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.