• Granting Agency: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Effective Educator Development (EED) Division
• Appropriation Amount: $88,060,000
• Grant Amount: Award ceiling $8,500,000, Award floor $500,000, 50% match
• Announcement Date: July 12, 2021
• Notice of Intent to Apply: July 30, 2021
• Closing Date: August 13, 2021

Federal Registry Notice
Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs

Purpose: Assist States, local educational agencies (LEAs), and nonprofit organizations to develop, implement, improve, or expand comprehensive Performance-Based Compensation Systems (PBCS)[1] or Human Capital Management Systems (HCMS) for teachers, principals, and other School Leaders (educators) (especially for educators in High-Need Schools who raise student growth and academic achievement and close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students). In addition, a portion of TSL funds may be used to study the effectiveness, fairness, quality, consistency, and reliability of PBCS or HCMS for educators.

Eligible Expenditures:

Competitive Preference Priority 1— Supporting Educators and Their Professional Growth. (up to 5 points) Projects that are designed to increase the number and percentage of well prepared, experienced, effective, and diverse educators—which may include one or more of the following: Teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or other School Leaders as defined in section 8101(44) of the ESEA—through Evidence-Based strategies incorporating one or more of the following: (a) Adopting, implementing, or expanding efforts to recruit, select, prepare, support, and develop talented individuals—to serve as mentors, instructional coaches, principals, or School Leaders in High-Need Schools who have the knowledge and skills to significantly improve instruction. (b) Implementing practices or strategies that support High-Need Schools in recruiting, preparing, hiring, supporting, developing, and retaining qualified, experienced, effective, and diverse educators. (c) Increasing the number of teachers with State or national advanced educator certification or certification in a teacher shortage area, as determined by the Secretary, such as special education or bilingual education. (d) Providing high-quality professional development opportunities to all educators in High-Need Schools on meeting the needs of diverse learners, including students with disabilities and English learners. Competitive Preference Priority 2— Increasing Educator Diversity. (up to 5 points) Under this priority, applicants must develop projects that are designed to improve the recruitment, outreach, preparation, support, development, and retention of a diverse educator workforce through adopting, implementing, or expanding one or more of the following: (a) Educator candidate support and preparation strategies and practices focused on underrepresented teacher candidates, and which may include ‘‘grow your own programs,’’ which typically recruit middle or high school students, paraprofessionals, or other school staff and provide them with clear pathways and intensive support to enter the teaching profession. (b) Professional growth and leadership opportunities for diverse educators, including opportunities to influence school, district, or State policies and practices in order to improve educator diversity. (c) High-quality professional development on addressing bias in instructional practice and fostering an inclusive, equitable, and supportive workplace and school climate for educators. (d) Data systems, timelines, and action plans for promoting inclusive and bias-free human resources practices that promote and support development of educator and school leader diversity.

Eligible Applicants:
 (a) An LEA, including a charter school that is an LEA, or a consortium of LEAs; (b) A State educational agency (SEA) or other State agency designated by the Chief Executive of a State to participate;(c) The Bureau of Indian Education; or(d) A partnership consisting of–(i) One or more agencies described in paragraph (a), (b), or (c); and(ii) At least one nonprofit organization as defined in 2 CFR 200.70 or at least one for-profit entity. Note: An LEA may receive (whether individually or as part of a consortium or partnership) a grant under the TSL program only twice. Note: The Secretary considers all schools funded by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education to be LEAs under section 8101(30)(C) of the ESEA. Note: If you are a nonprofit organization , under 34 CFR  75.51, you may demonstrate your nonprofit status by providing: (1) proof that the Internal Revenue Service currently recognizes the applicant as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a statement from a State taxing body or the State attorney general certifying that the organization is a nonprofit organization operating within the State and that no part of its net earnings may lawfully benefit any private shareholder or individual; (3) a certified copy of the applicant’s certificate of incorporation or similar document if it clearly establishes the nonprofit status of the applicant; or (4) any item described above if that item applies to a State or national parent organization, together with a statement by the State or parent organization that the applicant is a local nonprofit affiliate.