Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Small, Rural School Achievement Program CFDA Number 84.358A Grant Opportunity

For FY 2018, an LEA (including a public charter school that meets the definition of LEA in section 8101(30) of the ESEA) is eligible for an award under the SRSA program if it meets one of the following criteria:
(a)(1) The total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is fewer than 600; or each county in which a school served by the LEA is located has a total population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; and
(2) All of the schools served by the LEA are designated with a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43 by the Department’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); or the Secretary has determined, based
on a demonstration by the LEA and concurrence of the State educational agency, that the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State.
(b) The LEA is a member of an educational service agency (ESA) that does not receive SRSA funds, and the LEA meets the eligibility requirements described in (a)(1) and (2) above.
(c) The LEA meets the requirements for a hold harmless award as described in section 5212(b)(4) of the ESEA. These are LEAs that are no longer eligible for the SRSA program because of amendments made under
the ESSA to the locale code methodology and designations referenced in section 5211(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the ESEA. However, these LEAs may receive a FY 2018 award at a reduced rate as described in section 5212(b)(4) of the ESEA.

Note: The “Choice of Participation” provision under section 5225 of the ESEA gives LEAs eligible for both SRSA and the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program authorized under title V, part B, subpart 2 of the ESEA the option to participate in either the SRSA
program or the RLIS program. LEAs eligible for both SRSA and RLIS are henceforth referred to as “dual-eligible LEAs.”

Which eligible LEAs must submit an application to receive an FY 2018 SRSA grant award?

Under 34 CFR 75.104(a), the Secretary makes a grant only to an eligible entity that submits an application.
In FY 2018, all LEAs eligible to receive an SRSA award are required to submit an SRSA application in order to receive SRSA funds, regardless of whether the LEA received an award or submitted an application in any previous year.\2\ This includes LEAs eligible to receive an FY 2018 award under the hold harmless provision, dual-
eligible LEAs that choose to participate in the SRSA program instead of the RLIS program, and SRSA-eligible LEAs that are members of ESAs that do not receive SRSA funds. In the case of SRSA-eligible LEAs that are
members of SRSA-eligible ESAs, the respective LEAs and ESAs must coordinate directly with each other to determine which entity will submit an SRSA application, as both entities may not apply for or receive SRSA funds. Additionally, we note that dual-eligible LEAs that apply for SRSA funds in accordance with these application submission procedures will not be considered for an RLIS award.
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\2\ In FY 2017, the Department implemented a new annual application process for SRSA. To assist in the transition to this annual application process, for FY 2018 only, eligible LEAs that failed to apply for an SRSA grant award in FY 2017 may apply for the funds they were eligible to receive in FY 2017–in addition to any FY 2018 SRSA grant award–through this notice.

Under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) number 84.358A, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) awards grants on a formula basis to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to address the unique needs of rural school districts. In this notice, we establish the
deadline and describe the submission procedures for fiscal year (FY) 2018 SRSA grant applications.

All LEAs eligible for FY 2018 SRSA funds must submit an application electronically via Grants.gov by the deadline in this notice.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) number 84.358A.

All LEAs eligible for FY 2018 SRSA grant funds are required to submit an electronic application using the Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov by 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on April 20, 2018. SRSA applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement, in accordance with the instructions in this section. You may not email an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different webforms within an application. An applicant can create an individual Workspace for each application notice and, thus, establish for that application a collaborative application package that allows more than one person in the applicant’s organization to work concurrently on an application. The applicant can, thus, assign other users to participate in the Workspace. The system also enables the applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions; check them in and out and complete them; and submit its application package. For access to complete instructions on how to apply, refer to: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.