The E-Rate program, administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), provides discounts for telecommunications, Internet access, and internal connections to eligible schools and libraries. During the past five years we have secured E-rate funding for our clients in excess of $15 million in addition to over $5 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund.
The FCC's E-rate program connects the nation's schools and libraries to broadband. It is the government's largest educational technology program. When E-rate was established in 1996, only 14 percent of the nation's K-12 classrooms had access to the Internet. Today, virtually all schools and libraries have Internet access.
But learning is changing. Innovative digital learning technologies and the growing importance of the Internet in connecting students, teachers and consumers to jobs, life-long learning and information, are creating increasing demand for bandwidth in schools and libraries. In an FCC survey of E-rate recipients, nearly half of respondents reported lower speed Internet connectivity than the average American home - despite having, on average, 200 times as many users.
Eligible schools, school districts and libraries may apply individually or as part of a consortium. Funding may be requested under two categories of service: category one services to a school or library (telecommunications, telecommunications services and Internet access), and category two services that deliver Internet access within schools and libraries (internal connections, basic maintenance of internal connections, and managed internal broadband services). Discounts for support depend on the level of poverty and whether the school or library is located in an urban or rural area. The discounts range from 20 percent to 90 percent of the costs of eligible services and equipment. E-Rate program funding is based on demand up to an annual Commission-established $3.9 billion, adjusted annually based on the rate of inflation.
The E-Rate program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the supervision and direction of the FCC. Specifically, USAC is responsible for processing the applications for support, confirming eligibility, and reimbursing service providers and eligible schools and libraries for the eligible discounted services and equipment. USAC also ensures that the applicants and service providers comply with the E-Rate rules and procedures established by the Commission through audits and other reviews.
The FCC began updating E-rate in 2010 and on July 11, 2014, adopted the E-rate Modernization Order (PDF) (see Order Summary), expanding Wi-Fi networks in schools and libraries across America while ensuring support continues to be available for broadband connectivity to schools and libraries.
The program increases focus on the largest and most urgent need—closing the Wi-Fi gap—while transitioning support away from legacy technologies to 21st Century broadband connectivity, ensuring E-rate money is spent smartly, and improving program administration. The reform will expand Wi-Fi to more than 10 million students in 2015 alone.
On December 11, 2014, the FCC took the next step in modernizing the E-rate program, by adopting the Second E-rate Modernization Order (PDF) (see Order Summary), which sets out to maximize options for schools and libraries seeking to purchase high-speed broadband and adjusting the E-rate spending cap to $3.9 billion. Among other provisions, the Order takes further steps to improve the overall administration of the program and maximizes the options schools and libraries have for purchasing affordable high-speed broadband connectivity by:
- Suspending the requirement that applicants seek funding for large up front construction costs over several years, and allowing applicants to pay their share of one-time, up-front construction costs over multiple years
- Equalizing the treatment of schools and libraries seeking support for dark fiber with those seeking support for lit fiber. Dark fiber leases allow the purchase of capacity without the service of transmitting data – lighting the fiber. Dark fiber can be an especially cost-effective option for smaller, rural districts
- Allowing schools and libraries to build high-speed broadband facilities themselves when that is the most cost-effective option, subject to a number of safeguards
- Providing an incentive for state support of last-mile broadband facilities through a match from E-rate of up to 10% of the cost of construction, with special consideration for Tribal schools
- Requiring carriers that receive subsidies from the universal service program for rural areas – called the High Cost program – to offer high-speed broadband to schools and libraries located in the subsidy area at rates reasonably comparable to similar services in urban areas
- Increasing the certainty and predictability of funding for Wi-Fi by expanding the five-year budget approach to providing more equitable support for internal connections – known as category two – through funding year 2019
Modernizing E-rate is critical for the future of our children and our citizens. We encourage all to comment on the reform proposals so that we can ensure that schools and libraries have affordable access to the high-speed broadband they need - in the most effective, efficient way possible.
School and Library Eligibility
USAC recently announced the funding multiplier for Category Two services, to calculate the new 5-year budget, which begins in 2026-2027. The multiplier is increasing from $167.00 per student to $201.57 per student, so districts are going to have additional funding available for equipment starting in 2026-2027. The minimum was also increased for small districts from $25,000.00 to $30,175.00. That is the pre-discount amount, so the actual funding is that budget amount multiplied by the district's funding percentage.
Schools and libraries must meet certain definitions to be eligible for Schools and Libraries (E-Rate) program support. For purposes of universal service support, schools must meet the statutory definition of elementary and secondary schools found in 20 U.S.C. § 7801:
- An elementary school is a non-profit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary charter school, that provides elementary education, as determined under state law.
- A secondary school is a non-profit institutional day or residential school, including a public secondary charter school, that provides secondary education, as determined under state law, except that such term does not include any education beyond grade 12.
Schools operating as for-profit businesses or that have endowments exceeding $50 million are not eligible. In some cases, non-traditional facilities and students may be eligible. For more information regarding specific eligibility of Head Start, pre-kindergarten, juvenile justice, and adult education student populations and facilities, visit the Non-traditional Education page. An Educational Service Agency (ESA), which may operate owned or leased instructional facilities, may be eligible for E-Rate program support if it provides elementary or secondary education as defined in state law.
School Residential Facilities – Starting in Funding Year 2011, certain school residential facilities became eligible for discounts:
- Schools on Tribal lands;
- Schools that serve children with physical, cognitive, and behavioral disabilities;
- Schools that serve children with medical needs;
- Juvenile justice schools, where eligible; and
- Schools with 35 percent or more students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
School Entity Examples
There are several other entity types for schools. Some examples are general-use school, detention center, and swing space. Schools must meet statutory definitions to be eligible for Schools and Libraries (E-Rate) program support.
- A general-use school offers instruction to students drawn from other schools, and student counts can change throughout the year. Some examples of general-use schools are magnet schools, vocational schools, special education units, computer centers, or career centers.
- A detention center is treated in the same way as a juvenile justice facility. To be eligible for discounts, the state’s law must include education for students in juvenile justice facilities within its definition of elementary and/or secondary education.
- A swing space temporarily houses students from a school which is considered the “main entity” or original location of the student population. The students may need to be temporarily relocated due to closure, construction, or a revamping of their technological infrastructure at the school.
- Note that a swing space differs from an annex. An annex is considered a part of the school it shares an entity number with rather than a temporary relocation site, while a swing space – although associated with a school – is part of the school district where the school is located and is considered a school in its own right with its own entity number.
Definition of a Library
Libraries must meet the definition of library or library consortium found in the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), as amended by the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018 (20 U.S.C. § 9122) and be eligible for assistance from a state library administrative agency under that Act.
The definition of a library includes:
- A public library
- A public elementary school or secondary school library
- A Tribal library
- An academic library
- A research library, one that makes publicly available library services and material suitable for scholarly research and not otherwise available to the public and is not an integral part of an institution of higher education
- A private library, but only if the state in which such private library is located determines that the library should be considered a library for purposes of this definition
A library’s eligibility for support also depends on its funding as an independent entity. Except for Tribal College or University (TCU) libraries serving the public, only libraries whose budgets are completely separate from any schools, including but not limited to, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities shall be eligible to receive discounted services.
Eligible Services List
The Eligible Services List (ESL) for each funding year provides guidance on the eligibility of products and services under the Schools and Libraries Program.
I was able to get a total for both E-rate Funding and the Emergency Connectivity Fund.
https://www.usac.org/wp-content/uploads/e-rate/documents/ESL-Glossary.pdf
Funding Categories of Service
The ESL includes the following service types that fall in one of two funding categories:
- Category One Services
- Data Transmission Services
- Internet Access
- Category Two Services
- Internal Connections
- Managed Internal Broadband Services
Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections
Category One Services
- Data Transmission Services and/or Internet Access
Category Two Services
- Internal Connections and Managed Internal Broadband Services (MIBS)
These two service types include eligible products, such as access points, routers, switches, hubs, and wiring.
Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections (BMIC)
- BMIC covers the repair and upkeep of eligible internal connections. Eligible repair and upkeep services include hardware, wiring, and cable maintenance, along with basic technical support and configuration changes.
Emergency Connectivity Fund
- The ECF is intended to ensure that students and educators in need of broadband connectivity have access to a connected device and telecommunication services sufficient to engage in remote learning. To achieve that end, the ECF will reimburse 100% of the costs associated with the purchase of eligible equipment and/or services.
- The foundational principle of ECF eligibility is the principle of “unmet need.” In the case of schools, applicants will provide their best estimate of the number of students who did not have access to adequate connected devices, broadband connections, or both when the pandemic began; the number of students who currently do not have adequate access; and how the applicant expects those numbers to change with the requested ECF Program support.
While the FCC has not dictated specific data collection requirements for estimating the unmet need for students, schools must describe on the Form 471 how and when they collected the information that they use for their estimates provided.
There is no such data collection requirement for libraries to estimate the unmet need for library patrons. However, both schools and libraries must certify that they are seeking support for eligible equipment and/or services for students, school staff, and/or library patrons that would otherwise lack adequate access.
