E-Rate News for the Week of 12/30/2002 – 1/3/2003
•
2002 Review – 2003 Preview
•
Interview Version of Form 471 Online
•
Upcoming E-rate Deadlines
The E-Rate News for the Week, prepared by E-Rate Central, is sponsored by the
Council of Chief State School Officers ("CCSSO") and made possible by a grant
from the AT&T Foundation. Official SLD news is in the "What’s New!" section of
the SLD’s Web site (http://www.sl.universalservice.org). Additional information is
on the State Education Telecommunications Alliance’s ("SETA") Web site
(http://www.e-ratecentral.com).
•
2002 Review – 2003 Preview
Even though the E-rate program operates on a fiscal year basis, it is
traditional at this time of year to reflect back on 2002 and to look forward
to 2003.
Our "Top Ten" highlight list for 2002, in no particular order:
(1) By July 1, 2002, the SLD had issued Funding Commitment Decision
Letters on over 70% of the FY 2002 E-rate applications. This was good
news primarily for a large number of the smaller applicants. The bad news
was these decisions represented only about 30% of the dollars to be
committed and that a significant amount remains to be funded.
(2) The SLD established standardized deadlines for invoices and SPIN
changes. Applicants must now contend with critical deadlines for
submitting annual applications (Form 470s and Form 471s), confirming
receipt of funded services (Form 486s), and requesting discount
reimbursements (BEARs).
(3) The FCC initiated a major Notice of Proposed Rule Making ("NPRM")
requesting comments on a series of proposed E-rate program changes.
(4) A major focus was placed on program "waste, fraud, and abuse"
issues. SLD review procedures were tightened, the on-site audit program
was expanded, and certain cases were turned over to the FCC, FBI, and
the Justice Department. The first criminal indictment of an E-rate service
provider was made in December. The SLD also publicly announced the
denial of one major application for improper competitive bidding
procedures. [Note from Claude: to the best of my knowledge, none of the
above occurred in the state of Florida.]
(5) FY 2002 marked the first year of the requirement for full compliance
with the Children’s Internet Protections Act ("CIPA"). Libraries were
granted some respite when a federal court voided the CIPA filtering
requirement as applied to libraries.
(6) Extensive database capability was added to SLD Web site to provide
public access to detailed FRN data, Form 471 status and display, entity
numbers, and technology plan approvers.
(7) Online entry was enabled for submitting Form 486s electronically. To
make manual filings more efficient, the SLD introduced a new series of
OCR-readable forms (beginning with the Form 471 and the Form 486).
(8) Changes in the SLD’s Eligible Services List and supporting reference
material placed increased emphasis on the issues of cost allocation and
on-premise Priority 1 equipment.
(9) A new methodology was introduced for calculating library discount
rates.
(10) The SLD began accepting appeals, SPIN changes, and invoice
deadline extension requests by fax and e-mail.
Because hindsight is always clearer than foresight, we have only half of a
"Top Ten" list for 2003, namely:
(1) Notwithstanding more complicated review procedures and the three-
week extension to the application window, we expect continued SLD
success in funding a high percentage of FY 2003 applications by July 1,
2003.
(2) The FCC will release one or more orders on E-rate program changes
based on last year’s NPRM. One small order, made last year, but taking
affect this year, will allow the rollover of unused E-rate funds from one
program year into another. This may, but it isn’t for sure, permit a 10-20%
increase in fund size.
(3) The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing oral arguments on
last year’s court decision on CIPA filtering for libraries. A Supreme Court
decision on this issue is expected within the year.
(4) Expanded enforcement measures will be evident in the
escalating concern against "waste, fraud, and abuse." This might take the
form of application denials, additional vendor indictments, new Form 470
and procurement guidelines, and increased audit activity.
(5) Tighter SLD review of procurement practices and funding requests,
together with tighter Form 486 and invoice filing deadlines, could
encourage more applicants to seek independent third-party assistance in
the E-rate process.
•
Interview Version of Form 471 Online
The SLD has added an option for submitting Form 471s online utilizing a
new "Interview Interface." The interview format is designed to step smaller
applicants through the application process. Conceptually, the new format
is comparable to some of the popular tax filing programs for individuals
(although at its current stage of development, the Form 471 interview
interface is not as sophisticated).
The new interface can be used by individual schools or libraries and by
school districts and library systems (with less than 25 sites, with no
separate administrative buildings, and with no new buildings under
construction). It cannot be used by consortia.
To try the new application platform, go to the "Apply Online" section of the
SLD Web site and click on the Form 471 "Interview" button. Our guess,
having experimented a bit with the new format, is that some applicants will
like it while others will prefer the original format. (Please note that the
interview platform is new and may be subject to some early bugs.) There
is, however, little downside to trying the system. If an applicant gets part
way through the interview (and has been assigned a Form 471 application
number), the filing can be halted and resumed under the original system
by using the Form 471 "Continue Incomplete" option.
A Form 471 Interview Filing Guide is available on the SLD Web site at
http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/471IntFilingGuide.asp.
•
Upcoming E-rate Deadlines
While most applicants are focusing on the upcoming February 6
th
deadline, the last day of the Form 471 application window for FY 2003,
there are actually several other early year deadlines that apply to various
FY 1999 (out-of-the-window), FY 2001, and FY 2002 filings.
One obvious deadline to focus on is the Form 470 posting date. Since
most applicants must file Form 470s, and have them posted on the SLD
Web site for 28 days, before signing new contracts and submitting their
Form 471s, the absolutely last day to post a Form 470 is January 9, 2003.
It is already too late to mail a Form 470 to the SLD with expectations that it
will be posted before this date, so all new Form 470s should filed online.
Another important date is January 28, 2003. This is the basic deadline for
filing invoices (BEAR reimbursements or supplier invoices) for non-
recurring services that had to be utilized by September 30, 2002, including
installations funded in FY 2001 or in the out-of-the-window period for FY
1999. Invoices postmarked after these deadlines will not be processed
and funding will be lost. Remember that BEAR forms must be
acknowledged by suppliers before they can be submitted.
The other upcoming deadlines are for FY 2002 Form 486s which must be
filed within 120 days of the start of service (normally July 1, 2002) or the
date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter ("FCDL"), whichever is
later. The deadlines for applicants funded in Waves 1-10 have already
passed. Applicants funded in subsequent waves, have later Form 486
deadlines. Here are the next few:
FCDL
Date
486 Deadline
Wave 11
09/09/02
01/07/03
Wave 12
09/23/02
01/21/03
Wave 13
10/08/02
02/05/03
Wave 14
10/21/02
02/18/03
Wave 15
11/04/02
03/04/03
The penalty for missing a Form 486 deadline is a reduction in funding. If,
for example, an applicant funded in Wave 6 did not file the associated
Form 486 until December 29
th
, the SLD will adjust the start date to 120
days prior to the postmark date (i.e., to August 31, 2002) and reduce the
funding accordingly (i.e., to 10/12
ths
of the originally approved amount).
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Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain unofficial information on prospective E-
rate developments and/or may reflect E-Rate Central’s own interpretations of E-
rate practices and regulations. Such information is provided for planning and
guidance purposes only. It is not meant, in any way, to supplant official
announcements and instructions provided by either the SLD or the FCC.