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Prospective Grantees
About
The Office of Adult Education Initiatives was established to provide support and leadership to the field of adult basic education in Colorado. To that end, AEI administers three funding opportunities: the federally funded Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) grant, the state funded Adult Education Literacy Act (AELA) grant of 2014 and the state Workforce Diploma Pilot Program (WDPP) of 2019.
Each grant provides funding and support to local agencies serving adult learners across Colorado. CDE is committed to understanding the needs of our adult learners in Colorado, analyzing needs for services, and determining if there are ways to help fill those gaps as we work with our partner agencies and organizations. We are in a challenging budget and economic situation in the state, so it will be even more important to understand the needs of adult learners given the impacted economy and workforce. As a partner in this work, CDE is committed to working with the entire field of adult education providers to support adult learners. To that end, the office maintains a list of other potential adult education funding sources.
Colorado Adult High School Program
The Colorado Adult High School Grant Program was created under SB 23-003 and provides state funds to create a pathway for Coloradans who are 21 years of age or older and do not have a high school diploma to attend high school and earn a diploma at no cost. Students may also earn industry-recognized certificates, career and technical education certificates, or college credits at no cost through the program. The act requires CDE to award a grant to a Colorado community-based nonprofit organization to operate the program as an education provider. The education provider is required to meet requirements outlined in the act when offering the Adult High School Program.
CDE will be conducting a grant application process for this award between September - November 2023. Key dates within that timeline are listed below as well as application materials.
- Release Date: Friday, September 15, 2023
- Technical Assistance Webinar: Monday, September 25, 2023 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (MT) (webinar link)
- Recording: Click here
- Presentation: Download the slides (pdf)
- Grant Application Q&A:
- Application Due: Friday, October 20, 2023
- Applications Reviewed: October 20, 2023 – October 31, 2023
- Anticipated Notification of Award Status: Wednesday, November 1, 2023
- State Board of Education Approval: Wednesday, November 8, 2023
- Application Materials:
- Request for Applications Updated 9-26-23
- Part A: Cover Page - Applicant Information
- Part B: Partnerships for Industry-Recognized Certificates and College Credits
- Part C: General Program Assurances Form
- Part D: RFA Financial Management Risk Assessment Updated 9-26-23
- Part E: Records Management
- Appendix E COAHS Budget Template
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
The federally-funded Adult Education and Family Literacy Act was reauthorized as Title ll of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in July 2014. The federal program provides formula funding to state agencies that distribute funds as grants to local adult education programs. Allowable services include adult basic and secondary education and English language acquisition in many contexts: foundational literacy, high school equivalency, family literacy, integrated English literacy and civics education, workforce preparation, workplace education, and integrated education and training.
CDE conducted an AEFLA grant application process from February - June 2020. The current AEFLA grant cycle is from July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2024. The following organizations are current AEFLA grantees:
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Asian Pacific Development Center
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Colorado Northwestern Community College
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Community Educational Outreach
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Durango Adult Education Center
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Jeffco Schools Adult ESL and Literacy
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Mesa County Adult Learning Center
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Metropolitan State University Family Literacy Program
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Montrose Adult Education Center
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Northeastern Junior College
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Pikes Peak Library District Adult Education
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School District 11 Adult & Family Education
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SEL Tutoring
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The Learning Source
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Trinidad State Junior College Adult Education Services
Adult Education and Literacy Act
AELA Request for Applications
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Office of Adult Education Initiatives (AEI) solicited applications from eligible adult education providers that provide adult basic education, adult education leading to a high school equivalency credential, English as a second language instruction, or integrated basic education and skills training as part of a workforce development partnership or education attainment partnership. This grant cohort is funded with federal State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to specifically serve adults disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Approximately $650,000 is estimated to be available for the 2022-2023 fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023). CDE anticipates awarding $50,000 - $100,000 each to 2 – 7 grantees for a three-year period, subject to annual renewal. Funding in subsequent years for grantees is contingent upon continued appropriations and upon grantees meeting all grant, fiscal and reporting requirements. Grants are subject to annual renewal by the State Board.
Timeline
- Release Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
- Technical Assistance Webinar: Friday, January 21, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. MT
- Technical Assistance Webinar
- Recording Passcode: 79mkri&h
- Presentation (PDF)
- Technical Assistance Webinar
- Letter of Intent Due: Friday, January 28, 2022
- Applications must be submitted via Syncplicity, an online platform used for secure file sharing. The Letter of Intent will be used to provide contacts with access to Syncplicity
- Letters of Intent must be submitted, at latest, by Thursday, March 10, 2022 to allow time for the creation of an application submission Syncplicity folder
- Application Due: Friday, March 11, 2022 by 11:59 p.m. MT
- Applications Reviewed: Wednesday, March 16 - Wednesday, April 6, 2022
- Anticipated State Board of Education Vote: Wednesday, May 11, 2022
- Anticipated Notification of Award Status: Week of May 16, 2022
Application Materials
- Adult Education and Literacy Act Grant Request for Applications (PDF)
- Part IA: Cover Page: Applicant Information and Proposed Services (Word)
- Part IB: Workforce Development Partnership Signature Page (Word)
- Part IC: Education Attainment Partnership Signature Page (Word)
- Part ID: General Program Assurances Form (Word)
- Part IE: Financial Management Survey (Word)
- 22-23 AELA Accessible Design Assurances (Word)
Resources
The following organizations are current AELA grantees:
- Asian Pacific Development Center
- Colorado Mountain College
- Community College of Aurora
- Community College of Denver
- Durango Adult Education Center
- Emily Griffith Technical College
- Focus Points
- Harrison School District 2
- Mesa County Libraries Adult Learning Center
- Metropolitan State University Family Literacy Program
- Mile High Youth Corps
- Montrose Adult Education Center
- School District 11 Adult & Family Education
- Spring Institute
HB21-1264, the Funds Workforce Development Increase Worker Skills bill, funded through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program, passed in June 2021 gave a one-time additional $5 million in federal American Recovery Plan Act funding to the AELA grant to provide next-level education and training to Colorado unemployed adults disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency for better employment outcomes. Approximately half of the funds will be used to fully fund existing AELA grantees through the current grant cycle that ends June 30, 2025, as there was $1.4 million per year requested by fundable applicants in the most recent grant competition. The other half of the one-time federal funds will be used for an additional cohort of AELA grantees. That grant cycle is expected to be January 2021 - June 2025. The CDE Office of Adult Education Initiatives expects to release an additional Request for Applications utilizing the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Information about the release of Request for Applications will be shared through the CLICK Listserv. To subscribe, please email AEI@cde.state.co.us.
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