Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Small, Rural School Achievement Program CFDA Number 84.358A | ED GRANTS 022019 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 022019 001

The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) Program, CFDA 84.358A, is a U.S. Department of Education funding opportunity that provides formula-based grants to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to help meet the distinct challenges faced by rural school districts. The notice summarized here is essentially an administrative announcement for the FY 2019 application cycle, setting out key dates and explaining how eligible districts must submit their applications. While the document is presented as a grant opportunity listing, it repeatedly emphasizes that the controlling, official requirements are those published in the Federal Register, and applicants are expected to rely on that official notice for full details such as eligibility rules, required forms, allowable uses of funds, performance measures, priorities, and program contact information.

A central point of the opportunity is that SRSA awards are made on a formula basis rather than through a competitive scoring process. In practical terms, this means eligible rural districts are not competing against one another for selection in the same way they would under a discretionary grant competition; instead, districts that meet the program eligibility requirements can receive funding amounts determined by the statutory formula and federal allocation process. The program is explicitly described as intended to address the unique needs of rural school districts, which often include issues like geographic isolation, limited local tax bases, staffing and recruitment difficulties, fewer course offerings, limited access to specialized services, and higher per-pupil transportation or operational costs.

For FY 2019, the Department set an application availability date of February 20, 2019, with a deadline for transmittal of applications of April 26, 2019. Applications were required to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, specifically via the Grants.gov "Apply" function. The deadline time is stated as 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 26, 2019. The notice is also clear that applicants may not submit the application by emailing an electronic copy to the Department. Electronic submission through Grants.gov is the default requirement, with exceptions only for applicants who qualify under the Department's stated exception process described in the instructions.

The listing identifies the opportunity as "Mandatory" and the funding instrument type as a "Grant," under the education activity category. It also lists an expected number of awards of roughly 3,900, which aligns with the broad, formula-driven nature of SRSA and suggests a large number of rural LEAs nationwide are anticipated to receive funding if they are eligible and submit on time. The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the summary data, which typically indicates that a single uniform ceiling is not being set in the listing itself (common for formula programs where grant amounts vary by formula), rather than implying that awards have no value.

Eligibility in the summary is broadly tagged to include county governments, city or township governments, and other entities, with a note to consult the "Additional Information on Eligibility" in the official materials for precise clarification. In SRSA practice, eligibility is generally tied to LEA status and rural criteria established in statute and Department rules, so the Federal Register notice and the official application instructions are the correct sources to confirm whether a particular school district qualifies for the FY 2019 cycle.

Finally, the notice directs applicants to the Department's "Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs" published February 12, 2018 (83 FR 6003) for addresses and standardized submission guidance. Even though SRSA is formula-based, the Department still uses established, uniform submission and administrative procedures, and the notice is essentially telling LEAs to follow those procedures carefully, use Grants.gov, and meet the stated deadline to ensure they can access their FY 2019 SRSA allocation.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Small, Rural School Achievement Program CFDA Number 84.358A" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.358.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 12, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 26, 2019 Applications Available February 20, 2019. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications April 26, 2019.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3,900 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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