Networkmaine | E-Rate | Discount Rate

E-Rate Discounts

E-Rate discounts are based upon two factors:

the poverty level as determined by the percentage of students who qualify to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or an equivalent measure of poverty
the urban or rural designation

Applicants compare these two data points to the Discount Matrix to determine their overall discount percentage.

For Category One, discounts range from 20% to 90% of the costs of eligible services.
For Category Two, discounts range from 20% to 85% of the costs of eligible services.

Discount Matrix

Use the discount matrix to determine a discount based on the percentage of
students qualifying for NSLP and the urban/rural location designation.

	Category One Discount Level		Category Two Discount Level
% of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program	URBAN discount	RURAL discount	URBAN discount	RURAL discount
Less than 1%	20%	25%	20%	25%
1% to 19%	40%	50%	40%	50%
20% to 34%	50%	60%	50%	60%
35% to 49%	60%	70%	60%	70%
50% to 74%	80%	80%	80%	80%
75% to 100%	90%	90%	85%	85%

Factor 1: Poverty Level

Poverty Level Determination for Individual Stand-alone Schools

Stand-alone schools that are not part of a district use their own National School Lunch Program data as reported to the Maine Department of Education. The data that appears on the Free and Reduced Lunch Report dated October of the school year previous to the application's funding year should be used.

Schools that do not have a school lunch program are still eligible if they meet other compliance rules. These schools will need to use an alternative discount mechanism to calculate student eligibility. Students from households whose income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty guideline are considered to meet the eligibility requirement to participate in NSLP.

Technical centers or alternative education centers whose students come from other schools can collect NSLP eligibility information from each student's sending school.
Independent schools such as private schools and charter schools must survey families to determine low-income status and/or participation in an acceptable program (e.g. Medicaid, SSI).

Stand-alone schools calculate their E-Rate discounts by:

dividing the total number of students who are eligible for NSLP at the school by the total number of students attending the school and
comparing that single figure and the urban or rural designation of the school against the Discount Matrix to determine the discount rate for E-Rate supported services

Poverty Level Determination for School Districts

Discounts for school districts are calculated for the organization as a whole. Each school district is required to calculate and use a single district-wide discount rate, rather than using separate discount rates for each school within the district.

Individual schools within a district never get their own discount rate, even if they are the only school receiving that service. When eligible, non-instructional facilities (NIFs) get the same school district discount.

The discount rate for the district does not change based on which member entities within the district are receiving the E-Rate eligible service.

School districts should use the National School Lunch Program data as reported to the Maine Department of Education. The data that appears on the Free and Reduced Lunch Report dated October of the school year previous to the application's funding year should be used.

School districts calculate their E-Rate discounts by:

dividing the total number of students in the district who are eligible for NSLP by the total number of students enrolled in the district and
comparing that single figure and the urban or rural designation of the school district against the Discount Matrix to determine the discount rate for E-Rate supported services

Poverty Level Determination for Libraries

Libraries use the National School Lunch Program data for the school district in which the library is physically located. The data that appears on the Free and Reduced Lunch Report dated October of the school year previous to the application's funding year should be used.

Library systems that have branches or outlets in more than one public school district will use the address of the central outlet or main administrative office to determine which public school district the system is in.

Libraries calculate their E-Rate discounts by:

comparing the NSLP percentage of the school district in which they are physically located and the urban or rural designation of the library against the Discount Matrix to determine the discount rate for E-Rate supported services

Poverty Level Determination for Non-Instructional Facilities

A non-instructional facility (NIF) uses the discount percentage of the district to which it belongs.

Poverty Level Determination for Facilities Under Construction

For schools under construction, the applicant makes an educated guess of what the student population will be.

Factor 2: Urban or Rural Designation

Definition of Urban and Rural

The Urban or Rural Status of a school or library in the E-Rate program is guided by the U.S. Census Bureau's delineation.

FY2023 and earlier = based on 2010 Census data
1. Rural = Populations under 25,000
2. Urban = Populations of 25,000 or more
Beginning FY2024 = based on 2020 Census data
1. Urban = at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 people
2. Rural = all areas not defined as urban

Note that in some cases it is more than just the boundaries of a single city that is considered by the Census. Instead, it may designate an "Urbanized Area" or a geographic shape encompassing more than one physical city.

In Maine, the following cities are part of an urban area meeting the definition of urban, and schools located in these cities would be considered urban. All other locales are rural.

Urbanized Areas	Cities Included
Augusta, ME	Augusta, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Hallowell, Randolph
Bangor, ME	Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Milford, Old Town, Orono
Belfast, ME
Boothbay Harbor, ME	(new per 2020 census)
Brunswick, ME	Bath, Brunswick, Topsham
Camden, ME
Houlton, ME
Lewiston, ME	Auburn, Lewiston, Lisbon Falls
Millinocket, ME
North Windham, ME
Portland, ME	Biddeford, Cumberland Center, Falmouth, Freeport, Gorham, Old Orchard Beach, Portland, Saco, Scarborough, South Portland, Windham, Westbrook, Yarmouth
Portsmouth, NH	Kennebunk, Kennebunkport
Presque Isle, ME
Rockland, ME	Rockland, Thomaston
Rumford, ME
Sanford, ME	Sanford, Springvale
Skowhegan, ME
South Berwick, ME--NH	Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, Kittery Point, Lebanon, South Berwick, York
South Paris, ME
Waterville, ME	Fairfield, Oakland, Waterville, Winslow

School Building Urban or Rural Designation

Any school not designated as "urban" using the definitions above will be therefore be designated as "rural" and would be eligible to receive the rural discount.

District Urban or Rural Designation

An urban or rural status is also determined at the district level. A district is only considered to be rural if more than 50% of the schools within the district are established as rural.

Therefore:

If exactly 50% of the schools within the district are rural, the district is considered to be urban.
Or if less than 50% of the schools within the district are rural, the district is considered to be urban.
But if more than 50% of the schools within the district are rural, the district is considered to be rural.

Non-instructional facilities do not have an urban/rural status and are not counted in the determination of whether more than 50% of the schools are rural.

Library Urban or Rural Designation

Libraries take the urban or rural designation of whatever school district they are physically located in.

Library systems that have branches or outlets in more than one public school district will use the address of the central outlet or main administrative office to determine which public school district the system is in.