Trainings and Sign-Up (Intermediate and Advanced Applicants)

This training is designed and presented by the California E-rate Focus Group to assist California school districts, libraries, county offices of education in the E-rate application process. Training will run approximately seven hours with the opportunity to ask questions.

The agenda will include the following condensed topics:

• Program Changes and "Hot Topics"- Information will be provided regarding updates on any new and existing rules that applicants have found difficult. In addition, we will provide updates on CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act) compliance, and other emphasis that USAC has shown in their Fall training.
• Technology Plans - The elements needed in a tech plan relative to E-rate and the importance of having your tech plan WRITTEN prior to Form 470 filing.
• Form 470 and Public Bidding - Successful and compliant strategies for competitive bidding and award process. Proper completion of Form 470. The proper use of RFI and RFP.
• Form 471 - What is the purpose of this form? An outline of what you need to do to complete this form.
• Successful Strategies - How to strategically apply for E-rate discounts and comply with state and federal funding requirements.
• Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) - What is it? How to navigate the mine field.
• Form 486 and Form 472 - Now that you are funded what do you do? How to comply with reporting and record-keeping requirements.
• Review of the California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) - Review of the CTF process and the discounts it can provide school districts and libraries

Afternoon Program:
- Preparing for an Audit
General guidance on the types of audits. How to prepare for an audit, including preparation for the most common problems discovered in an audit. An in-depth review of audit process. This is a very important area that applicants need to be prepared for. We take time to go over what items you should have on hand for an audit, as well as audit findings over the past rounds of audits. The panel members have extensive experience in this area.

- Tracking Your Discounts
There will be a review of the best practices of the steps to ensure your school/library get the discounts after you have completed all of the approved steps, i.e., Form 470, 471, PIA review, etc. There is a significant amount of California E-rate funds that districts miss or are potentially not aware of; we will review the steps to help make you successful at getting the benefits of these funds/discounts to your organization.

Who Should Attend?
- E-rate applicants from school districts (including private/charter schools) and libraries who are familiar with the E-rate process (or who have attended the Beginner Session)
- E-rate service providers
- E-rate consultants
- E-rate trainers

No training or conference fee will be charged for this training.

Class Prerequisite:
Attendance at the Beginner E-rate class and/or at least 1 year of E-rate experience.

Presenters:
Russ Selken (Butte COE & K12HSN) and John Vardanega (CDE) will lead the training, and expert panel members will focus on their areas of expertise.

Training Materials:
Materials for these training sessions will be available online a week or two prior to the training.

Registration Process:
Please see the Training Dates and Locations below. Click on the location of the training you would like to attend and complete the registration process as directed.

Training Dates and Locations:

If you have questions related to registration, content, preparation, or what to bring with you to the training, please contact Judy Bellamy at Butte County Office of Education, (530) 532-5678 or jbellamy@bcoe.org. Please do not contact the training site.

Note: These sessions are also available via live webcast for those of you who can't physically attend the videoconference or the face-to-face trainings.

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