E-Rate for California Beginner Applicants

1. E-Rate for CaliforniaBeginner Applicants

2. List of Acronyms ATO – Authorization to Order BEN – Billed Entity Number CIPA – Children's Internet Protection Act CALNET 2 – State Master Contract for Telecommunication Services DTS – Department of Technology Services EETT – Enhancing Education Through Technology FCDL – Funding Commitment Decision Letter FRN – Funding Request Number SPIN – Service Provider Identification Number SSD – Service Start Date RAL – Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (Form 471) RNL – Receipt Notification Letter (Form 470) NSLP – National School Lunch Program NIF – Non-Instructional Facility PIA – Program Integrity Assurance USAC Link: http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/reference-area.aspx

3. Who Administers the E-rate Program? • The federal E-rate program is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and is administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)

4. How is USAC related to the FCC? Comprehensive information about the E-Rate program is available at the SLD website: http://www.usac.org/sl/ USAC is a not-for-profit corporation appointed by the FCC to act as the administrator of the E-Rate program

5. The California Department of Education (CDE)does not administerthe federal E-Rate program. CDE has no statutory authority to administer the federal E-Rate program CDE only provides general information about the E-Rate program including: training and outreach, reference materials, and other publicly available SLD/USAC resources

6. Eligibility - Schools Elementary or Secondary education as defined by Education Act, Elementary Act and State Laws (Includes private schools, religious schools, and charter schools) Must be non-profit Must not have endowment exceeding $50 million

7. Pre-K and Adult Ed • State law, in conjunction with E-Rate rules, determines eligibility of Pre-K, Adult Ed and Juvenile Justice. • In California, all three are eligible • http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step01/non-traditional-k-12/k-12-eligibility-table.aspx

8. Eligibility - Libraries Eligible for assistance from a state library administrative agency under Library Services and Technology Act Budget is completely separate from that of any schools Must be operating as non-profit

9. Eligibility - Consortia Eligible Schools or Libraries may form a consortia with Other eligible schools and/or libraries Certain health care providers Public sector (governmental) entities Only eligible entities can receive discounts

10. Entity Numbers • Billed Entity Number - BEN • http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Utilities/BilledEntitySearch_Public.asp • Service Provider Identification Number • http://www.sl.universalservice.org/Forms/SPIN_Contact_Search.asp

11. Funding Commitment Process E-rate Technology Planning – What are my goals? Form 470 - Starting the Application Process Competitive Bidding Form 471 – Selecting Your Vendors PIA (Program Integrity Assurance) Review Funding Commitment Form 486 Receipt of Services Confirmation Form 472 – BEAR and Form 474 – SPI – Invoicing “Getting the Money”

12. E-Rate Cycle • Funding Year is July 1 – June 30 • Funding commitments are made by funding year (services starting on or after July 1 and ending on or before the following June 30) • The Window • Form 471 application window –Opens mid to late fall and closes late January to early February

13. 1. E-Rate Technology Planning

14. Required Elements • For EETT/Federal/State funding: • Executive Summary/Introduction • Stakeholders • Curriculum • Professional Development • Infrastructure • Adult literacy • Research • Funding and Budget • Monitoring and Evaluation • E-Rate supplemental budget analysis … and also see: • www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/techplan.asp For E-Rate Plan: • Goals • Professional Development • Needs Assessment • Budget • Evaluation Process • Tech Plan Help www.usac.org/sl/ applicants/step02/

15. Technology Plan Help • Tech Plan Help • http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step02/ • http://www.library.ca.gov/services/libraries/erate.html • http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/rs/techplan.asp

16. Technology Plan • Must be certified by an approved agency • http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/reference/tech/default.asp • Service Providers may notact as technology plan approvers or aid in writing the tech plan • Must be approved by the start of services or the filing of Form 486, whichever is earlier

17. Technology Plan Reminders • Must cover entire funding year • Must be “written” prior to posting Form 470 • Must include all services that E-Rate discount is being requested on • Must be approved by a “Certified Technology Plan Approver” • Technology Plan approver for 486 purposes is: • If EETT & E-rate, the approver is CDE • If only E-rate, the approver is COE or State Library • Private Schools see USAC tech plan approver list

18. Discount Calculations Calculated based on two factors Percentage of students eligible for National School Lunch Program http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step05/discount-matrix.aspx Urban or Rural status of Entity http://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/step05/urban-rural/

19. Free and Reduced Lunch Information(NSLP) • Reported to CDE in October of each year. (posted in April/May) • Where the numbers come from • Claim Reimbursement from Food Services Manager for month of October • Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) looks at Dataquest information that is posted in April/May • Dataquest Link: http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ • Keep all Free and Reduced lunch information in your records for future USAC Inquiries

24. Billed Entity VS Entity Billed Entity vs Entity • An entity is considered a "billed entity" if it is responsible for making payments directly to a service provider • District is “billed entity” • Each school site has its own entity number • NIF (non-instructional facility) must have an Entity Number

25. Non-Instructional Facilities (NIFs) Examples

26. Discount Calculations Instructional Facilities will have a discount that comes straight from Matrix Non-Instructional Facilities will use District Weighted Average (District Office, Maintenance, Bus Barn, Bookmobile Garages, Cafeteria, etc)

27. Eligible Services - Categories Priority 1 (P1) Telecommunications Internet Access Priority 2 (P2) Internal Connections Basic Maintenance on Eligible Internal Connections

28. Non-Instructional Facilities (NIFs) Are eligible for Priority 1 services, telecommunications and internet access Are NOT eligible for Priority 2 services, internal connections, UNLESS they are essential for the effective transport of information to an instructional building of a school or to a non-administrative building of a library

29. Eligible Services – Basic Concepts Key reference: Eligible Services List – http://www.usac.org/sl/tools/eligible-services-list.aspx This List is updated Annually Services must be used for “Educational Purpose” - http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/educational_purposes.asp End-user devices and content generally not eligible PCs/PDAs -Printers -Television Laptops -Phones - VCRs

30. Educational Purpose 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.

31. 2. Form 470: Starting the Application Process

32. Prepare For The E-rate Cycle • Technology Plan MUST be Written • Existing network structure, both telecommunications and data • Expected growth • Number of classrooms and computers with phone/internet access • National School Lunch Program (NSLP) data for discount percentage • Ensure Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Compliance, implemented, board approval.

33. Manage the Cycle - Teamwork • Authorized signer ( Legally Authorized Signer ) • Designated contact person (Will receive E-rate calls) • Organize paper trail • Written Technology Plan • Assessment of existing Contracts, with signatures and dates (expiring contracts, etc) • Prior years submitted applications • Correspondence from SLD, Service Providers, etc. • All bids received and evaluation documents • Calendar of Deadlines

34. 2. Form 470

35. Going On-line Web site http://www.usac.org/sl/

36. Form 470 – Contract Issues Block 2, Item 7 – Summary Description of Needs or Services Requested Tariffed or Month-to-Month services Services for which a new written contract is sought Multi-year and/or a contract featuring voluntary extensions Should also state in Item 13

37. Form 470 Block 2, Items 8 – 9 Describe services you desire from Eligible Services List Must fill this area out even if you have an RFP Allows for service provider to decide if they qualify to bid Form 470 could be considered invalid without this information

38. Submit and Certify Form 470 Once the Form 470 is submitted you must Certify online using a PIN, or Print the certification page sign and mail this form ASAP-” certified mail” Print the Form 470 for your records, and note the Allowable Contract Date (ACD) Also provided in the Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL)

39. Form 470 Reminders Allow adequate time for the following to be completed: Do your form 470 NOW – Do not wait Competitive Bidding – minimum of 28 days before contract signing Local Procurement Board Approval Signing Contracts CALNET 2 ATO’s CMAS - Letter of Intent (LOI) Understand Your existing services Products and services you will need in the coming year Identify E-rate category for each product and service, P1 or P2

40. Form 470 DO’s and DON’TsFrom SLD’s Tip Sheets • DO list your requested services on your Form 470 — and your RFP if you have one. • DO list your requested services in the correct categories of service (Telecommunications, • Internet Access, Internal Connections, or Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections). • DO mark the correct boxes in Block 2 for multi-year contracts and/or voluntary extensions. • DO certify your Form 470 prior to the close of the Form 471 application window. • DON’T allow a service provider that may bid on your services to fill out your Form 470. • DON’T wait until the Form 471 window opens to file your Form 470.

41. Receipt Notification Letter (RNL) • GOLDEN Opportunity to review application and correct minor errors • http://www.universalservice.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/sampleletters/470RNL.acc.pdf

42. 3. Competitive Bidding

43. Cornerstone of E-Rate All expiring and new contracts must be competitively bid to receive E-rate funding Form 470 starts the bidding process with a minimum of 28 days to receive bids Must respond to ALL vendors If you choose not to, you MUST have a good reason, ie Spam

44. Competitive Bidding and Program Compliance http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/BestPractices.asp Keep copies of all bids, winning and losing Documentation on the award process and bid evaluation criteria for your award Complete copies of all related contracts FOLLOW LOCAL PROCUREMENT POLICIES

45. Program Compliance Best Practice: use standard evaluation process for all bids. Keep evaluation documentation for each bid. If you get NO bids – document this for audit purposes Same is true if you get only ONE bid You may need to be proactive in soliciting for bids

46. Evaluation Criteria • Price must be the most heavily weighted factor • Can choose most responsive and responsible response, but must DOCUMENT the choice and process • Have District official SIGN and DATE the completed rubric as acknowledgement

47. SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE

48. CALNET 1 to CALNET 2 • State Posted Form 470 267290000544188 2005,Sept 16th • Includes Telecommunications Services • Did NOT Include ISP or Internal Connections • CALNET 2 Contract was signed on January 30th, 2007 (State Master Contract) • CALNET 2: http://www.dts.ca.gov/stnd/calnet-II/calnetII.asp • RFP: http://www.dts.ca.gov/stnd/calnet-II/revised-calnetII-rfp.asp • May wish to post your own form 470 for all services you will apply for (More details in the intermediate/advance training see additional hand-outs) • Three Signatures are required on a CALNET 2 contract

49. Form 470 – Multi-Year Contracts You may not need to file Form 470 every year if: The language on the Form 470/RFP covered all services on the contract AND The applicant indicated on the Form 470 that a contract was being sought AND The applicant indicated on the Form 470/RFP that a multi-year contract was being sought (perhaps w/voluntary extensions) The Form 471 had a multi-year contract

50. Competitive Bidding Reminders • DO ensure a fair and open competitive bidding process. All service providers must be treated equally and cannot be given biased or privileged knowledge of the bid. • DO select the most cost-effective service provider, with price as the primary factor. • DO keep ALL records relating to the bid evaluation process (correspondence with potential vendors, winning and losing bids, worksheets, evaluation criteria, contract, etc.). Note in a memo if one (or no) bids are received. • DO remember that contracts must be signed and dated by the applicant and service provider before filing the Form 471. • DON’T sign a contract until after the Form 470 has been posted for 28 days.