Grants Administration

Main Contact Information

Phone: (512) 463-8525
Email: grants@tea.texas.gov

TEA's Grants Administration Division administers formula and discretionary (competitive and noncompetitive) grant programs. The following resources provide award, formula entitlement, and remaining balance data for eligible Texas school system and Education Service Center (ESC) grant recipients. 

Recent High Priority Grant Awards

Interactive Dashboards for Grant Award Data

TEA's user-friendly Interactive Dashboards allow school system and ESC grantees to easily search for grant award and balance data. 

Award and Drawdown Amounts

The Interactive Dashboards for Drawdown Amounts provide drawdown and funding balance data for school systems and ESCs receiving federal and state educational grant awards. It is updated monthly. TEA advises grantees to draw down funds regularly and monitor their grant balances frequently to avoid lapsing funds.

Interactive Dashboards for Drawdown Amounts

Entitlement Amounts for Formula Grants

The legislation authorizing a formula grant requires TEA use a prescribed methodology or “formula” to determine the amount of grant funds, or the entitlement, that each eligible applicant may receive.  For information on how entitlements are calculated, visit the Calculation of Federal Formula Grant Entitlements page of the TEA website.

The Interactive Dashboards for Entitlements Amounts provide the most current entitlement data for formula grants.

Interactive Dashboards for Entitlements Amounts

Competitive Grant Awards

Applicants and award information for competitive grants are provided on the Competitive Grant Awards webpage.

Competitive Grant Awards

Additional Resources

Expenditure Reporting Applying for a Grant Amending an Application

TEA administers grants primarily for entities such as school systems, including school districts and charter schools, and education service centers (ESCs); and to a smaller extent, non-profit organizations and institutes of higher education. Grants Administration personnel are responsible for grant negotiation and applicant support, expenditure reporting, competitions, and funds management.  

Registration is open for the 2026-2027 federal formula application trainings!

View important application dates and register for trainings for the 2026-2027 ESSA, Special Education (Federal), and Perkins V federal formula grants.

Applying for a Grant

An overview of basic grant application processes for school systems, ESCs, and other organizations

Administering a Grant

An overview of post-award management, including reports, amendments, and cash management (expenditure reporting)

Grant Resources

Useful guides, training videos, and other resources for preparing applications, budgeting, and administering grants

Related Topics and FAQs

The following gives more information related to grants and grants administration.

  • TEA administers grants for entities such as school districts, charter schools, and ESCs. The following resources may be helpful for getting started with the application process.

    • Grant Basics: For a look at the types of grants TEA administers, visit Grant Basics.
    • Grant Opportunities: The TEA Grant Opportunities page lists available Requests for Applications (RFAs), funding information, and critical dates. Each grant identifies which entities are eligible to apply.
    • Applying for a Grant: School systems and other eligible entities can visit Applying for a Grant for basic information on how to apply noncompetitive and competitive grants.
    • Budgeting Support: The Budgeting Costs Guidance Handbook is a useful resource for grantees seeking general budgeting support for application or amendment preparation.
    • Guidelines, Provisions, and Assurances: For all grants administered by TEA, the agency publishes general, fiscal, and program-specific guidelines. Grant recipients must assure that funds will be spent in accordance with all grant procedures and federal and state regulations. Refer to the Guidelines, Provisions, and Assurances page for more information.

  • Once a grantee receives a Notice of Grant Award, it is the grantee’s responsibility to comply with all grant policies and regulations. The following resources provide more information.

    • Administering a Grant: The Administering a Grant page provides an overview of grant management responsibilities, including compliance, necessary forms and reports, and best practices.
    • Amending an Application: Should a grant recipient need to make changes to the grant program described and budgeted in an application already approved by TEA, it may be necessary to submit an amendment for approval. Refer to the Amending an Application page for more information.
    • Expenditure Reporting and Refunds: Grantees use the electronic expenditure reporting (ER) system to record allowable expenditures by class/object code and request payment for those expenditures. Additionally, there may be situations in which a refund must be submitted to TEA. Visit Expenditure Reporting to learn more. For additional information, review the General and Fiscal Guidelines on the Guidelines, Provisions, and Assurances page.

  • For information on formal competitive and informal discretionary competitive (IDC) grants, visit the following resources:

  • For award, formula entitlement, and remaining balance data for eligible Texas school system and education service center (ESC) grant recipients, visit Grant Allocations and Award Balances.

  • Have other questions and need answers? See our FAQs document or reach out to one of our division contacts.

The following Universal Errata have been issued, as specified below. Full details are provided on each linked errata page.

Universal Errata (February 11, 2025)

The purpose of this errata notice is to notify Texas Education Agency grant recipients of changes regarding maximum allowable indirect costs for education grants.

Universal Errata (May 9, 2024) 

The purpose of this errata notice is to notify Texas Education Agency grant recipients of updated Final Expenditure Report and Revised Final Expenditure Report due dates for federal formula grants that end September 30, 2024.

Universal Errata (April 3, 2023)

The purpose of this errata notice is to notify Texas Education Agency grant applicants of processes to amend grant applications awarded on or after September 13, 2022, to budget for Subscription-based Information Technology Arrangements (SBITAs) pursuant to Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 96. 

Universal Errata (May 20, 2022)

The purpose of this errata notice is to notify Texas Education Agency grant applicants and grant recipients of ESSER II and ESSER III federal grant applications of interpretations related to schoolwide personnel and consolidation of federal, state, and/or local funds on the SC5000 of the ESSA Consolidated Federal Grant Application. 

Universal Errata (March 26, 2020)

The purpose of this errata notice is to notify Texas Education Agency grant applicants and grant recipients of automatic grant extensions and changes to grant submission requirements due to operations being disrupted by COVID-19.  

Formula and discretionary grants awarded by TEA are funded primarily by two sources: federal and state. Federal grants are funded through legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, while state-funded grants are authorized by the Texas Legislature. To learn about Requests for Applications (RFAs) and application submission, visit Applying for a Grant. To subscribe to TEA email bulletins for grant announcements, go to the Sign Up for Updates page on the TEA website and select Grants from the Finance and Grants category.

Types of Grants

To learn more about the types of grants TEA administers, expand the information below.

  • The legislation authorizing a formula grant includes a mathematical formula for calculating the amount of grant funds, or the entitlement, that each eligible applicant may receive.

    The three major formula-grant programs that TEA administers are authorized by the following pieces of federal legislation:

    • Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
    • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as reauthorized by the IDEA Improvement Act of 2004
    • Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 2006, as reauthorized in 2018 by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V)

    Eligibility: For formula grants, authorizing statute determines eligibility. Only school systems (called local educational agencies, or LEAs, in statute), such as independent school districts and open-enrollment charter schools, are eligible to apply. Entitlement amounts for formula grants for eligible Texas school systems are provided through TEA's Interactive Dashboards for Entitlement Amounts. Additional information about allocations and award balances is available on the Grant Allocations and Award Balances page.

  • Discretionary grants are grants in which the legislation authorizing the grant gives some freedom, or discretion, to the agency administering the grant. The legislation may define certain elements of the grant program, such as population to be served or services to be provided, while leaving the administering agency and the commissioner of education free to determine other elements, such as eligibility criteria or the amount to be awarded to grantees.

    Eligibility: Independent school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, education service centers, institutions of higher education, and public and private nonprofit organizations may be eligible depending on the eligibility criteria defined in the legislation authorizing the grant program or by TEA. Specific eligibility requirements can be found in the Program Guidelines for the grant on the TEA Grant Opportunities page.

    TEA may award discretionary grants on a competitive or noncompetitive basis.

    Discretionary Competitive Grants

    TEA awards discretionary competitive grant funds to eligible applicants whose applications meet submission requirements and receive the highest scores in a peer-review process. Discretionary competitive grants require a formal competition, informal discretionary competition, or letter of interest application process.

    Formal Competition: If the authorizing statute or approved state plan requires a grant competition, eligible applicants must follow a formal competitive application process. Formal competitive grants are announced in the Texas Register as well as via email bulletins. 

    Informal Discretionary Competition (IDC): The goal of the IDC process is to make it easier for applicants to apply for grant funding while maintaining competition for funding. The amount of competitive funds awarded to each grantee depends on the number of applicants that are eligible for funding and on the total amount of grant funds available. The competitive process is strictly defined and monitored to ensure fairness and consistency.

    Discretionary Noncompetitive Grants

    Discretionary noncompetitive grants are awarded to a predetermined list of eligible applicants, each of which is allotted a certain amount of grant funding. TEA contacts eligible applicants directly or via email bulletin to alert them to the availability and amount of noncompetitive grant funding.

Learn More

Applying for a Grant     Administering a Grant

After a grant recipient receives a Notice of Grant Award for an approved application, the grantee may realize a need to make modifications to planned allowable activities or estimated budget costs. Some changes are within the grantee’s power to make without seeking TEA approval. Other changes, however, require the grantee to amend the approved grant application and receive approval of the changes.

When Is an Amendment Necessary?

To determine whether a planned change to the grant program requires an amendment to the application, please refer to the following guidance document, When to Amend the Application.

When to Amend the Application

Be sure to regularly visit the grant's Request for Application (RFA) page on TEA Grant Opportunities, as well as Universal Errata, for any errata that might affect grant requirements.

How to Amend an Application

The amendment process is fully described in the Amending the Application section of the General and Fiscal Guidelines. All amendments are subject to negotiation and must adhere to the guidelines, regulations, provisions, and assurances of the grant program. Once the review process is complete and the amendment has been approved, a new Notice of Grant Award (NOGA) will be awarded.

Last Amendment Due Date: Amendments must be submitted to TEA by the Last Amendment Due Date listed on the TEA Grant Opportunities page for that grant. Grantees are responsible for meeting all listed deadlines.

Amending an eGrants Application

Sign in at TEA Login to access the eGrants system. Navigate to the grant application, then click Amend to start the draft. Update any necessary schedules, including GS2900 Purpose of Amendment.

To Submit an eGrants Amendment: To submit the amendment, a grantee official must Certify and Submit it electronically on the GS2000 page in the eGrants system.

Amending a PDF Grant Application

Amendments for PDF grants follow the same submission procedure required for original applications, with additional fields or sections specific to the amendment and/or its purpose that must be completed in Application Part 1 and 2. If the original PDF application cannot be adapted for the amendment, complete a new Part 1 and Part 2 from the grant’s Request for Application (RFA) page on the TEA Grant Opportunities page, including any sections that reference amendments.

To submit a PDF Grant Amendment:

Table scrolls horizontally on small screens.

PDF Grant Type Email Parts 1 and 2 to:
Noncompetitive PDF GrantApplications@tea.texas.gov
Competitive PDF or Informal Competitive PDF CompetitiveGrants@tea.texas.gov

Need Assistance?

For assistance with amendments, contact the grant negotiator for your region.

 

The Texas Education Agency, as a pass-through entity, awards federal grant funds to eligible sub-recipients, including local educational agencies (LEAs), which include both school districts and open-enrollment charter schools, education service centers (ESCs), and non-profits. TEA as a pass-through entity is required under Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 2 CFR §200.332(c), to evaluate each sub-recipient risk of non-compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the sub-award for purposes of determining the appropriate sub-recipient monitoring as described in 2 CFR §200.332(e), which may include the sub-recipients results of previous audits, include Single-Audits in accordance with 2 CFR §200.332(c), changes to key personnel, and other factors that may reflect any patterns of non-compliance. 

The Federal Compliance Officer in the Department of Grant Compliance and Administration (GCA) manages all GCA Risk Assessment activities, data, technical assistance, and training. 

To comply with this requirement, the Federal Compliance Officer conducts an annual risk assessment of all sub-recipients to determine and mitigate any potential risk of non-compliance. Based on the outcome of the annual risk assessment, sub-recipients are assigned a risk status of low, medium, or high, which is evaluated annually.

2025-2026 Risk Assessment Indicators

The following are the twenty-five indicators developed by the Department of Grant Compliance and Administration to establish LEA Risk Status for the 2025-2026 school year:

  • I-1: An LEA has received a single-audit management decision letter with sustained findings for FY21-FY25.
  • I-2: An LEA was non-compliant for IDEA-B LEA MOE for FY22-FY25.
  • I-3: An LEA was monitored by FFM or SMD with final report findings for FY20-FY24.
  • I-4: An LEA was placed on a formal programmatic Corrective Action for Non-Compliance for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) grant for FY24.
  • I-5: An LEA had grant management compliance concerns for FY21-FY25.
  • I-6: An LEA had post-award significant issues with their program applications for FY23-FY25.
  • I-7: An LEA was referred for Risk Assessment by other TEA divisions for FY25.
  • I-8: An LEA experienced Superintendent turnover for FY23-FY25.
  • I-9: An LEA has experienced CFO/Business Manager turnover for FY23-FY25.
  • I-10: An LEA was not required to conduct a single-audit for FY24 as required, per 2 CFR§ 200.501.
  • I-11: An LEA was monitored by FFM and SMD and had disallowed costs in the final report for FY20-FY24.
  • I-12: An LEA was referred during FY22-FY25 for Non-Compliance Resolution for 2-years Non-Compliant for Random Validation and/or an LEA was referred during FY25 for Non-Compliance Resolution for 2-years Non-Compliant for Program Monitoring Validation.
  • I-13: An LEA had Federal Program Non-Compliance issues due to Late or No submission of their ESSA Consolidated Compliance Report for FY22-FY24.
  • I-14: An LEA had Federal Program Non-Compliance issues due to Not in Compliance on their ESSA Consolidated Compliance Report Program Compliance Self-Check Requirements for FY22-FY24.
  • I-15: An LEA has not been fiscally monitored by the Department of Grant Compliance and Administration within the past six years.
  • I-16: An LEA's historical Risk Status Designation for FY21-FY25.
  • I-17: An LEA has been appointed a Board of Managers by the Commissioner of Education under TEC§ 39A.004, and the Board of Managers still governs the district.
  • I-18: An LEA is currently being served by the Fiscal Conservator, appointed by the Commissioner of Education under TEC§ 39A.002.
  • I-19: Ad Hoc Referrals to the Federal Compliance Officer for the following projects:
    • Year Five USDE ESSER Delinquent Reporting
    • Programmatic Non-Compliance
    • Open Investigations for misuse of federal funds
    • Other referrals
  • I-20: Number of overdue refunds or non-compliance documents from required non-compliance resolution actions past the requested deadline for FY23-FY25.
  • I-21: An LEA had a large percentage of federal expenditures compared to their total operating costs for FY24.
  • I-22: An LEA has not drawn down federal grant funds by January 31, 2025, for the following grants:
    • IDEA-B Formula
    • Perkins V
    • Title I, Part A
  • I-23: An LEA TECHY sub-grantee has an OSP McKinney-Vento Results Driven Accountability (RDA) Designation Level of 3 or 4 for FY24.
  • I-24: An LEA TECHY sub-grantee has identified zero homeless students for FY24 (Identification must occur between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024).
  • I-25: Per 2 CFR§ 3474.10, TEA is authorized to designate a federal grant subrecipient as a high-risk grantee.
Update LEA contacts in AskTed. For charter school updates, please contact CharterAskTED@tea.texas.gov.

Access Your Risk Assessment Status Designation Report

The Department of Grant Compliance and Administration has completed its LEA Risk Assessment status determination for the 2025-2026 school year. LEAs can access their 2025-2026 Risk Assessment Status Designation Report by following the steps below:

  1. Access the TEA Smartsheet WorkApp site.
  2. Select Risk Assessment WorkApp.
  3. Select LEA Name and CDN when the 2025-2026 GCA Risk Assessment page displays.
  4. Click on the Attachments link and click on the LEA RA Report.pdf title.
  5. The report will download to your computer's download folder.
  6. Click on the downloaded report to view your 2025-2026 LEA Risk Assessment Status Designation Report.
  7. Each LEA report includes points assigned by indicator, total risk assessment score, and risk status designation for 2025-2026.

The FY19-FY26 Risk Status Designation Report is also accessible by following the steps above. As new reports are published, they will also be added to the navigation pane for easy access and review, ensuring that all relevant information is readily available for LEAs.

LEA administrators with current, active Smartsheet access to other TEA WorkApps (EDGAR Connect, FPC Random Validation, ESSER Reporting, etc.) will be able to view the Risk Assessment WorkApp, and new users will need to be added through the EDGAR Connect WorkApp. With the assistance of the EDGAR Connect WorkApp, please request for users to be added or removed, or send an email request to Frank Baca (Frank.Baca@tea.texas.gov), the Department's System Automation Team Lead. 

For questions regarding 2025-2026 Risk Assessment scores or status, contact Cal Lopez, the TEA Federal Compliance Officer, at noncompresolution@tea.texas.gov or 512-463-9017.

*Please note, Risk Assessment Reports are not confidential and are subject to public information requests (PIRs).

Risk Assessment Resources

 

 

For all grants administered by TEA, the agency publishes general, fiscal, and program-specific guidelines. Grant recipients must assure that funds will be spent in accordance with all grant procedures and federal and state regulations. 

General and Fiscal Guidelines

The General and Fiscal Guidelines describe grant application procedures as well as general processes for distribution and management of grant funds based on the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR). These guidelines apply to all grants that TEA administers and are part of every Request for Application (RFA) that TEA publishes.

As these guidelines are updated, TEA maintains prior versions that are applicable to already published grants. From the list below, select the appropriate guidelines based on the date range for awarded grants.

General and Fiscal Guidelines by Date Range for Awarded Grants:

Program Guidelines

A grant’s Program Guidelines supplement the more comprehensive General and Fiscal Guidelines by providing specific information about that grant’s purpose, eligibility or review criteria, program description, statutory and TEA requirements, critical dates, and information about allowable or unallowable costs. Program Guidelines for each grant can found on the TEA Grant Opportunities page.

Provisions and Assurances

All TEA grants include provisions and assurances that a grant recipient agrees to comply with when accepting a grant award. These provisions and assurances are linked to each PDF and eGrant application listed on the TEA Grant Opportunities page. Grant requirements may include but are not limited to the following:

As required in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 2 CFR §200.501(b), a non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more in federal grant funds during their fiscal year must have a single-audit conducted in accordance with 2 CFR §200.514.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA), as a pass-through entity, monitors and reviews the single-audit reports of federal grant recipients. The Federal Grant Compliance team in the Department of Grant Compliance and Administration (GCA) reviews sub-recipient single-audit reports to ensure that federal grants are in compliance with the authorized purposes, federal statutes, and regulations. The Associate Commissioner of Grant Compliance and Administration and the Federal Grant Compliance team review all applicable auditor Federal findings to sustain or not sustain the auditor findings and determine the issuance of Management Decision letters pursuant to 2 CFR §200.521 and 2 CFR §200.332(d).

Federal Submission of Single-Audit Reports

The U.S. Department of Education has moved the Federal Audit Clearing House (FAC) from the U.S. Census Bureau to the General Services Administration (GSA). LEA sub-recipients, which include school districts and open-enrollment charter schools, must submit their single-audit report to the new Federal Audit Clearinghouse. You can explore and become familiar with key information regarding this FAC transition at fac.gov/welcome.

Department of Grant Compliance and Administration Review of Single-Audit Findings

The Associate Commissioner of Grant Compliance and Administration and the Federal Compliance team will sustain a finding unless they determine that:

  1. The independent auditor misinterpreted the federal statue.
  2. There is new guidance that would mitigate the auditor's findings.
  3. The sub-recipient does not concur with the independent auditor's findings.

Once a determination has been made for the sustention of the auditor's findings, the Federal Compliance Officer will issue a Management Decision to the superintendent and other contacts as appropriate, which will give the reasons for this determination by TEA. The management decision will include any required Non-Compliance Resolution actions to address the sustaining findings.

If TEA determines it does not sustain the auditor's findings, the sub-receipt will receive a letter from the Federal Compliance Officer communicating this determination.

Submission of an Annual Financial and Compliance Report (AFR)

As required by Texas Education Code (TEC) §44.008, LEAs, which include school districts and open-enrollment charter schools and education services (ESCs) must have their annual financial and compliance reports (AFRs) audited by an independent auditor. The AFR includes the federal single-audit information required.

For more information about TEA Financial Compliance requirements and submission process of AFRs, go to the Annual Financial and Compliance Report webpage.

Once a grantee receives a Notice of Grant Award, it is the grantee’s responsibility to comply with all grant policies and regulations. This includes meeting all listed deadlines, maintaining financial and programmatic records with supporting documentation, submitting payment requests based on approved budget costs and allowable activities, and submitting required reports. The following sections give an overview of these processes, and the section Best Practices for Administering a Grant provides helpful grant management strategies.

Guidelines, deadlines, and other pertinent information are kept up-to-date on the grant’s Request for Application (RFA) on the TEA Grant Opportunities page. It is the applicant’s responsibility to periodically check the RFA for any posting of errata notices that correct errors or identify significant changes to the grant program. Please note that changes affecting multiple grants may be provided as a Universal Errata notice.

Overview of Grant Processes and Grantee Responsibilities

Expand each topic to learn more about grant management processes and requirements.

  • Grant recipients are subject to all statutory and regulatory requirements and policies, as well as specific grant guidelines. To ensure compliance with all terms and conditions, TEA monitors and reviews grantee activities. Additionally, TEA conducts annual risk assessments and may perform on-site visits or audits. Such duties are carried out by TEA’s Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting (FFCR) and Federal Fiscal Monitoring divisions. Should a grantee fail to comply with the terms and conditions of the grant program, the grantee may be subject to Corrective Action.

    Additional Resources

    • The Guidelines, Provisions, and Assurances page provides information regarding general, fiscal, or programmatic guidelines as well as required provisions and assurances. The General and Fiscal Guidelines are applicable to all grants administered by TEA and describe standard grant processes and requirements, as well as guidance for distribution and management of grant funds. Review these guidelines for additional information on such topics as obligation of funds, procurement, equipment acquisition and disposition, direct administrative and indirect costs, programmatic reports, equitable access, and more.
    • A grant’s Program Guidelines and RFA, accessible through the TEA Grant Opportunities page, identify requirements for that specific grant program.
    • EDGAR provides an overview of the regulations governing federal education grants.

  • Forms for Prior Approval, Disclosure, and Justification

    EDGAR requires subgrantees to take specific steps to seek approval or document intent before expending federal funds on certain activities. TEA has developed different forms to help grant recipients meet these requirements. TEA will provide a formal response for each request submitted. Certain forms may be maintained locally but must be provided to TEA upon request.

    Programmatic and Fiscal Reports

    Grant recipients are required to provide other programmatic and fiscal reports according to the General and Fiscal Guidelines and the grant’s Program Guidelines, accessible through the TEA Grant Opportunities page. Reporting requirements vary depending on the grant. Additionally, grantees must respond to any audit requests or other questions from TEA.

    Time and Effort 

    Documentation of time and effort is required to support payroll costs for personnel whose salaries are paid in whole or in part with federal funds or are used to meet a cost share/match requirement. Please visit TEA’s Substitute System of Time and Effort Reporting page for additional information.

  • Grantees use the electronic expenditure reporting (ER) system to record allowable expenditures by class/object code and request payment for those expenditures. This system allows grantees to attach related documents, provide required narrative justification, or submit refund payments. To access the ER system, grantees must log into their TEA Login (TEAL) account. Visit Expenditure Reporting to learn more.

    Grantees are encouraged to request payment for expenditures regularly to indicate to TEA that they are spending funds and carrying out activities according to the approved application and established timelines. Payment requests must be certified and submitted by an authorized grantee official. Final and revised final expenditure reporting deadlines are listed on the grant’s RFA on the TEA Grant Opportunities page.

    Additional Resources

  • Should a grant recipient need to make changes to the grant program described and budgeted in an application already approved by TEA, it may be necessary to submit an amendment for approval. Amendments must also comply with all applicable grant requirements and are subject to negotiation for approval. This process is described more fully in Amending an Application. The Last Amendment Due Date is listed on the grant’s RFA on the TEA Grant Opportunities page.

  • Formula-grant funding amounts may be recalculated if there are changes to the amount of grant funding made available by USDE or when population data and statutory formulas are finalized. Additionally, many federal grants authorize unobligated funds remaining at the end of a grant period to be carried forward to the next budget period. This allows grant recipients to use unexpended balances from the prior fiscal year to cover allowable costs in the current grant budget period. Should funding amounts change, it may be necessary for grantees to adjust their budget schedules through an amendment process. 

     

Best Practices for Administering a Grant

The following strategies support effective grant management.

  • Have a comprehensive system for collecting programmatic and financial data, managing and documenting costs, and ensuring internal controls. Create a timeline to allow time to gather data and submit reports before deadlines.

  • This can help determine appropriate resources and personnel needed to meet them. These responsibilities should be communicated clearly and in writing. As applicable, be sure that necessary staff have access to the TEA Login (TEAL) system with the appropriate role assigned.

  • Communicate the policies and procedures to current and new staff. Be sure to review and update the policies and procedures regularly to adjust to current needs and to ensure compliance with federal regulations.

  • The applicant must maintain effective control over and accountability for all funds, property, and other assets. One person should not be solely responsible for cash management.

  • The Request for Application (RFA) for each grant is kept up-to-date on the TEA Grant Opportunities page. Grantees are responsible for completing all programmatic and fiscal requirements, meeting all deadlines, and following all posted errata as per the RFA, so it is important to review the page regularly.

  • Grantees should request payment regularly to indicate that grant activities are being implemented. Only expend funds according to the approved grant budget. Correct mistakes quickly if found. Maintain documentation that permits the tracing of funds to establish that funds have been used in accordance with the approved application.

  • Refer to the program guidelines and grant application to note what activities require prior approval. Use the forms provided by TEA and follow submission requirements.

  • By accepting grant funds, grantees agree to submit all required activity, progress, evaluation, and expenditure reports during the project by listed deadlines and in the format specified by TEA.

  • Conduct regular, careful monitoring of time, money, and records to catch discrepancies and make adjustments to meet the goals and objectives of the grant.

  • Not all application and budget changes require an amendment, but funds should only be expended according to the most current approved grant application. Visit Amending an Application for guidance.

  • Should TEA notify you that corrections or other resolution steps are necessary, it is important to respond with the necessary information in a timely manner. Noncompliance can affect a grantee’s risk assessment.

  • Your ESC is an excellent resource for additional training and guidance related to grants and grant requirements.

  • If you are uncertain who to contact, reach out to your region’s negotiator for assistance.

Need Assistance?

For assistance with an application, contact the grant negotiator for your region, or visit the following resources for additional guidance and information.

Applying for a Grant Grant Resources