December 21, 2023

Dear Select Charter School Administrators:

New and Expanding Charter Schools Application for Title III English Learner Student Program Subgrant

Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Title III, Part A, the California Department of Education (CDE) provides formula subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) that enroll one or more English learner (EL) students. Title III funds are to be used to provide supplementary programs and services to EL students. In addition, a state educational agency shall not award a Title III EL Student Program subgrant in an amount that is less than $10,000 (20 United States Code Section 6824[b]). The LEAs eligible to receive a subgrant of less than $10,000 must join or form a consortium where the subgrant generated by the participating LEAs collectively equals or surpasses $10,000, apply via the Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS), and complete the Consortium Online Application (COA).

Based on the estimated data reported in the 2023 Pupil Estimates for New or Significantly Expanding Charters Report, your LEA is identified as direct-funded eligible for a Title III EL Student Program Subgrant in fiscal year (FY) 2023–24. The preliminary per-pupil amount in FY 2023–24 is $123.85.

All eligible LEAs must annually apply for a Title III EL Student Program subgrant on CARS. Additionally, using the Title III EL Student Program Subgrant Budget form on CARS, LEAs must provide a program budget showing how the projected subgrant will be used. Information regarding the CARS application process is available on the CDE CARS web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/co/cars.asp. LEAs must accept assurances that they will comply with the legal requirements and annual reporting responsibilities related to state and federal programs and, as a condition of funding, must keep copies of the assurances on file.

Eligibility and funding status may change once the actual data is reported via the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. If this occurs, eligibility and funding status may change from direct-funded eligible to consortium eligible status. If the LEA eligibility falls below the $10,000 amount because of the actual data, the LEA will be required to form or join a consortium to participate in the Title III EL Student Program subgrant. The COA is available on the CDE Title III Consortium Application web page at https://www2.cde.ca.gov/title3coa/logon_el2324.aspx. Information regarding program requirements is available on the CDE Request for Applications web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r28/el23rfa.asp. Subgrantee allocations are posted on the CDE Title III English Learner and Immigrant Student Programs web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/titleiii.asp.

All LEAs applying for ESSA funds must locally maintain an annually updated Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Federal Addendum as the ESSA LEA Plan. LEAs applying for Title III EL Student Program subgrants for the first time must submit a local governing board or body-approved LCAP Federal Addendum through the CDE LCAP Federal Addendum System at https://www2.cde.ca.gov/lcapfas for CDE review and approval on or before March 31, 2024. Upon submitting the LCAP Federal Addendum within the CDE’s LCAP Federal Addendum submission system, the CDE will review the LCAP Federal Addendum and will work with the LEA to ensure that its LCAP Federal Addendum addresses all required provisions of the ESSA programs for which they are applying for federal education funds. The LEA’s LCAP Federal Addendum must address all required provisions of the ESSA programs for which they are applying by July 15, 2024, in order to receive federal Title funds for the 2023–24 school year. LEAs are encouraged to review the LCAP Federal Addendum annually with their LCAP, as ESSA funding should be considered in yearly strategic planning.

If you have questions regarding the Title III EL Student Program, please contact Geoffrey Ndirangu, Education Programs Consultant, Language Policy and Leadership Office, by phone at 916-323-5831 or by email at Gndirang@cde.ca.gov.

If you have questions regarding fiscal reporting of expenditures of Title III EL Student Program subgrants or the application process, please contact Annie Abreu Park, Staff Services Analyst, Division Support Office, by phone at 916-319-9620 or by email at Aabreupark@cde.ca.gov.

If you have questions regarding the allocation of Title III EL Student Program subgrants to LEAs, please contact Derrick Andrade, Education Fiscal Services Consultant, School Fiscal Services Division, by phone at 916-327-5922 or by email at Dandrade@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/

Alesha Moreno-Ramirez, Director
Multilingual Support Division

AMR:gn