Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Grant Application Webinar Details

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act-Stronger Connections Grant Application Webinar August 10, 2023, at 10 a.m. CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Welcome from CDE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Welcome from the Whole Child Division Lisa Borrego, Division Director, Whole Child Division Tom Herman, Education Administrator, School Health and Safety Office Ari Jimenez, Associate Program Governmental Program Analyst, School Health and Safety Office.

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) Background High-need Definition Eligibility Criteria Grant Application Review Agenda (1)

Goals, Possible Funded Activities and Competitive Priorities Funding Levels Program Outcomes Measures Reporting Requirements Supplement, Not Supplant Requirement Timeline and Application Submission Questions and Answers Agenda (2)

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) provides $1 billion under Title IV Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to be awarded in competitive grants to high-need Local Education Agencies Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to establish safer and healthier learning environments. Background (1) Of the $1 billion, California s portion is $119 million of which $118 million will be awarded on a competitive basis to LEAs who demonstrate high-need as determined by the California Department of Education (CDE) with input and comment from education interest holders. The BSCA specifies that SEAs must make competitive grants to high-need local educational agencies under section 4108 of the ESEA.

Comparisons between Stronger Communities Grant (SCG) and Title IV Part A: No transferability to other Titles. Background (2) Still requires the provision of equitable services per ESEA Section 8501. Funds must be administered and tracked separately from the Title IV Part A formula allocation. Funds are awarded on a competitive basis.

State Board of Education (SBE) approved high-need definition: LEAs with a concentration of 80 percent or above of students from low-income families, English learners, and students in foster care (Unduplicated Pupil Count UPC), plus one or more of the following characteristics: A chronic absenteeism rate higher than the state average An exclusionary discipline (in and out of school suspension) rate higher than the state average A school stability rate lower than the state average A dropout rate higher than the state average High-Need Definition

To determine eligibility the CDE will use the most recent available data, which is the 22-23 data for the Unduplicated Pupil Count, and will use the 21- 22 data for Chronic Absenteeism, Suspension Rate, Stability Rate, and Drop Out rate. The CDE is issuing an Errata to correct the Request for Applications (RFA), as the RFA currently refers to 21-22 data to determine the Unduplicated Pupil Count. Eligibility Data

Step 1:Go to https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/filescupc.asp a nd Eligibility Confirmation: Unduplicated Pupil Count % (1) download the CALPADS UPC Source File 2022-23 Step 2: Go to the LEA Level CALPADS UPC Data tab to filter the data for your LEA. Non charter LEAs: filter for your district name and filter for N/A for school name.

Charter school LEAs: filter by school name Eligibility Confirmation: Unduplicated Pupil Count % (2) Step 3: Calculate UPC % for LEA as follows: Take CALPADS UPC count and divide it by Total Enrollment

Step 1: Go to https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ Step 2: Select Level = District (Charter Schools LEAs select school) Step 3: Select Subject as follows: Eligibility Confirmation (3) For Chronic Absenteeism Rate select: Absenteeism Data For Exclusionary Discipline select: Suspension and Expulsion Data For Stability Rates select: Stability Rate For Dropout Rate select: Four-year Adjusted Cohort Rates & Outcome Step 4: Click submit

Step 5: Time frame = 2021- 22 Eligibility Confirmation (4) Step 6: Type a portion of the name (e.g.: For Los Angeles Unified type Los Angeles) Step 7: Click submit

Step 8: Select District Step 9: Select Report as follows: Eligibility Confirmation (5) Chronic Absenteeism Rate Suspension Rate Stability Rates Four-year Adjusted Cohort Outcome (for dropout rate, take # dropouts and divide by # cohort students) Step 10: Click submit to get report results

The CDE is accepting applications from LEAs for the Stronger Connections Grant (SCG). Grant Application Review (1) Applicant agencies are limited to LEAs within the State of California that serve students in pre-K 12, inclusive. For the purposes of SCG, an LEA is defined as a: School district, County office of education (COE), or Charter school

Grant Application Review (2) Multiple LEAs may choose to form a consortium submitting a single application. If multiple LEAs choose to apply as a consortium, each consortium member must meet the high-need LEA definition for the consortium to be considered eligible.

The goals of the SCG are to support evidence- based programs, structures, approaches, and practices that will increase school safety, better meet the increasingly urgent mental health needs of identified youth and to increase the safety and emotional well-being of all students. Goals

Grant applicants should demonstrate how they intend to use grant funds for planning, implementation, professional development, and evaluation of activities in support of evidence-based programs and practices to improve school culture/climate, increase student engagement and inclusion, decrease risk behaviors, increase protective factors, and increase the physical and emotional well-being of all its students. Funded activities (1)

Some examples of funded activities: Promoting community and family involvement in schools Funded activities (2) Providing school-based mental health services and counseling Promoting supportive school climates to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline Establishing or improving dropout prevention programs

Some examples of funded activities (continued): Supporting re-entry programs and transition services for justice-involved youth Funded activities (3) Implementing programs that support a healthy, active lifestyle (nutritional and physical education) Implementing systems, programs and practices to prevent bullying, cyber bullying and harassment Developing relationship building skills to help improve safety and through the recognition and prevention of coercion, violence, or abuse

Some examples of funded activities (continued): Establishing community partnerships to address issues of school safety and climate Forming behavioral threat assessment teams or multi-disciplinary teams to evaluate possible threats of harm to students, and to identify needs of students early in order to avert possible harm Enhancing the LEAs/schools ability to develop high quality comprehensive school safety plans The above is not an exhaustive list and program designs should address identified needs for the LEA/Consortium and the communities it serves. Funded activities (4)

The CDE will prioritize applicants use of grant funds to: Enhance high-quality integrated academic, behavioral, and social emotional learning practices or services aligned to the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), or Begin implementing new MTSS practices and services at schools. Prioritization Considerations

The eligible LEAs will apply on behalf of their selected schools. Funding Levels LEAs will receive between $150K and $400K for each selected school. Allocation is based on school enrollment.

At the end of the three-year grant period, LEAs will be expected to demonstrate measurable improvement in areas specifically identified in the LEA s SCG grant application. Program outcomes measures These identified areas and the state and local metrics/indicators selected to measure improvement must be consistent with those identified in the LEA s LCAP, whether applying as a single LEA or as a member of a consortium.

Grantees must agree to submit Annual Reports (AR), Annual Expenditure Reports (AER), and an End of Project (EOP) Report. The ARs and AERs are due no later than August 31 each year, starting in the year 2024. Reporting Requirements Failure to submit the required reports by the due dates may jeopardize an LEA/consortium s continued funding and may result in termination of the grant. Grantees may be asked to participate as a case study to be included in CDE s efforts in sharing best practices to non-grantees.

LEAs should be mindful that SCG grant funds may only be use to supplement, and not supplant, non- federal funds that would otherwise be available for activities under the SCG grant. Supplement, Not Supplant Requirement This means, in general, that LEAs may not use SCG funds for the cost of activities if the cost of those activities would have otherwise been paid with state or local funds in the absence of SCG Grant funds.

Date Activity August 7, 2023 Request for Applications (RFA) released and posted on the California Department of Education (CDE) website Webinar for prospective applicants. Applications must be received at the CDE, by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) via email (see Application Submission Procedures). Timeline and application submission (1) August 10, 2023 September 12, 2023 September 13- 22, 2023 October 6, 2023 Scoring of applications Preliminary list of grantees announced

Date Activity October 13, 2023 Appeals must be received at the CDE October 2023 Grant Award Notifications processed November 2023 Project Start Date September 30, 2026 expended Timeline and application submission (2) Date by which all funds must be

Federal FAQ: https://oese.ed.gov/bipartisan-safer- communities-act/ Resources Contact Information Title IV, Part A: https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/st/ RFA page: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r29/rfastrongc omm.asp Refer Questions to SCG Inbox: BSCA- SCG@cde.ca.gov

Thank you! Questions and Answers