Question: Which schools and libraries are eligible to receive discounts?

To be eligible for universal service discounts, a school must meet the statutory definition of an elementary or secondary school found in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, must not operate as a for-profit business, and must not have an endowment exceeding $50 million. Both public and non-public schools that meet these criteria will be eligible to receive discounts on eligible services.

A library must operate as a not-for-profit business and must be eligible for assistance from a state library administrative agency under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). A library's eligibility for universal service discounts funding will depend on its funding as an independent entity. "Independent" means that the budget of the library must be completely separate from that of any institution of learning.

Question: Will eligible schools and libraries applying for discount funding be allowed to aggregate their demand for services with others?

Yes. Eligible schools and libraries may aggregate their demand with others to create a consortium with sufficient demand to attract competitors and negotiate lower rates. Entities not eligible for universal service discounts will benefit from lower pre-discount prices from such aggregation, their participation in the consortia with eligible entities will not change the ineligible entity’s status.

Question: What should I know about service providers that are willing to assume administrative responsibilities for my application and is listed as one of the service providers on the application?

This situation subjects the entity to additional rules, which translates into additional risks that may result in denial of funding. There are limitations as to the involvement a service provider may have with the Form 470 and Form 471 on behalf of entities. These service providers while performing certain administrative roles may compromise competitive bidding requirements of the program.

Question: Someone contacted us regarding E-Rate and asked about the number of students eligible for free and reduced lunch. We indicated that demographic was a minority of our enrollment but we still wanted to apply for funding. The service provider immediately loss interest, can we apply?

Certainly. You were probably about to be victimized by a service provider. Some service providers have made extreme attempts to engage high discount eligible schools. These service providers then prepare applications, which include extreme markups for their services. The school’s representative is then given the application for their signature, relieving the preparing service provider of liability. You may report any such incidents to EES and we will initiate an investigation by SLD. BE CAREFUL.

Question: How will a school's discount level be determined?

A school's discount level will be defined by the percentage of its students eligible for either a free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program. That is, a school will determine the percentage of its students whose family income falls within 185% of the poverty line. It is important to note that schools need not participate in the national school lunch program in order to compute their level of economic disadvantage for purposes of applying for universal service discounts. A school that either does not participate in the national school lunch program or that experiences a problem with undercounting eligible students may use federally approved alternative mechanisms to determine the percentage of their students eligible for the school lunch program. That percentage is converted using the discount matrix to determine the discount level for the school.

How will a library's discount level be determined?

A library's discount level will be based on the percentage of students eligible for the national school lunch program in the school district in which the library is located.

Question: How will a school district or a state ordering services on behalf of its eligible schools calculate an average discount?

The school district or state will determine the number of students eligible for the school lunch program and will divide that number by the total number of students in the school district or state. This calculation will yield the district-wide or state-wide level of poverty. The school district or the state will then consult the discount matrix to determine the level of discount to which it is entitled.

Question: If a library system orders services on behalf of its branches and has branches located in different school districts, how will that library system calculate an average discount?

The library system will determine the discount to which each of the school districts in which its branches are located is entitled. The library system will then add the discount percentages and divide by the number of branches, which will yield the system-wide discount level

Question: How will an eligible school or library determine whether it is located in an urban or a rural area for purposes of applying for universal service discounts?

For purposes of the schools and libraries discount program, rural areas should be defined in accordance with the definition adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP/HHS). ORHP/HHS uses the Office of Management and Budget's Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) designation of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, adjusted by the most recent Goldsmith Modification, which identifies rural areas within large metropolitan counties.

Question: Who must make the certifications for the purpose of Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)?

For the purpose of CIPA, certifications for schools and libraries eligible for E-rate discounts may be made by the relevant “Administrative Authority”. The “Administrative Authority” would be the entity, whether school, school district, library, library board, etc., responsible for governing the administration of the eligible school or library.

Question: Are eligible schools and libraries permitted to resell the discounted services they receive?

No. The Act bars schools and libraries from reselling services purchased pursuant to a universal service discount, and the FCC concluded that the Act should be interpreted to restrict any resale of services purchased under the universal service discount program to entities that are not eligible for support. The Commission also concluded that this prohibition on resale does not prohibit an eligible school or library from charging fees for any services that schools or libraries purchase for which they receive no universal service discounts.

Question: Which FCC Form do Administrative Authorities for schools and libraries use to make certification(s) for the purpose of CIPA?

If the Administrative Authority is also the Billed Entity, the certification is made on the Form 486.

If the Administrative Authority is not the Billed Entity, the Administrative Authority must complete FCC Form 479 and submit the Form 479 to the Billed Entity. The Billed Entity then certifies on Form 486 that it has collected duly completed and signed Form(s) 479 for the Administrative Authority(ies) it represents. FCC Form 479 is not submitted to SLD.

Question: Is a certification necessary for Billed Entities that have applied for Telecommunications Services only?

No.

Question: Is a FCC Form 479 necessary if the Administrative Authorities billed entity has applied for services other than Telecommunications Services, but has decided to only request reimbursement for Telecommunications Services?

Yes.

Question: When must certifications for the purpose of CIPA be made for Funding Year 4?

#1 In Funding Year 4, if the Service Start Date is on or before October 28, 2001 and the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter is before October 28, 2001, the Form 486 must be postmarked on or before Sunday, October 28, 2001 in order to receive discounts retroactively to the Service Start Date.

#2 In Funding Year 4, if the Service Start Date is on or before October 28, 2001 but the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter is after October 28, 2001, the Form 486 must be postmarked no later than 120 days after the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter in order for discounts to be paid retroactively to the Service Start Date.

#3 In Funding Year 4, if the Service Start Date is after October 28, 2001, the Form 486 must be postmarked no later than 120 days after the Service Start Date or the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter, whichever is later, in order for discounts to be paid retroactively to the Service Start Date.