Nine tips to help you successfully unlock E-Rate funding

Today's K-12 schools and local libraries must support an increasing array of digital resources, online curricula, and onsite IoT devices. Smart campuses offering students immersive curriculums must deliver digital learning in high definition. Schools and libraries nationwide are modernizing their infrastructure to improve the performance of these newer, more complex, and bandwidth-consuming applications and services. As critical as these services are to enhancing and enriching the student learning experience, securing additional funding from local budgets and school board recommendations approved by the voting public is not always easy. Fortunately, federal E-Rate funding can help schools lower costs while encouraging the general public to invest in valuable digital infrastructure upgrades at deeply discounted costs.  

The federal E-Rate program was created to help schools and libraries meet their connectivity needs. It provides billions of dollars in discounts on internet access (Category 1 services) and network infrastructure for Wi-Fi and other internal connections (Category 2 services). Recent changes to the program’s rules make it easier for school systems to deploy WiFi, fiber optic, and other network solutions to meet digital learning needs.

The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) with oversight by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The discounts cover the gamut of costs, from nuts and bolts and routers, to construction, to ongoing maintenance and service fees.  Generally, any public and most private K-12 schools are eligible, as are most school and public libraries. 

The amount of discount each school or library can receive under the program ranges from 20 to 90%, with schools and libraries located in rural and low-income areas receiving the highest discounts from the fund.  

Category 1 and Category 2 services

There are category 1 services and category 2 services.  Each have a differing set of rules and discounts. Schools and libraries are calculated differently.  For example, Category 1 is for internet feeds to a building/district and the discount is based on the percentage of free and reduced lunches the school or district provides. Category 2 is for internet equipment within the building and is based on total student population. Funds for Category 2 services are based on a five-year cycle. Specifically, each school can receive up to $167/student/5-year cycle, and library funding is based on the square footage of the building.  Rest assured, there’s a lot of money available for the discounts, with $4.276 billion earmarked for 2023. 

The process to apply for discounts is fraught with many opportunities for missteps. Here are a few tips we hope you may find useful along the way: 

1. Take the training and make a plan: The most successful applicants create plans in advance that are tailored to how their school or district operates. To help you prepare this plan, you can download E-Rate training webinars and presentations.
2. Make sure you meet all program deadlines: The E-rate deadlines are firm, so don’t wait until the absolute last minute to file. Build in time for contingencies. It’s very possible you may need to refile a form or adjust a request.  Check out important 2023 dates and deadlines here.
3. Save every document related to your participation in E-Rate for 10 years after the last date service was provided: USAC conducts audits yearly to review customer and provider compliance in detail.  Your internal documentation is key to helping you demonstrate compliance and this USAC guideline will help you understand what documents you will need to retain.
4. Avoid audits and funding denials by knowing the pitfalls: According to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), these are the five most common areas that cause applicants to be audited:
   Missing or Inadequate Documentation                                                                         
   Invoicing USAC for Ineligible Products/Services
   Untimely Payment to Service Provider
   Insufficient Internet Safety Policy
   Products and/or Services Received by Ineligible Entity
   
5. Follow up every communication ASAP: Follow up on any USAC administrator email or phone call by the date requested. If you miss a relevant program deadline, your funding could be denied. There’s more information on communication procedures here.  
6. Stay informed: E-Rate rules and procedures are always changing.
7. Select the right services: The E-Rate Eligible Services List (ESL) for each funding year provides information guidance on which products and services are eligible for discounts. Here’s what was eligible for 2022. We are in the 2023 funding year now, and FCC has announced no changes from the 2022 schedule of eligible services.
8. Have the right information: E-Rate applications require detailed line item information for each funding request, including — but not limited to — specific line counts, connection speeds, unit quantities,  and make and models of equipment. 
9. Select the right service providers: To evaluate the bids you receive, you must construct an evaluation. You decide what factors you want to consider in your evaluation and how important each factor is to you, with pricing must be the most important factor considered. You can use as few or as many evaluation factors as you like, and you can assign percentages or points to the factors you use to reflect their relative importance.

How Spectrum Enterprise can help

With over two decades of experience partnering with schools and libraries and a full range of E-Rate eligible solutions, our K-12 Education Network Specialists are ready to be your partner in championing student success. Today’s K-12 students are eager for more personalized, hands-on and collaborative learning. To drive student success, you need an infrastructure that supports new learning models and can grow along with your goals.  

Learn more about how you can partner with Spectrum Enterprise to help you make the most of E-rate funds to support your digital learning initiatives.