1. Funding for State-level Activities under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015
June 27, 2018
Good morning This presentation is in response to the Board’s request for information about state-level federal funds, including the process for determining how funds are used.

2. Background
Virginia serves as a pass-through entity for the distribution of funds to school divisions under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).
Awards for each grant program are made by the U.S. Department of Education annually according to federal formulas (around July 1).
For each grant program, a designated percentage of funds can be reserved at the state level for grant administration and state-level activities.
State-level funds must be spent within 27 months.
Each year (around July 1), Virginia receives awards from the U.S. Department of Education for ESSA programs. The programs that we will discuss today are considered “formula” grants, which means there is no competition for these funds. USED calculates the preliminary amount that each division will receive. Once we receive the preliminary amount, we deduct required and allowable state set-asides, which we use for grants administration and state level activities. Grant administration consists primarily of personnel expenses, and state activities includes training and resources to support the program. States have 27 months to expend set-aside funds from an award year.

3. Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Instruction
Allocation: $254,532,699
State set-aside (up to 1%): $2,320,529
Reserved for state activities: $711,063
Uses of funds:
Teacher Direct platform
National Student Clearinghouse (used to track post-secondary education and other data required by ESSA)
Project Hope (McKinney Vento – homeless assistance)
School Quality Profile updates required by ESSA
Professional development for teachers of English learners
Virginia Preschool Initiative Educators’ Institute
Federal Program Coordinators’ Academy
The next few slides provide an overview of the ESSA program and a list of some of the uses of funds for state level activities to support the program.
Title I, Part A – the purpose of this program is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.
For this title and Title II, these amounts will change slightly as we received a grant revision from USED which we are processing.
Virginia’s allocation amount was over $254 million.
Of that amount, states are permitted to set aside up to 1%, which Virginia did ($2.3 million)
For this program, the majority of the state set-aside supports grant administration through salaries. In FY17, approximately $700,000 is budgeted for activities.
The uses of funds on this slide are not a comprehensive list, but provide examples of the types of activities that are supported by the state set-aside. I have notes on a few of these, but am happy to answer questions or gather more information if there are any specific activities that you want to know more about.
Teacher Direct Platform – this is our list serve managed by the Office of Instruction
National Student Clearinghouse – this is a subscription-based product that helps us and divisions track certain data required by USED
Project Hope – Virginia’s homeless education program is managed by the College of William and Mary. Title I funds support activities for this program
School Quality Profile updates – there are a number of new reporting requirements under ESSA, and Title I funds will support updates to the SQPs to meet the new federal reporting requirements.
The last three activities on this slide are for professional development or training activities

4. Title II, Part A: Supporting Effective Instruction
Allocation: $36,500,579
State set-aside (up to 5%): $1,825,028
Reserved for state activities: $1,525,028
Uses of funds:
Teacher Direct platform
Institutes for Foreign Language Teachers
English SOL Institutes
Mathematics SOL Institutes
History and Social Science SOL Institutes
Regional Biology Teacher Academy
Environmental Science Course Institute
Health Smart VA Curriculum Revision
University courses for teachers of English Learners
ESOL Praxis Preparation Workshops
Federal Programs Coordinators’ Academy
Title II, Part A: purpose To increase student achievement consistent with challenging state standards; improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders; increase the number of teachers, principals, and other school leaders who are effective in improving student achievement and schools; and provide low-income and minority students greater access to effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders
Virginia’s FY2017 award for this program was $36.5 million (This amount and the set-asides will change slightly due to a recent revision from USED)
From that amount, $1.8 million comprises the state set-aside, and $1.4 million is reserved for state activities
Some of the uses of funds for this program are listed on this slide. You will note that a couple of these activities are also funded by Title I. For some projects that are allowable under multiple grants, we split the cost between programs.
As you can see, the activities here focus primarily on training and professional development. Our content areas are heavily represented, as well as health education and assistning teachers of English learners as they prepare to take the PRAXIS to obtain their ESL certification.

5. Title III, Part A: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students
Allocation: $12,743,264
State set-aside (up to 5%): $637,163
Reserved for state activities: $318,582
Uses of funds:
Strategies to Support Newcomer Students and Students with Limited and Interrupted Education training
Teaching English Learners with Learning Disabilities in the Inclusive Classroom training
Expediting Reading Comprehension for English Language Learners (ExC-ELL) training
Teaching and Reaching Newcomers via ExC-ELL training
Federal Programs Coordinators’ Academy
Title III, Part A: purpose To help English learners attain proficiency in English, achieve at high levels in academic subjects, and meet the same challenging state standards that all students are expected to meet
The state’s Title III allocation for FY17 was $12.7 million, and approximately $300,000 is reserved for state activities.
The uses of funds are heavily concentrated on training for teachers of ELs, as well as supporting the annual training that my office provides to division level program coordinators

6. Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants
Allocation: $6,969,326
State set-aside (up to 5%): $348,466
Reserved for state activities: $288,466
Uses of funds:
Health Smart VA curriculum revision
Elementary Physical Science Institute
Computer Science training
Algebra Readiness training
Federal Program Coordinators’ Academy
Title IV, Part A: purpose - to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of States, local educational agencies, schools, and local communities to—
provide all students with access to a well-rounded education;
improve school conditions for student learning; and
improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
Title IV, Part A, funds were awarded to states for the first time in FY17. Last spring and into the early summer, there was some uncertainty regarding whether funds would be awarded.
Virginia’s FY 17 award was $6.9 million. $279,000 was reserved for state activities.
Projects that are being implemented to date under this grant include support for health education, science and computer science and algebra readiness.

7. Title V, Part B, Subpart 2: Rural and Low-income School Program
Allocation: $2,092,347
State set-aside (up to 5%): $104,617
Reserved for state activities: $59,617
Uses of funds:
Gifted Education training
Federal Program Coordinators’ Academy
Finally, Title V, Part B – the rural and low income schools program. Unlike the other programs we have reviewed, only divisions that meet the federal definition of “rural” receive awards under this grant programs. Funds can be used to support one or more of the grant programs that we have just discussed (Title I, II, III, and IVA).
From the $2 million that Virginia was awarded in FY17, $104,000 was set aside and just under $60,000 can be used for state activities.
The projects being implemented to support this program to date include training on gifted education and support for our annual coordinators’ training.

8. Preliminary Allocations for 2018-2019
Program
Preliminary Allocation
Percent Increase from Allocation
Title I, Part A
$267,149,467
4.96%
Title II, Part A
$37,199,642
1.92%
Title III, Part A
$13,232,377
3.84%
Title IV, Part A
$18,024,728
158.63%
Title V, Part B
$2,151,843
2.84%
Virginia has received preliminary award amounts from USED, which are provided on this slide. These may change slightly before awards are made around July 1, but this is a good indication on what the state’s allocations will be.
As you can see, most programs will receive a slight increase, and the new Title IV, Part A, program will receive a significant increase. The Title IV increase may be a single jump, or it may be sustained over time. We will consider sustainability as we plan to use this funding.

9. Process to Request ESSA Funding
Department staff may request funding for state-level activities that supplement state mandates or requirements by enhancing instructional or programmatic trainings, offerings, or initiatives.
The Request for Funds form includes the requested funding amount, activity dates, and a justification for the proposed activity.
The Assistant Superintendent for the requesting office must approve the request prior to submission.
In determining how funds will be used, our current process includes the opportunity for department staff to request funding for state level activities that are supplemental to mandates and requirements.
A request for funds form can be filled out by a department staff member, and must include a justification, requested funding amount, activity dates, and the signature of the assistant superintendent.
Every effort is made to fund activities requests. As you have seen, the activities that are funded are of great importance to the field. In particular, the SOL institutes provide training to thousands of teachers and school and division leaders.