Intro

Jeannene Hurley

Michigan Department of Education

2006, Year 9

Funding Year

Overview

• Form 471 Application Filing Window• Issues that affect window for FY2006

• Release of final Eligible Services List by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• Special Katrina window

• Applicants – File Form 470 now

• Receipt of recurring services• July 1 – June 30 (12 months)

• Receipt of non-recurring services• July 1 – September 30 (15 months)

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EligibilityApplicants

• Educational Purposes• Activities that occur on library or school

property are presumed to be integral, immediate, and proximate to the education of students or the provision of library services to library patrons and therefore qualify as educational purposes.

• Customary work activities of employees of a school or library are presumed to fall under the definition of education purposes.

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EligibilityApplicants

SCHOOLS:• Administrative buildings• School bus barns and

garages• Cafeteria offices• Facilities associated with

athletic activities

LIBRARIES:• Administrative buildings• Bookmobile garages• Interlibrary loan facilities• Library technology

centers

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• Examples of Non-instructional Facilities (NIFs) that can receive Priority 1 services

Technology PlanningApplicants

• Technology Plans• Not required for basic telephone service• Must be written before Form 470 filing• Must be approved by a certified approver

before the Form 486 is filed or discounted services start, whichever is earlier

• Must cover all 12 months (or all months of service)

• Must cover five specific elements

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Competitive Bidding / 470Applicants

• Filing Form 470 opens a competitive bidding process.

• Can also issue a Request for Proposals (RFP).

• Applicants are responsible for ensuring an open and fair process and selecting the most cost-effective provider of the desired services.

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Competitive Bidding / 470Applicant Tips

• Applicant Personal Identification Numbers (PINs)

• Will be issued by secure mailer to all authorized persons on FY2005 Forms 470, 471 and 486.

• Will be automatically issued to any new authorized persons filing FY2006 Forms 470, 471 and 486.

• After accepting Terms and Conditions, can be used immediately to certify online.

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Calculating DiscountsApplicants

• Discounts are calculated using• Percentage of students eligible

for National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

• Urban or rural status of county in which school or library is located (from web site)

• These two pieces of information are carried into the Discount Matrix

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Funding Requests / 471Applicants

• Form 471• Provides specific information on

services, service providers selected, and contracts

• Provides discount calculation information

• Must be filed for each funding year• Contains certifications of compliance• Includes one or more funding requests

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Funding Requests / 471Applicants

• Contracts• Applicants and service providers must sign

contracts for services that are not provided under tariff or under month-to-month arrangements

• Contracts can cover more than one year or contain extensions, but applicant must indicate these options in the Form 470

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Funding Requests / 471Applicants

• State Master Contracts• If the state filed a Form 470, then the

applicant can cite the state’s Form 470 on its Form 471 Funding Request.

• If the applicant filed a Form 470, the applicant can consider a state master contract as one of the bids, and can choose it as the winning bid if it is the most cost-effective solution.

• The state master contract can meet the FCC requirements for a signed contract.

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Funding Requests / 471 Applicant Tips

• Don’t combine Priority 1 and Priority 2 requests on the same Form 471.

• Review of Priority 2 requests may hold up Priority 1 commitments.

• File (and certify) online• Reduces errors and speeds processing• USAC will issue you a PIN after successful

certification of your Form 471 if you do not already have one.

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Funding Requests / 471 Applicant Tips

• Block 4 Upload• The feature itself will not be available until

window opening, but the file spec will be made available at least three weeks prior to that.  You'll build a separate file for each worksheet of the Block 4.

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Funding Requests / 471 Applicant Tips

• Item 21 Online Submissionhttp://204.76.13.171/MFPIN/epdpublic/_Item21/frmitem21_Demo1.aspx

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Application Review Applicants

• Forms 471 are reviewed by Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) for compliance with program rules concerning areas such as:

• Competitive bidding process• Contracts• Discount calculation• Sufficient budget• Establishing Form 470• Technology plan• Children’s Internet Protection Act

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Funding Commitments Both

• Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL)

• Cover page of important reminders• Reports status of individual funding

requests:• Funded• Not funded• As yet unfunded (Priority 2 requests)

• Service provider does not receive this status

• Cancelled

• May receive more than one FCDL16

Starting Services / 486Applicants

• Form 486• Notifies USAC that services have started

and invoices can be paid• Certifies that Tech Plan (if required) meets

program requirements.• Certifies the status under Children’s Internet

Protection Act (CIPA).• Lead members of consortia may be required to

collect CIPA certifications from consortium members on a separate form (Form 479).

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Starting ServicesBoth

• Obligation to Pay Non-discount Share• Applicants are required to pay their share of

the cost (the “non-discount” portion or share) — this share cannot be donated, forgiven or ignored.

• Service providers cannot waive or credit the applicant’s share.• Offers to reduce price must be incorporated into

the “total pre-discount amount.”

• Service provider must bill the applicant for non-discount share of services.

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Invoicing / 472 or 474Both

• BEAR (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement) Form 472 is filed by the applicant and certified by the service provider after the applicant receives services and pays for the services in full.

• SPI (Service Provider Invoice) Form 474 is filed by the service provider after providing services and billing the applicant for its non-discount share.

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Invoicing / 472 or 474 Both

• Quarterly Disbursement Report

• Sent only to applicants

• Authorized person

• Billed Entity (BEN) address.

• Contains all invoice (Form 472 and Form 474) payment authorization amounts for the Billed Entity for all funding years approved during that quarter.

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AppealsBoth

• USAC decisions can be appealed to USAC or to the FCC.

• Generally, appeal first to USAC.• Can appeal to the FCC if USAC does not

grant the appeal.

• Can be filed electronically or on paper.• Must be filed electronically or postmarked

within 60 days of the USAC decision.• Requests for waivers of rules must be

filed with the FCC.21

General TipsBoth

• If you submit something to USAC:• Check your work• Sign and date it (online or on paper)• Submit it by the deadline• Keep a copy and proof of submission

• If USAC sends something to you:• Read it• Take all appropriate actions• Save it

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AssistanceBoth

• Schools and Libraries / USAC web site

• Client Service Bureau

• Use the “Submit a Question” link on the web site

• Fax toll-free at 1-888-276-8736

• Telephone toll-free at 1-888-203-8100

• Form instructions

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Questions?

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