Section 265.10  Purpose and Applicability

 

This Part establishes the application procedure and criteria for selection by the State Board of Education and the Illinois Arts Council of the entities that will receive funding under the arts and foreign language education grant program established by Section 2-3.65a of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/2-3.65a].  For purposes of this Part, "the arts" include visual arts, music, drama, and dance.  An instructional program in another field shall be deemed to address the arts if it focuses on the knowledge and skills identified in the Illinois Learning Standards applicable to the arts (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1, Appendix D).

 

Section 265.20  Eligible Applicants

 

a)         Eligible applicants shall be school districts, public university laboratory schools approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 18-8.05(K) of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/18-8.05(K)], area vocational centers, and charter schools (see 105 ILCS 5/2-3.109a, 2-3.109b, and 27A-11.5, respectively).  For purposes of this Part, the term "district" shall be understood to include all these eligible entities.

 

b)         No grantee shall receive more than one planning grant for the arts and one for foreign language.  No grantee other than a grantee located in a city of over 500,000 inhabitants shall receive a second planning grant until the implementation phase has been completed with respect to the initiative to which the original planning grant related (or until at least three years have elapsed since completion of the original planning grant, in the case of an applicant that was not successful in securing implementation funding).

 

c)         No grantee shall receive more than one implementation grant for the arts and one for foreign language.

 

Section 265.30  Application Procedure

 

For purposes of this Subpart, the terms "proposal" and "application" shall have the same meaning.

 

a)         When State funding is available for grants under this Part, the State Superintendent of Education and the Executive Director of the Illinois Arts Council shall issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) in order to solicit applications from eligible entities.

 

b)         The RFP shall describe the format that applicants will be required to follow and the information they will be required to submit, including identification of the specific schools that will be served throughout the grant period, whether the grant will support education in the arts or in foreign language, and the rationale for these choices.

 

c)         The RFP shall indicate the amount or expected amount of the appropriation for the program and the expected portions to be reserved for planning and implementation grants, respectively, and shall describe the allowable expenditures and the basis for awarding grants.  The RFP shall identify any restrictions or areas of high priority that have been established for a particular program year.

 

d)         The RFP shall include and require completion of a budget summary and payment schedule as well as a narrative budget breakdown, i.e., a detailed explanation of each line item of expenditure.

 

e)         The RFP shall identify the information recipients will be required to collect and report regarding the activities conducted with grant funds and the results of those activities, as well as the timelines for reporting.

 

f)         The RFP shall include such certifications and assurances as the State Superintendent and the Executive Director may require.

 

g)         The RFP shall specify the deadline for submission of proposals, which shall provide potential applicants with at least 45 days to respond.

 

h)         Separate applications shall be required for renewal of implementation funding.  Each application for renewal shall include at least:

 

1)         a description of expenditures and activities during the year just concluded, demonstrating that the project has been implemented in conformance with the approved grant agreement and that the recipient continues to exhibit a need for grant funds for this purpose; and

 

2)         an updated budget summary and payment schedule for the renewal year, including a narrative budget breakdown.

 

i)          Incomplete proposals shall not be considered.

 

Section 265.40  Allocation of Funds

 

Applications for funding shall be approved and final determinations regarding the amounts to be provided shall be made based upon the total funds appropriated for this initiative, the amounts necessary to fund the top-ranked proposals, and the need to strengthen educational programs in the arts and foreign language on a statewide basis.

 

a)         Recipients of planning grants shall be given priority consideration in the subsequent awarding of implementation grants.  However, receipt of a planning grant shall not be a prerequisite to receipt of an implementation grant (see Section 265.210 of this Part).

 

b)         It is the intention of the State Board of Education and the Illinois Arts Council to approve implementation grants under this Part for a three-year period.  Funding for the second and third years shall be contingent upon the availability of funds for the program and evidence presented in renewal proposals in accordance with Section 265.30(h) of this Part.  Amounts awarded in the second and third years will decrease in light of the expectation for the funded programs to be sustained with local resources.

 

Section 265.110  Program Specifications

 

a)         Planning grant funds shall be used for the purpose of developing specific plans for initiating, strengthening, or expanding instruction in the fine arts or in foreign language.  The goal of each planning grant shall be to assist applicants with measuring the effectiveness of their existing arts education or foreign language program, identifying areas for improvement, and establishing a realistic timeline and budget for improving arts education or foreign language instruction.  As part of the planning process, grant recipients shall identify the necessary components of an instructional program to be added or enhanced and the human, financial, and other resources that will be necessary in order to incorporate these components into the affected schools' curriculum and sustain them when State funding is no longer available.

 

b)         Each planning effort shall consist of a comprehensive, district-based program planning process relating to either the fine arts or foreign language.  The planning process shall include not only school administrators, teachers, and other relevant staff members, but also parents, students, and community-based organizations with an interest in fostering the availability of fine arts or foreign language programming, as applicable.

 

c)         Grant funds awarded under this Subpart B may be used to offset the costs of district staff members' time, the time of other individuals who are demonstrably involved in the planning process, and other related expenditures such as supplies and materials, communications, travel expenses, and meeting space rental.  Expenditures related to the implementation of instructional programs shall not be allowable as part of these planning grants, and no more than five percent of planning grant funds shall be used for general administrative expenses.

 

d)         Each grantee shall be required to prepare a written plan that identifies programmatic goals and objectives developed through analysis of the district's curricular needs and that describes the grantee's approach to allocating district resources and securing other external support in order to meet those needs in a program that can be sustained over time.

 

e)         Planning grants shall be issued for one fiscal year each and shall not be renewed.

 

Section 265.120  Criteria for the Review of Proposals

 

a)         Applications for planning grants shall be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

 

1)         Quality of the Plan (40 points)

 

A)        The proposal demonstrates that the planning team includes individuals with knowledge of the curricular field, individuals with decision-making authority in the district, and individuals who can help make relevant community-based resources available to the district as an integral part of the program that will subsequently be implemented.

 

B)        The proposal indicates a role for parents' and students' preferences in the determination of the program to be implemented.

 

C)        The plan of work for the planning project is based on a timeframe that is reasonable when implementation of the instructional program in the subsequent year is taken into consideration.

 

D)        The proposal acknowledges the central role of qualified staff in the relevant curricular area and includes strategies for determining how these positions will be staffed.

 

2)         Sustainability (30 points)

The proposal identifies a plan for allocating district resources as well as securing additional resources from local organizations, businesses, and governmental agencies that will be useful to the grantee in sustaining a new or enhanced fine arts or foreign language program in the future.

 

3)         Need (20 points)

The proposal demonstrates that the district is currently unable to offer the desired instructional program or the desired quality of instruction in the fine arts or foreign language due to issues related to finance, staffing, curricular expertise, or facilities.

 

4)         Cost-Effectiveness (10 points)

The proposed budget is reasonable based on the scope of the planning work to be conducted and the number of individuals to be involved.

 

b)         The rankings of all planning grant proposals will form one distribution.

 

Section 265.210  Program Specifications

 

a)         Implementation grant funds provided under this Subpart C shall be used for the purpose of introducing or expanding instruction in the fine arts or foreign language, as applicable, and for developing means of perpetuating the funded program with local resources after the conclusion of the grant period.

 

b)         If an implementation grant is received after use of planning grant funds under this Part, the implementation grant funds shall be used to support the specific program to which the planning grant pertained.

 

c)         Receipt of a planning grant shall not be a prerequisite to eligibility for implementation funding.  However, each applicant not having received a planning grant under this Part shall demonstrate that a comprehensive planning process conforming to the requirements of Section 265.110(b) of this Part occurred with respect to the program for which funding is sought.  Each applicant of this type shall present a plan as discussed in Section 265.110(d) of this Part.

 

d)         Grant funds provided under this Subpart C shall generally be used for expenditures directly related to the delivery of the instructional program, including salaries, professional development, curriculum planning and development, supplies and materials, and necessary technology or equipment.

 

1)         No more than five percent of the grant funds may be used for general administrative expenses.

 

2)         No more than 50 percent of the salaries of staff members who hold educator licensure and who are involved in the program shall be paid out of funds under this grant program.  Salaries of nonlicensed personnel shall not be allowable.

 

3)         At least 10 percent of the grant funds shall be used for professional development of staff who hold educator licensure and who are associated with the program.

 

4)         Grant funds may be expended in connection with the utilization of community resources to the extent that these directly affect the delivery of instruction or the availability of resources for the instructional program.

 

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 8365, effective April 1, 2014)

 

Section 265.220  Criteria for the Review of Initial Proposals

 

a)         Applications for implementation grants shall be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

 

1)         Quality of the Plan (40 points)

 

A)        The proposal demonstrates that the program to be implemented is based on information derived from the planning process.

 

B)        The proposal identifies the aspects of the program that cannot currently be implemented in the absence of grant funding and demonstrates that plans exist to ensure the availability or redeployment of resources to sustain the program with declining reliance on State funding.

 

C)        The proposal demonstrates that teachers with the appropriate educator licensure are available to deliver instruction in the program and that their specific needs are reflected in the professional development that has been chosen.

 

D)        The proposal demonstrates that the affected students will have systematic access to relevant linguistic, artistic, or cultural resources as an integral part of their participation in the instructional program.

 

2)         Sustainability (30 points)

The proposal presents a portfolio of available local resources for which commitments have been secured so that the program can be sustained in future years when no further State funding will be provided.

 

3)         Need (20 points)

 

A)        The proposal describes the status of the applicant's instructional programs in the arts or foreign languages, as applicable, and demonstrates that students' access to educational opportunities in this curricular area is limited to an undesirable degree.

 

B)        The proposal demonstrates that other sources of funding are limited to such an extent that the applicant is unable to conduct or expand the program as proposed without funding under this Part.

 

4)         Cost-Effectiveness (10 points)

The scope of the proposed activities is reasonable in light of the amount of funding to be provided, and the project will be cost-effective considering the number of students to be served.

 

b)         The rankings of all implementation proposals will form one distribution.

 

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 8365, effective April 1, 2014)