Equity Assistance Centers (EAC) Program

Overview

<p>The Equity Assistance Centers (EAC) program is authorized under title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000c—2000c–2, 2000c–5, and the implementing regulations in 34 CFR part 270. This program awards grants through cooperative agreements “to operate regional EACs that provide technical assistance (including training) at the request of school boards and other responsible governmental agencies in the preparation, adoption, and implementation of plans for the desegregation of public schools”--which in this context means plans for equity (including desegregation based on race, national origin, sex, and religion)-- "and in the development of effective methods of coping with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation”( 34 CFR 270.1).</p> <p>Background: 42 U.S.C. 2000c SEC.403 establishes the EAC program to provide technical assistance at the request of eligible entities with regard to ‘‘special educational problems occasioned by desegregation.’’ This term is defined in 34 CFR 270.7 to mean ‘‘those issues that arise in classrooms, schools, and communities in the course of desegregation efforts based on race, national origin, sex, or religion.’’ 34 CFR 270 additionally creates the term ‘‘Desegregation assistance’’, defined as ‘‘the provision of technical assistance (including training) in the areas of race, sex, national origin, and religion desegregation of public elementary and secondary schools’’ to describe the technical assistance services provided under this program. Desegregation assistance, per 34 CFR 270.4, ‘‘may include, among other activities:</p> <ol> <li> Dissemination of information regarding effective methods of coping with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation;</li> <li> assistance and advice in coping with these problems; and</li> <li> training designed to improve the ability of teachers, supervisors, counselors, parents, community members, community organizations, and other elementary or secondary school personnel to deal effectively with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation.’’</li> </ol> <p><span style="font-size:1em">A project must provide technical assistance in all four of the desegregation assistance areas: Race, sex, national origin, and religion desegregation (34 CFR 270.4). For example, EACs provide critical support to public schools, upon request by school boards and other responsible governmental entities in their geographic region, in developing effective strategies to ensure all students have a full opportunity to participate in educational programs. This may include assisting schools in fostering positive and safe learning environments that </span><span style="font-size:1em">meet all students’ needs, and that are free of bullying and violence related to race, color, national origin, sex, or religion. When requested, EACs may provide technical assistance only to students enrolled in public schools, parents of those students, public school personnel, community organizations, and other community members (34 CFR 270.3).</span></p> <p>Previously known as the Desegregation Assistance Centers program, the EAC program is authorized under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and has provided comprehensive training and advisory services on desegregation issues to States, school districts, and schools since the mid-1960s. Through the grants funded through this notice, the EAC program will continue to advance the Department’s priorities to promote equity in student access to educational resources and opportunities.</p> <p>In 2016, the Department reduced the number of EAC geographic regions from ten to four. The four EACs have experienced a steady increase in demand for services each year since this reorganization. In FY 2017, EACs provided targeted and intensive assistance to 20 State educational agencies (SEAs) and 48 local educational agencies (LEAs) in 33 States and territories. In FY 2020, EACs provided targeted and intensive assistance to 36 SEAs and 196 LEAs in 49 States and territories. This growth may be attributable to several factors, including increased awareness of the EAC services among potential clients (e.g., SEAs, LEAs), recent increases in public interest in issues related to discrimination, and desegregation related issues caused or exacerbated by the COVID–19 pandemic and conditions necessitated by it (e.g., instances of online bullying related to race or ethnicity as a result of an increase in virtual instruction during the pandemic).</p> <p>To ensure that new EAC grantees adequately respond to this increase in demand for services, applicants should have expert knowledge of Federal statutory requirements, regulations, and policies related to desegregating public schools by race, sex, national origin, and religion.</p> <p>When addressing the selection criteria in the NIA, eligible applicants are encouraged to:</p> <ul> <li>Demonstrate their experience delivering technical assistance and training, informed by relevant data, that have resulted in documented improvements in creating more equitable learning environments for students;</li> <li>Demonstrate their proven ability to manage personnel, resources, and budgets to adequately respond to a high volume of technical assistance requests;</li> <li>Describe how they will consider the unique and diverse local and cultural needs of communities within their regions (e.g., taking into account differences in the racial, ethnic, or religious diversity of the student populations in rural communities, communities with newcomer families, communities with high instances of languages other than English spoken in the home, Tribal communities) and consider appropriate staffing and partnerships that can assist the EAC in meeting diverse regional needs; and</li> <li>Describe their comprehensive plans to expeditiously establish and maintain networks of professional partnerships to further their desegregation work. This should include working relationships with Department offices and grant programs (e.g., the Office for Civil Rights), other Federal agencies (e.g., the Department of Justice), Department-funded technical assistance providers (e.g., Comprehensive Centers, Regional Educational Laboratories), potential clients (e.g., SEAs, LEAs in their regions), and professional organizations that can improve the effectiveness of their desegregation efforts, particularly in the applicant’s EAC region.</li> </ul> <p>The Department recognizes that developing effective methods of coping with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation based on race, religion, national origin, and sex in public schools may also intersect with many other areas of important educational equity work, including socioeconomic status and disability, among others. Therefore, to improve the effectiveness of collaborative efforts across technical assistance providers to create more equitable learning environments responsive to a comprehensive range of student needs, the Department encourages applicants to include in their proposed plans for networks of professional partnerships approaches for collaboration with agencies and organizations that reflect the broader intersectional nature of educational equity work.</p> <p>The EAC program awards four grants, one for each geographical region. Each geographical region is comprised of, on average, 14 States and Territories. Given the large geographic size of each region, the skill and technological capacity to provide effective remote technical assistance and training are critical to the success of each EAC grantee. The Department encourages each applicant to propose a comprehensive plan to efficiently deliver effective remote technical assistance and training to clients that comply with applicable legal requirements for accessibility, including those required under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. We encourage applicants to describe a project design for service delivery informed by research or evaluation findings that demonstrates a rationale (as defined in this notice), explaining how the project is likely to improve or achieve relevant and expected outcomes (e.g., via a logic model, as defined in this notice).</p> <p>In developing their rationales, applicants should consider research and evaluation findings regarding best practices for addressing desegregation based on sex, race, religion, and national origin. Applicants should also consider research and evaluation findings related to adult learning principles and strategies for their work when training school administrators, teachers, staff, and parents. Additionally, applicants should explain when addressing the project design selection criteria how they will examine the sources of inequities related to race, religion, national origin, and sex in public schools, and their intersection with many other areas of important educational equity work, including socioeconomic status and disability, among others. Finally, applicants should describe how the proposed training and advisory services it will provide, if requested, will utilize evidence-based (as the term is defined in 34 CFR 77.1) policies or strategies designed to increase racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, and linguistic diversity in educational settings (e.g., creating a safe and welcoming learning environment for new students who are refugees and English learners).</p> <p>Each EAC applicant should propose, whenever practicable, to employ evidence-based practices that mitigate impacts of segregation based on sex, race, religion, and national origin in public schools. Relatedly, EAC applicants are encouraged to describe how they plan to contribute to the evidence base on such practices, in accordance with the definition of ‘‘evidence-based’’ in 34 CFR 77.1. Applicants may also consider how the proposed project may develop evidence related to, or provide technical assistance on, evidence-based policies or strategies designed to increase inclusivity with regard to racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity in educational settings appropriate to the needs of the intended recipients or<br>beneficiaries of those services. Accordingly, applicants should include as part of their applications a rigorous evaluation plan that describes their methods to identify and evaluate evidence-based practices and resources developed in response to client requests and the criteria for determining the extent to which outputs and client outcomes (short-term, midterm, and long-term) were met as a result of the technical assistance provided.</p> <p>Applicants should describe their current or recent working relationships with governmental agencies legally responsible for operating public schools in the applicants’ EAC regions. Shortly after awards are made, each grantee will be required to develop a communications plan for working with the appropriate education agencies within its region (e.g., SEAs, LEAs) to promote understanding about EAC services and to foster productive relationships with the agencies and the public at large. As part of this plan, each<br>grantee must detail its strategies,including the use of technology-based resources, for receiving ongoing and timely input on the needs of its clients and potential clients, and the usefulness of its services. Each grantee must also describe how it will continuously cultivate relationships with agencies and partners that are knowledgeable about the desegregation-related needs in its EAC region.</p> <p><em><strong>Invitational Priority: Promoting Equity Through Diverse Partnerships. </strong></em>Projects designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity for underserved students in elementary school, middle school, and high school settings and which are implemented by or in partnership with one or more of the following entities:<br>(a) Historically Black colleges and universities, defined as colleges and universities that meet the criteria in 34 CFR 608.2.<br>(b) Tribal colleges and universities, as defined in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).<br>(c) Minority-serving institutions, defined as institutions that are eligible to receive assistance under sections 316 through 320 of part A of title III, under part B of title III, or under title V of the HEA.</p> <p>Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) the Department does not give an application that meets this invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.</p> <p>Geographical Regions: One EAC will be funded under this grant program in each of four geographical regions, in accordance with 34 CFR 270.5 and 270.20. One award will be made in each region to the highest-ranking proposal from that region. If an applicant wishes to apply to serve more than one region,<br>the applicant must submit a separate application for each region it wishes to serve. Note: The Department intends to create four separate funding slates, one for each geographic region. The Department anticipates funding a single EAC in each geographic region.</p> <p>The geographic regions served by the EACs are:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Region I:</strong> Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands, West Virginia.</li> <li><strong>Region II:</strong> Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.</li> <li><strong>Region III</strong>: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin.</li> <li><strong>Region IV:</strong> Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.</li> </ul>