Title I, Part A, Section 1003 School Improvement Grant

The Title I, Part A, Section 1003 School Improvement Grant is administered by the Illinois State Board of Education for Local Education Agencies serving Illinois public schools implementing Intensive, Comprehensive, and/or Targeted support and improvement activities. Funds are allocated on a formula basis to eligible LEAs and are calculated by school, although the allocation is made to the LEA. The purpose of the funding is to build the capacity of school leaders to implement effective school improvement practices and provide children with a fair, equitable, and high-quality education through resources intended to substantially raise achievement in lowest-performing and underperforming schools. Grant funds must be used for school-level activities and specifically to develop, implement, and monitor School Improvement Plans. Allowable planning and implementation activities include paying school personnel to collaborate on and develop, implement, and monitor SIPs; analyzing data; purchasing and administering local assessments for progress monitoring; supporting vertical and horizontal alignment of curriculum and instructional practices; purchasing standards-aligned curriculum and curricular interventions; researching and implementing evidence-based practices; identifying resource inequities; and paying for professional services from Learning Partners. Supplement-not-supplant requirements apply. Federal funds must supplement funds that would otherwise be available from state and local sources and may not supplant those funds. LEAs with schools designated for Intensive, Comprehensive, or Targeted support can expect four years of continuation funding beginning with the initial summative designation. Improvement status and funding run concurrently for up to four years, including the remaining portion of the first year as a planning phase followed by three consecutive implementation years. Funding and services are for public schools only and are not subject to proportional share requirements for services benefiting nonpublic school children. Learning Partners are required annually for schools in Intensive or Comprehensive status during Implementation Years 1 and 2 and are optional in Year 3. LEAs may elect whether to contract with a Learning Partner for schools in Targeted status. Learning Partner contracts are subject to available continued funding and cannot extend beyond June 30, 2027, or August 31, 2027, for extended programs. LEAs must fulfill the standard components of the Illinois Continuous School Improvement Model. These include identifying a school leadership team, building a stakeholder advisory group, conducting a school-level needs assessment and root cause analysis, and presenting results to stakeholders. SIPs must contain SMART goals, key activities and timelines, funding sources addressing resource inequities, responsible persons, local assessments for measuring academic progress, and monitoring plans. Evidence-based practices must align with ESSA. LEAs must communicate and implement the SIP, monitor progress toward SMART goals, and analyze and update the plan as necessary. Intensive and Comprehensive SIPs require annual approval by the school, district, local Board of Education, and ISBE and are monitored and periodically reviewed by the LEA and ISBE. Targeted SIPs require annual LEA and local Board of Education approval and LEA monitoring. LEAs with schools in improvement status must implement curriculum aligned with Illinois Learning Standards, implement or continue local assessments addressing areas identified in the SIP, attend program-specific information meetings hosted by ISBE, participate in program evaluation activities, and participate in peer learning opportunities for district and school leaders during the Illinois ESSA Conference. LEAs with Intensive and/or Comprehensive schools must additionally participate in site monitoring and program evaluation visits. Reporting requirements include Quarterly Expenditure Reports due 20 days after each fiscal quarter, School Improvement Reports due November 20, March 20, and June 30, and an Annual Grant Periodic Report due July 30. Grant management activities must comply with applicable state and federal grant administration policies, fiscal requirements, and procedures. For the FY 2027 cycle, LEAs had until June 30, 2026, to submit an original application with a substantially approvable budget in order to secure an effective start date of July 1, 2026. As of August 13, 2026, that stated original-application deadline has passed.

Align SIP activities and funding to identified needs and resource inequities; use SMART goals and local assessments to measure progress; ensure interventions are evidence-based and aligned with ESSA; continuously monitor implementation and progress and update the SIP as needed; maintain curriculum alignment with Illinois Learning Standards; comply with applicable Learning Partner, reporting, monitoring, and evaluation requirements