Qualified Zone Academy Bond

Funding Description

Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) offers local educational agencies (LEAs) the ability to sell tax-exempt bonds and use the revenue, essentially a loan, to form academy partnerships with for-profit business partners. The program serves all students by incorporating job-related relevance--in the form of technology, training, equipment, materials, etc.--into the classroom. The program services those in identified Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, or with a 35 percent or more student population receiving free or reduced lunches.

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants	Local educational agencies
Required Eligibility Criteria	To be eligible to apply for the QZAB program, LEAs must be in a designated Empowerment Zone, Enterprise Community, or have at least 35 percent of its student population receiving free or reduced lunches. Furthermore, the LEA must have an agreement with a business or industry partner that has agreed to provide at least 10 percent toward the cost of the program.
Other Eligibility Considerations	All Qualified Zone Academy Bond applications will be reviewed and apporved in date order of receipt. In the event the 2008-09 state allocations are oversubscribed a waiting list will be established.
Eligible Grade Level(s)	K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Eligible Age Level(s)	Not applicable

Funding

Legal Authority	Section 1397E of the Internal Revenue Code
Source / Type	Federal / Grant
State Fiscal Year	2009-10
SACS Resource / Revenue Codes	9010 / 8979
Total Available	$199,639,000
Recipient Amount	$5,000,000/academy $30,000,000/district
Match Requirement	Yes
Allocation Formula	Unavailable

Important Dates

Date Application Available	June 1, 2009
Due Date	Unavailable
Expected Notification Date	Unavailable

Additional Information

Application	2008-09 Qualified Zone Academy Bond Application [http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r13/qzabapp08rfa.asp]
Background	Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/fa/qz/]
Fiscal	Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/fa/qz/]
Other	Authorization is for calendar years 2008 and 2009. The funding amount for 2008 is $44,364,000 and for 2009 $155,275,000. There is approximately $15,000,000 authorization remaining from 2007.

Contacts

Program	Shannon Farrell-Hart, 916-323-3923, sfarrell@cde.ca.gov
Fiscal	Shannon Farrell-Hart, 916-323-3923, sfarrell@cde.ca.gov
Division	School Facilities & Transportation Services, 916-322-2470 (phone), 916-327-3954 (fax)