Part B of Title V of the ESEA
The purpose of the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program is to provide small, rural local educational agencies (LEAs) with financial assistance to address the unique needs of rural school districts that frequently lack the personnel and resources needed to compete effectively for Federal competitive grants and receive formula grant allocations in amounts too small to be effective in meeting their intended purposes. LEAs are entitled to funds if they meet eligibility and application requirements. Awards are issued annually, and award amounts are determined using a formula
84.358A
Formula
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Applications expected to open for SRSA-eligible LEAs between February – April, 2023
Total Amount:$107,500,000
Amount Available Towards Broadband (if specified): Not Specified
No
Not Applicable
Research and/or Evaluation
Not Applicable
An LEA is eligible to participate in the SRSA program if it meets the statutory criteria of being both small and rural. To be considered small, an LEA must have a total average daily attendance (ADA) of fewer than 600 students or exclusively serve schools that are located in counties with a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile. To be considered rural, all schools within the LEA must have a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43 (assigned by the Department’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)) or be located in an area of the State defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
SRSA Eligibility - Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, includes current and previous year REAP Master Eligibility Spreadsheets, which includes eligiblity and award information for States and individual LEAs.
REAP@ed.gov; (202) 401-0039
This is one of a number of Department programs that provides funds that could be used to support broadband access. School districts may use Small Rural School Achievement Program funds to pay for activities that are allowable under Title I, Part A; Title II, Part A; Title III; Title IV, Part A; and Title IV, Part B, as well as parental involvement activities. The allowability of costs is always situation and program specific. For that reason, if you decide to use funds under one of these programs for costs related to device or mobile hotspot access, you must be sure that the use of the funds is, under the specific circumstances of the expenditure and the program authority selected, reasonable and necessary for the purposes of that program, and does not violate other program requirements, such as the “supplement not supplant” requirement. We also note that, while funds under one of these programs can be used on broadband access, the programs’ purpose is not primarily focused on that issue.
The use of Small Rural School Achievement Program funds for broadband infrastructure must be consistent with the definition of “minor remodeling” in 34 CFR Part 77. That definition of minor remodeling means “minor alterations in a previously completed building. The term also includes the extension of utility lines, such as water and electricity, from points beyond the confines of the space in which the minor remodeling is undertaken but within the confines of the previously completed building. The term does not include building construction, structural alterations to buildings, building maintenance, or repairs.” For more information, see the REAP Informational Document, which can be downloaded on the REAP website: REAP Resources - Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
April 2023