JACKSON, Miss.

— The Mississippi Department of Education

(MDE) disputes State Auditor Shad White’s claims that the
agency is ignoring state law in its implementation of the Equity
in Distance Learning Act (SB 3044) and is making it difficult for
districts to purchase technology for students.
“Mr. White’s August 24, 2020 letter to state leaders and
lawmakers is inaccurate and devoid of all context about the
intent of this law,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent
of education. “The MDE is implementing SB 3044 with fidelity
and has been working diligently on behalf of districts to ensure
every student in Mississippi is equipped with the technology to
learn at school or at home. At no point did Mr. White contact
me about his concerns.”
The Equity in Distance Learning Act provides $150 million to
school districts to pay for computer devices for students and
teachers, software to deliver instruction, enhanced internet
connectivity and professional development for digital teaching
and learning.
The law directs the MDE to develop a system for districts to
purchase technology within a statewide bulk plan to ensure the
best price, quality and on-time delivery. Devices purchased
through the Equity in Distance Learning Act will have all
software, security and support features built in and configured
for immediate use.
As the law dictates, the bulk purchase system maximizes the
buying power of Mississippi as a state and ensures all public-
school students will receive computer devices before the
deadlines set by the law.
The MDE has been working with districts since June to
determine their digital technology needs. In accordance with
the law, the MDE developed a statewide digital learning plan
based on the needs districts documented in June. Districts were
given the opportunity to modify their needs by July 31 before
finalizing the list of devices they intended to order. After that,
the MDE selected vendors and negotiated bulk pricing on
behalf of districts.
“Though the law allowed the MDE to secure the devices
through an emergency procurement, we went above and
beyond the law by seeking bids from multiple vendors through
a competitive process,” Wright said.
Four vendors submitted bids. An outside group of technology
experts evaluated the bids and selected CDW-Government to
supply districts with devices through an Express Products List
(EPL). Apple was also included on the EPL as an emergency
procurement. CDW-Government and Apple are the only
companies that met all MDE requirements for the program.
Products can only be secured from vendors not on the EPL if
the school can demonstrate to the MDE that the products
include the software, security and support features of products
on the EPL, meet or exceed the technological specification and
functionality required by the MDE, and can be purchased at a
price that is less than any of the prices listed on the EPL for a
comparable product. The law requires computer devices to be
delivered within the deadline for school districts to be
reimbursed for their cost.
“The intent of the legislation is for MDE to use the buying
power of the state so individual school districts are not
competing against each other to find a vendor who can
guarantee delivery of computers by within the deadline set by
the law,” said Dr. Jason Dean, chairman of the Mississippi State
Board of Education. “School districts around the country are
having their computer deliveries delayed because millions of
people around the world are all trying to buy computers at the
same time.”
According to the Associated Press, the world’s three biggest
computer companies, Lenovo, HP and Dell, have told school
districts around the country they have a shortage of nearly 5
million laptops, in some cases exacerbated by U.S. sanctions on
Chinese suppliers.
“The MDE’s digital learning plan was designed to ensure equity
by guaranteeing that every student in Mississippi would be
provided with a digital device that was configured and
supported to help them be successful,” Wright said. “If districts
are forced to compete against each other, there will be winners
and losers.”