OAR 581-023-0112: School Improvement Fund

(1) For purposes of this rule, "School Improvement Fund" means the fund established by ORS 327.294. (2) Each fiscal year the Department of Education shall award grants from the School Improvement Fund to school districts, education service districts, the Youth Corrections Education Program and the Juvenile Detention Education Program for activities that relate to increases in student achievement, including: (a) Early childhood support including establishing, maintaining or expanding quality Pre-kindergarten programs and full-day kindergarten programs; (b) Class size reduction with an emphasis on the reduction of kindergarten through grade three class sizes; (c) Increases in instructional time including summer programs and before and after school programs; (d) Mentoring, teacher retention and professional development; (e) Remediation, alternative learning and student retention; (f) Services to at-risk youth; (g) Programs to improve a student achievement gap between student groups identified by culture, poverty, language and race and other student groups; (h) Vocational education programs; (i) Literacy programs; (j) School library programs; and (k) Other research-based student improvement strategies approved by the State Board of Education. (3) Grant applications for each school district, education service district and for the Youth Corrections Education and Juvenile Detention Education Programs shall identify the goals of the district or program for increases in student performance for the year and shall outline how the district or program plans to use the resources provided from the Fund to reach the performance goals. The Department shall evaluate the grant applications based on the following criteria: (a) The goals set by the school districts, education service districts and programs for increases in student performance; (b) The evidenced-based activities identified to meet the stated goals; (c) Consistency with the district's Continuous Improvement Plan; (d) The quantifiable performance measures for demonstrating progress on one or more Key Performance Measures adopted by the 2007 Legislative Assembly and identified by the Department; and (e) The evaluation process identified in the application that will be used by the district or program to determine if the district or program is effective in the implementation of the activities for which the district or program is requesting funds. (4) The amount of each grant for a school district, education service district or program shall be determined based on ORS 327.294 and 327.297. After the initial determination of the grant amount for each district or program, the Department may adjust the grant amount based on additional data and information received by the department. (5)(a) Each school district, education service district and program shall account for the grant amounts it receives separately, and shall apply these amounts to pay for activities described in the district or program's application. School districts, education service districts and programs may only expend grant funds on approved activities identified in the grant application of the district or program. (b) School districts and education service districts may choose to budget grant funds in the district's General Fund or a Special Revenue Fund. Programs may choose to budget these funds in a Special Revenue Fund. The Department will establish an Area of Responsibility code in the Program Budgeting and Accounting Manual for School Districts and Education Service Districts in Oregon to identify all expenditures for the School Improvement Fund. School districts and education service districts and programs shall use the Area of Responsibility code to identify all expenditures for the School Improvement Fund. (c) School districts, education service district and programs may carry over grant funds received in a fiscal year until the end of the next fiscal year. If a district or program has not expended all of its grant funds prior to the end of the carry over period, the district or program shall return the unused portion of the grant funds to the Department. (d) If the department determines that a school district, education service district or program did not expend grant funds in accordance with ORS 327.297 or this rule, the Department may deny a subsequent request for grant funds from the district or program and may require the district or program to repay grant funds received by the district or program for any year. (e) The Department shall deposit any moneys it receives under this section in the School Improvement Fund and distribute those moneys as part of the grants awarded from the fund. (6) In accordance with ORS 334.177 and the Program Budgeting and Accounting Manual for School Districts and Education Service Districts in Oregon, an education service district may transfer grant funds to component school districts for activities, as identified in the grant application of the education service district, for which the education service district received grant funds. The education service district shall report to the Department about how much grant funds were transferred and shall report improvement data relating to the activities. (7) In accordance with ORS 327.297 and the Program Budgeting and Accounting Manual for School Districts and Education Service Districts in Oregon, a school district may transfer grant funds to a public charter school for activities, as identified in the grant application of the school district, for which the school district received grant funds. The school district shall report to the Department about how much grant funds were transferred and shall report improvement data relating to the activities. (8) The State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall resolve any issues arising from the administration of the School Improvement Fund grants not specifically addressed by this rule and the Superintendent's determination shall be final.