $201K | $233K |
| South Side Area | $5K | $160K | $165K |
| Central Valley | $0 | $114K | $114K |
| Western Beaver County | $0 | $106K | $106K |
| Midland Borough | $3K | $0 | $3K |
All 14 IU27 districts shown. Figures are USAC-committed federal amounts, de-duplicated to the funding-request level (one commitment per request, not per school served). Consortium (RWAN) commitments are reported separately above.
See it on the map
See Beaver Valley 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 mapBeaver Valley IU 27 RWAN 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 Beaver County that means your two U.S. Senators — Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick — and your U.S. Representative, Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA‑17).
Short on words? Use this template for Step 3 ↓
Make it local: find your district on the county 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 county. The federal share of Funded requests for the 14 Beaver County districts and the IU27-coordinated RWAN consortium — $6.8M, 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 (~20,200 students).
- Urban / rural classification. USAC's urban/rural status for each funded service — 9 of 14 districts Urban (75% of district funding non-rural), so a rural-only rule would exclude most of the county.
- Intermediate Unit 27 RWAN Consortium. Connectivity committed under the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17000579) — the IU27-coordinated shared regional wide-area network ($1.6M, 38 funding requests).
- Target universe & Billed Entity Numbers. The 14 IU27 (Intermediate Unit 27) member districts in Beaver County and the Intermediate Unit 27 RWAN 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 participating entities, from USAC's Form 470 consortium-entity records and the IU27 technology office.
