The purpose of the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program is to provide rural local educational agencies (LEAs) with financial assistance to fund initiatives aimed at improving student academic achievement.
LEAs are entitled to funds if they meet basic eligibility and application requirements. Awards are issued annually, and award amounts are determined using a formula.
Uses of Funds
Grantees may use SRSA funds to carry out activities authorized under any of the following federal programs:
- Title I, Part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Education Agencies)
- Example: A school district develops an entrepreneurial education program to supplement its civics curriculum.
- Title II, Part A (Supporting Effective Instruction)
- Example: A school district pays the stipend for a prospective teacher to work alongside an effective teacher, who is the teacher of record, for a full academic year.
- Title III (Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students)
- Example: A school district offers an afterschool enrichment program for English learners.
- Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment)
- Example: A school district purchases a bully prevention program for all schools.
- Title IV, Part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers)
- Example: A school district purchases instruments to supplement schools' band and orchestra programs.
See the Uses of Funds Guide for the SRSA and and RLIS programs to better understand the allowable uses of funds specific to each program.
Alternative Fund Use Authority (AFUA)
The Alternative Fund Use Authority allows SRSA-eligible LEAs greater flexibility in spending the funds they receive under Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A to best address the LEA's particular needs. Under AFUA, LEAs are able to use their Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A funds to pay for activities under any of the allowable uses for SRSA grant funds. (See Section 5211(a) of the ESEA, as amended, for more information.)
- An SRSA-eligible LEA does not have to apply for SRSA funds may exercise AUFA.
- An LEA that is eligible for both SRSA and RLIS funds may exercise AUFA even if the LEA chooses to participate in RLIS instead of SRSA.
- Before exercising AUFA, an eligible LEA must notify its SEA of its intent to do so by the deadline established by the SEA. Eligible LEAs should reach out to their REAP State Coordinator contact for more information about the SEA's reporting requirements deadline.
The fiscal year (FY) 2024 Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) grant application deadline was May 10, 2024.
Steps for Applying for an SRSA Grant:
- Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) if your LEA does not already have one. An LEA can obtain a UEI for free through the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website.
- If your LEA has a UEI, verify that the UEI registration is active in SAM.gov
- An LEA must be registered in SAM.gov and have a UEI that is active in SAM.gov in order to access its SRSA grant funds.
- Registering and activating your UEI in SAM.gov is FREE of cost. You do not need to pay a third-party vendor to register or activate your UEI in SAM.
- To check the registration status of your LEA's UEI, use the SAM.gov Status Tracker.
- To update or reactivate your LEA's UEI registration in SAM.gov, log into your online account or call 1-866-606-8220.
- You may also use the FSD.gov Live Chat to connect with a SAM agent directly.
- Complete the SRSA application during the application period. View the Notice of Application Deadline in the Federal Register for official notice of the SRSA application timeframe, as well as the required procedures for submitting an SRSA application.
All FY 2024 SRSA eligible LEAs with a positive estimated allocation will receive an email with a unique application link in March of 2024. The email will include customized instructions for completing the electronic application via the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Connect.gov Survey platform. When available, you may review your LEA's SRSA eligibility, estimated SRSA allocation, and the name of the primary contact who received the invitation email by viewing the current version of the Master Eligibility Spreadsheet on the SRSA Eligibility page.
An eligible LEA must submit an electronic application via Connect.gov Survey by May 10, 2024 to be considered for an FY 2024 SRSA grant award. If you have any questions about the SRSA application process, please contact the REAP team directly at reap@ed.gov.
SRSA Funding Formula and Allocation Information
SRSA grant funds are allocated to eligible LEAs that submit an application based on the following formula:
- The number of students in average daily attendance, subtract 50
- Multiply this number by 100
- Add $20,000 — total amount may not exceed $60,000
- From the total above, subtract the amount of funding under Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A the LEA received in the previous fiscal year
Congress determines the amount of funds available for REAP on an annual basis. Per ESEA section 5234, the REAP appropriation from Congress is divided equally between the SRSA and the RLIS programs.
The actual size of an LEA's allocation depends on several factors including: the amount of funds Congress appropriates for REAP, the number of LEAs that are eligible and apply for SRSA funds, the LEA's ADA for a preceding year, and the LEA's Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A award amounts for a preceding fiscal year. The Department collects information on the Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A award amounts from the SEAs when collecting eligibility data each year. The maximum amount of SRSA funds an LEA may receive in any year is $60,000.
Some LEAs that meet the eligibility criteria of the SRSA program (i.e., being both small and rural), may not receive an SRSA grant award due to the funding formula described above. If the combined amount of Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A funding for a preceding fiscal year exceeds the LEA's initial SRSA award amount, the resulting final SRSA award amount would be $0. In these cases, LEAs are not invited to submit an SRSA application for that fiscal year.
If the amount appropriated for SRSA is not sufficient to award the calculated allocations, all awards are ratably decreased. Alternatively, all award amounts are ratably increased if the amount of funds made available by Congress is more than the total of the calculated allocations.
Appropriations
Amount of funding Congress approved for the Rural Education Achievement Program, by year. Also see how the REAP team distributes the funds between its two grant programs; SRSA and RLIS.
| Fiscal Year | REAP Funding (total) | SRSA Funding Portion | RLIS Funding Portion |
| 2024 | $220,000,000 | $110,000,000 | $110,000,000 |
| 2023 | $215,000,000 | $107,500,000 | $107,500,000 |
| 2022 | $195,000,000 | $97,500,000 | $97,500,000 |
| 2021 | $187,840,000 | $93,920,000 | $93,920,000 |
| 2020 | $185,840,000 | $92,920,000 | $92,920,000 |
| 2019 | $180,840,000 | $90,420,000 | $90,420,000 |
| 2018 | $180,840,000 | $90,420,000 | $90,420,000 |
| 2017 | $175,840,000 | $87,920,000 | $87,920,000 |
| 2016 | $175,840,000 | $87,920,000 | $87,920,000 |
| 2015 | $169,840,000 | $84,920,000 | $84,920,000 |
| 2014 | $169,840,000 | $84,920,000 | $84,920,000 |
| 2013 | $169,840,000 | $84,920,000 | $84,920,000 |
| 2012 | $179,193,000 | $89,596,500 | $89,596,500 |
| 2011 | $174,532,000 | $87,266,000 | $87,266,000 |
| 2010 | $174,882,000 | $87,441,000 | $87,441,000 |
| 2009 | $173,382,000 | $86,691,000 | $86,691,000 |
| 2008 | $171,854,000 | $85,927,000 | $85,927,000 |
| 2007 | $168,919,000 | $84,459,500 | $84,459,500 |
| 2006 | $168,919,000 | $84,459,500 | $84,459,500 |
| 2005 | $170,624,000 | $85,312,000 | $85,312,000 |
| 2004 | $167,831,000 | $83,915,500 | $83,915,500 |
| 2003 | $167,653,000 | $83,826,500 | $83,826,500 |
| 2002 | $162,500,000 | $81,250,000 | $81,250,000 |
Monitoring
Purpose
The Rural Education Achievement Program is committed to supporting LEAs as they implement Federal grant programs. Part of this commitment includes implementing a monitoring process designed to not only address REAP's responsibilities for fiscal and programmatic oversight, but to also identify areas in which LEAs need assistance and support to meet their goals and obligations.
The REAP monitoring process for LEAs receiving Title V, Part B funds is intended to be LEA-centered and is conducted either on-site or virtually. As part of regular monitoring, the REAP team reviews an LEA's grant administration and fiscal management processes, based on information provided through the monitoring process, and other relevant qualitative and quantitative data. The primary goal of monitoring is to ensure that implementation of the SRSA program is consistent with the fiscal, administrative, and select program requirements contained in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance: 2 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 200), the Education Department General Administrative Requirements (EDGAR), and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended.
Monitoring Reports
All monitoring reports are provided in the table below and assess an LEA's grant administration and fiscal management processes, based on information provided through the review process, and other relevant qualitative and quantitative data. Monitoring reports are designed to communicate to LEAs and stakeholders the status of program implementation, noting areas where the LEA is excelling and areas that require attention.
| LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY | STATE | FISCAL YEAR | REPORT |
| Alton School District | NH | 2020 | |
| Attica Consolidated School Corporation | IN | 2022 | PDF Resolution |
| Bement CUSD 5 | IL | 2020 | |
| Bloomfield Elementary | MT | 2023 | |
| Canton Public Schools | OK | 2024 |
|
| Continental Local Schools | OH | 2021 | PDF Resolution |
| Culbertson Elementary | MT | 2024 | |
| Custer County School District | CO | 2023 | PDF Resolution |
| Dongola Unit District #66 | IL | 2021 | |
| Eminence R-1 | MO | 2020 | |
| Green Township School District | NJ | 2021 | |
| Hazen School District | AR | 2022 | |
| Highmore-Harrold School District 34-2 | SD | 2020 | |
| Mexicayotl Academy | AZ | 2022 | |
| Morrill Public School | NE | 2020 | |
| North Wood R-IV | MO | 2020 | |
| Polo CUSD 222 | IL | 2020 | |
| Sweet Home Independent School District | TX | 2024 | |
| Trinity Alps Unified School District | CA | 2021 | |
| Westbrook Walnut Grove ISD 2898 | MN | 2021 |
Below is the link to the current version of the REAP Master Eligibility Spreadsheet. Please review the information and contact your REAP State Coordinator with updates.
Click Here: Fiscal Year 2024 Master Eligibility Spreadsheet
- Please note that if your LEA has submitted a request to update its primary contact or other LEA information, it may take up to a week to see that change reflected on the Master Eligibility Spreadsheet here.
Who is Eligible?
An LEA is eligible to participate in the SRSA program if it meets the statutory criteria of being both small and rural (see ESEA section 5211(b)).
- To be considered small, an LEA must have a total average daily attendance (ADA) of fewer than 600 students or exclusively serve schools that are located in counties with a population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile.
- To be considered rural, all schools within the LEA must have a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43 (assigned by the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)) or be located in an area of the State defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State.
In some States, the entity legally established to administer the SRSA program is an educational service agency (ESA), which is defined in section 8101(18) of the ESEA as "a regional public multiservice agency authorized by State statute to develop, manage, and provide services or programs to [LEAs]." Section 5211(b)(1)(C) of the ESEA clarifies that an individual LEA within an ESA may apply for and receive SRSA grant funds if that LEA meets the SRSA eligibility criteria and the ESA to which it belongs does not itself receive an SRSA award on its behalf.
Being eligible for the SRSA program does not guarantee that the LEA will receive an award. If the LEA wishes to receive a grant award, it must comply with any requirements established by the Department to receive an SRSA award for a fiscal year (FY), including any application requirements. Additionally, an LEA may be eligible for SRSA but receive an allocation of $0 based on the funding formula (i.e., may not receive an SRSA award).
To find your LEA's locale code, visit the National Center for Education Statistics' locale lookup tool on their website. For more information on how locale codes are determined, visit the NCES Locale Boundaries User Manual.
To see how SRSA differs from RLIS, view the SRSA-RLIS Comparison Table.
Quick Links
- The REAP Quick Links document is a one-page resource that includes hyperlinks to resources and webpages for commonly asked questions related to the SRSA and RLIS grant programs.
REAP Informational Document
- The REAP Informational Document is a comprehensive resource for recipients of the SRSA and RLIS grants and other stakeholders that includes essential information on relevant REAP processes, such as grant eligibility criteria, application process, allowable uses of funds, and the monitoring process.
- REAP Informational Document (January 19, 2021)
REAP FAQ
REAP Use of Funds
UEIs and the System for Award Management (SAM)
- The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned to an LEA by SAM.
- All grantee LEAs need a UEI that is active and registered in SAM.gov to access REAP funds.
- The UEI registration and annual reactivation processes in SAM.gov are completely free.
- To check the registration status of your LEA's UEI, use the SAM.gov Status Tracker.
- To reactivate your LEA's UEI registration, log into your SAM.gov account or call 1-866-606-8220.
- You may also use the FSD.gov Live Chat to connect with a SAM agent directly.
- For more support, please visit REAP's UEI and SAM Support webpage.
Accessing Grant Awards in G6
- G6 (formerly G5) is the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) online platform for grant management. Creating an account, logging in, and obtaining Payee Access allows SRSA grantees to view and draw down awarded grant funds across multiple fiscal years.
- To log in or create a new account, please visit g6.ed.gov
- For a step-by-step guide for accessing SRSA funds in G6, visit our G6 Support webpage.
- For questions about this transition, you may reach out to the Department's Office of Business Support Services helpdesk by calling 1-888-336-8930 or sending an email to obssed@servicenowservices.com.
Webinars
- FY 2024 SRSA Application Overview Webinar
- FY 2024 SRSA Application FAQ Webinar
- FY 2024 SRSA Welcome and Orientation Webinar
- UEI Registration and Validation for Rural LEAs (Webinar by GSA)
- Strategic Use of Funds: Title IV, Part A and REAP Funds Presentation
General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- NCES Homepage
- Rural Education Resources
- NCES locale codes of individual schools
- NCES Locale Lookup Interactive Map
Additional Contact Information
Section 427 of the General Education Provision Act
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) requires U.S. Department of Education (Department) grantees, such as the Small, Rural School Achievement program (SRSA) grantees, to describe the steps the grantee will take to ensure equitable access to, and participation in, the Federally-assisted program by addressing the special needs of students, teachers, and other program beneficiaries. This provision allows applicants discretion in developing the required description. The statute highlights six types of barriers that can impede equitable access or participation: gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age. Based on local circumstances, a local educational agency (LEA) should determine whether these or other barriers may prevent students, teachers, or other program beneficiaries from such access or participation in the Federally-funded project or activity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How does an SRSA grantee submit a GEPA statement to the Department?
- A GEPA statement is submitted to the Department by an eligible LEA as part of the annual SRSA grant application. Each LEA eligible for SRSA funding will receive an email, directed to the LEA’s Authorized Representative each year containing a link to the LEA’s SRSA application.
- The Authorized Representative can complete the online application for the LEA by clicking the unique link included in the email. The application requires the Authorized Representative to submit the LEA’s GEPA statement. If an LEA submitted a GEPA statement as part of the prior fiscal year’s SRSA application, the GEPA statement will auto-populate into the current fiscal year’s SRSA application and the Authorized Representative can update the language if the statement is no longer consistent with the LEA’s planned activities under the SRSA program. However, if a GEPA statement was not submitted as part of the prior year’s SRSA application, or if the LEA is applying for the first time, the applicant will be required to provide a GEPA statement.
How often does an LEA need to update its GEPA statement on file with the Department?
- An LEA must only submit a GEPA statement once per year – this is done as part of the annual SRSA grant application process. It is not necessary for an LEA to inform the Department of changes made to its GEPA statement throughout the year. Further, if the information in the GEPA statement has not changed from one year to the next, the LEA is not required to make any changes to the previously submitted GEPA statement.
How can an LEA access its previous SRSA GEPA statement?
- If an LEA submitted a GEPA statement on its SRSA application during the previous fiscal year, that previous GEPA statement will be provided in the current year’s SRSA application for review and revision.
What information should an LEA provide in a GEPA statement?
- A GEPA statement must provide an explanation of how the LEA will ensure equitable access to and participation in SRSA programs by addressing the special needs of students, teachers, and other program beneficiaries, including barriers based on any federally protected categories, such as gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age.
How long does a GEPA statement need to be?
- There is not a minimum word count for a GEPA statement, although it may not exceed 1000 characters as part of the SRSA application.