Schools
E-rate Discount Ranges
E-rate discounts can range from 20% to 90% for Category 1 services or from 20% to 85% for Category 2 equipment and services, depending on a school's rural or urban status, and the level of economic need of the school district, as determined by the percentage of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Both of these sets of information are then used to determine the school district’s discount by using the E-rate Discount Matrix.
School District
In general, the school district calculation is the basis for discount calculations for all types of entities. To calculate the discount for a school district:
Determine the total number of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in the school district.
Determine the total number of students in the school district.
Divide the first number by the second number to get the percentage of students eligible for NSLP in the school district.
Using this percentage and the urban or rural status of the school district, find the appropriate C1 and C2 discount for the school district in the discount matrix.
Each school and each eligible non-instructional facility (NIF) uses the school district discount. If only one school in the district receives a service, or that service is shared among all or a subset of schools in the district, the discount does not change.
Individual School
An individual school that is part of a school district does not calculate its discount based on its own student population, but instead uses the discount calculated for the school district.
An independent school – a school not affiliated financially or operationally with a school district – would follow the school district calculation method above, using its student population numbers and the urban or rural status of its physical location.
Alternative Discount Mechanisms
For schools that either do not participate in NSLP or choose not to use NSLP participation numbers, there are certain acceptable alternative discount mechanisms that can be used to calculate an equivalent measure for the percentage of students eligible for NSLP. In all cases, these mechanisms must be based on or not exceed the same measure of poverty used by the NSLP.
As above, applicants using an alternative discount mechanism must maintain accurate and complete documentation of the calculations that support their funding requests. Remember that documentation must be retained for at least ten years after the last date to receive service.
School or Library Non-Instructional Facility
A non-instructional facility (NIF) generally is a school building without classrooms. A school NIF that does contain classrooms is still treated as a NIF. When eligible for support, school NIFs receive the same discount as the school district.
The discount for a NIF is derived from the school district regardless of the physical location of the building. NIFs are not counted in the district urban/rural determination.
Rural/Urban Designations
Starting with Funding Year 2015, the FCC updated the definition of “rural” and the manner in which schools and libraries determine their urban or rural status. An individual school and library will be designated as “urban” if located in an “Urbanized Area” or “Urban Cluster” with a population of 25,000 or more as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Any school or library not designated “urban” will be designated as “rural.” If more than 50% of the schools in a school district or libraries in a library system are considered rural, the school district or library system is eligible for a rural discount. If 50% or less of the entities are considered rural, the school district or library system is eligible for an urban discount.