Section 245.30  Application Procedures and Content

a)         When an appropriation is made for the State-funded homeless education program, the State Superintendent of Education shall issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) specifying the information that applicants shall include in their proposals, informing applicants of any bidders' conferences, and requiring that proposals be submitted no later than the date specified in the RFP.  The RFP shall provide at least 30 calendar days in which to submit proposals.

b)         It is the intention of the State Board of Education to approve Education of Homeless Children and Youth State Grant programs for a three-year period.  Funding in each subsequent year is subject to a sufficient appropriation for the program and satisfactory progress of the grantee in the previous grant period.  (See Section 245.50 of this Part.)

c)         Each RFP shall indicate the descriptive information that initial applicants will be required to provide about their proposed programs.  For the purposes of this Part, initial applicants are those that did not receive funding under this Part in the year previous to an application or that are completing the last year in a three-year funding cycle.  The proposal description shall include:

1)         evidence of the applicant's need for assistance under this Part, to include the process used to determine the need; demographic and other statistical information; and the barriers to school enrollment, attendance and success faced by homeless children and youth to be served;

2)         the activities and services to be provided, which shall be limited to those set forth under Section 723(d) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001, and how the proposed activities and services will meet the needs of homeless children and youth who will be served by the program;

3)         how the applicant will ensure effective coordination with other providers that serve homeless families; and

4)         the data to be collected and methods to be used to determine the success of the program in ensuring that homeless children and youth receive the supports and services necessary for them to meet the Illinois State Goals for Learning (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1.Appendix D).

d)         The RFP shall require completion of a budget summary and payment schedule as well as a budget breakdown, i.e., a detailed explanation of each line item of expenditure.

e)         Each RFP shall include such certifications, assurances and program-specific terms of the grant, as the State Board of Education may require, to be signed by the applicant that is a party to the application and submitted with the proposal. 

f)         Applicants may be requested to clarify various aspects of their proposals.  The contents of the approved proposal shall be incorporated into a grant agreement to be signed by the State Superintendent of Education or designee and the superintendent of the school district or, in the case of other eligible applicants, by the authorized official.