The E-rate program will continue to run as scheduled regardless of whether parts or all of the Federal Communications Commission are shut down, Funds For Learning reports. 

On January 3rd, the FCC suspended operations as part of a partial government shutdown, however officials say schools applying for E-rate funds should continue to follow the application process. According to Funds For Learning, this means:

• The competitive bidding requirements remain active and applicants can post new Form 470 requests for proposals.
• The funding year 2019 filing window is still scheduled to open January 16, 2019.
• The deadline for many funding year 2017 non-recurring service invoices is still January 28, 2019. 

“As always, it’s important that E-rate applicants stay in-the-know on updates to the application process, and to the program,” says John Harrington, CEO of Funds For Learning. “A common question I’ve heard this year is if the process will be impacted by the government shutdown, and the answer is no – it’s business as usual for E-rate filing.”

To learn more about navigating the E-rate application process, visit Edtech’s E-rate landing page.