Does Cora Alert work in older school buildings and Wi-Fi dead zones?

Yes. Cora Alert runs on a private LoRaWAN network that is independent of your district's Wi-Fi and cellular coverage. It's built for gyms, portable classrooms, parking lots, and older wings with thick walls — the locations where most school safety incidents occur and where Wi-Fi-dependent systems most often fail.

What does our IT team need to do to deploy Cora Alert?

Very little. Because Cora Alert operates on its own private network rather than your district's Wi-Fi, there is no new IT infrastructure, no network reconfiguration, and no added load on existing systems required.

Is Cora Alert available on a purchasing cooperative?

Yes. Cora Alert is available through the TIPS Cooperative Purchasing Contract #260105, under the Technology Solutions, Products & Services category. TIPS is a national purchasing cooperative, so public agencies and school districts can purchase directly without a separate RFP or competitive bid.

How can our district fund a Cora Alert deployment?

Most districts fund school safety technology through a combination of sources: the federal COPS School Violence Prevention Program, an annual competitive grant covering up to 75% of qualifying costs (up to $500,000 per district); state-level school safety funding allocations, where they exist; and TIPS cooperative purchasing, which removes the procurement barrier that usually slows a purchase most. Cora Alert can help map costs to your district's specific funding line during a scoping call.

Michigan School Safety
— $310 Million Is Already Funded
Michigan appropriated $310 million for school safety and student mental health this year, and "emergency response systems" is a named allowable use. Cora Alert delivers room-level location and private LoRaWAN coverage that works everywhere on campus — including the places your Wi-Fi doesn't reach. Help is One Tap Away™

TIPS Cooperative Purchasing Contract 260105 badge -- Technology Solutions Products and Services category

Michigan's Section 31aa Funding — $310 Million for 2026-27 - Opt-in, not competitive. The only question is how your district allocates it.

Section 31aa of the State School Aid Act is the largest and least competitive pool of safety money Michigan districts have ever had — $310 million for FY 2026-27, roughly $206.7 million for student safety and $103.3 million for mental health. It is opt-in, not competitive: no scoring rubric, no narrative, no grant writer. In FY 2025-26 the per-pupil portion ran about $140 per student, meaning a 5,000-student district received roughly $700,000.

MDE's allowable-use guidance for the safety half names emergency response systems, crisis communication, security infrastructure, buzzer systems, and comprehensive security assessments. A staff-initiated alert platform sits squarely in that first category. Most districts spend this money on cameras and door hardware, then discover in the spring that a staff member standing in a gym still has no way to summon help.

The question most Michigan vendors won't answer

Wi-Fi-dependent systems fail in dead zones — and Michigan has a lot of them. 1950s masonry. Additions built in three different decades. Block-walled gymnasiums. Portable classrooms. Parking lots and athletic fields that were never in scope when the wireless network was designed. Those are precisely the places where a staff member is most likely to be alone with a problem.

A panic button that doesn't work in your gym isn't a safety system. It's a line item with a coverage gap.

One tap. Room-level location. Works everywhere on campus.

Cora Alert runs on a private LoRaWAN network — dedicated radio infrastructure we install, independent of your school's IT network, your Wi-Fi coverage map, and your internet uptime. One tap on a wearable tag, under three seconds, no app to open and no phone to unlock. The alert carries room-level location, not a building name. Every designated responder is notified at once.

It matters more in Michigan than most states. When the House considered the panic alarm bills, Representative Greg Markkanen raised the problem for the districts he represents: schools thirty or more minutes from law enforcement. In a thirty-minute-response county, the first several minutes belong entirely to your staff.

Four ways Michigan districts are paying for this

Section 31aa is the front door — $310 million, opt-in, with emergency response systems as a named allowable use.

Sinking fund millage is the most under-used path in Michigan. MCL 380.1212 expressly includes, within "school security improvements," a mobile application that enables on-site communication and emergency 911 connectivity. Michigan law names our product category. Two limits: the expanded uses apply only to millage voters authorized after March 2017, and the authority is capital — acquisition and installation qualify, recurring subscription does not.

COPS School Violence Prevention Program has the strongest federal language: one of its five purpose areas is "acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency." $500,000 cap, 25% local match. The FY 2026 window has closed; FY 2027 is what you build toward.

Title IV-A brought Michigan $38.7 million for 2025-2026 and flows by formula through your consolidated application, so there's no separate deadline to chase — just a conversation with your federal programs coordinator.

Purchase Through TIPS Cooperative — Already Under Contract

Michigan has not enacted Alyssa's Law. Panic-alert bills were introduced in 2025 and remain in committee. There is no Michigan mandate, no required vendor, and no state-approved product list — so be skeptical of anyone selling you compliance with a law that doesn't exist yet.

Cora Alert holds TIPS Cooperative Purchasing contract #260105 (Technology Solutions, Products & Services). TIPS membership is free and open to Michigan school districts, ISDs, public school academies, universities, and community colleges.

Michigan requires competitive bids above a statutory threshold — roughly $28,000 under MCL 380.1274 — and a district-wide deployment clears it. Running your own solicitation means a specification, an advertisement, a bid window, an evaluation, and a board agenda item: realistically a full semester. Purchasing from an already-awarded TIPS contract lets your business office go to the board with pricing in hand. We'll provide the solicitation documentation for your file.

TIPS Contract: #260105 | Category: Technology Solutions, Products & Services

View Cora Alert on TIPS →

A full campus safety system — not just a panic button

Alert Locator Tags — wearable, IP67 water/shock resistant, ~1-year rechargeable battery. One tap activates a silent alert with room-level location.
Managed BLE Beacons — installed throughout your campus. 5+ year battery life. Remote battery monitoring via LoRaWAN — the system alerts you before there's ever a dead device. No staff dependency, no surprises.
LoRaWAN Gateways — private network, up to 1,000 ft range, penetrates complex structures. No Wi-Fi dependency — built for the rural and older-building realities of Michigan campuses.
Alert Panel — fixed display showing staff location and alert status in real time.
AI incident summarization — real-time summary of what's happening so responders know the situation before they arrive.
Facilities sensors (available) — door/window sensors on the same LoRaWAN network verify your locked-door policy is actually working.
E-911 Integration — optional Intrado integration connects Cora Alert directly to 911/PSAP infrastructure.

20 minutes. No sales pressure. Just answers.

Your buildings: construction era, outbuildings, athletic facilities — we'll tell you roughly what your campus needs and where the coverage questions are.

Your funding: which source fits which part of the cost, with scope language your business office can attach to a 31aa expenditure plan.

Your IT requirements: very few, because we don't run on your network.

Your approval path: board timeline, ISD coordination, and a realistic in-service date.

Book a 20-Minute Call