News of the Week

Applicants funded before March 1 (i.e., in Waves 1-22) may also qualify for extended non-recurring service deadlines, but only under more restricted circumstances (see Service Delivery Deadlines).

In announcing the delay, the SLD indicated that it would return to the normal wave schedule by issuing Wave 24 a week later on March 10. March 10th is important because the SLD's goal is to complete the review of FY 2002 applications by that date - a goal that does NOT apply to applications that are subject to the SLD's selective review process or that have been referred to other agencies for investigation.

FY 2003 Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letters

After a Form 471 has been data entered, either online by the applicant or in Kansas by the SLD, and has been properly certified, a Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letter ("RAL") is sent to the applicant for confirmation. An example of a RAL is (see sample RAL). The letter itself contains instructions on reviewing and correcting RAL information, but several points should be noted.

(1) The RAL summarizes the key data recorded for each funding request ("FRN") on the associated Form 471. The data should be reviewed carefully to make sure that errors weren't introduced by either the applicant or, in the case of mailed applications, by the SLD data entry staff. The SLD is particularly concerned this year about errors that seemingly overstate funding requests by orders of magnitude (usually attributable to misplaced decimal points).

(2) The RAL correction process permits only certain types of changes to be made (contact information, SPINs, FRN reductions or cancellations, etc.). FRN amounts can be reduced, but not increased. Any corrections made at this stage in the processing will save considerable effort later on.

(3) A three-week deadline for corrections is noted in the RAL, but this is only a guideline. The SLD does not actually put applications on hold for three weeks before sending them on for PIA review. Thus, the sooner a correction is received by the SLD, the better.

(4) Special care must be taken if any funding requests are missing. A missing FRN means either that the request was rejected outright or that it was skipped by the SLD during data entry. If an FRN was rejected, the applicant should receive an explanation in the letter. Appeals of FRN rejections must be made within the standard 60-day window. If a FRN is missing from the RAL, the applicant should write the SLD. In this case, we strongly recommend that the inquiry be structured as an appeal and be submitted within 60 days of the RAL date.

Upcoming E-rate Deadlines

Applicants funded in recent FY 2002 waves must file their Form 486s within 120 days of the start of service (normally July 1, 2002) or the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter ("FCDL"), whichever is later. The deadlines for applicants funded in Waves 1-14 have already passed. Applicants funded in subsequent waves, have later Form 486 deadlines. Here are the next few: