Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Equity Assistance Centers Assistance Listing Number 84.004D | ED GRANTS 011321 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 011321 002

The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) Equity Assistance Centers (EAC) grant opportunity (Assistance Listing Number 84.004D) is a U.S. Department of Education discretionary funding program that supports the operation of regional Equity Assistance Centers through cooperative agreements. These centers exist to provide technical assistance and training, but only when requested by school boards and other responsible governmental agencies. The work is grounded in Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations (34 CFR part 270), and the central aim is to help public education agencies plan for and carry out efforts that advance equity in public schools, including desegregation-related planning and implementation.

At its core, the program funds regional centers that help clients with the preparation, adoption, and implementation of desegregation plans. In this context, "desegregation" is framed broadly as equity-related work connected to four protected areas: race, national origin, sex, and religion. A key requirement is that any funded project must be able to provide technical assistance across all four of these desegregation assistance areas, not just one or two. The centers are expected to assist education agencies in developing effective ways to handle the special educational challenges that can arise in desegregation and equity efforts, such as addressing uneven access to opportunity, managing school climate concerns, and responding to conflict or disruption that can accompany major equity-related changes.

The EACs deliver support through several kinds of capacity-building activities outlined in program regulations. This includes disseminating information on effective practices for dealing with desegregation-related educational challenges, providing direct assistance and advice to schools and agencies navigating those challenges, and offering trainings designed to strengthen the ability of educators and stakeholders to respond effectively. Training audiences can include teachers, school leaders and supervisors, counselors, parents, community members, community organizations, and other elementary and secondary school personnel. Beyond formal planning and compliance-related support, the centers also play a role in improving school conditions by helping agencies create positive and safe learning environments that meet students needs and reduce bullying, violence, and disruptive behavior.

The notice also highlights how EAC services can be used to respond to inequities that became especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic underscored disparities in local educational agencies ability to implement and sustain remote learning in ways that serve all students, with disproportionate harm to students who already faced desegregation-related challenges before the pandemic, such as English learners. In practical terms, the centers may support clients in addressing remote-learning equity issues when requested, including problems like online bullying or exposure to harassment in virtual environments, as well as broader continuity-of-learning gaps that fall unevenly across student groups.

When clients request help developing desegregation plans, the centers may assist in building voluntary plans that incorporate equitable access to educational opportunities, while remaining consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The opportunity description gives examples of strategies an EAC might help agencies consider, such as designing or strengthening magnet school approaches, using remote learning options more equitably, expanding work-based learning opportunities like apprenticeships, and increasing access to dual or concurrent enrollment, early college high schools, or other models that let students earn postsecondary credit or credentials while in high school. The centers may also help agencies plan for supports that broaden participation and success, including credit recovery, accelerated learning, and tutoring, particularly where certain groups have historically had less access due to race, national origin, sex, or religion.

Administratively, this opportunity was issued as ED GRANTS 011321 002 and uses a cooperative agreement funding instrument, which generally signals an ongoing federal role in shaping or monitoring major aspects of project implementation compared with a standard grant. The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), as long as they are not institutions of higher education), along with other entities as described in the official notice. The posting listed an award ceiling of $1,700,000 and anticipated making four awards. The applications were available January 13, 2021, with a deadline for transmittal of applications of March 29, 2021, and an intergovernmental review deadline of May 28, 2021. The program contact listed in the notice was Ed Vitelli at the U.S. Department of Education.

Finally, the opportunity description repeatedly emphasizes that it is only a synopsis and that the controlling requirements are in the official Federal Register application notice and the Department of Education common instructions for discretionary grant programs (referenced as the February 13, 2019 Federal Register publication). Those documents are where applicants would find the binding details on eligibility nuances, submission requirements, performance measures, priorities, and other application and reporting expectations.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Equity Assistance Centers Assistance Listing Number 84.004D" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.004.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 13, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 29, 2021 Applications Available January 13, 2021. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications March 29, 2021. Deadline for Intergovernmental Review May 28, 2021. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Ed Vitelli, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 3E106, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone (202) 453-6203. Email Edward.Vitelli@ed.gov.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,700,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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