FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
John L. Winn
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
JULIA L. JOHNSON
R
OBERTO MARTÍNEZ
P
HOEBE RAULERSON
L
INDA K. TAYLOR
September 23, 2005
M E M O R A N D U M #05-05
TO:
Voluntary
Prekindergarten
(VPK) Education Program Providers
FROM:
Shan
Goff,
Executive
Director
Office of Early Learning
SUBJECT:
E-Rate: Telecommunications Service Discounts for Voluntary
Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Providers
The use of technology is a critical component for our successful implementation of
Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program. We hope that you will
find the information provided below on the federal E-Rate Program helpful in gaining
access to telecommunications services.
E-Rate, a Federal Communications Commission program that is administered by the
Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company
(USAC), offers eligible schools and libraries discounts from 20-90 percent on approved
telecommunications services such as internet access, local and long distance phone
bills, cellular service, e-mail services, software for networking, and fax lines, as well as
basic maintenance on internal connections.
Eligibility
In Florida, every VPK Education Program provider that applies for the E-Rate can
receive a minimum of a 20 percent discount of the cost of eligible services. E-Rate
discounts usually involve verification of parents’ income level by determining the
percentage of students in a school who are eligible for the National School Lunch
Program. The socio-economic status of urban communities and rural areas is also
SHAN GOFF
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Executive Director
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Office of Early Learning
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325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1532 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0445 • www.fldoe.org
Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program Providers
September 23, 2005
Page 2
taken into consideration when the discount is calculated through the use of a Discount
Matrix. Other acceptable mechanisms to determine a school’s level of need include the
use of data collected through a confidential survey sent to families who attend the
school (names of families are not required) or information regarding families’ existing
participation in federal assistance programs or tuition scholarship programs.
How to File
Providers have one opportunity to file each year during early November through early
February preceding the start of the Funding Year. The Office of Educational
Technology in the Department of Education (DOE) serves as a liaison between state
public education systems, including all VPK providers, and the SLD. For information
and assistance with procedures and forms for applying for the discounted services,
please contact Maureen Githens, Director, E-Rate and Technology Integration, at (850)
245-9326 or by e-mail at maureen.githens@fldoe.org.
For More Information:
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E-Rate information available online:
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•
Official sites for E-Rate:
o
http://www.sl.universalservice.org/
o
http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/
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DOE – Office of Educational Technology
http://www.doe.firn.edu/edtech/erate/index.html
Workshops regarding E-Rate are presented by the DOE’s Office of Educational
Technology throughout Florida in October and November each year.
The Department of Education has introduced Paperless Communication to replace bulk
mail communications. Effective July 1, 2002, all bulk communications from the
Department of Education (DOE) will be sent electronically. Sign-up information will not
be disclosed to third parties or other government agencies, unless required by state or
federal law. Please note that pursuant to Florida's Public Records Law, Section 119.07,
Florida Statutes, all information received in connection with state business is available
to anyone for inspection and copying upon request, unless the information is subject to
a specific statutory exemption. To receive email communications from us, please click
on the following link to sign up: http://info.doe.state.fl.us/communications/.
cc:
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Maureen
Githens
Early Learning Coalition Chairpersons
Early Learning Coalition Executive Directors
Regional
Facilitators
