E-rate News for the Week
April 2, 2001 |
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The following is a summary of the E-rate News for the Week of April 2, 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.
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| 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.
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| 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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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| Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain unofficial information on
prospective E-rate developments and/or may reflect our own interpretations of
E-rate practices and regulations. Such information is provided for planning and
guidance purposes only. It is not meant, in any way, to supplant official
announcements and instructions provided by either the SLD or the FCC. |
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