Tips for schools seeking successful Category Two E-Rate funding

The recent period of unprecedented technology funding for K-12 schools may be coming to an end with Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds (ESSER) winding down. However, there is still an enormous opportunity for technology budget support as schools are returning — and in most cases, continuing — to focus on the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate discount program.

Most schools used their ECF and ESSER funding for laptops and Chromebooks for their students, or for stretching their Internet connectivity off campus.  In fact, 94% of public schools surveyed said they are providing devices like laptops or tablets, to students who need them this year, year according to findings released by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.  According to those same findings, 45% of schools surveyed said that they provide internet access to students who need it at home.

However, when it comes to connectivity at the schools themselves, only 67% of school districts across the country meet the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) bandwidth goal of 1 Mbps per student, according to the Connect K-12 Report on School Connectivity. That report asserts that there are still 23.5 million students in U.S. schools that lack adequate bandwidth, and that only Arkansas, Hawaii, and North Dakota supply adequate bandwidth to 100% of their students.

This is where E-Rate discounts can come to the rescue for eligible schools and libraries. E-Rate grants discounts of up to 90% off the cost of Internet access (or Category One services) and as much as 85% off the cost of network equipment and services (or Category Two services).

What’s eligible for Category Two funding?

Category Two equipment and services eligible for E-Rate support include the internal connections needed for broadband connectivity within schools and libraries. Specifically, internal connections, managed internal broadband services and basic maintenance of internal connections are eligible for the discount, including Ultra-High Speed Data options, such as Managed Network Edge or Enterprise Network Edge.

The FCC released a list of eligible broadband internal connections, including:

• Antennas, connectors, and components used for internal broadband connections
• Cabling
• Caching
• Firewall services and components separate from basic firewall protection, provided as a standard component of Internet access service
• Racks
• Routers
• Switches
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)/Battery Backup
• Access points used in a LAN or WLAN environment (such as wireless access points)
• Wireless controller systems
• Software supporting anything on this list used to distribute high-speed broadband throughout school buildings and libraries 

According to E-Rate Central, Category Two budgets are based on the number of students ($167 per student) or by using total square-footage ($4.50 per sq. ft.).  For schools with less than 150 students, or smaller libraries under 5,555 sq. ft. per branch, the budget will be based on a $25,000 minimum per building. There’s also a variety of calculations that can be applied to very small schools or libraries, and even buildings under construction.

How does a school get E-Rate funding for cybersecurity? 

According to the nonprofit K12 Security Information Exchange State of K–12 Cybersecurity: Year in Review report, there have been more than 1,300 publicly disclosed cyberattacks on U.S. school districts since 2016. Ransomware attacks on K–12 schools worldwide last year skyrocketed by 827% over 2021, according to SonicWall’s 2023 Cyber Threat Report. 

EdTech reports that: K–12 districts face high costs related to cybersecurity with the continued rise of ransomware demands, the financial impact of breaches and cyber insurance premiums. Unfortunately, only basic firewall functions are supported by the E-Rate program. Security functions like intrusion prevention, DDoS mitigation, network access control and other common security technologies aren’t currently covered. However, certain network upgrades are covered by E-Rate, and those upgrades mean schools can use E-Rate to improve their cyber defense posture by updating routers, switches and wireless access points. This gives schools a unique window of opportunity to ramp up their digital defenses and better protect student privacy.

A growing number of districts are adding other methods into the mix to augment their cybersecurity budget allotments. They are combining with other districts, or at the state level, and buying in bulk in search of discounts, or hiring virtual CISOs and offering in-house cyber skill training to help K-12 IT leaders to bolster their defenses at a reduced cost.

How Spectrum Enterprise can help

Spectrum Enterprise is one of the nation's leading internet connectivity providers. With over 20 years’ experience partnering with schools to provide solutions, Spectrum Enterprise is a reliable partner with the E-Rate expertise you need for the Category One, Category Two and non-E-Rate solutions your district needs to keep up with today's increasing demands.

Our managed internal connectivity services are eligible for Category Two funding, with infrastructure solutions like Enterprise Network Edge. This managed solution provides next generation firewall (NGFW) protection, malware protection, content filtering, web application control, intrusion protection and packet inspection of encrypted traffic. Security performance is powered by the Fortinet FortiGate platform, which achieves fast steering and application identification. 

The top two largest K-12 school districts in the US rely on Spectrum Enterprise for technology solutions. Find out why.