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Office of Program Administration and
Accountability
| Title VI, Part B: Rural Education Initiative |
Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2,
Rural and Low-Income School Program
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) |
| The Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program is an initiative that provides grant funds to rural school divisions serving concentrations of children from low-income families. Under the RLIS program, the U.S. Department of Education awards funds by formula to states. The states in turn fund grants to eligible school divisions either by formula or by a competitive process. Virginia uses a formula process to award its funds. These funds are used to address the unique needs of rural school divisions that frequently (1) lack the personnel and the resources needed to compete effectively for federal competitive grants and (2) receive formula grant allocations in amounts too small to be effective in meeting their intended purposes.
Eligibility
A school division is eligible to receive a grant under RLIS, Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2, Rural and Low-Income School Program if –
(A) 20 percent of more of the children ages 5 through 17 years served by the school division are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and
(B) all of the schools served by the school division are designated with a school locale code of 6, 7, or 8, as determined by the Secretary. (A locale code of 6 is a small town within a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with a population less than 25,000 and at least 2,500; a locale code of 7 is a rural area outside a MSA with a population of less than 2,500; and a locale code of 8 is a rural area inside a MSA with a population less than 2,500.)
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Funded Activities
A grant to an eligible school division is made according to a formula based on the number of students in average daily attendance served by the division. Funds may be spent in one or more of the following categories identified as F-1 through F-7:
F-1. Recruitment and retention of teachers, including the use of signing bonuses and other financial incentives;
F-2. Professional development for teachers, including programs that train teachers to utilize technology to improve teaching and to train special needs teachers;
F-3. Educational technology expenditures, including software and hardware, as described in Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology;
F-4. Parental involvement activities;
F-5. Activities authorized under the Title IV, Part A, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities;
F-6. Activities authorized under Title I, Part A, Improving Basic Program Operated by Local Educational Agencies; or
F-7. Activities authorized under Title III, Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students.
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Application Goals & Objectives
School divisions eligible for Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2, funds may submit an individual or a consolidated application each year of its eligibility. At a minimum, the application shall include information on specific measurable goals and objectives to be achieved through the activities described within. These goals and objectives may relate to increased student academic achievement; decreased student dropout rates; or such other factors the Virginia Department of Education may choose to measure.
The expectations are that in developing plans to improve student achievement and to close the achievement gap, school divisions will:
1. Target resources to schools where the needs are the greatest;
2. Ensure that children have access to effective, scientifically-based instructional strategies and challenging academic content;
3. Elevate significantly the quality of instruction by providing teachers and staff with substantial opportunities for professional development;
4. Afford parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children; and
5. Coordinate services provided under Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2, with other federal, state, and local programs and other funding sources.
After the third year of a division’s participation in the program, the state determines whether the school division meets the State’s definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP). The state may allow the school division that failed to make AYP to continue to receive Title VI, Part B, Subpart 2 funds only if the school division uses the funds to carry out the improvement requirements of Section 1116, Academic Assessment and Local Educational Agency and School Improvement, found in Title I, Part A, of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
For more information, please contact Gabie Frazier at Gabie.Frazier@doe.virginia.gov or at (804) 225-2907. |
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