Buying agencies demanding high standards of ethics from their purchasing cooperatives need not look further than AEPA.

By Ted Witt, AEPA Board Member

School district purchasing agents — and every person in the chain of acquisition for supplies, equipment, and services — work within the public’s trust. These employees must obey laws and regulations. However, they must also meet higher ethical obligations for a standard of fairness that earns the confidence of their constituents.

The Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA) is a multi-state non-profit organization comprised of Educational Service Agencies / political subdivisions organized through a Memorandum of Understanding between all participating states.

We are a true “cooperative” that serves to leverage purchasing power to benefit all schools and agencies, regardless of size, with the ability to purchase at equal buying levels.

Learn More About AEPA!

The Illinois Learning Technology Purchase Program (ILTPP) is the member state agency representative for Illinois. Through our partnership with AEPA, we provide access to nationally bid contracts that are awarded locally to support the initiatives of education technology throughout the state. If you have additional questions about our current contracts, please let us know by emailing LearnMore@iltpp.org.

There’s good news and there’s bad news.

• The good: Reinforcements are on their way. The federal government created a new grant program to ease the burden on school districts in their constant battle against an increasingly malicious cybersecurity landscape.
• The bad: The extremely tight window to apply for funding passed on Nov. 15. Nonetheless, there’s still a chance your school district can receive a slice of the $1 billion pie.

Let’s explore the ins and outs of the federal government’s new State and Local Cybersecurity Program (SLCGP). From the details and requirements of the program to how your district might benefit, we’ll walk you through all you need to know about the opportunity.

WHAT IS THE STATE AND LOCAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT PROGRAM?

In November 2021, President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The bill gave state and local governments resources through which they could improve roads, bridges, broadband, and other essential components of their infrastructure.

Through this legislation, Congress also established the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative that empowers the federal government to make targeted cybersecurity improvements within state, local, and territory government agencies. A total of $1 billion will be distributed over the next four years.

Okay — so what does this mean for your school district? How does this involve K-12 education?

According to K-12 Dive, schools cannot directly apply for the program. However, they can work with state and local governments to acquire funding. Per the SLCGP’s fact sheet, local governments are defined by law as a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, or a school district. Likewise, a minimum of 80% of the state allocations must be passed down to the local level (i.e., school districts and other local entities).

That means schools can still access federal funding, albeit with a few caveats.

Contact your dedicated Account Manager:

David Waugh
Sales and Marketing Vice President
303-415-3643
dwaugh@managedmethods.com

Learn More About ManagedMethods