20 U.S.C. § 7174 — Local competitive subgrant program

Page 1481 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 7174 (C) public dissemination of the evaluations of programs and activities carried out under this part; and (15) provides for timely public notice of in- tent to file an application and an assurance that the application will be available for pub- lic review after submission. (b) Deemed approval An application submitted by a State edu- cational agency pursuant to subsection (a) shall be deemed to be approved by the Secretary un- less the Secretary makes a written determina- tion, prior to the expiration of the 120-day pe- riod beginning on the date on which the Sec- retary received the application, that the appli- cation is not in compliance with this part. (c) Disapproval The Secretary shall not finally disapprove the application, except after giving the State edu- cational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing. (d) Notification If the Secretary finds that the application is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with this part, the Secretary shall— (1) give the State educational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing; and (2) notify the State educational agency of the finding of noncompliance and, in such no- tification— (A) cite the specific provisions in the ap- plication that are not in compliance; and (B) request additional information, only as to the noncompliant provisions, needed to make the application compliant. (e) Response If the State educational agency responds to the Secretary’s notification described in sub- section (d)(2) during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the agency received the notification, and resubmits the application with the requested information described in sub- section (d)(2)(B), the Secretary shall approve or disapprove such application prior to the later of— (1) the expiration of the 45-day period begin- ning on the date on which the application is resubmitted; or (2) the expiration of the 120-day period de- scribed in subsection (b). (f) Failure to respond If the State educational agency does not re- spond to the Secretary’s notification described in subsection (d)(2) during the 45-day period be- ginning on the date on which the agency re- ceived the notification, such application shall be deemed to be disapproved. (g) Limitation The Secretary may not give a priority or a preference for States or eligible entities that seek to use funds made available under this part to extend the regular school day. (Pub. L. 89–10, title IV, § 4203, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title IV, § 401, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1767; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title IV, § 4201(a), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1986.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2015—Pub. L. 114–95 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to State application, consisting of subsecs. (a) to (f). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive pro- grams and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title. § 7174. Local competitive subgrant program (a) In general (1) Community learning centers A State that receives funds under this part for a fiscal year shall provide the amount made available under section 7172(c)(1) of this title to award subgrants to eligible entities for community learning centers in accordance with this part. (2) Expanded learning program activities A State that receives funds under this part for a fiscal year may use funds under section 7172(c)(1) of this title to support those enrich- ment and engaging academic activities de- scribed in section 7175(a) of this title that— (A) are included as part of an expanded learning program that provides students at least 300 additional program hours before, during, or after the traditional school day; (B) supplement but do not supplant regular school day requirements; and (C) are carried out by entities that meet the requirements of subsection (i). (b) Application (1) In general To be eligible to receive a subgrant under this part, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the State educational agency may reasonably require. (2) Contents Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) a description of the activities to be funded, including— (i) an assurance that the program will take place in a safe and easily accessible facility; (ii) a description of how students partici- pating in the program carried out by the community learning center will travel safely to and from the center and home, if applicable; and (iii) a description of how the eligible en- tity will disseminate information about the community learning center (including its location) to the community in a man- ner that is understandable and accessible; (B) a description of how such activities are expected to improve student academic achievement as well as overall student suc- cess; Page 1482 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 7174 (C) a demonstration of how the proposed program will coordinate Federal, State, and local programs and make the most effective use of public resources; (D) an assurance that the proposed pro- gram was developed and will be carried out— (i) in active collaboration with the schools that participating students attend (including through the sharing of relevant data among the schools), all participants of the eligible entity, and any partnership entities described in subparagraph (H), in compliance with applicable laws relating to privacy and confidentiality; and (ii) in alignment with the challenging State academic standards and any local academic standards; (E) a description of how the activities will meet the measures of effectiveness described in section 7175(b) of this title; (F) an assurance that the program will tar- get students who primarily attend schools eligible for schoolwide programs under sec- tion 6314 of this title and the families of such students; (G) an assurance that subgrant funds under this part will be used to increase the level of State, local, and other non-Federal funds that would, in the absence of funds under this part, be made available for pro- grams and activities authorized under this part, and in no case supplant Federal, State, local, or non-Federal funds; (H) a description of the partnership be- tween a local educational agency, a commu- nity-based organization, and another public entity or private entity, if appropriate; (I) an evaluation of the community needs and available resources for the community learning center, and a description of how the program proposed to be carried out in the center will address those needs (including the needs of working families); (J) a demonstration that the eligible enti- ty will use best practices, including research or evidence-based practices, to provide edu- cational and related activities that will complement and enhance academic perform- ance, achievement, postsecondary and work- force preparation, and positive youth devel- opment of the students; (K) a description of a preliminary plan for how the community learning center will continue after funding under this part ends; (L) an assurance that the community will be given notice of an intent to submit an ap- plication and that the application and any waiver request will be available for public review after submission of the application; (M) if the eligible entity plans to use vol- unteers in activities carried out through the community learning center, a description of how the eligible entity will encourage and use appropriately qualified persons to serve as the volunteers; and (N) such other information and assurances as the State educational agency may reason- ably require. (c) Approval of certain applications The State educational agency may approve an application under this part for a program to be located in a facility other than an elementary school or secondary school only if the program will be at least as available and accessible to the students to be served as if the program were lo- cated in an elementary school or secondary school. (d) Permissive local match (1) In general A State educational agency may require an eligible entity to match subgrant funds award- ed under this part, except that such match may not exceed the amount of the subgrant and may not be derived from other Federal or State funds. (2) Sliding scale The amount of a match under paragraph (1) shall be established based on a sliding scale that takes into account— (A) the relative poverty of the population to be targeted by the eligible entity; and (B) the ability of the eligible entity to ob- tain such matching funds. (3) In-kind contributions Each State educational agency that requires an eligible entity to match funds under this subsection shall permit the eligible entity to provide all or any portion of such match in the form of in-kind contributions. (4) Consideration Notwithstanding this subsection, a State educational agency shall not consider an eligi- ble entity’s ability to match funds when deter- mining which eligible entities will receive sub- grants under this part. (e) Peer review In reviewing local applications under this part, a State educational agency shall use a rig- orous peer-review process or other methods to ensure the quality of funded projects. (f) Geographic diversity To the extent practicable, a State educational agency shall distribute subgrant funds under this part equitably among geographic areas within the State, including urban and rural communities. (g) Duration of awards A subgrant awarded under this part shall be awarded for a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years. (h) Amount of awards A subgrant awarded under this part may not be made in an amount that is less than $50,000. (i) Priority (1) In general In awarding subgrants under this part, a State educational agency shall give priority to applications— (A) proposing to target services to— (i) students who primarily attend schools that— (I) are implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement ac- tivities under section 6311(d) of this title Page 1483 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 7175 or other schools determined by the local educational agency to be in need of intervention and support to improve stu- dent academic achievement and other outcomes; and (II) enroll students who may be at risk for academic failure, dropping out of school, involvement in criminal or delin- quent activities, or who lack strong posi- tive role models; and (ii) the families of students described in clause (i); (B) submitted jointly by eligible entities consisting of not less than 1— (i) local educational agency receiving funds under part A of subchapter I; and (ii) another eligible entity; and (C) demonstrating that the activities pro- posed in the application— (i) are, as of the date of the submission of the application, not accessible to stu- dents who would be served; or (ii) would expand accessibility to high- quality services that may be available in the community. (2) Special rule The State educational agency shall provide the same priority under paragraph (1) to an application submitted by a local educational agency if the local educational agency dem- onstrates that it is unable to partner with a community-based organization in reasonable geographic proximity and of sufficient quality to meet the requirements of this part. (3) Limitation A State educational agency may not give a priority or a preference to eligible entities that seek to use funds made available under this part to extend the regular school day. (j) Renewability of awards A State educational agency may renew a subgrant provided under this part to an eligible entity, based on the eligible entity’s perform- ance during the preceding subgrant period. (Pub. L. 89–10, title IV, § 4204, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title IV, § 401, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1769; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title IV, § 4201(a), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1988.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2015—Pub. L. 114–95 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to local competitive grant program, consisting of subsecs. (a) to (i). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive pro- grams and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title. § 7175. Local activities (a) Authorized activities Each eligible entity that receives an award under section 7174 of this title may use the award funds to carry out a broad array of activi- ties that advance student academic achievement and support student success, including— (1) academic enrichment learning programs, mentoring programs, remedial education ac- tivities, and tutoring services, that are aligned with— (A) the challenging State academic stand- ards and any local academic standards; and (B) local curricula that are designed to im- prove student academic achievement; (2) well-rounded education activities, includ- ing such activities that enable students to be eligible for credit recovery or attainment; (3) literacy education programs, including fi- nancial literacy programs and environmental literacy programs; (4) programs that support a healthy and ac- tive lifestyle, including nutritional education and regular, structured physical activity pro- grams; (5) services for individuals with disabilities; (6) programs that provide after-school ac- tivities for students who are English learners that emphasize language skills and academic achievement; (7) cultural programs; (8) telecommunications and technology edu- cation programs; (9) expanded library service hours; (10) parenting skills programs that promote parental involvement and family literacy; (11) programs that provide assistance to stu- dents who have been truant, suspended, or ex- pelled to allow the students to improve their academic achievement; (12) drug and violence prevention programs and counseling programs; (13) programs that build skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (re- ferred to in this paragraph as ‘‘STEM’’), in- cluding computer science, and that foster in- novation in learning by supporting nontradi- tional STEM education teaching methods; and (14) programs that partner with in-demand fields of the local workforce or build career competencies and career readiness and ensure that local workforce and career readiness skills are aligned with the Carl D. Perkins Ca- reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and the Workforce Innova- tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). (b) Measures of effectiveness (1) In general For a program or activity developed pursu- ant to this part to meet the measures of effec- tiveness, monitored by the State educational agency as described in section 7173(a)(14) of this title, such program or activity shall— (A) be based upon an assessment of objec- tive data regarding the need for before and after school (or summer recess) programs and activities in the schools and commu- nities; (B) be based upon an established set of per- formance measures aimed at ensuring the availability of high-quality academic enrich- ment opportunities; (C) if appropriate, be based upon evidence- based research that the program or activity