CARES Act K12 Wireless Improvements

For those that did not make it, reviewing these and viewing the recording should answer most questions. If you have a K12 advocate role please forward this info to your contacts.

HARD deadline for submissions is COB Monday July 13th. No exceptions. All equipment to be ORDERED by 7/31/2020. Requests will be reviewed starting on Tuesday and we will get back to folks ASAP once approved.

Are projects that are in flight eligible?
Yes they are. We are researching a date that APs would need to be ordered by in order to be eligible. This info will be posted to the form once available. Note that in this case we will need to know: make, model and serial number of each device deployed or in flight and pictures of each before (if possible) and after installation.

What was the age requirements.....i.e. how old does equipment need to be?
Anything not capable of 802.11ax/WiFi6 I.E. Anything last standard 801.11ac or older.

Are new schools opening this year eligible?
Yes, but the funding is augmentative not supplantive so you would need to expand your plans beyond your capital budget to be eligible.

Alot of Wifi6/AX to get full advantage of the speed require 10GB switch throughput to the AP's, will you cover those switches ?
No.

Is there any talk about doing an advanced Ekahau class for those who have done the basic already?
Yes it is in the works, once we get beyond the basics.

Is there a dollar amount per district?
No.

We purchased new Ruckus APs with E-Rate, is reimbursement possible?
Yes this is possible see 1st question and answer. Unreimbursed cost of APs purchased recently can be funded with this project.

We are a brand new school and recently completed the E-Rate process. You mentioned we could use this funding to pay some unreimbursed costs?
Yes, but see answer above about those plans needing to be augmentative. i.e. would need to expand plans and areas covered.

Does this absolve us from normal "state purchasing rules"?
No.

There isn't really time to do a bid/RFP?
Possibly. Depends on how fast you can get it done.

For those of us who do not have IT specialist, but contract with outside providers, there are some terms being thrown around about which I do not know much. Is there a resource that explains what it is you are talking about right now? Ekahau? And perhaps some definition of terms to help us fill out this form?
For LEAs in this situation I suggest that they engage their service provider to help you through the process.

We just upgraded to RUKKUS, are we able to seek reimbursement? No one in our school is technology savvy when it comes to installation etc and are a small Charter school. We contract out to do so and guidance would be appreciated.
See previous answers.

Any more information would be great for those of us who are not IT savvy.
See answer above.

IF you are using an IT provider HOW do you answer the questions about number of staff trained on Ekahau?
See previous answers and this question is directed to the LEAs, districts and service centers not to the providers. So answer the question in that light. Outside service providers are not eligible for funding with this project other than for contracted labor to install the gear.

Can you give us a link / the proper spelling for "Echahau"?
Ekahau. As a side note “In Maya mythology, Ekahau is the god of travelers and merchants.”

Is it known yet what kind of reporting recipients will be required to provide if they receive funds after implementation?
There will be audits so record keeping and tracking where gear is and ends up will be important.

Would you acccept 2 flavors? e.g. One plan to fix a few holes and one plan to "fix all my problems"?
Yes.

Items MUST be on prem/installed by Dec break or they will NOT be elligible for reimbursment?
Date is 12/31/2020 for completion or no funding.

A Drive Up Wifi setup for a parking lot scenario for those kids that don't have access at home? In case of quarantinne again?
This is EXACTLY the kind of thing this funding is for!

Will we get a funding commitment letter or something along those lines to give our boards/financial staff so that they are assured to make purchases?
Yes.

Was the form in the email?
Yes.

Is funding in order of submission and logging into the meeting?
No. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory.

New schools opening this school year - are those AP eligible?
See previous answer.

In order to handle additional capacity we will be buying a new firewall. Would that be considered?
No. Infrastructure to support WiFi is not eligible. We are focusing on WiFi APs.