E-Rate for California Beginner Applicants

1. E-Rate for CaliforniaBeginner Applicants

2. E-Rate Acronyms BEN – Billed Entity Number CIPA – Children's Internet Protection Act FCDL – Funding Commitment Decision Letter FRN – Funding Request Number SPIN – Service Provider Identification Number SSD – Service Start Date RAL – Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (Form 471) RNL – Receipt Notification Letter (Form 470) NSLP – National School Lunch Program NIF – Non-Instructional Facility PIA – Program Integrity Assurance USAC Link: http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/reference-area.aspx BEN – Billed Entity Number CIPA – Children's Internet Protection Act FCDL – Funding Commitment Decision Letter FRN – Funding Request Number SPIN – Service Provider Identification Number SSD – Service Start Date RAL – Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (Form 471) RNL – Receipt Notification Letter (Form 470) NSLP – National School Lunch Program NIF – Non-Instructional Facility PIA – Program Integrity Assurance USAC Link: http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/reference-area.aspx

3. E-Rate Organization Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent U.S. government agency, 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

4. E-Rate Rules The FCC sets rules and policies through orders Policies are defined in the text of orders USAC/SLD develops procedures for specific actions, such as how to process applications USAC submits its procedures to the FCC for approval each year

5. E-Rate Budget Commitments are capped at $2.25 billion for each funding year This cap will be adjusted for inflation starting in FY2010 Once each year, FCC can roll over unused funds from previous funding years into the current funding year

6. California Department of Education (CDE)& State Library Do Not Administerthe Federal E-Rate program. CDE & State Library have no statutory authority to administer the federal E-Rate program CDE & State Library only provide general information about the E-Rate program including: training and outreach, reference materials, and other publicly available SLD/USAC resources

7. Eligibility - Schools Schools must provide elementary or secondary education as determined under state law. Schools may be public or private institutional day or residential schools, or public charter schools. Schools must operate as non-profit businesses. Schools cannot have an endowment exceeding $50 million.

8. Pre-K and Adult Ed State law, in conjunction with E-Rate rules, determines eligibility of Pre-K (Head Start), Adult Ed and Juvenile Justice Reference the following for California eligibility: http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step01/non-traditional-k-12/k-12-eligibility-table.aspx

9. Eligibility – Libraries Libraries must be eligible for assistance from the California state library administrative agency under the LSTA (Library Services & Technology Act) Libraries must have budgets completely separate from any schools (including, but not limited to, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities). Libraries cannot operate as for-profit businesses.

10. E-Rate Identification Numbers Billed Entity Number – BEN: organization that pays the bills http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Utilities/BilledEntitySearch_Public.asp Entity Number: schools and other locations receiving service Service Provider Identification Number - SPIN http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Forms/SPIN_Contact_Search.asp

11. Types of Applicants/Billed Entities USAC identifies the following eligible entities/types of applicants: • Individual school • School district or school system • Library • Consortium • Statewide application

12. Recipients of Service Starting with FY 2011, applicants must designate the following recipients of service on forms Public School  Private School  Charter School  Tribal School  Head Start  State Agency  Library

13. Recipients of Service, cont Form 471 will also ask for further designation of the following entities:  Pre-kindergarten  Head Start  Adult Education  Dormitory  Juvenile Justice  Educational Service Agency (i.e. COEs)

14. Non-Instructional Facilities (NIFs) Examples

15. Educational Purpose Activities that occur on library or school property are presumed to be integral, immediate and proximate to the education of students or the provision of library services to library patrons and therefore qualify as educational purposes. Customary work activities of employees of a school or library are presumed to fall under the definition of educational purposes. http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/educational_purposes.asp

16. Eligible Services – Basic Concepts Priority 1 (P1) Telecommunications Internet Access Priority 2 (P2) Internal Connections Basic Maintenance on Eligible Internal Connections Note: End-user devices and content generally not eligible PCs/PDAs -Printers -Television Laptops -Phones -VCRs Key reference: Eligible Services List (updated annually) – http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/eligible-services-list.aspx

17. E-Rate Cycle Funding Year is July 1 – June 30 Funding commitments are made by funding year (services starting on or after July 1 and ending on or before the following June 30) The Window Form 471 application window –Opens mid to late fall and closes February This year Funding Cycle July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 (AKA Funding Year 14 or FY 2011)

18. E-Rate Process CIPA Compliance E-rate Technology Planning – What are my goals? Form 470 – Start Application Process Competitive Bidding & Selecting your vendors Form 471 – Request for Funding PIA (Program Integrity Assurance) Review Funding Commitment Form 486 Receipt of Services Confirmation Form 472 – BEAR and Form 474 – SPI – Invoicing “Getting the Money” Other Forms as needed

19. E-Rate Timeline: July 1st – June 30th *These dates are estimates. In order to derive the Form 470 deadline, applicants must count backwards from the Form 471 deadline. **FCC announces Form 471 filing deadlines each Fall.

20. 1. Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and Protecting Children in the 21st Century Acts

21. CIPACompliance • Public Notice & Public Hearing • Technology Protection Measure (Filter) • Internet Safety Policy (required elements) • Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet • Safety & security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications • Unauthorized access including "hacking“ & other unlawful activities by minors online • Unauthorized disclosure, use, & dissemination of personal information regarding minors • Measures designed to restrict minors' access to materials harmful to minors • CIPA affects every funding year from FY2001 going forward, so you must maintain proof of CIPA compliance on an ongoing basis

22. Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act • Enacted in Fall 2008 to address Internet Safety in schools, specifically cyberbullying awareness and response • Before USAC can enforce new requirements the following must occur: • FCC will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on the Act • FCC will draft new rules and the new rules must be voted by the FCC Commissioners • FCC will release guidance to USAC in an Order

23. 2. E-Rate Technology Planning

24. Recent Changes to E-rate Technology Plan Requirements • Beginning in FY2011, Tech plans are required for Priority 2 services ONLY (internal connections and basic maintenance of internal connections) • The budget requirement for the Tech plans has been eliminated

25. Technology Plan Overview Tech Plan must be “written” prior to posting Form 470 for priority 2 services. DOCUMENT the existence of this “Written Plan” – i.e., Letter/E-mail from Cabinet, screen print of file name and date, and physical copy of plan. FFC rules require an “approved” technology plan when receiving E-rate discounts for priority 2 services (internal connections: switches, routers, cabling and basic maintenance)

26. Technology Plan Overview Find your public charter, district or COE Tech Plan status at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/techplan.asp *Decision: Decide which tech plan to use: A) E-rate only, B) EETT technology plan (best practice approach because it also qualifies applicant for K12 Microsoft voucher funding) Note: Libraries leverage your master plan in developing your technology plan. Service Providers and vendors are NOT allowed to assist in the technology planning process. Must cover all 12 months of the funding year (July 1 – June 30). E-rate only plans should not cover more than 3 years; EETT tech plans that meet E-rate requirements can cover 5 years with progress review during 3rd year. Must be approved by a “Certified Technology Plan Approver” See the Technology Plan approver locator tool on the USAC website: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/tech/default.asp Use the technology plan builder and the expertise of your CTAP regional assistance: http://myctap.org/index.php/techplan/tpb

27. 4Required Elements of a Technology Plan Used for E-rate Clear statement of goals and realistic strategy for using telecommunications and information technology to improve education or library services. Professional Development strategy to ensure staff understands how to use technologies to improve education or library services Needs Assessment of telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services that will be needed to improve education/library services Evaluation process to monitor progress towards goals and allows for mid-course corrections in response to new developments as they arise.

28. The “Two Tech Plans” E-Rate Only Plan: Goals Professional Development Needs Assessment Evaluation Process Tech Plan Help www.usac.org/sl/ applicants/step02/ • Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT): • Executive Summary/Introduction • Stakeholders • Curriculum • Professional Development • Infrastructure • Adult literacy • Research • Funding and Budget • Monitoring and Evaluation

29. EETT Tech Plan Cycle Dates: The final dates to submit your EETT Tech Plan for approval are: • Cycle A: September 17, 2010 • Cycle B: November 19, 2010 • Cycle C: March 11, 2011

30. Technology Plan “Must Do” Reminders: Must be “Written” prior to posting Form 470 for priority 2 services: It must be documented that it is written before the posting of the form 470! (Applicant must document the existence of this plan, i.e., e-mail with plan attached, memo from cabinet level about the plan being written, including the date. “DATE STAMP,” submit EETT tech plans during cycle A [final date November 19, 2010]) Must include a sufficient level of detail and cover all priority 2 services for which E-Rate discounts are being sought on the Form 470(s) and subsequent Form 471(s). Must be approved by the start of services (July 1) or the filing of Form 486, whichever is earlier for priority 2 services E-rate only plans must be approved by a “USAC Certified Technology Plan Approver” see USAC link: http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/reference/tech/default.asp Combination E-rate/EETT Tech plans must be submitted to your CTAP region for approval: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/ctapcoordinators.asp Must include all four required elements regardless of the type of plan being used (E-rate only or EETT)

31. Technology Plan Help E-rate Plans: John Vardanega, jvardane@cde.ca.gov, 916-323-2241 EETT Plans: Doris Stephen, dstephen@cde.ca.gov 916-324-9943 CTAP:http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/ctapcoordinators.asp CTAP Tech Plan Builder: http://myctap.org/index.php/techplan/tpb Libraries: Rushton Brandis, rushbrandis@library.ca.gov , 916-653-5471

32. E-Rate Discount Calculations Calculated based on two factors: 1. Percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP): http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step05/discount-matrix.aspx or an alternate method: http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step05/alternative-discount-mechanisms.aspx 2. Urban or Rural status (Matrix) http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step05/discount-matrix.aspx. - To verify your Urban or Rural Status status:http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step05/urban-rural/ - Census Tract Look-up Tool http://www.ffiec.gov/Geocode/default.aspx

33. Discount Calculations Instructional Facilities (i.e. schools) have a discount that comes from the NSLP free and reduced lunch data and the Urban/Rural Matrix Non-Instructional Facilities and libraries will use a weighted average of all schools in the system (i.e. district)

34. E-Rate Discount Matrix (i.e. individual school calculations)

35. Calculating a Weighted Average for District or Library System

36. Free and Reduced Lunch Eligibility under (NSLP) NSLP data is reported to CDE in October of each year. (This Con App (as shown on page 46) data is finalized/posted by CDE in the following Spring) http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/cw/filesafdc.asp This posted NSLP data comes from the Claim Reimbursement Form from Food Services Manager for month of October (online referred to as CNPS – Child Nutrition Information and Payment System) Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) looks at the NSLP data that is provided by CDE - so to avoid PIA discount issues use your latest Con App data on Form 471 Keep all establishing NSLP data used on Form 471 in your records for future USAC Inquiries

37. Con App Example(Consolidated Application)

38. OR

40. CNIPSNP Sponsor Claim For Reimbursement

41. Claim for Reimbursement Reconciliation Details

42. 2. Form 470: Starting the Application Process

43. Prepare For The E-Rate Cycle Technology Plan MUST be Written for Priority 2 services Review existing network structure, both telecommunications and data Expected growth in telecommunication and hardware needs Preparing for the Bidding/Procurement Process Number of classrooms and computers with phone/internet access NSLP data for discount percentage Ensure (CIPA) Compliance, implementation and board approval.

44. Manage the Cycle - Teamwork Authorized signer (Legally Authorized Signer) Designated contact person (Will receive E-rate calls, e-mail, faxes) Organize paper trail Written Technology Plan for Priority 2 services Assessment of existing Contracts, with signatures and dates (expiring contracts, etc) Prior year’s submitted applications Correspondence from SLD, Service Providers, etc. All bids received and evaluation documents Calendar of Deadlines

45. Form 470 – Contract Issues Block 2, Item 7 Know what type of contract/service you are seeking bids for

46. Form 470 Block 2, Items 8 – 9 Block 2, Item 1 MUST be filled out regardless of an available RFP If no RFP, must provide sufficient detail of services. Do not use laundry list. Must be specific.

47. Form 470 Block 3 • Technology Resources • Not eligible for discount but required in order to receive E-Rate funding

48. Form 470 Block 4 • Recipients of services • Number listed should be sufficient to include all possible entities. • Including Non-Instructional Facilities • Do you anticipate growth?

49. Form 470 Block 5 • Certification and Signatures

50. Submit and Certify Form 470 Once the Form 470 is submitted you must Certify online using a PIN, or Print the certification page, sign and mail this form ASAP-- “certified mail” Print the Form 470 for your records, and note the Allowable Contract Date (ACD) Also provided in the Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL)