The Ohio Department of Education is preparing to announce that there will be no competition this year for new 21st Century Community Learning Centers in Ohio this year, according to Jeremy Marks, director of Federal Programs/Federal Liaison for the department. Continuation grants will be funded competitively as usual, he said.
The coming announcement follows the cancellation and delay of key program activities including the annual bidders conference and summit. The Department’s website had not yet been updated at the time of this post, but Marks said that was imminent.
Marks explained that the department is in the midst of preparing its Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan to submit to the U.S. Department of Education and wants to redesign the 21st Century application to create alignment. He said he expected a competition for new awards next year for implementation in fiscal year 2019, which is the 2018-19 school year.
Money not spent by the state this year would be rolled over to create a larger pot for the next competition, he said. That might result in larger individual awards or simply more awards.
For questions or concerns about the decision, contact the Department directly:
Jeremy Marks
Director, Office of Federal Programs/Federal Liaison
(614) 466-5834
jeremy.marks@education.ohio.gov
Shannon Teague, Assistant Director
shannon.teague@education.ohio.gov
(614) 466-2517