Applicant Info and Eligibility
What’s New
The FY 2024 Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) grant competition is now OPEN!
After you have reviewed the Notice Inviting Applications and our 2024 Competition Page, you may want to review past award recipients’ materials or contact us at MSAP.Team@ed.gov with any questions you may have.
Eligibility
Who May Apply: (by category) Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
Who May Apply: (specifically) Only LEAs or consortia of LEAs that are implementing a Required or Voluntary Desegregation Plans are eligible for MSAP.
What is a Desegregation Plan?
A Required Desegregation Plan is a plan ordered by a court (or other appropriate entity) to remedy the illegal separation of minority group children or faculty in the schools of an LEA.
A Voluntary Desegregation Plan is different for each LEA. For MSAP, voluntary plans should include how the LEA plans to eliminate, reduce, or prevent Minority Group isolation (MGI), either in the specific, proposed magnet schools or in the magnets’ feeder schools (the schools the magnet students would otherwise attend). For examples, please see our Awards Page.
More specifically, under MSAP’s regulations, to be eligible to receive a grant, an LEA or consortium of LEAs must be:
- implementing a plan undertaken pursuant to a final order issued by a court of the United States, or a court of any State, or any other State agency or official of competent jurisdiction, that requires the desegregation of minority-group-segregated children or faculty in the elementary schools and secondary schools of such agency; or
- without having been required to do so, has adopted and is implementing, or will, if a grant is awarded to such local educational agency, or consortium of such agencies, under this part, adopt and implement a plan that has been approved by the Secretary as adequate under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for the desegregation of minority-group-segregated children or faculty in such schools.
What is Minority Group Isolation (MGI)?
MGI refers to racial isolation of students from one or more minority groups in schools where there are substantial proportions of minority students.
A key component of any MSAP project is that it includes magnet schools to reduce, eliminate, or prevent MGI, either in the magnet or in a “feeder” school (the school magnet students would otherwise attend).
