- Surveys & Programs
- Data & Tools
- Fast Facts
- News & Events
- Publications & Products
- About Us
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the FY23 RFA
- What is the deadline for FY23 SLDS applications?
- Who is eligible to apply for FY23 SLDS Grants?
- What are the priorities of the FY23 SLDS competition?
- Can States apply to do work on more than one FY23 SLDS priority?
- What is a cooperative agreement?
- What is the estimated range of awards?
- How long will the FY23 SLDS grants last?
- How many States will receive FY23 SLDS grants?
- Must State education agencies collaborate with other State agencies?
- Is the State education agency the only agency that can use SLDS funds, if awarded?
- When and where will FY23 SLDS applications be available?
- What is the IRB requirement for the FY23 competition?
- What information must go into the Budget Narrative (Budget Information Non-Construction Programs (ED 524)—Section C)?
- When creating a budget by deliverables, how should costs that apply to more than one deliverable be handled?
- What type of assistance is available to States during the competition?
- What is the letter of intent?
- Do you have to submit a Letter of Intent?
- Is a Letter of Intent binding?
- Will application decisions be based, in part, on past performance and use of previous SLDS funds?
- Who reviews SLDS applications?
- How are multi-State collaborations handled if only one State receives the funding?
- Should States use their restricted or unrestricted cost rate for their indirect cost in an application for SLDS funding?
- Where should States provide information about the Data Security and Privacy policies and procedures?
- Who should sign the SLDS grant application when submitting in Grants.gov?
- I am a researcher not currently affiliated with the SEA or SLDS work in the State. Can I submit an SLDS application?
- How should we indicate that we are interested in working on the Scalable Data Use/Open Source Community work?
- How do we account for the CEDS Scalable Data Use Development Project/Open Source Community $250,000 in our budget?
- Can you explain supplement and not supplant?
- Can you explain what is meant when you say you can't make subgrants with these funds?
- Is the School Finance priority area restricted to CCD Fiscal data elements, or could it be used for expanded fiscal/finance elements and reporting?
- Is there a target date for the announcements of the FY23 awards?
- Is IES willing to review early submissions of applications for completeness?
- Where can you find FY19 grant round winning proposals?
- Will there be a series of webinars regarding the RFA?
- If awarded a FY23 grant, could we use existing/current vendors, or would a competitive award/RFP be required?
- For documents pertaining to data privacy and security, many documents are on an internal SharePoint and/or not available to the public. Additionally, some documents are very large. Should we then plan to provide the whole document in our package if publicly available versions are not available?
- For the budget and budget narrative, should we only discuss the funds that are received from the grant, excluding other funds that support current SLDS work?
- Can Section B of the Budget template (re: non-federal funds) be left blank if we are only discussing the federal funds for the proposal?
- Should there be issues accessing any of the application forms, who should I contact?
- Can States hire FTEs using grant funds?
- Can we submit pieces of the application separately?
- Is a Governor's letter of support mandatory for this application?
- How should we respond to "4. Human Subjects Research" when completing the application?
- To whom should letters of support be addressed?
- Is there more information that describes how key personnel and budget should be detailed and captured within the application package?
- What do I put in the "Other Attachments Form [V1.2]," which is mandatory in the application package?
- Where do I submit the Appendices?
1. What is the deadline for FY23 SLDS applications?
The FY23 submission deadline is June 29, 2023 at 11:59:59 p.m., EDT. We strongly suggest State education agencies submit their applications at least 2 days prior to the June 29, 2023 deadline to address any needed issues. Late submissions will NOT be accepted. Technical issues experienced on the applicant's side are not an acceptable reason for submitting a late application.
2. Who is eligible to apply for FY23 SLDS Grants?
State education agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are eligible to apply. States and territories that received grants in both the FY15 and FY19/20 rounds (Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin) are not eligible to apply for this grant. All other States and territories are eligible to apply for this grant. There are no plans to reconsider eligibility requirements at this time.
3. What are the priorities of the FY23 SLDS competition?
There are four priority areas that applicants seeking funding can choose from:
- Infrastructure and Interoperability
- College and Career
- School Finance
- State Policy Questions
4. Can States apply to do work on more than one FY23 SLDS priority?
No. However, if a State is awarded a grant in one of the four priority areas, then a state may indicate an interest in assisting the Department by participating in the development of open-source data use assets built upon the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) and within the Open Source Community (OSC). States do not have to include information about how they would do this work in the application, but merely may indicate that they are interested in this work.
5. What is a cooperative agreement?
SLDS grants are cooperative agreements, which are a special type of grant. Cooperative agreements allow us to have ongoing relationships with grantees that encourage knowledge sharing and convening among grantees, as well as allow for easier distribution of technical assistance and other resources and services to grantees. Grantees must fulfill certain duties as part of cooperative agreements, such as participation in technical assistance webinars and site visits, and travel to national SLDS programs and conferences, for instance. All such requirements are outlined in the Cooperative Agreement sent to awardees.
6. What is the estimated range of awards?
Applicants may request no more than $3.75 million for one grant priority area (Infrastructure and Interoperability, College and Career, School Finance, and Policy Questions). States that agree to participate in the Scalable Data Use Project may request no more than $4 million, which includes up to $3.75 million for the priority area work, and up to $250,000 for costs associated with the Scalable Data Use Project work.
7. How long will the FY23 SLDS grants last?
FY23 grants will be awarded for a period of 48 months, or 4 years.
8. How many States will receive FY23 SLDS grants?
The number of grants awarded in FY23 will depend on the quality and scope of work proposed by applicants.
9. Must State education agencies collaborate with other State agencies?
No; while collaboration with other State agencies is encouraged due to the nature of the SLDS initiative, the extent to which collaboration is necessary depends on the priority work you intend to pursue, and where the associated data are housed in your State.
10. Is the State education agency the only agency that can use SLDS funds, if awarded?
No. While State education agencies are the fiscal agents for SLDS funds, State education agencies may share grant funds with partner agencies (e.g. early childhood, postsecondary, workforce, etc.) to support partner agencies' work contributing to the SLDS.
11. When and where will FY23 SLDS applications be available?
Application forms and instructions for the electronic submission of applications are available now, at the Grants.gov Apply site (https://www.grants.gov). Applicants should refer to Grants.gov for information about the electronic submission procedures to be followed and the required software.
12. What is the IRB requirement for the FY23 competition?
It has been determined that the use of individual level data within an SLDS requires ongoing monitoring for human subjects protection, and therefore cannot be considered "exempt". Please mark this item as "no" and provide the assurance number. You must also attach a copy of the Institutional Review Board Approval and a copy of the Non-exempt Research on Human Subjects Narrative to this form. The Non-exempt Research on Human Subjects Narrative should describe the following: the characteristics of the subject population; the data to be collected from human subjects; recruitment and consent procedures (if applicable); any potential risks; planned procedures for protecting against or minimizing potential risks; the importance of the knowledge to be gained relative to potential risks. If an Institutional Review Board Approval is pending, please indicate provide an estimate of when the Approval will be completed within the narrative. If the project has not yet been submitted to an Institutional Review Board for approval please indicate this. The U.S. Department of Education does not require certification of Institutional Review Board approval at the time you submit your application. However, your application is recommended/selected for funding, the designated U.S. Department of Education official will request that you obtain and send the certification of the Institutional Review Board approval to the Department within 30 days after the formal request. If awarded funding, it is mandatory that the Institutional Review Board approval covers the new project; an existing approval non-inclusive of the newly awarded grant funds is not acceptable. New projects require a new application or an amendment to an existing Institutional Review Board approval. Please see RFA for more information.
13. What information must go into the Budget Narrative (Budget Information Non-Construction Programs (ED 524)—Section C)?
States must provide an itemized budget breakdown by deliverable, year, and budget category that will allow reviewers to judge if reasonable costs have been attributed to the project. The total for each deliverable must match the total that States are requesting. Please see RFA for more information.
14. When creating a budget by deliverables, how should costs that apply to more than one deliverable be handled?
Costs, such as staffing or equipment, that will be utilized to support multiple project deliverables can be treated in one of two ways in the budget: 1) it can be divided among the relevant deliverables; or 2) it can be assigned entirely to one deliverable with an explanation of how that resource will also be utilized to support other deliverables in the Budget Narrative.
15. What type of assistance is available to States during the competition?
The SLDS team will host two webinars on the FY23 SLDS RFA and continue to provide technical assistance resources on topics like project management and governance that are necessary to a strong SLDS application. The first of two webinars was held on May 9, 2023, and the second webinar will be held on May 22, 2023 at 2:00 p.m., EDT. Both webinar recordings will be made available on the SLDS website.
16. What is the letter of intent?
The Institute strongly encourages potential applicants to submit a Letter of Intent no later than May 19, 2023. Letters of intent are optional, non-binding, and not used in the scientific peer review of a subsequent application. However, when you submit a Letter of Intent, one of the Institute's Program Officers will contact you regarding your proposed research to offer assistance. The Institute also uses the Letter of Intent to identify the expertise needed for the scientific peer review panels and to secure a sufficient number of reviewers to handle the anticipated number of applications. Should you miss the deadline for submitting Letter of Intent, you still may submit an application. If you miss the Letter of Intent deadline, the Institute asks that you inform the relevant Program Officer of your intention to submit an application.
Letters of Intent are submitted online at https://iesreview.ed.gov. Select the Letter of Intent form for the topic under which you plan to submit your application. The online submission form contains fields for each of the seven content areas listed below. Use these fields to provide the requested information. The project description should be single- spaced and is recommended to be no more than one page (about 3,500 characters).
- Descriptive title
- Topic and goals that you will address
- Brief description of the proposed project
- Name and institutional affiliation of any key collaborators and contractors
- Duration of the proposed project
- Estimated total budget request
17. Do you have to submit a Letter of Intent?
No. Letters of intent are primarily used to help IES assemble a review panel whose skill and expertise match the potential proposals. They also are used to help the SLDS team plan technical assistance.
18. Is a Letter of Intent binding?
No. States do not have to submit a proposal that reflects what was proposed in the Letter of Intent.
19. Will application decisions be based, in part, on past performance and use of previous SLDS funds?
Yes. States' performance and use of funds under previous Federal awards, including SLDS grants, may be considered in making award decisions.
20. Who reviews SLDS applications?
A Peer Review Panel will review SLDS applications. This panel is comprised of technical experts who have substantive and methodological expertise appropriate to the design, development, implementation, and utilization of statewide longitudinal data systems.
21. How are multi-State collaborations handled if only one State receives the funding?
Multiple States may collaborate on a single grant project with one State serving as the fiscal agent; however, the funding cap does not increase for multi-State collaborations. Each grant application is evaluated individually on its own merits, based on the reviewer scoring rubric. There is no scoring advantage for multiple applicants to request funds to develop separate parts of a larger project, nor a guarantee that all or any applicants will be funded.
If a State proposes to participate in a multi-State collaboration, the State must clearly identify the extent to which CEDS will be employed to facilitate the collaboration, and through which platform or approach (that is, Workgroups, the CEDS Open Source Community, the CEDS Data Warehouse Expansion Process, etc.).
Requesting funding for a project that relies upon another applicant's project being funded runs the risk that one or more States may not be funded. If only one State receives funding for specific deliverable that includes multi-State collaboration, we will work with the grantee to ensure the original intention of the grant is fulfilled regarding those deliverables. This is done on a case-by-case basis.
22. Should States use their restricted or unrestricted cost rate for their indirect cost in an application for SLDS funding?
The Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 requires that funds made available under the SLDS grant program be used to supplement, and not supplant, other State or local funds used for developing or using State data systems. The cost rate that States should use for indirect costs for SLDS funding is the restricted cost rate, as opposed to the unrestricted cost rate. See EDGAR section 76.563 on Restricted Indirect Cost Rate for more information on this.
23. Where should States provide information about the Data Security and Privacy policies and procedures?
In Appendix C of the proposal, applicants should include copies of sections of State laws and regulations concerning the confidentiality of individual records. It should also include any currently existing policies related to data security and privacy. These may include but are not limited to:
- Data security policies
- Staff access policies
- Acceptable use policies
- Associated State IT security policies
- Researcher access agreements/policies
- Data sharing agreements/policies
- Data flow documentation (planned and/or implemented)
- Data Governance policies
- Organizational charts showing where the project fits into the organizational structure
Applicants should explain how the SLDS system will ensure the confidentiality of student data, consistent with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as any other applicable Federal and State laws or regulations concerning the confidentiality of individual records, and how the system will include public documentation that clearly articulates what data will be accessible, to which users, and for what purposes.
24. Who should sign the SLDS grant application when submitting in Grants.gov?
Please assign the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role appropriately in your Grants.gov profile. Each organization has one electronic-Business Point of Contact (eBIZ POC) that is assigned in the SAM. The eBIZ POC authorizes the appropriate roles in the Grants.gov Workspace Profile, including that of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Only users assigned the AOR role can submit grant applications on behalf of their organization. When applications are submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the person assigned the AOR role is inserted into the signature line of the application automatically, serving as the electronic signature. The eBIZ POC must authorize people who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as a user with the AOR role; this step is often missed, and it is crucial for valid and timely submissions.
25. I am a researcher not currently affiliated with the SEA or SLDS work in the State. Can I submit an SLDS application?
No, you may not. Our authorizing legislation limits us to making grants to State Education Agencies. You can reach out to the State Education Agency in your state and see if they would submit a proposal with you as a partner on the proposal. There is information about current SLDS projects and their contacts on our website, Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program - Program Overview (ed.gov).
26. How should we indicate that we are interested in working on the Scalable Data Use/Open Source Community work?
Simply indicate in your proposal that you are interested in participating in the work.
27. How do we account for the CEDS Scalable Data Use Development Project/Open Source Community $250,000 in our budget?
Because the Scalable Data Use/Open Source Community work will largely be field-driven, we recommend adding the $250,000 to your Year 1 budget. As we get closer to the award process, we may ask you to make budget adjustments.
28. Can you explain supplement and not supplant?
This means that States cannot divert state funds intended for the SLDS project and replace those funds with federal funds. Federal funds cannot be used to perform a service that would normally be paid for with state or local funds.
29. Can you explain what is meant when you say you can't make subgrants with these funds?
If SEA Grantees would like to enter into contracts with companies or other entities to help do the work included in the grant proposal, they may. Typically a contract would be made through a procurement process (often competitive), following State rules. A grant could be an award of financial assistance to a recipient to support the accomplishment of activities. Subgrants are not allowed as part of SLDS grants.
30. Is the School Finance priority area restricted to CCD Fiscal data elements, or could it be used for expanded fiscal/finance elements and reporting?
For the School Finance priority, this is the minimum requirement. States can expand these efforts to include additional fiscal finance elements and reporting.
31. Is there a target date for the announcements of the FY23 awards?
The goal is to announce new FY23 awards mid-September.
32. Is IES willing to review early submissions of applications for completeness?
IES will not review early submissions of applications for accuracy or missing components.
33. Where can you find FY19 grant round winning proposals?
The FY19 grant round winning proposals are not publicly available, but the abstracts are Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program - Grant Information (ed.gov) if you click on the highlighted states you can see which grant rounds they have won. Winning proposals are posted for the FY12, FY09, FY09 ARRA, FY07, and FY06 grants. To obtain an application from the FY15 or FY19 grant rounds, please reach out directly to the state that submitted the application.
34. Will there be a series of webinars regarding the RFA?
Additional webinars could be scheduled, prior to the application deadline, if needed. The previous webinars will be made available on the SLDS website: Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program - Grant Information (ed.gov).
35. If awarded a FY23 grant, could we use existing/current vendors, or would a competitive award/RFP be required?
Existing and current vendors can be used if there is an existing MOU in place.
36. For documents pertaining to data privacy and security, many documents are on an internal SharePoint and/or not available to the public. Additionally, some documents are very large. Should we then plan to provide the whole document in our package if publicly available versions are not available?
Unfortunately, if the documents and/or links are not publicly available, the documents would need to be provided as attachments.
37. For the budget and budget narrative, should we only discuss the funds that are received from the grant, excluding other funds that support current SLDS work?
Yes. The budget and budget narrative should only discuss the funds that are needed and ultimately provided by the grant.
38. Can Section B of the Budget template (re: non-federal funds) be left blank if we are only discussing the federal funds for the proposal?
Yes.
39. Should there be issues accessing any of the application forms, who should I contact?
Please contact the Grants.gov helpdesk. The helpdesk is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, excluding federal holidays. Please ensure that you receive a ticket number for record.
GRANTS.GOV
1-800-518-4726 (U.S.)
1-606-545-5035 (International)
support@grants.gov
40. Can States hire FTEs using grant funds?
Yes.
41. Can we submit pieces of the application separately?
For questions about the grants.gov submission process or interface, please reach out to the grants.gov helpdesk:
GRANTS.GOV
1-800-518-4726 (U.S.)
1-606-545-5035 (International)
support@grants.gov
42. Is a Governor's letter of support mandatory for this application?
A letter of support from the Governor's office is not required for this application.
43. How should we respond to "4. Human Subjects Research" when completing the application?
If you run into difficulties responding to items about human subjects research, respond "No" to question 4.a. All funded applications will be reviewed for human subjects research protections regardless of your response.
44. To whom should letters of support be addressed?
There is no single party identified in the RFA as the expected recipient of letters of support. Historically, states typically have addressed them to:
Secretary of Education
Dr. Miguel Cardona
US Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20202
or to
Director of the Institute of Education Sciences
Dr. Mark Schneider
Institute of Education Sciences
US Department of Education
550 12th St, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Because the letters are included in the application package, to whom they are addressed is not critical.
45. Is there more information that describes how key personnel and budget should be detailed and captured within the application package?
For the staffing questions, the RFA language states, "Discuss how the project will be staffed and managed. Describe the specific roles, responsibilities, and time commitments of the individuals involved with the project; this information should complement the information provided in Project Management and Governance Plan. This section can refer to the résumés of key personnel included in Appendix D, to demonstrate that the proposed staff has needed qualifications, but the section should also provide specific information to describe how the key personnel are qualified to manage and implement the proposed activities.
It is up to the applicant to determine how far down to go in the staffing chart to show the key personnel who will be responsible for overseeing and implementing the proposed activities. Many states hire personnel once the grant is awarded and typically indicate this plan in the application.
As for budgets, there is flexibility to adjust budgets as projects unfold. Grantees work with their program officers to amend budgets through an established process. Please note that states cannot increase their federally-funded grant budget through this process.
46. What do I put in the "Other Attachments Form [V1.2]," which is mandatory in the application package?
Please make a single, combined pdf of Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, Appendix D, Appendix E, and Appendix F and submit that pdf as the Other Attachments Form in the application package.
47. Where do I submit the Appendices?
Please make a single, combined pdf of Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, Appendix D, Appendix E, and Appendix F and submit pdf as the Other Attachments Form in the application package.
