July 2002 Announcements - Schools & Libraries (USAC)

The SLD has posted guidance in the Reference Area of this web site about "Good Samaritan" situations. These situations can occur when an applicant has not received reimbursement from a service provider for services for which the applicant has paid in full.

Funding Request data is now available on this web site. The funding data retrieval tool and instructions for its use are located in the new Data Requests section of this web site.

This tool will allow you to retrieve data from one or more Funding Requests. You must specify a Funding Year and a state for your data retrieval; there are also optional criteria you can use to further narrow the scope of the data retrieved.

The data will be returned to you in a tab-delimited text file in the location you specify.

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SLD Announces Expanded Availability of SLD Data (7/18/02)

In order to help applicants, service providers, and those who wish to analyze the E-rate program, the SLD announces that it expects to make Form 471 and FRN data available on this web site to any who wish to make use of them beginning on Thursday, July 25, 2002.

For each Funding Request Number (FRN), the SLD's database has information from the original Form 471, from the Form 471 as committed, from the Form 486, and information about disbursements based on invoices. This information can be valuable to applicants and service providers and to those wishing to analyze it to better understand E-rate impacts. Various parties have requested data from the SLD's database, and the majority of the data requested have been provided.

Those interested will be able to select the FRNs for which they want information by funding year and state. Users will be able to further refine their query by entering criteria for service type, application type, discount percent, 471 number, and FRN. Once the requestor has submitted the criteria, the system will build a tab-delimited data file that can be downloaded to a user-defined storage location. Spreadsheet or other application software can be used to open the file and analyze the data.

The data file will contain over forty data points, including name and address of the applicant, service provider name, Form 486 service start date, date of Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL), Funding Commitment Decision Explanation (if applicable), and requested and committed amounts including monthly and non-recurring components. Future versions of the system will include actual amount disbursed to date.

With a Form 471 Application Number, interested parties will also be able to view a Form 471. On a current Form 471, only the FRNs on the Form 471 that have been assigned a final commitment status (funded or denied) will appear. If an FRN was adjusted by a Form 500 after commitment, the adjusted data will be shown.

The SLD has been working on making this information available for many months and believes it will enable applicants to track the status of their funding requests more closely; for example, applicants will have more information about their funded FRNs than is reported on the FCDL. When disbursement data become available, they will be able to monitor disbursements as frequently as they wish and not just quarterly as today. Service providers will be able to easily monitor whether Forms 486 have been submitted and the status of disbursements.

Many of the FCC forms that collected the information that will be made publicly available contained erroneous references to the Privacy Act. The Wireline Competition Bureau of the FCC has held that the Privacy Act pertains only to individuals and thus because applicants are not individuals they have no protections under the Privacy Act, notwithstanding the erroneous Privacy Act notices. [See Letter From Joseph Hall, Assistant Bureau Chief for Management, Wireline Competition Bureau to William T. Josem dated May 20, 2002 (FOIA Control Number 2001-215).] These erroneous notices will be removed from future versions of the forms.

The SLD has prepared a four-page document entitled "E-rate Discounts for Schools and Libraries." This document provides a brief but complete overview of the entire application process, from the preparation of the Technology Plan to the receipt of discounts by either the applicant or the service provider. By reading this short document, potential applicants can gain a clear understanding of the requirements of the E-rate process and be encouraged to participate.

You can print E-rate Discounts for Schools and Libraries from this web site, or you can call the Client Service Bureau at 1-888-203-8100 after August 1, 2002 and request that a copy be mailed to you.

The Schools and Libraries Client Service Bureau will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2002 in observance of Independence Day. The Client Service Bureau will resume normal operations on Friday, July 5, 2002 at 8:00 a.m., EDT.

The FCC released on Friday, June 28, an order adopting interim measures to ensure that FCC's implementation of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) complies with the recent decision by a three-judge panel in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Click here to read the order.

The order suspends enforcement of FCC rules implementing section 254(h)(6) of CIPA, relating to filtering requirements for computers with Internet access in libraries, pending Supreme Court action on the appeal of the panel's decision. It directs USAC, in consultation with FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau, to implement the necessary procedural changes, including changes to the CIPA-related certifications required of applicants.

Suspension of enforcement of filtering requirements applies to all libraries, public and private. It does NOT apply to schools; CIPA's filtering requirements as applied to schools and, therefore, school libraries have not been challenged and remain in effect.

Also, because the requirements for an Internet safety policy in section 254(l) were not challenged, they remain in effect for schools and libraries receiving discounts on Internet access or internal connections. A library receiving E-rate discounts for these services is still required to have an Internet safety policy that addresses: (1) access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and World Wide Web, (2) the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications, (3) unauthorized access, including hacking, and other unlawful activities by minors online, (4) unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors, and (5) measures designed to restrict minors' access to materials harmful to minors. Section 254(l) also includes a public notice and hearing/meeting requirement, which remains in force.

The order directs USAC in consultation with the Bureau to make any changes necessary to the procedures and to FCC Form 486 and FCC Form 479 so that libraries receiving discounts on Internet access or internal connections can certify to compliance with section 254(l) without also certifying to section 254(h)(6).

Implications for Library Applicants in Funding Year 2001

In order to ensure that library applicants in Funding Year 2001 (formerly called Funding Year 4) not be penalized for non-compliance with section 254(h)(6) of CIPA, the FCC has directed USAC as follows:

Next Steps

USAC will be working closely with Bureau staff in the coming days to identify appropriate procedures and form changes to implement this new order. Additional information will be posted on this web site as it becomes available.