Funding Status
The application window for FY 2011 closed at last Thursday, March 24, 2011 (see below). We expect USAC to compile and release a preliminary estimate of funding demand by mid-April.
Wave 44 for FY 2010 will be released on Tuesday, March 29th for $16.6 million. Cumulative funding for FY 2010 is currently $2.4 billion. Priority 2 funding is still being awarded at 81% and above, and denied at 79% and below.
No funding wave for FY 2009 is scheduled for this week.
FY 2011 Form 471 Application Window Closed - Next Steps
The Form 471 application window for FY 2011 closed on Thursday, March 24, 2011. Applications completed online or postmarked after this date will be treated as being received outside the filing window and will not likely be funded without an FCC waiver.
Applicants who successfully submitted their Form 471 applications by the March 24th deadline should do the following:
- If you mailed your application, certification, and/or attachments by express mail service, you should track the shipment online and make a copy of the successful delivery notification. If you used the Postal Service's return receipt service, you should retain a copy of the receipt when it's returned.
- Periodically check the status of your application on the SLD's Web site (see Application Status). At this stage in the application process, the status indicator might read:
Incomplete: If the application was done online, "Incomplete" means that the application process was abandoned before submission; this would not be a valid application. If the application was mailed, "Incomplete" means that the application has been received, but that only the basic Block 1 information has been data entered by the SLD. Mailed applications that were postmarked in time will be upgraded in status as soon as data entry is complete.
Complete: The application was successfully submitted online, but has not yet been certified (or, most likely, the mailed-in certification has not yet been data entered).
Certified - In Window: This status indicator covers the following three situations for applications that were completed within the deadline: (a) the application was submitted and electronically certified online; (b) the application was submitted online and the mailed certification form has been received and recorded by the SLD; or (c) a properly certified application was mailed to the SLD and has been fully data entered.
Certified - Out of Window: The completed application was not fully submitted on time. Usually this means that the paper application, or the signed certification page of an online application, was postmarked after March 24th. As long as the application itself was submitted on time, USAC will provide additional, albeit limited, time to submit the certification.
Initial Review: The application (probably one that was submitted earlier in the application window) has already been entered into the review process. Applicants may have already begun to receive questions on these applications.
- This year the FCC rules require that Item 21 Attachments be filed within the window. It is not yet clear what status indicator will be used (or if a new one will be created) to cover otherwise complete applications without Item 21 Attachments. As it does with missing certifications, USAC will provide some limited time to submit missing Item 21 Attachments. Note that, in any case, USAC cannot review an application without the attachments. Since mailed attachments are sent to Kansas, but PIA review is done in New Jersey, applicants may get requests from PIA for another copy of their attachments. Whenever possible, applicants should comply.
- Applicants should pay particular attention to the Form 471 Receipt Acknowledgment Letters ("RALs") that are mailed to applicants who have submitted Form 471s. The RALs are formatted to permit applicants to easily correct a number of clerical and ministerial errors that may have been made in their initial filings. Importantly, allowable corrections include adjustments - even increases - in discount rates and funding requests.
E-Rate Updates and Reminders
EDU2011 Applications Filed:
All twenty selected participants in the EDU2011 — or, as it is now called, the Learning On-the-Go — wireless pilot program filed special Form 471 applications for FY 2011 to cover eligible program costs. In total, 21 applications were filed requesting just under $9.3 million in E-rate discounts. Applicant requests ranged from just under $7 thousand to over $2.3 million.
For the most part, the requested funding was for wireless Internet services from the major cellular carriers, but two applications were for Internal Connections equipment. It will be interesting to see how USAC and the FCC treat these applications. Based on the initial EDU2011 applications, it appears that:
- Clay County Schools requested pilot funding primarily for Cisco equipment to expand its "hybrid wireless environment." But Clay's discount rate is only 80%, which will probably be below the Priority 2 funding threshold for FY 2011. Arguably, because requested funding is based on a separate $10 million set-aside for the pilot program, Clay's request could be exempt from the normal threshold funding limitation.
- Westwood Community Schools filed for iMac and USB wireless air cards, which are normally ineligible end-user equipment. Presumably, the FCC took this into account when it selected Westwood, so it may be prepared to waive the ESL restrictions for pilot purposes.
NSLP Direct Certification Improvement Act:
The Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is seeking comment on an information collection proposal on direct certification (see Federal Register dated March 21, 2011). The "National School Lunch Program Direct Certification Improvement Study" is designed to examine how states are integrating direct certification and traditional NSLP data and to identify best practices.
Direct certification is a process whereby children in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or other public assistance program benefits are certified to receive school lunches without needing to complete an actual NSLP application. The goal of the program is to maximize the number of children qualifying for free or reduced-price meals — a goal that is clearly not inconsistent with schools seeking to improve their E-rate discounts.
Since July 2008, direct certification applies to every school participating in the NSLP program, public or private, regardless of size. Implementation, however, varies from state to state, usually based on an agreement between the state education department and the state welfare agency.
In the simplest implementation form, the cooperating state agency mails direct certification letters (normally around August) to all public assistance households. The instructions indicate that the households' children can be automatically enrolled in their schools' free meal programs by simply giving the letters to the schools. Note, however, that while this is a step forward in making enrollment easier for the families (and simplifying the schools' verification procedures), the schools don't get the information unless the families provide them with the letters.
On the other hand, a growing number of states have reversed the process so that the schools become the proactive parties. This is done by providing the direct certification data to the schools. For NSLP purposes, the schools then send letters to the families of their students, advising them that the students are eligible for free meals and that the students are being enrolled (subject to an "opt-out" provision required by federal law). But even with opt-outs, the schools now have a way of identifying additional eligible students for E-rate purposes.
Comments on the information collection process are due May 10, 2011, but are not critical from an E-rate perspective. What is important is to understand the direct certification program, USDA's continued interest, and its potential E-rate advantages. It is not too early for school E-rate personnel to start talking with their food service counterparts about next summer's NSLP application process.
FCC Appeal Decision on Erroneous Service Start Dates:
The FCC issued an appeal decision (DA 11-533) last week granting relief to six applicants who had used an incorrect service start date when filing their Form 486s. The decision was in line with past precedent rulings that minor mistakes involving USAC procedures, not FCC rules, do not warrant funding reductions or denials. The decision is also indicative of the FCC's appeal-handling process under which it groups individual appeals of a similar nature, then issues one decision encompassing them all. This group included appeals filed over the period June 2007 to February 2011.
Most commonly, we see Form 486 service start date errors arise in the following two situations:
- An applicant waits to file a Form 486 for Internal Connections until it believes work has started, sometimes misinterpreting the date of installation as the service start date. In actuality, work may have begun earlier and may have been invoiced as such (e.g., upon equipment delivery). When using any service start date other than 07/01/20xx, make sure that no work is done before the Form 486 is filed. It's better to use a service start date that's too early than one that is too late.
- An applicant gets funded well into the funding year and mistakenly uses the FCDL date as the service start date. Remember that funding is retroactive; the service start date can be as early as 07/01/20xx, no matter when the funding is actually approved.
Schools and Libraries News Briefs dated March 24 and 25 - Post-Application Process
The SLD issued three News Briefs last week, two before and one after the closing of the FY 2011 application window.
The first News Brief, dated March 24th, provided some tips for dealing with online system problems. It also served as a reminder that the application window was closing that night, and that applications not received or postmarked by that date would be considered received out-of-window.
The reminder caused a brief flurry of anxiety in the E-rate community because it appeared to suggest that applications filed within the window, but without the associated Item 21 Attachments, would be considered out-of-window and would be subject to denial. While it is technically true that the FCC's FY 2011 rules require Item 21 Attachments to be filed by the close of the window, the same rules instruct USAC to treat missing Item 21 Attachments in the same manner as it does missing certifications. These procedures require USAC to notify applicants of the missing Item 21 Attachments or certifications, and to provide the applicants 15 days to correct the omissions. The second News Brief on March 24th quoted the applicable portion of the FCC rules.
The post-window News Brief, dated March 25th, reviews the basic steps an applicant should take to follow up on their applications, specifically:
- Submit Item 21 Attachments, if needed.
- Certify Form 471, if needed.
- Certify any referenced Form 470, if needed.
- Review RAL, and correct if necessary.
- Organize and store documents.
- Check technology plan status.
- Prepare for PIA review.
- Monitor the preferred mode of contact.