Office and Coalition Letters

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11213/739

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Open Access
Coalition Letter to Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Frank Pallone, Jr. Regarding Section 230 Reform
(2024-05-21)
We, the undersigned representatives of associations and stakeholders dedicated to protecting and preserving Section 230, write to express our strong opposition to the bipartisan discussion draft Section 230 sunset legislation recently unveiled by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. While we understand the stated intention to bring large technology companies to the table to reform Section 230, we believe this approach is arbitrary and unpredictable and overlooks the critical importance of Section 230 protections for the broader Internet ecosystem.
Open Access
Coalition Letter to FCC Secretary Marlene Dortch: Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program, WC Docket No. 23-234
(2024-05-29) Corra, Kristen; Krueger, Keith; Janicki, Megan; Fazlullah, Amina
The School and Library Advocates support the Draft Report and Order and the Commission’s efforts to secure our nation’s vulnerable institutions from the increasing threat of cyberattack. The need for expanded cybersecurity protections is urgent, and we welcome the Commission’s leadership to address this challenge. We encourage the Commission to provide increased funding and a quick timeline for upgrading the E-rate program to provide needed financial support to protect these vulnerable school and library networks for the long term. Nonetheless, the purpose of this letter is not to revisit those requests but instead to raise several questions about the Draft Report and Order and to suggest several important ways to streamline the operation of the pilot program so that it is as successful as possible.
Open Access
Coalition Letter Opposing the ‘‘Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act’’ (Pro Codes Act)
(2024-02-07)
The undersigned organizations write to express our strong opposition to the ‘‘Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act’’ (Pro Codes Act). The trade associations and civil society groups that signed this letter agree with the findings of Congress in the Pro Codes Act that technical standards are critical to the public interest. Our interest is in ensuring that copyright law is not exploited to create a monopoly in which private standards development organizations (SDOs) control access to the codes and regulations that govern public health and safety. Further, courts have found there is no evidence to support the SDOs’ claims that they have lost revenue due to the public dissemination of their standards.
Open Access
Coalition Letter of Schools and libraries Organizations to Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz Opposing the Eyes on the Board Section of the Kids Off Social Media Act
(2024-05-14)
The undersigned education and library organizations write to express our concerns with the “Eyes on the Board” section of S. 4213, The Kids Off Social Media Act, which the Committee will mark-up on May 16.
Open Access
Coalition Letter to Senator Brian Schatz Opposing the Eyes on the Board Act
(2024-04-30) Windhausen, John Jr.; Krueger, Keith; Janicki, Megan; Fallon, Julia
On behalf of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB Coalition), the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), and the American Library Association (ALA), we are writing to express our grave concerns about reported plans to incorporate the deeply flawed “Eyes on the Board Act” (S.3074) into the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act (S.1291), when the Senate Commerce Committee marks up S.1291 on Wednesday of this week.
Open Access
Coalition Letter to Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz Regarding the Public Interest Spectrum and the Affordable Connectivity Act Funding
(2024-03-21)
The undersigned 25 organizations write to urge you to act expeditiously to renew the Federal Communications Commission’s auction authority and use $7 billion of the projected revenue to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP.) The ACP serves as a critical lifeline for millions of low-income households in America, ensuring that families across the country can afford access to the high-speed internet necessary to participate in today’s society. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission projects that the program will run out of funds in little over a month. Without this funding, tens of millions of people will either struggle to maintain access to the internet or lose access entirely. We will revert to a situation where children must do their homework in McDonald’s parking lots, where job seekers cannot look for work opportunities, and where the sick and elderly will lose access to critical telehealth services. Congress can prevent these outcomes and continue our progress towards affordable, universal internet access by renewing the FCC’s spectrum auction authority.
Open Access
Coalition Letter Supporting School Facilities Funding in Fiscal year 2024
(2024-02-09)
On behalf of the undersigned national, state, and local organizations, we urge Congress to continue its investments in the Department of Education to support capacity building and technical assistance for school facilities.
Open Access
Letter to the Department of Education Regarding the Career Navigator Training Study (CATS)
(2024-01-22) Clark, Larra
I am writing on behalf of the American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library association in the world, to provide comments on the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES’) implementation of the Career Navigator Training Study (CATS Study) to ensure that the study yields the most effective training for career navigators. ALA applauds IES for pursuing this study to understand how training and support for career navigators can help them enhance the services they provide to adults.
Open Access
Coalition Letter Supporting the E-rate E-Rate Support for Wi-Fi Hotspots for Remote Learning
(2024-02-08)
The undersigned organizations are submitting this letter in support of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to allow E-Rate to fund Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless internet services to address the remote learning needs of students and library patrons.1 While the COVID-19 pandemic propelled a nationwide surge of off-campus connectivity, online learning and remote schoolwork have become common practice for many students and library patrons throughout their daily journeys - even after the end of the pandemic. In today’s environment, learning simply does not stop after school or library operating hours or the moment a student or patron steps off the premises.
Open Access
Coalition Letter to Senator Brian Schatz Signed on by ALA in Opposition to Eyes on the Board Legislation
(2024-04-30)
The undersigned education and library organizations write to express our deep concerns about a version of the Eyes on the Board legislation that we understand you intend to introduce at the Senate Commerce Committee’s mark-up on May 1. We are concerned that this bill’s effort to address social media problems through the E-Rate could cause substantial problems for the thousands of public and private schools that rely on E-Rate support for broadband and Wi-Fi.
Open Access
Coalition Letter Regarding Low Earth Orbit Satellites and Broadband Connectivity
(2023-08-28)
With such rapid innovation and investment across the satellite space, it is important that the U.S. government continue to strengthen American leadership in this sector. The Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration should implement policies that foster competition and innovation that benefit both consumers and the U.S. economy more broadly. Although this technology and market has been pioneered by American companies, LEO constellations are inherently global, making U.S. leadership at bodies like the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) vital to a thriving industry and U.S. interests.
Open Access
Coalition Letter to the FCC Regarding Spectrum Innovation and 6GHz for Digital Equity
(2023-08-03)
We are writing to thank you for your steadfast and successful leadership in promoting unlicensed innovation and to urge you to finalize two issues in the pending 6 GHz proceeding in a robust way that is consistent with four key principles described below. The authorization of Very Low Power (VLP) devices and higher power for indoor-only use (LPI) are particularly crucial for digital equity and inclusion, for continued U.S. leadership in next generation Wi-Fi, and for virtually all consumers, businesses and community anchor institutions that increasingly rely on Wi-Fi for connectivity. Above all, we need to ensure that final rules for the 6 GHz band do not create a new Wi-Fi Digital Divide.
Open Access
Coalition Letter Nominating Carla Wade to Serve on the Universal Service Administrative Company Board of Directors
(2023-10-23)
The national and state education organizations listed below respectfully nominate Ms. Carla Wade to serve on the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) Board of Directors as the representative for schools that are eligible to receive discounts. At this pivotal moment, our nation faces a pressing need to deliver secure and reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity for every household. Ms. Wade, an accomplished education and technology leader with a distinguished record at local, state, and national levels, is uniquely poised to contribute her wealth of experience in education strategy, innovation, partnerships, communication, and collaboration to this important role.
Open Access
Coalition Letter on Proposed FCC Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program
(2023-08-07)
Our coalition of national education and library groups welcomes your proposal to establish a pilot program to support cybersecurity services for K-12 schools and libraries. The proposed pilot holds significant promise to inform later modernization of E-rate Category 2 and possibly any other relevant federal programs to help schools and libraries address cybersecurity threats to their networks and sensitive private data. As you prepare a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the cybersecurity pilot, we encourage you to seek public comment on several critical policy decisions, including the pilot program’s: (1) duration and form; (2) priority applicants; and (3) ultimate goals.
Open Access
Coalition Letter Regarding Artificial Intelligence and Copyright
(2023-09-11)
We write to express our concern about calls for new copyright legislation that would jeopardize these benefits and upend the core governing principles of our nation’s intellectual property regime. Our message is simple: existing copyright doctrine has evolved and adapted to accommodate many revolutionary technologies, and is well equipped to address the legitimate concerns of creators. Our courts are the proper forum to apply thosedoctrines to the myriad fact patterns that AI will present over the coming years and decades.
Open Access
ALA letter to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee with policy ideas on workforce development
(2021-04-09) Kromer, Kathy
Open Access
Letter of Endorsement Supporting Anna Gomez's Nomination to the Federal Communications Commission
(2023-06-28)
The undersigned K-12 education and library organizations write to provide our strong support for the nomination of Anna Gomez to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and to urge her speedy confirmation.
Open Access
LIBRARY COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE COMMENTS ON OSTP REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON NATIONAL PRIORITIES FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(2023-07-05) Band, Jonathan
LCA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the request for information issued by the Office of Science and Technology Policy concerning national priorities for artificial intelligence. The recent emergence of generative AI systems has focused significant public attention on the intersection of copyright and AI. LCA has developed the attached principles for copyright and AI that we believe should steer policy discussions in this area. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have concerning these principles.
Open Access
Comments on the Second Revised Draft Text for the WIPO Broadcasting Organizations Treaty (SCCR/43/3)
(2023-06-16)
We, the undersigned members of the Access to Knowledge Coalition, who are beneficiaries of limitations and exceptions for education, research and the activities of cultural heritage organizations, submit the following comments to guide the revision of SCCR/43/3, the Chair’s Second Revised Draft Text for the WIPO Broadcasting Organizations Treaty
Open Access
To the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate
(2021-02-12)