October 13, 2008
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
Subject: Free email domain name registration for LEAs
Many districts have the issue that they must pay a third party to register their Internet domain names (such as austinisd.org), and that the registration can expire without their knowledge. Their domain name can then be resold to another entity that may or may not be reputable, and the district faces the problem of losing Internet connectivity and email service until they register a new domain name. This has already happened to more than one Texas school district, with the result that they had to change email addresses for all personnel, stopped receiving notifications from TEA’s SENS and TEASE systems among others, and had many major business processes completely disrupted until they could find and register an alternative name.
The Texas Department of Information Resources is the administrator of the *.tx.us domain, and as such can offer free domain name registration for LEAs that would like to have an address such as [district].k12.tx.us. This registration does not expire, so LEAs never have to worry about losing it. DIR will not take on any administrative responsibilities or control of LEA networks; they will only perform the same function as domain name registrars such as Network Solutions, Register.com, Domain.com, or GoDaddy.com, and they will do it for free.
We encourage all LEAs to consider taking advantage of this service, both to save money and also to avoid the network disruption and administrative costs associated with losing a domain name. To find out more or to sign up for this registration, please contact DIR directly as shown below:
The Texas Regional Hostmaster
P.O. Box 300481
Houston, Texas 77230-0481
Phone: 713-298-9153
Fax: 713-842-3526
Sincerely,
Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education
RPS/wn