E-Rate for California Beginner Applicants

1. E-Rate for CaliforniaBeginner Applicants

2. 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 • Acronyms

3. 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 • E-rate Organization • General Information about E-rate

4. E-rate Rules General Information about E-rate • 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. How USAC is related to the FCC General Information about E-rate USAC is a not-for-profit corporation appointed by the FCC to act as the administrator of the E-Rate program Note: Comprehensive information about the E-Rate program is available at the SLD website: http://www.usac.org/sl/

6. E-rate Timeline General Information about E-rate • Commitments for E-rate are made by funding year (FY), which runs from July 1 through the following June 30 • USAC refers to the funding year as the year in which most services will begin • E.g., FY2012 is July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013

7. E-rate Budget General Information about E-rate • Commitments were capped at $2.25 billion for each funding year • This cap started to be adjusted for inflation starting in FY2010, currently set for 2012 at $2.29 B. • Once each year, FCC can roll over unused funds from previous funding years into the current funding year

8. The role of CA Dept of Ed and State Library General Information about E-rate • 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

9. Who is eligible for E-Rate funding? E-Rate Eligibility • Schools and school districts • Non-traditional facilities (conditionally by state). • Libraries and library systems • Consortia – groups of eligible entities that band together to aggregate demand and negotiate lower prices

10. Schools E-Rate Eligibility • 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.

11. Pre-K and Adult Ed E-Rate Eligibility • State law, in conjunction with E-Rate rules, determines eligibility of Pre-K (i.e. 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

12. Libraries E-Rate Eligibility • 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.

13. Beginner’s Presentation Identifying sites

14. Non-Instructional Facility (NIF) Identifying Sites

15. Identification Numbers Identifying Sites • Billed Entity Number – BEN (for the applicant only) • http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Utilities/BilledEntitySearch_Public.asp • Service Provider Identification Number – SPIN (for the Service Provider only) • http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Forms/SPIN_Contact_Search.asp

16. Beginner’s Presentation E-Rate Process

17. 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 • E-Rate Process

19. E-Rate Timeline: July 1 – June 30 *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. Beginner’s Presentation General Information

21. E-rate Categories of Service General Information • Priority 1 (P1) (funded first) • Telecommunications Services • Internet Access • Priority 2 (P2) (funded beginning with neediest applicants first) • Internal Connections • Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections

22. E-rate Forms General Information • How do I file a program form? • In general, you have three options: • File online, certify on paper • File online, certify online • File on paper, certify on paper • There are two versions of each online form: standard and interview *Tip*USAC encourages you to file online, because online filing speeds processing and reduces errors

23. E-rate Letters General Information • Each time you file a program form, USAC sends you a letter • Letters are color-coded by funding year • 2011 Blue • 2012 Canary • 2013 Pink etc. *Tip* When storing documents, USAC encourages you to separate your program forms & letters by funding year to better organize them.

24. Beginner’s Presentation E-Rate Technology Planning

25. Technology Planning

26. Four elements: the four required elements you must address in your technology plan starting in FY2011 (July 1, 2011) when applying for priority 2 services • Technology Plan Approver (TPA): the agency/person certified by USAC that approves your technology plan • Acronyms and Terms • Technology Planning

27. Tech plans ensure that schools and libraries are prepared to effectively use the requested services to integrate telecommunications and internet access into the educational program or library services that they provide to students. • Tech plans should support and validate all Erate services applied for, especially priority 2 services, Internal Connections (IC) and Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections (BMIC). • Purpose of the Tech Plan • Technology Planning

28. Technology Plan Overview • FFC rules require an “approved” technology plan when receiving E-rate discounts for priority 2 services (there are 2 types of tech plans that can be used: an EETT or E-rate only). • 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) Note: Libraries leverage your master plan in developing your technology plan. • Tech Plan must be “written” prior to posting Form 470. • 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. • 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. • Tech plans must include all services (both current and future) for which E-Rate discounts are sought. • 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 10. Leverage the technology expertise of your CTAP regional assistance: CTAP: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/ctapcoordinators.asp

29. 4 Required 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 Budget:No longer required in the tech plan but USAC will likely request this information during PIA or other application reviews. Best practice would be to put a budget with appropriate fund sources highlighted in your E-rate related documentation files.

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

31. The final dates to submit your EETT Tech Plan to CTAP for approval are: • Cycle A: October 7, 2011 • Cycle B: December 16, 2011 • Cycle C: April 13, 2012 • EETT Tech Plan Cycle Dates • Technology Planning

32. Must be “Written” prior to posting Form 470: • 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 October 9, 2009]) • Must include a sufficient level of detail and cover all services (priority 2) 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 • 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 (as noted previously) regardless of the type of plan being used (E-rate only or EETT) • “Must Do” Reminders • Technology Planning

33. Service Providers may notact as technology plan approvers, write/create, or assist in the tech plan in any capacity • Remember to include in your tech plan all the services that you apply for on Form 470/471, required for priority 2 - internal connections, and basic maintenance • Additional reminders • Technology Planning

34. 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 • Help • Technology Planning

35. Beginner’s Presentation CIPA Compliance

36. FOR SCHOOLS – By July 1, 2012, amend your existing Internet safety policy (if you have not already done so) to provide for the education of minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking sites and in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response. • FOR LIBRARIES – No new requirements. • Overall - several existing statutory requirements have been codified and others have been clarified. • New requirements under CIPA • CIPA Compliance

37. Internet safety policy • Technology protection measure (filter) • Public notice of – and public meeting or hearing on – the Internet safety policy For a detailed discussion of CIPA requirements: Children’s Internet Protection Act website guidance Form 486 Instructions Form 479 Instructions • Recap of continuing requirements • CIPA Compliance

38. Beginner’s Presentation Discounts

39. Determining Your Discount Percentage Discounts • How large are the discounts on eligible products and services? – Discounts: 20% to 90% of eligible costs • Discount level for a school or library depends on: 1) Percentage of students who are eligible for National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in: → (for a school) the school → (for a library) the school district in which the library is located 2) Urban or rural location of the school or library

40. 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 • Calculations • Discounts

41. Discount Matrix: Discounts

42. Instructional Facilities 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 • Types of Facilities • Discounts

43. NSLP data is reported to CDE for October of each year: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/cw/filesafdc.asp • This posted NSLP data comes from Page 48 of the Consolidated Application (Con App) • Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) uses this CDE NSLP data. Starting in FY2012, applicants must use this October NSLP data reported to CDE to calculate the discount • Important: Keep all establishing NSLP data used on Form 471 to calculate the discount in your E-rate file for future USAC Inquiries • Basis for determining – • National School Lunch Program (NSLP) • Discounts

44. Sample District • Discounts

45. Beginner’s Presentation Eligible Services List

46. Key reference: Eligible Services List – http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/eligible-services-list.aspx • This List is updated Annually • 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 • Services must be used for “Educational Purpose” - http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/educational_purposes.asp • Basic Concepts • Eligible Services List

47. 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. • Educational Purpose • Eligible Services List

48. Beginner’s Presentation Preparing for the Cycle

49. Technology Plan – • Is it still applicable? • When does it expire? • Know what you have and Assess what you will Need • Review existing network structure, both telecommunications and data • Plan with Internal Stakeholders what growth in telecommunication and hardware needs “Preparing for the Bidding Process” • Number of classrooms and computers with phone/internet access • NSLP data for discount percentage • Ensure (CIPA) Compliance, implemented, board approval. • Tips • Preparing for the Cycle

50. Authorized signer ( Legally Authorized Signer ) • Designated contact person (Will receive E-rate calls) • Organize paper trail • Written Technology Plan • 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 • Teamwork • Preparing for the Cycle