NCLB Title VI, Part B - Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)
The Rural Education Achievement Program, or REAP, was established in NCLB Title VI, Part B, to provide additional resources to assist rural districts in meeting state definitions of adequate yearly progress (AYP). Formula allocations are provided to about 120-130 districts in New York State each year that are identified as meeting eligibility requirements for one of the two REAP programs.
The two main components of the REAP program are the SRSA and the RLIS. The former is administered by the US Department of Education and the latter by the New York State Education Department. District eligibility for one of the two components of the program (never both) is determined by a number of variables including regional density, school population, census poverty data, and the amount of districts’ other NCLB Title allocations. Every year NYSED provides updated information to USDOE, which then calculates LEA eligibility for both program components using this and other data sources.
Federal component - Small, Rural School Achievement program, or SRSA
- 4-22-09: For a limited period, unexpended funds are still available to SRSA-eligible districts from prior years (2003-2005 and 2006-2008)
- Further information about SRSA eligibility determinations, applications, and LEA use of funds
- Listing of LEAs eligible for the federal SRSA REAP program in 2008-09
. - Application for the US Department of Education’s SRSA REAP grants are accessed through an on-line application only, at the ED E-grant website .
- Toll-free ED Grants Hotline number for assistance with the SRSA application process: 1-888-336-8930
- USDOE SRSA website
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(43KB)Certain LEAs eligible for the SRSA program (those that received more than $60,000 from applicable other NCLB funding sources in 2007-08) are not provided any funds, but are eligible to participate in a third component, the REAP-FLEX Alternative Use of Funds authority. There is no additional funding for participation in REAP-FLEX, but LEAs are allowed additional flexibility in the use of other eligible Title funds. Application for this program component, while part of SRSA eligibility, is made through the NYS Consolidated Application.
State component - Rural and Low Income Schools program, or RLIS
The US Department of Education notifies NYSED of those districts that are eligible, and NYSED then calculates the amount of allocation according to the federal formula. NYSED REAP grants are accessed through completion of the appropriate Title VI sections of the Consolidated Application.
LEAs funded consecutively in fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004 and not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) for the 2004-2005 school year must use its RLIS funding in subsequent school years to carry out improvement activities authorized in section 116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act until they meet AYP. View a list of LEAs in NYS funded in FY 2002, 2003 and 2004 here
General Information Links
- REAP Guidance
- NCLB Title VI, Part B (sections 6201-6224)
- SRSA and RLIS Funding History
For questions regarding NCLB Title VI, Part B, please call (518) 473-7155 or email emscprofdev@mail.nysed.gov .