Section 265.220  Criteria for the Review of Initial Proposals

a)         Applications for implementation grants shall be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

1)         Quality of the Plan (40 points)

A)        The proposal demonstrates that the program to be implemented is based on information derived from the planning process.

B)        The proposal identifies the aspects of the program that cannot currently be implemented in the absence of grant funding and demonstrates that plans exist to ensure the availability or redeployment of resources to sustain the program with declining reliance on State funding.

C)        The proposal demonstrates that teachers with the appropriate educator licensure are available to deliver instruction in the program and that their specific needs are reflected in the professional development that has been chosen.

D)        The proposal demonstrates that the affected students will have systematic access to relevant linguistic, artistic, or cultural resources as an integral part of their participation in the instructional program.

2)         Sustainability (30 points)

The proposal presents a portfolio of available local resources for which commitments have been secured so that the program can be sustained in future years when no further State funding will be provided.

3)         Need (20 points)

A)        The proposal describes the status of the applicant's instructional programs in the arts or foreign languages, as applicable, and demonstrates that students' access to educational opportunities in this curricular area is limited to an undesirable degree.

B)        The proposal demonstrates that other sources of funding are limited to such an extent that the applicant is unable to conduct or expand the program as proposed without funding under this Part.

4)         Cost-Effectiveness (10 points)

The scope of the proposed activities is reasonable in light of the amount of funding to be provided, and the project will be cost-effective considering the number of students to be served.

b)         The rankings of all implementation proposals will form one distribution.

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 8365, effective April 1, 2014)