Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) Grant for Innovative Approaches to K-12 Literacy

Note: In order to demonstrate that charter schools or State-administered schools are LEAs, applicants must include documentation from their State educational agency confirming LEA status. Subject to the submission of sufficient applications that meet the requirements of this notice, the Department will award no less than 50 percent of the funds to LEAs (on behalf of school libraries) for high-quality school library projects that increase access to a wide range of print and electronic resources and provide learning opportunities to all students. The Secretary reserves the right to fund a sufficient number of high-quality literacy and book distribution projects from LEAs and national not-for-profit organizations.

On July 11, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 40866) a notice inviting applications for new awards using fiscal year (FY) 2012 funds for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program (2012 notice). The 2012 notice erroneously listed deadline dates for intergovernmental review under Executive Order 12372 and its implementing regulations in 34 CFR part 79. The Secretary had decided to waive the EO 12372 review of the July 11, 2012 notice, as authorized under part 79, but the notice did not reflect that decision. The Secretary made the decision to waive this review because we would otherwise not be able to make timely grant awards for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program for FY 2012. We are correcting the 2012 notice to remove the requirement that applicants submit their applications for intergovernmental review.

Note: In order to demonstrate that charter schools or State-administered schools are LEAs, applicants must include documentation from their State educational agency confirming LEA status. Subject to the submission of sufficient applications that meet the requirements of this notice, the Department will award no less than 50 percent of the funds to LEAs (on behalf of school libraries) for high-quality school library projects that increase access to a wide range of print and electronic resources and provide learning opportunities to all students. The Secretary reserves the right to fund a sufficient number of high-quality literacy and book distribution projects from LEAs and national not-for-profit organizations.

Please review the official application notice for pre-application and application requirements, application submission information, performance measures, priorities and program contact information.

Purpose of Program: The Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade within the attendance boundaries of high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) intends to support innovative programs that promote early literacy for young children, motivate older children to read, and increase student achievement by using school libraries, distributing free books to children and their families, and offering high-quality literacy activities.
Many schools and districts across the Nation do not have school libraries that deliver high-quality literacy programming to children and their families. Additionally, many schools do not have qualified library media specialists and library facilities. Where facilities do exist, they are often under-resourced and lack adequate books and other materials. In many communities, high-need children and students have limited access to appropriate age- and grade-level reading material in their homes.
The IAL program supports the implementation of high-quality plans for childhood literacy activities and book distribution efforts that are supported by at least one study that meets the definition of scientifically valid research (as defined in this notice).

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215G.

Applications for grants under the Innovative Approaches to Literacy
Program, CFDA number 84.215G, must be submitted electronically using
the Government-wide Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. Through
this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application
package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your
application. You may not email an electronic copy of a grant
application to us.
You may access the electronic grant application for the IAL program
at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application
package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the
CFDA number’s alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.215, not
84.215G).