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Department of Education-Magnet Schools Assistance Program

Agency/Department
Federal Agency/Bureau
Department of Education
Program Name
Magnet Schools Assistance Program
Authorizing Legislation

Every Student Succeds Act Sec. 4401

Program Overview

The Magnet Schools Assistance program provides grants to eligible local educational agencies to establish and operate magnet schools that are operated under a court-ordered or federally approved voluntary desegregation plan. These grants assist in the desegregation of public schools by supporting the elimination, reduction, and prevention of minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools with substantial numbers of minority group students. In order to meet the statutory purposes of the program, projects also must support the development and implementation of magnet schools that assist in the achievement of systemic reforms and provide all students with the opportunity to meet challenging academic content and student academic achievement standards.

Projects support the development and design of innovative education methods and practices that promote diversity and increase choices in public education programs. The program supports capacity development–the ability of a school to help all its students meet more challenging standards–through professional development and other activities that will enable the continued operation of the magnet schools at a high performance level after funding ends. Finally, the program supports the implementation of courses of instruction in magnet schools that strengthen students’ knowledge of academic subjects and their grasp of tangible and marketable vocational skills.

CFDA

84.165A

Type of Funding

Discretionary

Link to application site, NOFO, FOA, or Grants.gov (if different from program website above)

Not Applicable

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) or Federal Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Type

Not Applicable

Important Dates (if applicable)

Not Applicable

FY2023 Appropriations Amount

Total Amount: $139,000,000


Amount Available Towards Broadband (if specified): Not Applicable

Matching Requirement

No 

Complementary Federal Funding Option

Not Applicable

Broadband-related Program Purpose/Eligible Expenditures
Speed/Technical Requirement for Broadband Infrastructure

Not Applicable

Eligible Recipients
Criteria for Eligible Recipients

Not Applicable

Grant Beneficiaries (if different from eligible recipients)

Not Applicable

Programmatic Resources

Not Applicable

Reporting Requirements

Not Applicable

Publicly-available programmatic data

Not Applicable

Contact Information

Gillian Cohen-Boyer E-mail: Gillian.Cohen-Boyer@ed.gov Telephone: (202) 401-1259

Additional Information

This is one of a number of Department programs that provides funds that may be used to support broadband access. The allowability of costs is always situation and program specific. For that reason, if you decide to use funds under one of these programs for costs related to broadband access, you must be sure that the use of the funds is, under the specific circumstances of the expenditure and the program authority selected, reasonable and necessary for the purposes of that program, and does not violate other program requirements, such as supplement not supplant, if it applies to program. We also note that, while funds under one of these programs can be used on broadband access, the programs’ purpose is not primarily focused on that issue.

MSAP’s uses of funds are fairly broadly defined in its authorizing legislation (20 U.S.C. 7231f), including for the “acquisition of books, materials and equipment, including computers and the maintenance and operation of materials, equipment and computers, necessary to conduct programs in magnet schools,” (Section 4407(A)(2)). However, it also includes a Special Rule that limits the use of funds for these kinds of activities to those that “are directly related to improving student academic achievement based on the challenging State academic standards or directly related to improving student reading skills or knowledge of mathematics, science, history, geography, English, foreign languages, art, or music, or to improving career, technical, and professional skills,” (Section 4407(B)). Therefore, any use of MSAP funds for broadband related activities have to be narrowly tailored to very specific populations and purpose in order to be permissible.

Updated

April 2023

Funding Guide