This week the President submitted his FY 2011 budget requests to Congress outline his spending priorities.  The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) was authorized by Congress in 2008 to use $21.48 million from the Universal Service Fund to supplement other resources from their budget to conduct a more rigorous oversight of the four universal service programs which includes the E-rate.

In its quarterly report to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) reported that approximately $500 million in unused funds from previous Funding Years could be used to supplement current and future requests for E-rate discounts.

At its Quarterly Board Meeting held earlier today, the Schools and Libraries Committee (SLC) made two recommendations to the FCC about the SLD's administration of the E-rate program.

The FCC has posted a tentative agenda for an Open Meeting to be held on February 11, 2010. The agenda reveals the FCC's plan to release an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which addresses allowing schools to open up E-rate-discounted Internet access to the public during non-operating hours.

In November 2009, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would update the CIPA certifications made by E-rate applicants on the Form 486. These certifications would be updated to comply with the new requirements created by the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act. The FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has now been published in the Federal Register, establishing the deadlines for stakeholder comments and reply comments.

The number of Form 470 applications posted to the SLD's website in advance of the FY2010 application filing window closely mirrors previous years, according to an analysis by Funds For Learning. With 32,857 applications posted, schools and libraries filed just over 1,000 more forms this year than during the same period last year.

The Federal Communications Commission released the Federal-State Universal Service Board's Monitoring Report on Universal Service. This report provides general information about the telephone industry that has been reported to the Federal Communications Commission  A portion of this report covers the Schools and Libraries Support program, known to most as the E-rate program.

The FCC Office of Inspector General (OIG) released their bi-annually report to Congress outlining their activities over the last six months. The report details their activities from April 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009.  During this time, the OIG focused intensively on investigations, audits, and Universal Service Fund oversight. 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) reported today that Leonard LaDuron, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $238,607 in restitution for his role in defrauding the E-rate program.

EDMOND, OKLA. (Dec. 7, 2009) - The E-rate Form 471 application filing window for Funding Year 2010 is open for applicants across the country.  It extends from Dec. 3, 2009 to Feb. 11, 2010.  E-rate consulting firm Funds For Learning has put together a list of seven key tips to help applicants navigate the often turbulent waters of the E-rate funding application process.