Adult Education Act Public Law 100-297

Adult Education Act Public Law 100-297. The Mississippi Community College Board’s Adult Education Act Public Law 100-297 policy is as follows: Statement of Purpose: It is the purpose of this title to assist the States to improve educational opportunities for adults who lack the level of literacy skills requisite to effective citizenship and productive employment, to expand and improve the current system for delivering adult education services including delivery of such services to educationally disadvantaged adults, and to encourage the establishment of adult education programs that will – 1. enable these adults to acquire the basic educational skills necessary for literate functioning; 2. provide these adults with sufficient basic education to enable them to benefit from job training and retraining programs and obtain and retain productive employment so that they might more fully enjoy the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship; and 3. enable adults who so desire to continue their education to at least the level of completion of secondary school. Definitions: 1. The term ‘adult’ means an individual who has attained 16 years of age or who is beyond the age of compulsory school attendance under State law, 2. The term ‘adult education’ means services or instruction below the college level for adults – 3. who are not enrolled in secondary school; 4. who lack sufficient mastery of basic educational skills to enable them to function effectively in society or who do not have a certificate of graduation form a school providing secondary education and who have not achieved an equivalent level of education; 5. who are not currently required to be enrolled in school; and 6. whose lack of mastery of basic skills results in an inability to speak, read, or write the English language which constitutes a substantial impairment of their ability to get or retain employment commensurate with their real ability, and thus are in need of programs to help eliminate such inability and raise the level of education of such individuals with a view to making them less likely to become dependent on others. 7. The term ‘educationally disadvantaged adult’ means an adult who – 8. demonstrates basic skills equivalent to or below that of students at the fifth grade level; or 9. has been placed in the lowest or beginning level of an adult education program when that program does not use grade level equivalencies s a measure of students’ basic skills. Use of Funds: Grants to States shall be used in accordance with State plans (and amendments thereto) to pay the Federal share of the cost of the establishment or expansion of adult education programs to be carried out by local educational agencies and by public or private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions. Grants provided under this section to States to carry out the programs described in the preceding sentence may be carried out by public or private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions only if the applicable local education agency has been consulted with and has had an opportunity to comment on the application of such agency, organization, or institution. The comments of the local education agency and responses thereto, shall be attached to the application when it is forwarded to the State. The State educational agency shall give preference to those applicants who have demonstrated or can demonstrate a capability to recruit and serve educationally disadvantaged adults. Limitations on Use of Funds: (1) Not more than 10 20 percent of the funds paid to a State under subsection (a) shall be used for corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals in accordance with subpart 2 (2) (2) Not more than 20 percent of a State’ allotment shall be used for programs of equivalency for a certificate of graduation from a secondary school. Local Administrative Cost Limits: 1. Of the funds provided by the State agency to eligible recipients, at least 95 percent must be expended for provision of adult education instructional activities. The remainder shall be used for planning, administration, personnel development, and interagency coordination. 2. In cases where the administrative cost limits under subsection (a) would be insufficient for adequate planning, administration, evaluation, and coordination of programs supported under this Act, the State agency shall negotiate with the local grant recipient in order to determine an adequate level of funds to be used for non-instructional purposes. State Administrative Responsibilities: Any State desiring to participate in the programs authorized by this title shall designate the State educational agency to be the sole State agency responsible for the administration and supervision of such programs. The responsibilities of the State agency shall include – (1) the development, submission, and implementation of the State application and plan and any amendments thereto and the State evaluation, (2) the assignment of such personnel as may be necessary for State administration of programs under this title. State Imposed Requirements: Whenever any State imposes any rule or policy relating to the administration and operation of programs funded by this title, the rule or policy shall be identified as a State imposed requirement. Limitation of State Administrative Costs – Effective for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1990, a State educational agency may use no more than 5 percent of the State’s grant or $50,000, whichever is greater, to pay the cost of its administration of the State’s program. State Plan and Application: Requirement – any State desiring to receive funds under this title shall submit tot he Secretary, during the fiscal year 1989 and during each fourth fiscal year thereafter, a State plan and application for adult education for the four fiscal years succeeding each fiscal year in which the State plan and application are submitted. Procedure for Submission and Consideration – Each State plan and application shall be submitted to the Secretary by July 1 preceding the beginning of the first fiscal year for which the plan is in effect. The Secretary shall approve, within 60 days, each such plan and application which is formulated in accordance with sections 342 and 343 and which meets the requirements of such sections, and shall not finally disapprove a State plan except after giving reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing to the State agency. Procedures required in formulating the state plan are in the enclosed act Section 341. Evaluation and State Plan Amendments – Timely Submission – When changes are necessary in a State plan, the State shall submit amendments to its plan by July 1 preceding the fiscal year of operation to which the amendments apply. Special consideration is cited under Section 351. In order to assist grant recipients receiving funds under this title to plan and operate the best possible programs of adult education, each State agency during the 4-year period of the State plan shall – (1) annually submit data to the Secretary with respect to grant recipients; (2) before the end of such period evaluate at least one-third of grant recipients and such evaluations shall consider – A. the planning and content of the program; B. the curriculum, instructional materials, equipment and qualification of all personnel; C. the effect of the program on the subsequent work experience of graduates; and D. other factors determined to affect program operation; and (3) gather and analyze data (including standardized test data) to determine the extent to which the adult programs are achieving the goals set forth in the plan including the goal of serving educationally disadvantaged adults, and the extent to which grant recipients have improved their capability to achieve the purposes oft his title as set forth in section 311. Special Experimental Demonstration Projects and Teacher Training: Of the funds allotted to a State under section 313 for a fiscal year, not less than 10 percent shall be used for – (1) special projects which will be carried out in furtherance of the purposes of this title, which will be coordinated with other programs funded under this title, (2) training persons engaged, or preparing to engage, as personnel in programs designed to carry out the purposes of this title. Federal Share, Federal Administrative Responsibilities: Payments A. Federal Share – The Federal share of expenditures to carry out a State plan shall be paid from a State’s allotment available for grants to that State. The Federal share shall be – B. 1. 90 percent of the cost of carrying out the State’s programs for fiscal year 1988; C. 2. 85 percent of such cost for fiscal year 1990; D. 3. 80 percent of such cost for fiscal year 1991; and E. 4. 75 percent of such cost for fiscal year 1992 ad for each fiscal year thereafter B. Maintenance of Effort – (1) No payment may be made to any State form its allotment for any fiscal year unless the Secretary finds that the fiscal effort per student or the amount available for expenditure by such State for adult education from non-Federal sources for the second preceding fiscal year was not less than such fiscal effort per student or such amount available for expenditures for such purposes from such sources during the third preceding fiscal year. (2) The Secretary may waive the requirements of his subsection for 1 fiscal year only, upon making a determination that such waiver would be equitable due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances affecting the ability to the applicant to meet such requirements, such as a natural disaster or an unforeseen and precipitous decline in financial resources. State policies are include in the Adult Education Administrative Handbook.