FCC Bureau, New York City Department of Education Settle E-rate Probe

The FCC said it reached a settlement with the New York City Department of Education resolving a commission investigation into whether the school system violated competitive bidding rules for the E-rate USF support program. Under a consent decree entered into with the FCC Enforcement Bureau, the NYC DOE will pay $3 million to the U.S. Treasury and withdraw funding requests for the 2011-2013 period, which already had been frozen by the commission, said an FCC news release and a bureau order issued Wednesday. The NYC DOE also agreed to withdraw claims for any further E-rate funding for services it purchased in 2002-2010, adhere to a detailed compliance plan and auditing schedule, and provide "extensive employee training on E-rate rule compliance," among other measures, the release said. The NYC DOE had no immediate comment.