Dear Select County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title III, Part A, Immigrant Student Program Subgrant Change

Under Title III, Part A, Section 3114(d)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, the California Department of Education (CDE) is required to set aside funds to provide subgrant awards to local educational agencies (LEAs) that meet eligibility requirements to receive a Title III, Part A, Immigrant Student Program subgrant. The funding is made available to eligible LEAs for the purpose of providing supplementary programs and services to eligible immigrant students and youth.

Student Eligibility

The term "eligible immigrant student" is defined in ESEA Section 3201(5) as an individual student who (a) is aged three through twenty-one; (b) was not born in any state (each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico); and (c) has not been attending any one or more schools in the United States for more than three full school years.

LEA Eligibility

An LEA is eligible to apply for a Title III Immigrant Student Program subgrant when the LEA 1) has experienced a significant increase in eligible immigrant student enrollment in the current year compared with the average of the two preceding fiscal years and 2) generates a subgrant of sufficient size and scope.

For the 2021−22 fiscal year, the CDE has adjusted the significant growth criterion for establishing eligibility from the current one percent to half of one percent growth when comparing the average of the two preceding years to the current year.

In addition, the CDE has also adjusted the sufficient size and scope criterion for establishing eligibility from the current 21 eligible Immigrant students to 5 eligible Immigrant students. Therefore, LEAs are now eligible to apply for a Title III Immigrant Student Program subgrant when there are 5 or more eligible immigrant students and they meet the half of one percent growth criterion mentioned above. These changes will allow more LEAs to meet the eligibility criteria, qualify for immigrant funding, and provide services to eligible immigrant students.

Eligibility is established on a yearly basis. Eligibility determinations are calculated using the most current data collected and certified on the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. The 2021−22 eligibility list will be available in Spring 2021. The CDE will notify the LEAs by email when the eligibility list is posted on the CDE website.

Consolidated Application and Reporting System

All eligible LEAs apply annually for Title III, Part A, Immigrant Student Program subgrant on the Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS) “Application for Funding” page. Additionally, LEAs provide a projected budget for the use of the funds. Information regarding the CARS application process is available on the CDE CARS web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/co/cars.asp.

Immigrant Student Program Plan

LEAs applying for Title III Immigrant Student Program funds for the first time must submit to the CDE a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Federal Addendum for the 2021−22 funding year. The addendum describes the activities for which the funds will be used, aligned with the purposes and conditions of the subgrant. Information regarding the submission of the LCAP Federal Addenda can be found on the CDE LCAP Federal Addendum web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lc/addendumguidance.asp.

LEAs that already have received approval of a prior LCAP Federal Addendum, locally maintain an updated Addendum describing the planned use of the 2021−22 subgrant.

If you have any questions regarding the Title III, Part A, Immigrant Student Program subgrant, please contact Geoffrey Ndirangu, Education Programs Consultant, Language Policy and Leadership Office (LPLO), by phone at 916-323-5831 or by email at Gndirang@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/

Sarah Neville-Morgan, Deputy Superintendent
Opportunities for All Branch

SNM:gn