Consolidated Grants to the Insular Areas

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This authority allows the Insular Areas (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) to apply for two or more eligible State administered formula grant programs under one application, and to choose how to allocate funds among programs within the consolidated application.

In general, Consolidated Grant funds are used to improve teaching and learning by encouraging greater cross-program coordination, planning, and service delivery, while enhancing integration of programs with educational activities carried out with State and local funds. The Consolidated Grant is designed to minimize the burden caused by existing application and reporting procedures for certain eligible grant programs. Each Insular Area submits one application for any two or more eligible programs. Beginning in FY 2017, the Insular Areas submitted a three-year application; each subsequent year during the three-year period the Insular Areas can submit amendments to the application. The amount of the Consolidated Grant is the sum of the allocations the Insular Area receives under each of the grant programs included in the application.

Once an Insular Area identifies two or more eligible programs to consolidate, they must decide under which one or more of the consolidated programs they will appropriate funds to in order to carry out program activities. The Insular Areas may only use and administer funds received under a Consolidated Grant to carry out eligible programs included in the consolidation and use those funds for any of the authorized purposes of that program or programs.