Eligibility & Funding Status

Agreement means a signed written agreement between the TEA and one SEA; the TEA and one or more LEAs; or the TEA and both an SEA and one or more LEAs, that documents the commitment of the TEA, SEA, and LEA, as applicable, to work together. For the purposes of this agreement, a BIE-funded school is considered an LEA. If a TEA operates a BIE-funded school, such agreement must include at least one other LEA not run by the Tribe or an SEA. The agreement must include—

1. An explanation of how the parties will work collaboratively to directly administer education programs, including ESEA formula grant programs, consistent with State law and under written agreement between the parties;
2. A description of the primary SEA-type functions (as defined in this notice) or LEA-type functions (as defined in this notice) that the TEA will assume;
3. The training and other activities that the SEA or LEA, as appropriate, will provide for the TEA to gain the knowledge and skills needed to administer education programs in areas such as data collection and analysis, grants management and monitoring, fiscal accountability, and other areas as needed;
4. The assistance that the TEA will provide to the SEA or LEA, as appropriate, to facilitate the project, in areas related to Tribal history, language, and culture; and
5. A statement concerning student data that commits the parties to making their best efforts to reach consensus and finalize agreement, within 90 days after the start of the project, on a provision on data sharing that is consistent with FERPA, if data sharing is required by the project design;
6. The goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project that are clearly specified and measurable;
7. A timetable for accomplishing each of the objectives and activities that the applicant will undertake to achieve the program outcomes in the program requirements; and
8. An assurance that all relevant parties will participate in each Tribal consultation required under Federal education programs.

Directly administer education programs means conducting SEA-type functions or LEA-type functions for education programs, including ESEA formula grant programs, consistent with State law and under the agreement. Education program means any Federal, State, local, or private education program that supports elementary or secondary students. Established TEA means a TEA that—

1. Previously received a STEP grant in 2012 or 2015; or
2. Has an existing prior relationship with an SEA or LEA as evidenced by a prior written agreement between the TEA and SEA or LEA, and meets two or more of the following criteria:

1. 1. Has an existing Tribal education code.
   2. Has administered at least one education program within the past five years.
   3. Has administered at least one Federal, State, local, or private grant within the past five years.

Existing capacity means meeting two or more of the following criteria:

1. Has an existing Tribal education code.
2. Has established standard operating procedures related to elementary or secondary education operations.
3. Has administered at least one education program within the past five years.
4. Has administered at least one Federal, State, local, or private grant within the past five years, which may include a one-year STEP Development grant received in 2019.

Indian Tribe means a federally-recognized or a State-recognized Tribe. LEA-type function means the type of activity that LEAs typically conduct, such as direct provision of educational services to students, grant implementation, school district curriculum development, staff professional development pursuant to State guidelines, and data submissions. Project component means an activity, strategy, intervention, process, product, practice, or policy included in a project. Evidence may pertain to an individual project component or to a combination of project components (e.g., training teachers on instructional practices for English learners and follow-on coaching for these teachers). Relevant outcome means the student outcome(s) or other outcome(s) the key project component (as defined in this notice) is designed to achieve, consistent with the specific goals of the program. SEA-type function means the type of activity that SEAs typically conduct, such as overall education policy development, supervision and monitoring of school districts, provision of technical assistance to districts, statewide curriculum development, collecting and analyzing performance data, and evaluating programs. Tribal educational agency (TEA) means the agency, department, or instrumentality of an eligible Indian tribe that is primarily responsible for supporting tribal students’ elementary and secondary education, which may include early learning.