The purpose of this letter is to restate that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title III, Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Immigrant student program statutes require participating local educational agencies (LEAs) to update their LEA Plan Goal 2 annually, including the budget (ESEA, Title III, Part A, Section 3114).

To confirm that LEAs are fulfilling this obligation, the California Department of Education (CDE) requires LEAs to provide the local Web address link, known as Uniform Resource Locator (URL) where the approved LEA Plan and budget for the current year is posted when LEAs apply for Title III funds on the Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS).

In preparation for 2015−16 eligibility, please note that no allocations will be made to LEAs that do not provide the requested Web address link to their updated plan and budget on CARS by June 30, 2015. Hence, in 2015–16, and each year thereafter, in order to receive Title III funds in a timely manner, the LEA Plan Goal 2 and budget should be updated and approved locally before the application due date.

In an effort to guide the LEA with the process of updating the LEA Plan Goal 2, the CDE provides assistance with the process in the “Directions for Updating the LEA Plan Goal 2” document (Enclosure 1) and in the “Local Educational Agency Plan Goal 2 Title III Limited English Proficient/Title III Immigrant Annual Plan and Budget Update” chart (Enclosure 2). The LEA may use the enclosed “Local Educational Agency Plan Goal 2 Title III Allowable Costs” (Enclosure 3) documents when updating the budget, to ensure that the funding is used appropriately. LEAs may use the enclosed sample budget template as an addendum to the multi-year LEA Plan Goal 2 to update the budget each year (Enclosure 4). Also, for future reference, this letter and enclosures will be posted on the CDE Title III Accountability Requirements 2014 Web page.

Additionally, the CDE will provide virtual technical assistance to all Title III grantees in the form of a Webinar presentation that will be posted on the CDE Title III Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/t3/, for further reference. Also, the County Offices of Education Leads and the Bilingual Coordinators Network are informed about the process and they will disseminate this information to the field.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Geoffrey Ndirangu, Education Programs Consultant, Language Policy and Leadership Office, by phone at 916-323-5831 or by e-mail at gndirang@cde.ca.gov or Lilia G. Sánchez, Bilingual/Migrant Education Consultant, LPLO, by phone at 916-319-0265 or by e-mail at lsanchez@cde.ca.gov [note, the preceding contact has been replaced by Deb Reeves-Gutierrez, Education Programs Consultant, Language Policy and Leadership Office, phone 916-319-0265 or e-mail dreevesgutierrez@cde.ca.gov].

Sincerely,

Lupita Cortez Alcalá, Deputy Superintendent
Instruction and Learning Support Branch

LCA:ls
Enclosures