Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Scope
of section. The purpose of this section is to establish standards for the best
possible use of funds made available by the Legislature to provide financial
assistance to school districts and boards of cooperative educational services
(BOCES), for the operation of adult basic education and literacy programs for
recipients of public assistance who are at least 16 years of age, are not
enrolled in a regular school program and have educational needs associated with
poverty.
(b) Applications.
(1) Each school district and BOCES applying
for a grant under this Part shall submit a formal request on forms provided by
the department. Such requests shall be submitted not later than June 1st of
each year for programs to be conducted during the following school year, except
that for programs to be conducted during the 1988-89 school year only, school
districts and BOCES shall submit such requests by a date to be prescribed by
the commissioner. The commissioner may grant a variance from this time limit
upon a finding that there are extraordinary circumstances which justify the
delay in submitting a request.
(2)
The application shall set forth the following information with respect to each
program for which a grant is requested:
(i)
The number of adult recipients of public assistance who are at least 16 years
of age and are not enrolled in a regular school program, to be benefited by the
proposed program.
(ii) A
description of any existing adult basic education program operated by the
school district or BOCES, and a projection of the number of adults to be served
by the program.
(iii) A description
of the proposed program, including the qualifications of the full- or part-time
professional and auxiliary staff, the facilities to be used, the equipment and
materials to be provided, the manner in which the program is to be administered
and supervised, the number of hours of classroom instruction to be provided,
and the planned enrollment of students in the program.
(iv) The proposed budget for the program,
indicating in detail the manner in which funds are expected to be received and
disbursed, including all funds used in connection with this Part whether
appropriated by the State Legislature to carry out the purposes of this
program, or otherwise appropriated or provided by the local government or
public agency, private persons or organizations, or the school district or
BOCES itself.
(v) A plan developed
by the school district or BOCES, in consultation with the appropriate social
services district, that describes the arrangements for serving public
assistance recipients referred to the school district or BOCES by the social
services district and for referring appropriate public assistance recipients to
the social services district's comprehensive employment program.
(vi) Any other information required by the
department relative to the planning, administration, funding or evaluation of
the program.
(c) Approval of application. Each eligible
agency applying for a grant under this section will be notified by the
department, within a reasonable period of time after the receipt of its
application, of the commissioner's approval or disapproval of its application
in accordance with this subdivision. No school district or BOCES program
application shall be approved unless such application meets the requirements of
subdivision (b) of this section and the proposed program meets the following
criteria:
(1) Each program shall provide for
a minimum of 150 hours of classroom instruction, to be offered for at least six
hours per week.
(2) Each class
shall consist of at least 10, but not more than 20 pupils.
(3) A standardized reading test shall be
administered to all potential English-speaking enrollees in the
program.
(4) An oral placement test
shall be administered to all non-English-speaking potential enrollees in the
program.
(d) Use of
funds.
(1) Funds appropriated for the
purposes of this section shall be apportioned to each school district or BOCES
whose application has been approved by the commissioner.
(2) School districts and BOCES which receive
an allocation of funds appropriated for the purposes of this section shall use
such funds in accordance with the plan for serving and referring public
assistance recipients developed pursuant to subparagraph (b)(2)(v) of this
section.
(3) An eligible agency may
use the funds to:
(i) operate an adult basic
education program for public assistance recipients, including but not limited
to an English-as-a-second-language program, high school equivalency program,
life skills program, or a program leading to a secondary credential which
employs nontraditional modes of instruction, as defined in section
168.2(d)
of this Title;
(ii) match existing
local funds for purposes of operating an adult basic education program for
public assistance recipients; or
(iii) enter into a consortium with other
school districts, BOCES or not-for-profit organizations to provide an adult
basic education program for public assistance recipients;
(iv) payment of all or any part of a grant
may be suspended or terminated by the commissioner if a school district or
BOCES fails to comply with the provisions of the Education Law, with this
section, or with any other applicable law or regulations; or if the
commissioner finds that the adult basic education program for public assistance
recipients is not being implemented or administered in a satisfactory manner or
is failing substantially to effectuate the purpose of the grant; and
(v) nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent the use of funds obtained from other sources in the
planning, execution or evaluation of programs.
(e) Facilities. School districts and BOCES
may make use of existing indoor and outdoor facilities of a school district or
BOCES and of other appropriate community facilities approved by the
commissioner. A portion of the grant may be used to rent facilities deemed
essential to achieve the objectives of the program.
(f) Supervision and evaluation.
(1) All projects for which funds are
allocated pursuant to this section shall be subject to the general supervision
of the commissioner, who shall have the right to examine the facilities,
operation and records relating to such program at any time.
(2) Individual records shall be maintained
for each adult participating in any such program, including attendance, an
assessment of the success of the program with respect to the pupil, and other
pertinent information.
(3)
Financial records shall be maintained, and a report of expenditures submitted
to the department no later than July 31st next following the close of each
school year.
(4) School districts
and BOCES which receive funds pursuant to this section shall submit a report to
the department by February 15th of each school year and a final report by
August 15th next following the close of each school year beginning August 15,
1989. Such reports shall be in a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall
include, but not be limited to, the number of public assistance recipients
served by age, by various indicators of achievement, and by services received.
Each eligible agency shall submit such additional reports as may be required by
the commissioner.
(g)
Education for Gainful Employment (EDGE) Program. Application for grants for
adult basic education and literacy programs which are designated by the
commissioner to support activities under the Education for Gainful Employment
Program for temporary assistance to needy families shall meet all the
requirements of this section except:
(1)
degree-granting institutions and public and private not-for-profit agencies
which include but are not limited to school districts, boards of cooperative
educational services (BOCES), community based organizations, literacy volunteer
organizations, and libraries shall be eligible to receive awards;
(2) the commissioner shall approve programs
designed to assist those eligible for temporary assistance to needy families
services, including, but not limited to, child care, case management,
assessment, counseling, transportation, occupational education and training,
work experience and training for employment readiness;
(3) the building, rooms or space in which
staff and students are housed for any purpose while attending school, and all
facilities and equipment therein, shall meet the standards for school purposes
of local fire, health and building authorities;
(4) the date for submission of applications
for awards to offer EDGE-related education programs for public assistance shall
be no later than October 1st of the year in which application is
made.
