Appendix E - E-rate

 

All school districts can benefit from the E-rate program. Below is information about the program and resources for getting started. Note that the district application for E-rate is due each fall for funding that beings the following July 1.

 

    1. What is Erate

    The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, commonly known as "E-Rate," is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and provides discounts to assist most schools and libraries in the United States to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access. It is one of four support programs funded through a Universal Service fee charged to companies that provide interstate and/or international telecommunications services. For more information go to

http://www.usac.org/sl/about/overview-program.aspx

 

   2. Connections between E-rate and EETT Technology plan requirements

    E-rate requires approved technology plans as a prerequisite for receiving Internet access or internal connection discounts. A CDE-approved EETT technology plan can be used for E-rate application purposes with the completion of the E-rate Supplemental Budget Analysis form. Districts should fill out the Supplemental Budget Analysis form annually and keep it at the district office with their other documentation in event of an audit.  You can download the document at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/techplan.asp

     For a comparison of the required components of both the E-rate and the EETT Technology plans please see the E-rate Required Elements document below.  It is important to note that there are differences in emphasis between E-rate and EETT Technology plans.  The EETT Technology plan emphasis is on Curriculum, Professional Development, in support of student academic achievement per No Child Left Behind, Title II, Part D and meets the 12 required Federal and State components. Erate emphasizes  infrastructure, network security, and  connectivity in support of district curricular goals. Erate plans must also include Professional Development to support the resources provided through Erate discounts.

 

 

           a. E-rate technology plan: Tech Plan Help

                       http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step02

           b. EETT Educational Technology Plan requirements: Tech Plan 

                        http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/techplan.asp

           c. Comparison of Erate Plan required elements and EETT Plan required elements

                       ErateRequired+Elements.pdf

 

Resource Sections

    1. Application Timeline

Please note that it is important to have a current plan for the timeframe of the services that you will be receiving.  It is recommended that districts plan on revising expiring plans between late spring and early fall prior to submission of Forms 470.  Approval (either CDE or Erate) must take place prior to the start of services. This is normally on July 1st of the year following the submission of Forms 470.

     2. Erate Requirements Per USAC:

A technology plan must be written - including all five elements - at the time the Form 470 is filed and must be approved before the start of service. Applicants are now required to formally certify on Form 486 that the technology plans on which they based their purchases were approved before they     began to receive service." (See PPT: Reviews for Program Compliance below for more details).

Erate for Beginners

Erate Intermediate _ Advanced.pdf

 

 

     3. Audits - What are auditors looking for

Preparing the Audit:  An overview of what comprises an Erate Audit, steps to prepare for the audit, and practical strategies for avoiding an audit through appropriate documentation/records.  Published by the California Department of Education

ErateAudit

 

 

     4. Suggestions from the field

             1. Surviving an Audit

a. Design the Erate or EETT Technology plan keeping in mind what the auditors will be looking for; the correlation between the tech plan, particularly Components 5 and 6, and the services to be requested with the Form 470. It is strongly recommended that districts keep documentation of all internal communications related to the tech plan process and approval of services requested on the Form 470 by appropriate district officials.

b. Make sure that you have a financial connection to everything in your technology plan.  Although the amounts don't have to  be exact, they do need to be mentioned. This means the Component 5: Infrastructure, Hardware, Software & Technical Support must be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate to the auditor that you did plan ahead for the services requested.

    5. Resources

           1. PowerPoints:

            The following PPTs will be helpful in providing you with a basic understanding of E-rate, its process' and basiccomponents.

                 1. Program Compliance: Training for Success (USAC)

                           What-are-the-new-basics.ppt

                 2. E-Rate California:For Beginner Applicants (CDE) erate-for-beginners.ppt

                       Includes:

                                     Competitive bidding / Form 470

                                     Calculating discounts

                                     Funding requests / Form 471

                                     Application review / Funding commitments

                                     Starting services / Form 486

                                     Invoicing USAC / Form 472 or Form 474

        2. Documents:

                 1. TenRules_erate04.pdf

                 This is a nice synopsis of 10 guidelines to help make the E-rate process manageable and successful.

                2. Schools and Libraries News Brief

                This newsletter provides a lot of information about the tech plan process and relationship to e-Rate.

        3. Planning tools

1. The Visio format planning tools were developed by Bob Carter, Sacramento County Office of Education.  They are designed to assist districts with tracking the tasks associated with E-rate: Submissions, Contracts, Billing etc.  Note that the templates provided at this time have not been updated for the current submission cycle. As the user, it is the district's responsibility to update the timelines in the template.

                 Visio-BEAR Timeline.pdf

2.The following Inspiration document provides the district with an overview of the correlation between the E-rate process and the CDE EETT Technology Plan approval process.

 

        4. URLs; research; articles; resources; etc.

                1. Key reference: Each year’s update of the Eligible Services List -

                http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/eligible.asp

                2. Services must be used for “Educational Purpose” -

                http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/educational_purposes.asp

 

    3. E-rate Central's webpage if filled with excellent material that will take some of the mystery out of the Erate process and                 terminology. Please note that this is a commercial site.

                    http://www.e-ratecentral.com

               4. Vocabulary

                   This document contains the common terms used throughout the Erate process. E-rate Terminology.doc

 

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONTACT YOUR LOCAL COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION'S E-RATE SPECIALIST FOR GUIDANCE, TRAININGS AND E-RATE PLAN APPROVAL.