Winter 2012 E-rate Update
February 3, 2012
Happy Groundhog's Week, E-raters! I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with an E-rate update on several pending issues:
Punxsutawney Phil's FY 2011 Priority 2 Funding Prediction - Because E-rate funding was available to cover all FY 2010 Priority 2 requests, many of you have asked for a prediction of what the FY 2011 and FY 2012 Priority 2 cut-off might be. Although I don't have any insider information, I can report that at last week's USAC Board Meeting, the Committee recommended setting an initial denial threshold for FY 2011 at 79% and lower (this hasn't yet been approved by the FCC). The demand for P2 is over $950 million, of which $807 million is at 90%. After funding all Priority 1 requests and Priority 2 requests at the 90% level, SLD would have only $142.7 million left to fund below 90%. Demand for P2 at the 89% discount level is $82 million, $158 million at the 88% level. Based on these figures, it is highly doubtful whether funding will be available at the 80% level. I suspect the FY 2012 Priority 2 funding outlook will be similar. Why was USAC able to fund all FY 2010 Priority 2 requests? Because the FCC used rollover funds that were designated for FY 2010 AND they waived their own rules to use funds that should have been designated for FY 2011.
Have You Updated Your Internet Safety Policy Yet? In August, the FCC's released the new CIPA Order, requiring schools to update their Internet Safety Policies (if they haven't done so already), to include provisions to educate minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response. The policies must be updated before July 1, 2012 and the online safety/cyberbullying education of students must be in place for the 2012 school year. For a complete FAQ, see: http://e-ratepa.org/Listserve-Archive/2011/08-15-11_2.html. Several schools have updated their policies with language that says the school MAY provide online safety education to students, or that cyberbullying is prohibited -- neither of which will make your school CIPA compliant. Your ISP must say that you WILL educate students; this isn't an option. Look for sample CIPA-compliant ISPs to be released in the next 2 weeks.
Deadline to Post 470 for FY 2012 - The absolute last day to post a FY 2012 Form 470 and still have 1 day to submit a Form 471 is February 21. But if you must take contracts to your board for approval, then back up your Form 470 filing deadline to 29 days from the date of your board meeting. This morning a list of the 52 PA public school districts that still haven't posted 470's for FY 2012 was sent to the listserve. If you haven't posted yours yet -- do it ASAP!
Deadline to Post 471 for FY 2012 - The final day to submit your FY 2012 Form 471 application and Item 21 attachments is March 20, for which there are no extensions.
PEPPM Filing Information Released - If you're filing for Priority 2 equipment/services and will be purchasing from the PEPPM contract, be sure to use the PEPPM filing guidance posted at: http://e-ratepa.org/state_contracts.htm.
Upcoming E-rate Workshops: Two E-rate workshops will be presented at this year's PETE & C Conference in Hershey that you may attend if you are a paid attendee to the conference. They are:
1) E-rate: Easy as 1, 2, 3! - Session Time: February 15, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
2) The New CIPA Law: Are You Ready? - Session Time: February 15, 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
-- 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
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