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Adult Education Administrator's Manual

Application and Funding

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Allocation of Funds

Section 222 (a) of Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998 (AEFLA) requires the State to use not less than 82.5 percent of the grant funds to award grants and contracts under Section 231 and to carry out Section 225, programs for corrections education and other institutionalized individuals.

Of the 82.5 percent funds, not more than 10 percent will be set-aside for State-wide competitive grants for programs for corrections education and other institutionalized adults (Section 225. The remaining adult education funds will be allocated annually in accordance with the State Board of Education approved formula. The current funding formula is as follows:

a. 25 percent of the funds available shall be allocated based on the best available estimates of the number of eligible adults in each county and school district geographic area within each county.
b. 75 percent of the funds available shall be allocated based on student contact hours reported by each school district geographic area and for the most recent complete fiscal year reporting period.
c. A school district geographic area’s student contact hour annual allocation shall not be reduced by more than 10% below the preceding fiscal year’s contact hour allocation provided that:

(A) sufficient funds are available; and
(B)the school district geographic area’s contact hour performance used in calculating the allocation was not less than that of the preceding fiscal year.

Allocation amounts by county units and school district units within each county are generated as soon as the amount of available federal funds is known. These funds are not an entitlement to the school district but belong to communities.

Program eligibility to apply for funds

Under Section 203 (5) of AEFLA, eligible providers (applicants) are:

• A local educational agency;
• A community-based organization of demonstrated effectiveness;
• A volunteer literacy organization of demonstrated effectiveness;
• An institution of higher education;
• A public or private non-profit agency;
• A library;
• A public housing authority;
• A non-profit institution that is not described in any of the subparagraphs (a) through (g) and has the ability to provide literacy services to adults and families; and
• A consortium of the agencies, organizations, institutions, libraries, or authorities described in any of subparagraphs (a) through (h).

For profit entities are not eligible providers (this may change when Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is reauthorized in 2005.)

Under State Law (Texas Education Code 29.252), eligible providers for a State grant are:

• public school districts;
• public junior colleges;
• public universities;
• public non-profit agencies; and
• community-based organizations approved in accordance with State Statutes and Rules adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE).

SBOE Rules require that applicants must have at least one year of experience in providing the adult education and literacy services proposed in the application.

Notice of Availability

Texas Education Agency (TEA) currently uses the following strategies for public notification of the availability of adult education funds:

• mailing to all independent and consolidated school districts in Texas;
• mailing to all public colleges and universities in Texas;
• mailing to all workforce development boards in Texas;
• mailing to all public housing authorities in Texas;
• mailing to all Head Start programs;
• mailing to all adult education, community education and Even Start Family Literacy programs in the State;
• mailing to all organizations listed with the Texas Center for Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) directory of literacy providers;
• mailing to all community action agencies;
• mailing to all public libraries in the State;
• posting in TEA’s Adult and Community Education and TCALL websites,
• announcement in TCALL sponsored professional listservs, and
• announcement in the Texas Register.

The announcement of the availability of funds also contains information about available assistance regarding preparation and submission of an application.

Funds Availability

Annual funding of adult education is subject to availability of funds from the Federal Government. The State Board of Education may require applicants to provide the share of matching funds, cash or in-kind, required by Federal law. A delay in the receipt of Texas’ Federal Allocation may delay the issuance of a contract.

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