Automatic Enrollment Grant FAQ

Grant Basics

Who can apply?

Schools, charter schools, districts, and BOCES may apply. An individual school cannot apply if their district is also applying. Applications from previous grantees who did not follow reporting requirements will not be accepted.

Is my school/district/BOCES eligible if we are not already automatically enrolling students in advanced courses?

Yes, you are eligible to apply; in fact, your application will receive priority points because the intention of this grant is to increase student access where access has been lacking.

How much money is available?

Approximately $220,000 total is available to be disbursed to grantees.

Is there a limit on how much can be requested?

No, there is not. If the combined amount of qualified applicants' requested funding is greater than $220,000, then the amount awarded to grantees will be decreased proportionately.

What can I use the funds for?

Funds may be used for:

• Adding advanced course offerings;
• Technology, supplies, and programs for use in advanced courses;
• Teacher and staff incentives, including teacher training and professional development related to teaching advanced coursework;
  • For example, onsite training for teachers or sending teachers to a conference.
• Developing advanced course curriculum or processes and procedures for student acceleration;
• Parent and student engagement related to student success in advanced coursework
  • This can include food for dinner nights, for example, to help educate parents on supporting their students in advanced courses.

Are there any prohibited expenses?

Yes, funds may NOT be used for:

• hiring new teachers, 
• student incentives, or
• purchasing goods/services that the district's general funds are already paying for (this is referred to as "supplanting rather than supplementing" in the application).

What is considered an "advanced course"?

An advanced course can be Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Concurrent Enrollment courses if the district has designated CE courses as advanced, or other courses the district has developed or designated as honors, gifted, or accelerated courses.

Is this grant only for high school students?

No! You can use this grant to serve 4th-8th grade students, not just 9th-12th.

Can parents unenroll their student from advanced courses?

Yes, parents must be allowed to remove their student from an advanced course that they were automatically enrolled in. Parents may also be permitted to exempt their student from any automatic enrollment in advanced courses prior to enrollment.

Application Questions

What is the award period?

While this grant cycle is referred to as the 2023-24 cycle, grantees will receive funds in spring of 2024 and have all of school year 2024-25 to use the funds. Money must be spent by June 30, 2025, when the annual report will be due.

How will the application process work this year?

CDE has a new grant management system called GAINS that this grant will take advantage of. Since we are releasing the application before the system is ready for this grant, please use the Word form of the application as a reference to help you prepare your responses. Then between January 2-16, 2024, use the GAINS system to formally submit your application. Watch the GAINS Walkthrough recorded specifically for this grant or review general trainings here.

Given this process, we are asking that all applicants complete an Intent to Apply by January 8, 2024 (now closed) so that we can reach out directly to you to assist with the formal application in GAINS/ensure that all interested applicants submit the application in GAINS by January 16.

Who will need to sign/approve the application?

Approvals must be received in GAINS from the applicant's Authorized Representative and Fiscal Manager. The Authorized Representative is the Superintendent, Charter School Institute, or BOCES Executive Director. The Fiscal Manager is the district, CSI, or BOCES fiscal contact. The application itself may be submitted by the intended program contact/manager.

What are some common pitfalls in previous applications?

A strong application:

• clearly addresses each of the narrative questions with sufficient detail about the students who would benefit from this grant, including student makeup and estimated number of students to be served;
• explains how funds will be used, both in the application questions and the budget breakdown.

Please use the rubric as a checklist to make sure you've addressed all questions!

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Contact

For nuanced questions not addressed here, feel free to reach out to Alena Barczak at 303-548-8427.