Programs/Grants
Ehancing Education through Technology, Title II Part D
Training/workshops
Integration resources
Technology Standards
National Educational Technology Standards for Students
National Education Technology Standards for Teachers
National Education Technology Standards for Administrators
Rubric of Essential Technology Conditions - RETC
Technology Literacy - Definition
About Us
State Board Approves EETT Competitive Grants
The State Board of Education, in action taken during the July 8, 2010 meeting approved nine grants for the Enhanced Education Through Technology program, Title II, Part D.
Since funds had been drastically reduced by nearly 67%, all of the funds allocated to Nebraska for the 2010-2011 school year were placed in competitive grants.
The following Nebraska districts and ESU’s were awarded grants:
Hershey Public Schools $60,000South Sioux City Public Schools $60,000
Grand Island Public Schools $60,000
Holdrege Public Schools $50,000
Educational Service Unit #16 Consortium $50,000
Educational Service Unit #11 Consortium $40,000
Lincoln Public Schools $40,000
Educational Service Unit #6 Consortium $40,000
Educational Service Unit #10 Consortium $40,000
The grants are in effect through September 30, 2011 and are subject to the Tydings Amendment.
EETT 2010 - 2011 ETT 2010-2011
During the past year the State of Nebraska received over $3,000,000 in funds for technology under the American Relief and Recovery Act. Since budgets are tightening everywhere and since we received the ARRA funds our regular Title II, Part D technology funds have been cut dramatically (67%) for the 2010-2011 year. This will leave the State with an allocation of $460,000 total.
In reviewing options for use of the reduced funds the Committee of Practitioners and NDE staff arrived at what we consider the best solution to the bad situation of insufficient funding.
All of the funding will go into competitive grants as most formula grants would be very small, many in double digits. One of the caveats of the Title II, Part D guidance is that the grant funds must be sufficient to accomplish the goals of the grantee. This would simply not be the case in most instances. There will be no new Title II, Part D formula funds for the coming year. Districts that have carryover in IID funds will find them on the Grants Management System. Other funds can still be transferred into IID.
The ARRA grant competition of the past year brought in many quality applications, of which we were able to fully or partially fund less than half. A proposal approved by the Committee of Practitioners is to use the ARRA applications that were partially or not funded to allocate the current EETT funds.
The idea was proposed to the United States Department of Education which approved of this plan and added that several other states were considering going the same route.
The legal staff of NDE approved of this plan after hearing that the USDoE had approved.
Thus, in lieu of an EETT competition this spring we will make recommendations to the State Board of Education based on existing applications and scores from the ARRA process. These recommendations will be made to the State Board for the July, 2010 meeting. (The Board is having a July meeting rather than a June meeting this year.)
In a perfect world next year there will be a lot of money for educational technology grants and we can go back to having more competitions. In another world all funds could be put in one large pot and the educational technology supporters will have to lobby for funds to be applied to technology.
ARRA Competitive Grant LEA Survey
The State Education Technology Directors Association is conducting webinars on the requirements for reporting by grant recipients. Webinars are scheduled on January 28 at 3:00 pm CT and on February 11 at 3:00 pm CT. An archived webinar is also available if you cannot sit in on either of these sessions. Please take part in the webinar you will be provided with information that will be a good use to you. The information for the webinar is available at http://www.setda.org/web/guest/ARRAsurvey
State Board Approves ARRA Grant Awards
The State Board of Education, in action taken during the January 6, 2010 meeting, approved the awarding of the following grants under the terms of the American Relief and Reinvestment Act:
$283,315 $300,057 $52,250 $40,578 $44,420 $44,619 $218,090 $720,560 $40,483 $38,578 $60,700 $471,556 $226,028 $40,629 $161,106 $150,000 $32,000 $31,840 $56,488 |
Nebraska received $3,048,906 through the act. The funds are administered by the Nebraska Department of Education. For more information contact Jim Lukesh at jim.lukesh@nebraska.gov or 402/471-0531
ARRA Technology Grant Webinar
The Nebraska Department of Education conducted a webinar detailing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Technology Grant Competition on Wednesday, October 14th and 15th. This webinar was intended to provide viewers with the application requirements, technical assistance and answer questions. The NDE Title IID website, all links, and application documents were covered in detail. Click here to view the video of the ARRA webinar.
NOW OPEN: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Technology Grant Competition
The ARRA competitive grant for technology competition has been redone on the "strong" suggestion of the US Department of Education.
The Federal guidance for the program has arrived in which the USDOE points out that larger competitive grants have greater impact in the ability to create and save jobs and provide long-lasting effect through professional development.
The aim of the initiative is to have individual states integrate all federal funds toward one common plan.
Specific information on the US Department of Education's ARRA Enhancing Education Through Technology legislation and guidance can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edtech/legislation.html
If you have any further questions contact Jim Lukesh at jim.lukesh@nebraska.gov or at 402/471-0531
Enhanced Education Through Technology Grants
The State Board of Education approved awards for the Enhanced Education Through Technology, ESEA Title II Part D in the amount of $620,275 during the August 12 meeting of the Board.
The following awards were approved:
Educational Service Unit #10 $56,684Hershey Maxwell Consortium $61,597
Educational Service Unit 11 Consortium $61,479
Auburn Public Schools $47,449
Kearney/Hastings Publics Schools Consortium $69,748
Lincoln Public Schools $101,199
Omaha Public Schools $176,694
Meridian Public Schools $45,425
Abstracts of the winning application are posted on this website.
Title IID Formula Allocations Published
Formula fund allocation for the 2008-2009 year have been published on the Federal Programs page at
http://www.education.ne.gov/federalprograms/pdf/TitleIC-TitleVAllocations0809.pdf
The table also contains allocations for the other federal Title programs.
Title IID funds are allocated on the same formula as are Title I funds. The State of Nebraska has $614,809 to be distributed through formula funds.
IID Funds which are from the Enhanced Education Through Technology program are to be used to improve student achievement through technology with an emphasis on professional development.
For more information call you contact at the Nebraska Department of Education or Jim Lukesh at jim.lukesh@nebraska.gov 402/471-0531.
Carry Over Funds
Technology Grant allocations under Title II, Part D as well as the ARRA awards which will be made in January, are subject to the Tydings Amendment and thus are eligible for carry over for 12 months at the end of the original grant period.
You do not have to formally request carry over grants. Simply apply for reimbursement as soon after September 30 as you can and we will make the payment and automatically issue a Grant Award Notice for the carry over funds.
Request Reimbursements in a Timely Manner
A reminder - please do not wait until the last minute to request reimbursement of funds.
We have a much easier time explaining the need for edtech funding for the schools if districts are prompt in requesting reimbursements.
For more information or assistance on you EETT project contact Jim Lukesh at jim.lukesh@nebraska.gov or at 402/471-0531.
Previous Year Grants
2004-2005
If your district received a competitive grant for the 2004 – 2005 school year and had carryover fund which were reissued through the Tydings Amendment for and additional 12 months the spending authority for those funds expires on September 30, 2006. You will be contacted about this but keep in mind that unexpended funds return to Washington and we can use all the funding we can get here in Nebraska.
2005-2006
If your district received a competitive grant for the 2005-2006 school year the spending authority will expire on September 30, 2006. Please request reimbursement for all expenditures to that time. The grant will then be closed out and unexpended funds will be subject to reissue for an additional 12 months under the Tydings Amendment. Again, you will be contacted.
Formula Funds
Like the competitive funds, the formula funds for Enhanced Education Through Technology were reduced to $725,741 for Nebraska. The district allocations for Title IID and for all the other Titles are listed on the NDE Federal Programs page or through a link on this page under Formula Grant Allocations.