Corrective action the auditee plans to take in response to the finding:
The Prosser School District does not concur with the audit finding being issued by the State
Auditor’s Office.
Allowable activities and costs/restricted purpose – unmet need
The District was acutely aware of the requirement for ...
Corrective action the auditee plans to take in response to the finding:
The Prosser School District does not concur with the audit finding being issued by the State
Auditor’s Office.
Allowable activities and costs/restricted purpose – unmet need
The District was acutely aware of the requirement for the Emergency Connectivity Fund to be
used to fill an “unmet need” to keep students engaged and continue their learning progression
during the COVID-19 pandemic, which presented unique and challenging circumstances that
had to be addressed immediately.
According to the FCC’s requirement, “Applicants may only request support for eligible
equipment and/or services for students who lack access to connected devices and broadband
connections sufficient to engage in remote learning during the relevant funding period. Schools
have the discretion to determine whether a student’s existing device is adequate for remote
learning”. In our district, it was established that district-managed devices were essential for all
students to fully participate in remote learning and that personal devices were not sufficient for
remote learning. District owned devices ensured that students had access to pre-loaded apps and curriculum that were not available on personal devices, thus leveling the playing field for
all learners.
When students were off-campus, district-managed devices were necessary for full participation
in remote learning. These devices were checked out configured with Go Guardian, CIPAcompliant
filtering, and secure testing environments required for state assessments such as
SmarterBalance and WIDA. Such security and functionality cannot be replicated on personal
devices, making district devices indispensable. District owned devices allowed instructional
staff to interact with remote learners that were on district owned devices where they could not
interact the same way with students on personal devices. Because of this students without access
to these district-managed devices would miss out on critical educational experiences and
opportunities, thereby creating a disparity in educational quality and equity. Based on this, and
considering the number of devices requested over two funding years, it is clear that we did not
purchase more devices than were necessary to fill our “unmet need”.
Additionally, it was deemed that students on a personal device during remote learning could
not be assisted by the technology department in the event of an technical issue causing
disruption to learning for that student and potentially the entire class, which would have further
hindered the student/ teachers’ abilities to sufficiently engage in remote learning.
Restricted purpose – per-location and per-user limitations
The District was also acutely aware of the requirement that the devices purchased with the
Emergency Connectivity Fund were only to be checked out to students and educational staff,
and to only be check out one per user. Our check out program was designed with measures to
monitor and flag any attempt to check out an additional device to someone who already had
one. This system ensured compliance with this requirement, allowing us to effectively manage
our devices and prevent any misuse or over-allocation of resources. By implementing these
controls, we maintained accountability and ensured that each student received the necessary
support without duplication. Our devices continue to be checked out using our system.