The last several years have proved just how much school districts can be innovative, responsive, and flexible when it comes to delivering for their students and community. Fortunately, they haven’t had to do it alone.
The Federal Communication Commission's E-Rate program has been there for school districts to enable learning delivery—no matter where their students are learning—with broadband and wireless technology. With the 2021 school year underway, how can your school take the steps needed to best prepare for your 2022-2023 technology needs and meet the obligations of the new E-Rate structure?
This article will cover a few of the key ways your school district can keep innovating and overcome the challenges of tomorrow.
E-Rate Helps Schools Implement Next-Generation Technology
Since 1997, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has maintained the E-Rate program to provide schools and libraries with additional funding to identify, procure, and maintain the latest technology they need to serve students and accomplish their mission.
Whether this tech enables the technology that helps students learn in class or the backbone networking infrastructure needed to deliver reliable, secure, and fast internet connectivity across their districts, the E-Rate program provides the support school leaders need.
More specifically, as network needs have evolved, schools can use the E-Rate program to future-proof their enterprises through the incorporation of new wireless technology, network firewalls, and enhanced network flow and firewall devices. E-Rate program funding can also be used for the professional services needed to support and maintain them.
Taking Advantage of E-Rate Program Changes
With the E-Rate program’s recent changes, school districts also now have more control in how they purchase, deploy, and implement technology across their districts. This allows them to adjust as their learning and technology needs change over time.
In particular, changes to the structure of E-Rate funding give schools more flexibility in how they allocate funding across their jurisdictions, empowering them to be more targeted and responsive with budgeting as demand and needs arise. Similarly, technology and equipment can move from school to school, three years after the purchase date, as long as it is tracked and available for FCC reporting.
Additionally, beginning in July 2021, the FCC increased the funding per full-time student per year to $167 during a five-year budget planning period. Although this number will not go up during the active period, changes can be reported and made to account for changes in school enrollment.
More Capacity to Serve the Community
The challenges of the last few years required the introduction of new methods to help and interact with students, families, and communities, including a continued trend toward wireless and cloud services rather than wired networks.
E-Rate funding enables continued investment in cloud-based technologies (sometimes called software as a service, or SaaS), network upgrades, and security enhancements. Simultaneously, with an emphasis on cloud-based technologies, it also provides a way to take the burden of maintenance and availability off of schools’ hands. This gives schools the opportunity to focus more on teaching and content rather than managing IT infrastructure, while also providing the means to scale as their communities grow.
Get a Head Start with VectorUSA
VectorUSA has nearly 30 years of experience working directly with school leaders in California and Arizona and a deep bench of professionals knowledgeable of the unique needs of educational technologies. We’re standing by to help your school district plan, budget, design, maintain, and implement E-Rate program-funded initiatives, now and in the future.
Our team also prides itself on the fact that we’re a trusted partner, drawing on our vendor-agnostic values that allow us to search for the best technology for your needs and your students’ learning priorities. We don’t prioritize any partners; we prioritize finding the best fit for you.
If you and your school district are ready to learn more about how VectorUSA can help with your E-Rate planning or with your implementation, no matter where you are in the process, contact our team to schedule a personalized consultation.
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