(a) (1) The department shall administer the Pathways to Success Grant Program, which shall be a three-year grant program. Commencing September 1, 2019, the department shall award a minimum of 10 one-time grants of up to three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) per grant, to entities described in subdivision (b) considering any of the following:

(A) Establishing a dual language immersion program or developmental bilingual program for English learners.

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(B) Expanding an established dual language immersion program or developmental bilingual program for English learners.

(C) Establishing early learning dual language learners programs in state preschool programs operated by school districts and charter schools.

(2) When awarding a grant to an applicant proposing to establish a dual language immersion program or developmental bilingual program for English learners in a target language other than Spanish, the department shall provide additional funding of up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) over the amount of the grant awarded pursuant to paragraph (1).

(3) Priority shall be given to proposals for programs with an enrollment that consists of at least 40 percent English learners at the elementary level and at least 40 percent English learners and reclassified fluent English proficient pupils at the middle and high school levels.

(b) Both of the following entities are eligible to apply for a grant pursuant to this section:

(1) A school district.

(2) A consortium composed of a school district in partnership with one or more of the following:

(A) Other school districts.

(B) County offices of education.

(C) Bilingual teacher programs in schools of education in institutions of higher education.

(D) Charter schools, other than for-profit charter schools, located within the school district.

(c) In accordance with Section 33444, the department shall identify criteria for evaluating applicants and awarding the grants.

(d) An entity described in subdivision (b) may apply to the department to receive a grant pursuant to subdivision (a). Participation in this grant program shall be on a voluntary basis.

(e) An application shall include a description of all of the following:

(1) The high-quality curriculum and instruction to be provided by the dual language immersion program or developmental bilingual program for English learners.

(2) Projected grade levels, number of school districts, number of schoolsites, and number of classrooms proposed in the expansion or establishment of dual language immersion programs or developmental bilingual programs for English learners, for each grant.

(3) The early learning dual language learners program to be provided to dual language learners in early childhood education programs, such as state preschool, the high-quality, standards-based curriculum and instruction, and the projected number of classrooms included for each grant.

(4) Pupil enrollment, disaggregated by English learners, dual language learners, and native speakers of English.

(5) How the program for which the applicant proposes to use the grant will serve the applicant’s English learner population and dual language learners, including outreach to families who speak the target language of the new or expanded program.

(6) How the applicant will secure bilingual teachers, bilingual preschool educators, bilingual paraeducators, and bilingual program staff.

(7) How the applicant will sustain its expanded or new dual language immersion program, developmental bilingual program for English learners, or early learning dual language learners program beyond the three-year grant period.

(8) Evidence of support by the applicant school district’s or districts’ county board or boards of education or the governing board or boards of the school district or districts, or the authorizing body or bodies of the charter schools.

(9) Efforts to align program goals with school district responsibilities pursuant to Section 305.

(10) A program budget identifying the amount of funding proposed to be expended for the allowable expenses identified in subdivision (a) of Section 33445, including information on how much grant funding will be spent at each schoolsite.

(11) Available funding within the current or projected budget for the three-year grant period that will be committed in addition to grant funding, including any funding received pursuant to its local control funding formula allocation, federal law, or other sources.

(12) How the applicant will collect data required by the department for purposes of the department’s report described in Section 33446. The application shall include the number of pupils to be served, including English learners, native English speakers, and dual language learners, by the applicant and the number of pupils successfully completing programs described in this article at the elementary and secondary levels and in early childhood education programs.

(13) Assurance that the applicant will sustain and maintain the program or programs described in this article and a description of the support, including funding, it commits to do so.

(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 763, Sec. 2. (AB 2514) Effective January 1, 2019.)