Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, is proposing to clarify a rule to state that the buses are eligible for E-Rate funding.
The program gives schools discounted Wi-Fi access, and Rosenworcel says the proposed clarification would help close the homework gap.
The FCC’s Democratic majority is positioned to follow through with the chair’s plans now that the comission has a full board.
But top Republicans in House and Senate Commerce committees have criticized the proposal.
GOP lawmakers argue that it would increase children’s access to risky and detrimental social media apps in a situation with limited supervision.
Republican critics also say they don’t support the expansion because they don’t think it falls under the scope of the program.
Supporters of the expansion, however, said the GOP opposition falls short on proving either point.
“You've got to ask yourself the question, 'What is a school?' And the school is where learning takes place,” said Tom Wheeler, a former FCC chair under the Obama administration.
Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) sent a letter last week to newly confirmed FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez urging her to reject Rosenworcel’s plan.
The FCC is scheduled to consider the proposal during its upcoming Oct. 19 meeting.
Read more in an upcoming full report at TheHill.com.
