April 13, 2006
Dear County and District Superintendents, and Direct-funded Charter School Administrators:
The purpose of this letter is to provide an update on the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP). This includes information on this year’s 2005-06 grants, as well as eligibility and use of funds for future grants.
REAP is designed to assist rural school districts in using federal resources more effectively to improve the quality of instruction and student academic achievement (No Child Left Behind [NCLB] Act, Title VI, Part B). It consists of two separate programs – the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program and the Rural and Low-Income Schools (RLIS) program.
The SRSA program provides eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) with greater flexibility in using certain federal formula grant funds (REAP-Flex). It also may provide additional funds to support a wide range of activities that promote student achievement. Participation in SRSA (both REAP-Flex and the SRSA grants) is limited to those LEAs that meet the following criteria:
- The LEA must have a total average daily attendance (ADA) of less than 600 students OR serve only schools that are located in counties that have a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; AND
- The LEA must serve only schools that have a school locale code of 7 or 8 (assigned by the U.S. Department of Education’s [ED] National Center for Education Statistics [NCES]) OR be located in an area of the state defined as rural by a governmental agency of the state.
The RLIS program is an initiative that provides additional funds to rural LEAs that serve concentrations of children from families with incomes below the poverty level. An LEA is eligible for RLIS if:
- All schools served by the LEA have a school locale code of 6, 7, or 8 (assigned by the NCES); AND
- Twenty percent or more of the children ages 5 to 17 served by the LEA are from families with incomes below the poverty line (as determined by the Census); AND
- The LEA is not eligible to participate in the SRSA program.
Grant Eligibility and Funding for 2005-06
The 2005-06 grants for both the SRSA program and the RLIS program were delayed due to data corrections. The corrected data and the revised eligibility list for both grants have now been posted on the California Department of Education (CDE) Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/rp. Those LEAs with SRSA grants affected by the corrected data will be contacted directly by ED.
The SRSA grant is paid directly to LEAs from ED. Grantees are required to use ED’s electronic Grants and Awards Payment System (GAPS). Funding for those LEAs deemed ineligible at the beginning of the year, but subsequently determined eligible when the data were corrected, will be paid through the GAPS system. However, the availability of those funds may be delayed until after July 1, 2006. If you have questions concerning SRSA eligibility or funding, please contact Debbie Rury from CDE’s NCLB Coordination and Implementation Office at 916-319-0651. If you have questions concerning GAPS, please contact Robert Hitchcock from ED by e-mail at Robert.Hitchcock@ed.gov or by phone at 202-260-1472.
The 2005-06 RLIS grant award letters were recently distributed. If you are eligible for RLIS but have not yet received a 2005-06 grant award letter, please contact Nancy Cook from CDE’s School Fiscal Services Division at 916-324-4549.
Data Review
A Preliminary Eligibility Spreadsheet for 2006-07 REAP grants is currently being posted on the CDE Web site. This will give LEAs the opportunity to verify their mailing address, telephone, average daily attendance (ADA) data (which is based on 2004-05 P2), and the entitlements received in 2005-06 for Title II, Part A (Improving Teacher Quality); Title II, Part D (Education Technology); Title IV, Part A (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities); and Title V (Innovative Programs). The data for ADA and entitlements received in 2005-06 should include any locally funded charters authorized by the LEA. Direct-funded or independent charters are treated as their own LEA.
All of this information is part of the following funding formula for SRSA:
- First 50 students in ADA = $20,000.
- Add $100 for each student in ADA above 50 (total amount not to exceed $60,000).
- Subtract total allocations from preceding fiscal year for Title II, Part A; Title II, Part D; Title IV, Part A; and Title V.
If you feel that any information in the Preliminary Eligibility Spreadsheet is incorrect, please contact Debbie Rury as soon as possible at drury@cde.ca.gov or 916-319-0651. Data corrections that can be made now will prevent grant delays for next year.
Also, please check the locale codes assigned to your LEA on the Preliminary Eligibility Spreadsheet. Even though there is no appeal of locale code assignment through NCES, if the information indicates not all schools in your LEA have a locale code of 7 or 8, your LEA may still be eligible for SRSA if it meets California’s definition of rural, as follows:
A rural local educational agency is one which is located within an incorporated or unincorporated place which has a district resident population of less than 2,500, or has a population center less than 1,000 persons, and is characterized by sparse, widespread population.
You can access total district resident population data on the U.S. Census Web site at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/index.html (Outside Source) . If you can certify that your LEA meets this definition, you may submit a signed “Annual Certification of Rural in California” form (see Attachment 1) to the NCLB Implementation and Coordination Office, 1430 N Street, Suite 6208, Sacramento, CA 95814. There is no specific deadline for submittal at this time, but corrections made by April 30, 2006, will prevent grant delays for next year.
Another problem that has surfaced in our data involves direct-funded charter schools. Because the file that NCES uses to assign locale codes recognizes charter schools, but has no way to determine if they are direct-funded or locally funded, many LEAs have had their eligibility affected by direct-funded charters that they have authorized but that are not physically located in an eligible locale code. If your LEA’s eligibility is being affected in this manner, you may restore your eligibility by certifying the following:
The only schools within the LEA that do not have a locale code of 7 or 8 are direct-funded independent charter schools.
An LEA may verify the locale code for each of the schools it serves at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ (Outside Source) . Under the “Data Resources” dropdown menu select “School Locator.” This certification also can be accomplished by submitting the “Annual Certification of Rural in California” form (see Attachment 1) to the NCLB Implementation and Coordination Office, 1430 N Street, Suite 6208, Sacramento, CA 95814. There is no specific deadline for submittal at this time, but corrections made by April 30, 2006, will prevent grant delays for next year.
Please note that the certification of rural in California and the certification of locale codes of direct-funded independent charters will be done on an annual basis.
Continuing Participation in the SRSA Program
Several changes may affect future eligibility and use of funds in the REAP programs. Each state is required to review the annual assessment data for each LEA participating in the REAP-Flex, SRSA grant, or RLIS grant programs. After the third year of participation in any of these programs, if an LEA is in Program Improvement, all REAP funds and applicable funding under REAP-Flex must be spent on activities that support the district’s LEA Plan Addendum.
If an LEA has participated in REAP for three years and has failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for only the past year, all of the LEA’s REAP funds and any exercise of REAP-Flex authority must be used to address the specific weaknesses that resulted in the LEA’s failure to make AYP.
If you have any questions concerning the REAP-Flex, SRSA, or RLIS grant programs, please contact Debbie Rury at drury@cde.ca.gov or 916-319-0651.
Sincerely,
Camille Maben, Director
School and District Accountability Division
CM:dr
Enclosure
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814