Introduction
The following is a summary of the E-rate News for the Week of February 19, 2001, prepared by E-Rate Central. Official SLD news appears in the "What’s New!” section of the SLD’s Web site . Additional and archived information appears elsewhere on this Web site.
PY2-PY4 Status Update
| PY2: |
The first wave of funding commitments for PY2 out-of-the-window applications should be released later this month. Several smaller waves will follow. The current indication is that funding will be sufficient to cover all valid requests received during the extended application period that ended March 31, 2000. |
| PY3: |
The SLD has now mailed over 1400 administrative decision letters on PY3 appeals. About 500 more appeals remain to be processed. As soon as the last batch of administrative letters is processed, actual funding commitments will be issued. |
| PY4: |
Funding waves for PY4 will not begin until the SLD receives the expected indication from the FCC that the program will be funded to the full $2.25 billion level. The SLD may also wait on PY4 funding until it can ready a revised version of Form 486 (and a new Form 479) that will include Internet filtering certifications (see below). |
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The FCC released its filtering rules for implementing the Children’s Internet Protection Act ("CIPA") this week (three weeks in advance of the legislative deadline). In general, the FCC’s rules simply require certification that E-rate applicants meet the minimum CIPA requirements. For PY4, this means only that applicants are "undertaking such actions, including any necessary procurement procedures, to put in place" the required Internet safety policies and technology protection measures. Full adoption and implementation will not be required until PY5.
Key points in the FCC rules include:
- CIPA requirements apply only to applicants seeking E-rate discounts on Internet access and internal connection services. Discounts solely on telecommunications services are not affected.
- Form 486 will be revised to include the appropriate certifications. Applicants must be prepared to certify compliance as soon as E-rate services are received for the PY4 funding year beginning July 1, 2001. The actual Form 486 certification must be made no later than October 28, 2001.
- Form 486 will also be used to certify compliance for PY5. This is a change from an earlier proposal that would have required PY5 certification on the Form 471 that would have had to be submitted next winter during the PY5 application window.
- A new Form 479 is being designed for E-rate consortiums. Consortium leaders will be required to certify that they have collected Form 479s from all their members indicating that they are in compliance. We are hoping that the new Form 479 process will also serve as a proxy for the letters of agency now being requested in some consortium application reviews.
- The FCC declined to adopt any rules that would require applicants to certify the effectiveness of their filtering, track attempts to access prohibited material, further define prohibited material or actions, or establish specific provisions to disable protection measures for lawful research. Nor do the FCC rules require applicants to post actual CIPA requirements, text of their Internet safety policies, identification their technology protection vendors, or instructions on registering complaints.
A full copy of the FCC’s Internet filtering requirements is available on the FCC Web site. |