E-Rate Program Overview November 2011 Mary Mehsikomer Technology Integration Development & Outreach Facilitator – TIES Minnesota E-Rate Coordinator for Schools (651) /21/2011TIES1

Agenda General information about E-rate Technology planning Requesting services (FCC Form 470) Competitive bidding process Ordering services (FCC Form 471) Application review & funding commitments Begin receiving services (FCC Form 486) Invoicing USAC (FCC Form 472 and FCC Form 474) Deadlines 11/21/2011TIES2

What are E-Rates? Federal program Discounts on Internet access and telecommunications services for schools and libraries 20-90% based on free and reduced price lunch eligibility Funded through the Universal Service Fund 11/21/2011TIES3

Operation Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent U.S. government agency, established and oversees the E-rate program Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), a not-for- profit, administers the E-rate program along with three other programs Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) is the part of USAC with responsibility for E-rate Program enacted in Telecommunications Act of 1996 – began operation in /21/2011TIES4

Funding Year (FY) vs. Fiscal Year (FY) E-rate operates from July 1 through June 30 each year Funding Year (FY) is determined by the year in which services begin Funding Year 11 = July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012 State Fiscal Year (FY) for that year would be FY12 – July 1, 2011 – June 30, /21/2011TIES5

How much money is there? $2.25 billion annually – adjusted for inflation FCC can roll over unused funding once each year Funding is divided by Priority 1 and Priority 2 Priority 1 – Telecommunications and Internet Access Services Priority 2 – Internal Connections and Basic Maintenance on Internal Connection Minnesota schools and libraries leverage between $20-25 million each year 11/21/2011TIES6

Who is eligible? Public school districts, schools, and charter schools Nonpublic schools Public libraries and public library systems Consortia – groups of eligible schools and/or libraries that group together to aggregate demand, create network efficiency, and negotiate cooperative puchasing 11/21/2011TIES7

How do we know what our discount will be? percent Based on free and reduced price lunch eligibility Rural or urban location 11/21/2011TIES8

The Matrix Does not refer to the Keanu Reeves movie Is a table that illustrates the level of discounts and conditions 11/21/2011TIES9

Beginner’s Presentation I 2011 Schools & Libraries Fall Applicant Trainings 10 Discount Matrix INCOME % of students eligible for NSLP URBAN LOCATION Discount RURAL LOCATION Discount If the % eligible is......and you’re in an URBAN area, your discount will be......and you’re in a RURAL area, your discount will be... Less than 1%20%25% 1% to 19%40%50% 20% to 34%50%60% 35% to 49%60%70% 50% to 74%80% 75% to 100%90%

Timeline Technology Plan Form 470 – July 1 Form 471 – Application Window Form 486 – 120 days after Funding Commitment Decision Letter or 120 days after service start date – whichever is later Form 472 (BEAR) – Quarterly or 120 days after last day of service 11/21/2011TIES11

Categories of Service Priority 1 (funded for all) – Telecommunications Services – Internet Access – Telecommunications Priority 2 (funded for neediest) – Internal Connections – Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections 11/21/2011TIES12

The Steps of E-Rate Write a technology plan File Form 470 Conduct the bid process and choose vendors File Form 471 Application Review Funding Commitment Form 486 Form 472 (BEAR) 11/21/2011TIES13

Technology Planning Elements – Needs assessment – Goals and strategies for using technology to improve education or library services – Professional Development – Evaluation Strategy 11/21/2011TIES14

Do I need a technology plan? If only applying for Priority 1 services an approved technology plan is not needed BUT…. If there is Priority 2 classified equipment on site at the school provided by the service provider – an approved technology plan is recommended 11/21/2011TIES15

What is the deadline for the technology plan? A technology plan must be WRITTEN before a school district files any Form 470s File it and put a “creation date” on it Technology plan must be approved by the time the Form 486 is filed or July 1 of the program year occurs – whichever is earlier MDE is the tech plan approver – see g_Support/School_Technology/Tech_Planning/in dex.html g_Support/School_Technology/Tech_Planning/in dex.html 11/21/2011TIES16

MDE Technology Planning Resources 11/21/2011TIES17

MDE’s Process Needs assessment tools – Technology Infrastructure Survey – Instructional Uses of Technology Infrastructure Technology Plan Template Recommend submitting SOON 11/21/2011TIES18

File Form 470 Form 470 used to request service from vendors – describe services and scope of need Competitive bidding process May involve an RFP RFP must be available for entire posting time of Form days at minimum Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL) 11/21/2011TIES19

BEN and PIN Not characters in a children’s book about bunny rabbits and kittens BEN = Billed Entity Number PIN = Personal Identification Number RFP = Request for Proposals In Minnesota RFP required for purchases exceeding $50,000 11/21/2011TIES20

Competitive Bidding Be open, fair, and above all, careful Beware of gifts Make sure all vendors have access to the same information Keep documentation Make sure roles relationships are clearly delineated Price is primary factor – most heavily weighted 11/21/2011TIES21

Form 471 Services and service providers chosen Identifying eligible entities Calculate discounts Certify compliance with program rules Filed during application window Includes Item 21 attachments 11/21/2011TIES22

FRNs and SPINS FRN = Funding Request Number – assigned to each request on the Form 471 SPIN = Service Provider Identification Number Must have a SPIN assigned to the service provider Item 21 Attachment – Further description of services associated with a funding request Receipt Acknowledgement Letter 11/21/2011TIES23

What’s a NIF? Noninstructional Facility Eligible for Priority 1 services School building with no classrooms or library building with no public areas Examples – bus garages, athletic facilities, some service cooperative or regional management information center offices 11/21/2011TIES24

Application Review and Funding Commitments Application review is done by PIA Program Integrity Assurance May request documentation Several layers of review Check Form 471 application status at /21/2011TIES25

What PIA is doing Verifying eligibility of schools Verifying services are eligible Allowing some corrections to the application Additional verification 11/21/2011TIES26

Funding Commitment Decision Letter Issued by SLD when application review is completed Review it carefully Also known as FCDL Details on what is/is not approved for funding Can be appealed 11/21/2011TIES27

Form 486 Notifies USAC that eligible services have started and invoices can be processed and paid Provide the name of TPA (Technology Plan Approver) Report status of compliance with CIPA 11/21/2011TIES28

CIPA Children’s Internet Protection Act Internet Safety/Acceptable Use Policy One public hearing Educating students on cyberbullying and Internet safety Internet filter - “technology protection measure” 11/21/2011TIES29

Invoicing Use BEARS if not directly discounted by service provider (AKA Form 472) – work with service provider to decide BEAR – Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement Recommend quarterly BEAR filing Must be completed by 120 days after last day of service UNLESS granted an extension Quarterly disbursement report 11/21/2011TIES30

Questions? For more detail, refer to USAC Training Slides at sessions/training-2011/fall/presentations.aspxhttp:// sessions/training-2011/fall/presentations.aspx Call USAC/SLD at Call or Mary Mehsikomer at (651) or 11/21/2011TIES31