AASA Applauds FCC and Recipients in First Federal Cybersecurity Pilot
January 16, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alexandria, Va. – January 16, 2025 – AASA, The School Superintendents Association, applauds the more than 700 schools, districts, libraries and consortia selected as recipients in the FCC’s Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program.
Winners hail from all 50 states and include 645 schools and districts, 50 libraries, and 12 consortia. The pilot will provide $200 million over three years, and helps the recipients cover the costs of eligible cybersecurity services and equipment.
This pilot is the third and final piece of FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s “Learn without Limits Initiative” a three-prong solution for closing the homework gap – Wi-FI on school buses, Wi-Fi hot-spot lending, and the cybersecurity pilot program.
“Making sure our students have access to all the opportunities of the digital world has been a cornerstone of my time at the Commission. It is also vitally important that this access is cybersecure,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “This issue touches every state in every region of our country, including on Tribal lands, and that range of experience is reflected in the participants announced today. Through this program, we will be able to provide our federal, state, and local government partners with actionable data about the most effective and coordinated way to address the growing cyber needs of schools and libraries.”
The first-of-its-kind, three-year pilot empowers E-Rate beneficiaries to explore the use of Universal Service Fund (USF) dollars to improve school and library protection against cybersecurity attacks. The pilot will also generate data the FCC can use to assess not only the effectiveness of various cybersecurity services and equipment in their ability to protect school and library broadband networks and data, but also the feasibility of the USF to support these services and what a longer-term program might look like.
As districts continue to innovate how they integrate technology into all aspects of teaching and learning, the overall demand for bandwidth in schools continues to grow – a demand which comes with increased threats of cybersecurity attacks.
AASA Executive Director David R. Schuler was recently appointed to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Board of Directors, which oversees the administration of the USF programs, and includes the schools and libraries (E-Rate) program.
AASA stands behind the E-Rate program’s success in ensuring basic connectivity and digital opportunities for all learners.
“AASA has been proud to support the cybersecurity pilot since it was announced in the summer of 2023, and we commend the Chairwoman for her leadership on this important initiative. The E-Rate program, over the last 25 years, has almost single-handedly transformed connectivity for our nation’s schools and the students they serve. AASA stands behind the E-Rate program’s success in ensuring basic connectivity and digital opportunities for all learners. We applaud the FCC’s vision to redirect reserved, unused USF funding which moves the needle on cybersecurity support for schools and libraries without undermining connectivity. We look forward to the opportunity to leverage the data and lessons learned from the pilot to create a longer-term federal policy for cybersecurity support for our nation’s schools.”
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About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support
and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.
