Reduce your school's monthly telephone bill by at least 20%.

By investing a modest amount of time to complete the process described below, your school can save a considerable amount of money. "E-Rate" discounts make it possible for every private, not-for-profit school to receive a minimum discount of 20% on its regular and long distance telephone service. If your school enrolls children who qualify for the National School Lunch Program, the school could qualify for discounts of up to 90%. (Schools need not provide a food program to qualify.) In fact, if as few as 1% of a school's student population qualifies, its "E-Rate" discount will be 40%.

Let CAPSO help you to better understand the program, determine your school's discount level and ease your way through the completion of the necessary forms.

The term "E-Rate" refers to a discount for various services and products made available to schools (including private and parochial schools) and libraries through provisions contained in the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. The services and products that qualify for discounts are those needed to create a telecommunications conduit from the internet to the classroom. Thus, items such as hubs, routers, internal wiring and (non-commercial) internet connection fees are eligible for the application of "E-Rate" discounts.

If your school is applying for discounts on basic and long distance telephone service only, the application procedure is simplified. Therefore, it behooves every private school to secure the benefits of this important opportunity.

Applying for discounts on products and services beyond basic and long distance telephone service involves a somewhat more detailed application process that requires the creation and approval of a School Technology Plan. The creation of such plans deserves careful and deliberate consideration. Several CAPSO member organizations have been certified as official technology plan approving agencies and may be consulted for guidance on the development of a plan for your school. For additional information, contact CAPSO at info@capso.org.

You'll be happy to know that the procedures governing "E-Rate" applications have been tried, tested and streamlined. All necessary forms can be easily accessed and, if so desired, completed on-line.

"E-Rate" discounts are determined by the incidence of poverty in a school. For purposes of this program, "poverty" is designated by a student's eligibility to participate in the National School Lunch Program. Even if no students in a school meet the poverty criterion, the school is still eligible to receive a 20% "E-Rate" discount. The following table lists the discount levels associated with the incidence of poverty and a school's location.

How is the program funded?

"E-Rate" discounts are funded through a tariff paid by consumers (the Universal Service Fee) on their telephone bills. The tariff was initiated many decades ago to help equalize the cost of telephone service to rural and urban areas. Because the program is not funded by tax dollars, some of the important restrictions that accompany other federally funded programs do not apply to the use of "E-Rate" discounts. For instance, a parochial school that uses "E-Rate" discounts to connect its classrooms to the Internet may access online material containing religious content without violating the provisions governing the program.

The program is administered by a quasi-governmental entity called the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administration Company (the SLD of the USAC). From this point on, we will refer to this authority as the SLD. Visit the SLD web site.

The SLD web site contains many helpful tools to help you through the applications process. Use the resources provided on their web site together with this document to help ease your way through the applications process.

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