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SUBJECT
: POLICY FOR TRANSFERRING EXCESS COMPUTERS TO
ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS AND EDUCATIONAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS SCOPE OF COVERAGE: This policy applies to all ITA employees who donate excess computer property and paraphernalia. PURPOSE: The Department of Commerce (DOC) has issued policy and procedures to comply with President Clinton's Executive Order 12999, Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century. The purpose of the Executive Order is to encourage Federal agencies to transfer excess computer equipment and software to schools and eligible nonprofit organizations, with preference given to those institutions located in the Federal Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC), to help ensure opportunities for all children. Established by law in 1993, the EZ/EC creates self-sustaining, long-term economic development in areas of pervasive poverty and unemployment. The DOC Personal Property Management Manual revised Section 5.1300 of July 17, 2000, authorizes DOC policies and procedures for the donation of excess Federal computer equipment to schools and nonprofit organizations under the Computers for Learning Program. POLICY The Computers for Learning website at www.computers.fed.gov/property/pm1.asp provides Government agencies with a quick and easy system for transferring excess computers and automatically tracking transfers so that Government agencies can generate an annual report to the General Services Administration (GSA). Donation through the website is limited to donations that are appropriate for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade schools and nonprofit organizations that serve pre-kindergarten through 12th grade children, are tax exempt under the U.S. tax code and operate exclusively for the purpose of education. Eligibility for Donation Computers and related equipment such as printers, modems, routers and servers that have been determined to be excess to ITA needs are eligible to be transferred to registered schools and nonprofit organizations. Property custodians must use the website to transfer computers based upon indicators of need. These include:
Schools located within an EZ/EC serve the poorest students and lack access to adequate outside resources. These schools include:
Educational organizations that emphasize math, science, or technology are eligible for donation although schools located within an EZ/EC take precedence. Examples include:
Additional Requirement for Donations Computers should be donated at the least cost to the Government. Only schools and nonprofit organizations registered on the Computers for Learning Website can receive computer and computer equipment donations. Requests for transfer of computers and equipment by DOC bureaus take precedence over transfers to eligible schools and organizations under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act (41 CFR 43-102). Transfers to eligible organizations under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act and Computers for Learning (Executive Order 12999) may take precedence over all other donations to eligible organizations addressed in section 203(j) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (40 U.S.C. 483). Before computers or computer equipment can be offered for donation to a school or nonprofit organization, the NOAA Warehouse screens the property with ITA for the first seven days and screens it with other Commerce bureaus for the second eight days. The GSA Agency Asset Management Service (AAMS) allows authorized DOC users to screen all excess Commerce personal property, freeze property and transfer property. After 15 days of screening if no Commerce bureaus want the property, the property can be flagged for donation to schools or nonprofit organizations or the NOAA Warehouse can dispose of the property through other authorized channels. Responsibilities Property Custodians are responsible for arranging for excess computer and computer equipment donations to schools and nonprofit organizations. They use the Computers for Learning Website, keep the official file of donations, notify the Director, Information Projects and Operations Division (IPOD), in the Office of Information Resources Management of equipment designated for donation; update the Department of Interior (DOI) Fixed Asset System; and coordinate the transfer with the schools and nonprofit organizations, the unit Property Accountability Officer and the NOAA Warehouse. Property Accountability Officers (PAOs) in the principal ITA units have oversite responsibility for their unit for the donation program. The PAO will issue an access code to the Computers for Learning Website for each property custodian in their unit. They must ensure that their unit's donations are equitably distributed among needy eligible organizations in the community. The ITA Property Management Officer (PMO), in the Office of Organization and Management Support issues policies and procedures for managing the ITA donation program, coordinates reporting requirements and has ITA oversite and management responsibility for the donation program. ITA managers are responsible for authorizing/approving the donation of their excess office computers and computer equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations. ITA managers must ensure that computers and computer equipment they approve for donation to schools and nonprofit organizations have been screened with the Director, IPOD/OIRM, before the property custodian proceeds with the donation. The designated Information Technology Contacts for the four program units, Administration and the Office of the Under Secretary are responsible for ensuring that software licensing agreements are not violated, that computers do not contain classified or unclassified files or any data that could associate the computers with Commerce prior to donation, and arranging the security erasure of the hard drive with the Chief Information Officer/Office of Information Resources Management (OIRM) or the US&FCS Office of Information Systems (OIS). The Director, OIRM and the Director, OIS, US&FCS, are responsible for arranging the security erasure of the hard drive before the computers can be donated. The Director, IPOD/OIRM, is responsible for offering excess ITA computers to other ITA units before the computers are transferred to the NOAA Warehouse. All employees involved in the donation process are responsible for following the Executive Order, guidelines issued by GSA and DOC and ITA policy and procedures. Employees must avoid unnecessary stripping of computer components (such as hard drives) to ensure that the computers are useable. The NOAA Warehouse will remove the computers and equipment from the HCHB upon receipt of Form CD-50, Property Control. The NOAA Warehouse will screen the computers using the GSA AAMS System for 15 days after receipt of the property. They will notify the ITA PMO that the property is available for donation if no Commerce bureau is interested in the property. They will shrink wrap computers and equipment and make the computers and equipment available to the designated schools and nonprofit organizations for pick up. The NOAA Warehouse will keep the computers for no longer than 30 days from the day of receipt. They will release the computers and computer equipment only to the school or nonprofit organization designated by the property custodian. The Director, or officers of the school or educational nonprofit organization are responsible for signing the acceptance and electronic Transfer of Title form and sending the signed form to the property custodian. Representatives from the school or nonprofit organization are responsible for arranging for transportation for the donated computers and equipment or picking up the computers and equipment within 30 days. The school or nonprofit organization's representative must present proof (I.D.) before the NOAA Warehouse can release the property. The Domestic Field Regional Office Property Custodians are responsible for arranging for the donation of computers and equipment using the Computers for Learning website for their regions. APPROVAL AUTHORITY: Director, Office of Organization and Management Support |