FCC Cuts Internet Access for Students Who Need It Most

On Tuesday, the Trump Administration’s FCC panel voted to reverse Biden-era subsidies that allowed schools and libraries to provide Wi-Fi hot spots and internet coverage beyond their buildings — including coverage on school buses Associated Press report.

For years, these subsidies have been a lifeline for rural and low-income families. Many students don’t have reliable internet at home, yet are expected to log into classroom portals, submit assignments, and keep up with digital learning. Schools and libraries stepped up, extending their connections so that students could access the internet from parking lots, community spaces, and even while riding the bus.

With this reversal, those programs will now come with a steep cost. Schools and libraries will have to shoulder the financial burden on their own if they want to keep offering outside access. For cash-strapped districts, that means fewer hot spots, less coverage, and more students left behind.

The cruelty is the point. Instead of helping kids bridge the digital divide, this decision widens it — punishing the students who already face the biggest barriers.

At a time when universal internet access should be treated as a basic utility for education and opportunity, this rollback is another reminder of how shortsighted and harmful extremist leadership can be. Mesa County students, like many across the country, deserve better than policies that deliberately make learning harder.

📢 Action:

• Contact your representatives and demand they push back against this FCC decision.

• Support local schools and libraries as they struggle to fill the gaps left by federal abandonment.

• Stay informed and ready to act, because decisions like these have long-term consequences for our children and our communities.

📖 Read more from the Associated Press.