G1

What is a Tutorial Assistance Subgrant (TAS)?

The Tutorial Assistance Subgrants fund tutorial assistance in reading to children having difficulty in reading. TAS funds may be used to provide tutoring assistance before or after school, on weekends, or during the summer.

Each SEA may reserve up to 15 percent of its overall grant for this subgrant program, and must award at least one Tutorial Assistance Subgrant, assuming that an eligible LEA applies.

SEAs award Tutorial Assistance Subgrants to LEAs based on a competitive review process. There is no time period specified for the length of the subgrants, but SEAs may set a reasonable project period for the subgrants.

Other important features:

• Eligible LEAs must have schools in empowerment zones, in enterprise communities, in Title I school improvement status, or have the first or second highest poverty numbers or rates among districts in the state. Participating schools must be in an empowerment zone or enterprise community, in Title I school improvement status, or have the first or second highest poverty numbers or rates among schools in the districts. (Section 2256(a)(1))

• The LEA must give public notice of the availability of the subgrant funding to possible providers and to parents, within 30 days of receiving the state notice. (Section 2256(a)(2))

• Please read section G8 below regarding the unlikely but possible situation in which funds reserved for Tutorial Assistance Subgrants could not be used .

As with the Local Reading Improvement Grants, a key feature is the requirement that the tutoring provided under the TAS must be based on scientifically based reading research and also be consistent with the reading program used by the child?s school.

G2

Who provides the tutoring services?

• Tutoring providers must include a school-based program as well as at least one independent provider under contract to the LEA.

• The contract provider(s) must be independent, in the provision of these services, of any private school whose children are being served and any religious organization.

• The tutorial assistance providers accepted for this program must have a record of effectiveness in providing tutorial services in reading readiness, reading instruction, or early childhood literacy.

G3

Must parents be notified about the availability of TAS tutoring programs?

Yes, parents must receive the following information about choices of services under this program (section 2256(a)(2)(B)):

• Parents must be notified of the TAS tutoring options available for their children. Each LEA receiving a TAS subgrant must be able to offer parents multiple choices for providers, including a school-based program and at least one non-LEA provider under contract.

• The LEA must develop information for parents of eligible children on their choices for tutorial assistance, including information on the quality and effectiveness of the tutorial assistance offered by each approved provider.

G4

How must the LEA use TAS funds?

The LEA must use the funds for a variety of activities to provide tutorial assistance in reading—before school, after school, on weekends, or during the summer—to children having difficulty reading (section 2256(b)). The tutoring must be based on scientifically based reading research. (See Section B for definition and discussions.) Activities required include, among others:

• Developing provider eligibility criteria

• Offering multiple choices among providers for parents, including at least one school-based program and one contract program

• Developing procedures for:

• providing initial and additional information to parents on their choices, including recommendations when requested by the parent

• selecting children for the program, including selecting among children when too many are identified for services. The selection procedures must include giving priority to children most in need, as determined through assessments, and randomly selecting children equally in need.

• a methodology for paying providers through a contract

• ensuring oversight over the providers

• providing information to parents on the quality of the programs and on their child?s progress

• ensuring participant confidentiality—the names of children participating in the program (and their parents) and any personally identifiable information about any child or parent may not be disclosed without the prior written consent of the parent.

See Appendix E for the exact language on use of funds for Tutorial Assistance Subgrants from the Reading Excellence Act.

G5

Which LEAs are eligible to receive Tutorial Assistance Subgrants?

To be eligible for a Tutorial Assistance Subgrant, the LEA must qualify by one or more of the following criteria:

1. Title I school improvement status. At least one school that is identified for school improvement under section 1116(c) of ESEA must be located in the geographic area served by the LEA.

2. High poverty numbers. The LEA must have the largest or second largest number of children who are counted under section 1124(c) of ESEA, in comparison to all other LEAs in the state.

3. High poverty rate. The LEA must have the highest or second highest school-age child poverty rate, in comparison to all other LEAs in the state.

The term ?school-age child poverty rate? means the number of children counted under section 1124(c) who are living within the geographic boundaries of the local educational agency, expressed as a percentage of the total number of children aged 5-17 years living within the geographic boundaries of the local educational agency.

4. Empowerment zone or enterprise community. The LEA must have at least one school in the geographic area served by the LEA that—(i) is located in an area designated as an empowerment zone under part I of sub-chapter U of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or (ii) is located in an area designated as an enterprise community under part I of subchapter U of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Also see Section F17 regarding special types of LEAs that may apply (some intermediate units, BIA schools, and charter schools).

G6

May an LEA receive both a Local Reading Improvement and a Tutorial Assistance Subgrant?

Yes, an eligible LEA may apply to either or both state competitions for these subgrant programs.

G7

How is notification made of the availability of Tutorial Assistance Subgrants?

Both SEAs and LEAs have duties with respect to notification on Tutorial Assistance Subgrants:

• SEAs. Prior to receiving applications, the SEA must provide a notice to all its LEAs regarding the availability of the subgrants. (Section 2256(a)(2)(A))

• LEAs. Within 30 days of receiving a state's notice, all LEAs that qualify (see G4 above) must provide public notice to potential tutorial assistance providers and parents in its jurisdiction that the subgrants are available and the LEA could apply to the state under a competitive process for the funds. LEAs must make this public notification as a condition of receiving Title I funds. (Section 2256(a)(2)(B))

G8

Must an SEA award a Tutorial Assistance Subgrant?

Yes. Each SEA must make at least one Tutorial Assistance Subgrant to a school district. The state may reserve up to 15 percent of its Reading and Literacy Grant for this purpose.

There is one important exception, however. If no LEA submits an application for a Tutorial Assistance Subgrant within 6 months from the date on which the SEA notified the LEAs that subgrants were available, the SEA may use the funds for Local Reading Improvement Subgrants—after fulfilling the following conditions. To do so, the SEA must certify to the Secretary of Education that:

1. The SEA provided appropriate notice to LEAs regarding the availability of subgrants;

2. No Tutorial Assistance Subgrant applications were received;

3. The eligible LEAs properly provided public notice; and

4. The LEAs satisfactorily demonstrated that no qualified research based tutorial assistance provider within their jurisdiction asked them to submit an application that met the stated criteria in the law.

If no eligible LEA submits an application for a Tutorial Assistance Subgrant (TAS) and the SEA cannot make the above certifications, the SEA cannot use the reserved TAS funding for Local Reading Improvement grants (LRIs). For example, if at least one potential tutorial provider asks an LEA to apply and it refuses (and no eligible LEA submits an application), this would trigger the provision prohibiting use of TAS money for LRIs. The Department strongly encourages SEAs to encourage LEAs and eligible tutoring providers to participate in this program.

G9

What schools may participate?

Participating schools must be in Title I school improvement status, or be first or second in the LEA with respect to high poverty numbers or rate, or be in an empowerment zone or enterprise community.

Note on poverty rate: With respect to calculating the poverty rate for possible or proposed participant schools, the LEA may use a school?s number of children counted under section 1124(c) of Title I divided by the total number of children in the school, expressed as a percentage. Alternatively, the LEA may use the Title I children divided by all children in the school's attendance area. (See Section F3 for additional guidance on how to use attendance area for this calculation.) LEAs must use a consistent approach for all schools when calculating school poverty—whether it is based on children in the school or children in attendance areas.

See Section F17 regarding participation of private schools.

G10

What must an LEA application contain?

Awards to LEAs for these subgrants must be made on a competitive basis. The SEA should develop an appropriate application form and instructions to ensure that it receives good applications and can make appropriate judgments about the likely quality of the local program.

• The LEA must submit whatever information the SEA requires.

• In addition, the LEA must submit an assurance that it will carry out each of the duties specified in section 2256(b) on Use of Funds for participating children.

• The LEA must also assure that it will limit use of the funds to children from eligible schools (see section G5 above).

In addition, the Secretary encourages SEAs to consider requiring in the application information about how the applicant intends to comply with the equitable participation requirements of private school children. (See Section F17 for more information on this requirement.)

G11

How do Tutorial Assistance Subgrants serve private school children?

See Section D9 for information on private school participation.