In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the e-Rate, two education groups released a report on Feb. 28 stating that the program has transformed U.S. schools and libraries into institutions of modern learning--but that its mission is not yet complete.

"e-Rate: 10 Years of Connecting Kids and Community" indicates that e-Rate-supported connectivity now allows 100 percent of public libraries to provide free internet access to communities, and it credits the e-Rate with increasing the number of public-school classrooms with internet access from 14 percent in 1996 to 95 percent in 2005.

Created in 1997, the e-Rate is a federally funded program that provides up to $2.25 billion per year in discounts on telecommunications services, internet access, and internal networking to U.S. public and private schools and public libraries. To date, nearly $19 billion in discounts have been provided to schools and libraries (in some years, not all of the e-Rate money was spent).

The Education and Libraries Networks Coalition and the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training teamed up to produce the report.

The report says that after 10 years of e-Rate support, more than 90 percent of classrooms in rural, high-minority, and low-income school districts now have internet connections, allowing them to leverage modern communications tools to support student achievement. An additional 2,800 private schools also have received support from the e-Rate.

Although such progress is significant, the report notes the program's work is hardly complete. Schools and libraries not only must sustain their current access levels, but they also need to expand their bandwidth capacities to ensure that students, teachers, and community members keep pace with the ever-expanding digital resources available online.

A panel discussion, featuring representatives from educational organizations and various members of Congress, accompanied the report's release and touched on the e-Rate's future in schools and libraries. Part of the discussion turned to the e-Rate's rules and regulations, which have been difficult for some applicants to interpret.

The e-Rate "is important to our kids educationally, and it's important to our country economically," said panel member Mark Seifert of the House Commerce Committee. But, Seifert said, "I've heard people say it's hard to figure out the rules on Tuesday because they have changed since Monday." Seifert is Democratic counsel to the Commerce Committee.

"[We are] interested in a better flow of information between stakeholders and USAC," he said, referring to the Universal Service Administrative Co., the third-party contractor that administers the program for the Federal Communications Commission.

"I assure you, without e-Rate there will be no closing of the achievement gap," said panel member John Wilson, executive director of the National Education Association. "e-Rate has changed the public schools. You don't have a great public school without having the right tools and resources--[and] e-Rate is that resource to help sustain kids in 21st-century learning."