• Potential FCDL confusion
• Potential discounted billing confusion
• Key dates: December 15 and January 19
• Use of OGS contracts by private schools
• Upcoming NYS E-rate workshops

The following is a summary of the E-rate news for the week of November 22, 1999, prepared by E-Rate Central. Official SLD news appears in the "What’s New!" section of the SLD’s web site. Additional information and interpretations may be found elsewhere on this Web site.

Potential FCDL confusion

During the second week of November, the SLD mailed revised Funding Commitment Decisions Letters ("FCDLs") for program year one ("PY1") to applicants who qualified for an additional six months of funding for telecommunications and Internet access services under contracts initially expiring before 12/31/98 (the so-called "black hole" period). Since this mailing occurred during a period when the SLD was also sending waves of FCDLs for program year two ("PY2"), and since the letters are similar in appearance, there is a potential for confusion.

An applicant receiving a FCDL letter should first look at the second line of the reference section following the address. If the letter references "Funding Year: 07/01/1999 – 06/30/2000," it is a new funding commitment for PY2. However, if the reference is to "Funding Year: 1998," it signals additional funding for PY1.

A revised FCDL for PY1 repeats and/or amends all funding information from the original FCDL, not just the funding additions. Additional funding is flagged with an "*" just prior to the Funding Request Numbers listed beginning on page five.

Potential discounted billing confusion

Just this past week, E-Rate Central was notified of two Internet access vendors in NYS who have begun accepting discounted payments from applicants rather than requiring discounts to be handled through BEAR form reimbursements. In both cases, however, the discounts are being processed outside the vendors’ normal invoicing procedures because of difficulties in changing existing billing systems.

Customers of these vendors, who have been approved E-rate discounts and have filed the required Form 486s, will receive normal invoices that do not show a discount, but will also receive separate instructions that indicate that they need only pay the discounted portion. Customers who have already paid some bills for services beginning last July may still have to file BEAR reimbursement forms for those periods.

While we applaud the efforts of these vendors to collect only discounted amounts, their customers (and the vendors’ own accounts receivable departments) are warned of the potential for confusion.

Key dates: December 15 and January 19

Here are two key E-rate dates to keep in mind:

December 15, 1999: The last day on which the SLD will accept BEAR forms from applicants for reimbursed discounts on PY1 funding awards. BEARs must be received at the SLD by this date. Applicants who have just received "black hole" awards (see above) must move quickly to take advantage of this additional funding. (Limited exceptions to this deadline may be announced for applicants just now receiving funding awards under successful PY1 appeals.)

January 19, 2000: The last day that the SLD will receive window period Form 471 applications for PY3. Before submitting a Form 471, an applicant must have previously filed a Form 470 and have had that form posted on the SLD web site for at least 28 days. The SLD has been adamant, in recent weeks, in stating that this January date will not be extended. The January date was carefully selected to allow the SLD to meet a commitment to complete PY3 funding prior to the start of the third program year on July 1, 2000.

Use of OGS contracts by private schools

E-Rate Central’s weekly news, workshops, and web site refer frequently to the use of New York State Office of General Services ("OGS") contracts as a solution to many E-rate contracting problems. In response to questions from several private school applicants, we have recently confirmed with the OGS Counsel that non-profit private and parochial schools are eligible to use these contracts. Such use is covered under Section 109-a of the General Municipal Law; authorizing purchases by "any nonpublic elementary and/or secondary school of the State of New York, which provides instruction required by section thirty-two hundred four and article seventeen of the education law, and which is chartered by, registered with or subject to examination and inspection by the Department of Education and which is a not for profit institution."

Additional information on the use of NYS contracts can be found on the OGS web site.

Upcoming NYS E-rate workshops

Two additional NYSED E-rate workshops for applicants are scheduled for this coming week. A special workshop for vendors also will be held in NYC. (See the listing below and the E-Rate Central web site for registration information.)

These half-day workshops have been designed to address the needs of both new and experienced participants in the E-rate program. The presentations will address the entire application process with special emphasis on the new forms, procedures and contract requirements for the 2000-2001 program year.

School and library workshops:

Mid-State area – 1-4 p.m., Monday, November 29 at Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, Settlement Road, New Hartford, NY.

New York City area – 2-5 p.m., Thursday, December 2, in the NYS Public Service Commission Boardroom, 8^th Floor, One Penn Plaza, New York, NY.

Service provider workshop:

New York City area – 9-12 a.m., Thursday, December 2, in the NYS Public Service Commission Boardroom, 8^th Floor, One Penn Plaza, New York, NY.