W. Va. Code R. § 150-24-3

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 150-24-3 - Discount Mechanism

Discounts on intrastate telecommunications services for eligible schools and libraries shall be set as a percentage discount from the pre-discount price.

3.1. Discount Percentages --

The discounts available to eligible schools and libraries for intrastate telecommunications services shall range from twenty percent (20%) to ninety percent (90%) of the pre-discount price for all eligible intrastate services provided by eligible providers, as defined in 47 CFR Part 54, Subpart F. The discounts available to a particular school, library, or consortium of only such entities shall be determined by indicators of poverty to high cost.

3.1.1. For schools and school districts, the level of poverty shall be measured by the percentage of their student enrollment that is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program or a federally-approved alternative mechanism. Counties or the State, applying for eligible services on behalf of their individual schools, may calculate the county-wide percentage of eligible students using a weighted average. For example, a county would divide the total number of students in the county eligible for the national school lunch program by the total number of students in the county to compute the county-wide percentage of eligible students. Alternatively, the county could apply on behalf of individual schools and use the respective percentage discounts for which the individual schools are eligible.

3.1.2. For libraries and library consortia, the level of poverty shall be based on the percentage of the student enrollment that is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program or a federally-approved mechanism in the public school district or county in which they are located. If the library is not in a school district then its level of poverty shall be based on an average of the percentage of students eligible for the national school lunch program in each of the school districts that children living in the library's location attend. Library systems applying for discounted services or facilities on behalf of their individual branches shall calculate the system-wide percentage of eligible families using, an unweighted average based on the percentage of the student enrollment that is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program in the public school district in which they are located for each of their branches or facilities.

3.2. Classification of Schools and Libraries --

Schools and libraries shall be classified as "urban" or "rural" based on location in an urban or rural area, according to the following designations.

3.2.1. Schools and libraries located in metropolitan counties, as measured by the federal Office of Management and Budget's Metropolitan Statistical Area method, shall be designated as urban, except for those schools and libraries located within metropolitan counties identified by census block or tract in the Goldsmith Modification.

3.2.2. Schools and libraries located in non-metropolitan counties, as measured by the Office of Management and Budget's Metropolitan Statistical Area method, shall be designated as rural. Schools and libraries located in rural areas within metropolitan counties identified by census block or tract in the Goldsmith Modification shall also be designated as rural.

W. Va. Code R. § 150-24-3