Texas Classroom Connectivity Initiative2018-2019

Texas Education Agency

EducationSuperHighway

September 5 & 6, 2018

Presenters

Richard LaGowTexas Education AgencyState E-rate Coordinator

Evan SheaEducationSuperHighwayDistrict Consultant

Greer AhlquistEducationSuperHighwaySenior Consultant

What we’ll cover in today’s webinar

State Match Update

2

4

1

Tools & Resources

5

Initiative Overview & Progress

E-rate Category 2 Funding

3

Q&A

A partnership between the Governor’s Office, the Texas Education Agency, the Education Service Centers (ESCs), and EducationSuperHighway to facilitate high-speed broadband access for all K-12 public schools.

Texas Classroom Connectivity Initiative

Texas K-12 Connectivity Progress

Source: EducationSuperHighway analysis using public E-rate data .

99%

99% of schools have the fiber-optic connections needed to meet current and future connectivity needs.

97% of districts are meeting the FCC’s minimum bandwidth goal of 100 kbps per student for digital learning.

Supported projects impacting over 200 districts by providing:• Tools and resources like RFP/Form 470 templates• E-rate process guidance, collaborating with district’s E-rate consultant if they have one• Technical assistance

2017-2018 Initiative Impact

Brady ISD

Will upgrade wireless internet (through ESC 15) and WAN circuits to fiber

West Hardin CCISD

Will increase bandwidth 10x from 100 Mbps wireless to 1 Gbps fiber

E-rate Category 2 Funding

1

2

3

School districts in Texas still have $236 million in available E-Rate Category 2 funding.

Over 100 districts have not used any of their funding.

E-rate Funding Year 2019 (2019-2020) is currently the last year of guaranteed funding for Category 2 –this school year is the year to apply!

Why is this important?

Districts most at risk for losing access to their E-rate Category 2 funds

www.compareandconnectk12.org

Districts that haven’t used any Category 2 funds and have 100% remaining.

AND

Districts that applied in Funding Year 2015 and have 50%+ Category 2 funds remaining in the last year of their 5-year budget cycle.

E-rate funds K-12 broadband connectivity & infrastructure:

INTERNETSCHOOLDISTRICTOFFICE

Wi-Fi

InternetAccess

Wide Area Network (WAN)

SCHOOLS CLASSROOMS

Local Area Network (LAN)

Category 1INTERNET

Category 2INTERNAL CONNECTIONS

How are Category 1 and Category 2 different?

• Instead of Category 1 and Category 2, it used to be Priority 1 and Priority 2.

• Priority 1 requests were funded before Priority 2 requests.

• Priority 2 requests were funded starting with the highest discount rate districts and moving down until there was no budget left.

• Priority 2 funding would be used up by large districts with high discount rates and most other districts never received any funding.

When Category 2 was Priority 2 (before E-rate Modernization)

Category 2 after E-rate Modernization

• New funding model introduced for a 5-year trial period in E-rate Funding Year 2015.

• Every school allocated a $150 per-student budget, available for 5 years.

• The 5-year budget cycle starts when a school uses any of its Category 2 budget.

• If one school in a district uses any of its Category 2 budget, that becomes the first year of the 5-year budget cycle for all schools in that district.

• No indication yet from FCC or USAC if rules will be extended or changed.

• Funding Year 2019 is the last year these funds are guaranteed.

How do you calculate Category 2 funding?

Example:

School A has 1,000 students and an 80% Category 2 discount rate

5 year purchase limit: $150/student x 1,000 students = $150,000

E-rate funds available: $150,000 x 80% discount rate = -$120,000

Cost to School A $30,000

$150* x Student Population x Category 2 E-rate Discount = Total Category 2 Funding per School

*Note: Actual funds per student have increased based on inflation to $156.23 per student.Schools will receive a minimum of $9,582.23 if there are fewer than 62 students.

SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES have budgets

NON-INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES (NIFs) do not have budgets

• Includes school NIFs with classrooms and administrative buildings

• If a NIF is essential for the effective transport of information to or within a school, you must allocate the NIF costs to the entities benefiting from the service. The ineligible services costs to an NIF should be allocated out.

• Each individual school and library outlet/branch has a budget. School districts or library systems may not average their costs across multiple schools or library budgets.

Which entities are eligible to receive E-rate Category 2 funding?

WIRELESS

Access Points

Controllers (including cloud-based)

Antennas and connectors

WIRED

Structured cabling (copper/fiber)

Network switches and routers

Racks & patch panels

OTHER

Caching – HW / SW / Services

Firewall Services

Managed internal broadband services (Managed Wi-Fi)

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Installation, activation, & configuration by vendor

Software and licenses for eligible equipment

Training on eligible equipment

E-rate Category 2 covers wired and wireless equipment, installation and

maintenance as well as a number of “other” network services.

What equipment and services are eligible for Category 2?

FAQ: Eligible Services List

Wireless site surveys?• Yes. Site surveys are considered “design and engineering” which is

allowed as part of “Installation, Activation, and Initial Configuration” with new purchases.

• And no. Standalone site surveys without a purchase of Wi-Fi equipment are not eligible.

Security and advanced firewall features?• No. Only basic firewall functionality is eligible.

Spare equipment?• No. Any equipment purchased with E-rate funding must be installed

and activated by September 30 of the following funding year.

Licenses for cloud managed equipment (Meraki, Aerohive, etc)?• Yes. Any software or licenses required to make eligible equipment

function are eligible. You are also allowed to purchase only renewal licenses without any hardware.

Summer

STARTFunding year

begins July 1st. Assess needs.

Fall

PLANDesign upgrade, plan and release Form 470/RFP.

Winter

EVALUATEReview bids after 28-day

window.

Spring

CONTRACTSelect provider & apply for E-rate

funding with Form 471.

Summer

IMPLEMENTFunding commitment

decision letters (FCDL) issued.

Upgrade network.

E-rate cycle timeline

Upgrading your network is a year-long process. Get started early!

1. Go to www.compareandconnectk12.org to quickly see an estimate of how much funding is available for your district.

2. Use USAC’s Category 2 Budget Lookup Tool to see how much funding each school in your district has available. https://sltools.universalservice.org/portal-external/budgetLookup/

To get started, find your available Category 2 budget

Tools & Resources

Compare & Connect K-12

www.compareandconnectk12.org

● See how much Category 2 funding your district has available● Compare your broadband service and pricing with other districts

West Hardin CCISD

Webinars hosted by EducationSuperHighway

www.educationsuperhighway.org/webinars

● Register for upcoming webinars, including Category 2 series● Watch recorded webinars on-demand

RFP and Form 470 Templates

www.educationsuperhighway.org/resources

● Tips and best practice guidance● Category 1 and Category 2 templates/examples

TEA Classroom Connectivity Website

https://tea.texas.gov/Classroom_Connectivity

● Homebase for all things related to the initiative● Important updates, State Match Fund info, links to resources● Contact: classroomconnectivity@tea.texas.gov

State Match Update

• Funding Year 2017• 40 state match applications, including 3 consortia*• 33 applications were funded by E-rate program• 16 districts have received disbursements from USAC and NOGA funds

have been released by TEA

• Funding Year 2018• 70 state match applications, including 7 consortia*• USAC has not awarded any FCDLs involving Special Construction

Funds for fiber builds – this is nationwide, not just Texas• As soon as USAC issues FCDLs, FY 2018 applicants may follow the

instructions on how to receive State Matching Funds (next slide)

* some consortia and districts have more than one application

State Match Update

• Follow all USAC rules and guidelines for applying for Federal and State matching funding.• Did you check the box for matching funds when you filed your Funding Year 2018

Form 471?

• When you receive your Funding Year 2018 FCDL (Funding Commitment Decision Letter), file your online CCI.B form at https://form.jotform.com/TXEd/acceptance-of-award---texas-classro.

You will also upload your FCDL. This form must be electronically signed by your superintendent.

• You may submit the form and then edit it for the superintendent’s signature, but the form is not official until the superintendent signs the form.

• Once your special construction project is complete, submit the online CCI.C at https://form.jotform.com/TXEd/CCICNotificationofProjectCompletion. • This form must be completed for all FY 2017 projects and for all FY 2018 projects.

• Once the CCI.C is submitted, TEA will release the hold on your NOGA and your district can draw down your funding.

For State Match Applicants: How to receive State Matching Funds?

• 2018 State Match districts should actively work with PIA.

• If PIA determines that you have ineligible charges and reduces the total eligible project cost, they will also reduce the amount of federal matching funds which in turn reduces the Texas state match.

• However, PIA should not reduce the federal match percentage. • In these cases, encourage your PIA reviewer to recalculate the

federal matching funds based on reduced eligible charges.

• Once your FCDL is issued, the amount cannot be changed unless an appeal is filed.

• If you have any questions about this issue, please email classroomconnectivity@tea.texas.gov.

Actively work with PIA

Please contact:

classroomconnectivity@tea.texas.gov

Questions?

Q & A