C H A R T E R S C H O O L S P R O G R A M

OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND IMPROVEMENTU.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

MARCH 21, 2016

Charter Schools Program State Education Agency Grants

Agenda

1. Understanding CSP and the SEA Grant Program

Within ED

Program Purpose and Outcomes

2. Managing Your SEA Grant

Documents to Manage By

Roles and Responsibilities

3. CSP Nonregulatory Guidance – Highlights

4. Funding Restrictions and Other Requirements

5. Technical Assistance and Resources

Understanding CSP and the SEA Program

OII Organization Chart

Office of Innovation and Improvement

Nadya Dabby, Assistant Deputy Secretary

Ursula Wright, Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary

Margo Anderson, Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary

Executive Office

Liza Araujo-Rouse

Executive Officer

Charter Schools Pogram

Stefan Huh, Director

Parental Options and Information

Anna Hinton, Director

Teacher Quality

Programs

VenitiaRichardson,

Director

Office of Non-Public Education

and Military Affairs

Maureen Dowling, Director

Investing in Innovation

Program Office

Shane Mulhern, Director

CSP Staff

CSP Program Manager: Erin Pfeltz

State Education Agency Grants (SEA):

Leslie Hankerson

Amy Huber

Kate Meeley

Non-State Education Agency Grants (Non-SEA):

Eddie Moat

Lourdes Rivery

Replication and Expansion Grants (CMO):

Clifton Jones

Kate Meeley

Brian Martin

Eddie Moat

Erin Pfeltz

Lourdes Rivery

Soumya Sathya

National Leadership Grants:

Brian Martin

Soumya Sathya

SOAR Act

Soumya Sathya

Monitoring and Data Contracts

Patricia Kilby-Robb

Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Grants:

Clifton Jones

State Facilities Incentive Grants:

Clifton Jones

Administrative Support:

Cheryl Weekes

CSP Director: Stefan Huh

Authorization and Program Purpose

Legislative purpose

ESEA Title V, Part B – Public Charter Schools: Subpart 1 – Charter Schools Program

Section 5201: It is the purpose of this subpart to increase national understanding of the charter schools model by –

1) Providing financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools;

2) Evaluating the effects of such schools, including the effects on students, student academic achievement, staff, and parents;

3) Expanding the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the Nation; and

4) Encouraging the States to provide support to charter schools for facilities financing in an amount more nearly commensurate to the amount the States have typically provided for traditional public schools.

Mission

To support the creation, expansion, and improvement of high-quality charter

schools across the nation.

9

38 states across the country have received grants from the SEA program1.

Note: States in gray (i.e., AL, KY, ME, MS, MT, ND, NE, SD, VT, WA, WV, WY) did not receive an SEA grant. KY, MT, ND, NE, SD, VT, and WV have not had charter laws in place during this time.1 Since the inception of the CSP program in 1995.

Federal funds have also helped charter schools find suitable facilities, disseminate promising charter

school practices, promote exemplary collaborations with traditional public schools, and invest in national

activities and initiatives that support charter schools.

THE CSP HAS PROVIDED OVER $3.3 BILLION TO FUND THE

STARTUP, REPLICATION AND EXPANSION OF PUBLIC

CHARTER SCHOOLS.

10

NOTE: These slides focus only on the SEA, Non-SEA and CMO grants.

The CSP has awarded $3.3 billion for the creation of charter schools since its inception in 1995, through three grant competitions:

State Educational Agencies (SEA):

$3.0 billion from 1995-2015

Replication and Expansion of

High-Quality Charter Schools (CMO):

$266 million from 2010-2015

Non-State Educational

Agencies (Non-SEA):

$83 million from 2002-2015

1.

2.

3.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL GRANTS

ARE PROVIDED THROUGH THE SEA PROGRAM.

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Managing Your SEA Grant

Documents to Manage By

Grant Award Notification (GAN) & Special Conditions

Approved Application

EDGAR Title 34 CFR

Uniform Guidance 2 CFR Part 200

GAN

Things to Note:

PR Award Number – aka Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN)

Department of Education contacts

Project Director

Budget/Performance Period

Terms and Conditions

Applicable regulations and statutes

Approved Application

Your approved grant application:

Is a detailed project plan to follow

Meets federal requirements

Aligned with program objectives

States the approved activities, which are allowable and consistent with the program objectives

Establishes the scope of project

Establishes the objectives of the project

Specific Conditions

The GAN may contain specific conditions related to your organization’s past performance

The Department adds specific conditions to address risk identified by pre-award risk reviews of grant applicants, required by the Uniform Guidance

CSP adds conditions based on annual performance reports and monitoring findings when necessary.

All 2015 applicants received a condition noting the relationship between the 5% administrative allowance and the final grant award.

EDGAR

Part 75: Direct Grants

Part 76: State-Administered Programs

Part 77: Definitions

Part 79: Intergovernmental review of Department of Education Programs and Activities

Part 81: General Education Provisions Act

Part 82: Lobbying

Part 84: Drug-Free workplace

Part 86: Drug and alcohol prevention

Part97: Protection and Human Subjects

Part 98: Student rights in research

Uniform Guidance

Title 2 CFR Part 200

Title 2 CFR Part 3474

Consolidation of OMB Circulars into one singular document for all types of entities

EDGAR Parts 74 & 80 replaced

Applies to all awards made on or after 12/26/2014

ED awards/continuations made before 12/26/14 adhere to the previous rules

Organization of the Uniform Guidance

Subpart A – Acronyms and Definitions

Subpart B – General Provisions

Subpart C – Pre-Award Requirements

Subpart D – Post-Award Requirements

Subpart E – Cost Principles

Subpart F – Audit Requirements

Appendices III to V & VII – Indirect Cost/Cost Allocation Plans

Appendix XI – Compliance Supplement for audits

Questions

Roles & Responsibilities: Project Administration

Lines of authority – the project staff members, their roles, and lines of reporting

As stated in approved application

Key personnel changes need ED approval 2 CFR 200.308

Staff aware of project’s purpose, duration, and objectives.

Succession planning is key to a successful grant.

Roles & Responsibilities: Guiding Documents

Keep on site:

Approved application & grant awards

Contracts & subgrant award agreements

Audit & site visit reports

Corrective action plans

Annual reports

Project revision(s) documentation

Current budget & personnel list

Roles & Responsibilities: Financial Management

Adhere to your State or organization accounting and financial management procedures

Meet procurement standards

Meet cash management standards

Enable accurate financial and performance reporting

Roles & Responsibilities: Procurement Standards

Maximize competition (allowable altgernatives to full competition)

Avoid conflicts of interest (and appearance of it)

Monitor contractor performance

Document procurement decisions

States follow state procedures (2 CFR 200.317)

All others follow their own documented procedures (which meet state & local law, and

standards) of

2 CFR 200.318 – 200.326

Roles & Responsibilities: Performance Reporting

Submit annual & final performance reports Valid & reliable data

Report on GPRA standards & indicators

Participate in ED-sponsored evaluation

Conduct an independent project evaluation

2 CFR Part 200

200.328

Roles & Responsibilities: Records Retention

Record retention period is 3 years

Keep time and attendance, contract, purchase, equipment inventory and disposition – all records related to financial and performance reports

Note: Required retention period is longer if grant is involved in litigation, claim or audit

Roles & Responsibilities: Pass-Through Entity Responsibilities

If you make subgrants, you must:

Provide subaward information to subrecipients, including the indirect cost rate

Performance a risk assessment for the purpose of subrecipient monitoring

Monitor the subrecipients’ activities, including a review of financial & performance reports

Verify that every ssubrecipient is audited according to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F

Questions

CSP Nonregulatory Guidance -Highlights

CSP Eligibility

State educational agencies (SEAs)

SEAs make subgrants to eligible applicants in their State.

These subgrants are used for planning, program design, and initial implementation of a charter school, and to support the dissemination of information about charter schools including successful practices.

Eligible applicant means a developer that has:

a) applied to an authorized public chartering authority to operate a charter school; and

b) Provided adequate and timely notice to that authority under section 5203(d)(3) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7221i(3)).

A subgrant under this program may use the subgrant funds only for— Post-award planning and design of the

educational program; and

Initial implementation of the charter school.

Planning and implementation grants generally may be awarded for a period of up to 36 months (three years), with no more than 18 months used for planning and program design, and no more than 24 months (two years) used for initial implementation of the charter school.

Use of Funds –Planning & Implementation

CSP Allowable Activities

Use of Funds -Dissemination

A State may reserve up to 10 percent of its grant to award dissemination subgrants.

A charter school may apply for dissemination funds whether or not it has applied for or received funds for planning and implementation.

To qualify for the dissemination funds, a charter school must have been operating for at least three consecutive years and must have demonstrated overall success, including:

Substantial progress in improving student achievement;

High levels of parent satisfaction; and

The management and leadership required to overcome start-up problems and establish a thriving and financially viable charter school.

CSP Allowable Activities

Nonregulatory Guidance

Highlights:

• Charter School Definition

• Allowable Expenses (Section D)

• Identifying a Separate School (Section C)

• Lottery Guidance (E-4)

Section 5210 of the ESEAA public school:1. Exempt from significant State or local rules 2. Operated under public supervision and direction3. Operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives4. Provides a program of elementary or secondary education5. Is nonsectarian6. Does not charge tuition7. Complies with all federal discrimination requirements8. Admits students on the basis of a lottery9. Complies with Federal and State public school audit requirements 10. Meets all applicable Federal, State, and local health and safety

requirements11. Operates in accordance with State law12. Has a written performance contract including a description of how

student performance will be measured

Charter School Definition

Allowable Expenses

Use of Grant Funds

CSP Non-Regulatory Guidance, Section D-1 through D-5

• SEAs cannot exceed 5% in administrative costs associated with the grant and 10% in dissemination activities.

• All of the expenses described in D-3 (a)-(d) are allowable under the CSP only to the extent that they are related to the initial implementation of the charter school and cannot be met from State or local sources.

www2.ed.gov/programs/charter/nonregulatory-guidance.html

Allowable Expenses

a) Costs associated with creating and implementing office functions, such as accounting systems, attendance and registration systems, and human resources policies;

b) Costs associated with the installation of computers, data systems, networks, and telephones;

c) Personnel expenses incurred either before or after the school’s opening, provided that these expenses are associated with initial implementation activities (i.e., as opposed to ongoing operations), such as program and curriculum development and integration, and teacher and staff recruiting. (*Note: If personnel split their time between ongoing operational activities and initial implementation activities, only that portion of the time associated with initial implementation of the charter school is allowable as an initial operational cost. The charter school must maintain accurate time and effort records to document the amount of time each employee works on tasks related to the initial implementation of the charter school.); and

d) Rental or occupancy costs for the school facility for a reasonable period of time in preparation for the school’s opening.

Allowable Expenses

Factors to consider when determining if a new school is truly separate and distinct:

a) The terms of the charter; b) Schools established and recognized as separate schools

under the State’s charter school law; c) Separate performance agreements with authorizer(s);d) Whether each school separately reports its academic

performance for ESEA reporting purposes; e) Separate facilities; f) Separate staffs; and g) Whether the charter schools’ day-to-day operations are

carried out by different administrators.

Can you fund this growth?

Any new school must conduct a separate admissions process and lottery.

If an SEA wishes to fund multiple schools that have an admissions pipeline (e.g. a new middle school that receives students from an affiliated “feeder” elementary school) it must request a waiver from the provision in ESEA 5202(d)(1) that limits a charter school to receiving just one subgrant.

The Department has no objection to one governing board overseeing multiple charter schools, provided that the board exercises appropriate oversight and monitoring of each school.

Can you fund this growth?

A lottery is a random selection process by which applicants are admitted to the charter school.

A charter school receiving CSP funds must use a lottery if more students apply than can be admitted.

Must include all eligible applicants for admission.

May only exempt students deemed already admitted.

Current Lottery Guidance

Students deemed already admitted:

Students who are enrolled in a public school at the time it is converted into a public charter school.

Students who are eligible to attend, and are living in the attendance area of, a public school at the time it is converted into a public charter school. “At the time” means the first year as a charter school.

Siblings of students already admitted to or attending the same charter school.

Children of a charter school’s founders, teachers, and staff

Children of employees at a work-site charter school

Current Lottery Guidance

Weighted Lotteries:

Guidance updated in January 2014 to clarify circumstances in which charter schools receiving CSP funds may use weighted lotteries in admissions, specifically for educationally disadvantaged students.

Weighted lotteries (lotteries that give additional weight to individual students who are identified as part of a specified set of students, but do not reserve or set-aside seats for students) are permitted only in certain circumstances.

Current Lottery Guidance

Weighted Lotteries:

Existing grantees may request approval to allow

weighted lotteries as described in the Guidance by

amending their grant applications. An applicant for

future CSP competitions that wishes to use a

weighted lottery should provide the same

information in its grant application.

Section E-3a of the Guidance describes the

information that must be included in the request.

Current Lottery Guidance

Areas of Concern:

• Preferences, whether geographic or for special populations

• State-mandated geographic preferences should be discussed with your program officer

• Preferences for educationally disadvantaged students that are not weighted lotteries

• Lack of policy on “small percentage” for students of teachers and other staff

Current Lottery Guidance

When recruiting students, charter schools should:

• Target all segments of the parent community.

• Give each student an equal opportunity to attend the school.

• Recruit in a manner that does not discriminate.

• Consider additional recruitment efforts towards groups that might otherwise have limited opportunities to participate in the program.

• Guidance specifically includes English learners and students with disabilities as possible outreach targets.

Current Lottery Guidance

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Questions

Funding Restrictions and Other Requirements

Replication and expansionCost principlesInternal controlsProperty Management and Inventory Requirements (Disposition) Revisions of Budget & Program Plans

Replication and Expansion Grantee Restrictions

A charter school that receives funds under the Replication and Expansion competition is ineligible to receive funds for the same purpose under section 5202(c)(2) of the ESEA.

Replication and Expansion Grantees

Achievement First, Inc.

Across the Bridge Foundation

Alliance College Ready Public Schools

Aspire Public Schools

Baltimore Curriculum Project

Breakthrough Charter Schools

DC Preparatory

Democracy Prep Public Schools

Einstein Group, Inc.

Gestalt Community Schools

Great Oaks Foundation, Inc.

Green Dot Public Schools

IDEA Public Schools

KIPP Foundation

Replication and Expansion Grantees

Lawndale Educational and Regional Network

LEAD Public Schools, Inc.

Mastery Charter High School

Noble Network of Charter Schools

Propel Schools Foundation

RePublic Schools and RePublic Schools Nashville

Rhode Island mayoral Academy Blackstone Valley

Rocketship

Success Academy Charter Schools, Inc

Uncommon Schools, Inc.

UP Education Network, Inc.

Uplift Education

West Denver Prep DBA STRIVE Preparatory Schools

YES Prep Public Schools

Uniform Guidance

Cost Principles

2 CFR 225 (A-87)

2 CFR 230 (A-122)

Cost Principles – Funding Restrictions

Costs charged to a Federal grant must be:

1. Allowable - Permitted or not specifically prohibited

2. Allocable - Assignable to the project – in total, or distributed based on proportional benefits

3. Reasonable - Passes the “prudent” person test• Ordinary and necessary• Comparable with market prices• Same practices for incurring costs for federally

funded and other projects

The previous A-87 and A-122 Cost Principle Circulars have been combined in the Uniform Guidance.

Federal Cost Principles

Cost principles for many items are described in 2 CFR 200.420-200.475

See guidance for spending on meetings:2 CFR 200.432 & ED’s “Use of Federal Grant Funds for Conferences and Meetings”

FAQ on conferences and meetings: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/guid/gposbul/gposbul.html. Use of Federal funds for food, beverage, or snacks requires a very high burden of proof to show that it is necessary.

Meetings must be:

• Consistent with approved application

• Held to disseminate technical information

• An efficient &effective way to achieve result

Questions

Internal Controls Requirements

Grantees must:

Establish & maintain internal controls that provide reasonable assurance that they are managing the grant in compliance with laws, terms & conditions

Comply with laws, terms & conditions

Evaluate their compliance

Act on non-compliance e.g., audit findings

Safeguard PII and sensitive information

Standards for Internal Control

Uniform Guidance identifies this guidance:

“Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government” aka the GAO “Green Book” Comptroller General of the United States http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/665712.pdf

“Internal Control Integrated Framework” Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)

http://www.coso.org/documents/990025P_Executive_Summary_final_may20_e.pdf

Internal Controls for Grant Expenditures

Grantees should have written procedures for expending funds in their budget categories:

Salaries

Benefits

Travel

Equipment

Supplies

Contracts

Indirect Costs

Training Stipends

Property Management and Inventory Requirements

In addition to procedures for purchasing equipment and supplies, procedures for tracking and inventories are necessary as well.

Inventories should occur every 2 years.

At the end of the grant, be able to document any equipment or supplies with a residual value of $5,000 or more.

Be able to report whether the items are still needed for project purposes, or to request disposition instructions.

Asset Disposition

CSP subgrant is closed out properly

Develop written procedures and guidelines to assist charter schools that close

Guidelines may address various issues, including the transfer of student records, protection of personal information, placement of students in other public schools, and appropriate disposition of the charter school’s assets.

See, generally, the Uniform Guidance closeout procedures at 2 CFR 200.343-200.345.

The Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200.313 and 200.314

Define equipment as tangible property with a per unit acquisition cost of greater than $5,000, or, if the SEA or subgrantee has a lower capitalization threshold, a per unit acquisition cost that exceeds that lower threshold. See 2 CFR 200.33.

Asset Disposition

Subgrantee inventory that, at the time of disposition, does not exceed $5,000, or a lower threshold established by the State or the subgrantee, would be classified as supplies.

If there are unused supplies with a total aggregate value exceeding $5,000 when a charter school closes, and the supplies are not needed for any other Federal award, the SEA (or charter school subgrantee) must use the supplies for other activities or sell them.

Asset Disposition

Questions

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Revisions

Changes Requiring Approval

Seek program officer’s approval prior to:

Changes in project scope or objectives

Subbing out substantive work of the grant

Changes in key personnel

Project director disengaged for 3+ months or 25%+ reduction in time

Changes in amount of matching funds

Transfer of funds budgeted for participant support to other expenses

Grantee Flexibilities

Pre-award costs

Carryover

Budget transfers

Time extensions

2 CFR Section

200.308

34 CFR Sections

75.261 and 75.264

Carryover

Unexpended funds are “forwarded”without prior approval for any allowable cost within the approved scope of the project

Complete unfinished activities

New activities within scope

ED Program Officer may request a written statement about how the funds will be used

Large amounts will require written explanation

Budget Transfer

Prior approval is generally not required to transferbudget across budget categories

Exceptions in 2 CFR 200.308…Prior approval is needed: For training funds or Transfer or contracting work

Prior approval is needed if more than 10% of a budget line is being transferred between budget categories.

Time Extension

In the final year of a grant…

One-time extension for up to one year without prior approval.

Written notice to program office is required:

No later than 10 days before project ends

State reasons for extension & revised end date

Time Extension Restrictions

Not just for using unexpended funds

No additional federal funds

No change to scope or objectives

Questions

Reporting and Monitoring

A N N U A L P E R F O R M A N C E R E P O R T

Due on a yearly basis, prior to the beginning of the next budget period. Required for grant continuation.

F E D E R A L F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T ( I F A P P L I C A B L E )

F I N A L P E R F O R M A N C E R E P O R TDue 90 days after the end of the grant

performance period. Required to close grant out in compliance.

O N G O I N G U P D A T E SQuarterly Calls

DATA COLLECTIONDue at the same time as the APR and FPR

MONITORING (onsite)

G5 DRAWDOWNS

STATE AUDITS

Overall Monitoring

Program office will:

Monitor spending in G5

Review financial and performance reports

Review other reports (such as audits)

Call or visit

Monitoring Goal:

To identify performance or financial issues

G5 Monitoring Report: Excessive Drawdowns

General indicators of excessive draw

1st Quarter More than 50%

2nd Quarter More than 80%

3rd Quarter 100%

Unspent cash must be returned

Interest may be charged

G5 Monitoring Report:Large Available Balance

Large balances might indicate project is not moving forward

Key indicator is 70% or more of funds left within 90 days before end of the budget period

Reason for balance will be clarified before any continuation award will be made

Annual Performance Report

Recipients of multi-year discretionary awards must submit an annual grant performance report to receive continuation funding.

Reports due 6-8 months from the beginning of the performance period (currently April 1).

Progress to date towards completion of goals and objectives identified in the application.

Accounting of funds expended, and funds to be expended in upcoming year.

Requests for budget changes, supplemental funds, or activity changes for continuation.

Annual Performance Report

Things to note:

Two components of your annual report:

Data Collection Form

ED 524B Form

Both annual and final performance reports use the 524B Form with 4 parts:

Cover Sheet & Executive Summary

Section A – Project Status Chart

Section B – Budget

Section C - Additional Information

this includes your Pipeline update

Submitting the APR

ED 524B reports are designed to be submitted through the G5 system.

Reports are due by 4:30 PM (Washington, DC time) on April 1, 2016.

When submitting, save a copy of the report for your records.

Data Collection

Data Collection Form

Collects information on awarded subgrants: school names and locations, NCES ID, LEA, CMO or EMO (if applicable), performance period dates, amounts awarded.

Allows for tracking of CSP fund use and analysis with other data systems.

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/charter/cspdata.pdf

Continuation Funding

Congress has appropriated sufficient funds under the program;

The grantee has made substantial progress toward meeting the objectives of the project, or obtained approval of changes to the project activities from the program official in order to make substantial progress toward achieving project objectives in the future;

The grantee has sent to ED every required report (including the annual performance report);

Continuation Funding

The program staff has determined that continuing funding for the grant is in the best interest of the federal government (e.g. the program staff believe the project continues serve the priorities of the program);

The grantee has met the conditions of previous awards [75.217(s)(3)(iii)]; and

The grantee’s management practices and financial accounting systems are adequate to provide appropriate stewardship of federal funds (74.21).

Quarterly Calls

An official, scheduled check-in with your program officer on the following:

Potential changes to project or budget

Updates on activities or charter sector

Questions about grant

Timeline: February

May

August

November

Monitoring

Monitoring

Typically once during a grant performance period.

Performed onsite, covering specific program indicators.

Provide documentation to support compliance and performance.

Final report determines corrective action plans to address any findings.

Technical Assistance and Resources

Technical Assistance and Resources

CSP Resources - http://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/

Data Set and Analysis

Grantee Award Information

Audit Report Links

Past Competition Information

Dear Colleague Letters

Technical Assistance and Resources

National Charter School Resource Center

www.charterschoolcenter.org/

SEA Community of Practice Webinars

SEA COP Portal

If you do not have access to the SEA COP Portal, please let your program officer know!

Technical Assistance and Resources

Uniform Guidance

• This final guidance is located in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-12-26/pdf/2013-30465.pdf

• OMB Analysis and “crosswalks” comparing the current circulars to the proposed revisions (now codified).http://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/guid/uniform-guidance/index.html

Crosswalk from existing guidance to proposed guidance

Administrative Requirements Text Comparison

Cost Principles Text Comparison

Audit Requirements Text Comparison

Important Reminders

Check grant terms, conditions and grant award

attachments for possible exceptions

When in doubt, call your Program Officer

CSP Contacts

Stefan HuhStefan.Huh@ed.gov(202) 453-6384

Erin PfeltzErin.Pfeltz@ed.gov(202) 205-3525

Amy HuberAmy.Huber@ed.gov(202) 453-6634

Kathryn MeeleyKathryn.Meeley@ed.gov(202) 401-2266

Leslie HankersonLeslie.Hankerson@ed.gov(202) 205-8524

Questions