REAP Eligibility Spreadsheets

OMB #1810-0646 (Exp.)

Instructions for Completing the Fiscal Year (FY) [insert appropriate year] Spreadsheet

For the Small, Rural School Achievement Program and the

Rural and Low-Income School Program

Introduction

Part B of Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) authorizes two separate formula grant programs that target funds to rural school districts – the Small, Rural School Achievement Program (ESEA Section 6212) and the Rural and Low-Income School Program (ESEA Section 6221). Under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program, the Department makes formula allocations directly to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs). Under the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program, the Department makes formula grants to State educational agencies (SEAs), which in turn award subgrants to eligible LEAs on a formula or competitive basis.

These instructions are to assist you in providing the data that the Department needs in order to establish eligibility for, and make allocations under, the SRSA and RLIS programs. You may provide the data for all LEAs in your State or only for those LEAs that meet the REAP SRSA or RLIS eligibility requirements.

You will provide the data in the electronic Excel spreadsheet accompanying these instructions. Because your data entries will affect all State and LEA allocations, we request that you submit your data by the requested date. In addition, to help minimize the possibility of errors in the submission, we suggest that you provide LEAs in your State with an opportunity to review the data prior to submitting it to the Department. The Department intends to make the data States provide available on its webpage prior determining allocations.

Once the Department has received the information from all States, we will use the data provided to establish LEA eligibility for the programs and generate fiscal year (FY) [appropriate year] allocation amounts. You should enter the data in the appropriate columns and submit the completed Excel spreadsheet electronically to the Department at [email protected].

REAP Eligibility

SRSA Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in REAP-Flex and the SRSA grant program, an LEA must –

1. have a total average daily attendance (ADA) of fewer 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

2. serve only schools that have an National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) school locale code of 7 or 8 or be located in an area of the State defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State.

RLIS Eligibility

An LEA is eligible for an allocation under the RLIS program if –

1. 20 percent or more of the children age 5 to 17 served by the LEA are from families with incomes below the poverty line;

2. all schools served by the LEA have a school locale code of 6, 7, or 8 (assigned by the US Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics; see Appendix A for discussion of these locale codes); and

3. the LEA is not eligible to participate in the SRSA program.

Spreadsheet Column-by-Column Instructions

The headings listed below refer to the respective columns on the Excel worksheet. You will need to provide data in columns 11 (ADA and, 16 (Title II, Part A allocation) where applicable. The following columns are to be left BLANK: 17 (Title II, Part D allocation), 18 (Title IV, Part A allocation), 19 (Title V, Part A allocation). Columns 20 SRSA Eligibility and 21 RLIS Eligibility are automatically populated and are for informational purposes only. Please provide data in columns 10 (LEAs defined as rural) or 12 (county population density) if that information is needed to help establish an LEA’s eligibility for the SRSA program. The Department has already provided the necessary data in the other columns. Those pre-filled columns are highlighted in grey and should not be changed.

Column 10. Is the LEA in an area defined as rural by the State? Only States that choose to use a rural definition as an alternative means of establishing part of an LEA’s eligibility under the SRSA program should complete this column. If no governmental agency of the State has an approved definition of rural or if all LEAs that are defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State meet the locale code requirement for eligiblity, you may leave column 10 blank or enter “NA” (“not applicable”). If you enter “yes” in column 10, you must provide the following additional information with respect to the applicable LEAs:

1. The identity of the State governmental agency that established the definition; and

2. A copy of the rural definition.

To be acceptable, the definition must identify LEAs as being located in a rural area of the State; they may not just identify LEAs that serve significantly smaller numbers of children than other LEAs in the State. At the end of this document are instructions for submitting the additional information that is required if you enter “yes” in column 10 with respect to any LEA.

Column 11. Average Daily Attendance (ADA): In the Excel spreadsheet, you should provide the ADA data for LEAs as defined by Statute. Sec 6231 of the ESEA provides the following guidance for determining Average Daily Attendance:

‘‘SEC. 6231. ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE DETERMINATION.

‘‘(a) CENSUS DETERMINATION.—Each local educational agency desiring a grant under section 6212 and each local educational agency or specially qualified agency desiring a grant under subpart 2 shall—

‘‘(1) not later than December 1 of each year, conduct a census to determine the number of students in average daily attendance in kindergarten through grade 12 at the schools served by the agency; and

‘‘(2) not later than March 1 of each year, submit the number described in paragraph (1) to the Secretary (and to the State educational agency, in the case of a local educational agency seeking a grant under subpart (2)).

Column 12. County population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile?: Only States that choose to use county population density as an alternative means of establishing part of an LEA’s eligibility under the SRSA program should complete this column. If you have no LEAs in your State that serve only schools that are located in counties with a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile or if all LEAs that meet that requirement are already eligible for the SRSA program, you may leave this column blank or enter “NA.”

County population density data are available on the Census website at http://factfinder.census.gov/

To obtain specific county population density data at the Census website:

1. Scroll down and click on the FactFinder “Data Sets” on the left hand side of the page;

2. Under the “Select from the following options:” on the right hand side of the page, click on “Geographic Comparison Tables”;

3. Under “Select a geographic type,” select “State”;

4. Under “Select a geographic area,” highlight your State; and

5. Under “Select a table format”, select “County” and then click “Next.”

6. Under “Select a Table”, select “GCT-PH1. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000” and click on “show result.”

7. Use the Print/Download button on the web page to print a copy of the resulting table, or download the table to Excel, Word, or in another available format.

Column 16. [appropriate year] Title II, Part A Formula Allocation Amount: Enter the amount of the FY [appropriate year] Title II, A-Improving Teacher Quality formula grant award for each. Provide allocation amounts only for LEAs that accepted program funds; if an LEA declined the allocation, the allocation for that LEA should be zero.

Column 17. [appropriate year] Title II, Party D Formula Allocation Amount: This column is included because it is a statutory requirement to report allocations for this program. However, since this program has not had a Congressional allocation since FY 2010, it should be left BLANK.

Column 18. [appropriate year] Title IV, Part A Formula Allocation Amount: This column is included because it is a statutory requirement to report allocations for this program. However, since this program has not had a Congressional allocation since FY 2009, it should be left BLANK.

Column 19. [appropriate year] Title V, A Formula Allocation Amount: This column is included because it is a statutory requirement to report allocations for this program. However, since this program has not had a Congressional allocation since FY 2008, it should be left BLANK.

NOTE:

We have included a set of columns in the Eligibility Spreadsheets to help you determine if an LEA is eligible for SRSA or RLIS. These columns are only meant to serve as an aid to the States in completing the spreadsheets. They do not represent the final conclusion of the U.S. Department of Education regarding the eligibility of an individual LEA. You do not need to enter any data into the following columns as they are pre-filled or automatically updated as data is entered into other areas of the Excel spreadsheet.

Column 20. SRSA Eligible: (Automatically Updated) This column will automatically show “SRSA” if the eligibility requirements for SRSA are met in the preceding columns.

Column 21. RLIS Eligible: (Automatically Updated) This column will automatically show “RLIS” if the eligibility requirements for RLIS are met in the preceding columns and the LEA is not eligible for SRSA.

Column 22. LEA Operational Status: (Pre-Filled) This column represents the current EdFacts operational status of LEAs. This column is included to help States to both identify and to verify which LEAs are opening and closing before the beginning of the REAP Grant budget period.

TABS:

NEW LEAs and CLOSED LEAs

We have included two additional tabs at the bottom of the eligibility spreadsheet. On each tab is the list of LEAs for that State that are currently showing Newly Opened and Closing status according to EdFacts.Additionally, you will see on these tabs a column marked Remove Closed LEAs (Yes/No) for the LEA Closing tab, and Include New LEAs (Yes/No) for the Newly Opening tab. Please include a “Yes” or “No” for each LEA on this list in order to ensure their removal or addition to the main eligibility spreadsheet.

Submitting Additional Information

Addition of LEAs not included in the Excel spreadsheet provided or other corrections

The list of LEAs on the spreadsheet provided is from the Department’s most recent Common Core of Data (CCD). As a result, the list of LEAs provided may not be complete. You may need to include any new LEAs that are not included on the spreadsheet, including any new charter schools if they are considered LEAs by your State. In addition, please provide the names of any LEAs that may be consolidating or closing prior to or during the next school year. States should submit the additional information concerning new or closing LEAs in the Excel spreadsheet, “Blank - Corrections Spreadsheet.xls” provided.

Requests for Locale Code Tests

The NCES data we are using to determine eligibility for REAP for FY 2010 is the most up-to-date NCES data, and we anticipate little need for locale code tests this year. To determine locale codes for schools that recently opened, you may submit a locale code test request using the spreadsheet, “Blank - School Locale Code Test Requests.xls”, we have designated for that purpose. The Census Bureau performs locale code tests using the school addresses you provide. Please note that locale code test requests will be accepted if they are submitted to us by the May 14, 2010 deadline.

An LEA not on the list included in the CCD is unlikely to have locale codes assigned to the schools it serves. Eligibility for the LEAs can still be determined based on the information provided by each State. If a State submits the required information, including the addresses for all schools served, for the new LEA by the established deadline, the Department will assign locale codes for those new schools. You can use the “Blank - School Locale Code Test Requests.xls” spreadsheet to submit a locale code test request as discussed below. In addition, an LEA could still be eligible for SRSA if, in addition to meeting the size requirement, the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State.

Supporting documentation for LEAs whose eligibility is based, in part, on a State definition of “rural”.

As part of the eligibility requirements for the SRSA program, all of the schools in the LEA must have a school locale code of 7 or 8, or the Secretary must determine, based on a demonstration by the LEA and with the concurrence of the SEA, that the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State. Therefore, if a State defines an LEA as rural, supporting documentation must be provided.

If you enter “yes” in column 8 (“Is the LEA in an area defined as rural by the State?”), you must provide the following additional information with respect to the applicable LEAs:

1. The identity of the State governmental agency that established the definition;

2. A copy of the rural definition; and

3. The SEA’s concurrence that the use of the definition and inclusion of the LEA in the Small, Rural School Achievement Program is appropriate.

If you are submitting a State definition of rural for one or more LEAs, use the “State - LEAs Defined as Rural by State.doc” spreadsheet that we have designated for this purpose.

NOTE: For your convenience, the Department has provided the rural definition spreadsheet with the most current definition on file. If the definition of “rural” is left blank on the document, then the Department does not have a State approved definition of “rural” on file. In this case and the State wishes to submit a definition, please update the document with the most recent definition and send this back to the Department as part of the supplementary documents attached to the eligibility spreadsheet.

You should submit any additional information that needs to be provided in response to these instructions as attachments in an email sent to: [email protected]

Please use the provided corrections spreadsheets where appropriate.

Contact for assistance

For questions concerning the Rural Education Programs or the Excel spreadsheet and these instructions, contact the following:

Eric Schulz

Office of School Support and Rural Programs

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 3W107

Washington, D.C. 20202

(202) 260-7349

[email protected]

Public Burden Statement:

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit (ESEA Section 6212/6221). Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 1810-0646. Note: Please do not return the completed REAP application to this address.

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