Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) For
purposes of this rule, "School Improvement Fund" means the fund established by
ORS 327.294.
(2) Each fiscal year the Department of
Education shall award grants from the School Improvement Fund to school
districts, education service districts, the Youth Corrections Education Program
and the Juvenile Detention Education Program for activities that relate to
increases in student achievement, including:
(a) Early childhood support including
establishing, maintaining or expanding quality Pre-kindergarten programs and
full-day kindergarten programs;
(b)
Class size reduction with an emphasis on the reduction of kindergarten through
grade three class sizes;
(c)
Increases in instructional time including summer programs and before and after
school programs;
(d) Mentoring,
teacher retention and professional development;
(e) Remediation, alternative learning and
student retention;
(f) Services to
at-risk youth;
(g) Programs to
improve a student achievement gap between student groups identified by culture,
poverty, language and race and other student groups;
(h) Vocational education programs;
(i) Literacy programs;
(j) School library programs; and
(k) Other research-based student improvement
strategies approved by the State Board of Education.
(3) Grant applications for each school
district, education service district and for the Youth Corrections Education
and Juvenile Detention Education Programs shall identify the goals of the
district or program for increases in student performance for the year and shall
outline how the district or program plans to use the resources provided from
the Fund to reach the performance goals. The Department shall evaluate the
grant applications based on the following criteria:
(a) The goals set by the school districts,
education service districts and programs for increases in student
performance;
(b) The
evidenced-based activities identified to meet the stated goals;
(c) Consistency with the district's
Continuous Improvement Plan;
(d)
The quantifiable performance measures for demonstrating progress on one or more
Key Performance Measures adopted by the 2007 Legislative Assembly and
identified by the Department; and
(e) The evaluation process identified in the
application that will be used by the district or program to determine if the
district or program is effective in the implementation of the activities for
which the district or program is requesting funds.
(4) The amount of each grant for a school
district, education service district or program shall be determined based on
ORS 327.294 and
327.297. After the initial
determination of the grant amount for each district or program, the Department
may adjust the grant amount based on additional data and information received
by the department.
(5)
(a) Each school district, education service
district and program shall account for the grant amounts it receives
separately, and shall apply these amounts to pay for activities described in
the district or program's application. School districts, education service
districts and programs may only expend grant funds on approved activities
identified in the grant application of the district or program.
(b) School districts and education service
districts may choose to budget grant funds in the district's General Fund or a
Special Revenue Fund. Programs may choose to budget these funds in a Special
Revenue Fund. The Department will establish an Area of Responsibility code in
the Program Budgeting and Accounting Manual for School Districts and Education
Service Districts in Oregon to identify all expenditures for the School
Improvement Fund. School districts and education service districts and programs
shall use the Area of Responsibility code to identify all expenditures for the
School Improvement Fund.
(c) School
districts, education service district and programs may carry over grant funds
received in a fiscal year until the end of the next fiscal year. If a district
or program has not expended all of its grant funds prior to the end of the
carry over period, the district or program shall return the unused portion of
the grant funds to the Department.
(d) If the department determines that a
school district, education service district or program did not expend grant
funds in accordance with ORS
327.297 or this rule, the
Department may deny a subsequent request for grant funds from the district or
program and may require the district or program to repay grant funds received
by the district or program for any year.
(e) The Department shall deposit any moneys
it receives under this section in the School Improvement Fund and distribute
those moneys as part of the grants awarded from the fund.
(6) In accordance with ORS
334.177 and the Program
Budgeting and Accounting Manual for School Districts and Education Service
Districts in Oregon, an education service district may transfer grant funds to
component school districts for activities, as identified in the grant
application of the education service district, for which the education service
district received grant funds. The education service district shall report to
the Department about how much grant funds were transferred and shall report
improvement data relating to the activities.
(7) In accordance with ORS
327.297 and the Program
Budgeting and Accounting Manual for School Districts and Education Service
Districts in Oregon, a school district may transfer grant funds to a public
charter school for activities, as identified in the grant application of the
school district, for which the school district received grant funds. The school
district shall report to the Department about how much grant funds were
transferred and shall report improvement data relating to the
activities.
(8) The State
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall resolve any issues arising from the
administration of the School Improvement Fund grants not specifically addressed
by this rule and the Superintendent's determination shall be final.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 327
Stats. Implemented: ORS
327.290,
327.294,
327.297
