The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) has awarded a Governor’s Computer Science Grant Fiscal Years 16 & 17 to each of the Local Educational Agencies (LEA) listed below via revenue account #32941. LEA will report use of these funds through fund #2941 which will be open to expenditures for salaries, benefits, purchased services, supplies, equipment, and/or other. Fund #2941 will be restricted to allow expenditures to the limit of the grant revenues received by the LEA; there will be no transfer of funds allowed into or out of fund #2941. This is a front-funded grant, and all award LEAs should recieve the full grant award amount via direct deposit on or before September 4, 2015. The grant period for this funding is June 1, 2015 – May 31, 2017; LEA will return all funds not liquidated before June 1, 2017 to ADE by June 30, 2017.

As agreed upon in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the LEA will offer, using a face-to-face instructional model and subject to at least one student enrolling in each course, one the following Computer Science courses in either the 2015-2016 or 2016-2017 academic year:

•  Essentials of Computer Programming
•  Computer Science and Mathematics
•  College Board AP Computer Science 
•  IB Computer Science

LEAs accepting the grant acknowledge that, in the context of this grant, “face-to-face” instruction is defined as:

•  The teacher of record for the indicated course is appropriately licensed, or on an Alternative Licensure Plan (ALP), to teach the indicated course and will be physically present in the classroom with the students for the duration of the course; or
•  The teacher of record is instructing via virtual presence to the students, and the district educator assigned to be in the classroom has a documented plan which demonstrates that teacher is using the experience to increase knowledge in the content area in order to offer traditional face-to-face instruction in future years and/or add a Computer Science endorsement to his or her Arkansas Educator’s License.

LEAs accepting the grant will utilize all funding awarded under this grant for activities to promote computer science education within the LEA and build the local capacity to provide computer science instruction.

LEAs accepting the grant will use fiscal control and fund accounting procedures that will ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting for, funds received and distributed under this program.

LEAs accepting the grant acknowledge that all funding awarded under this grant will be provided in a single distribution.

LEAs accepting the grant acknowledge that it has reported planned uses for the funding and will not substantially deviate from the reported uses without first making ADE aware of the deviation(s) by properly submitting a 2015-2017 Computer Science Initiative Grant Amendment Form.

LEAs accepting the grant will promptly and accurately report all fund use via APSCN using the funding codes provided within Section III. 

LEAs accepting the grant will complete, within the indicated submission windows, the following four surveys on fund use:

•  FY 2015-2016 (Mid-Year Report) - Submission Window: December 15, 2015 - January 31, 2016
•  FY 2015-2016 (End-of-Year Report) - Submission Window: May 15, 2016 - June 30, 2016
•  FY 2016-2017 (Mid-Year Report) - Submission Window: December 15, 2016 - January 31, 2017
•  FY 2016-2017 (Final Grant Liquidation Report) - Submission Window: May 15, 2017 - June 30, 2017

LEAs accepting the grant acknowledge that if it is found that there has been substantial deviation in grant funding use, without notifying ADE through proper submission of a 2015-2017 Computer Science Initiative Grant Amendment Form, and/or funding has been used for purposes in non-compliance with this MOU, that LEA is required to return to ADE the original amount of the awarded funding LEA received.

LEAs accepting the grant will ensure that administration of the program, activities, and services facilitated by the funding awarded within this MOU will be in accordance with all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.

LEAs accepting the grant will evaluate its program semiannually to assess its progress toward achieving its goals and objectives and use its evaluation results to refine, improve, and strengthen its program and to refine its goals and objectives as appropriate.

LEAs accepting the grant will provide ADE representatives, and/or other state agency representatives, reasonable access to the campus and classrooms where programs and/or activities facilitated by grant funds awarded under this MOU. 

Updated: December 19, 2016

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