• 2002 Review – 2003 Preview
• Interview Version of Form 471 Online
• Upcoming E-rate Deadlines

The E-rate News for the Week, prepared by E-Rate Central, is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers ("CCSSO") and made possible by a grant from the AT&T Foundation. Official SLD news is in the "What's New!" section of the SLD's Web site . Additional information is on the State Education Telecommunications Alliance's ("SETA") Web site.

Even though the E-rate program operates on a fiscal year basis, it is traditional at this time of year to reflect back on 2002 and to look forward to 2003. For both years, we believe the two key watchwords are “accountability” and, unfortunately as a result, “complexity.”

The SLD has added an option for submitting Form 471s online utilizing a new “Interview Interface.” The interview format is designed to step smaller applicants through the application process. Conceptually, the new format is comparable to some of the popular tax filing programs for individuals (although at its current stage of development, the Form 471 interview interface is not as sophisticated).

The new interface can be used by individual schools or libraries and by school districts and library systems (with less than 25 sites, with no separate administrative buildings, and with no new buildings under construction). It cannot be used by consortia.

To try the new application platform, go to the “Apply Online” section of the SLD Web site and click on the Form 471 “Interview” button. Our guess, having experimented a bit with the new format, is that some applicants will like it while others will prefer the original format. (Please note that the interview platform is new and may be subject to some early bugs.) There is, however, little downside to trying the system. If an applicant gets part way through the interview (and has been assigned a Form 471 application number), the filing can be halted and resumed under the original system by using the Form 471 “Continue Incomplete” option.

A Form 471 Interview Filing Guide is available on the SLD Web site.

While most applicants are focusing on the upcoming February 6th deadline, the last day of the Form 471 application window for FY 2003, there are actually several other early year deadlines that apply to various FY 1999 (out-of-the-window), FY 2001, and FY 2002 filings.

One obvious deadline to focus on is the Form 470 posting date. Since most applicants must file Form 470s, and have them posted on the SLD Web site for 28 days, before signing new contracts and submitting their Form 471s, the absolutely last day to post a Form 470 is January 9, 2003. It is already too late to mail a Form 470 to the SLD with expectations that it will be posted before this date, so all new Form 470s should filed online.

Another important date is January 28, 2003. This is the basic deadline for filing invoices (BEAR reimbursements or supplier invoices) for non-recurring services that had to be utilized by September 30, 2002, including installations funded in FY 2001 or in the out-of-the-window period for FY 1999. Invoices postmarked after these deadlines will not be processed and funding will be lost. Remember that BEAR forms must be acknowledged by suppliers before they can be submitted.

The other upcoming deadlines are for FY 2002 Form 486s which must be filed within 120 days of the start of service (normally July 1, 2002) or the date of the Funding Commitment Decision Letter (“FCDL”), whichever is later. The deadlines for applicants funded in Waves 1-10 have already passed. Applicants funded in subsequent waves, have later Form 486 deadlines. Here are the next few:

The penalty for missing a Form 486 deadline is a reduction in funding. If, for example, an applicant funded in Wave 6 did not file the associated Form 486 until December 29th, the SLD will adjust the start date to 120 days prior to the postmark date (i.e., to August 31, 2002) and reduce the funding accordingly (i.e., to 10/12ths of the originally approved amount).