School Choice & Improvement Programs

Overview

The Office of School Choice and Improvement Programs (SCIP) administers discretionary grant programs and delivering technical assistance to improve schools, promote choice, and engage parents. This is based on the belief that all education sectors (public schools, public charter schools, and nonpublic schools) can offer quality education experiences for students, and that each parent has the power to find the right educational option for their child.

SCIP administers programs that are designed to:

• provide grants to eligible local educational agencies to establish and operate magnet schools that are operated under a court-ordered or federally approved voluntary desegregation plan to support the elimination, reduction, and prevention of minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools;
• provide support for full-service community schools that improve the coordination, integration, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children and families, particularly for children attending high-poverty schools, including high-poverty rural schools;
• significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in our most distressed communities by giving children and youth growing up in Promise Neighborhoods access to great schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and a career;
• provide financial support for statewide family engagement centers to provide technical assistance and training to State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in the implementation and enhancement of systemic and effective family engagement policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements in student development and academic achievement; and
• provide low-income parents residing in the District of Columbia (District) with expanded options for the education of their children.