Instructions for county offices of education (COEs) using the Grant Management and Reporting Tool (GMART) to submit the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021–22 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) COE Plan Approval Application for Funding (AFF).
Grant Management and Reporting Tool (GMART) Logon
GMART is a web-based platform that allows COEs to complete and submit applications for funding, modify funding plans, and submit expenditure data.
Logon
User names and passwords are emailed to the COE Superintendents. Passwords are case sensitive and cannot be changed or reset by the COE. If more than three attempts to log on have been made within one hour, the GMART will lock the user out of the system. If the COE has forgotten the password, or has been locked out of the system, please contact the School Improvement and Support Office at 916-319-0833.
GMART Home Page for CSI
For each fiscal year (FY), the GMART home page displays the ESSA CSI COE Application for Funding link to initiate the web-based application process. Once selected, the COE will be directed to the Application Overview section to begin completing the application.
Application Process
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) COE Plan Approval Application for Funding is a web-based application that includes an Application Overview and four separate sections. In order to receive ESSA, Section 1003 funding, the eligible COE must complete and submit the application for funding on or before the due date.
To begin the web-based application, the COE must first review the Application Overview. Once the COE has reached the “Eligibility Requirements” section of the Application Overview, the COE will select the “Select to Display More Information” button at the bottom of the page to continue. The COE will repeat this process until it has read all related content in this section. Once all of the information has been reviewed, the COE must select the “Select to Display More Information” button to advance to Section 1 of the application.
Sections of The Application
Section 1
General Assurances, Certifications, Terms, and Conditions—The COE must review and adhere to the requirements of the general assurances, certifications, and terms and conditions of the
subgrant as a condition of receiving funds. Once all of the information has been reviewed, the COE must select the “Save and Continue to Section 2” button at the bottom of the page to advance to Section 2 of the application.
Section 2
COE Information—The COE information is prepopulated into the GMART. The COE will verify the accuracy of its applicant information, including the physical address of the COE, the Preliminary Allocation Amount, County/District code, National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) code, and Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) code. If the information is accurate, the COE will select “The COE Applicant Information is accurate” checkbox. The COE can now enter contact information for the Primary Grant Coordinator, Secondary Grant Coordinator, and the Fiscal Coordinator by selecting the “Edit Contact Information” button at the bottom of the page. All contact fields must be completed in order to continue to Section 3 of the web-based application. If the COE has only a Primary Grant Coordinator, it must duplicate that information for the Secondary Grant Coordinator.
- First and Last Name
- Title
- Phone
- Extension
- Fax
If the COE applicant information is inaccurate, the COE will select “The COE Applicant Information is inaccurate” checkbox. The COE must select the “Save and Logoff” button at the bottom of the page and contact the School Improvement and Support Office by phone at 916-319-0833 or by email at ESSACOE@cde.ca.gov for assistance.
Section 3
Project Budget— The COE must complete a proposed project budget using the prepopulated Preliminary Allocation Amount. In the Proposed Project Budget, the COE will select the “Edit” button in the “COE Action” column to enter the total amount for each Object Code in the “Amount” column and provide an explanation for the proposed expenditures in the “Expenditure Description” column. Once data has been entered, the COE must select the “Update” button in the “COE Action” column to save the data or the “Cancel” button in the “COE Action” column to cancel the entered data. To continue to Section 4, the amount listed in the Preliminary Allocation Amount must equal the amount listed in the Total Budget Amount. The subgrant funds must support the requirements of the subgrant. All expenditures must be allowable activities and costs as outlined in the ESSA CSI COE Plan Approval Application for Funding. The Proposed Project Budget must be approved by the California Department of Education (CDE).
Object Code
Section 41010 of the Education Code requires LEAs to follow the definitions, instructions, and procedures in the California School Accounting Manual (CSAM). The CSAM Object Codes and Definitions can be found at CSAM (PDF).
Amount
Enter the total amount budgeted for each Object Code. Do not leave any fields blank. Enter $0.00 if the COE does not have a budgeted amount in an Object Code. All proposed costs must directly align to and fully support the allowable use of funds described in this application.
Expenditure Justification
Provide an expenditure description for all proposed expenditures within the following Object Codes. The description should directly align to the allowable use of funds described in this application and include how the costs are necessary and reasonable to execute the subgrant requirements.
Indirect Cost Rate
For the indirect cost rates (ICRs), use the CDE’s approved ICRs found at the CDE Indirect Cost Rates web page.
Sub-agreements over $25,000
Indirect cost guidelines allow that up to $25,000 of each individual sub-agreement may be coded to Object Code 5800, Professional/Consulting Services and Operating Expenditures, with the remainder charged to Object Code 5100—Sub-agreements over $25,000.
Note
Final allocation amounts for each COE will be determined by the first reporting period. At that time, the COE will be required to revise its Proposed Project Budget, if needed, according to the final funding results. Instructions for the revision will be provided to the COE at a later date.
The table below is a display of the Proposed Project Budget that the COE will complete in the GMART.
Proposed Project Budget
| COE Name | Preliminary FY YYYY Allocation Amount |
|---|---|
| SAMPLE COE | $0.00 |
| Object Code | Amount | Expenditure Justification | Edits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000–1999 Certificated Personnel Salaries | $0.00 | Justification narrative | Edit |
| 2000–2999 Classified Personnel Salaries | $0.00 | Justification narrative | Edit |
| 3000–3999 Employee Benefits | $0.00 | Justification narrative | Edit |
| 4000–4999 Books and Supplies | $0.00 | Justification narrative | Edit |
| 5000–5999 Services and Other Operating Expenditures | $0.00 | Justification narrative | Edit |
| 7310 Indirect Cost (Indirect Cost Rate) | $0.00 | n/a | Edit |
| 5100 (Sub-agreements over $25,000) | $0.00 | Justification narrative | Edit |
| Total Budget Amount | $0.00 | n/a | n/a |
The total budget amount must match the preliminary allocation amount. To continue to Section 4, select the “Save and Continue to Section 4” button or select the “Save and Logoff” button at the bottom of the page to save the application and continue on a future date.
Section 4
Signatures and Submission—Each COE must review the terms and conditions, select the necessary checkboxes, electronically sign the application, and select the “Submit Application” button at the bottom of the page to electronically submit the application. Once the application has been submitted by the COE, the Current Application Status notification will display “Submitted.” The primary, secondary, and fiscal grant contacts will receive an email notification stating that the application has been received. After submitting the application, the COE can use the “Print Submitted Application” button located on the left side of the page to print a copy of the application for its records.
The CDE will review the submitted application. If the application is approved, the primary, secondary, and fiscal grant contacts will receive an email notification of approval. If a revision is needed, the primary, secondary, and fiscal grant contacts will receive an email notification that the application must be revised. In the event that the application must be revised, the COE must log in to the GMART and review the “Remarks” column within the Application Status table, make the requested revisions, and resubmit the application (see Section 4 instructions).
CDE Contact Information
For questions related to the CSI COE Applications for Funding, please contact the School Improvement and Support Office by email at ESSACOE@cde.ca.gov or by phone at 916-319-0833.
To access the ESSA CSI COE Walk-through Webinars, please visit the
CSI Webinars web page.
For additional information related to CSI, please visit the California Department of Education CSI web page.