Clarification Regarding Advertising on School Websites
May 10, 2012
A common question I receive is, "Is a school permitted to have advertising on their website or include Amazon-type links if the school is receiving E-rate funding for webhosting and/or Internet access?" Last week, we received the following unofficial (verbal) guidance from FCC officials related to this issue.
The FCC does not believe that advertising on a school's website is a violation of the E-rate resale prohibition. However, they strongly cautioned that E-rate funded services must be used primarily for educational purposes and therefore if the school's website is overwhelmed with advertisements, that would be a problem. But modest advertisements would be considered ancillary and would not be in violation of E-rate rules.
I believe this is a positive answer and one I'm pleased to check off the "open issues" list! If you have any questions about this clarification, please don't hesitate to contact me.
-- Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 - o
717-730-9060 - f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org
Penn*link
|