Title 34—Education--Volume 1
PART 270—EQUITY ASSISTANCE CENTER PROGRAM
§ 270.1   What is the Equity Assistance Center Program?
This program provides financial assistance to operate regional Equity Assistance Centers (EACs), to enable them to 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, and in the development of effective methods of coping with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation.
§ 270.2   Who is eligible to receive a grant under this program?
A public agency (other than a State educational agency or a school board) or private, nonprofit organization is eligible to receive a grant under this program.
§ 270.3   Who may receive assistance under this program?
(a) The recipient of a grant under this part may provide assistance only if requested by school boards or other responsible governmental agencies located in its geographic region.
(b) The recipient may provide assistance only to the following persons:
(1) Public school personnel.
(2) Students enrolled in public schools, parents of those students, community organizations and other community members.
§ 270.4   What types of projects are authorized under this program?
(a) The Secretary may award funds to EACs for projects offering technical assistance (including training) to school boards and other responsible governmental agencies, at their request, for assistance in the preparation, adoption, and implementation of plans for the desegregation of public schools.
(b) A project must provide technical assistance in all four of the desegregation assistance areas, as defined in 34 CFR 270.7.
(c) Desegregation assistance may include, among other activities:
(1) Dissemination of information regarding effective methods of coping with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation;
(2) Assistance and advice in coping with these problems; and
(3) 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.
§ 270.5   What geographic regions do the EACs serve?
(a) The Secretary awards a grant to provide race, sex, national origin, and religion desegregation assistance under this program to regional EACs serving designated geographic regions.
(b) The Secretary announces in the Federal Register the number of centers and geographic regions for each competition.
(c) The Secretary determines the number and boundaries of each geographic region for each competition on the basis of one or more of the following:
(1) Size and diversity of the student population;
(2) The number of LEAs;
(3) The composition of urban, city, and rural LEAs;
(4) The history and frequency of the EAC and other Department technical assistance activities;
(5) Geographic proximity of the States within each region; and
(6) The amount of funding available for the competition.
§ 270.6   What regulations apply to this program?
The following regulations apply to this program:
(a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR part 75 (Direct Grant Programs), part 77 (Definitions That Apply to Department Regulations), part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Department of Education Programs and Activities), and part 81 (General Education Provisions Act—Enforcement), except that 34 CFR 75.232 (relating to the cost analysis) does not apply to grants under this program.
(b) The regulations in this part.
(c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted in 2 CFR part 3474 and the OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted in 2 CFR part 3485.
§ 270.7   What definitions apply to this program?
In addition to the definitions in 34 CFR 77.1, the following definitions apply to the regulations in this part:
Desegregation assistance means the provision of technical assistance (including training) in the areas of race, sex, national origin, and religion desegregation of public elementary and secondary schools.
Desegregation assistance areas means the areas of race, sex, national origin, and religion desegregation.
English learner has the same meaning under this part as the same term defined in section 8101(20) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended.
Equity Assistance Center means a regional desegregation technical assistance and training center funded under this part.
National origin desegregation means the assignment of students to public schools and within those schools without regard to their national origin, including providing students such as those who are English learners with a full opportunity for participation in all educational programs regardless of their national origin.
Public school means any elementary or secondary educational institution operated by a State, subdivision of a State, or governmental agency within a State, or operated wholly or predominantly from or through the use of governmental funds or property, or funds or property derived from governmental sources.
Public school personnel means school board members and persons who are employed by or who work in the schools of a responsible governmental agency, as that term is defined in this section.
Race desegregation means the assignment of students to public schools and within those schools without regard to their race, including providing students with a full opportunity for participation in all educational programs regardless of their race. “Race desegregation” does not mean the assignment of students to public schools to correct conditions of racial separation that are not the result of State or local law or official action.
Religion desegregation means the assignment of students to public schools and within those schools without regard to their religion, including providing students with a full opportunity for participation in all educational programs regardless of their religion.
Responsible governmental agency means any school board, State, municipality, LEA, or other governmental unit legally responsible for operating a public school or schools.
School board means any agency or agencies that administer a system of one or more public schools and any other agency that is responsible for the assignment of students to or within that system.
Sex desegregation means the assignment of students to public schools and within those schools without regard to their sex (including transgender status; gender identity; sex stereotypes, such as treating a person differently because he or she does not conform to sex-role expectations because he or she is attracted to or is in a relationship with a person of the same sex; and pregnancy and related conditions), including providing students with a full opportunity for participation in all educational programs regardless of their sex.
Special educational problems occasioned by desegregation means those issues that arise in classrooms, schools, and communities in the course of desegregation efforts based on race, national origin, sex, or religion. The phrase does not refer to the provision of special education and related services for students with disabilities as defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. )
§ 270.20   How does the Secretary evaluate an application for a grant?
(a) The Secretary evaluates the application on the basis of the criteria in 34 CFR 75.210.
(b) The Secretary selects the highest ranking application for each geographic region to receive a grant.
§ 270.21   How does the Secretary determine the amount of a grant?
The Secretary determines the amount of a grant on the basis of:
(a) The amount of funds available for all grants under this part;
(b) A cost analysis of the project (that shows whether the applicant will achieve the objectives of the project with reasonable efficiency and economy under the budget in the application), by which the Secretary:
(1) Verifies the cost data in the detailed budget for the project;
(2) Evaluates specific elements of costs; and
(3) Examines costs to determine if they are necessary, reasonable, and allowable under applicable statutes and regulations;
(c) Evidence supporting the magnitude of the need of the responsible governmental agencies for desegregation assistance in the geographic region and the cost of providing that assistance to meet those needs, as compared with the evidence supporting the magnitude of the needs for desegregation assistance, and the cost of providing it, in all geographic regions for which applications are approved for funding;
(d) The size and the racial, ethnic, or religious diversity of the student population of the geographic region for which the EAC will provide services; and
(e) Any other information concerning desegregation problems and proposed activities that the Secretary finds relevant in the applicant's geographic region.
§ 270.30   What conditions must be met by a recipient of a grant?
(a) A recipient of a grant under this part must:
(1) Operate an EAC in the geographic region to be served; and
(2) Have a full-time project director.
(b) A recipient of a grant under this part must coordinate assistance in its geographic region with appropriate SEAs, Comprehensive Centers, Regional Educational Laboratories, and other Federal technical assistance centers. As part of this coordination, the recipient shall seek to prevent duplication of assistance where an SEA, Comprehensive Center, Regional Educational Laboratory, or other Federal technical assistance center may have already provided assistance to the responsible governmental agency.
(c) A recipient of a grant under this part must communicate and coordinate with the most recent EAC grant recipient(s) in its region, as needed, to ensure a smooth transition for ongoing technical assistance under the EAC program.
§ 270.31   What stipends and related reimbursements are authorized under this program?
(a) The recipient of an award under this program may pay:
(1) Stipends to public school personnel who participate in technical assistance or training activities funded under this part for the period of their attendance, if the person to whom the stipend is paid receives no other compensation for that period; or
(2) Reimbursement to a responsible governmental agency that pays substitutes for public school personnel who:
(i) Participate in technical assistance or training activities funded under this part; and
(ii) Are being compensated by that responsible governmental agency for the period of their attendance.
(b) A recipient may pay the stipends and reimbursements described in this section only if it demonstrates that the payment of these costs is necessary to the success of the technical assistance or training activity, and will not exceed 20 percent of the total award.
(c) If a recipient is authorized by the Secretary to pay stipends or reimbursements (or any combination of these payments), the recipient shall determine the conditions and rates for these payments in accordance with appropriate State policies, or in the absence of State policies, in accordance with local policies.
(d) A recipient of a grant under this part may pay a travel allowance only to a person who participates in a technical assistance or training activity under this part.
(e) If the participant does not complete the entire scheduled activity, the recipient may pay the participant's transportation to his or her residence or place of employment only if the participant left the training activity because of circumstances not reasonably within his or her control.
§ 270.32   What limitation is imposed on providing Equity Assistance under this program?
A recipient of a grant under this program may not use funds to assist in the development or implementation of activities or the development of curriculum materials for the direct instruction of students to improve their academic and vocational achievement levels.