FY2023: Safe and Supportive Schools Competitive Grant

Fund Code: 335

Purpose:

The purpose of this state funded competitive grant program is to provide funding to school districts (and their selected schools) to organize, integrate, and sustain school and district-wide efforts to create safe and supportive school environments. Additionally, this grant is designed to coordinate and align student support initiatives based on their findings from completing the Safe and Supportive Schools (SaSS) Framework and Self-Reflection Tool* (SaSS Tool).

*The SaSS (originally Behavioral Health and Public Schools — BHPS) Framework and Self-Reflection Tool was created by the BHPS Taskforce and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department), pursuant to Section 19 of Chapter 321 of the Acts of 2008. The resource is periodically updated in consultation with the Safe and Supportive Schools Commission (Commission).

Priorities:

The main priorities for this grant are to help ensure that each participating school creates an equitable, safe, positive, healthy, culturally-competent, and inclusive whole-school learning environment for all students, and makes effective use of a system for integrating services and aligning initiatives that promote students' behavioral health and wellness, through one of two grant applicant options:

• Option One: Action Planning
  These grantees will convene a school team composed of various stakeholders (e.g., including but not limited to teachers, nurses, counselors, family members, etc.) to review and respond to the questions in the SaSS Tool and to create an action plan based on the responses to the Tool.*

• Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support
  a) These grantees will begin or continue to implement school-focused action plans (and associated district-support plans) that were created in prior year(s), i.e., during or before school year 2021-2022.
  b) These grantees will also serve as mentors/supports for Option One grantees; other new SaSS Tool users; schools and districts that are new to implementation; as well as the Department, Commission, and others as needed and appropriate.*

Both Options also prioritize the developmentally appropriate input from students who are reflective of the school population.

Competitive priority will be given to districts and schools in chronically underperforming status.

*Please see Attachment A: Option 1 and Option 2 Additional Information for more details about priorities and grant activities for each option.

Eligibility:

Massachusetts public school districts and educational collaboratives* are eligible to apply for funding.

Each applicant may only apply for one of the two Options detailed above (Option One: Action Planning or Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support).

Note: Former FC 335 grantees are among the entities eligible to apply for either of the above Options, provided the specific requirements are met for the schools to be included in the application under that Option. For Option One: Action Planning, former FC 335 grantees may apply for schools that have not yet utilized (or at least have not since summer 2019) the SaSS Self-Assessment Tool and used it to inform action planning.

*Please see Attachment B for more information about Collaborative eligibility

Funding Type:

State

Funding:

Pending appropriation, approximately $150,000 is expected to be available to support these grants.

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.

Applicants may apply for up to $20,000 total, with a maximum of $10,000 per school under Option One: Action Planning.

Applicants may apply for up to $10,000 per district under Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support.

Reminder: Applicants may only apply for one Option. It is anticipated* that approximately 75% of the funds will be awarded through Option One: Action Planning, and approximately 25% through Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support.

*Additional factors:

• The Department may consider factors such as geographic distribution when making awards.
• Districts with schools participating in the Rethinking Discipline Initiative will receive priority points in application scoring.
• Grant awards shall be prioritized to applications that include a process for developmentally appropriate input from students who are reflective of the school population.
• Approximately 30 percent of the total amount available to award is available for applicant schools and districts in chronically underperforming status.
• Should additional funds become available the Department may redistribute those funds in an equitable manner among other awarded grantees or to applicants who were not initially awarded grant funds.

Fund Use:

Option One: Action Planning
These funds must be used to support the development of action plans that incorporate all six sections of the SaSS Tool.*

Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support
These funds must be used to implement action plans that incorporate all six sections of the SaSS Tool, as submitted with the application. These funds must also support efforts associated with mentorship/support activities. *

All applicants
All applicants may consider partnering with consultants to help facilitate the action planning and/or implementation process.

All applicants may also consider partnering with community-based organizations including early childhood education and afterschool or out of school time providers for alignment and collaboration.

Funds cannot be used for: electronics (such as iPads, computers, tablets, etc.) or construction.

*See Attachment A: Option 1 and Option 2 additional information for more details on fund use.

Project Duration:

School Year: Upon Approval – 6/30/2023

Summer: 7/1/2023 – 8/31/2023

Pending appropriation and the meeting of all grant requirements, all grantees will be eligible for a one-year continuation grant in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 (upon approval – 8/31/2024) to support implementation of the action plan developed through this FY2023 grant and to continue implementation and mentor/support activities. Eligibility for this continuation grant is contingent upon submission of the required action plans or implementation status reports and a continuation application, and funding availability.

Program Unit:

Student and Family Support

Contact:

Emily Taylor

Phone Number:

(781) 338-6313

Date Due:

Monday, July 18, 2022

Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the date due.

Required Forms:

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)
  • • FY2023 School Year (through 6/30/2023) and
    • FY2024 Summer (7/1/2023 – 8/31/2023)

    If applicable, in one PDF, complete and submit signed Part I for both FY2023 and FY2023 Summer.

• Part II – Budget Template
  • Complete and submit Part II for FY2023 School Year and FY2024 Summer (if proposing to use funds during Summer 2023). There is a tab for each time period in the Budget Template provided. Please include a complete description of fund use in the narrative/comments column (on the right).
  
  
• Part III — Required Program Information
  • Complete Part IIIA only — if applying for Option One: Action Planning
  • Complete Part IIIB only — if applying for Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support.
  
  
• Grant Assurances
  • Complete the applicable portion of the document for either Option One: Action Planning or Option Two: Implementation and Mentorship/Support, and submit with the application.
  
  
• Option 2 only: Action Plan
  • Attach a previously completed Safe and Supportive Schools action plan aligned with the implementation activities proposed in Part III.

Additional Information:

• Program Evaluation and Professional Development
  Grantees are expected to participate in professional development (e.g., conferences, webinars, and/or regional events, etc.) to be held by the Department, as well as in an evaluation of this grant program. In addition, the Department and Safe and Supportive Schools Commission will use feedback from grantees to inform continuous improvements to the Framework and Tool. Details will be provided to all grantees once information is confirmed.

• Attachment A: Option 1 and Option 2 additional details
  Provides additional information and clarification for the priorities and fund use for each option of the grant.

• Attachment B: Collaborative Eligibility
  Provides additional information and clarification about the eligibility of collaboratives.

• Questions and Information Webinar
  Due to the competitive nature of this grant program, all questions about the Funding Opportunity documents and process will be addressed during the Grant Information Webinar and Q & A sessions. Please see online registration form for more details about the optional sessions.

Submission Instructions:

Please submit all application materials electronically to achievement@mass.gov .

• All signature pages (Part I and Grant Assurances) must be signed, scanned, and submitted as 2 separate PDF documents.
• All budgets (Part II) must be submitted as Excel files, not as PDFs.
• Part III must be submitted as a PDF or in its original Word format.
• Any item not submitted in the correct format may not be reviewed.

Department staff may reach out to applicant before awards are finalized for clarification.

Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget and required documents in EdGrants. Once selected, recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.

Last Updated: May 31, 2022