May 2001 Announcements

Please click on the topic below to view the most recent announcements:

View Kate Moore letter

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Monday, May 28, 2001 in observance of Memorial Day. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Tuesday, May 29, 2001 at 8:00 a.m., EDT.

The Universal Service Administrative Company 2000 Annual Report is now available for viewing on our web site. View 2000 Annual Report!

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has requested the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative Company to provide information about the potential impact of the proposal by the FCC to change the funding priorities for Funding Year 4.

On April 30, 2001, the FCC released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 01-143) suggesting an alternative to the current rules of priority for funding commitments. On May 8, that FNPRM was published in the Federal Register. Comments are due on or before May 23, 2001, with reply comments due on or before May 30, 2001.

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SLD will be posting detailed guidance in the near future on the requirements for recipients of service and for Billed Entities under the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). These requirements will affect recipients of funding commitments for Funding Year 4 and later. Because schools will soon be closing for the summer, SLD is addressing one specific question immediately:

If Funding Year 4 applicants intend to certify on their Form 486 that they are undertaking actions in Funding Year 4 to comply with the requirements of CIPA by Funding Year 5, what should they do now?

View SLD Response >>

The Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FNPRM) adopted by the Federal Communications Commission on revising the funding priorities for Year 4 and after was published in the Federal Register on May 8, 2001.

The notice can be found on pages 23204-23208 of the Federal Register, Vol. 66, No. 89, for Tuesday, May 8, 2001. It is available on the web in both text and PDF versions as the only entry in PROPOSED RULES under the "Federal Communications Commission" heading on the Federal Register web site.

Comments are due on or before May 23, 2001. Reply comments are due on or before May 30, 2001. Addresses for filing comments are available under the heading "ADDRESSES" at the beginning of the notice.

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to seek comments on a proposed revision to Year 4 funding priorities. This notice may affect the funding status for Internal Connections requests now under review by the Schools and Libraries Division.

Comments on the NPRM must be received at the FCC within 15 days of the Notice's publication in the Federal Register, and reply comments must be received within the following 7 days. The FCC will issue a final rule after that period.

Under the proposal, Priority One funding status would continue to include Telecommunications Services and Internet Access services.

The notice proposes, however, changing the priority system for Priority Two: Internal Connections. Under the proposal, priority would still be given to the needier recipients, but if a recipient had received a funding commitment for Internal Connections in Year 3, that recipient would not be eligible for Year 4 funding for Internal Connections.

More specifically, the proposal would require SLD to examine Form 471 Block 5 requests (Funding Request Numbers, or FRN's) and consider the recipients receiving those Internal Connections services, as featured in the relevant Block 4 worksheet of the Form 471. Any recipients featured in the Block 4 worksheet that had been associated with a Year 3-funded FRN for Internal Connections services would be ineligible for funding.

The impact of the proposal would be to allow funding for Internal Connections to reach the neediest schools and libraries, some below the 90% discount level, who did not already receive Internal Connections funding in Year 3, to receive funding commitments in Year 4.

Click here to view the NPRM.

Please watch this web site for further information.

On April 17, 2001, the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Schools & Libraries (USAC) reported to the Federal Communications Commission that a revised projection of $5.195 billion in requested funding has been estimated for schools and libraries seeking E-rate discounts for Year 4.

This updated and revised estimate eliminates funding requests on applications with missing or late-postmarked certifications or Item 21 attachments. Because in Year 4 all forms needed to have both their certifications and attachments filed within the application window, the number of applications deemed to be inside the window has declined to 35,312, reducing the estimated demand.

The reduction of $592 million from the SLD's February 28 estimate has two components: a $374 million reduction due to missing or late certifications and/or attachments, and a $219 million data-entry correction.

There are certain factors that will likely further reduce the demand level. First, while efforts have been made to eliminate duplicate requests, inevitably SLD will discover more duplication as processing of the Form 471 applications continues.

Second, SLD's efforts to assure that applications are substantially complete and that funds are committed only for eligible services, for use by eligible entities with the appropriate discount rate, and are otherwise consistent with program rules, will further reduce the demand.

Click here to view the updated and revised demand estimate.

In an order released April 30, the FCC extended the Year 3 deadline for implementing non-recurring services from June 30, 2001 to September 30, 2001.

The FCC action provides three more months for the implementation of non-recurring projects, giving schools and libraries the summer months to complete such work.

Those entities with funding commitments that wish to undertake work during this period should examine their contracts for non-recurring services. If the contract expires June 30, 2001 or earlier, they should make provision for a contract extension and file FCC Form 500, Adjustment to Funding Commitment and Modification to Receipt of Service Confirmation Form to notify SLD of the new Contract Expiration Date. This change is necessary so that invoices for this period can be honored. Notably, the FCC order provides that contracts for non-recurring services approved for Funding Year 3 discounts may be voluntarily extended until September 30, 2001.

Funding recipients are reminded that this order applies only to non-recurring services. For recurring services, the June 30, 2001 deadline remains.