Form 486: Clarification on Use by Schools
We received a number of questions this week concerning the impact on schools of the recent FCC Order on library CIPA compliance and the new versions of the Form 486 and Form 479 that are expected to be released later in August. For the most part, the new library rules do not affect schools.
To be more precise:
(1) School applicants, applying for Internet Access and Internal Connections discounts, have never been exempt from full compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”). The current version of Form 486 (dated September 2002) already contains the proper certification language for school CIPA compliance. As a result, school applicants need not wait for the release of the new version before filing their Form 486s. Indeed, we would encourage schools, which have been funded for FY 2003, to file their Form 486s now. Don’t take any chances of missing a deadline!
(2) Once the new version of the Form 486 is available, ALL applicants will be required to use it (although there may be some grace period for school applicants). As indicated above, we expect the new version to be released later this month. The timing of its required use will be well publicized at that time.
(3) Similar rules apply to the Form 479, the form used by consortium members to certify compliance to their consortium leader (so that, in turn, the leader can file a Form 486). Until further notice, school consortia members should continue to submit the current version of Form 479 (dated September 2002). The only complication on Form 479 submittals involves consortia that include school and library members. In these cases, the consortia must file (or re-file) the new Form 486s for FY 2003, and the library members – and only the library members – must submit (or re-submit) the new Form 479s to their consortia leaders within 30 days.
For background purposes, here’s what has been happening:
CIPA, as initially enacted in 2000 as a condition for receiving federal technology funding, required both schools and libraries to filter Internet access and to have an “Internet Safety Policy.” To implement CIPA for E-rate purposes, the FCC incorporated compliance certification check-offs in the Form 486 and Form 479 (initially in versions dated July 2001).
The library community challenged the CIPA filtering requirement on First Amendment grounds. In 2002, a federal district court invalidated the filtering section of the Act for libraries, but not for schools. As a result, the Form 486 and Form 479 were revised (in a version dated September 2002) so that the CIPA compliance sections had separate certifications for schools and libraries. Schools were required to certify compliance with the filtering (Section 254(h)) and safety policy (Section 254(l)) requirements, while the libraries were required to certify compliance with only the safety policy requirement.
On June 23, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the district court decision and thereby reestablished the filtering requirement for libraries. Because schools had never been exempt from the filtering provision, the Supreme Court decision has no effect on schools. To implement the library change, new versions of the Form 486 and Form 479 (to be dated July 2003) are being issued to eliminate separate CIPA certifications for schools and libraries. All applicants will now use the same check-off boxes.
The implications of the revised Form 486 and Form 479 for libraries, particularly those who have already filed current versions for FY 2003, are more complex. Detailed instructions are expected to be posted on the SLD Web site shortly. In the interim, library applicants and consortia can reference the discussion in our News for the Week of July 21, 2004 or the recent FCC Order (FCC 03-188).