UNDERSTANDING THE E-RATE PROGRAM, A GUIDE FOR

UTAH’S DIGITAL TEACHING & LEARNING PROGRAM APPLICANTS

2017-2018 FUNDING YEAR

Fall Bootcamp, 2016

Utah Education and Telehealth Network

Sabrina Scott, sabrina.scott@utah.edu Melinda Talbot, m.talbot@utah.edu

http://www.uen.org/digital-learning/

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Understanding the E-rate Handbook

A Typical “Year” In E-rate First Fall (Year 1): Prepare and plan updates

● Determine needs for following year – use Eligible Service List (ESL) as guide ● Review new E-rate rules ● Determine eligible services ● Prepare RFPs (if needed) ● File Form 470 (if needed)

Winter: Prepare for vendor selection and 471 ● Evaluate bid responses ● Present proposals to Board (if needed) ● Sign contracts ● Gather student enrollment and FRSL eligibility numbers ● Update EPC profiles for each school accordingly ● File Form 471 and certify within filing window

Spring: Prepare for PIA ● Respond to PIA questions ● Cost effectiveness reviews ● Competitive bidding reviews ● Additional Certifications ● Receive Funding Commitment Decision Letter notification and generate in EPC

Summer: Prepare for service start July 1

● For Category 1 - If you receive your FCDL before July 1, file 486 early! ● For Category 2 – You may want to be more conservative and be sure all non-discount

funding is available before filing the 486 ○ Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Funds

Following Fall:

● File Form 486 no later than October 29 (or 120 days after receipt of a Funding Commitment Letter)

● File Form 472 BEAR Form (applicants) or Form 474 SPI Form (vendors) on invoices of previous year by October 28 to claim E-rate money

Year-round:

● Receive services, pay bills, document all requested services, and vendor changes, if necessary

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● Keep all files for at least 10 (ten) more years

Want to Get Started? E-Rate Eligibility

The first step is to learn about E-Rate eligibility. Are you an eligible applicant (school or library) or service provider? What are the services that are eligible for funding? If you're an applicant, once you understand eligibility, your next step is to review the application process. Before you start, be sure to review what you need to know Before You Begin the process. Let’s take a look at the Application Process Flow Chart.

Process

The process starts with competitive bidding for the products and services you need. You then select the most cost-effective provider. After you sign a contract or establish a service agreement based upon a pre-qualified contract, and USAC issues you a funding commitment, you can start to receive discounts on the products or services USAC has approved.

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Introduction to The E-rate Process

EPC - E-rate Productivity Center We have experienced a monumental change in E-rate starting in 2015-16 Funding Year. The current mode of filing is inside the EPC portal which entails creating usernames, account administrators, users, permissions, entity updates, application creation and submission. You will also find ways to correct mistakes and review questions in your portal, ways to submit an appeal for any unfavorable decisions, and track your Funding Commitments and disbursements.

Getting Ready to Apply (before you log in to your EPC Portal) Success with the E-rate program requires considerable time and effort by applicants. Planning an overall E-rate strategy will help minimize problems and maximize discounts. Building an effective E-rate team will help ensure all eligible services are included, forms are filled out properly and deadlines are met. The team should include individuals from the business office, including procurement and accounts payable staff, technology department, and most certainly the superintendent! The Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Program, (DT&L) The Digital Teaching and Learning Qualifying Grant Program for Local Education Agencies (LEA’s) was created in accordance to Utah Code Section 53A-1-1501 and Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Rule R277-922.

Establish Needs Assessment/Procurement Schedule In 2015 the Digital Teaching and Learning Task Force conducted research and developed statewide Technology Inventories and Planning Tools to assist Utah School Districts and Charter Schools to plan and measure progress toward the DTL goals. These tools and reports are available here: http://www.uen.org/digital-learning/taskforce.shtml Once E-rate eligible needs have been established, work with your IT and business office staff on the following items:

● Determine what services are already covered under a pre-qualified contract. ● Identify any products or services that will require a new RFP and/or contract. ● Check with your state E-rate coordinator regarding pre-qualified contracts for E-rate Eligible

Category 2 goods and services. ● Contact Cory Stokes at UETN to obtain engineering or technical guidance related to the

DT&L Grant Program

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For the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Program, please note that UETN will be filing statewide Forms 470 and establishing statewide cooperative purchase agreements for E-rate eligible products and services specific to the grant. Districts and schools may purchase off of UETN’s statewide cooperative agreements.

If your procurement team decides that an RFP is required and your district is prepared to accept full responsibility for compliance don’t forget to coordinate a Form 470 filing date with the posting of the RFP. E-rate rules require the Form 470 and RFP (if necessary) must BOTH be available for at least 28 days before bidding can be closed - even if a shorter period is allowed under your local procurement policies. For those filing their own Form 470, information provided on the form 470 is posted on the SLD Web site: https://data.usac.org/publicreports/Form470Rfp/index Posting the Form 470 allows any and all vendors, to contact E-rate applicants with offers of products or services. Applicants must list and upload RFPs on the Form 470 if an RFP is used or if required by state procurement rules to conduct an RFP process. RFPs provide potential vendors more detail about the project. File Along With Me!

Form 470 (For those assuming full responsibility for their own procurement) User Guide E-rate Tip: Products or service(s) requested on the Form 470 should be as specific as possible. USAC has stated publicly that a Form 471 which relies on a Form 470 that is too generic (lack of sufficient specificity) will be denied. The new Form 470 within USAC’s EPC has added such specificity within the Form itself.

In Utah:

● Any procurement of goods and merchandise costing more than $50,000 requires an RFP; and

● Local procurement policies vary widely but they must still comply with state and federal rules.

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RFPs for E-rate eligible products or services should specify that: ● bidders will be required to participate in the E-rate program (must have a SPIN and file

timely SPAC); ● provide sufficient details for applicants’ E-rate funding requests ● comply with all E-rate regulations; and, ● if desired, the vendor will provide discounted bills.

Please remember that UETN has filed 470(s) to pre-qualify vendors for the Digital Teaching and Learning Program E-Rate contracts. UETN will enter into Cooperative Agreements with winning vendors. Districts and charter schools will conduct mini-bids using UETN’s cooperative agreements to make their own awards and enter into contracts with winning vendors. When the District’s E-rate coordinator has a good understanding of the Digital Teaching and Learning program, and the needs of the district, quotes should be obtained from all relevant vendors. For pre-qualified contracts, such as UETN’s statewide cooperative agreements, the cooperative agreement quotes must be compared and evaluated in a “mini-bid”. UETN cooperative agreements will be established with three-year terms. E-rate Tip: If you are seeking a contract for multiple years and/or want a contract with a renewal option, you should definitely talk about it in the Narrative. For example, if you are seeking a multi-year contract for Ethernet switches, you should specify the time period for which you are seeking a contract - e.g., two years, with an optional one-year renewal. Also, be sure to craft the update/upgrade language to fulfill those multi-year options. Note that in Utah contracts may not exceed five years. Conduct Mini-Bid Evaluations for pre-qualified vendors/contracts. This is the process that should be followed for Digital Teaching and Learning Grant procurement. E-rate Tip: Price of eligible goods and services must be the primary consideration when evaluating E-rate eligible bids or quotes. For example, if a switch vendor offers the lowest cost product but the applicant must purchase all new WiFi Access Points in order to make them work, only the cost of the switches may be used as the primary evaluation criterion however, retrofitting costs and other non-price factors may be considered if weighted less than the price of eligible products/services.

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For example:

Factor Weight Vendor 1 Vendor 2

Price of the ELIGIBLE goods and services

30%

Local Vendor 25%

Other cost factors (including price of

ineligible goods and services, price of

replacing incompatible equipment, changing providers, price for

breaking contract, etc)

20%

Management capability 15%

Prior experience 10%

Total 100%

The SLD provides example evaluations: Example 1:

Factor Weight Vendor 1 Vendor 2

Price of the ELIGIBLE goods and services

30%

Prior experience 25%

Personnel qualifications 20%

Management capability 15%

Environmental objectives 10%

Total 100%

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Critical: Be sure to memorialize your choice as a “cost effective solution” before submitting the Form 471, as noted in the sample memo below. The date of the memo (memorialization date) will be the “contract award date” for E-rate filing purposes. Sample Memo to File In Vendor Bid Selection

MEMORANDUM To: File From: E-rate Coordinator Date: 11/08/2016 Subject: Digital Teaching & Learning Statewide Cooperative Bid Evaluation Results - Funding Year 2017 ______________________________________________________________________ As of today, November 8, 2016, xxx County School District completed evaluation of pricing and other factors for vendors covered by UETN’s Statewide cooperative purchase agreements. We at xxx County School District requested price quotes from current vendors covered by UETN’s Cooperative Purchase Contracts. After careful review of quotes received. Xxx County School District has concluded that YYYYY vendor(s) provide the lowest reasonable price value that the district can obtain for these products and is(are) therefore the most cost-effective.

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Sign Legally Binding Agreements (required by E-rate Program Rules) After the min-bid evaluations have been completed or, if using a local 470 and the 28-day posting period has passed, and after any local and state procurement laws have been met, you may then enter into a legally binding agreement with the winning bidder or bidders. It is advisable to include E-rate funding contingency clauses, in addition to local funding clauses in such agreements. A clause in the agreement requiring the winning bidder to participate in the E-rate program is also advisable.

This is the moment you should also discuss, and memorialize in writing, how you want your discounts: BEAR or SPI. This is critical due to the Modernization Order allowing the applicant to receive direct BEAR payments from USAC. Remember, the Form 472 (BEAR) is used when the applicant pays invoices in full and seeks reimbursement from USAC. The Form 474 (SPI) is used by vendors to obtain funds directly from USAC to reduce the amounts then billed to the applicant. UETN recommends using the BEAR method since this allows districts to retain more control of the E-rate invoicing process.

Applicants will need copies of quotes and legally binding agreements or other “official” documentation to verify costs for products and services that the applicant is receiving or will receive prior to submitting the form 471. This is especially critical because detailed product information must be submitted along with the Form 471 before the close of the filing window. E-rate applicants must sign a contract or any “legally binding agreement” with the service provider before signing and submitting a completed (certified) Form 471. Applicants must also comply with state contract law and local procurement policies. Other Types of Contracts: Memorializing State Contracts In most cases, state and General Services Administration (GSA) contracts have not been made E-rate eligible, i.e., there is no statewide “establishing” Form 470. Applicants, however, may file a Form 470 listing the desired services covered by the state or GSA contract, and that contract may then be used as a bid response to the Form 470 posting. After 28 days, if the state or GSA contract is the most cost effective response, the contract may be used for E-rate eligible service. A MEMO to the E-rate file is required when selecting the state contract; this is called “memorializing” the state or GSA contract. The date of the memo (memorialization date) will be the “contract award date” for E-rate filing purposes.

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E-rate Tip: If the procurement requires School Board approval, allow sufficient time to bring the contract before the board before the Filing window expires.

Manage Contracts Module New for 2016 and forward, you can upload your contracts/agreements in EPC. The most important idea here is to create a contract “record” which is then used inside the FCC Form 471 FRN Section. Here are your steps to upload your contracts in EPC.

Manage Contracts Module in EPC Filing Tip: You are not required to actually upload the contract, but you do need to create a contract record. All of the UETN WiFi contracts will be uploaded into USAC’s EPC Contracts Module. They can be found by searching under UETN’s Billed Entity Number (BEN) 150246 and are designated with “DT&L” within the Contracts’ nicknames.

UETN Contracts for C2 In 2016, as part of the Digital Teaching & Learning Grant Program, the Utah Education and Telehealth Network, with help and support from the Friday Institute, will be conducting a procurement, evaluating bids, and signing vendor contracts for WiFi gear (wireless access points and switches), professional services to install the gear, cabling and installation, and managed services.

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Below are the vendors, SPINs, contract numbers and the EPC contract ID (aka, contract record):

To be populated when UETN contracts are executed.

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Manage Connectivity Module Also new for 2016 is the Manage Connectivity Questions Module. In the Modernization Order, the Federal Communications Commission is determined to collect useable data. The Manage Connectivity Questions section is one of the tools to collect this data. Here are your steps to complete the questions in EPC. Manage Connectivity Questions in EPC Filing Tip: This module MUST be completed before you can submit and certify your Form 471. Please be sure to work with your CTO/Technology Director if you need help completing Connectivity Questions.

Manage Entity Profiles

Another feature of EPC in 2016 is the ability to Manage your Organization - your LEA district office “parent entity” and all of your “child entity” buildings, or your charter school. A new feature is the ability to change the name of the building yourself! Remember, though, any new buildings must still be created by the USAC’s Client Service Bureau CSB at:

Submit a question

Call us at (888) 203-8100, press zero for a Client Services Rep Additionally, you must annually update all of the data in your entity portal - address, phone, student count and NSLP count. For districts and charter schools who elect not to participate in NSLP, you still must know the number of economically disadvantaged children in your building so you may update this information in your entity profile in EPC. Here are the steps to Manage your Entity: Manage Entity Profiles (This includes updating the address, urban/rural, latitude/longitude, phone, student enrollment, NSLP-CEP, state school code and state LEA code. Remember, ONLY THE DISTRICT OFFICE NEEDS THE FCCRN! Each Charter School must also have a Federal Communications Commission Registration Number, FCCRN. Go to the CORES website to search for, or create a new FCCRN.)

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FCC Registration Numbers The SLD has posted revised guidance for compliance with the new FCC requirement that all schools, libraries, service providers, consultants, consortium leaders, and any entity that files a Form 470 or 471 obtain a registration number from the FCC (FCC RN). This requirement has been imposed quite simply to allow the FCC to enforce its regulations on all E-rate participants, particularly fines and funding recovery. Specific instructions are available at: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do FORM 471 Quick Guide Filing Window for 2017 has not been set but will likely open sometime in January 2017 and extend into March 2017. File Form 471 (Identify which buildings will receive the products, which vendors did you select, how much will it cost) The entity that actually pays the bills to the vendor should file this form. With signed and dated contracts or “legally binding agreements” for all products or services, eligible applicants may submit a Form 471 during the E-rate 471 filing window. The system will calculate their discount rate on form 471. File the Form 471 online in EPC New in 2016 forward is required filing online in EPC. For LEAs - All campuses must have entity numbers. If you have not applied for entity numbers for the campus, do so before starting the Form 471 process. Please check to make sure that an entity number for the site(s) does not already exist. Call the SLD to obtain an entity number at: (888) 203-8100. Press zero for a human. FCCRN number is required of the main billed entity only. HINT: All Utah school districts and most Charters already have this number recorded in their portal. If you are unsure of your number, or you think a FCC Registration Number has been created, you can search for it at the FCC CORES website. https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do How to File the Form 471 The Form 471 in 2016 is new. The old “Block 5” is now considered the FRN Section and remains somewhat unchanged but other aspects of the form have changed dramatically.

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The FRN section of the Form 471 is the actual request for funding. Complete one FRN (funding request) per contract or service. For example: If an applicant chooses one vendor for Ethernet switches and another for WiFi components, two FRNs should would be completed. A single 471 may have multiple FRNs reflecting a variety of products and vendors. There is no longer a separate Item 21, although vendors may be asked to provide the details you’ll need for your line items in your FRN request. Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (RAL) from SLD You will no longer file any applications on paper, nor will you receive any paper mailings from USAC. All forms, correspondence and letters are contained within EPC. Data entry is automated when filing online. Once an application has been submitted and certified, the EPC system automatically generates a Receipt Acknowledgment Letter (RAL) to the applicant and is found in the News Module. This letter contains all application and funding information in the SLD database. Applicants must carefully review the RAL for accuracy. If there is (are) a mistake(s) on the RAL, you may enter your RAL corrections online in the EPC portal. Be sure to print screen your pages as you go through the RAL correction process. The RAL correction process is used to:

● correct mistakes of the data entry process, ● correct an incorrect SPIN ● REDUCE or INCREASE a funding request, or ● break out multiple service providers mistakenly listed on a single FRN.

RAL Corrections may be submitted any time prior to a USAC Funding Commitment Decision.

Program Integrity Assurance PIA is responsible for verifying the data you entered in your application. You have 15 days to respond, with an additional 7 day extension, but you should always respond immediately to inquiries from Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) - these are found in your EPC portal. In 2016, we are still struggling to find a good balance of how to answer the questions in the portal and having an outreach to your reviewer. As always, if you have any trouble at all, reach out to your state coordinator. Reviewers at PIA scrutinize all applications and contact applicants when questions arise. Common questions include:

● Discount rate validation (driven by student enrollment, poverty level, and urban/rural status) ● Contracts for services

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● Eligibility of services Thanks to various FCC Orders, applicants may make corrections to applications up to and during PIA review including increasing the discount rate, adding buildings, or changing services. The SLD is concerned that vendors and applicants, particularly those deemed “high risk” may be attempting to commit fraud or waste program resources. If SLD suspects fraud or abuse, those applications receive extra scrutiny and funding may be denied. Unfortunately, additional scrutiny of all applications means some legitimate funding requests are also denied. Please work with PIA during the review process to avoid denial. If you need help, contact your state E-rate Coordinator at UETN. If an application or FRN is denied, the ONLY recourse for applicants is to appeal, first to the SLD, within 60 days of the date of the SLD Funding Commitment Decision Letter of denial. If unsuccessful at the SLD, an appeal may then be sent to the FCC, again, 60 days from the date of the SLD appeal denial letter. Currently, the backlog of appeals at the SLD is approximately two months. The backlog at the FCC is sometimes over three years! . E-rate Tip: Because E-Rate rules and policies constantly change, appeal all funding denials.

Other PIA Reviews Cost Effectiveness Review Selective Review Special Compliance Review Look-back Review

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Funding Commitment Decision Letter from SLD After PIA has completed its review of funding requests, a Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) is issued to the applicant. The FCDL is similar to the RAL, (see above), except that it includes a commitment - or denial - of funds to applicants. The FCDL will also contain instructions on how to obtain discounts and how to appeal decisions (Supplemental Document). As with any documentation in E-rate, read this document carefully for any unexpected items; i.e., an unexpected reduction or even denial of funding. The actual “funding commitment” will be a .csv file that you may download into Excel. Because there are so many columns in this file it makes it difficult to print but you could use the Transpose feature in Excel to convert the rows to columns. Funding commitments are made on the basis of each form 471, and one decision for each FRN submitted. If an applicant submitted two forms 471 with 15 FRNs on one and 10 on the other, then the applicant will receive two FCDLs (one for each form 471), with 15 and 10 commitments, respectively. Funding commitments take the following forms:

● Funding in full, ● Partial funding with reasons listed by SLD, or ● Denial of funding with reasons listed by SLD

If the FCDL does not fully fund service requests, applicants are urged to appeal. Appeals must be postmarked no later than 60 days after the date of the FCDL. The FCDL will no longer be mailed to the applicant or service provider. Instead, you must log in to your EPC account and generate the FCDL.

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File form 486 When applicants receive a full or partially funded FCDL, and service has started, applicants can file Form 486. Form 486 notifies the SLD that service has begun or is about to begin and that the SLD may pay:

● the vendor for SPI invoices (Form 474) or ● BEAR forms (Form 472) submitted by the applicant.

SLD allows early filing of form 486. In cases where the applicant is sure service will begin on or near July 1 of the funding year, form 486 may be submitted after a commitment letter is received prior to July 1.

E-rate Tip: For most applicants, a Form 486 must be filed within 120 days of the start of service. That makes the deadline for any pre-July 1 funding commitments, October 29. However, if a Commitment Letter is issued AFTER July of the fund year, the deadline for filing the Form 486 is 120 days from the DATE of the Commitment Letter. Funding will be reduced by one day for each day the 486 is late. Online filing of the 486 is easy and recommended. The best practice is to file the 486 as soon as you receive your Funding Commitment Decision Letter. The Form 486 is also used for applicants to indicate compliance with Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) regulations. Applicants must certify on the Form 486 that they are: 1) in compliance with CIPA, 2) are undertaking actions toward compliance, or 3) or in rare cases, do not need to comply because discounts are received only on basic telecommunication services. E-rate Tip: For those LEAs and charters connected to UETN, you must also complete and submit a FCC Form 479 (CIPA) with UETN annually. UETN sends reminders when appropriate. Once your vendor receives notification of your 486 filing, they may begin their discounts, for those that choose discounted billing. All discounts apply retroactively to the beginning of the funding year (July 1st).

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The Form 472 (Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement or BEAR) should be filed by applicants that have paid bills in full for E-rate eligible items and will be receiving retroactive discount reimbursement. The Modernization Order now allows for direct BEAR payment to the applicant. Starting in Funding Year 2016, if an applicant chooses to pay in full, when the BEAR is filed for reimbursement, the money will be automatically transferred to the applicant’s bank account. There will be some preparation for this option, as described below in the Form 498 section.

Form 498

Each applicant must have their School or Library Official set up in the portal with their own login credentials. This means the Chief Financial Officer must have a role in the EPC portal. Once the CFO is logged in, they will complete, submit and certify the 498, which includes entering bank routing, account and DUNS numbers. Once the form is certified, USAC sends an outreach email to the CFO asking for a voided check, a bank statement, or some type of documentation proving that the account is not a personal bank account. Here is a sample document that may be used by your banking institution for this documentation. This needs to be on the bank’s letterhead. Upload the verification document.

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Government & Institutional Banking June 9, 2016 To Whom It May Concern: Schools and Libraries Division Universal Service Administrative Company 2000 L Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 Ref: Applicant Name: XXX County School District BEN: YYYYYY Form 498 ID: 443xxxxx This letter will confirm that the correct bank account and routing numbers for the XXX County School District are: Bank routing number: xxxxxxxxx Bank account number: xxxxxxxx Bank Name: XXXXXXXX Address: YYYYYYY City, State, Zip Account type: Checking Account status: Active The bank official and contact information at XXXXXXX Bank is Name, address, phone number, and email address is xxx.xxxx@bank.com. Sincerely, Name Title

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Form 472, Billed Entity Applicant Reimbursement - BEAR forms are still created, submitted and certified in the “old” system. This means you will still need access to your old BEAR PIN! If you do not have a PIN you will need to contact the CSB, Client Service Bureau, to obtain a PIN to file your BEAR online. The BEAR should be submitted after bills have been paid and may be submitted monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually. Once SLD has received, reviewed and completed the BEAR form, USAC will issue a check, via EFT, for the requested amount to the applicant. When using the BEAR process applicants should consider payment timing issues. If an applicant submits a single BEAR form at the end of the funding year (after the June bill has arrived in most cases), SLD will issue a check for the total yearly discount. The applicant will receive payment in August or September of the fiscal year following the year in which discounts occurred. However, quarterly BEAR submissions will result in only three months of funds being shifted between fiscal years. IDER - Invoice Deadline Extension Request E-rate Tip: The deadline for filing the Form 472 (BEAR) is October 28 of the year AFTER service is received. Applicants may receive ONE, 120-day Invoice Deadline Extension Request - IDER. If the October 28 deadline is missed with no extension request, all remaining funding will be lost! Each year of the E-rate program, approximately 20 percent of committed funding goes uncollected. There are a number of other reasons to request an extension and here is a link to the USAC website where you will find the instructions. Once the Invoice Deadline Extension Request is approved then the applicant will have an additional 120 days to file the Form 472.

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Post Commitment

Form 500

Applicants file an FCC Form 500 to accomplish one or more of the following:

● To adjust the funding year Service Start Date reported on a previously filed FCC Form 486

● To adjust the contract expiration date listed on the FCC Form 471

● To cancel a Funding Request Number (FRN)

● To reduce the amount of an FRN

● To request a service delivery extension request

● To notify USAC of an equipment transfer resulting from the closure of the location where

the equipment was originally installed

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Program Compliance The Competitive Bidding Process The FCC Sixth Report and Order (FCC 10-175) codified its requirement for open and fair bidding process. The Sixth Report and Order explicitly lists gift-giving as one example of prohibited conduct in the competitive bidding process. According to the Order, applicants must now follow either their own state/local laws regarding gifting or the FCC gift rules, whichever is stricter. A complete summary of federal rules for gifts and links to the set of federal regulations is available online. Since state law and most local gift policies are more restrictive the safest course of action is not to accept any gifts at all from participating and/or potential E-rate suppliers. Gift prohibitions are always applicable, not just during the competitive bidding process. Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections (BMIC) Maintenance on internal connections is eligible for funding and is funded under the Modernization Order school budget mechanism. According the Sixth Report and Order, unbundled warranties are no longer eligible. Maintenance contracts must be for a specified amount of work but may include estimates for repair of broken equipment and emergency repairs, but reimbursement will only be made for actual maintenance or repair bills. Any contract for maintenance must be limited to ONLY maintenance of E-rate eligible equipment. If PIA discovers the slightest bit of ineligible maintenance, the entire application will be denied. Great care must be taken to ensure that only E-rate eligible equipment is covered in an internal connection maintenance contract. Maintenance contracts must include make and model number of all covered equipment. Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) (Also see E-rate Central’s CIPA Primer) In December 2000, Congress passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requiring some recipients of certain federal funds to protect children from pornographic, inappropriate or child pornographic Internet sites. Additionally, the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act added additional education requirements for minors. For E-rate, the Federal Communications Commission established regulations for CIPA compliance. The FCC determined that applicants must devise an Internet safety policy that included a public hearing. A public hearing could include a regular board meeting with the Internet safety policy on the public agenda. The policy must address the following issues:

● access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and Worldwide web;

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● the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chatrooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications;

● unauthorized access, including so-called “hacking,” and other unlawful activities by minors online;

● unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; ● measures designed to restrict minors’ access to materials harmful to minors. ● education of students on appropriate behavior when visiting social networking sites and

chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response. The regulations are clear that the level of compliance with CIPA is left entirely to local authorities. Part of the reason is a local control issue, and part is because the FCC recognizes that very few (if any) Internet filters are 100 percent effective and it would be futile to dictate which filters applicants should use. Indeed, contained within the CIPA legislation is a provision that the FCC should evaluate different filters and report on their effectiveness. The Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act (a.k.a. Broadband Data Improvement Act “BDIA”) requires schools to educate students on appropriate behavior when visiting social networking sites and chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response. All school board policies must have been updated on or before July 1, 2012 to be in compliance with this section of the Act. Community Use of Schools’ E-rated Services After hours, schools may open their facilities to the general public to use E-rate supported services. Schools are not required to provide such access, they can decide to provide access or not. Service must primarily be for educational purposes and cost must be incidental and not increase E-rate costs. Schools cannot charge the public to access the Internet but may charge a room fee, cleaning fee, security guard fee, instructor fee, etc. to recover costs. SPIN Changes The criteria and approval conditions for post-commitment SPIN changes has become much stricter. Operational SPIN changes must have legitimate reason to change, such as breach of contract or service provider unable to perform services. You must select provider with the next highest point value in bid evaluation.

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Category 2 Equipment - Moving or Disposing • Disposal or resale is permitted no sooner than five years after installation date • Applicants may receive payment or other consideration in return for disposal • Applicants are not required to use equipment for five years, nor are they required to dispose of equipment after five years. • No notification to USAC is needed, but update your asset registers • This does not change the requirement to report transfers of equipment made less than three years from purchase Document Retention Requirements Retain all E-rate related documentation and correspondence for a minimum of 10 years from the last date of service.

Resources Universal Service Administrative Company: http://www.universalservice.org/sl Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov UETN E-rate:http://uen.org/e-rate Utah Digital Teaching & Learning Grant Program: http://www.uen.org Utah Division of Purchasing: http://www.purchasing.utah.gov Federal General Services Administration (U.S. Government contracts for equipment and services): http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104729 State E-rate Coordinators: Sabrina Scott sabrina.scott@utah.edu 801-581-3019 Melinda Talbot m.talbot@utah.edu 801-581-6539 Linda Lane

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linda.lane@utah.edu 801-581-6330

How to Survive a SELECTIVE REVIEW

And Be Well Prepared for an AUDIT

Sample SRIR Resource Plan and E-Rate Implementation Description XXX County School District applies for and manages E-rate through the Purchasing Department in consultation with the Departments of Information Technology Services, Financial Services, Facilities Management, School Food and Nutrition Services, and Network Services. For Fund Year 2015, xxx County School District applied for ongoing telecommunications services including local, long distance, and cellular telephone service; Wide Area Network service, and for the first time since 1999, applied for internal connections equipment and installation at four schools scheduled for major upgrade in 2015. Payments for eligible services are consolidated by the office of Network Services and Central Operations, under the Communications and Technology Services Division. Ineligible services such as payphone charges and telephone lines for school board members are identified and removed from the E-rate reimbursement request. The office of Purchasing rechecks the invoices and submits reimbursement requests to the SLD for payment. When payments are received from vendors, the office of Purchasing reports revenues to the Associate Superintendent for Finance and Support Services. All E-rate records are maintained in the office of Purchasing.

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Bid Selection Grid for FRN xxxxxxx Reviewers: Jane Smith, Technology Director John Doe, Procurement Officer Frank Jones, Technician

Vendor Excellent, Inc. OK, LLC Loser, Co.

Cost of the Eligible Goods and Services(40)

40 38 25

Experience (20) 20 18 17

Availability(20) 20 20 8

Minority Business Status (10) 10 0 0

Project Management Expertise (10)

10 5 0

Total Points 100 81 50

Notes: · Price of Eligible goods and services must be primary (highest weight) · Numerous other factors may be used in accordance with local procurement regulations · Keep all bids – winning AND losing · Keep all reviewer notes and score cards unless forbidden by law (include law if forbidden)

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Appeals

UETN assists applicants with appeals to USAC and FCC. Any party, (including, but not limited to entities filing an FCC Form 499, federal universal service program applicants, and service providers) that wishes to appeal a USAC decision must first file an appeal with USAC to seek review of the USAC decision before filing an appeal with the FCC. Once a decision has been made on a USAC appeal, a party may appeal USAC's decision to the FCC. Parties seeking a waiver of FCC rules (i.e. late payment fees, waiver of form deadlines, etc.) should file an appeal directly with the FCC because USAC cannot waive FCC rules. Before You Appeal

Contact USAC. There may be an administrative remedy that does not require a formal appeal

decision, such as disputes for invoice rejections.