On December 10, 2009, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) published in the Federal Register its final rule for awarding School Improvement Grants (SIG). Despite numerous requests for modifications, the final rule does not reflect significant changes from the requirements initially proposed by USDE in August 2009.
In addition to the USDE 2009 fiscal appropriation of $546 million for SIG, $3 billion were made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). USDE will award grants to each state education agency (SEA) based on the SEA's proportionate share of the funds it receives under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Parts A, C and D. The SEA will award sub-grants to a local education agencies (LEA) that meet the USDE requirements for improving or turning around failing schools. The SEA must give priority to LEAs that demonstrate the most need and the strongest commitment to use the funds to substantially raise the achievement of students attending the lowest-achieving schools. To receive a grant to turn around one or more of its failing schools, an LEA must demonstrate its commitment to use one of the following turnaround models:
- Turnaround model - Fire the school's principal and replace at least 50% of the staff;
- Restart model - Close the school and restart it under a charter school operator or an education management operator;
- School closure model - Close the school and allow students to enroll in a higher-achieving school; or
- Transformation model - Replace the school's principal and significantly overhaul school operations.
- SIG applications were made available early in December 2009.
