Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Programs
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the following as it pertains to adult education and literacy programs and activities under title II of WIOA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).
- b. Local Activities
Describe how the eligible agency will, using the considerations specified in section 231(e) of WIOA and in accordance with 34 CFR 463 subpart C, fund each eligible provider to establish or operate programs that provide any of the following adult education and literacy activities identified in section 203 of WIOA, including programs that provide such activities concurrently. The Unified or Combined State Plan must include at a minimum the scope, content, and organization of these local activities.
- b. Local Activities
b. Adult Education and Literacy Activities (Section 203 of WIOA)
- Adult education;
- Literacy;
- Workplace adult education and literacy activities;
- Family literacy activities;
- English language acquisition activities;
- Integrated English literacy and civics education;
- Workforce preparation activities; or
- Integrated education and training that—
- Provides adult education and literacy activities, concurrently and contextually with both, workforce preparation activities, and workforce training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster, and
- Is for the purpose of educational and career advancement.
Special Rule. Each eligible agency awarding a grant or contract under this section shall not use any funds made available under this title for adult education and literacy activities for the purpose of supporting or providing programs, services, or activities for individuals who are under the age of 16 and are enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under State law, except that such agency may use such funds for such purpose if such programs, services, or activities are related to family literacy activities. In providing family literacy activities under this title, an eligible provider shall attempt to coordinate with programs and services that are not assisted under this title prior to using funds for adult education and literacy activities under this title for activities other than activities for eligible individuals.
Current Narrative:
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) AEI office is the State’s Eligible Agency for oversight of funding provided through the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act grant. AEI is responsible for administering funds to eligible providers and monitoring grantee use of those funds. For 2024-2027, AEI will provide funding to eligible providers at the local level for the provision of adult education and family literacy services as a component of the Colorado talent development system through a competitive request for application (RFA) process. The competitive grant process for local adult education and family literacy providers will follow the requirements outlined in 34 CFR 463 subpart C. The request for applications opened in February of 2024 and will conclude before July of 2024. Funds from this competition will be available for a four-year grant cycle. After the initial year of this multi-year adult education grant award (PY2024), the AEI Office requires sub-recipients to apply for the renewal of funding through a non-competitive grant continuation for the following program year.
Applicants can apply for funding in any of the following areas:
- Adult education and literacy
- Workplace adult education and literacy activities
- Family literacy activities
- English language acquisition activities
- Integrated English literacy and civics education
- Workforce preparation activities
- Integrated education and training
- Workforce preparation activities
- Integrated education and training
As described in the RFA eligible individual means an individual (1) who has attained 16 years of age and who is not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under State law (CRS 22.33.104) and (2) who is basic skills deficient; does not have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and has not achieved an equivalent level of education; or is an English language learner.
To be awarded WIOA Title II funds in Colorado, applicants must be an eligible provider as defined by WIOA and they must be able to demonstrate past effectiveness in providing adult education and literacy activities before being considered an eligible applicant. Data which demonstrate the applicant’s effectiveness in providing adult education and literacy services include evidence of eligible individuals’ academics gains (reading, writing, mathematics, English language acquisition, and other subject areas relevant to the services outlined in the RFA), employment, attainment of secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and transition to postsecondary education and workforce training.
The RFA requires applicants to address General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) requirements as well as the thirteen statutory considerations AEI must consider when awarding WIOA Title II funds. To fund eligible providers, a rubric is utilized to score the RFA. Review teams utilize a Likert Scale to score the quality of each response, scoring applications individually before meeting to score the applications via a consensus score as a review team. Reviewers provide notes or commentary to justify the score, provide brief details of what the applicant omitted or missed, and brief descriptions of anything notable about the applicant’s responses. Additionally, the AEI Office reviews funding requests and proposed service delivery areas to ensure that services are being provided in all Local Workforce Development Areas. Applicants may apply for all of the funding allocation to a Local Workforce Development Area or a portion of the funds available in each LWDA they intend to serve.
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Office of Adult Education Initiatives (AEI) will ensure direct and equitable access to grants and contracts and will use the same grant or contract process for all eligible providers in the state. All applicants follow a detailed request for applications, and each application is evaluated by a team of trained reviewers after proving demonstrated effectiveness. AEI will conduct data validation and desk, virtual and on-site monitoring as needed and in accordance with materials approved by the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education.
Information from the annual Colorado Talent Pipeline Report will also be shared with adult education providers to assist them in aligning programming with the evolving occupations and occupational clusters relevant to Colorado’s context.
SPECIAL RULE
As outlined in the definition of family literacy activities (WIOA Section 203(9), children of eligible individuals may participate in AEFLA-funded family literacy activities. WIOA Section 203(4)(B) explains that an eligible individual is not required to be enrolled in secondary school under State law. Per C.R.S. §22-33-104, every child under the age of 17 shall attend public school for at least a certain number of hours defined in statute during each school year unless an exception has been provided under state law. AEI has outlined the following exceptions in which a 16 year-old may attend AEFLA-funded services:
- Condition of probation (C.R.S. §18-1.3-204(2.3))
- Condition of parole (C.R.S. §19-2-207 and C.R.S. §19-2-1002(1))
- In custody of court or law enforcement authorities (C.R.S. §22-33-104(2)(f))