March E-rate Update
March 5, 2025
March 26 Form 471 Deadline – Only 3 weeks remain to file your FY 2025 Form 471. There are 757 funding requests submitted thus far, which is only about 1/3 of what I expect will be submitted. If you haven’t yet submitted, please do so as soon as possible. Currently, more than 56% of PA funding requests are in Wave Ready Status, but that percentage decreases the closer we get to the Form 471 deadline.
Supreme Court Whistleblower Decision – On February 21, 2025 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Wisconsin Bell v. U.S. that E-rate reimbursement requests can be considered “claims” under the False Claims Act. The Court did not find that all E-rate funds were federal funds but that at least $100 million in delinquent contributions, settlements, and restitution awards collected by the FCC were sufficient to bring the E-Rate program under the False Claims Act. In this case, Todd Heath, an independent telephone auditor, found and reported instances in which Wisconsin Bell, an AT&T subsidiary, was apparently charging E-Rate applicants higher fees for telephone services than it was charging similarly situated, non-residential customers, in violation of the FCC’s “Lowest Corresponding Price” rule. Damages under the False Claims Act allow a whistleblower to seek three times the amount of actual damages sustained by the government due to fraudulent claims. To be eligible under the False Claims Act, E-Rate funds — or at least any portion of E-Rate funds — must be deemed “federal funds.” Generally, I don’t think this decision will have any impact on the existing program.
Update to USF Supreme Court case – On March 26, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in FCC v. Consumers’ Research with a decision still expected in June. You’ll recall that in July 2024, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Universal Service Fund (USF) was unconstitutional. In earlier decisions, both the 6th and 11th Circuit Courts found the opposite – that the USF was constitutional. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and briefs on both sides were filed in mid-January. In the meantime, E-rate and the other three USF programs are operating and will continue, “business as usual.” I’ll continue to keep you posted as the case proceeds.
Cybersecurity Pilot Program Listserve – I have recently established a new CPP listserve for PA selected participants in order to provide deadline program-specific reminders, updates, FAQs and tips, additional resources and eventually, CPP funding commitment announcements (assuming they’re made public). Representatives from these 54 organizations already have been subscribed, but if you are a CPP selected participant or are assisting one of these PA entities with their application, and would like added to the new listserve, please let me know.
Update on Future of Off-Campus Hotspots – Last week, Senate Majority Leader Thune stated that he intended to allow a Senate vote on a Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval to repeal the E-rate eligibility of off-campus hotspots. As of today, no vote has been taken but should the Resolution pass, it must then also be approved by the House and signed by the President. I will keep you updated, but for now, continue to submit your Form 471 funding requests for these services but on separate Form 471 applications from your other E-rate funding requests.
E-mail Seeking Bid Tabulations – Many of you have reported receiving an e-mail from CoquinaTech with the subject “Bid Tabulation request.” I have learned that these requests were sent to schools and libraries nationwide. A reminder: Public schools must comply with Right to Know requests that are submitted using the school’s RTK adopted policy. Libraries must comply only if they are considered an “agency.” If you’re unsure whether you fall in this category, please refer to this presentation by the executive director of the Office of Open Records: Library-Open-Records-Law-Presentation-2024.pdf (note: this presentation is an excellent resource to explain PA’s RTK law for all entities). There is no separate E-rate requirement to disclose this information, except to USAC, FCC and/or auditors.
Can I Increase Category 2 Quantities – Because FY 2025 is the final year of the current Category 2 Budget Cycle, schools and libraries are eager to utilize as much of their remaining C2 budget cap as possible – awesome! During the bid evaluations, many schools and libraries are finding that their bids are coming in with lower costs than they had anticipated when they developed their original equipment list, thus begging the question – “Can I increase quantities on my vendor contract and Form 471 than what was originally sought on my mini-bid or Form 470.” The answer is yes, this is permissible, but within reason. First, you should conduct your bid evaluation and select the winning vendor. Next, e-mail the winning vendor to seek a draft contract that increases quantities of X product. Then submit the Form 471 using the new contract and higher quantities/amounts. Be sure to keep your bid evaluation (always) and a paper trail of your vendor correspondence.
Additional Words of Wisdom:
1– You must file a Form 471 every year to request funding for recurring services – even if you’re in a multi-year contract. There’s no such thing as a multi-year E-rate funding commitment.
2 – Support SKUs (maintenance) for Internal Connections must be filed on a separate FRN.
3 – If a SKU has no cost, or you are not requesting E-rate discounts on it, leave it off your Form 471 entirely.
4 – Don’t use the Save & Share or Send for Certification Buttons on the Form 471. It will take the application out of your EPC portal and send to all other EPC Users for your entity. You’ll find yourself frantic wondering why your application disappeared.
5 – There’s no way to upload a contract amendment into EPC. Don’t create a new Contract Record. You can mention in the FRN narrative if your contract was amended and PIA will reach out for a copy of the amendment if they need it.
If you have any questions, please e-mail me at jtschell@comcast.net.
— Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 – o
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org