S257 - Appropriations Act of 2017. (SL 2017-57)

Overview: Sec. 7.24 of S.L. 2017-57 directs the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to use up to six million dollars for the 2017-2018 fiscal year and up to six million dollars for the 2018-2019 fiscal year from the At-Risk Student Services Alternative School Allotment for the Extended Learning and Integrated Student Supports Competitive Grant Program (Program). The Program is to fund high-quality, independently validated extended learning and integrated student support service programs for at-risk students that raise standards for student academic outcomes by focusing on the following:

• Use of an evidence-based model with a proven track record of success.
• Inclusion of rigorous, quantitative performance measures to confirm effectiveness of the program.
• Deployment of multiple tiered supports in schools to address student barriers to achievement, such as strategies to improve chronic absenteeism, anti-social behaviors, academic growth, and enhancement of parent and family engagement.
• Alignment with State performance measures, student academic goals, and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.
• Prioritization in programs to integrate clear academic content, in particular, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning opportunities or reading development and proficiency instruction.
• Minimization of student class size when providing instruction or instructional supports and interventions.
• Expansion of student access to high quality learning activities and academic support that strengthen student engagement and leverage community-based resources, which may include organizations that provide mentoring services and private sector employer involvement.
• Utilization of digital content to expand learning time, when appropriate.

Grants must be used for new or existing eligible programs for at-risk students operated by (i) nonprofit corporations and (ii) nonprofit corporations working in collaboration with local school administrative units (LEA). Grant recipients are eligible to receive grants for up to two years in an amount of up to five hundred thousand dollars each year. Programs should focus on serving (i) at-risk students not performing at grade level as demonstrated by statewide assessments, (ii) students at-risk of dropout, and (iii) students at-risk of school displacement due to suspension or expulsion as a result of anti-social behaviors. Priority consideration must be given to applications demonstrating models that focus services and programs in low-performing schools.

A grant participant must certify to DPI that the grant funds received under the Program will be matched on the basis of three dollars in grant funds for every one dollar in non-grant funds. DPI must also give priority consideration to an applicant that is a nonprofit corporation working in partnership with an LEA resulting in a match utilizing federal funds or local funds. Matching funds may include in-kind contributions for up to fifty percent of the required match.

Grant recipients must report to DPI for the year in which grant funds were expended on the progress of the program, including alignment with State academic standards, data collection for reporting student progress, the source and amount of matching funds, and other measures, before receiving funding for the next fiscal year. Grant recipients must also submit a final report on key performance data, including statewide test results, attendance rates, graduation rates, and promotion rates, and financial sustainability of the program.

DPI must provide an interim report on the Program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by September 15, 2018, with a final report on the Program by September 15, 2019. The final report must include the final results of the Program and recommendations regarding effective program models, standards, and performance measures based on student performance, leveraging of community-based resources to expand student access to learning activities, academic and behavioral support services, and potential opportunities for the State to invest in proven models for future grants programs.

This section became effective July 1, 2017.