For more detailed and specific information about these grants please visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/index.html

Section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides for the U.S. Secretary of Education to allocate funds to SEAs for the purpose of school improvement. Within the regulations and guidelines established by the Secretary, each SEA administers grants to LEAs to “enable the lowest-achieving schools” to meet accountability requirements. In 2009 the U.S. Department of Education announced a dramatic increase in the funds that would be provided to SEAs under section 1003(g) while issuing program requirements that charged the SEAs with channeling the funds to LEAs for the “persistently lowest-achieving schools” to support rapid improvement through four intervention models:

Turnaround model: The LEA replaces the principal and rehires no more than 50% of the staff; gives greater principal autonomy; implements other prescribed and recommended strategies.

Restart model: The LEA converts or closes and reopens a school under a charter school operator, charter management organization, or education management organization.

School closure: The LEA closes the school and enrolls the students in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving.

Transformation model: The LEA replaces the principal (except in specified situations); implements a rigorous staff evaluation and development system; institutes comprehensive instructional reform; increases learning time and applies community-oriented school strategies; and provides greater operational flexibility and support for the school.

The Landscape

13,457 Schools = in some form of improvement status under NCLB
4,941 Schools = in some form of restructuring status (planning + implementation)
3,200 Schools = Restructuring Implementation

$3.546 Billion total

• FY2009 Federal Funding:
• $546 Million from Title I
• $3 billion for School Improvement Grants from ARRA

State Eligibility

• Distributed to states by formula
• Distributed to districts based on competitive application

Each State (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) are eligible to apply to receive a School Improvement Grant.  The US DOE will allocate funds in proportion to the funds received by the States respectively, for the fiscal year (e.g., FY 2009) under Parts A, C, and D of Title I of the ESEA.

An SEA must allocate at least 95% of its school improvement funds directly to LEAs in accordance with the SIG final requirements.  The SEA may retain an amount not to exceed 5%t for State administration, evaluation, and technical assistance, which the Department has awarded to each SEA.

School Eligibility
Each SEA must identify its persistently lowest-achieving schools. LEAs that include
these schools can apply to the SEA to receive School Improvement Grants and determine which of the four models fits best in each of their lowest-achieving schools.

The three tiers of schools identified as lowest achieving, in priority order for assistance through School Improvement Grants are:

Schools the LEA must identify:

Tier I: Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring that are identified by the SEA as “persistently lowest-achieving.”

Tier II: Secondary schools that are eligible for, but do not receive, Title I-Part A funds and are identified by the SEA as “persistently lowest-achieving.”

Tier III: Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring that are not Tier I schools.

Schools the LEA may identify:

Tier I: Title I eligible elementary schools that are no higher achieving than the highest-achieving school that meets the criteria of “persistently lowest-achieving schools” in the “must identify” category above and that are:

• in the bottom 20% of all schools in the State based on proficiency rates; or
• have not made AYP for two consecutive years.

Tier II: Title I eligible secondary schools that are (1) no higher achieving than the highest achieving school that meets the criteria of “persistently lowest-achieving schools” in the “must identify” category above or (2) high schools that have had a graduation rate of less than 60 percent over a number of years and that are:

• in the bottom 20% of all schools in the State based on proficiency rates; or
• have not made AYP for two consecutive years.

Tier III: Title I eligible schools that do not meet the requirements to be in Tier I or Tier II and that are:

• in the bottom 20% of all schools in the State based on proficiency rates; or
• have not made AYP for two years.