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Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

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Title V, Part B - Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)

This program provides additional resources to assist rural districts in meeting state definitions for the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­Accountability System.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Rural Education Achievement Program, or REAP, was established in ESEA/ESSA Title V, Part B, to provide additional resources to assist rural districts in meeting state definitions for the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­Accountability System. Formula allocations are provided to approximately 180 districts in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­each year that are identified as meeting eligibility requirements for one of the three REAP programs, if applicable.

These three REAP components are the Small, Rural School Achievement program (SRSA); the Rural, Low-Income Schools program (RLIS); and REAP Alternate Use Authority. SRSA is administered by the US Department of Education, and RLIS and REAP Alternate Use Authority are administered by the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­Education Department.Ìý

District eligibility for one of the three components of the program is determined by a number of variables including regional density, school population, census poverty data, and the amount of districts’ other NCLB Title allocations. Every year Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ provides updated information to USDOE, which then calculates LEA eligibility for both program components using this and other data sources.

Consolidated Application for ESSA-Funded Programs - Title V - Rural Low Income Schools Program

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

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SMALL RURAL SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT (SRSA)

This program is administered by USDE based on Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­'s data that is supplied annually, by January. SRSA is an on-line application process (only) that is housed on the online portal. The application link will be emailed to eligible LEA's each year after eligibility is determined.

Eligible districts/LEA's are not always the same, since the eligibility is based on data submitted by Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­, NCES and USDE calculations.

The can be downloaded here.

If LEAs are eligible for SRSA, they may choose to participate in REAP Alternate Use Authority through Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­â€™s Consolidated Application.

To be eligible to participate in SRSA, the local educational agency (LEA) must meet the following criteria:

  • Total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is less than 600; or each county in which a school served by the LEA is located has a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; andÌý
  • All of the schools served by the LEA are designated with aÌýSchool Locale CodeÌýof 41, 42 or 43 byÌý.
ALTERNATE USE OF FUNDS AUTHORITY

LEAs that are eligible for the Federally administered Small, Rural School Achievement Program (REAP-SRSA) are also allowed additional flexibility under the REAP Alternate Use Authority to meet district needs in meeting accountability standards. For 2018-19, REAPÌýLEAs will be able to use their Title II-A and Title IV-A allocated funds under the REAP Alternate Use Authority for activities allowed under each of the following programs:

  • Title I-A -Improving Basic Programs
  • Title II-A- Preparing, Training and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals
  • Title III— Language Instruction for Limited EnglishÌýProficient and Immigrant Students
  • Title IV-A— Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants
  • Title IV-B– 21st Century Community Learning Centers

LEAs using the REAP Alternate Use Authority must notate that they are doing so on their FS-10 budget for Title II-A and also on their budget narrative.

For a list of LEAs eligible for Ìý(see Master Eligibility Spreadsheet)

RURAL LOW-INCOME SCHOOL PROGRAM (RLIS)

This program is administered by Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ based on information supplied to USDE in January. Eligible LEA's are notified around July 1 each year on the ESSA-Funded Programs Allocation Page. LEA's eligible for RLIS allocations must apply for these funds through the Consolidated Application.

LEA's may also look up their eligibility status on the

An LEA is eligible to participate in the RLIS program if it meets the statutory criteria of being both low-income and rural (see ESEA section 5221(b)(1)).

  1. To be considered low-income, 20 percent or more of the children ages five to 17 served by the LEA must be from families with incomes below the poverty line, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE). Rural non-geographic LEAs for which SAIPE data are not available that are eligible based on the same State-derived equivalent of SAIPE data that the State uses to make allocations under Part A of Title I of the ESEA, consistent with 34 C.F.R. § 200.72, are also eligible for RLIS funds.
  2. To be considered rural, all schools comprising the LEA must have a school locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43 (assigned by NCES), or be located in an area of the State defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & RESOURCES

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