Springing into a Busy Season!
It seems like just yesterday we were coming back from Christmas break. Yet, here we are, entering one of the busiest seasons of federal grants management. Prepare yourself! You're about to be in the lovely time of year where your grants timelines overlap, your planning morphs into the beginning stages of implementation, and you have our number on speed dial for questions! And, that's exactly why we're here!
We're ready to conquer the world with you! Please let us know if you have any questions!
- Tami Knight, Mercedez Rassi, and Monica Diaz
SRSA and RLIS Projected Amounts: View, Decide, Apply!
Projected entitlement amounts for 24-25 SRSA & RLIS are now available to view on USDE's website: 2024 Master Eligibility Spreadsheet. You can only submit for one of these two grants annually. If you qualify, look at your entitlement projections and decide which grant you’d rather receive.
If you choose to apply to RLIS, no action is currently required. We will send out more information as soon as the RLIS grant application becomes available in eGrants.
If you decide to apply for SRSA, the primary contact at each SRSA-eligible LEA can expect to receive a link to apply for the grant by the end of March from no-reply.survey@connect.gov. The application is due by May 10, 2024. If you need to update your LEA’s primary or secondary contact (noted in the attached spreadsheet), please email reap@ed.gov.
Title I, Part A Required Homeless Reservation: How did we Decide on this Number?
Under section 1113(c)(3)(A) of the ESEA, an LEA must reserve sufficient Title I funds to provide services to homeless students who attend non-Title I schools that are comparable to those provided to students in Title I schools. These services may include providing educationally related support services to children in shelters and other locations where homeless children live.
Homeless Reservation Must Be Based on Needs
Each LEA should maintain documentation locally to demonstrate that the amount reserved for providing Title I, Part A services to homeless students was based on need. The Federal Program Compliance Division has worked with the Agency’s McKinney-Vento staff to develop a worksheet that LEAs can use as part of their needs assessment to assist in determining an appropriate amount of Title I, Part A funds to reserve at the LEA level for services to homeless students.
To download this worksheet click the image below:
ESSA LEA MOE: Final Determinations Available for 22-23 School Year
Maintenance of Effort (MOE) is one of the three fiscal requirements of ESSA: MOE, Comparability, and Supplement , not Supplant. If you have questions, please let us know!
TEA has completed the final ESSA local educational agency (LEA) maintenance of effort (MOE) determinations for school year 2022–2023. Follow these steps to find your determination in the GFFC Reports and Data Collections secure application:
- Log on to TEAL.
- Select “GFFC Reports and Data Collections.”
- Select “ESSA LEA MOE Report” from the Report Title drop-down menu.
- Select “2022–2023” from the School Year drop-down menu.
The “Status” column of the determination indicates whether you are compliant or noncompliant.
ESSER III Required 20% Set-Aside: Important Reminders!
Please remember, you must set aside at least 20% of your ESSER III Final Amount for academic learning loss and SEL activities. This is documented and checked for compliance through the annual USDE reports, so you need to identify the amount your district has already reported in the set-aside section.
USDE will question if your district does not identify at least 20% of your funds as part of this set-aside, so please make sure you are coding them correctly in the USDE Report!
Friendly Reminder: Provisions and Assurances
This is a reminder that when you accept federal grant funds, you make a pinky promise to follow all the rules and guidelines associated with the grant program, including using them properly and running the program in accordance with statute. We do our very best to address these requirements in our trainings, but there are always some requirements that may go unmentioned.
So, how can you stay in the know when it comes to grant requirements? You can always find your grant's Program Guidelines and Provisions and Assurances on TEA's Grant Opportunities Page. Please make sure to read these and keep on top of any erratas that may come out.
These documents are super important when managing your federal grants because audits and random validations will surround items stipulated in these documents. If you have questions on these documents, please reach out!
Grant Resources
In order to help schools implement compliant programs, TEA has published frequently asked questions for various program areas.
ESSA:
- Title I-A FAQ (06/23)
- Title II-A FAQ (06/23)
- Title IV-A FAQ (06/23)
- ESSA Private Nonprofit Equitable Services (07/23)
ESSER:
23-24 Title I District Compliance Checklist
23-24 Title II Compliance Checklist
23- 24 Title I Principal Calendar
23-24 Title I Principal Compliance Checklist
Help us plan our 24-25 PD!
Have you had a chance to respond to our quick survey regarding your professional development needs? Our aim is to provide training that fits your learning styles, and addresses topics that YOU want to learn about. The survey below (or here) will take 3-5 minutes to complete (click the arrow in the lower right corner). Thanks in advance!
Federal Programs Coffee Chats
As we are planning for next year, we'd like to know if the monthly coffee chats are a service you'd like to see us continue. Please respond to the poll below and let us know where you stand. :)
Region 15 ESSA/Title I Consultants
Email: federalprograms@esc15.net
Website: www.esc15.net/titlei
Location: 612 South Irene Street, San Angelo, TX, USA
Phone: 325-658-6571
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Region15ESC
Twitter: @Region15ESC
Tami Knight
325-481-4067
Mercedez Rassi
325-481-4090
Monica Diaz
325-481-4066