This is additional State aid (State LEP Aid) available to school districts with approved Comprehensive Plans under Part 154 of Commissioner's Regulations for Limited English Proficient Students. Aid is available for each LEP student appropriately served in a bilingual education or free-standing ESL program.

The purpose of this grant program is to enhance services leading to improved academic performance of LEP students in math and language arts consistent with the NYS Learning Standards.

Title: School Building Bilingual Excel Extended Day Grant Program

Purpose: Funds approved under this program must be used to implement before-school, after-school and/or Saturday academies. These programs must be exclusively for LEP students in approved bilingual education or free-standing English as a second language programs.

Eligibility: Those buildings with 25 or more LEP students, within districts with approved Comprehensive Plans under CR 154, are eligible to apply for a 1998-99 grant.

Deadline: One original signature and one copy of the application must be postmarked by September 23, 1998.

The purpose of this grant program is to provide bilingual instructional services to both limited English proficient and English proficient students, with the ultimate goal that both groups will attain functional bilingualism. Public school districts with approved Comprehensive Plans under CR Part 154 are eligible to apply.

Federal funds are available to school districts for supplemental funding of bilingual education and special alternative instructional programs, teacher training and school wide and district wide improvement projects.

The following ESEA Title VII Bilingual Grant applications for FY have been announced by OBEMLA:

• Program Development and Implementation Program
  Deadline for applications: February 16

  Provides 3-year grants to one or more LEAs; or one or more LEAs in collaboration with an IHE or CBO to assist LEAs to develop and implement new and comprehensive bilingual education programs for linguistically and culturally diverse students.

• Program Enhancement Project Grants
  Deadline for applications: February 16

  Provide 2-year grants to one or more LEAs; one or more LEAs in collaboration with an IHE or a CBO to carry out highly focused, innovative, and locally designed projects to expand or refine existing bilingual education programs for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Also, eligible applicants include a CBO or IHE that has an application approved by the LEA to develop and implement early childhood education or family education programs, or to conduct an instructional program that supplements the educational services provided by an LEA.

• Comprehensive School Grants Program
  Deadline for applications: February 26

  Grants are awarded under the Comprehensive School Program to implement schoolwide bilingual education or English-a-second-language (ESL) programs that are designed to reform and upgrade all the programs and operations that serve all the limited English proficient (LEP) students in a particular school. In addition to improving the instructional program for LEP students, grantees may use funds to implement professional development and family education programs.Only local educational agencies (LEAs) are eligible to apply for Comprehensive School grants. Any school served by these grants must have an enrollment of LEP students that equals at least 25 percent of the total student enrollment of the school.

• System-wide Improvement Grants
  Deadline for applications: February 26

  Grants are awarded under the Systemwide Improvement Program to implement districtwide bilingual education or English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs in order to improve and reform relevant programs and operations that serve a significant number of limited English proficient (LEP) students in a school district. Grant funds may be used to upgrade curriculum, instructional materials, educational technology, standards and assessments, staff development, and family education programs. Only local educational agencies (LEAs) are eligible to apply for Systemwide Improvement grants. These LEAs must have either an enrollment of at least 1000 LEP students or an enrollment of LEP students that equals at least 25 percent of the total district student enrollment.

Federal funds are available to school districts with eligible immigrant students in public and non-public schools. Districts must have 3% of their total enrollment or 500 students (whichever is less) who are classified as "immigrant" under the federal definition. Funding is not restricted to limited English proficient (LEP) students.