The Stronger Connections Grant is authorized by PL 117-159 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (June 25, 2022), the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) and Part VIII General Provisions.
Equitable Services
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires local education agencies (LEAs) to provide equitable services to eligible private school students, teachers and other education personnel. Specifically, these services must be:
- appropriately awarded by allocation requirements; and
- developed in consultation with officials of the private schools.
After timely and meaningful consultation, an LEA makes the final decisions with respect to the services it will provide to eligible private school students and educators (ESEA section 8501) and (34 C.F.R. § 299.7(b)(3)). In the District of Columbia, the equitable services requirement only applies to District of Columbia Public Schools.
Maintenance of Effort
Maintenance of Effort (MOE) (ESEA section 8521) requires LEAs to maintain a consistent floor of state and local funding for free public education from year to year. ESSA amended the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to eliminate an exemption for charter schools from ESEA’s MOE requirements. All DC public charter LEAs must comply with MOE under ESEA.
Supplement Not Supplant
LEAs may only use these funds to supplement, and not supplant, state and local funds that would otherwise be made available for the education of students (ESEA section 4110).
Additional details about ESEA and ESSA can be found on the US Department of Education website.
Additional Information
For additional information about the BSCA Stronger Connections Grant, please select the links below.
Contact Us
For questions or additional information about the BSCA Stronger Connections Grant, please contact [email protected].
The BSCA Stronger Connection Grant is administered by OSSE’s Office of Federal Programs and Strategic Funding within the Division of Systems and Supports, K-12.
[Date Posted: March 29, 2023]