With the support of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, the California K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN) and Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) are pleased to invite all California local educational agencies (LEAs), including county offices of education, school districts and charter schools to join other California Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in the statewide E-rate consortium led by CENIC. Annually, this consortium pursues E-rate discount funding for its connections to the California Research and Education Network (CalREN) which provides statewide Internet access for public K-12 schools.

On August 13, 2020, USAC deployed a new Category 2 Budget Tool for Funding Years 2021-2025.  The tool is designed to provide applicants a forecast of their Category 2 Budgets for the upcoming Category 2 budget period. Applicants will need their Billed Entity Name or Billed Entity Number (BEN) to filter the budget information.

On July 21, 2020 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released for public comment the Funding Year (FY) 2021 draft Eligible Services List (ESL). In terms of specific services eligible for E-rate support, there are no changes from the FY 2020 ESL. However, the Commission did include the recently codified requirement from the 2019 Protecting Against National Security Threats Order: E-rate funds may not be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support equipment or services produced or provided by any covered companies designated by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), as well as their parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries. This restriction currently applies to Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation. More information may be found at the FCC’s E-rate website at https://www.fcc.gov/general/e-rate-schools-libraries-usf-program#block-menu-block-4 under the Daily Releases section. The deadline to file comments is August 20, 2020, and to file reply comments is September 4, 2020.

Federal Communications Commission to Fully Fund 2020 Applications On July 6, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that there is sufficient funding to fund all eligible Funding Year (FY) 2020 applications for Category One and Category Two services. The FY 2020 funding cap is $4.23 billion with an additional $500 million in unused rollover funds from previous years. The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) estimates the total demand for FY 2020 is $2.91 billion, which includes $1.74 billion for Category One services and $1.17 billion for Category Two services. More information may be found at the FCC’s E-rate website at https://www.fcc.gov/general/e-rate-schools-libraries-usf-program#block-menu-block-4 under the Daily Releases section.

An annual survey is being conducted which asks schools and libraries to contribute their opinions on and experiences with the E-rate application process. The survey results will be tabulated and shared with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the public this summer. The survey is available at this link and is available through July 3, 2020: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/erate20.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 471 filing window for Funding Year 2020 closed on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. EDT (8:59 p.m. PDT).

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has initiated multiple response measures to support our nation’s schools in their response to Novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has initiated multiple response measures in the last week to support our nation’s schools in their response to Novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

To minimize potential disruptions caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has directed the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to extend the deadline for E-Rate applicants to submit their Funding Year (FY) 2020 FCC Form 471 applications by an additional 35 days. E-Rate applicants will now have until Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at 8:59 p.m. PDT to submit their FY2020 FCC Form 471 applications.

As of March 9, 2020, 987 FCC Forms 471 have been certified with an associated 1,777 individual funding requests. Approximately 26% of funding requests filed for California applicants are in Application Wave Ready or Final Review status. As mentioned in our previous News Flash, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) is actively reviewing these applications now in Program Integrity Assurance Review (PIA). Applicants have 15 days to respond to USAC’s questions. Questions are submitted to the FCC Form 471 contact via e-mail and must be responded to in the E-rate Productivity Center (EPC) by the 15-day deadline. Applicants may request a seven-day extension in order to respond to USAC’s request for information.