@mcc real frustrating to hear people miss the main point. In the context of a school district, they've bought into GSuite, they need hardware that can be MDMed through GSuite, Google decided they're fine with forcing them to buy new hardware. Nothing about the hardware has changed enough to warrant this, they just want the money. Being flashable to open firmware is insurance against regulation; school districts can't do it because there's no MDM and the whole point is MDM!