Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)
Overview
On June 25, 2022, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which provides $1 billion in funding to State educational agencies (SEAs) to be distributed under Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The BSCA specifies that SEAs must make competitive subgrants to high-need local educational agencies (LEAs), as determined by the SEA, for activities to support safe and healthy students under section 4108 of the ESEA. The Department has designated BSCA section 4108 funds as the Stronger Connections grant program to distinguish it from the regular Title IV, Part A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants program, which funds a broader range of activities, including activities to support well-rounded educational opportunities and the effective use of educational technology. The Department announced allocations and awarded Stronger Connections funds to SEAs on September 15, 2022.
Congress provided funding in the BSCA for the Stronger Connections grant program under Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, but established some requirements unique from the typical Title IV, Part A program. Under Stronger Connections, an SEA must make subgrant awards on a competitive basis to high-need LEAs, as determined by the SEA, a and funds may be used only for activities authorized under section 4108 of the ESEA. Funds allocated under the program must be administered and tracked separately from an SEA’s or LEA’s regular Title IV, Part A formula allocation. Because each SEA included Title IV, Part A in its approved ESEA consolidated State plan, an SEA is not required to amend its ESEA consolidated State plan to implement the Stronger Connections program. The fundamental requirements of Title IV, Part A also apply to these funds, including the supplement, not supplant, requirement (ESEA section 4110); the maintenance of effort requirement (ESEA section 8521); and the requirement to provide equitable services to private school students and personnel (ESEA section 8501 et seq.), as described further in Section E.