{"id":35960,"date":"2025-05-13T21:48:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T01:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35960"},"modified":"2025-05-14T21:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T01:55:09","slug":"may-2025-e-rate-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/?p=35960","title":{"rendered":"May 2025 E-rate Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>May 13, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good morning, E-raters!&nbsp; I hope everyone is having a wonderful spring!&nbsp; Below are several E-rate updates and reminders\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Senate Votes to Eliminate Off-Campus Wi-Fi Hotspot Eligibility:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong>On May 8, the U.S. Senate voted 50-38 to pass<a href=\"https:\/\/shlb.us12.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=b8f06a885587335ee5c6b1717&amp;id=06977df24a&amp;e=7c5a6271cf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">S.J. Res. 7<\/a>, which, if passed by the House, will permanently overturn the FCC\u2019s decision to allow E-rate funding to be used for Wi-Fi hotspot lending by schools and libraries.&nbsp; Note that this does not impact school-bus Wi-Fi or library bookmobile funding.&nbsp; If the measure is signed, hotspot eligibility cannot be reinitiated by the FCC under a future administration without an authorizing act of Congress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Out of Window Waivers<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 On May 1, the FCC granted out of window waivers for 11 of the 23 PA applicants that filed late Form 471s by April 9 and requested a window waiver from the FCC.&nbsp; Those applicants would have received an e-mail from the FCC with an attachment of their appeal decisions for that month, showing that their waiver was approved.&nbsp; If you filed a late 471 by April 9 and filed a waiver request to the FCC but haven\u2019t yet received notification, the FCC issues their appeal\/waiver decisions on the first business day of each month.&nbsp; If your waiver request is approved, the FCC will direct USAC to move your application to \u201cin window\u201d status and proceed with PIA review in the normal review queue.&nbsp; There\u2019s nothing you have to do except wait to see if PIA has questions for you in the coming weeks\/months. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Status of FY 2025 Funding Commitments:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>As of May 12, 52% of PA funding requests have been decided.\u00a0 PIA continues to actively review applications so if your application has not yet been decided, be checking your e-mail for PIA inquiries.\u00a0 If you need assistance with understanding the PIA review process or where to find the PIA reviewer\u2019s questions, please see:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PIA-Review-Guide-FY-2025.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PIA-Review-Guide-FY-2025.pdf<\/a>.\u00a0 If you need assistance with responding to a PIA inquiry, please e-mail me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Annual Nationwide E-rate Survey<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The annual nationwide E-rate survey is being conducted by Funds for Learning seeking schools\u2019 and libraries\u2019 opinions and experiences with the E-rate program.\u00a0 I hope you will take a few minutes and complete the survey, anonymously, if you choose.\u00a0 At the close of the survey, the results will be tabulated into a comprehensive report that will then be shared with the FCC, USAC and the general public as it is each year.\u00a0 The survey is available at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/25erate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/25erate<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Remember to File Your FY 2025 Form 486:<\/strong>\u00a0 The next step after receiving a FCDL (funding commitment decision letter) is to file the Form 486. It\u2019s a very easy form to submit and I strongly encourage you to file it on the day you receive the FCDL so you don\u2019t forget.\u00a0 Two reminders:\u00a0 Check the \u2018Early Filing Box\u2019 if filing the 486 before July 31, and be careful not to be \u201cclick happy\u201d on the CIPA certifications.\u00a0 Full instructions on the Form 486 can be found at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Form-486-Filing-Guide-FY-2025.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Form-486-Filing-Guide-FY-2025.pdf<\/a>.\u00a0 I\u2019ll send out a 486 reminder in a few months with the list of applicants that haven\u2019t yet filed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reminder to Label and Inventory Category 2 Equipment:<\/strong>\u00a0 If you applied for Category 2 discounts this year, don\u2019t forget to label the equipment before it\u2019s installed, and add the equipment to your asset inventory.\u00a0 For more details on these requirements, in addition to other C2-related issues, please review the Category 2 Purchasing Guide, available at:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Equipment-Purchasing-Guide-FY-2025.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Equipment-Purchasing-Guide-FY-2025.pdf<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reminder if You Want Discounted Bills:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Be sure to tell your vendors if you want to receive discounted bills where the vendor then seeks reimbursement.\u00a0 If you prefer to pay your vendor invoices in full and then submit the Form 472 BEAR to seek reimbursement, that\u2019s your option, but you must stick with one invoicing method or the other for the entire funding year for each FRN.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>FY 2024 and FY 2025 BEAR Reimbursement Filings:<\/strong>\u00a0 Starting July 1, 2025, applicants can begin to submit BEARs for FY 2025 equipment purchases that were made on or after April 1, 2025.\u00a0 This is also about the time when applicants who did not receive discounted vendor bills for FY 2024 will begin to submit those BEARs as well.\u00a0 I\u2019ll provide more detailed information on filing that form in the coming weeks, but I wanted you to be aware that this date is approaching.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Changing EPC Account Administrators\/Adding New EPC Users:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Summer often brings staffing changes and it\u2019s important that the new staff get set up in EPC so they are prepared to file E-rate forms as soon as they\u2019re due.\u00a0 Hints:\u00a0 Only AA\u2019s can create new EPC user accounts and assign User \u2018permissions.\u2019\u00a0 Only AAs can transfer their AA \u2018credentials\u2019 to another existing EPC User.\u00a0 If the AA is the new staff member and the previous AA is no longer with the school or library, contact CSC at 888-203-8100 and they will set up a new EPC AA account (only CSC can do this).\u00a0 For a complete guide on how to add\/remove EPC users, or change AAs, see:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/EPC-How-To-Guide-as-of-Nov-2024.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EPC-How-To-Guide-as-of-Nov-2024.pdf<\/a>. \u00a0Also, if you need any new E-rate contacts added to the PA E-rate Listserve, please e-mail me their contact information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Julie Tritt Schell<br>Pennsylvania E-rate Coordinator<br>717-730-7133 &#8211; o<br>jtschell@comcast.net<br>www.e-ratepa.org&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"twitter-share\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?via=eratepenn\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-size=\"large\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 13, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-listserve_archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35960\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e-ratepa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}