Office of Instruction
RITEAF -
Frequently Asked Questions
 E-Rate
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RITEAF Frequently
Asked Questions |
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 SLD
E-RATE
 E-RATE
Central
 RINET
RIDE's Perspective on
ERATE/RITEAF
(Presented at ERATE
Annual Meeting on
11/10/09, link sent to
RICOORD List 11/25/09,
meeting notification
sent to Superintendents
and RICOORD Lists)
RITEAF Informational Meeting
(Presented to RISTE, RISSA, and RITEAF
stakeholders - 1/9/09)
RIDE's RITEAF and INTERNET ACCESS Facts
Sheet
(Presented to RISTE, RISSA, and RITEAF
stakeholders - 1/9/09)
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How do
I know if my school or library is
eligible for the free lines provided
by the RITEAF program?
Most schools and libraries are
eligible so long as they adhere to
the requirements of demonstrating
the need for subsidies by
identifying the number of students
in their school or district who
qualify for financial aid or
participate the National School
Lunch Program. NSLP participation is
not required, but the school MUST
use the federal eligibility
guidelines to determine how many of
their students would qualify.
Private and independent school
that
do not
participate in the NSLP should use the current
Income Eligibility Guidelines and
the E-Rate discount matrix table
found on the
Private School Enrollment form
to help determine discounts.
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Is
there any limit to the amount of
line capacity (bandwidth) my school,
district or library can request?
The size of the line allocated to
each school or library is reflected
by its need as demonstrated by
enrollment data, the school
Technology Plan, and usage
monitoring performed on behalf of
the Department. The program has
limited funds that must be fairly
distributed throughout the state.
Consideration of more needy schools
and/or libraries must be a factor
when choosing the size of the line
allocated to your school or library.
So far, no school has been denied
any reasonable request.
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I want
the free lines, but why do I have to
provide student enrollment
information, or sample Financial Aid
information, or Certifications?
Subsidies are given based upon need
and need must be documented in forms
that allow RIDE to determine what
schools/libraries require for
assistance. This is done for the
purposes of fairness to all schools
and libraries in the state and in
compliance with the E-Rate subsidies
that are acquired by the Department
of Education on behalf of your
school/library. A failure to provide
this documentation leaves RIDE
unable to collect the federal
subsidies.
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My
school does not participate in the
National School Lunch Program. How
do I know if my Financial Aid
criteria are equivalent to the NSLP?
Using the guidelines updated each
year by the federal government, it
is easy to compare the NSLP criteria
to the FINANCIAL AID programs run by
most schools. The most recent Income
Eligibility Guidelines posted on the
USDA site are enclosed, and can be
used in conjunction with your
Financial Aid program. Also, find at
this address:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/notices/iegs/iegs.htm
Normally each spring, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture ("USDA")
publishes a revised income
eligibility table for free and
reduced-priced school meals. The
table is important from an E-rate
perspective because these guidelines
are also used to determine a
school's discount rate.
So far this year, new 2010-2011
income guidelines have not been
released by USDA. Instead,
USDA is advising schools to use the
2009-2010 income levels "until
further notice."
The problem appears to be that
the inflationary formula used to
adjust the income eligibility
numbers, calculated by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services, uses CPI data that would
result in a decrease in the income
level guidelines. No one wants to
see a decrease. As a result,
Congress has been enacting, and the
President has been signing,
temporary statutory extensions to
keep the 2009-2010 guidelines in
effect.
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If all
I want is the line subsidies and
nothing else, do I have any other
forms to submit to RIDE or the SLD (Erate)
program?
You’re done as long as you have your
school listed by the
SLD, have been
assigned a Billed Entity Number
(BEN) by them, and have acquired an
FCC-FRN (or CORES) number. The
latter is provided by the FCC at
http://www.fcc.gov or
https://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do
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If the
lines are free, why is there a cost
for the Internet Access service?
Accessing the Internet requires both
lines and Internet service. For most
home applications these components
are combined for a set price, while
with other commercial, large
capacity applications, these two
components may be separated and bid
on in a competitive manner. The
RITEAF program is unable to absorb
the total cost for both components
and therefore RITEAF only subsidizes
the commercial quality lines.
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How is
the Internet provider selected?
A bid is posted for not less than 28
days. (Typically RIDE posts for up
to 60 days.) The potential vendor
must bid on all districts and
schools and provide a useful set of
services to enable schools and
libraries to access the Internet.
Cost, features, capacity, and
reliability are all taken into
account in the decision. While
effective filtering approaches and
access to Internet2 are not deciding
factors, they are desirable
features. Schools or districts that
choose to acquire a vendor through
their own bids or other methods must
acquire lines separately from this
program as they may not meet ERATE
requirements and could result in
funding denials.
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