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Leadership and Technology
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for EETT
Application and Eligibility
1. Is the EETT Formula Grant a school-based or Local Education Agency (LEA)-based grant?
Answer: The EETT Formula Grant is an LEA-based grant established to assist LEAs in improving student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools. At least 25% of these funds must be used to provide ongoing, sustained, and intensive, high-quality professional development in the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction and in using those technologies to create new learning environments.
2. Can our LEA apply for both the formula and competitive grants?
Answer: Yes. Eligible applicants may apply for both formula and competitive grants.
3. Are Charter Schools eligible for EETT funding?
Answer: Yes. However, only direct-funded charter schools (Type 2) may apply directly for EETT formula funding, and those schools must also meet the education technology plan requirement. Locally funded charter schools are included in their funding-districts application and cannot apply directly for funding.
4. Are private schools eligible for EETT funding?
Answer: Private schools are eligible to receive services and/or benefits that are equitable in comparison to services and benefits for public school children, and must be provided after timely and meaningful consultation with appropriate private school officials. Simply an offer to provide service or an invitation to participate in a program, without sufficient follow-up or additional dialogue, does not satisfy the consultation requirement.
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Education Technology Plans
1. What are the certification requirements for LEA technology plans under EETT?
Answer: LEA education technology plans must meet EETT education technology plan requirements before an LEA can receive funding. LEAs that have education technology plans that have passed state-level review for compliance with the State Board-approved guidelines need only address two additional EETT criteria in order to meet the education technology plan requirements for the EETT grant programs. LEAs with only local governing board certification and/or E-Rate certification must submit their plans for state-level review in order to be considered for funding.
2. My LEA is a member of a consortium, but not the lead LEA.
Must our LEA also have an approved education technology plan?
Answer: Yes. Whether applying as individual applicants or as members of a consortium, all LEAs must have an education technology plan approved at the state level. Please note that if a consortium member LEA does not have an approved education technology plan, the entire consortium will not be funded until that LEA has received its approval.
3. Our LEA education technology plan was reviewed and approved by the Louisiana Department of Education, but we have subsequently revised that plan. Does the entire plan have to be reviewed again for EETT funding approval?
Answer: Yes. However, when your LEA submits its plan for review for EETT funding, the LEA should indicate that the plan has been revised and also indicate which area(s) were revised, to aid the reviewers.
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Formula Funds - Technology Improvement Grant (TIG)
1. When will the TIG (Title II, Part D) formula entitlements be funded?
Answer: In order to receive the formula funding through Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT), each eligible LEA must submit an a formal application, an approved technology plan and proof of internet filtering. After an application is submitted, it will go through a review process for approval. Once an LEA's application is deemed acceptable, successful LEAs will be notified of their funding.
2. How much will my LEA receive under the formula funding?
Answer: Funds will be allocated based upon the LEA's proportionate share of Title I funding. A list of estimated grants by LEA is available at: http://www.doe.state.la.us/lcetgrants/TIG0304.asp.
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Competitive Funds
1. Which districts are eligible to apply for the EETT SchoolTech Competitive grant?
Answer: Eligibility is restricted to school districts (or a consortium of school districts) and direct-funded (Type 2) charter schools. These schools must also meet the criteria below:
(1) Is among those LEAs in the state with the highest numbers or percentages of children from families with incomes below the poverty line
and
(2) Serves one or more schools identified for improvement or corrective action under section 1116 of the ESEA,
or
has a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology.
For a list of eligible districts, please see http://lcet.doe.state.la.us/grants/
2. What is meant by "poverty line”?
Answer: For the purposes of this program, the term "poverty line" means the poverty line indicated by census data as provided on U.S. Census site. In Louisiana, twenty-four percent (24%) of children are from families with incomes below poverty line. The definition for "highest numbers or percentages of children from families with incomes below the poverty line in Louisiana is:
• The LEA has 25% or more of children from families with incomes below the poverty line living within the LEA
or
• The LEA has more than 10,000 children from families with incomes below the poverty line residing within the LEA.
3. May eligible school districts apply for both formula and competitive EETT grants?
Answer: Eligible districts may apply for both grants.
4. Is this a district or a site-based application? Do the grant award funds have to be divided equally among all the eligible sites in the application?
Answer: The EETT Competitive Grant is a district grant that funds individual eligible sites. The grant award does not have to be divided equally among all the eligible sites in the application. The district sets the priorities for funding the sites in the application.
5. Can my district apply as both a single district and part of a consortium?
Answer: No. Eligible districts may be part of only one application, either a single district application or as part of a consortium application.
6. How does the district know which private schools(s) should be included as part of the equitable participation requirement of the grant?
Answer: For purposes of this grant, private schools must be located within the service area of the district. Eligible private schools are usually identified on the Consolidated Application.
7. Can private schools benefit from these funds?
Answer: Services and goods are shared with qualified private school. No funds can be directly given to private schools. The goods and/or services that are shared with private schools are agreed upon through a consultation between the private school(s) and the Local Education Agency (LEA). The LEA receives no extra funds for private schools.
8. What is meant by a partnership, as referenced in the application?
Answer: A partnership is an alliance that includes at least one high-need LEA and at least one of the following:
* Local Education Agency (LEA) that can demonstrate that teachers in its schools are effectively integrating technology and proven teaching strategies into instruction, based on a review of relevant research, and that the integration results in improvement in classroom instruction and in helping students meet challenging academic standards.
* An institution of higher education that is in full compliance with the teacher quality reporting requirements of section 207(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
* A for-profit business or organization that develops, designs, manufacturers, or produces technology products or services or has substantial expertise in the application of technology in instruction.
* A public or private nonprofit organization with demonstrated expertise in the application of educational technology in instruction.
It is important to note that the partnership relationship should be mutually beneficial; partners must interact and provide support for one another. The strength of the partnership relationship will have a bearing on the scoring of the application.
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Private Schools
1. Do the equitable participation requirements apply to the EETT formula and competitive grant programs?
Answer: Yes. The equitable participation requirements apply to both of the EETT programs.
2. What do the equitable participation provisions require LEAs and eligible local entities to do?
Answer: LEAs and eligible local entities must engage in timely and meaningful consultation with appropriate private school officials during the design and development of programs and continue the consultation throughout the implementation of these programs. Therefore, for both EETT formula and competitive awards, the consultation should begin during the development of the local grant proposals. Eligible LEAs that seek both competitive and formula funding under EETT may engage in consultations that simultaneously involve the EETT competitive and formula grants.
3. What types of services or benefits must an LEA provide to private schools?
Answer: LEAs and local entities must provide, on an equitable basis, special educational services or other benefits that address the needs under the program of children, teachers, and other educational personnel in private schools in areas served by the LEAs and local entities. Expenditures for educational services and other benefits for private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel must be equal, taking into account the number and educational needs of the children to be served, to the expenditures for participating public school children.
4. If a private school asks for staff development support from the LEA, but does not want to utilize the LEA's trainer, who is ultimately responsible for paying the outside trainer?
Answer: The size and scope of services is decided through the consultation process. If it is determined that the needs of private school students will be best met through staff development activities for the staff working with the eligible students, then the two parties decide on "who, what and where" of the services. It is not a unilateral decision by either party. The LEA makes the final decision.
5. Should the LEA consider poverty as a factor when determining the level of service and benefits to private schools under Title II, Part D?
Answer: The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act provides for the participation of private schools in a number of programs, including Title II, Part D. LEAs, in the consultative process, must consider the enrollment and needs of private school students, and may consider the incidence of poverty. For additional information, please refer to NCLB Section 9502. For NCLB Title II, Part D (Enhancing Education Through Technology) questions, contact Cyn Bertrand (cbertrand@lcet.state.la.us) or Margo Murphy (mmurphy@lcet.state.la.us).
6. Which private schools must be consulted during the consultation process for Title II, Part D?
Answer: The consultation process should include the private schools within the servicable area of the LEA(s) involved in the application.
7. If private schools refuse to provide the LEA with information on their free and reduced lunch counts, do they still need to be included (receive services) as part of the EETT grant?
Answer: Yes. Private schools are still entitled to services; LEAs should not deny services to private schools simply for not providing free and reduced price lunch data.
8. What type of documentation is required regarding the private school consultation process for EETT Title II, Part D?
Answer: Applicants submit a completed Form 3 Assurances and out Form 8 Convergence of Resources and Involvement of Nonpublics.
9. Does the application require the LEA to include language in the application about the private school consultation process and participation?
Answer: Yes; the applicant must identify (a) the private schools in the areas served by the applicant, (b) the type and extent of consultation that took place during the design and development of this proposed program, and (c) the type and extent of collaboration that will occur during the implementation of the proposal.
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