April 21, 2021

Dear Select District Superintendents, District Career Technical Education Directors, High School Principals, and Teachers Conducting Programs of Agricultural Career Technical Education:

2021–22 Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Grant

The California Department of Education (CDE) is pleased to announce the availability of funds through the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (Incentive Grant) Program. This award program is contingent upon the availability of funds. If the Legislature takes action to reduce or defer the funding upon which this award program is based, then awards will be amended accordingly.

Application materials are available on the CDE Request for Applications web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r17/agin21rfa.asp.

Forms available on the web include:

• 2021–22 application with detailed instructions
• Timeline for managing the grant
• General assurances

The 2021–22 matching requirements will be the same as 2020–21. Please keep the following considerations in mind as the Incentive Grant budgets are planned:

• The funding amount approved for each Incentive Grant will be based on the application submitted and the availability of funding.
• The first payment, 75 percent, will be released on approximately October 15, 2021.
• The second payment, final 25 percent plus/minus any adjustments and any specialized grant allocations, will be released on approximately April 15, 2022. Failure to meet any Quality Criteria could result in the loss of 10 percent of the approved grant. In addition, failure to submit the Program Enrollment Report, Final Expenditure Report, or Future Farmers of America Membership Roster by October 15, 2021, will result in a loss of 10 percent of the approved grant.
• The total cost of each item or service in budget classifications 5000 and 6000 upon which Incentive Grant funds are expended, must be matched with other funds.
• Item-by-item matching is not required for Incentive Grant fund expenditures in budget classification 4000, Books and Supplies. However, the total cost for items purchased in budget classification 4000 must be matched by other funds.
• School districts participating in the Incentive Grant must certify that the funds will be used to supplement, not supplant, the district’s regular ongoing expenditures for the agricultural education program.
• School districts participating in the Incentive Grant must specify the items and services upon which they intend to expend Incentive Grant funds, and the expected costs of those items and services.

Regional Supervisors are available to answer questions and assist school personnel in completing and submitting the Incentive Grant application:

San Joaquin Region - Shay Williams-Hopper, Education Programs Consultant, 559-278-5777, swilliamshopper@cde.ca.gov

North Coast Region - JessaLee Goehring, Education Programs Consultant, 916-319-0486, JGoehring@cde.ca.gov

Central Region - Jill Sperling, Education Programs Consultant, 916-319-0494, JSperling@cde.ca.gov

South Coast Region - Greg Beard, Agricultural Education Consultant, 805-756-2402, gbeard@calpoly.edu

Southern Region - Jackie Ioimo, Education Programs Consultant, 909-869-4496, JIoimo@cde.ca.gov

Superior Region - Hugh Mooney, Education Programs Consultant, 530-342-7541, hmooney@cde.ca.gov

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Hugh Mooney, Education Programs Consultant, Agriculture Education & Family and Consumer Sciences Office, by phone at 530-342-7541 or by email at hmooney@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Gregson, Ed.D.
Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction

SG:cp