Last Updated: August 30, 2016
Digital Connections Initiative
Frequently Asked Questions
Table of Contents
General FAQs 1
School Technology Readiness Survey 4
EducationSuperHighway 4
Education Collaboratives 5
Contact Information 6
General FAQs
1. What is the “Digital Connections Initiative?”
The Digital Connections Initiative provides tools, assistance, and funding to bridge the digital divide that exists in some schools across the Commonwealth and strengthen twenty-first century teaching and learning. The initiative is a partnership between the Office of Digital Learning (ODL) within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), the Massachusetts Department of Information Technology (MassIT), and the nonprofitEducationSuperHighway (ESH).
· Districts that are confident their network is digital-learning ready should complete the School Technology Readiness Survey.
· Districts that are unsure if their district is digital-learning ready and would like a check-up should complete the School Technology Readiness Survey and sign up for a consultation with EducationSuperHighway.
· Districts that know they need an upgrade the funding to do it should complete the School Technology Readiness Survey, sign up for a consultation with EducationSuperHighway, and submit the DCPS application by October 7, 2016.
2. What types of educational institutions are eligible for DCPS funding?
All public school districts in the Commonwealth, including charter public schools and Education Collaboratives, are eligible for funding, provided that: funds are not awarded to school buildings scheduled for decommissioning or razing within 10 years from the completion of the project; and projects occur only on and within publicly-owned real property maintained for the benefit of the school district. Charter schools and Education Collaboratives are eligible to apply as long as the aforementioned two eligibility criteria are met.
3. Will certain districts (applications) be prioritized for funding?
The grant and loan programs are available for all districts. Priority will be given to applications for grants and/or loans that: maximize the access of broadband and improve the efficiency and productivity of education through the use of technology; provide student access to individualized and rigorous digital learning experiences; ensure that educators and administrators have the knowledge and skills to develop and implement digital learning curricula; and maximize taxpayer value, student access to information technology and information technology preparedness. Applications will be further prioritized based on the extent to which the overall applicant pool reflects the geographic diversity of the Commonwealth (e.g., suburban, urban, rural); number of students served; Chapter 70 contribution; school infrastructure needs (some schools in a district's application may be funded, but not others); and whether the applicant applied for DCPS grant funds in the past, but was not funded.
4. Which services will be prioritized under the DCPS program? Category 1 (all external connections associated with Internet Access and/or Data Transmission Services) or Category 2 (internal connections, Wi-Fi, managed internal broadband services, and basic maintenance of internal connections)?
Individual applicants will be selected based on the priorities set out in the DCPS application, which is neutral with respect to Category 1 and Category 2. E-Rate provides funding streams for both sets of products and services, and both are eligible for grants/loans.
5. Can the district's local match be for devices and professional development for teachers rather than infrastructure?
In the first round of the program, the state fronted 100% of the infrastructure cost and the local match could be for devices, professional development, and assistive technology. This year the state match will pay for the undiscounted portion of Category 1 and Category 2 eligible products and services and the local match pays for the discounted portion. By law, E-rate reimbursements are returned to the municipal general fund. With agreement from their municipal government and securing an appropriation from the legislative body of the municipality, districts are encouraged to use some or all of the reimbursement to pay for devices, professional development, assistive technology, and other educational technology needs.
6. Where can I find the DCPS application and supporting materials?
The DCPS application and supporting materials can be found here: http://www.doe.mass.edu/grants/2017/dcpsg/.
7. Is the DCPS application a town/municipality application or a school district application?
The DCPS application is a school district application.
8. If a district has already applied and been awarded a grant in the past, can it be considered for the grant again?
Yes. A district that has already applied and been awarded a grant in the past can submit an application for additional funding. Please see the "priorities" section of the DCPS application.
9. How will districts that were early Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) adopters and/or any districts now beyond the 100Mbps level fit into this process?
EducationSuperHighway hopes to work with districts across the Commonwealth, regardless of early MBI adoption or circuit size required. EducationSuperHighway understands that each district is unique in their needs and digital learning goals, and as such wants to talk with districts individually to identify the specific ways in which they can help.
10. Should districts bother completing the grant application if infrastructure (broadband) is not the problem?
The DCPS grant can be used for Category 2 (switches, routers, access points, wiring) as well.
11. Are wireless switches and fiber switches covered in the loan or grant program?
Yes.
12. What are the evaluation criteria for the grant program?
The evaluation criteria and scorecard, among other resources, are posted to the DCPS application page.
13. Are E-Rate special construction costs Category 1 or 2? If Category 2, are these within the per student allocation or in addition to that?
They are Category 1 special construction costs.
14. Can any portion of these funds be used for projects that are already approved for FY17? Or, is this funding only for projects starting July 2017 coincident with the FY18 E-Rate funding cycle?
Only loan funding, not bond funds, can be used for projects that have already been started and E-Rate has already been applied for directly by the district.
15. Can I use these programs for a school location that has yet to open?
No.
16. What do I do if my district has already applied for E-Rate for 2016?
If an E-Rate application has already been submitted, then the district can apply for a loan through the MSBA for the unreimbursed cost of the project.
17. How is the Operational Services Division (OSD) involved in this process?
OSD manages the purchasing contacts used by MassIT to get the best pricing for districts to complete this work.
18. What is the recommended ratio for student to bandwidth or device to bandwidth?
The FCC's goal for broadband connectivity is 100 kbps/student in the short term and 1 Mbps/student in the long term.
19. How can districts predict future bandwidth needs?
Device adoption in the K-12 sector lags adoption from other sectors by a number of years. As device adoption in K-12 catches up with other sectors, EducationSuperHighway anticipates bandwidth growth in K-12 to follow a similar trajectory as the bandwidth growth that other sectors have experienced. Link to Cisco's VNI Traffic Forecasts: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/index.html.
20. Where can districts find resources to see their connectivity data and understand bandwidth and funding needs?
Wi-Fi and Broadband resources include the Compare & Connect K-12 tool, which lets districts compare bandwidth and prices with similar school districts to help get more bandwidth for their broadband budget. E-rate resources include the Category 2 Funding Estimator, which calculates the E-rate funding available to districts and schools; the Bandwidth Calculator, which calculates the bandwidth recommended for the district overall and each school in the district; an E-rate filing checklist, and more.
21. Are districts that are not awarded grant funding eligible to participate in the “economy of scale” discount from the selected vendor?
Yes. Districts can do so by applying for a loan through the MSBA. As a single payer, MassIT must handle the purchasing and installation of the equipment as well as the E-Rate applications. For further details, contact Michael Farrell at MassIT, (617) 626-4545.
School Technology Readiness Survey
22. My district reported technology data through the online PARCC Technology Readiness Tool (TRT) in the past. Why is the state asking districts to complete the School Technology Readiness Survey?
The last time the state measured technology readiness was in 2014 via the TRT, after which the TRT was discontinued. In the intervening time, many districts have upgraded their schools and/or their needs have changed. In addition, the instructions for completing the TRT were not always clear, which may have resulted in the reporting of inaccurate data. Finally, the TRT required districts to report some information that is unnecessary.
The School Technology Readiness Survey has fewer questions than the TRT and is easier to use. It will help the state and its partners understand the obstacles to digital learning that may exist across the state, help MassIT estimate the cost to upgrade schools for next-generation digital learning, and help ESE make the case for funding in future years. The School Technology Readiness Survey has a dedicated link: https://massgov.formstack.com/forms/digital_connections_survey.
23. Do I need to complete the School Technology Readiness Survey for all schools?
Yes. The state needs a complete picture of technology readiness for every school in the state. The web-based but easily printable School Technology Readiness Survey should take no longer than 1 hour to complete for the average district (4-5 schools), and the respondent has the option to save and resume later. For districts that serve 10 or more schools, MassIT has designed an Excel-based version of the survey. If you prefer to provide data in this manner, contact Michael Farrell at MassIT, (617) 626-4545.
24. Do applicants have to provide school-level enrollment data in their DCPS application or the School Technology Readiness Survey?
While the School Technology Readiness Survey does ask applicants to provide the total number of students and staff working in each school, these are not required fields. ESE and MassIT will use enrollment data collected as of October 1, 2015 via SIMS to populate these fields or, if time allows, data from the October 2016 collection. Applicants are not required to provide enrollment data through the survey, unless something has changed significantly (e.g., new/closed/merged schools, etc.).
25. How will the results of the School Technology Readiness survey information be published?
In general, ESE will not publish the results of individual schools or districts. Survey data will be aggregated in different ways in order to provide the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and other key stakeholders with information on the progress schools and districts are making toward next-generation learning, teaching and assessment. Data for specific districts or schools may be provided to individuals upon request.
EducationSuperHighway
26. What is the difference between the support that EducationSuperHighway is providing and the support provided by MassIT and ESE?
EducationSuperHighway's programs focus on supporting districts with upgrading their Category 1 products and services under E-Rate - meaning, all external connections associated with Internet Access and/or Data Transmission Services. MassIT and ESE are administering the DCPS grant and loan programs for districts to implement robust Wi-Fi in every classroom (both Category 1 and Category 2 upgrades).
27. Will someone from Education Superhighway come on site to assess network equipment as part of the consultation?
While EducationSuperHighway is not able to come on site to your district, the EducationSuperHighway team is more than happy to remotely provide insights and recommendations on network equipment as needed for Category 1. For Category 2 equipment, EducationSuperHighway offers a free tool, the School Wi-Fi Buyers Guide, to help guide districts through those decisions.
28. Does EducationSuperHighway give preference to rural, high needs districts and/or Education Collaboratives?
EducationSuperHighway can support all districts, regardless of locale or poverty, as well as Education Collaboratives. Even if you think you may not need our support, we encourage you to sign up for a conversation with EducationSuperHighway.
Education Collaboratives
29. Are Education Collaboratives eligible for loans?
If an Education Collaborative shares the same physical space as a public school and the district files on behalf of the Education Collaborative, then loans can be used to fund upgrades in the space used by the Education Collaborative. Loans cannot be used to build or upgrade separate Education Collaborative spaces or Education Collaboratives that have their own building or property.
30. Are Education Collaboratives eligible for E-rate reimbursements?
Yes. Education Collaboratives are approved Eligible Service Agencies (ESAs) as defined by the E-rate program and can apply for program discounts.
31. What other roles can Education Collaboratives perform in the E-rate program?
Education Collaboratives can provide E-rate consulting assistance to their member districts and in some instances can be service providers of eligible services.
32. What kinds of consulting assistance can Education Collaboratives provide to their member districts?
An Education Collaborative that does not serve as a service provider may assume the role of an applicant in filing the FCC Form 470 (Description of Services Requested and Certification Form), evaluating bids, filing the FCC Form 471 (Description of Services Ordered and Certification Form), and obtaining discounts for services for itself (if it is an eligible recipient of discounted services) and its component districts.
An Education Collaborative that does not function as a service provider may also assume the role of a consultant to its component districts in regard to their service and equipment requirements, and help its component districts apply for and administer the receipt of discounts.
33. Can an Education Collaborative function as both a service provider and a consultant to member districts?
A potential conflict may arise when an Education Collaborative is a service provider and also an applicant and/or a consultant to school districts. The potential conflict is that the selection of the service provider may not be fair and open but may, in fact, provide an unfair advantage to the Education Collaborative as service provider.
The potential conflict may be resolved if the Education Collaborative provides only one type of eligible services (Data Transmission Services and Internet Access, Voice Services, Internal Connections, Managed Internal Broadband Services, or Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections), and functions in its non-service provider role(s) (e.g., applicant or consultant with respect to separate applications for other service types).