Eligibility and Connectivity

Eligibility and Requirements for the Ohio K-12 Network Connectivity Subsidy 

The Ohio K-12 Network connectivity subsidy is paid annually to eligible public and nonpublic schools that connect to the Ohio Educational Computer Network (OECN) to help offset the cost of supporting their local district networks. 

The FY25 subsidy is approximately $2,100.00 per building per year. The district must apply for this subsidy on an annual basis. It is not distributed automatically. 

District and Large Urbans must comply with the following eligibility and technical requirements to participate in the Ohio K-12 Network (as determined by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce): 

  1. Maintain network connectivity to the Ohio Educational Computer Network (OECN). 

  2. Apply for this subsidy by completing the online application. Non-public schools should contact their ITC to inquire about their eligibility and application requirements for connectivity funding. 

  3. The program administrator may ask for additional information as part of the application process. Any additional information must be submitted to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.  

  4. Must apply within the 471 window for Federal funding under the E-Rate program, within the appropriate funding year cycle. A building must be listed as Recipients of Services  on the Form 471, listing the Service Type as Data Transmission and/or Internet Access. For assistance with E-Rate contact, please use the E-Rate Technical Assistance Program. 

  5. Connectivity between the buildings and the Ohio K-12 Network must comply with one of the three approved logical connectivity models. The logical connectivity model in use must abide by all other rules as established on this page.  

Model 1 District to ITC

Direct district to ITC connections

Model 2 District to ITC

District to ITC connections with a district intermediate access point

Model 3 District to ITC

District to ITC connections with a district intermediate access point and a building to ITC connection

  1. Direct connectivity from districts to the OARnet Backbone in model 4 (see below) is only applicable for designated "large urban" school districts.  

Model 4 Designated Large Urban

Designated large urban district connected directly to OARnet

  1. All funded network connectivity options must operate at a bandwidth necessary to support online learning, including but not limited to distance learning, statewide testing, and web hosted applications.  

  • Building connectivity should be at, or preferably greater than 100kb per student.  
  • The current FCC recommended standard is 1Mb per student.  

  1. Districts must use the Information Technology Center as their primary Internet Service Provider utilizing a minimum of fifty-one percent from the state service provider. 

  2. Large Urbans must use OARnet as their primary Internet Service Provider utilizing a minimum of fifty-one percent from the state service provider. 

  3. Districts and Large Urbans may contract with an ISP of their choosing for secondary or backup service. The secondary or backup service must not provide more than forty nine percent of the internet access. K-12 Network Subsidy funds may not be used for the secondary or backup service. 

  4. All data being sent over wireless WAN connections must be encrypted using a minimum of 128-bit encryption, preferably 256- bit encryption.  

Last Modified: 9/23/2024 2:25:57 PM