TEA
is announcing the availability of grant funds for the 2018–2019 Services to
Students with Autism grant program. Request for Application (RFA) #701-18-107 is
authorized by the Texas Education Code, 29.026 as added by House Bill 21,
Section 3, 85th Texas Legislature, 2017. The RFA is available on the
TEA Grant Opportunities
Page.
Eligibility
All Texas local
educational agencies (LEAs) are eligible to apply.
Grant Period
- May
1, 2018, through August 31, 2019.
- This
grant is expected to have up to 1 year of continuation funding subject to
future appropriations by the Texas Legislature.
Funding
- A
total of approximately $10,000,000 is available for this grant program.
- It
is anticipated that approximately 10 grants will be awarded.
- Grant
awards are expected to range up to $1,000,000.
Description
The 85th
Texas Legislature passed HB21 authorizing funding for a grant program to
support innovative school-wide models to provide exceptionally effective
services to students with autism. The
grant program is intended to provide funding to individual grantees and
collaborations that seek to implement innovative programs that effectively
address the unique academic and functional needs of students with autism.
Successful applicants may focus on new and innovative practices, or new and
innovative ways to remove barriers to effective implementation of accepted
practices, or both. While there is an emphasis in this grant program on
innovation, any application that is selected will demonstrate strong evidential
support for the methods selected to be employed in the program.
As part of the
process, applicants will develop student outcomes-based metrics on which their
program will affect positive impacts. These metrics and their associated
improvement goals should have substantiated baselines and demonstrate an
inclusive organizational culture that values high levels of rigor and high
expectations for all students.
In addition to
what is described above, strong applications will also demonstrate the
integration of substantial feedback from stakeholders, including parents,
educators, and community members. Preference will be given to applications that
include collaborations among school districts, and/or open enrollment charter
schools. Applicants are also encouraged to engage in collaborative activities
with regional educational service centers (ESCs) and institutions of higher
education (IHEs).
Application Deadline
Applications must be
received by the Texas Education Agency by 5:00 p.m. (Central Time), March 8,
2018, to be considered for funding.
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