U.S. Department of
Education Re-Announces Student-Centered Funding Pilot
The U.S. Department of Education has released additional information
about its student-centered funding pilot program. Please find this information
in the forwarded letter below. Direct questions to WeightedFundingPilot@ed.gov.
___________________________________________________________________________________
LETTER FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Dear Colleague:
This spring, the U.S. Department of Education announced a new pilot
to afford local educational agencies (LEAs) flexibility to create equitable,
student-centered funding systems. The purpose of this pilot is to provide an
LEA with the flexibility to combine State, local, and eligible federal funds
that it will allocate to schools using a formula that provides additional
funding for students from low-income families, English learners, and other
disadvantaged students. In exchange for meeting the requirements of the pilot
and using such a student-centered funding formula, the LEA receives freedom
from many of the federal requirements for the funds included in the system
(e.g., tracking time and attendance; creating schoolwide needs assessments and
schoolwide plans for operating a schoolwide program under Title I, Part A;
spending funds on particular allowable uses). The U.S. Department of Education
first accepted applications in March and will accept a second round of
applications by July 15, 2018. Please note that the U.S. Department of
Education recently updated the application, which is available on our
website. To support LEAs interested in applying this summer, the
U.S. Department of Education is hosting a series of two webinars, each of which
will be repeated. (Click on the links below to register.)
The intended audience is LEA staff,
though other interested parties are also welcome. To join a webinar, please
click the link for the relevant session. The webinars will be recorded and the
recordings as well as the slides will be posted with related resources at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/scfp/studentcentered.html.
An LEA applying by July 15, 2018, will be proposing a
system that would be implemented in the 2019-2020 school year, which provides
time for transition to implementing an approved plan. We’re eager to receive
applications from interested LEAs who share our enthusiasm about the program,
the flexibility it gives local leaders, and its potential impact on equity and
transparency in resource allocation. If you have questions about the webinars
or the application, please contact WeightedFundingPilot@ed.gov.
Best,
Patrick Rooney
Office of State Support
U.S. Department of Education
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