Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 172 - Department of Career Education › Rule 172.00.17-004 - Adult Education Program Policies Update

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
Arkansas Department of Career Education, Adult
	 Education Division Policy Manual
Subject: Effective and Efficient Evaluation
	 Calculations
POLICY
According to Arkansas Act 1280 of 2007,
	 Section 30, "All funds that become available for adult education shall first be
	 distributed to those administrative units determined to be operating effective
	 and efficient adult education programs, under criteria established by the
	 Career Education and Workforce Development Board. The criteria shall include
	 the relative efficiency of administration of the program in the counties served
	 and achievement of the federal performance indicators."
To be considered effective and efficient, local adult education
	 programs and literacy councils receiving adult education funds will be required
	 to meet or exceed the percentage of the federal negotiated core indicators as
	 determined by the Deputy Director of Adult Education. Programs not meeting
	 percentage requirement in the first year will be required to submit an
	 improvement plan. The improvement plan will address each core indicator of
	 performance that was not met and will include measurable objectives for
	 correcting deficiencies during the following year. State program advisors will
	 provide technical assistance to each program submitting an improvement plan and
	 closely monitor programs during the year. Core indicators of performance are
	 defined in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Title
	 II, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA); however, using the
	 core indicators as criteria for effective and efficient evaluations and
	 imposing a minimum score is a state decision.
Programs that do not meet the percentage requirement of their
	 negotiated core indicators of performance for a second consecutive year will be
	 assigned a state technical assistance team to assist the program in addressing
	 its deficiencies. The team members may include but not be limited to state and
	 local staff, administrators, teachers and students. Quarterly progress reports
	 will be submitted by the program being monitored to the Adult Education
	 Division describing the progress being made to bring the program into
	 compliance with core indicators. Programs not achieving percentage requirement
	 of their negotiated core indicators of performance for three consecutive years
	 will be submitted to the Career Education and Workforce Development Board for
	 appropriate action prior to continuation of funding.
INFORMATION/RATIONALE
: Relevant sections of
	 law and regulation: Arkansas Act 1280 of 2007, Section 30; and federal
	 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 ( P.L.
			 113-128 ), Title II, The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
	 (AEFLA), Sections 116 and 212.
EFFECTIVE DATE: JULY 1, 1991
REVISED DATE: SEPTEMBER 13, 1993
REVISED DATE: APRIL 18, 2003
REVISED DATE: NOVEMBER 15, 2008
REVISED DATE: AUGUST 4, 2015
Subject: Service Delivery
	 Area
POLICY
: Adult education programs receiving
	 state or federal funding for a designated service area or county are not to
	 cross into counties or other designated service areas where there is an
	 established adult education program without a written memorandum of
	 understanding between the programs. The Adult Education Division must approve
	 this agreement annually.
INFORMATION/RATIONALE
: Funding for local adult
	 education programs is based on census data intended for a designated area or
	 county. Funds must be spent in the designated area or county for which the
	 funds were provided. To ensure that each service area or county receives
	 adequate adult education services and to avoid duplication, it is essential
	 that each local program stay within its designated area.
EFFECTIVE DATE: APRIL 18, 2003
REVISED DATE: NOVEMBER 15, 2008
REVISED DATE: AUGUST 4, 2015
Subject: Distribution of State
	 Funds
POLICY:
According to Arkansas Act 1280 of
	 2007, Section 30, "All funds that become available for adult education shall
	 first be distributed to those administrative units determined to be operating
	 effective and efficient adult education programs under criteria established by
	 the Career Education and Workforce Development Board. The criteria shall
	 include the relative efficiency of administration of the program in the
	 counties served and achievement of the federal performance indicators. The
	 Career Education and Workforce Development Board shall promulgate rules and
	 regulations for the distribution of funds in accordance with criteria to be
	 determined by the Board. In distribution of funds to local units the board
	 shall consider the literacy rate in each county and performance in meeting
	 state and federal performance indicators. For the purposes of this section, the
	 term 'literacy rate' shall be determined by the number of adults completing
	 less than the twelfth grade as reported by the most recent decennial federal
	 census. Unallocated funds will be redistributed based upon need as determined
	 by the Career Education and Workforce Development Board."
INFORMATION/RATIONALE:
Procedures set forth in
	 Arkansas Act 1280 of 2007, Section 30, govern distribution of all state adult
	 education funds.
EFFECTIVE DATE: JULY 1, 1991
REVISED DATE: SEPTEMBER 13, 1993
REVISED DATE: APRIL 18, 2003
REVISED DATE: NOVEMBER 15, 2008
REVISED DATE: AUGUST 4, 2015
Subject: Termination of an Award to a Local Grantee:
	 Voluntary
POLICY:
According to the Education Department
	 General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR)
	 2 CFR
	 200.339 "(a) The Federal award may be
	 terminated in whole or in part as follows:
(1) By the Federal awarding agency or
  pass-through entity, if a non-Federal entity fails to comply with the terms and
  conditions of a Federal award;
(2)
  By the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity for cause;
(3) By the Federal awarding agency or
  pass-through entity with the consent of the non-Federal entity, in which case
  the two parties must agree upon the termination conditions, including the
  effective date and, in the case of partial termination, the portion to be
  terminated; or
(4) By the
  non-Federal entity upon sending to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through
  entity written notification setting forth the reasons for such termination, the
  effective date, and, in the case of partial termination, the portion to be
  terminated.
A grantee that chooses to relinquish responsibility as the local
	 education agency (LEA) for an adult education or literacy council program must
	 provide written notification to the Department of Career Education, Adult
	 Education Division at least 90 days prior to termination. The Department of
	 Career Education, Adult Education Division, with notice to the Career Education
	 and Workforce Development Board, will be responsible for selecting a new
	 provider for the local adult education program. A statewide competition may be
	 used to bid out the new eligible area(s).
Upon termination, inventory purchased with adult education funds must
	 be returned to the Department of Career Education, Adult Education Division,
	 who reserves the right to transfer equipment to the new local education agency
	 or other current providers.
Employees are not included in an administrative transfer of grant
	 funds. The hiring of staff, from a previous LEA, will be at the discretion of
	 the new grantee, but must follow the
Salaries of Adult Education
	 Personnel
policy.
INFORMATION/RATIONALE:
Provide guidance on the
	 termination of local grants and to ensure state and federal guidelines for
	 grants are followed.
EFFECTIVE DATE: DECEMBER 31, 2017
Subject: Termination of an Award to a Local Grantee:
	 Involuntary
POLICY:
Monitoring is action taken by the
	 Department of Career Education, Adult Education Division to ensure that the
	 grantees or subgrantees are using Federal and state awards for authorized
	 purposes in compliance with the laws, regulations, and provision of contracts
	 or grant agreements and that performance goals are achieved. Subgrantees are
	 subject to all applicable Federal laws and regulations that the grantee must
	 follow. According to the Education Department General Administrative
	 Regulations (EDGAR) 2 CFR Part 200.338, if a grantee fails to comply with any
	 term of an award, whether stated in a Federal statute, regulation, assurance,
	 State Plan or application, notice of award, or elsewhere---the state or
	 awarding agency may impose additional conditions, as described below:
a) Temporarily withhold cash payments pending
  correction of the deficiency by the non-Federal entity or more severe
  enforcement action by the Federal awarding agency or pass-through
  entity.
b) Disallow (that is, deny
  both use of funds and any applicable matching credit for) all or part of the
  cost of the activity or action not in compliance.
c) Wholly or partially suspend or terminate
  the Federal award.
d) Initiate
  suspension or debarment proceedings as authorized under 2 CFR part 180 and
  Federal awarding agency regulations (or in the case of a pass-through entity,
  recommend such a proceeding be initiated by a Federal awarding
  agency).
e) Withhold further
  Federal awards for the project or program.
f) Take other remedies that may be legally
  available,
State requirements will follow federal guidelines.