School and Library Improvement Block Grant FAQs
Responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the School and Library Improvement Block Grant.
- Which programs are included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant?
The School and Library Improvement Block Grant combines funding for the following programs into a single block grant:
- School Library Materials Program
- School Improvement Program
- Who is eligible for School and Library Improvement Block Grant funding?
Local educational agencies are eligible for funding from the School and Library Improvement Block Grant if they received funding in 2003-04 from either of the two programs that were included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant.
Charter schools are also eligible to receive block grant funding to the extent they received funding in 2003-04 from the School Library Materials program. Charter schools received funding in 2003-04 in lieu of the School Improvement Program through the Charter School Categorical Block Grant and, hence, are not eligible to receive School and Library Improvement Block Grant funding based on participation in the School Improvement Program.
Due to recently enacted legislation, Assembly Bill 740 (Chapter 359, Statutes of 2005), beginning in 2006-07, the School and Library Improvement Block Grant is included in the list of programs for which charter schools may not apply separately due to participation in the Charter School Categorical Block Grant. Hence, beginning in 2006-07, charter schools will no longer be eligible to receive funding directly from the School and Library Improvement Block Grant but will receive funding in lieu of this block grant through the Charter School Categorical Block Grant.
- How may School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds be used?
School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds may be used at the local educational agency level or allocated to schools within the local educational agency. Funds may be used for any purpose of the School Library Materials program and School Improvement Program, with the following limitations:
- If a local educational agency did not participate in the School Improvement Program prior to January 1, 2004, the local educational agency must use School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds for the School Library Materials program.
- If a local educational agency allocates School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to a school site, the local educational agency must have school-level advisory committees and single school plans that adhere to the requirements in Education Code Section 18181, which outlines the requirements of a district-wide school library plan and the requirements in Education Code sections 52014 and 52015, which outline the activities and components to be included in school-level plans required by the School Improvement Program.
- Consistent with the requirements for School Library Materials and the School Improvement Program funds in California Education Code Section 63001, which was not repealed by Assembly Bill 825, at least 85 percent of School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds must be used at school sites for direct services to pupils. The remaining 15 percent may be used for other, non-direct service costs, including administration.
- What are the purposes of the programs included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant?
The purposes of the programs included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant are as follows:
School Library Materials. The purpose of the School Library Materials program is to provide funding for library resources including books, periodicals, microforms, audio-visual materials, computer software, CD ROMs, and equipment necessary to provide access to library resources within the school library and from online sources.
School Improvement Programs. The purpose of School Improvement Programs is for elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools to improve instruction, services, and school environment and organization according to school site plans developed by school site councils. Education Code Section 52015 lists a broad range of activities as required components of the school site plan, including:
- Curricula, instructional strategies, and materials that enable all pupils to do all of the following:
- Make continuous progress and learn at a rate appropriate to their abilities
- Master basic skills in language development and reading, writing, and mathematics
- Develop knowledge and skills in other aspects of the curriculum, such as arts and humanities; physical, natural and social sciences; multicultural education; physical, emotional, and mental health; consumer economics; and career education
- Pursue educational interests and develop esteem for self and others, personal and social responsibility, critical thinking, and independent judgment
- Instructional and auxiliary services to meet the special needs of pupils of limited-English proficiency, educationally disadvantaged pupils, and pupils with exceptional abilities or needs
- Staff development programs for teachers, other school personnel, and paraprofessionals
- Improvement of the classroom and school environments, including improvement of relationships between and among pupils, school personnel, parents, and the community, and reduction of the incidence among pupils of violence and vandalism
- Other school improvement activities approved by the school site council
- The proposed expenditure of allowances provided to support the School Improvement Program
- Ongoing evaluation and modification of the school improvement plan by the council, based on information regarding:
- The degree to which the school is meeting its improvement objectives as assessed by parents, teachers, other school personnel, and pupils
- Pupil achievement
- Improved school environment as measured by indicators such as the incidence among pupils of absenteeism, suspension, expulsion, and dropouts and the incidence and costs of school violence, vandalism, and theft of school or private property while participating in school activities; pupil attitudes toward school, self, and others; incidence of absenteeism, resignations and requests for transfers among teachers and other school personnel; and satisfaction of teachers, pupils, parents, administrators, and other school personnel with school services and decision-making processes
- The degree to which fiscal expenditures meet the criteria of the school improvement plan
- Improvement of pupil attendance, including parent awareness of the importance of regular school attendance
- How much funding is available for the School and Library Improvement Block Grant?
The Budget Act for 2005-06 provides $422,421,000 in funding for the School and Library Improvement Block Grant. We note that the amount of funding provided for the School and Library Improvement Block Grant does not recognize the additional $4.4 million in “one-time funding” that was appropriated for School Library Materials in the 2003-04 base year.
- How much funding will local educational agencies receive from the School and Library Improvement Block Grant?
Each local educational agency’s 2005-06 allocation is to be based on the proportion of ongoing funding it received for School Library Materials and School Improvement Programs for 2003-04 relative to the total ongoing statewide funding for these programs for 2003-04. Although local educational agencies did receive both one-time and ongoing funding in 2003-04 for School Library Materials, the funding provided for the School and Library Improvement Block Grant in the Budget Act for 2005-06 does not reflect the one-time funding. Therefore, the one-time funding available in 2003-04 for School Library Materials will not be included in the calculation of each local educational agency’s proportionate share of funding. In subsequent years, local educational agencies will receive the level of funding they received in the 2005-06 fiscal year adjusted for pupil growth and cost of living.
- Will local educational agencies receive annual funding adjustments for pupil growth and cost of living? If yes, at what rates?
Yes, each local educational agency’s allocation is to be adjusted each year, beginning in 2006-07, based on the rate of annual statewide growth in enrollment in kindergarten and grades one through twelve and the cost of living adjustment on district base revenue limits. We note that in any year the statutory rates for growth and cost of living may be increased, reduced, or eliminated by provisions negotiated as part of the annual Budget Act.
- When will School and Library Improvement Block Grant funding be allocated?
The first 80 percent of School and Library Improvement Block Grant funding will be allocated in December 2005. The remaining 20 percent will be allocated in the following June.
- What are the limits on transfers of funds to and from the School and Library Improvement Block Grant?
Funds may be transferred to and from the School and Library Improvement Block Grant with the following limitations:
- Up to 15 percent of the amount allocated by the state to a local educational agency for this block grant for any fiscal year can be transferred to any other categorical program or block grant for which the local educational agency is eligible for funding, including programs whose funding is not part of a block grant established by Assembly Bill 825.
- The total funding received for any fiscal year by a program or block grant to which funds are transferred may not exceed 120 percent of the amount of state funding allocated to the local educational agency for that program or block grant for the same fiscal year.
- Prior to the expenditure of transferred funds, the local educational agency’s governing board is required to hold a noticed public meeting to discuss the matter.
- Local educational agencies must track transfers in and transfers out of the block grants. Assembly Bill 831, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2005 was recently enacted, striking the requirement in AB 825 that Object Code 8998 be used to track the transfers. Please use Object Code 8995 to track the transfers in and out of the School and Library Improvement Block Grant.
- Education Code Section 41570 specifies that a school district may use School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds for any purpose authorized by School Library Materials and School Improvement Program statutes as they read on January 1, 2004. If a school district did not participate in the School Improvement Program prior to January 1, 2004, can the block grant funds be used for any School Improvement Program purpose?
No. The statutes governing the School and Library Improvement Block Grant specify that if a district did not receive School Improvement Program funds prior to January 1, 2004, but did receive School Library Materials funds for 2003-04, the block grant funds must be used for library materials. Education Code Section 18183 defines school library materials as books, periodicals, microforms, audio-visual materials, computer software, CD ROMs, and equipment necessary to provide access to library resources within the school library and from online sources.
- May schools that did not previously receive allocations of School Improvement Program funding receive allocations under the School and Library Improvement Block Grant?
Yes. Districts that received School Improvement Program funds in the 2003-04 base year may allocate funds to any school for any School Improvement Program and or School Library Materials purpose. A single school site plan with a library component is required at every school site that receives block grant funds.
- Are districts eligible to transfer their School and Library Block Grant funds into a School-Based Coordinated Program?
Yes. The flexibility allowed by a School-Based Coordinated Program will continue. A district may transfer some or all of its School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to a School-Based Coordinated Program provided that the district participated in the School Improvement Program in 2003-04. If the district did not participate in the School Improvement Program in 2003-04, then the block grant must be spent for School Library program purposes and cannot be transferred for School-Based Coordination program purposes. The School-Based Coordinated Program transfer is independent of the 15 percent limit on transfers out of this block grant.
- If a district was basic aid in 2003-04 and chose to take its statutorily required categorical funding cut (pursuant to Chapter 227, Statutes of 2003, Section 38) in a program that is included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant, will that cut be reflected in the amount of block grant funding the district receives?
No. For the purpose of establishing block grant funding for basic aid districts, Education Code Section 41501(a) holds basic aid districts harmless by not including the funding reductions made pursuant to statute (Chapter 227, Statutes of 2003, Section 38) in the base year funding tallies, thereby making base year funding whole for each basic aid district.
- Has the School and Library Improvement Block Grant been assigned a Resource Code?
Yes. The School and Library Improvement Block Grant has been assigned Resource Code 7395.
- Has the School and Library Improvement Block Grant been assigned a Revenue Object Code?
Yes. All six block grants have been assigned Revenue Object Code 8590.
- Can indirect costs be charged to the School and Library Improvement Block Grant? If yes, at which rate?
Yes. Consistent with the California Department of Education's existing indirect cost rate guidance, the School and Library Improvement Block Grant may be charged for indirect costs. The amount charged may not exceed the local educational agency's approved indirect cost rate except that a local educational agency’s costs for anything other than direct services to pupils may not exceed 15 percent of the amount apportioned by the state for the block grant each year, pursuant to Education Code Section 63001. Further information on indirect costs can be found on the California Department of Education Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/ic/.
- How should carryover from programs included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant from fiscal years prior to 2005-06 be used?
Carryover funds for programs included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant from fiscal years prior to 2005-06 must be used according to the laws governing the original appropriation of such funds.
- What is the relationship between the district-wide school library plan, the school-level plans for School Improvement Programs, and the single school plan required for the School Library Improvement Block Grant?
Prior to inclusion in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant, the School Improvement Program statutes specified components and activities of school-level plans for School Improvement Program purposes. In addition, the statutes governing School Library Materials required a district-wide school library plan. Now, both the School Improvement Program and the School Library Materials programs are included in the School and Library Improvement Block Grant. The statutes governing the School and Library Improvement Block Grant require local educational agencies that receive School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to incorporate the requirements of both the district-wide library plan and the school-level plans into single school plans.
- If a local educational agency chooses to allocate all of its School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to school sites for the purposes of the School Improvement Program, does the district-wide library plan still need to be included in the single school plan?
Yes. The statutes governing the School and Library Improvement Block Grant clearly require local educational agencies that receive School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to incorporate the requirements of both the district-wide library plan and the school-level plans into single school plans.
- The statutes governing the School and Library Improvement Block Grant specify that if a district did not receive School Improvement Program funds prior to January 1, 2004, but did receive School Library Materials funds for 2003-04, the block grant funds must be used for library materials. In this instance or if local educational agencies choose to allocate School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to school sites only for the purposes of School Library Materials must the single school plan include components and activities of school-level plans for School Improvement Program purposes?
Yes. If School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds are allocated to school sites, then the single school plan requirements in Assembly Bill 825 must be met. These requirements include incorporating both the district-wide plan and the school-level plan components into a single school plan.
- Is the single school plan the same thing as the local educational agency plan required for the No Child Left Behind Act?
No. The local educational agency plan is a district plan and the single school plan is a school-level plan.
- Do the single school plans required by Assembly Bill 825 need approval by the local governing board?
Yes. Local governing board approval of the single school plans is required.
- What is the schedule for updating single school plans?
The schedule for updating single school plans is determined by the district or county office of education.
- Does the school-level advisory committee, required by the statutes governing the School and Library Improvement Block Grant, have the authority to determine the level of funding allocated for school library materials and school improvement purposes?
No. The allocation of School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds is determined at the local educational agency level.
- When a district distributes School and Library Improvement Block Grant funds to school sites, what determines how the funds are used?
If a district chooses to allocate funds to a school site, the funds shall be spent according to the district-approved single school plan.
- Is information available for writing a district-wide school library plan?
Information about developing a library plan at the school site level will be posted at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/lb/.
- Do some ready-made resources exist to help with library planning?
Yes. In addition to the resources mentioned on the California Department of Education library Web site, new easy-to-reproduce resources include:
- Is information available regarding the School Improvement Program components, such as school-based coordinated programs and school plans?
Information and resources regarding school improvement can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/singleplan.asp.
