New York State School
Technology Voucher Program (NYS-STVP)
. The New York State School Technology Voucher Program resulted from the
Settlement Agreement
(2.38MB) between
New York State consumers and Microsoft Corporation with the Case
No. 10519300 (N.Y. sup. Ct.). A separate fund (termed "Cy
Pres Fund") was established with 50 percent of the difference between
the Face Value Amount of the Settlement and the amount of issued
Consumer Vouchers. The Cy Pres Fund amount ($87 million), in the
form of vouchers, will be offered to eligible public school districts
(on behalf of their eligible public schools) and to eligible charter
schools.
Program Purpose
The Cy Pres Fund made available through this Settlement Agreement is to be used to assist eligible schools in their efforts to improve their readiness for computer-based testing (CBT) and a technology-rich learning environment. While the NYS-STVP is platform neutral, the focus is to leverage the Cy Pres Fund to support schools in their efforts to close the gap in their readiness for CBT and overall integration of technology in classroom teaching and learning.
Program Coordination
The Cy Pres Fund will be available in the form of 50 percent General Purpose
Vouchers and 50 percent Specific Category Software Vouchers. The
vouchers can be redeemed for a variety of goods and services, as
described in the
Frequently Asked Questions (100KB). "Eligible
Schools", as defined in
the Settlement Agreement, means all public kindergarten through
twelfth grade schools, including charter schools, in which at least
50 percent of the attending students are eligible to receive free
or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program
(NSLP). The Cy Pres Fund is disbursed via vouchers which can be
used for the eligible school buildings. School districts can coordinate
and apply for the vouchers on behalf of the eligible public schools
within the districts.
As per the Settlement Agreement, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) is responsible for issuing the Request for Application (RFA), certifying voucher recipients based on criteria contained within the RFA, and monitoring the program through end-of-program certification and site visitations.
Rust Consulting, selected by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County as the Settlement Claims Administrator, will be responsible for the issuing, processing, and payment of vouchers to the certified voucher recipients.
Eligibility Criteria
For a public or charter school to be eligible to receive an allotment of the Cy Pres Funds, it must meet the following criteria:
- Be a public school or charter school serving students in any grades, kindergarten through grade 12.
- Have at least 50 percent or more of its students enrolled in the Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program (FRPL) for the year of 2011-12 (as of March 2012).
Program Implementation Process
A school district or charter school technology director/coordinator will be required to address the following four pre-requisites in their application:
- Identify a point-of-contact with NYSED for the Technology
Readiness Tool (TRT). The TRT surveys current technology capacity and infrastructure
in each school building statewide across the country. It can serve as
inventory of current equipment and can be updated by schools and/or districts
as technology changes. NYSED is using the Technology Readiness Tool to
determine the feasibility of CBT and inform future planning.
- Complete the TRT for requested eligible schools within the NYS-STVP by the time of the application deadline for this program.
- Develop an implementation plan for getting the requested eligible schools within the NYS-STVP ready for CBT and a technology-rich learning environment. This plan should be based on data collected and entered into the TRT.
- Demonstrate the priority use of the Cy Pres Funds towards CBT readiness in their planned purchases of products and services.
Once an eligible school district or charter school completes an application, NYSED Office of Educational Design and Technology staff will review the application and implementation plan, determine the congruence of their budget plan with their TRT data submission, and approve their specific purchase plan following NYSED and district/school priorities for technology readiness. Then, the Settlement Claims Administrator (Rust Consulting), based on the conditional approval by NYSED, will further review the purchase requests and inform the district/school application contact of its decisions on eligibility of specific products and/or services using the two categories of vouchers. Should there be any questions raised in the review process, the district/school contact will be informed of the concerns and questions over the application. Such concerns or questions need to be addressed before final approval is granted.
FRPL percentages may be verified by checking the NYS-STVP eligible lists below.
Eligible Public School List (87KB)
Eligible NYC School List (160KB)
Eligible Charter School
List (26KB)
General Categories of Products and Services Eligible for Voucher Reimbursement
Based on the Terms of Settlement, vouchers can be used to purchase specific products and services within general categories. Please note that products and services in these general categories are reimbursable with one or both types of vouchers. The general category list is intended to provide a framework to guide your plan and request for approval. Your purchase plan must get final approval by NYSED and the Settlement Claims Administrator before implementation. Prior approval is required for reimbursement of item purchases that are eligible for vouchers, and for the type of the vouchers to be used. More sample products and services within the general categories will be provided at a later date.
Product Guidelines for use with the NYS Technology Voucher Program (280KB)
Application Process
To complete an application, please visit http://nys-stvp.com/ApplicationProcess.aspx.
The Settlement Claims Administrator (Rust Consulting) will launch
the NYS-STVP Online Voucher Application and Claim System in June
2013. There are two options that local education agencies (LEAs)
can take now to begin and/or complete the planning and application
process:
- Option 1: If the LEA is currently ready to complete an application,
click on the application link above. Complete the application
form (in PDF) and submit it via e-mail to claimsadmin@nys-stvp.com (the
Settlement Claims Administrator) for review. When the application
has been approved by NYSED and the Settlement Claims Administrator,
a voucher will be issued for reimbursement submissions.
- Option 2: If the LEA is not currently ready to
complete an application, it may still click on the application link
above. Use the application
form (in PDF) as a template to gather
and complete information for each of the LEA’s eligible schools.
When the NYS-STVP Online Voucher Application and Claim System is
launched in June 2013, the LEA coordinator can transmit its information
from the completed PDF application form through the online system.
All application submission, review, approval, voucher claim and
reimbursement will be processed through the dynamic online system.
Please note that when
the NYS-STVP Online Voucher Application and Claim System is available,
all applications will be submitted and processed through the online
system. Applications submitted via Option 1 require extra steps
in review and extra time to approve.
Program Contacts
For NYS-STVP general questions, please contact:
Teh-yuan Wan, Ph.D., Program Coordinator
New York State Education Department
Office of Educational Design
and Technology
89 Washington Avenue, Room 319 EB
Albany, NY 12234
(518) 474-5461 (phone)
NYSSTVP@mail.nysed.gov (email)
For NYS-STVP application or website questions, please contact:
Settlement Claims Administrator
New York State-School Technology Voucher Program
P.O. Box 2894
Faribault, MN 55021-8694
(866) 303-7288 (phone)
claimsadmin@nys-stvp.com (email)