Technology Planning Resources for Public School Priority 2 Applicants
November 20, 2013
Many public schools have asked about the technology plan approval process this year. If you are a public school entity and intend to apply for Priority 2 E-rate funding for Funding Year 2014, please read this message carefully. Important: Beginning with FY 2011, only entities applying for PRIORITY 2 E-rate funding are required to meet the federal technology planning requirements. However, all LEAs are encouraged to incorporate technology into their Comprehensive Plans.
Public school LEAs must use the Comprehensive Planning Process (CPP) to create their educational technology plan reports for PDE review and approval. Unlike eStrategic Planning, Comprehensive Planning does NOT provide a separate educational technology plan report; therefore, all of an LEA's technology-related activities must be addressed in their Comprehensive Plan. The CPP asks if the comprehensive plan should be reviewed for technology plan approval and applicants that may be requesting Priority 2 funding in the next 3 years should answer YES to this question. Attached to this message is a document that provides a cross-walk showing how to use the Comprehensive Planning Process to create an E-rate-compliant technology plan as well as a master list that shows to which CPP Phase public schools have been assigned.
A few important notes:
-- If you are a Phase 2 LEA, you should be in the process of creating a Comprehensive Plan to be submitted no later than November 30, 2013. (Please note: your Phase assignment may have changed as part of the transition from eStrategic Planning to Comprehensive Planning. See the attached Master Phase List to confirm your current Phase assignment (also available at: http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/lea_planners/8950/resources/535083.)
-- Comprehensive Plans will be subjected to a review and approval process similar to prior eStrategic Plan Reports and, once approved, will span the subsequent three fiscal years in accordance with E-rate requirements. For example: Phase 1 Comprehensive Plans were submitted by November 30, 2012, were approved by June 30, 2013, and are effective July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2016. Phase 2 Comprehensive Plans must be submitted by November 30, 2013, will be approved by June 30, 2014, and will be effective July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2017.
-- If an LEA has a current Educational Technology Plan Report that will expire before a new Comprehensive Plan will be in effect, the LEA must submit a "gap" Educational Technology Plan Report using the old eStrategic Planner to span the lapse. For example: a Phase 2 LEA with a Plan Report expiring June 30, 2014, is reassigned to Phase 3 of the Comprehensive Planning Process. The new Comprehensive Plan will not be in effect until July 1, 2015; therefore, the LEA must create and submit NOW a Plan Report in the eStrategic Planner to span July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.
For questions on the Comprehensive Planning Process, please contact the Comprehensive Planning Support Center at paplanning@caiu.org or 717-732-8403. For E-rate-specific questions, please contact Julie Tritt Schell 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
|