POTS line replacement for schools and school districts

Who this page is for

• You run facilities, IT or operations for a school, a charter network or a district.
• Your campuses have fire alarm panels, elevators or area of refuge stations that dial out on copper lines.
• A carrier notice reached the business office, or the telecom budget line keeps rising.
• Any change has to fit a fiscal year, a board agenda and a school calendar.

The situation districts are in

A district’s phone bill can list hundreds of lines across elementary, middle and high schools, plus the transportation yard and the central office. Some lines run the fire alarm panel at each campus. Others serve elevators in two-story buildings, area of refuge stations, nurse’s office fax machines and old building control modems.

The phone system itself is often a separate project, owned by IT. The life-safety lines belong to facilities. Both are affected when copper goes, and they move on different timelines.

What lines schools usually have

Line	Where it is	Who usually owns it	Notes
Fire alarm panel (often two lines)	Main electrical or fire panel room	Facilities and the alarm contractor	Needs fire marshal acceptance; see fire alarm communicators
Elevator emergency phone	Elevator machine room	Facilities and the elevator contractor	Inspected by the state or city; see elevator phone lines
Area of refuge and elevator landing stations	Stairwells and landings	Facilities	Timed dial-out when the office is closed; see emergency call boxes
Intrusion alarm	Front office or panel room	Facilities or district security	Often a separate monitoring contract
Fax	Front office, nurse, counseling	Campus staff	Health records may set rules
Building controls and modems	Mechanical rooms	Facilities	HVAC, generator or fuel monitoring
Main lines and phone system trunks	Data closet	IT	Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’S Act apply to the phone system

Kari’s Law and RAY BAUM’S Act: what changes when you touch the phone system

These rules apply to multi-line telephone systems (MLTS), the phone systems most schools use. They matter when you replace main lines, move to hosted voice, or install new handsets.

• Direct 911 dialing. The system must let users dial 911 without a prefix such as 9, per the FCC’s MLTS page.
• Notification. When someone dials 911, the system must notify a central location where someone is likely to see or hear it, such as the front office or district security. This helps responders get into the building.
• Which systems. Kari’s Law rules apply to systems manufactured, imported, offered for first sale or lease, or installed after February 16, 2020.
• Dispatchable location. RAY BAUM’S Act Section 506 requires 911 calls, including MLTS calls, to convey a dispatchable location: the street address plus details such as room and floor. For fixed telephony and fixed VoIP services, the FCC lists January 6, 2021 as the compliance date (FCC). Check the MLTS-specific dates for your system type [VERIFICAR].

A single analog line in a portable classroom also needs a correct 911 address. When it moves to a new provider, ask how the provider registers building and room for that line.

E-Rate: where it stands for POTS replacement

E-Rate helps with internet and data, not with phone service.

• The FCC’s FY2026 Eligible Services List, released December 17, 2025, lists data transmission and internet access services. It does not list voice service.
• The Kansas State Department of Education’s FY2026 guidance says landline and cellular voice service are no longer eligible, while “WAN or Internet lines supporting VoIP are still eligible.”
• USAC reminds applicants that funding covers only services “being used for educational purposes” (USAC).

In practice, plan to fund elevator, fire alarm and alarm lines without E-Rate. If a vendor tells you part of its service qualifies, ask your E-Rate consultant to confirm before you count on it [VERIFICAR].

Budgeting and board approval

School budgets reward early planning. A few habits help:

• Tie the request to the notice date. AT&T’s December 2025 application, for example, gives on or after November 15, 2026 as the discontinuance date for the areas it covers (filing). A board can act on a date.
• Separate one-time and monthly costs. Equipment and installation may fit capital or facilities funds; monthly service fits operating funds. Your business office decides.
• Show the lines you will cancel. Unused lines are often the easiest savings to approve.
• Check bid thresholds. A multi-campus contract may exceed the amount that can be bought without a formal bid.

The POTS cost calculator gives you the monthly, annual and contract totals for the board packet.

Cooperative purchasing contracts

Some providers sell through contracts that public agencies can use instead of running their own bid. Ooma says AirDial can be bought through Carahsoft under OMNIA, NASPO, ITES and SEWP contracts (Ooma) [VERIFICAR]. ITES and SEWP are federal vehicles, so ask your purchasing office which contracts your district may legally use.

Ooma’s education datasheet lists fire alarm panels, elevator phones, security alarm panels, fax and public safety phones as supported uses and says the product “Supports Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act.” Treat that as the vendor’s claim to verify in your setup. More detail on the Ooma AirDial page.

Summer and break install windows

Fire alarm and elevator work is easiest when buildings are empty:

• Summer: test fire panels, elevators and area of refuge systems without evacuating classes. Fire marshals and elevator contractors book up, so reserve dates in spring.
• Winter and spring breaks: good for a pilot campus.
• Weekends: the fallback when a notice date falls during the school year.

If a carrier date comes before your summer window, don’t wait for it. Move the fire alarm and elevator lines first on a weekend, and leave fax and voice lines for summer.

State facility rules can add steps. North Carolina’s State Construction Office, for example, requires its review before any POTS replacement in state buildings and lists campus contacts for the UNC System and community colleges (NC SCO).

Options compared for schools

Option	Best for	How it works	Pricing info (October 2026)	Pros	Cons
POTS-in-a-box gateway per campus	Elevator, area of refuge, alarm and fax lines in one building	Managed LTE device with analog ports; see POTS in a box	No published prices from the major vendors	One device and one portal per campus	Signal in mechanical rooms; fire use needs AHJ acceptance
Dedicated fire communicator through the district’s alarm vendor	Fire panels	Listed cellular or IP communicator on the panel	Dealer pricing	Fits existing monitoring contract	Separate contract per system
Carrier replacement (AT&T Phone - Advanced)	Simple voice or fax lines on AT&T	AT&T device on its LTE network	$99.99 per month for business in AT&T’s FCC filing	Arrives with the notice	AT&T’s notices don’t mention elevators or fire panels
Hosted voice for main lines	The phone system, not life-safety lines	Phones move to a cloud system	Varies	Can solve Kari’s Law and location settings in one project	Not a fit for alarm or elevator lines

My recommendation by scenario

• Single school or small charter network (1 to 3 buildings): one gateway per building for elevator, area of refuge and fax lines, and a quote from your alarm company for the fire panel.
• District with 10 to 30 campuses: standardize one gateway provider for non-fire lines, pilot it at the campus with the worst signal, and roll out in summer waves.
• Large district with its own security dispatch: route elevator and area of refuge calls to your dispatch first, with an off-site roll-over, and confirm 911 location by building and room.
• Rural campus with weak cellular: test both carriers on site before buying. You may need an external antenna or a wired path.

How implementation works

1. Inventory lines by campus and by owner (facilities vs IT).
2. Ask each AHJ and the elevator inspector what they need.
3. Get two quotes per line type, and check cooperative contract options.
4. Present one budget item with monthly and one-time totals.
5. Pilot one campus over a break.
6. Roll out by notice date and calendar, testing each system before cancelling copper.

Questions to ask any provider

• Can you quote each campus separately and bill under one district account?
• How do you register 911 location for each line by building and room?
• Which of your services, if any, have been funded through E-Rate?
• Which cooperative contracts can my district use to buy from you?
• Can you install during summer, and how far ahead must I book?

Common mistakes schools make

1. Treating the phone system project and the life-safety lines as one. They have different owners and deadlines.
2. Counting on E-Rate for voice lines. Voice is not on the FY2026 list.
3. Waiting for summer when the notice date is in November. Move the fire and elevator lines first.
4. Leaving the 911 location at the district office. Each campus and building needs its own.
5. Forgetting the transportation yard and athletic fields. Their lines are often on a different account.

For every line type and approach in one place, see the POTS line replacement guide, and the AT&T copper retirement guide explains carrier notices. When your campus list is ready, request quotes for your district.