SB 583

Subject to appropriation, this bill requires the department of education to award grants to eligible local education agencies ( LEAs ) that have submitted a grant application approved by the department to enable such LEAs to provide after school programs for students in grades K-12 who are enrolled in a n LEA that operates or serves as the charter authorizer for at least one public school located in a county for which the county juvenile offense rate is at least 10% higher than the statewide juvenile offense rate (" eligible LEA "") . As used in this bill, the "" county j uvenile offense rate"" and ""statewide juvenile of fense rate"" means the number of crimes committed by individuals who are between 10-17, both inclusive, in a given county or in this state, for every 1, 000 residents of the county, as published by the Tennessee bureau of investigation . GRANT APPLICATION This bill requires an eligible LEA seeking such a grant to submit an application to the department at such time, and in such manner, as the department requires. Each grant application must, at a minimum, include all of the following:  The county juvenile offense rate for the most recent fiscal year for which data is available for the county in which at least one public school is located .  An assurance that the eligible LEA will directly provide after school programs using grant funds or will partner with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for that organization to provide after school programs using grant funds .  Details regarding the activities and frequency of the after school programs that will be provided using grant funds. AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS This bill requires an eligible LEA that receives a grant to use the grant funds to operate after school programs for eligible students, which may include (i) e xpanding existing after school programs for eligible students, ( ii ) p roviding new after school pr ograms for eligible students, or ( iii ) p artnering with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for the organization to operate after school programs for eligible students. After school programs provided using grant funds must include educational activities and programming. RENEWAL OF GRANT This bill authorizes an LEA that receives a grant to apply to renew the grant in a subsequent year. The department must, subject to available funds, award a grant to an LEA that received a grant in the prior year, even if the LEA is no longer an eligible LEA because the county juvenile offense rate for the county in which at least one public school is not at least 10% higher than the statewide juvenile offense rate . ALLOCATION OF GRANTS From the total amount of grant funds available to the department for purposes of this bill, this bill requires the department to allocate to each eligible LEA with a department-approved application, a grant in an amount that bears the same relationship to the total amount of grant funds available as the number of eligible students who will be served by the eligible LEA pursuant to this bill bears to the total number of eligible students who will be served by all eligible LEAs pursuant to this bill . ANNUAL REPORT This bill requires each eligible LEA that receives a grant to submit an annual report to legislative committee s describing (i) t he number of public schools served by an after school program established or maintained by the eligible LEA using grant funds, (ii) t he number of eligible students served at each after school program established or maintained by the eligible LEA using grant funds, and ( iii ) t he general successes and vulnerabilities of the after school programs established or maintained by the eligible LEA using grant funds."