Family & Community Students & Families Student and Secondary Support
Innovative Program Grants (Title V)

FY 09 Title V, Part A Innovative Grants News Alert

Congress recently passed legislation to provide funding for the No Child Left Behind Act for state fiscal year 2008-2009 (FY 09) programs. Unfortunately, this legislation did not provide funding for Title V, Part A (Innovative Grants), which is distributed in Massachusetts through Fund Code (FC) 302. As a result, please be aware of the following:

• No new funds will be available for distribution to districts in this upcoming year (FY 09) through Title V, Part A (FC 302).

• Districts are strongly encouraged to spend all of their FY08 Title V, Part A funds by August 31, 2008.

• Districts with highly unusual circumstances that prevent them from spending all of their FY 08 Title V, Part A funds by August 31, 2008 must return the unspent portion along with the Final Financial Report Form (FR1) by October 31, 2008. These districts may then apply for that amount through a FY 09 carryover grant. Funds from the carryover grant need to be expended by August 31, 2009. Details on the carryover process will be posted later this spring to http://www.doe.mass.edu/titlev/.

• In FY 09, districts will still be entitled to transfer funds into Title V, Part A from other allowable Titles (including Title IIA Improving Teacher Quality state grants, Title IID Educational Technology state grants, and Title IVA Safe & Drug Free Schools and Communities grants), according to the same rules that have applied since the NCLB act was passed. See http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/Grants/grants08/rfp/nclb.html for more details on transferability.

• Districts receiving funds under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program may continue to use their SRSA funds to carry out local activities authorized under Title V, Part A as well as under certain other programs indentified in the SRSA. Districts eligible for SRSA funding may also continue to exercise Rural Education Achievement Program flexibility (REAP-Flex) authority to use any funds that they receive under the Improving Teacher Quality, Educational Technology, and Safe and Drug-Free Communities grant programs to carry out local activities authorized under Title V, Part A as well as activities authorized under certain other programs identified in the REAP legislation. See http://www.ed.gov/programs/reapsrsa for more SRSA details.

Please contact the Student Support Unit with any questions via achievement@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3322.