Back-to-School E-rate Update – Sept 2024

September 23, 2024

Attached: No-486-Filed-for-FY-2024-as-of-9-20.xlsx

Happy September, E-raters!  I hope everyone had a great summer and your back-to-school transition went smoothly.  This time of year is filled with lots of E-rate activity, as you’re wrapping up FY 2023 implementing FY 2024, and preparing to bid/apply for FY 2025.  Please take a few minutes to review these updates to ensure that your filings are on-track. 

FY 2025:

  • Coming Soon!  Fall E-rate Training:  In the coming days I’ll be announcing dates for the fall E-rate training for beginners, veterans as well as Category 1 and 2 Form 470/bidding trainings. Stay tuned!
  • FY 2025 Form 470 Now Available:  The E-rate Funding Year 2025 Form 470 is now available.  The new form now includes options for both Wi-Fi on school buses and Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as the functionality to add an RFP document to an existing Form 470, even if no RFP was included when the Form 470 was originally posted. 
  • FY 2025 is Final Year of Category 2 Budget Cycle:  FY 2025 the final year of the current Category 2 budget cycle and no unused funding from this budget cycle will carry forward to the next C2 budget cycle.  To see how much C2 funding remains for your school or library, and for tips on how to potentially increase this remaining amount, see:  https://e-ratepa.org/?p=35679.
  • Important PEPPM Reminder:  If you will be using the PA PEPPM Contract as the bidding vehicle for your FY 2025 procurements, ALWAYS download and use the most recent version of the PEPPM Category/Awarded Vendor List when sending PEPPM mini-bids.  The Category/Awarded Vendor List is Attachment C on the PEPPM page:  https://e-ratepa.org/?page_id=6121 and is a live document.  Additional product lines are added and contact information changes for vendors, so it’s important that you always use the most recent version. 

FY 2024: 

  • Reminder to File FY 2024 Form 486s:  If you have received your FY 2024 FCDL and have not yet filed the Form 486, don’t forget this important step.  Although the deadline to submit is October 28 for most FRNs, some have a later deadline because they were funded after July 1.  Until the Form 486 is filed, you won’t be able to submit a BEAR or receive discounted bills until the 486 is submitted.  Attached is a list of all approved FY 2024 FRNs that do not yet have their Form 486 filed.  Full instructions on the Form 486 can be found at: Form-486-Filing-Guide-FY-2024.pdf.

FY 2023: 

  • Reminder to File FY 2023 BEARs:  The deadline to file FY 2023 BEARs for recurring services is October 28, 2024.  A Form 472 BEAR Filing Guide is available at: BEAR-Filing-Guide-New-BEAR-July-2024.pdf.  Be sure to select the FY 2023 Form 471 and FRN numbers and not your FY 2024 FRNs (if filing for recurring services from last funding year). I’ll soon send out a separate e-mail that provides a list of all FY 2023 FRNs and their reimbursement status in the next few days.
  • Need an Extension for FY 2023 Equipment Installation?  September 30, 2024 is the deadline to receive and install your FY 2023 equipment.  If you cannot have the equipment installed by this date, you should submit a Form 500 in EPC now to receive a 1-year extension (through Sept 30, 2025).  Important:  All requests must be made before the September 30, 2024 deadline. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jtschell@comcast.net!

— Julie

Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org    

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