Schools that intend to apply must submit a notice to FLDOE by July 1, 2020
“The CSP funds will permit charter schools with the greatest need to apply for grant dollars to help secure devices and connectivity for their students. As soon as COVID-19 impacted our schools, Ralph Arza, Director of Governmental Affairs, contacted state and federal leaders about the need for funds to support technology for our most needy students. We thank Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education for understanding this need and granting Florida the CSP flexibility. We also can’t thank Adam Emerson at FDOE and Commissioner Corcoran enough for championing this request on behalf of charter school students in Florida,” said Lynn Norman-Teck, Executive Director, FCSA. “The COVID19 crisis required schools to launch into distance learning. We are incredibly proud of how quickly our member schools and their teachers adjusted their game plan and began serving all their students via virtual classes and/or via packets sent home. However, we all soon realized that many students would require more assistance and support than anyone anticipated. Our member schools moved mountains to ensure those students had devices and found partnerships and innovative ways for families to secure connectivity. Making CSP dollars available via grants is a step in the right direction. Those grant dollars will provide a great opportunity for our high need schools to get the technology and connectivity their students need.”
Memo from FLDOE, June 23, 2020 — We are excited to announce a new opportunity through Florida’s federally funded Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant. The Florida Department of Education sought and has obtained from the U.S. Department of Education flexibility to award CSP funds to eligible charter schools that are established in their operations, and may have even previously received CSP funds, in order to purchase technology to accommodate those needs that have arisen due to the complications from COVID-19.
Ordinarily, the CSP grant is for new charter schools only and is meant to provide one-time assistance with start-up costs. Under the flexibility granted by the USDOE, Florida can provide assistance to meet the immediate educational needs of students at new and established schools impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Our goal is to ensure that as many eligible charter schools as possible get to a one-to-one student-to-device ratio and that learning continues for those students who may have to access their schools or lessons remotely.
The application process is not competitive in the way that previous CSP applications have been, but the Florida Department of Education is prioritizing Title I-eligible schools who have higher proportions of economically disadvantaged students. We also are prioritizing “mom-and-pop schools” before larger networks (those that operate more than five schools in Florida). As funds remain available, the Department will then award Title I-eligible schools within those larger networks. Currently active CSP sub-grantees are not eligible for these funds.
The Department has approximately $10 million in CSP funds to support this initiative.
We will be hosting a webinar at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 25, to discuss the Request for Applications (links available below) as well as the process of awarding schools. To register for the webinar, visit the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5904463610766972431
During the webinar, we will discuss all the forms necessary to submit a complete application. To help streamline the application process, we have developed a three-page instructional guide that contains all application instructions. This includes information on the fillable application that requires a brief narrative and other information from applicants, as well as the project application form (DOE 100A) that all schools must complete and have signed (electronically) by their district superintendent.
We also will discuss the process for submitting an application, as that process will be different for anyone ordinarily accustomed to submitting an application for CSP funds. Because we will need to know in advance which schools will apply, we are requiring all prospective applicants to provide a Notice of Intent to Apply by July 1.
Schools must submit their Notice of Intent to the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSPNOIA
And, as always, we stand ready to answer your questions. Please submit all such questions to Charter Schools Director Adam Emerson at adam.emerson@fldoe.org.
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