EdTech Online: U.S. Department of Education Technology Grant Programs

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FAQs: Getting Started

• What is EdTech Online?
• Who can and should use EdTech Online?
• What is an SEA?
• What is an LEA?
• What is the Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) Program or Ed-Tech Program?
• Why was the EETT created and what is its purpose?
• What are the ultimate goals of the EETT?
• How does the EETT distribute funds?
• Who is eligible to apply to the Ed-Tech Program?
• If an SEA is seeking Ed-Tech funds, what information must be included with the application and to whom should it be sent?
• How does a local agency or entity seek funds from an SEA? What elements must be included in the application submitted to an SEA when seeking such funds?
• As a local educational agency or local entity, is it necessary to hire a grant writer when applying for a subgrant from my SEA? What qualifications should the writer of the grant meet?
• What types of grants can I find other than EETP grants?
• What does the No Child Left Behind Act have to do with the Ed-Tech Program? How does the EETP reference NCLB for support?
• What is a formula grant?
• What are assurances and certifications?
• What is EDGAR?
• What is a DUNS number?
• What is a narrative?
• What is E-rate and how is it different from EETT?

What is EdTech Online?

The EdTech Online website is a free, comprehensive and easy-to-use directory of U.S. Department of Education technology grants. It offers updated information on government grants that are geared toward increasing technological capacity within public schools. Rather than search the multiple websites of various organizations, a visit to EdTech Online will lead you to grant program summaries, strategic objectives, appropriations, contact names and telephone numbers, as well as direct links to the government agencies offering specific grants.

Who can and should use EdTech Online?

EdTech Online can be used by teachers, technology directors, state educational agency (SEA) representatives, school administrators, directors of community telecommunications entities, and others seeking government funds for their organizations' technology-related advancement that ultimately will serve students. Although some funds must first be granted to SEAs and then distributed to local education agencies (LEAs), EdTech Online can be used as a directory for LEAs to learn about funds that could be granted to, and then sought from, their state's SEA.

What is an SEA?

SEA, or state education agency, is an agency or officer responsible for supervising public elementary and secondary schools on a state level. In relation to the Ed-Tech Program, an SEA will seek federal funds from the program and then distribute them from a state level.

What is an LEA?

LEA, or local education agency is simply a school district or individual school or schools at the local city, town, or district level.

What is the Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) Program or Ed-Tech Program ?

Part D of Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107-110), establishes the Enhancing Education through Technology Program to make available formula grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) on the basis of their proportionate share of funding under Part A of Title I for the purpose of instituting new technologies in the classroom.

Why was the EETT created and what is its purpose?

The Enhancing Education Through Technology Program consolidates the current Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) and Technology Innovation Challenge Grant programs into a single state formula grant program. For a complete list, see Enhancing Education through Technology General Information. Some of the purposes of the EETP are outlined below:

• To help states and localities start and sustain both an educational system and a technological infrastructure that, together, improve student academic achievement in elementary schools and secondary schools.
• To encourage the establishment or expansion of initiatives, including initiatives involving public-private partnerships, designed to increase access to technology, particularly in schools served by high-need local educational agencies.
• To enhance the ongoing professional development of teachers, principals, and administrators by providing technology-based and technologically acquired training and research about teaching and learning.
• To support the rigorous evaluation of programs funded under the EETT, particularly regarding the impact of such programs on student academic achievement, and ensure that timely information on the results of such evaluations is widely accessible through electronic means.

What are the ultimate goals of the EETT?

There are three goals that the EETT strives to achieve on the local educational level:

• Improve student academic performance through technology.
• Close the digital divide and ensure technological literacy by the end of 8th grade.
• Train teachers to integrate technology as part of an improved curriculum.

How does the EETT distribute funds?

The EETT distributes formula grants to eligible SEAs that apply to the program. Once those funds are at the state level, five percent of them may be used for state level activities, but the remainder is to be divided evenly between local educational agencies (LEAs), through formula grants, and local entities, through discretionary grants.

Who is eligible to apply to the Ed-Tech Program?

State Educational Agencies (SEAs) apply for formula grants from the EETT Program. These funds are then distributed through subgrants to local agencies and entities. For information on how to apply for a subgrant from your SEA, please see EETT Guide to Written Application-Local Level.

If an SEA is seeking Ed-Tech funds, what information must be included with the application and to whom should it be sent?

An SEA that seeks Ed Tech funds through an individual Ed Tech State Grant application, as opposed to a consolidated state application, must submit the following information:

1. Information on the application cover sheet, including the signature of the authorized SEA representative.
2. A narrative addressing the application and plan requirements detailed in this application.
3. The signature of the authorized SEA representative on the application assurances and certifications sheet.

An original and two copies of the application should be submitted to:

Mr. Charles Lovett
Office of School Support and Technology Programs
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Room 3E241
Washington, D.C. 20202

If you have any questions concerning this application, please contact Mr. Lovett at (202) 401-0039 or at StateTechGrant@ed.gov

How does a local agency or entity seek funds from an SEA? What elements must be included in the application submitted to an SEA when seeking such funds?

In order to be eligible to receive a subgrant from a state educational agency (SEA), an eligible local entity or agency shall submit to the SEA an application containing a new or updated local long-range strategic educational technology plan that is consistent with the objectives of the statewide educational technology plan. The eligible local entity or agency must also submit any additional information that the SEA may reasonably require, at such time and in such manner as the SEA may require. (For state-specific information, reach your state's EETT Contact person.) The application shall include each of the following:

1. A description of how the applicant will use federal funds to improve student academic performance, including technological literacy, of all students attending schools served by the local educational agency and to improve the capacity of all teachers teaching in schools served by the local educational agency to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
2. A description of the applicant's specific goals for using advanced technology to improve student academic performance, aligned with challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.
3. A description of the steps the applicant will take to ensure that all students and teachers in schools served by the local educational agency will have increased access to educational technology, including a description of how the agency will use funds under this subpart (such as combining the funds with funds from other sources) to help ensure that students in high-poverty and high-needs schools, or schools identified as needing improvement or corrective action, have access to technology, and how teachers are prepared to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
4. A description of how the applicant will:
   1. Identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively, based on a review of relevant research, leading to improvements in student academic performance, as measured by challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards; and
   2. Provide ongoing, sustained professional development for teachers, principals, administrators, and school library media personnel serving the local educational agency, to further the effective use of technology in the classroom or library media center, including, if applicable, a list of the entities that will be partners with the local educational agency involved in providing the ongoing, sustained professional development.
5. A description of the types and costs of technologies to be acquired under this subpart, including services, software, and digital curricula, and including specific provisions for interoperability among components of said technologies.
6. A description of how the applicant will coordinate activities carried out with funds provided under this subpart with technology-related activities carried out with funds available from other federal, state, and local sources.
7. A description of how the applicant will integrate technology (including software and other electronically delivered learning materials) into curricula and instruction, and a timeline for said integration.
8. A description of how the applicant will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula through the use of technology, including distance-learning technologies, particularly for those areas that otherwise would not have access to such courses and curricula due to geographical isolation or insufficient resources.
9. A description of how the applicant will ensure the effective use of technology to promote parental involvement and increase communication with parents, including a description of how parents will be informed of the technology being applied in their child's education so that they will be able to reinforce at home the instruction their child receives at school.
10. A description, where applicable, of how programs will be developed in collaboration with adult literacy service providers to maximize the use of technology.
11. A description of the process and measures for accountability that the applicant will employ to evaluate the extent to which funded activities have been effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction, increasing the ability of teachers to teach, and enabling students to meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.
12. A description of the supporting resources (such as services, software and other electronically delivered learning materials, and print resources) that will be acquired to ensure successful and effective uses of technology.

Source: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edtech/summary.doc (Pg. 11)

As a local educational agency or local entity, is it necessary to hire a grant writer when applying for a subgrant from my SEA? What qualifications should the writer of the grant meet?

In many instances at the local level, budgets do not allow for a grant writer, and the duty of procuring funds is often delegated to a person whose primary role at their organization is not grant preparation. Although preparing federal grants requires a lot of time and hard work, this should not deter any local educational agency from getting the funds they need to improve their schools and help their students. Whether the task of preparing a grant is given to a paid grant writer or assigned to a teacher or team of faculty, there are some qualifications that, if met, will make the federal grant-writing process much easier. The grant writer or at least one member of a grant-writing team should:

1. Be experienced in writing grants, preferably federal grants. Two key requirements include strong writing skills and detailed organization skills.
2. Be familiar with the subject of technology infrastructure as well as how it can be integrated into a curriculum.
3. Be experienced in traditional as well as, online research in order to find up-to-date reference material to support the narrative.
4. Have strong editing skills that range from overall organization to detailed copyediting.

What types of grants can I find other than EETT grants?

Along with the Enhancing Education through Technology Program and the E-rate Program, (The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund), EdTech Online features other grant programs. Some grants specifically relate to technology needs; but others are more general, but also should be considered as they could be tailored to more specific needs.

• Assistive Technology State Grant Program
• Charter Schools: Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities
• Charter Schools: State Charter School Facilities Incentives Grants Program
• Improving Teacher Quality State Grants
• Innovative Program
• Ready-to-Teach Grant Program
• Special Education Grants
• Star Schools Program

What does the No Child Left Behind Act have to do with the Ed-Tech Program? How does the EETT reference NCLB for support?

President Bush and Congress have declared their commitment to transforming the federal government's role in education so that "No Child is Left Behind." At the heart of this effort is a commitment to focus on students, equip teachers, empower parents and inform decision makers to ensure every child receives a quality education. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 advances this commitment by providing a number of exciting reforms, tools and programs, many of which are reliant on the appropriate and effective use of technology.

Experts and practitioners all have agreed on the importance not just of increasing technology capacity within schools, but also of integrating it with the curriculum. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reflects this commitment in several exciting ways:

Information on all of the programs provided by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 can be found at http://www.ed.gov/nclb/

What is a formula grant?

A formula grant is an award based on a predetermined formula, given non-competitively to eligible applicants. Generally awarded to state agencies that administer various kinds of assistance to local educational agencies. Sometimes, state governments allot funds by holding grant competitions on the state level for local entities or organizations that are not local educational agencies (LEAs).

What are assurances and certifications?

Assurances are a variety of requirements found in different federal laws, regulation, and executive orders that applicants agree in writing to observe as a condition of receiving federal assistance. Certifications are statements, signed by the applicant or grantee as a prerequisite for receiving federal funds, that it 1) meets or will adhere to certain conditions and 2) will undertake or not undertake certain actions.

What is EDGAR?

Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) can be found at http://www.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edgar.html. Administrative regulations are rules that apply to all grantees, regardless of the program to which they have applied. They implement guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, presidential executive order, and legislation that affects all applicants for, or recipients of, federal grants. The group of regulations known as EDGAR are related to matters of the U.S. Department of Education.

What is a DUNS number?

Data Universal Numbering System, known as DUNS, is a unique nine-digit sequence that is used by businesses and the federal government to keep track of more than 70 million businesses world-wide. Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is a company that provides business information for credit, marketing, and purchasing decisions and issues DUNS numbers. Some entities, such as states and universities, will also have what is known as DUNS + 4, which is used to identify specific units within a larger entity.

What is a narrative?

A narrative is the written portion of the application that, by following the Guide to Written Application, explains what grant applicant has done in regards to educational technology, what it plans to do in the future, how the grant applicant will distribute and use funds, and how it plans to evaluate the progress of its programs.

What is E-rate and how is it different from EETT?

E-rate is the program formally known as The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund and is overseen by the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). The purpose of E-rate is to provide schools and libraries with discounts on telecommunications services and Internet access. Although the program falls under the general category of education and technology, it differs from the Ed-Tech/EETT Program in that E-rate discounts are for technology related services (e.g., cellular connection, DSL, email) and related expenses only, rather than for actual technological equipment, software or training in the use of such tools.

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