SECTION 210:40-63-3. Solicitation and acceptance of applications

(a)   At such point in the legislative session that state funds are appropriated for competitive grant programs to be awarded by the State Board of Education and administered by the State Department of Education, a notification letter will be sent to each district superintendent or dependent district principal announcing the availability of the application form.

(b)   The notification will clearly state those grant programs for which the applications are being solicited, and state the name and telephone number of the contact person at the Department who administers each program.

(c)   Applications for the various grant programs may be obtained by calling or by writing the contact person and requesting an application form.

(d)   Only one application per district per grant will be accepted unless several districts are applying as a cooperative. The signature of the district superintendent or dependent district principal must appear on the application.

(e)   If more than one district wishes to apply for a grant on a cooperative basis, those districts will be eligible for an amount equal to the sum of the amounts each district could qualify for separately. A given district may not apply as part of a cooperative and individually for the same grant program.

(f)   In the event of a cooperative application, one district will be chosen by the cooperative to serve as the fiscal agent for the grant. The signature of each district superintendent or dependent district principal involved in a cooperative must appear on the grant application form.

(g)   The grant application and six copies will be submitted to the grant administrator approximately one month after applications are made available. A specific deadline date will be clearly stated in the application solicitation letter. This date may vary from year to year depending on the point in the legislative session that grant funds are appropriated.

(h)   After evaluation, the State Superintendent will recommend to the State Board of Education those applications which have been determined to be eligible for funding.

(i)   The State Board of Education will make every effort to assure that grant awards are made before the beginning of the fall term for the school year in which the funds will be made available.

(j)   Programs will not be funded for more than three consecutive years.

(k)   Each district funded shall agree to establish an objective procedure for documenting how the Arts in Education program is benefiting the children served. Data collected will be compiled and submitted on forms provided by the State Department of Education. Evidence will be submitted with the final evaluation at the end of the year.