Questions and Answers

On clarifications to the RFA for the Texas Support for Homeless Education Program (TEXSHEP)

The following questions have been listed in the order in which they were received. They are not organized by topic or particular part of the RFA, but are listed by the date the response was published to the web.

February 9, 2006

Q1. How are grant funds disbursed? That is, is the total amount of funding divided up among the three years or do subgrantees receive a new award each year?

A1. Subgrantees will receive a separate subgrant award for each of the three years of the program. For Years 2 and 3, subgrantees should plan to receive an amount equal to their initial grant award in the first year of funding.

For example, if a subgrantee receives an initial award of $125,000 for Year 1, then the subgrantee should receive another $125,000 for Year 2 and another $125,000 for Year 3, for a subgrant total of $375,000 over the three-year grant cycle.

Funding is always contingent upon two factors: availability of funding from the US Department of Education and successful completion of the previous grant year.

Q2. Must subgrantees keep track of students on free lunch?

A2. No, the TEXSHEP data collection process requires that subgrantees report only the number of homeless students who received direct assistance from the McKinney-Vento project in accessing the free school meals program. Students who access the free school meals program without assistance from the TEXSHEP project would not be counted as receiving this service from the project.

For example, if a district's homeless liaison automatically certifies all homeless students for the free school meals program, that does not constitute direct assistance in accessing the free meals program. However, if a homeless student experienced barriers in accessing the program, and the homeless liaison intervened on the child's behalf to ensure the child's participation in the free school meals program, then such intervention would be considered an instance of direct assistance from the McKinney-Vento project in accessing the free school meals program. Such intervention by the homeless liaison should be recorded as "direct assistance from the McKinney-Vento project in accessing the free school meals program" for data collection purposes.

This TEXSHEP requirement is completely separate and apart from requirements set forth by the Child Nutrition Program, which stipulate that the homeless liaison or a shelter director must verify a student's homeless status for purposes of participation in the free school meals program. The district's Child Nutrition Program must maintain documentation for homeless students that meet that program's requirements.

Q3. Current Texas Homeless Education Assistance Program (THEAP) subgrantees are required to keep track of students using a web-based data collection system. Will TEXSHEP grantees be required to use this system?

A3. No, TEXSHEP subgrantees will be required to submit the reports outlined in pages I-35 through I-46 in the application. Subgrantees must collect student-level data using the process of their choice and then report the aggregated data to Region 10 as outlined in the application. Region 10 will collect aggregated information onlyóit will not collect individual student data.

The Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO) will conduct a training session for successful applicants on data collection requirements and procedures, and THEO staff will be available to assist subgrantees with the data collection process.

Q4. Can applicants use smaller fonts and single-spacing for headers with sub-review items?

A4. Applicants are advised to adhere to the instructions, which indicate that no smaller than a 10-point font should be used in preparing the application. Applicants should use their discretion regarding the use of single-, double- or other spacing arrangements. Applicants should prepare their information in a manner that is easy for reviewers and funders to follow.

Q5. Are subgrant participants limited exclusively to students in homeless situations? Can we continue to serve other populations like low SES (socio-economic status) or other at-risk students?

A5. According to Section 723(a)(2)(B)(i) of the McKinney-Vento Act, subgrantees "may use funds under this subtitle to provide the same services to other children and youths who are determined by the local educational agency to be at risk of failing in, or dropping out of, school." However, the primary purpose of the McKinney-Vento program is to provide supplemental services to students in homeless situations, thus the majority of students served by the project should meet the definition of homeless" as outlined in the McKinney-Vento Act.

Applicants that propose to serve large numbers of non-homeless at-risk students are likely to receive fewer points from reviewers than applicants that propose a project that serves large numbers of homeless students in relation to non-homeless students.

Applicants should not serve non-homeless students in high-poverty situations unless the students meet at least one of the at-risk criteria described in Section 29.081 of the Texas Education Code.

Q6. Please provide an example of what is meant by "students receiving services who are not homeless but at risk?"

A6. As stated in question 5 above, McKinney-Vento projects "may use funds under this subtitle to provide the same services to other children and youths who are determined by the local educational agency to be at risk of failing in, or dropping out of, school." Thus, funding may serve students who are not homeless but who are in at-risk situations (as defined in Section 29.081 of the Texas Education Code). For example, a permanently housed teen parent might participate in a tutoring program paid for by McKinney-Vento funding. Therefore, she is an at-risk, non-homeless student who is receiving McKinney-Vento services.

Q7. How many districts may participate with an ESC in a Shared Services Arrangement?

A7. There is no set number of local education agencies (LEAs) that may participate in Shared Services Arrangements (SSAs). An LEA can be the fiscal agent for only one application, but may be a member of one or more SSAs. (School districts, education service centers, and charter schools with independent school district status are all considered LEAs.)

Q8. When will we be notified about the results of our application?

A8. Region 10 intends to notify all applicants about the outcome of their application by June 8, 2006, or earlier if possible.

Q9. What does the term ìunaccompanied youthî mean?

A9. According to Section 725(6) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act: "The term 'unaccompanied youth' includes a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian." Most, but not all, unaccompanied youth are considered homeless. For an unaccompanied student to be considered homeless, the student must meet the definition of homeless in the MV act.

Q10. How many individual LEAs are applying for the grant? How many service centers are applying for the grant? How many LEAs are applying jointly with other LEAs?

A10. The Texas Homeless Education Office does not have a method for determining the answer to this question.

Q11. Tables #1, #3, #4, and #5 do not indicate due dates. When are we required to submit those reports?

A11. Tables #1, #3, #4, and #5 must be submitted three times each school year:

  1. a report on the period from the start of the school year through December 31st, due no later than January 31st;
  2. a report on the period from the start of the school year through May 31st, due no later than June 15th; and
  3. a final report containing all of the information for the entire school year September 1 through August 31, due no later than September 15th.

Tables #2, #6, and #7 have due dates because they are due only with the final report. All the other tables are due at each of the three annual reporting times.

Q12. Is there any advantage to ask for less than the maximum amount?

A12. Applicants should ask for the amount of funding they believe will be sufficient to meet the needs selected by school district staff and local service providers to be addressed through this grant. Applicants will not receive additional points if they ask for less funding than is required to meet student needs. If applicants request an amount of funding that appears to be out of proportion to the student needs they have identified, they will be vulnerable to losing points whether they are asking for either an insufficient amount or an excessive amount of funds.

Grant award amounts, once determined by Region 10 for Year 1, cannot be increased for Years 2 and 3, thus applicants should base their initial request on the anticipated need for future years. Grant reviewers are instructed to make sure that applications include reasonable amounts for all of the activities that are proposed by a project.

Q13. How should an ESC project represent the Title 1, Part A Set-Aside?

A13. On Schedule #6E, the applicant should list the names of all participating districts and the amount of Title I funds that each district will set-aside to serve homeless students. Education service centers are not required to provide a set-aside amount for their organization but they are required to provide the set-aside amount for all districts that will participate in their project.

Q14. Are applicants required to submit a letter of intent prior to submitting an application?

A14. No, a letter of intent is not required for this application.

Q15. Can we pay for childcare for students who are homeless who are in another program? If so, do we have a limit of how much we can pay for childcare?

A15. Childcare can be offered only to school-age parents to assist them in attending school or educationally related activities, such as an after-school tutoring program. The McKinney-Vento project cannot cover the costs of childcare for parents that are not attending a public PK-12 school or while school-age parents are working or looking for work.

The McKinney-Vento program generally does not set limits on spending for any particular item (one exception: there is a $5,000 limit on construction/remodeling of non-school facilities). However, because childcare can be quite costly, projects are advised to use discretion in the amount of funding they budget for childcare. To the extent possible, other community resources should be used for this purpose.

Q16. Do we still refer to this grant as a McKinney-Vento grant, or TEXSHEP?

A16. TEXSHEP subgrants are funded by the McKinney-Vento program, so the terms are often used interchangeably in Texas.

February 10, 2006

Q17. If the dollar amount of subgrants awarded is less than the total amount of funds requested, will those who receive a subgrant have an opportunity to request the remaining amounts?

A17. In the unlikely event that not all funds are awarded, Region 10 will develop a process for distributing any funds that might remain.

Q18. If our district receives continuation funding for another grant we have, I will need to budget a particular salary using 50% McKinney-Vento funding. However, if our district does not receive this grant next year, I will need to budget 100% of the salary from the TEXSHEP grant. Should I budget the position as 50% or 100% in the TEXSHEP application?

A18. Because of the uncertainty of continuation funds from the other grant, you should budget 100% of the position using McKinney-Vento funds. On Schedule 6100óBudget, make an asterisk in front of the position title and explain in a footnote that the percentage may be reduced to 50% contingent on continued funding from another source. During grant negotiations, adjustments can be made to the budget to respond to situations that might have arisen after the application was submitted.

Q19. Will the two required training events be held in Austin?

A19. No, they will not be held in Austin . The training that occurs at the beginning of each grant year takes place in Richardson, TX. The spring training event takes place on a rotating basis in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. In Spring 2007, the event will be held in Arkansas.

Q20. If our local homeless coalition agrees, would it be allowable to provide some funds for them to meet the general family needs of their stakeholders?

A20. No, grant funds may not be used for items such as rent, utilities, deposits, furniture, automobile repair, insurance, motel rooms, or other items for homeless families. These funds may be used to purchase school supplies, school clothing, or other educationally related items for the homeless students.

Q21. It seems like collaborating with other school districts is favorable. Is this true? Is it preferable?

A21. Multiple-district applications will not receive additional points simply because there are several districts involved. A single-district, well-prepared application that sets forth a sound plan for addressing identified needs will be assessed using the same standards as a multiple-district application.

Q22. Can transportation be paid from this grant? What is meant by "excess costs of transportation?"

A22. Section 723(d)(5) of the McKinney-Vento Act states that a local educational agency may use subgrant funds for activities that carry out the purpose of this subtitle, including the following: the provision of assistance to defray the excess cost of transportation for students under section 722(g)(4)(A), not otherwise provided through Federal, State, or local funding, where necessary to enable students to attend the school selected under section 722(g)(3). [Sections 722(g)(4)(A) and 722(g)(3) refer to the school-of-origin provisions in the McKinney-Vento Act.]

An example of excess transportation costs that might be covered under this provision include the costs of establishing a separate bus route for a homeless student if there was not an existing route to the student's place of temporary residence. Or, if an existing route had to be altered to meet the transportation needs of a homeless student, the excess costs incurred by altering the route could be covered by McKinney-Vento funding.

Q23. Can transportation to and from tutoring be paid with this grant?

A23. If a district does not provide transportation to and from tutoring to any students, then McKinney-Vento funds could be used to pay for transportation to and from that tutoring for students that are homeless. However, if the district does provide transportation to and from tutoring to other students, then homeless students must receive transportation that is comparable to that received by non-homeless students and McKinney-Vento funds cannot be used, even if that transportation is supplemental (not required by law). Homeless students must receive transportation comparable to that received by non-homeless students. However, if transportation is supplemental and it is not provided to non-homeless students, then McKinney-Vento can cover the costs of such transportation for homeless students.

For example, if all students in the district's after-school tutoring programs receive transportation to their home after the tutoring session ends, then homeless students should receive the same type of transportation. However, if no students receive transportation home from after-school tutoring, then McKinney-Vento can cover the costs of such transportation for homeless students.

Q24. If a district is 100% Title I, do they still have to set aside funds to serve homeless students?

A24. It depends, if all campuses within a district are Title I schoolwide campuses, with a Title I plan on file, then it is not necessary for the district to set aside additional Title I funds to serve homeless students. It is important to note that in districts where all campuses are Title I, be careful to ensure that homeless students do receive the services they need in order to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school.

Also note: if some of the Title I campuses are targeted assistance campuses and not all grade levels are served, then the district should set aside funds to serve those students who are in grade levels not served by the Title I program.

February 13, 2006

Q25. Is it allowable for an applicant to round numbers on the funding table? For example, if a district's percentage of economically disadvantaged students is 64.9, can it be rounded to 65%?

A25. Yes, it is permissible to use standard rounding procedures to round off numbers. For example, if the percentage of economically disadvantaged students is 64.4%, then the number would be rounded to 64%. If the percentage of economically disadvantaged students is 64.5%, then the number would be rounded to 65%.

The student enrollment numbers may not be rounded off. For example, if a district has a student enrollment of 59,999, that number may not be rounded up to put the district in the next funding tier.

All numbers reported by applicants will be verified prior to making subgrant awards.

February 23, 2006

Q26. Our district has been monitoring our homeless students for the past three years. On page 10, Table b, of the TEXSHEP application, we are asked to provide data about our homeless students. We want to know whether we are required to use information we retrieved to be consistent with the eligibility data from the AIMS data.

A26. The purpose of Table b on page 10 is for you to estimate the number of homeless and nonhomeless, at-risk students who will receive services for the first year of this grant. The information you will present on this table should be consistent with data you present elsewhere in the application, but it certainly does not have to exactly match other data.

For example, on table C.2.a. on page 9 of the application, if you estimated that your district has a total of 500 homeless students in the living situations described on that table, and on table C.2.b. you indicate in column 1 that you estimate that you will serve 800 homeless students, that would raise a question. It would appear that you are planning to serve more homeless students than you expect to have. However, if you indicate that you will serve 460 homeless students, that would be consistent with the information you previously provided. Also, reviewers will look at the amount of funding that you are requesting, as well as the types of activities that you are proposing, and will determine if it seems reasonable to serve about 460 of the estimated 500 homeless students in your district. [Please remember, these are hypothetical numbers and have no relationship to the actual numbers of the district that posed this question.]

Please keep in mind that this is only an estimate of the numbers of students that you expect to serve--this number should be based on your previous experience serving homeless students in your district, your meetings with district staff and service providers, and information from other appropriate sources.

Q27. On page I-36 of the RFA, there is a requirement that subgrantees will have to keep track of students' living situations using the following categories: Shelter, Doubled-up, Unsheltered, Hotels/Motels, Unknown.

We are wondering: should there be a category for "transitional housing and/or other?" We plan on serving children in transitional housing situations and the categories do not seem to fit.

A27. The data that Region 10 asks projects to collect is based directly on a questionnaire that the US Department of Education requires all states to complete, so we cannot change the structure of the question or else Texas would not be able to respond appropriately to the USDE's survey. You may put those living in transitional housing in the "Shelter" category since transitional housing, like shelters, is temporary housing (usually a bit nicer than most shelters) that extends for a longer period than most shelter arrangements.

Usually the transitional housing programs are run in conjunction with shelters and serve as another component of the services available through the shelter; they are often extensions of the shelter, in a sense. It is possible that there might be a transitional housing program that belongs more in the ìunknownî category than the shelter category, but for most situations, the ìshelterî category is a good designation.

Regardless of how they are coded via the homeless indicator, it is important to remember that it will be impossible to disaggregate for transitional housing based on the homeless indicator alone because transitional housing is not a separate category. Therefore, if for your own purposes you need to keep track of the students in transitional housing as a distinct subgroup, then you will have to develop an indicator or process (in addition to the data requirements) that will allow you to do this. The data requirements are the starting point for data collection related to the subgrant--but they do not limit it. The data requirements alone might not be sufficient by themselves for you to evaluate the various activities conducted in your grant.

Q28. It appears that our district will fall into the Tier III level ëa' slot; eligible for a grant up to $125,000. We are considering signing a shared services agreement with our local ESC. If we partner with the ESC, and enrollment of all shared services partners rises to the 35,001 head count or the 65% level, does the grant eligibility amount rise, too, for the shared services partners?

The charts talk about LEA distribution but not specifically about ESC's. Please share with us how this will work. Is there another formula for ESCs?

We do not want to compete against our ESC for funds; however, our district has needs we want addressed that might not be the same as other districts in our area.

A28. Please see Question 7 above. Based on the answer to that question, an LEA may apply separately for the grant and also be a partner in an ESC's grant.

For the purposes of this grant, ESCs are considered LEAs; the funding formula for ESCs is the same as for multiple-LEA applications.

An ESC that wishes to apply as the fiscal agent for the grant must use the multiple-district calculation chart in order to determine the amount of funds for which it is eligible to apply. For example, if 12 districts are participating, the ESC would use 2004-05 AEIS data to get for each district the total student enrollment figures and the percentage of economically disadvantaged students necessary to complete the table on page 17 of the application. It is possible that the amount for which the ESC may apply could vary depending on the total number of students in the participating districts.

As fiscal agent, the ESC will actually receive the funds. Participating districts will identify individual needs and work with the ESC to help develop a comprehensive application that meets the identified needs of all partners in the application. The amount that each partner receives will vary on their individual needs.

If an LEA that applies with an ESC still has unmet needs, that LEA is eligible to apply on its own or as part of another multiple-LEA application so that as many needs as possible can be met. Also, an LEA may contract with an ESC for services that will help meet the district's needs.

Q29. If the LEA applies and does not sign a SSA with the ESC does the ESC get to use LEA head count of the LEAs that do not sign the SSA?

A29. If an ESC is going to provide any direct services, such as tutoring, school supplies, counseling, transportation assistance, etc., to a district within the region, then the district should sign the SSA.

If an ESC is going to provide indirect services to all districts in the region, such as a newsletter, posters, brochures, materials, etc., then the ESC could use the total student population in the region as the basis for determining the amount for which it plans to apply.

While outreach and professional development activities are allowable expenses, grants that maintain a balance of direct and indirect services that respond to identified needs are likely to receive higher scores.

Q30. In past grant applications, applicants were required to include the locations of services - such as tutoring - and the number of students impacted on the Schedule 4 spreadsheet. On the needs and objectives table in the new application, it doesn't appear from the example included in the instructions that applicants are required to include that sort of information on this form. Should we or should we not include campuses and numbers of students impacted?

A30. First, please make sure you are using the new application. Schedule 4 is now the Index to Amendments Schedule.

Schedule #6B--Project Justification, in the new application, does ask for demographic information.

In the new application, on Schedule #6C--Project Justification, applicants are to provide a list of activities that they will perform in order to meet the objectives that have been developed in response to the identified needs. It is in the activities section that you will include particular details. The level of detail is at your discretion. You should keep in mind that the readers who will be scoring your application are likely to be unfamiliar with your area, and many of them are service providers or others who are not educators. So, you should provide the level of detail that you believe is important to the reviewers and that best conveys what you are trying to accomplish.

Q31. In the past, subgrantees were required to collect data on the number of children below pre-k served. Will subgrantees be required to collect this information in the new grant year?

A31. Children below pre-k are not part of the required data collection. However, a subgrant that provides services to children below pre-k could build a component of their evaluation to include data about such children served, services provided, and effects of the services.

It is important to keep in mind that regardless of the required data collection, a subgrant must evaluate the services that it does provide. If a subgrant provides services to a subgroup of students that are not identified in the required data collection, the subgrant is still responsible for evaluating those services. It is entirely possible that the required data collection is not sufficient for evaluating the services for every specific subgroup that a project might target. Because of this, it is reasonable for a subgrant to collect data that go beyond the required data.

The data that a subgrant collects is determined both by the requirements of the grant and the need to evaluate its own specific set of services. Although the subgrant must comply with the required data collection, subgrants are not limited by the required data.

Q32. How will subgrantees be required to report services that are partially funded by McKinney-Vento?

A32. The data collection is not meant to track the expenditure of McKinney-Vento funds. The expenditure of McKinney-Vento funds is tracked through the expenditure reports.

The purpose of the data collection is to track the services that a student receives because of the presence of the McKinney-Vento subgrant in an LEA. Therefore, the data collection requires that subgrants track both the services funded via the McKinney-Vento subgrant and those services funded from other sources but that a student receives because of the actions of MV subgrant personnel.

For example, a homeless student, new to the district and living in a shelter, might be a good candidate for an after-school tutoring program that is funded with state compensatory funds. The homeless liaison refers the student to the tutoring program and helps them gain access. In this case, because the McKinney-Vento subgrant provided the student with the information and assistance needed to access the tutoring program, the subgrant could indicate that they provided tutoring to this student.

However, if the student was already in the tutoring program prior to being identified as homeless, then the subrant could not indicate that it provided tutoring to this studentóthe student was already receiving the tutoring prior to its initial contact with the MV subgrant.

Q33. How should subgrantees report students who attend summer programs at shelters or social service agencies and who are not enrolled in the district?

A33. One of the services in the list of services provided is Summer program. If a McKinney-Vento subgrant refers a student to a summer program at a shelter or social service agency, or otherwise assists a student in getting access to such a program, then the subgrant can indicate this item on the list of services provided. If the student was already enrolled in this summer program prior to contact with the McKinney-Vento subgrant, then the subgrant would not indicate this item on the list of services provided. Please see the question and response to the following question for a discussion of reporting services not paid for with McKinney-Vento funds.

Q34. Regarding the section of the data collection form that refers to students receiving services from a McKinney-Vento subgrant: if a district staff member who is not funded from the MV program helps obtain services for a homeless student, such as clothing or school supplies, from the McKinney-Vento program, how is that service reported?

A34. The purpose of the data collection is to track the direct services that a student receives because of the presence of the McKinney-Vento subgrant in the district. If the student is receiving goods or services that have been supplied by the MV subgrant, then those services can be reported as part of the data collection, even if the person distributing those goods and services is not funded with MV funds. Likewise, if the MV staff refers a student to a service or program that is not funded by MV, the subgrant can still record that in the data collection because the student is receiving the service or access to the program because of the actions of the MV staff.

Q35. How long must we keep the data related to the students?

A35. The RFA specifies that the information for each school year must be maintained by the subgrantee for at least the duration of the three-year grant cycle. Additionally, each district might have other policies regarding student records that are applicable to this data. The data must be kept for the duration of the grant cycle and as long as any other rules or policies require. Generally, records need to be kept no more than seven years, but subgrantees should follow their district's or service center's record retention policies.

Q36. How long must we keep the data related to the students?

A36. The RFA specifies that the information for each school year must be maintained by the subgrantee for at least the duration of the three-year grant cycle. Additionally, each district might have other policies regarding student records that are applicable to this data. The data must be kept for the duration of the grant cycle and as long as any other rules or policies require. Generally, records need to be kept no more than seven years, but subgrantees should follow their district's or service center's record retention policies.

Q37. How many grants were awarded 2003? What was the total dollar amount of these grants?

A37. Twenty-nine Texas Homeless Education Assistance Program (THEAP) grants were awarded in 2003. The total dollar amount of these grants was $3,588,762.

Q38. For ESCs or multiple-district applicants:

(a) Do regional education service centers or multiple-district applicants need to prioritize needs separately for every district? Can the region compile all the needs and prioritize the needs for the region?

A38(a). Education service centers should collect data from every district, compile the data, and summarize the data in a meaningful manner. It is at the service center's option to determine the optimal method for presenting the data.

Multiple-district applicants should collect data from every district and present district-level data as outlined in the instructions of the application.

(b) As an ESC, we serve almost 100 LEAs (districts and charters). Will we need to compile a project justification schedule for each LEA? We were not thinking of having an SSA but rather we intended to provide professional development and technical assistance as determined by the comprehensive needs assessments.

A38(b). Please see the answer to item (a) above. The primary focus of McKinney-Vento funds is to ensure that students in homeless situations enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. To the extent that professional development and technical assistance can further this goal, and use evaluation data to demonstrate success, then ESCs may provide these types of activities.

(c) If the ESC provides services to LEAs and does not provide direct services to students, does the ESC maintain data table #1 ñ Totals for entire district only? How should data be reported?

A38(c). Please see item (b) above for important information about providing only professional development and technical assistance to districts.

The data requirements outlined in the instructions for Schedule #6FññData Collection refer to each participating district in any application. If an ESC project provides absolutely no direct McKinney-Vento services to any student in any participating district, then the ESC must only complete Tables 1, 2, and 7 for those districts that received professional development and technical assistance. These three data tables should be compiled for each district that received professional development or technical assistance from the ESC. The tables should not be aggregated.

Many ESCs have managed McKinney-Vento subgrants over the past several years and have provided a combination of professional development and technical assistance to all districts in their region. At the same time, they have provided direct McKinney-Vento services to selected districts within their region. This combination of services has been effective.

If an ESC opts to provide a combination of direct and other services, then the seven data tables must be submitted for those districts having students receiving direct McKinney-Vento services. The seven data tables should be submitted at the appropriate due dates for each participating district where students receive direct McKinney-Vento servicesóESC or multiple-district subgrants should not aggregate their data. It is expected that each participating district will compile the data for its district, complete Tables 1-7, and then submit the completed tables to the fiscal agent for the ESC or multiple-district project. The fiscal agent for the ESC or multiple-district project will not have to aggregate the data.

It is important to remember that the data requirements in the RFA regarding the completion and submission of Tables 1-7, outlined in the instructions for Schedule #6FññData Collection, are subgrant requirements and not part of the application itself. Tables 1-7 are not part of the application and should not be submitted with the application. The instructions for Schedule #6FññData Collection require the applicant to explain how they will fulfill the respective requirements, but it would be impossible for an applicant to complete Tables 1ññ7 as part of the application because the subgrants have not been awarded, services have not been provided, and the program start date of September 1, 2006 has not yet occurred.

Q39. The 2004-2005 AEIS report will be used for the funding table. However, the Katrina and Rita evacuees are not included in this report. Our numbers of homeless students have doubled since the hurricanes. How do we include them in the grant? Are there any special provisions?

A39. In order to ensure equity, the 2004-2005 AEIS report will still form the basis for determining the amount for which an LEA may apply.

Applicants have the opportunity to demonstrate the impact of the hurricanes in their district or region by using Schedule#6BóProject Justification. On this schedule, applicants may include a description of the figures submitted to the Texas Education Agency as part of their request for Impact Aid that the US Department of Education is offering to districts affected by Katrina. Districts are required to submit data on the following dates: September 29, 2005; December 1, 2005; February 1, 2006; and March 30, 2006. If a district has been adversely affected by the hurricanes, it is important to include this information on Schedule #6B.

Q40. Can funds be used to continue an already existing program if that program is dependent upon grant funding for continuation?

A40. If funding for an existing program is no longer available and the program would have to end, then McKinney-Vento funds may be used to continue the program as long as the program's main function is to provide supplemental services to children and youth in homeless situations.

However, McKinney-Vento funds cannot be used to replace existing funds in order to shift those funds to another program.

For example, if the XYZ program is an after-school tutoring program offered in a shelter and it is funded by the ABC Foundation, McKinney-Vento funds cannot be used to fund the XYZ program if the shelter merely wants to shift ABC Foundation funds to another program.

Q41. Will you please confirm with TEA grant administrators that budgeting a percentage of an existing staff member's salary is an allowable expense and is not perceived as supplanting funds? In recent grant negotiations on various TEA grants, I have been asked specifically to either re-budget the expense as extra duty pay or to create a new part-time position.

A41. TEA officials have confirmed that it is acceptable to use McKinney-Vento funds to cover an existing staff member's salary as long as that staff member's duties are reassigned.

For example, if a district decides to appoint the existing full-time elementary counselor as the homeless liaison for 25% of the counselor's time and intends to use the TEXSHEP grant to pay for the liaison's salary, then that is acceptable as long as 25% of the counselor's duties are reassigned to another individual or individuals.

Q42. We plan to work with a charter school that has five campuses all around the state. There is just one campus in our immediate area; the others are very far from us. When we complete the application, do we show that we are working with all five campuses or can we work with just the campus in our area?

A42. In situations where charter schools are spread out across a wide area or even across the state, it is acceptable for an applicant to work with the charter school that is located in its immediate geographical area.

Q43. What is the time period for the required data collection?

A43. The data collected for the subgrant should be based on the related school years covered by the grant. Year one is 2006-2007 and the data should cover the 2006-2007 school year. Year two is 2007-2008 and the data should cover the 2007-2008 school year. Year three is 2008-2009 and the data should cover the 2008-2009 school year.

The RFA specifies that arrangements to address the data requirements must be made prior to the program start date.

However, subgrant funds will not become available to grant recipients until September 1, 2006. Subgrantees will not be able to spend subgrant funds for the TEXSHEP subgrant until that date, even if their 2006-2007 school year starts before September 1, 2006. Subgrantees will have to devise a way to collect the relevant data for the period from the beginning of the school year until the subgrant funds start flowing. For example, subgrantees could collect paper forms with the necessary information for the period from the start of the school year to September 1 st and then enter that information into a database once the subgrant funds start flowing and the subgrantee can pay for the data to be entered. Alternately, the LEA's student data system could be altered to include the required elements before the start of the school year and the subgrantee could just enter the information from the very start of the enrollment process. Regardless, it will be easiest to collect all the required information from the very start of the enrollment process for the 2006-2007 school year, rather than going back and trying to obtain it after the enrollment process has been underway for several weeks.

It is difficult to set standard beginning and ending dates for data collection because each district sets their annual calendars independently. There is much variation across the state, and the program year for the MV subgrants is different from most, if not all, of the calendar years established by LEAs. The key point is that the data should be collected for each relevant school year.

Regarding the reporting requirements, the RFA states:

Reporting Requirements

Data reports must be submitted three times each school year:

  1. a report on the period from the start of the school year through December 31st, due no later than January 31st;
  2. a report on the period from the first of the school year through May 31st, due no later than June 15th; and
  3. a final report containing all of the information for the entire school year September 1-through August 31, due no later than September 15th.

The first reporting period covers the start of the school year, whenever that actually is, through December 31 st . The second reporting period covers the start of the school year, whenever that actually is, through May 31 st . The final report covers the entire school year for the relevant school yearówhether that is 2006-2007, 2007-2008, or 2008-2009, from whenever it begins through whenever it ends.

February 24, 2006

Q44. Regarding the needs and educational challenges section - is that a chart that we do for our own benefit or do we include it in the application? If we do include it, I think I understand the needs part but I do not understand the challenges part. Please explain that section.

A44. Schedule #6B--Project Justification, section A, item #2, asks applicants to, "List all the educational challenges and the needs engendered by those challenges." The application states that applicants "should construct a chart" but does not say that they must construct such a chart, even thought it does require the applicant to list the educational challenges and needs.

While a chart is not mandated, a listing of the educational challenges and needs is a requirement.

The purpose of the TEXSHEP grant program is to provide supplemental funds to LEAs (ESCs, school districts, and certain charter schools) to provide services to children and youth experiencing homelessness. In many places, children and youth experiencing homelessness face unique challenges and difficulties regarding their education that are not being addressed by the resources available in the district. The subgrant provides additional resources for addressing the specific challenges and difficulties that homeless children and youth experience in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Therefore, the list of challenges includes the difficulties, problems, barriers, obstacles, or whatever you choose to call them, that the homeless students face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. The needs describe what must happen to meet the educational challenge.

In the example on p. 1-28 of the RFA, a challenge is that students living in a shelter 1.8 miles from a school are often absent because of a lack of transportation. The need is for the homeless students from the shelter to be able to attend school regularly.

Q45. I need clarification on what is a direct and an indirect service. I also would like to know if there has to be a dispute in which we intervene in order to say it was a direct service. On the THEO website, it says if we automatically certify every child for a service, like free lunch, that does not constitute a direct service, but if we intervene on the child's behalf because of a dispute, that does constitute a direct service. Does there have to be a dispute though? Isn't an indirect service if we fax in a confirmation to the nutrition office so they will be put on free lunch with no questions or waiting period?

A45. The new TEXSHEP RFA attempts to do two things with its data collection requirements. The first is to look at all the homeless students throughout an LEA, regardless of whether or not they come into contact with the subgrant. In an LEA with a successful McKinney-Vento subgrant, it is likely that educational prospects for all homeless students in the district will improve, regardless of whether or not those students interact with the MV subgrant. For example, because of staff development conducted by the MV subgrant throughout the LEA, more homeless students should enroll with fewer problems than before. The challenge has always been: how does the MV subgrant collect information about these homeless students that benefit from the subgrant but do not interact directly with the subgrant? We've addressed this by requiring applicants to institute a homeless identifier for all students in the district. Some of our reports require data about all homeless students regardless of whether or not they receive direct services. Including a data element for all homeless students should give a better understanding of the educational prospects for all homeless students in the district, even if they never come into direct contact with the MV subgrant at any point.

The second thing the RFA does with its data requirements is to look at the students that receive direct services from the MV subgrant. In looking at the requirements of the grant, you will find a consistent pattern throughout where applicants have been asked to identify their needs and then the activities designed to address those needs. Any student that receives a service or good as an implementation of a subgrant activity has received a direct service, and the data requirements for direct services would apply to them. This is pretty straightforward--if your subgrant has an activity that affects a specific student, then that student has received a direct service. It is entirely possible that some students identified as homeless by the district will not receive any direct service from the MV subgrant. The pool of total homeless students identified by most districts will probably be larger than the pool of students who receive direct services from the MV subgrant--and this is why there are data requirements that pertain to all homeless students in addition to those requirements for students that receive direct services.

The question of who has received a direct service is important because the data requirements differ, depending on whether or not a student receives direct services from the MV subgrant. Some data requirements apply to all homeless students in the districts, others only apply to students receiving direct services from the subgrant.

However, as you note, MV subgrants do more things than just implement the activities listed in their RFA. Often they resolve problems or act as ombudsmen for homeless students and their families. Therefore, it is reasonable for LEA subgrants to include students who have received their direct assistance/involvement as students receiving direct services. For example, when a homeless student has an enrollment difficulty, if the MV subgrant staff helps to resolve the problem and get the student enrolled, then the applicant can include that student in the pool of students who have received direct services from the grant, even if that student never receives anything from any of the activities of the subgrant. If MV subgrant staff has assisted in enrolling a homeless student in the free lunch program, then they can indicate that as one of the services provided (from the list of services).

However, all homeless students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, for example, or for transportation to their school of origin. Homeless students have to receive those services in every LEA (district) regardless of whether or not they have a subgrant. Whether or not a homeless student has access to those services is a question of compliance with the law. The data collection for the MV subgrant is not intended to track compliance with the law, but the affects of a MV subgrant in an LEA. An LEA must comply with the law regardless of whether they are awarded a subgrant or not.

In terms of the data collection for the MV subgrant, direct services are those services a student receives because of the intervention of the MV subgrant, not those services that all homeless students are required by law to receive in all districts (regardless of whether they have a subgrant or not). An applicant has some leeway in deciding which students have received a direct service. Obviously, all students that receive a service or good from an activity listed in the grant have received a direct service; however, students who have benefited from other types of intervention or interaction from the MV subgrant have received direct services as well and can be included in the pool of students receiving direct services.

For the purposes of Schedule #6F, applicants are only required to describe how they will collect the data; they are not required to report any data on the RFA.

Q46. If an LEA does not use all the funds set-aside to serve homeless students, can these funds be returned to Title I to be used for other purposes?

A46. According to TEA, the answer is yes, the LEA may amend their application late in the school year to move unused funds to another allowable Title I activity; however, the LEA must ensure that sufficient Title I funds are available for services to homeless students on non-Title I campuses should any homeless students enroll after the reserved funds have been redirected (such as from Title I admin funds). In any case, the LEA must have Title I funds available for services to homeless students on non-Title I campuses should any such students enroll.

Q47. We have been reviewing the general instructions for schedule #6E, and we are confused about this section: "An LEA may receive funding under Title I, part A, only if the LEA has on file with the TEA a plan, approved by TEA, that is coordinated with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act [Section 1112(a)(1)]." Can you explain what this means?

We currently have a TEA approved abstract for consolidated funding, and we have a board approved homeless policy and manual, but we are unsure if either of these qualify has the "plan" mentioned in the above section of schedule #6E. Please clarify the plan that is referenced.

A47. TEA requires only the submission of the NCLB Consolidated Application for Funding (i.e., plan); however, all districts receiving Title I funds are required to have a local Title I plan that describes how they will provide the required services to eligible students. This plan is usually incorporated into the district and campus improvement plans. Because all homeless students are eligible for Title I services, and because all Title I districts are required to set aside Title I funds under Part A to serve homeless students, the plan should include a description of how the Title I, Part A, set-aside will be used to serve homeless students in your district. If you have not already done so, it is advisable for you to speak with your district's Federal programs or Title I director, who should be very knowledgeable about this consolidated application (plan) and Title I, Part A, set-asides.

Q48. Will we lose points if the Letters of Agreement are copies or fax copies?

A48. No. As long as it can be determined that letters of agreement have actually been signed by a person authorized to sign, faxes and copies will be accepted.

Q49. We are instructed to use at least a 10 pt font for the application. Is that just for the narrative part? When I try to fill out the form on the computer, the size of the font is 8 pt like the form and I have to go and change the font to 10pt on EACH box. It gets rather tedious, so I'm wondering if this is necessary for the Schedule pages?

A49. Applicants are required to adhere to the 10-point rule. The reason for this requirement is to facilitate the review processóanything less than 10-point font is difficult for most reviewers to read.

Q50. I do not see a page limit on any of the schedules other than the abstract that is limited to 3 pages. Do the other schedules have page limits?

A50. Please see page I-20, item number 5, and page I-83 for information about your question. Each schedule has specific instructions for how to complete it and should be followed as directed; failure to do so could result in loss of points.

Q51. A service center has been providing tutoring, school supplies, and parenting education to several shelters in their region with funds from their McKinney-Vento grant. The school district in the city where the shelters are located will be applying for a TEXSHEP grant and wants to provide services to these shelters. If both the service center and the district are awarded some funds, would it be possible for them both to provide different or complementary services to the two shelters? (The shelters both serve students and families from outside the district boundaries).

A51. Yes, both a district and an ESC may work with community-based organizations that serve homeless families, even if the district and the ESC are not in a shared-services arrangement but rather have separate grants. Both entities should work closely with the community-based service providers to ensure that services are complementary and not duplicated.

March 9 , 2006

Q52. In writing the grant, Schedule 6C Project Description, is it permissible to change that schedule to landscape instead of portrait? With the number of columns in the format, landscape format is easier to read.

A52. Yes, you may present the chart in landscape format, which is probably a better way to do it for the reason mentioned.

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