2009-2012 NCLB Title II Part D Enhancing Education through Technology Questions & Answers
If an LEA meets one of the eligibility criteria listed in the guidelines as documented in Attachment 1, can the LEA apply? For instance, if an LEA meets the 20% of students in poverty requirement, the LEA would be eligible regardless if the LEA meets the SINI criteria or the technology criteria. Is this correct?
Based on NCLB/EETT Legislation Sec. 2403, eligible applicants can be either “a high-need local educational agency” or "an eligible local partnership”
- to be considered as a high-need local educational agency,
- One LEA (school district or charter school) must have the high concentration of students in poverty (2,000 students or 20% of students in poverty) AND
- one of the other two criteria:
- (Either one or more schools identified as in need of improvement (SINI) or corrective action under section 1116 of NCLB
- Or schools or technology needs as defined with lower than state average student-computer ratio).
If the LEA only meets one criterion, the LEA is not considered as a high-need local educational agency for the purpose of the EETT Competitive Grant application. That is, your LEA must have a. and bi. or a. and bii to be considered as a high-need LEA. Having only a. will not qualify your LEA to be a high-need LEA. Having only b. (even bi and bii) will not make your LEA a high-need LEA.
PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT 1 TO DETERMINE WHICH PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE HIGH-NEED LEAS.
- to be eligible as an eligible local partnership, the application shall include at least one high-need local educational agency (defined above) and at least one:
- local educational agency with successful experiences in effectively integrating technology and proven teaching practices into teaching and learning;
- higher education institution;
- public, non-profit or for-profit organization and business and other local education institutions such as BOCES, libraries, and cultural institutions with established experiences in technology integration and appropriate to provide local programs.
Can you clarify how you determined a district was considered for the "Meets the Technology Criteria" category for eligibility? If we apply, I want to make sure it supports why we qualify.
SED determined that LEAs with a student to (high-end) computer ratio of 3:1 meet the technology criteria Those districts are indicated on Attachment 1.
Under the new eligibility criteria, only one of our school districts is deemed as a “high-need local educational agency”. Would I be correct in that having only one high need LEA would be sufficient to keep our partnership intact to apply for this new funding?
Yes. A consortium/partnership application needs at least one “high-need local education agency” to be eligible.
One of the program requirements stated that while a grant award may be made to a partnership, the focus of the grant must be on addressing the identified needs of those schools and districts in need of improvement within in the consortium. Does this mean if a school district(s) does not meet the SINI criteria it will not be able to receive funds from the grant even if meets the Technology criteria?
No. Any LEA (public school district, charter school or BOCES) may apply as a member of a partnership that includes at least one high-need LEA.
If a school district with one school building identified as a SINI just managed to get off the SINI list thanks to great efforts of the teachers and students, are they still eligible as a “high-need local education agency”?
It is eligible as a “high-need local education agency” only if it has 2,000 or 20% students in poverty and has been identified for its technology needs.
Does an application for the Titile IID/EETT Competitive Grant have to be written and submitted by a school district? Can an individual school building or building(s) directly apply?
Individual school buildings cannot apply. Applications must be submitted by school districts, BOCES, charter schools or New York City Community School Districts.
Would it be possible to partner with a Children's Defense Fund school for this grant?
Yes. However, at least one high-need LEA must be included in the application. See Attachment 1 for which LEAs are high-need.
Are charter schools eligible?
Yes. However, there must be a minimum of 750 students in poverty served to be able to apply. Many charter schools need to apply as a consortium/partnership for their application(s) in order to meet this minimum.
Can our partnership/consortium have members that do not meet the three criteria items listed above?
Yes.
Does the "high-need local education agency" need to be the fiscal agent?
No. Another local education agency, including BOCES, can serve as a fiscal agent. Such a decision is the result of the consultation among participating LEAs as for which LEA would serve as a fiscal agent. But a consortium application must have at least one high-need local education agency.
How come the number of students in poverty cited in Attachment 1 for our district is considerably lower than the number indicated by the NYSED Child Nutrition Management System (Free and Reduced Lunch Program)?
Students in poverty is adjusted Census Data provided by USDOE for Title I Funds. All NCLB Title Funds are distributed using that data as required by USDOE. While the data has been based on the 2000 Census data, it is adjusted annually. No alternative approach will be considered.
Can an LEA with less than 750 students in poverty apply on their own or must they participate in a consortium/partnership application?
An LEA with fewer than 750 students in poverty, cannot apply on its own. It must participate in a consortium/partnership application.
Can a BOCES serve as the lead application to serve a consortium of school districts, including several high-need local educational agencies?
Yes. A BOCES can serve as the lead LEA or fiscal agent to apply in a consortium/partnership with both high-need LEAs as well as non-high-need LEAs.
Can an LEA not identified as a high-need local educational agency apply as the lead applicant/fiscal agent of a consortium involving at least one high-need local educational agency?
Yes. Any LEA can serve as the lead LEA or fiscal agent of a consortium involving at least one high-need local educational agency. The focus should be on the needs of the high-need school district(s). The focus is defined here as additional consideration in the form of extra resources and assistance to the special needs of the high-need LEAs. However, it does not limit the grant project to serve only the high-need LEA(s) in a consortium/partnership application. One of the desired outcomes of consortium/partnership applications would be to leverage digital resources to make an impact on students’ academic performance and technology usage as much as possible and in more cost-effective ways.
Can a district apply on their own and be part of another consortium/partnership application? Can a district be in more than one partnership applications?
No. An LEA can participate in only one application.
Can a BOCES serve as the lead application to serve a consortium of school districts, including several high-need local educational agencies?
Yes.
Can an LEA not identified as a high-need local educational agency apply and be the lead applicant/fiscal agent of a consortium involving at least one high-need local educational agency?
Yes.
Is the page limit for the narrative of the application 10 or 20 pages?
It is 20 single-spaced pages for the narrative.. This does not include the application cover page, application abstract, charts, budget category and narrative forms and the FS-20 budget.
What documentation is sufficient to demonstrate “a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology”? SED has indicated the LEAs with that need on Attachment 1. Applicants do not need to submit any documentation.
If our school is identified as a high-need LEA but with less than 750 students in poverty, what application grant range is permitted?
If a high-need LEA does not have the minimum 750 students in poverty, it must form a consortium/partnership to apply for the grant. Then the award range will be determined by the number of students in poverty in the consortium/partnership. Would our district’s proposal be penalized if we included social studies in our professional development model in addition to the subject areas listed?
While the focus of the EETT Competitive Grants is on the core subject areas of ELA, Math and Science, it promotes the use of technology as an interdisciplinary approach towards teaching and learning. Therefore, district’s proposal including social studies in professional development will not be viewed negatively nor penalized in the review process.
How can one determine the amount of funds that a school district can request?
The number of students in poverty in the LEA or consortium/partnership determines the amount of funds that may be requested. For instance, one LEA, identified as a high-need LEA with 1,750 students in poverty, can apply for an award up to $150,000. If the LEA forms a partnership with neighboring LEAs with a combined total of 2,650 students in poverty, the LEA can then apply for an award of $300,000.
Does a high-need LEA or consortium have to meet the requirement of the minimum of 750 students in poverty to be eligible to apply? Can an LEA with less than 750 students in poverty apply on its own or must it participate in a consortium/partnership application?
The minimum number of students in poverty for applications is 750. If an LEA or consortium does not have the required minimum 750 students in poverty, it cannot apply.
One of the program requirements stated that while a grant award may be made to a partnership, the focus of the grant must be on addressing the identified needs of the schools in need of improvement within in the consortium. Does this mean if a school district(s) does not meet the SINI criteria it will not be able to receive funds from the grant even if meets the Technology criteria?
Any LEA can apply as a consortium lead as long as at least one high-need LEA is included in the application. A high-need LEA is one with at least 20% or 2,000 students in poverty AND with one or more SINI school OR with a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology.
While many charter schools are on the eligibility list, only one is in SINI status. If the proposal came from a group of charter schools, not including Enterprise CS, the proposal would not be able to address the “focus” on SINI requirement.
A SINI does not have to be included in the application. However, if a SINI is included, the needs of the SINI must be addressed first.
The different funding levels on page 5 break out options for different sized districts, starting with 750-1,999 students up to $150,000, and then 2000-5,999 students up to $300,000. However, the section earlier in the application materials on page 2 says: “eligible applicants for Title IID must be a high-need local education agency” that “Has at least 20% or 2,000 students from families with incomes below the poverty line,” Operates one or more schools identified as in need of improvement, OR“has a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology.” Can districts that have between 750 and 1,999 apply?
The number of 2,000 students in poverty or 20% of students in poverty is one of two criteria for determining the high-need status of a LEA. To apply for this grant, the minimum number of students in poverty an LEA or consortium must have is 750. The total number of students in poverty included in the application determines the amount of funds that can be requested. A consortium application with 7 school districts and a combined total of 2,585 students in poverty can apply for up to $300,000.
At the bottom of page 2 it says "applications must engage with appropriate private schools". Since charter schools draw students from various communities, how do they address this requirement?
The consultation requirement does not apply to charter schools as they do not have “district boundaries”.
Can we pay for substitute reimbursement for teachers that participate in professional development via the grant?
Yes.
Can we pay stipends from the grant to teachers for work done outside their regular work day for lesson plan preparation/curriculum work and data research? Yes. Funds can be used to pay for teachers "work done outside their regular work day for lesson plan preparation/curriculum work and data research." the work must be directly related to the project activities with focus on technology integration.
In the RFP, applicants are required to allocation 10% of the grant funds towards evaluation, 5% or half of which will be set aside to be used for student technology literacy.
Can we collaborate among funded projects to develop common strategies or service providers to fulfill this requirement rather each project will pursue it individually?
Yes, when awards are granted to selected applications, awarded projects will be provided opportunities to collaborate and coordinate in their efforts to address this program accountability measure.
4/8/09