(1)(a) There
is created in the department the early literacy grant program to provide money to
local education providers to implement literacy support and intervention instruction
programs, including but not limited to related professional development programs,
to assist students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades to achieve
reading competency. The state board may award a grant to an applying local
education provider that is a school district on a district-wide basis or to individual
schools of the school district. A local education provider may apply individually or
as part of a group of local education providers. The state board by rule shall
establish the application timelines and the information to be included in each grant
application. The state board shall
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
(1) (a) There
is created in the department the early literacy grant program to provide money to
local education providers to implement literacy support and intervention instruction
programs, including but not limited to related professional development programs,
to assist students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades to achieve
reading competency. The state board may award a grant to an applying local
education provider that is a school district on a district-wide basis or to individual
schools of the school district. A local education provider may apply individually or
as part of a group of local education providers. The state board by rule shall
establish the application timelines and the information to be included in each grant
application. The state board shall not, as a condition of applying for or receiving a
grant, restrict an applicant's ability to use any of the assessments included on the
approved list of assessments adopted pursuant to section 22-7-1209 (1)(b).
(b) In adopting rules, the state board shall ensure that a local education
provider that is a rural school district or a small rural school district, or a district
charter school or an institute charter school that is located within the boundaries of
a rural school district or small rural school district, may submit a simplified grant
application. A rural school district that is a member of a board of cooperative
services may seek assistance in writing the grant application from the board of
cooperative services. A board of cooperative services may apply for a grant to
provide instructional support in literacy for small rural school districts that are
members of the board of cooperative services.
(2) The department shall review each grant application received and
recommend to the state board whether to award the grant and the duration and
amount of each grant. In making recommendations, the department shall consider
the following factors:
(a) The percentage of kindergarten and first-, second-, and third-grade
students enrolled by the applying local education provider or group of local
education providers who have significant reading deficiencies and the percentage
of kindergarten and first-, second-, and third-grade students who do not have
significant reading deficiencies but who are not meeting the grade-level
expectations in reading adopted by the state board;
(b) The instructional program that the applying local education provider or
group of local education providers plans to implement using the grant money and
whether it is an evidence-based program that is proven to be successful in other
public schools in Colorado or in other states;
(b.3) Whether the local education provider or group of local education
providers employs reading coaches or plans to use all or a portion of the grant
money to employ reading coaches;
(b.5) The degree to which the instructional program incorporates the
effective use of technology, including software, to assist in assessing and
monitoring student progress toward reading competency;
(c) The cost of the instructional program that the applying local education
provider or group of local education providers plans to implement using the grant
moneys;
(c.5) In the case of a board of cooperative services that applies for a grant to
provide instructional support in literacy, the number of small rural school districts,
the number of kindergarten and first-, second-, and third-grade students enrolled in
the small rural school districts, and the resources available to the small rural school
districts that will receive instructional support as a result of the grant;
(d) Any additional factors the state board may require by rule.
(3) Based on the recommendations of the department, the state board shall
award grants to applying local education providers or groups of local education
providers, which grants are paid from money in the early literacy fund created in
section 22-7-1210. Of the money allocated for the early literacy grant program
pursuant to section 22-7-1210 (4), the state board shall annually:
(a) Award up to ten percent to applicants that have previously received a
grant to fund school-wide literacy initiatives that have resulted in significant
student academic growth toward reading competency, as determined by an
independent evaluator as provided in section 22-7-1209 (8), and that are requesting
an additional year of funding to assist the local education provider in sustainability
planning for the initiatives, including the continuing use of literacy coaches;
(b) Award up to fifteen percent to fund professional development initiatives
for local education providers that are already implementing evidence-based or
scientifically based universal instruction and interventions that are resulting in
significant student academic growth toward reading competency, as determined by
an independent evaluator as provided in section 22-7-1209 (8); and
(c) Award the remainder to applicants that request funding for other
evidence-based or scientifically based literacy support and intervention instruction
programs to assist students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades to
achieve reading competency.
(3.5) (a) Upon completion of the term of a grant, if an independent evaluator,
as provided in section 22-7-1209 (8), determines that the instructional program
funded by the grant money has resulted in significant student academic growth
toward reading competency, and if the local education provider requests an
extension of the grant, the state board shall extend the grant for a period
recommended by the department. The state board shall increase the amount of the
grant if necessary to enable the local education provider to expand or enhance
implementation of the instructional program.
(b) Upon completion of the term of a grant, if an independent evaluator, as
provided in section 22-7-1209 (8), determines that the instructional program funded
by the grant money has not resulted in significant academic student growth toward
reading competency, the state board shall not extend or renew the grant.
(4) For purposes of this section:
(a) Rural school district means a school district in Colorado that the
department of education determines is rural, based on the geographic size of the
school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large,
urbanized area.
(b) Small rural school district means a rural school district that enrolls
fewer than one thousand two hundred students in kindergarten through twelfth
grade.