[Erate] Clarification of technology planning deadlines

[Carson, Sabrina]

First, my apologies for sending out the notice on Friday with no subject.

Today I just want to take a minute to clarify the difference between the technology plan CREATION date and the SUBMISSION deadline.

If you are a district applying for e-Rate support, you must have a draft of your plan written before you submit your Form 470. This draft does not need to be submitted to ODE, although you may do so if you feel it is ready for final approval. Once your draft is completed you may submit your form 470 at any time after that. I suggest that you date and timestamp the draft in case USAC asks you about its existence in the future. One way to do that is to send a copy of the draft to your supervisor in an email.

The February 2nd deadline (extended from January 15th) is for submission of the plan to ODE for approval. We set this timeline early so that there is plenty of time to read the plans and make any necessary revisions by the June 30th approval deadline. Completed plans and cover sheets should be sent to ode.techplans at state.or.us<mailto:ode.techplans at state.or.us>.

Although this has been the case all along, I think that there is confusion because USAC has stated that January 15th is the last day to submit the Form 470. I cannot stress enough that that is the last POSSIBLE date to submit it, and if you wait until then, you will only have 1 day to select vendors and/or sign new contracts. If you have a draft of your plan written, even if it is not ready for final approval, I strongly suggest that you file the form 470 as soon as possible so that you can give yourself a little bit of time to choose a vendor.

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sabrina Carson
e-Rate and Procurement Customer Support
Willamette Education Service District
2611 Pringle Rd SE
Salem, OR 97302
P: 503.540.4495
F: 503.540.2962

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