Bulletins

Traveling on assignment through Americas heartland not long ago, we were in search of a suitable restaurant where we could catch up with a few colleagues and friends. We were perusing one of those online dining guides that features assessments by actual customers.

Thank you for the recent article on eRate underutilization (eRate funds go begging, April 2004). The one factor you left out when explaining this turn of events is the mind-boggling learning curve needed to apply for funds. After performing this function for our library for one funding cycle (I was the third person in one year on which this task was dumped), I told the library board that next year I would pay out of my own pocket rather than go through the process again.

As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prepares to make key changes to the eRate--such as increasing the minimum amount the neediest applicants are required to contribute, and possibly eliminating the Form 470 used to seek competitive bids--stakeholders in the $2.25 billion-a-year federal program remain sharply divided as to what these changes should entail.

WASHINGTON - Five people have been indicted and four of them arrested on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering in connection with a program designed to bring Internet access to schools and libraries, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.

The Federal Communications Commission wants your input about possible regulation of Voice over IP (define) services. As part of its just-released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for IP-enabled services, the FCC said it is looking for specific, pragmatic proposals for the possible regulation of the technology, including VoIP.

At a time of tighter budgets for education technology, schools and libraries are still lagging in their use of E-rate discounts that have been approved for them, according to a recently completed review by Funds For Learning.

Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Veon introduced House Bill 2386 to meet Gov. Rendells challenge that legislators fund the creation of a statewide education network for K-12 schools during the next 18 months.

The Schools and Libraries Committee of the Universal Service Administrative Company Feb. 23 authorized the Schools and Libraries Division to begin approving internal connections requests for the 2003 funding year from applicants with discount rates as low as 70 percent, subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission.

If Cori Capik forgets to jot down a math assignment, she no longer squanders an evening by calling classmates who might also be clueless. With a few clicks of her laptop mouse, the eighth grader at Miamis Palmer Trinity School can easily track down that homework assignment - or any other one she might have missed. And while she's at it, she can peek at her current grades, check the date of her next science quiz, or download the middle-school dance schedule.

In Pennsylvania, many of the states school districts must pay a premium for high-speed telecommunications service because of their location. The lack of affordable access to this technology prevents many schools from using educational materials that are available electronically to other schools using broadband telecommunications.

The Schools and Libraries Committee of the Universal Service Administrative Company January 26 recommended that an additional $1.687 million be budgeted in 2004 for additional resources for the review of E-rate program invoices.

A number of schools have been required to repay some E-rate discounts they received because they were not in compliance with the requirements of the Childrens Internet Protection Act by the date they were supposed to be.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell announced today that he has appointed Lisa M. Zaina as Chief Executive Officer of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). Zaina currently serves as senior legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. congressional investigators on Thursday asked for details about $5 million worth of telecommunications equipment that SBC Communications Inc. bought for Chicago public schools with government subsidies, but was sitting in warehouses unused.

The leader of a startup technology company and a former Harrisburg, Pa., School District official were charged last month with participating in a nearly $2 million kickback scheme in connection with a federally funded technology contract for the district, authorities say.

Cameras record every minute of Beverly Pearsons day as a high school English teacher. When she strides to the blackboard, a lens swivels to track her movements. A microphone captures each word.

Charles Davidson, a self-proclaimed gadget freak in Tallahassee, Fla., began using Internet-based telephone service last week. He can call anyone - not just the other 100,000 pioneers around the nation using such service, but any of the millions of people who use conventional telephones, like his parents in Elizabethton, Tenn. But Mr. Davidson is more than an adventuresome consumer.

As state and local education leaders await word from Washington, D.C., on how much money the federal government will spend on education in 2004, a new survey from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) paints a troubling picture of school technology funding at the state level.

In this Third Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we address several matters related to the administration of the schools and libraries universal service mechanism (also known as the e-rate program).

Commissioner Adelstein Statement