On July 16, 2021, E-rate stakeholders sent a letter to the FCC urging the Commission to extend the E-rate gift rule waiver until June 30, 2022 to be consistent with the Emergency Connectivity Fund gift rule waiver.
The letter to the FCC noted that, “…Because the COVID-19 crisis has continued to interfere with normal school and library operations, and because we believe it is incredibly confusing for schools and libraries to determine when the gift rules apply under different programs yet with the same basic services and service providers, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), the State E-rate Coordinators’ Alliance (SECA), and the American Library Association (ALA), respectfully ask the Bureau to extend the E-rate gift rule waiver until June 30, 2022 to be consistent with the Emergency Connectivity Fund gift rule waiver.
…Extending the waiver to June 30 of next year would provide certainty, would be consistent with the end of the funding year for the E-rate program, and would be consistent with the ECF gift rule waiver, and would be easy to administer. The June 30 deadline is also close to the end of the school year (depending on the local school calendar). …”
The letter to FCC can be viewed here
