FY2021: Charter School Program (CSP) Grant: COVID-19 Relief

Fund Code: 534

Purpose:

Under waiver authority provided by the U.S. Secretary of Education, the CSP federal funds will provide charter schools needed relief to lessen the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on charter school education programs and implement their reopening plans. This allocation grant program will provide Commonwealth and Horace Mann charter schools with funds for the implementation of the charter schools' high-quality reopening plans that will serve ALL students during the 2020-2021 school year. Each submitted reopening plan outlined the details of a full remote learning model, a part-time remote learning model (referred to as hybrid), and a plan to transition to a full in-person learning model, as practicable. Districts were asked to create three reopening plans in order to be ready to transition between models as needed due to the trajectory of the virus.

Priorities:

Schools will be prioritized based on several factors including if the school is an FY2020 Title I recipient; FY2020 Free and Reduced Lunch Priority status data; if the school is located in a community highly impacted by COVID-19; and the school's size.

Eligibility:

All charter schools must meet the federal definition of charter schools (of which all Massachusetts charter schools do) to be eligible to receive these funds. These funds are only available to charter schools that do not have a current CSP grant.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 84.282

Funding:

There is approximately $4,500,000 for this allocation grant program. Allocations will be provided in this posting when they become available.

Funding is subject to federal appropriation. Specific grant awards will be sent to the eligible charter school under a separate cover and posted. The grant awards expire at the end of FY2021, June 30, 2021.

In order to determine priorities, Massachusetts will rank Title I charter schools according to Free & Reduced Lunch Percentage and location. The awards will be calculated on a per pupil basis with awards estimated to be between $40,000 and $105,000.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.

Fund Use:

All spending must be consistent with applicable state and federal regulations and guidelines. Schools are given discretion on how to spend their funds, granted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, for current needs due to COVID and implementation of their reopening plan as required by the Department.

DESE may reimburse subgrant recipients for pre-award costs incurred from up to of 90 days before the start date of the approved grant.

The requirements and monitoring benchmarks (Part III) are met throughout the grant cycle. This grant must be used for actual COVID related educational program costs and cannot be used for any type of construction or building improvements (unless this work falls under the ESSA waiver provisions) or to purchase food. More information on how the grant can be spent can be found in Part IV — Required Program Information and in the CSP non-regulatory guidance.

Indirect costs may not be charged to this grant.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval – 6/30/2021

Program Unit:

Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign

Contact:

Joanna Laghetto

Phone Number:

(781) 873-9521

Date Due:

Friday, January 15, 2021

Required Forms:

Part I Signature Page

Part II Budget Detail and Justification — Entered directly into EdGrants

Part III — Required Survey of Questions for Applicants and Assurances

 

Part IV — Justification for additional flexibilities under ESSA (if applicable see Part IV below for details.)

Additional Information:

Part IV — Required Program Information (Guidance)

Submission Instructions:

Submit all required grant materials through EdGrants

In EdGrants, districts are required to create and name the project. Please use the following naming convention for your "Applicant Project Name" in EdGrants:

FY21 534 Applicant Name

All items listed under the required forms section of this RFP should be uploaded / attached in the Attachments List formlet of the Application Submission in EdGrants. This includes a signed / scanned PDF of Part I / Coversheet with an original signature of the Superintendent/Executive Director and Required Program Information.

The final budget the applicant is requesting will be entered directly into EdGrants as part of the application submission process.

For Guidance Documents regarding EdGrants, visit EdGrants: User Guides and Information.

Please note: It is up to the district to determine who they want to add as EdGrants Front Office users in order to submit the grant application as well as payment request information. Please review the EdGrants: User Security Controls to make informed decisions regarding assigning your district level users.

Last Updated: November 24, 2020