| AwardYear: 1995-1996 EnterChapterNo: 9 EnterChapterTitle: State Grant Programs SectionNumber: 4 SectionTitle: National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership Program PageNumbers: 33-40 [[HEA '92]] The Higher Education Amendments of 1992 authorized funds for the creation of the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) Program. Congress funded this program for the first time for FY 1994. Under this program, states carry out the activities of both an early intervention component and a scholarship component. Under the NEISP Program, the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) provides grants to states to-- [[Grants provide financial incentives for states]] - encourage the states to provide or maintain a guaranteed amount of financial assistance necessary to permit eligible low- income students who obtain high school diplomas or the equivalent to attend an institution of higher education; and - provide financial incentives to enable states-in cooperation with local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, community organizations, and businesses-to provide a variety of services. THESE SERVICES INCLUDE-- - providing additional counseling, mentoring, academic support, outreach, and supportive services to preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school students who are at risk of dropping out of school; and - providing information to students and their parents about the advantages of obtaining a postsecondary education and about their college financial options. [[Program appropriation for 1995-96]] When program appropriations are less than $50 million, states will apply for funds through a discretionary grant competition. For the 1995-96 award year, funding has been tentatively approved for both the early intervention component and the scholarship component. However, at the time the Handbook went to print, the funding levels had not yet been finalized. For 1995-96, the program will be run as a discretionary grant program and funds will be allotted to states on a competitive basis. The Secretary will evaluate each state's application on how well each state fulfills its responsibilities in-- - submitting to the Secretary an initial plan and application for carrying out the activities under the NEISP Program; - fulfilling the NEISP Program's early intervention component; and - fulfilling the NEISP Program's scholarship component. [[Evaluation of state applications]] The state applications are evaluated using selection criteria, which take into consideration the state's- - need for the program; - plan of operation; - quality and qualification of the personnel who will be running the program in the state; - budget and cost-effectiveness; - adequacy of resources; - likelihood of success; - public and private support; - coordination with other early intervention activities; - willingness to contribute more than one-half the cost of the program and the extent to which the state will overmatch its federal allotment; and - evaluation report plan. STATE ELIGIBILITY Only states are eligible to apply for this program. A state must submit to the Secretary a state plan and an annual application describing in detail how the state will carry out the activities of both the early intervention component and the scholarship component. The state must also describe how it will provide funds for the program. [[State agency designated by governor]] The agency responsible for administering the NEISP Program in each state is designated by the state's governor. That agency may be either the state's SSIG agency, the State Education Agency (SEA), or another agency approved by the Secretary. (The SEA is the agency responsible for supervising the state's public elementary and secondary schools.) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS In its plan, a state must demonstrate to the Secretary that it will provide from state, local, or private funds at least one-half of the program costs and describe how those funds will be paid. All funds expended under this program must supplement, and not supplant, funds expended for existing state and local programs. A state may match the federal funds by means of-- - scholarships or grants paid to students under the program from state, local, or private funds; - tuition, fees, room or board waived or reduced for recipients under this program; and - funds expended on documented, targeted, long-term mentoring and counseling provided by volunteers or paid staff of nonschool organizations. EARLY INTERVENTION COMPONENT Early intervention activities include comprehensive mentoring, counseling, outreach, and supportive services (including postsecondary financial aid counseling) to students in preschool through grade 12. [[Permissible activities allowed under this component]] States may provide eligible students in certain grade levels (preschool through grade 12) with a continuing system of mentoring and advising that is coordinated with the federal and state community service initiatives. Permissible activities under this component may include-- - after-school and summer-school tutoring; - assistance in obtaining summer jobs; - career mentoring and - academic counseling. [[Participiating students must agree to achieve certain academic milestones]] Participating eligible students may enter into an agreement under which they agree to achieve certain academic milestones in exchange for receiving tuition assistance for a time period established by each state. Such milestones would include completing a prescribed set of courses and maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Activities must be designed to ensure high school completion and college enrollment of at-risk children. States may provide pre-freshman summer programs that- - are at institutions of higher education with programs of academic-year supportive services for disadvantaged students; - assure the participation of disadvantaged students; - provide summer instruction in remedial, developmental, or supportive courses, or summer services such as counseling, tutoring, or orientation; - provide grant aid to cover pre-freshman summer costs; and - assure that participating eligible students will receive financial aid during each academic year they are enrolled at the participating institution after the pre-freshman summer. [[Providers of early intervention activities]] Early intervention activities may be provided by community-based organizations, schools, public and private agencies, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, businesses, and other organizations the Secretary deems appropriate. The state must treat as a priority student for its early intervention component any student in preschool through grade 12 who is eligible- - to be counted as attending a Chapter I school (a Chapter I school serves educationally and economically deprived students); - for the National School Lunch Program; or - for Aid to Families with Dependent Children assistance. SCHOLARSHIP COMPONENT Each participating state must establish or maintain a financial assistance program for participating students. States are encouraged to ensure that tuition assistance under the NEISP Program is available for use at any institution of higher education that participates in the Federal Pell Grant Program. [[Each state sets its own maximum award]] Each state sets the maximum amount a participating student may receive under the NEISP Program. The minimum amount of the scholarship shall not be less than the lesser of- - 75 percent of the average cost of attendance for an instate student enrolled in a 4-year program of instruction at public institutions of higher education in the state or - the maximum funded Federal Pell Grant for that fiscal year. STUDENT ELIGIBILITY To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this component, a student must- - have not reached his or her 22nd birthday at the time of the first grant award; - receive a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent on or after January 1, 1993; - be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an institution of higher education that is located within the state, except that a state may offer scholarship portability for recipients who attend institutions outside the state; and - have participated in the state early intervention component under the NEISP Program or, at the option of the state, have successfully participated in either an Upward Bound program or another early intervention program comparable to the NEISP Program. If a state includes academic milestones in a student agreement and requires the student to meet those milestones to be eligible for a scholarship, then the student must have met or exceeded the milestones to receive the scholarship. The student agreement is made under the NEISP Early Intervention component. Under this agreement, the state will provide postsecondary tuition assistance to a student during a period of time to be established by the state if the student agrees to achieve certain academic milestones. An example of one such milestone is maintaining satisfactory academic progress according to the requirements in 34 CFR Part 668.7. ("Satisfactory academic progress" is explained in greater detail in Chapter Two of this Handbook.) [[Consideration of need and low-incomes status]] Federal Pell Grant recipients with the greatest financial need receive priority consideration in receiving aid under this component. In determining the greatest financial need, a state may rank students according to their EFCs or rank them according to their need as prioritized under the state's criteria for low-income students. (If the state chooses to use its own criteria for ranking purposes, those criteria must first be approved by the Department of Education.) PACKAGING AID Tuition assistance under this program is not to be considered for the purpose of awarding SFA aid, except that the total of SFA aid and scholarship aid under this component awarded to the student cannot exceed the student's cost of attendance. ALLOTMENT TO STATES [[Federal share of allotment used for early intervention component]] Under full funding, the program statute authorizes $200 million for both components of the NEISP Program. However, in a Fiscal Year when funding is less than $50 million, as is the case for 1995-96, the Secretary allots funds to states on a competitive basis. (See page 34 of this section.) A state may not use less than 25 percent or more than 50 percent of its federal allotment for the early intervention component of the NEISP Program. The 50 percent maximum may be waived for a state that can demonstrate that it has other ways of providing students' tuition assistance. Any federal funds not used during a fiscal year may be reallotted by the Secretary. EVALUATION Each participating state must conduct an evaluation of its early intervention component on a biennial basis according to standards and requirements established by the Secretary. The report summarizes and evaluates the state's activities and the performance of its student participants. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Since the NEISP Program for 1995-96 will be run as a discretionary grant program, not all states will be participating. Therefore, there is no listing of agencies in Section Five of this chapter as there is for each of the other programs covered in Chapter Nine. If you have any questions about NEISP Program procedures, you should call the program office at (202) 708-4607. |