FY2025: Title II, Part A: Building Systems of Support for Excellent Teaching and Leading

Fund Code: 0140

Purpose:

Title II, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides supplemental resources to school districts to improve high quality systems of support for excellent teaching and leading.

Title II, Part A is one of four principal programs that are available to districts through formula grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the current reauthorization of ESEA. The other programs are Title I, Part A; Title III, Part A; and Title IV, Part A.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is guided by its educational vision where:

• All students in Massachusetts, particularly students from historically underserved groups and communities, will have equitable opportunities to excel in all content areas across all grades.
• Culturally and linguistically sustaining classroom and school practices will support students to thrive by creating affirming environments where students have a sense of belonging, engage in deeper learning, and are held to high expectations with targeted support.

DESE partners with districts, schools, and programs to:

Cultivate systems to support the whole student and foster joyful, healthy, and supportive learning environments so that all students feel valued, connected, nourished, and ready to learn. Strategic Objective 1 — "Whole Student"

Promote deeper learning so that all students engage in grade-level work that is real-world, relevant, and interactive. Strategic Objective 2 — "Deeper Learning"

Develop and sustain a workforce that is diverse, culturally responsive, well-prepared, and committed to continuous improvement, so that all students have equitable access to effective educators. Strategic Objective 3 — "Diverse and Effective Workforce"

Applicants for this grant opportunity should be intentional in the use of grant funds to support at least one of these strategic objectives.

Priorities:

The priorities of Title II, Part A are to:

1. increase student achievement consistent with challenging State academic standards;
2. improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders;
3. increase the number of teachers, principals, and other school leaders who are effective in improving student academic achievement in schools; and
4. provide low-income and minority students equitable access to effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders.

Districts may use these funds that supplement and support:

Curriculum Frameworks Alignment
Activities funded under Title II, Part A must be aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

Systems of Professional Growth and Improvement
ESSA requires that districts describe strategies for implementing systems of professional growth and improvement for educators in the district and how the district will evaluate the effectiveness of those systems.

Closing Achievement Gaps
Consistent with the purposes of Title II, Part A, districts may also use Title II, Part A funds to improve results for student groups that have historically struggled to meet proficiency standards, in particular, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, English learners, and students receiving special education services.

Eligibility:

Funds are awarded by formula to each school district. Subject to appropriation, 20% of the funds are distributed to districts based on the relative numbers of individuals ages 5 through 17 who reside in the area the district serves (based on the most recent census data); and 80 percent of the funds must be distributed to districts based on the relative numbers of individuals ages 5 through 17 who reside in the area the district serves and who are from families with incomes below the poverty line (based on the most recent Census data). (ESEA section 2102(a)). Grants are awarded to local school districts after the state reviews and approves a district's grant application.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 84.367

Federal grant funds must adhere to:

• UGG (2 CFR 200)
• EDGAR As Applicable
• EDGAR General Fiscal Administration 34 CFR Part 76

Funding:

FY25 Fund Code 0140 Title II, Part A District Allocations
When allocations become available, the RFP will be updated and districts will be notified.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available for allocations, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document. Unclaimed funds will be redistributed to eligible districts via a competitive grant.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Fund Use:

A school district may use funds for training, recruiting, and retaining high-quality educators, including teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals. Funds must supplement, and not supplant, non-federal funds that would otherwise be used for activities authorized under this subpart.

All expenditures are closely reviewed as they relate to the priorities of this grant opportunity.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (No earlier than 7/1/2024)* – 6/30/2025 (Year 1)

The period of availability for this grant award can be extended 15 months beyond Year 1. The extended period is as follows: 7/1/2025 – 6/30/2026 (Year 2); 7/1/2026 – 9/30/2026 (Year 3).

*The grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable application submission as directed in this RFPs Submission Instructions. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.

Program Unit:

Resource Allocation Strategy and Planning

Contact:

Federal Grant Programs

Date Due:

Monday, September 9, 2024

Required Forms:

FY25 Federal Grant Assurances — The FY25 Federal Grant Assurances Signature Page (Page 1 only) completed and signed by the Superintendent/Executive Director and uploaded in GEM$ in the LEA Document Library under Assurances, in folder Federal Entitlement Grant Assurances. We cannot approve any federal entitlement grant without a signed, properly dated and uploaded Federal Grant Assurance signature page.

Additional Information:

Title II, Part A Quick Reference Guide on allowable and unallowable costs

ESSA Family Engagement Resources

District Induction & Mentoring Contact list

Private School Equitable Services under ESSA resources

Evidence-Based Practices: How Do We Know Initiative

Research Brief: Massachusetts Class Size Reduction

Massachusetts Acceleration Roadmap

GEM$ Submission Instructions:

The FY2025 Fund Code 0140 Title II, Part A: Building Systems of Support for Excellent Teaching and Leading grant will be completed and submitted in the Grants for Education Management System (GEM$). GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants.

Please Note: Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off. All these roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Last Updated: June 7, 2024