Category 2 Bidding Rules for PA Non-Public Schools and Libraries
November 15, 2024
~ C2 Eligibility and Form 470 Filing Guide Available ~
~ Final Year to Use C2 Funding in Current Budget Cycle ~
~ Amount Remaining in Your C2 Budget Available ~
Category 2 E-rate funding covers the equipment and related services that transport data within schools and libraries, such as wireless access points, routers, switches, and wiring, subject to a 5-year budget cap. Competitive bidding rules related to Category 2 funding for PA nonpublic schools and libraries applicants mirrors the E-rate requirements exactly as these entity types are not subject to the additional requirements under the PA public procurement code. The following message outlines those bidding requirements for PA nonpublic schools and libraries and a Category 2 Eligibility and Form 470 Filing Guide is available at: Category-2-Eligibility-Form-470-Bidding-Guide-Non-Public-Schools-and-Libraries-1.pdf.
Changes to FY 2025 Category 2 and Form 470
- The Category 2 Eligible Services List is unchanged from last year and is available at: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-24-1104A1.pdf.
- The FY 2025 Form 470 has added the functionality to allow RFP documents to be uploaded to an existing Form 470, even if no RFP document was originally uploaded. The system will also ask if this is a substantial change, and if you answer yes, the system will reset and extend your Allowable Contract Date by an additional 28 days. Find 470 > Related Actions > Add RFP Document
- Functionality has been added in EPC to allow you to cancel an existing Form 470 as long as it has not yet been cited on a funded Form 471. Find 470 > Related Actions > Cancel Form 470.
Category 2 Budgets: What’s Remaining for Your School or Library
– FY 2025 is the 5th and final year of the current 5-year Category 2 budget which spans FY 2021 – FY 2025 so if you need any eligible equipment, licenses or cabling, be sure to begin the procurement process now so you can use these remaining funds in FY 2025! C2 budgets are calculated based on the C2 multiplier ($167/student for schools and $4.50/sq ft for libraries – or a minimum of $25,000/building) and the Category 2 enrollment or library square footage that’s currently in EPC. The school enrollment figure used for C2 budgets can be different from the enrollment used for discount calculations. Schools can use the same C2 enrollment for the entire budget cycle or modify it if enrollment or library square footage has increased to take advantage of the higher C2 budget. To see what your remaining C2 budget is for FY 2025 (as of 9/16/2024), see: Remaining-C2-Budgets-as-of-Sept-16-2024-1.xlsx. If you update your C2 enrollment in EPC or return an unspent commitment from a prior funding year, the C2 budget will change and the results can be found on USAC’s C2 Budget Data Tool at: E-Rate-C2-Budget-Tool-FY2021-/8z69-hkn7. Simply use the filter on the right side of the page.
To determine if you have undisbursed C2 funds from a prior E-rate funding year since 2021 and learn how to “decommit” those funds back into your C2 budget, see: https://e-ratepa.org/?p=35679.
General C2 Bidding Reminders for All Applicants (public and non-public):
- E-rate rules require applicants that include a specific model number or manufacturer’s name to also include the words “or equivalent” on their Form 470 and RFP/PEPPM mini-bid documents and then evaluate equivalent products that are bid. Applicants may state that such equipment must be compatible and interoperable with the school/library’s existing equipment (in which case the existing equipment should be identified).
- E-rate rules require that any bid disqualification reasons be stated in the State and Local Procurement Requirements of the Form 470/RFP or PEPPM mini-bid documents. Disqualification reasons must be yes/no (either proposals complied or they did not).
- USAC requires applicants to consider all bids received up until the date you conduct your bid evaluation if your Form 470 or RFP/mini-bid don’t list a specific due date. This is different from previously understood guidance which was that vendors should consider the 28th day after the 470 is posted as the default deadline to submit bids. Therefore, it is important that you state a deadline for vendors to submit proposals (which, of course, must be on or after the 28-day waiting period). I suggest the following language: “Deadline for vendor proposals is [XXXXXXX] at noon. We reserve the right to reject late-submitted proposals. Proposals must be e-mailed to the Form 470 contact unless otherwise noted.”
- Because USAC requires a full 28-days after vendor questions are answered or new information is provided, I am strongly recommending that applicants provide vendors with 2 weeks to ask questions, answer those questions within 2 days, and then have the bid due date be 29-days after the questions are answered. This will ensure full compliance with the E-rate bidding rules. For example, if you post a Form 470 on December 1, make the deadline for vendor questions be December 15, issue answers to vendor questions (by uploading with the existing Form 470/RFP in EPC) by December 17, then make vendor bids due January 12.
- TheFCC prohibits the use of Universal Service funding, including E-rate funds, to purchase equipment and services from companies deemed a national security risk. Be certain that you do not consider any proposals that include equipment that are on the FCC’s security risk list: https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist.
- E-rate rules prohibit applicants from contacting potential vendors prior to bidding to seek an equipment list. Service providers are allowed to answer general questions about the products and services they sell in response to applicant inquiries, but they may not prepare any part of a RFP or spec sheet/bill of materials that will be used by the applicant for conducting a competitive bid procurement. Likewise, vendors are not permitted to provide sample Form 470 language.
- Applicants must have a signed contract for all Category 2 funding requests before the Form 471 is filed. This can be as simple as a signed vendor quote as long as it contains this information:
— Contract signing date (must be on or before the Form 471 submission date).
— Term of contract (4/1/2025 – 9/30/2026 for equipment purchases).
— List of equipment/quantities/prices (or services) and installation costs.
— Whether you want the equipment/services to be contingent upon E-rate funding approval.
- The Category 2 Form 470 now has a welcome feature — an added basic maintenance (BMIC) checkbox on the Internal Connections service request page so applicants aren’t required to post a separate BMIC service request. However, for applicants seeking BMIC services for separate procurements (perhaps for existing equipment), the option still exists to create a separate BMIC service request.
Recommended Timeline: The Form 471 filing window dates have not yet been announced but the window is expected to be open from mid- January – mid-late March, 2025. Because non-public schools and libraries often don’t have a local requirement to first obtain board approval prior to contract signing, these entities can be more flexible with when their bidding process begins. I recommend releasing the Form 470 by mid-December, but no later than the first week in January, with the intention of conducting the bid evaluation and signing a vendor contract in February and submitting the Form 471 in early March.
If you have any questions related to the information contained in this message, 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