How to Upgrade/Substitute E-rate Funded Services/Products
Message Posted September 7, 2000
Over the years, I have received numerous questions about whether it is permissible to substitute new products and/or upgrade services to higher bandwidths after a funding commitment had been made. For example: an applicant received a commitment on a telecommunications service, but now would like to upgrade to a T1 line -- or -- suppose an applicant had originally requested funding for a specific brand/model of servers but subsequently found, after funding had been approved months later, that such servers were no longer available or that new and better models were available.
Up until now, this has been a gray area which, in practice, was often handled on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis. This week, the SLD issued a statement on its website which outlined very specific steps to upgrading or changing services/products -- also listed below.
As with everything E-rate, it's not simple. I strongly suggest that as we head into Year 4, the best approach is to try to avoid the need for changes altogether by filing original funding requests under flexible contracts that specifically allow for the provision of equivalent (or better) products and services.
The SLD defined the following two allowable actions:
(a) When a product/service listed in the original contract is no longer available, a product that performs basically the same function may be substituted; or
(b) When an upgraded product/service is available, the upgrade may be substituted for the original if it performs basically the same functions as the original. The upgraded product/service may perform those functions in an improved fashion, e.g., operate at higher speeds or be easier to use.
The SLD rules permit product/service substitutions only if:
(a) They will not result in an increase in price for the products and/or services;
(b) They are consistent with state and local bidding laws and the terms and conditions of the original contract; and
(c) The substituted products/services do not have a higher percentage of costs associated with ineligible functions than the original.
Even if these conditions are met, approval is not automatic. Specific SLD approval requires filings by both applicants and suppliers. First, the suppliers must submit lists of changes or upgraded products and services to the SLD. The SLD will determine the eligibility of the substitution and so notify the supplier in writing. If the SLD responses are positive, the applicants must file new (albeit somewhat abbreviated) Form 471s with the SLD. The SLD will then send letters to the applicants approving the minor contract modifications.
Julie Tritt Schell
Executive Policy Specialist
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 10th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
(717) 705-4486
(717) 787-7222 - fax
jtritt@state.pa.us
| 
Back to 2000 Archives Main