Full-Day Kindergarten Grant

Public Law 234-2007, SECTION 9 provides $58.5 million in funding for Full Day Kindergarten Grant Program in 2008-2009. Highlights of the program include:

• School corporations and charter schools are eligible for grants.
• To be eligible for funding, programs must include five hours of instructional time for 180 days during the school year and must meet the academic standards and other requirements of Indiana Code (IC) Title 20 and State Board of Education rules adopted pursuant to IC 20.
• Voluntary parent fees are permitted.
• School corporations and charter schools may choose to wait and enter the program during 2009-2010 without penalty.
• In response to requests from Superintendents to receive planning information earlier in the year, the grant application deadline is 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 2, 2008. All school corporations and by charter schools that include Kindergarten are expected to submit an application. If a school corporation or charter school does not intend to apply for a grant in 2008-2009, we still ask that you respond in order that we might have complete information. If a corporation will not have its Kindergarten roundup completed by the deadline, please contact us.
• Based on applications submitted by the deadline, school corporations and charter schools will receive an estimate of their grant amount.
• Student enrollment counts must be taken on September 12, 2008, and submitted no later than October 1, 2008, on Form DOE-FD. Final grant amounts will be based on this count.
• Grants will be distributed in December 2008.
• Grant amounts will be determined without regard to the demographic makeup of the applicant school corporation or charter school.
• Financial reporting will be accomplished through regular Form 9 submissions.
• Unexpended grant funds must be returned to the state.
• Special rules apply if grant funds are used in combination with federal Title I funds.
• Teachers must monitor the literacy progress of all students participating in the program. The assessment should be a valid observational assessment such as the new state assessment mClass Reading 3D, Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment tools, or the Indiana Reading Assessment.

The amount available for each school corporation or charter school will equal the amount appropriated divided by the total number of full day kindergarten students in a class or classes funded by the Full Day Kindergarten Grant statewide for the 2008-09 school year, and then multiplied by the number of the school corporation’s or charter school’s kindergarten students in a class or classes funded by the Full Day Kindergarten Grant for the 2008-09 school year.

If all public school corporations and charter schools choose to participate and fund all Kindergarten students, the minimum amount a school corporation or charter school could receive would be approximately $788 per student. This number may be higher depending on the number of students enrolled in full day kindergarten programs funded by the Full Day Kindergarten Grant. The statute provides that no school corporation or charter school may receive more than $2,500 per student. If funding is insufficient to serve all students, general funds or voluntary parent fees may be used to fully fund the full day kindergarten program.

If the Full-Day Kindergarten Grant funds are to be used in combination with federal Title I funds to provide full-day kindergarten, one of two methods must be employed to demonstrate compliance with the federal supplement, not supplant provisions. The methods are the traditional ‘Title I-like’ model or an alternate ‘fair share’ model. Both of these methods are outlined on the attached General Guidance for Funding FDK Programs. More complete information on the Title I guidance is available at: www.doe.in.gov/TitleI/pdf/funding_fdk.pdf. Questions regarding the use of Title I funds should be directed to your Title I Specialist at 317-232-0540 or toll free at 877-418-7240.

All school corporations and charter schools that include Kindergarten must complete and submit the online Full-Day Kindergarten Grant Application form to the Indiana Department of Education. The deadline is 5 pm EDT on May 2, 2008.

Questions about the Full Day Kindergarten Grant may be directed to Jayma McGann, Division of Early Learning and Literacy, Indiana Department of Education, at 317-232-9152, or jmcgann@doe.in.gov. Correspondence should be addressed to: Indiana Department of Education, Division of Early Learning and Literacy, Room 228, State House, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798.

Full-Day Kindergarten Grant Application