You wanted to know (1) if current law prohibits a Connecticut municipality from connecting to a school's state-provided free internet connection and (2) if so, whether the law could be changed to allow the connection.

SUMMARY

Connecticut's educational technology program was established by statute in 2000 to achieve state-wide technology goals and includes the creation of the Commission for Educational Technology; grants for local school districts; teacher and parent training; a network to link schools, college, libraries, and other institutions; and an online library. The commission provides Internet access for K-12 schools in the state through the Connecticut Education Network (CEN). CEN is statutorily limited to providing Internet access and video, voice, and data transmissions that electronically link all educational institutions in the state. Therefore, expansion of the network to include municipalities would require a statutory change.

Current law also requires the commission to apply for certain federal funds to enhance CEN. Federal law requires that these funds be used only for K-12 schools and libraries. If the law were to be changed to allow municipalities to use schools' connections to access the Internet, the network would no longer be eligible for these funds, which currently account for over half of CEN's K-12 school program funding. Also, the proposal would result in other costs to the state in addition to replacing the federal funding that would be lost.

CONNECTICUT EDUCATION NETWORK

The Commission for Educational Technology was established within the state Department of Information Technology to develop, oversee, and direct the attainment of specific state-wide technology goals, which include, among others,:

1. connecting all institutions of higher education, libraries, public elementary and secondary schools, regional educational service centers, and other parties through a state-wide high-speed, flexible network that will allow for video, voice, and data transmission and

2. wiring all school classrooms and connecting them to the Internet and to the state-wide high-speed network through wired, wireless, or any other digital transmission technology providing high-speed connectivity.

In order to meet these goals, the law required the commission to develop a plan to implement the Connecticut Education Network (CEN) to provide state-of-the-art, high-speed, reliable Internet access and video, voice, and data transmissions that electronically link all educational institutions in the state. By law, these institutions specifically include public and private higher education institutions; libraries; public and private schools; and other entities including businesses, job centers, and community organizations (CGS § 4d-82(a)). According to Rob Vietzke, CEN's co-program manager and network architect, connections were available in all K-12 school districts at the start of the 2005-06 school year.

E-RATE FUNDS

Some of the costs associated with CEN are subsidized by the federal Universal Service Fund. The Schools and Libraries Universal Service Fund, known as the “E-Rate,” was established by § 254 of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 to ensure that all eligible schools and libraries in the United States have affordable access to modem telecommunications and information services. All interstate telecommunications carriers pay contributions into the Universal Service Fund. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) directs payment from this central fund to support the schools and libraries program, as well as three other universal service programs.

The E-rate program is specifically limited to entities that meet the statutory definitions of “school” and “library”. Additionally, federal regulations specifically require applicants to certify, among other things, that:

1. the services requested will be used solely for educational purposes and

2. the services will not be sold, resold, or transferred in consideration for money or any other thing of value, and will not be transferred, with or without consideration for money or any other thing of value, except as permitted by the Commission's rules (47 C. F. R. 54. 504b(2)).

State law requires the educational technology commission to oversee the preparation and submission of a state-wide application to the federal Universal Service Fund to enhance connectivity to CEN, maximize participation and grant attainment rates, and reduce overly burdensome administrative requirements which discourage local involvement. The law requires the commission to submit a state-wide application for every universal service funding cycle (CGS § 4d-82(b)). Although this requirement can be statutorily changed, it would result in a loss of funding for the network. According to Vietzke, CEN has received about $ 5. 5 million per year from the E-rate program. It provides 55% of the total cost of CEN's K-12 school program.

CEN is not offered without cost to the state. Vietzke notes that balance of funds for the network comes from a combination of operating dollars from the General Fund (about $ 3. 2 million annually) and bond funds ($ 4. 5 million in 2006-2007). Those funds pay for costs that are not reimbursable by the E-rate program and meet the state's grant matching obligations. In addition to replacing the lost E-rate funds, allowing municipalities to obtain Internet access from CEN would result in other costs to the state. According to Vietzke, these costs are more difficult to quantify and involve a number of different considerations. For instance, the state would lose the benefit of contracts that are steeply discounted because the goods or services are used for “educational purposes” and equipment would need to be replaced for security purposes. CEN hopes to be able to provide a list of issues and possible implications in the future.

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