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).
- Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)
EQUITY FOR STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND OTHER PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES
OMB Control Number 1894-0005 Expiration 02/28/2026
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1228a) applies to a State applicant submitting a state plan for a formula grant from the US Department of Education. The State applicant is responsible for completing the GEPA Section 427 form that provides a description of the steps the State proposes to take to ensure all program beneficiaries have equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally funded, State-level project or activity. The State applicant is also responsible for ensuring that its subrecipient applicants complete the GEPA Section 427 form or a State developed form that sufficiently meets the GEPA Section 427 requirement for any local-level-project and activity and maintains the subrecipients’ responses in the State office.
GEPA Section 427 Form Instructions for State Applicants
State applicants must respond to the following four questions:
1. Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
2. Based on your proposed project or activity, what barriers may impede equitable access and participation of students, educators, or other beneficiaries?
3. Based on the barriers identified, what steps will you take to address such barriers to equitable access and participation in the proposed project or activity?
4. What is your timeline, including targeted milestones, for addressing these identified barriers?
• Applicants identify any barriers that may impede equitable access and participation in the proposed project or activity, including, but not limited to, barriers based on economic disadvantage, gender, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, disability, age, language, migrant status, rural status, homeless status or housing insecurity, pregnancy, parenting, or caregiving status, and sexual orientation.
• Applicants use the associated text box to respond to each question. However, applicants might have already included some or all this required information in the narrative sections of their applications or their State Plans. In responding to this requirement, for each question, applicants may provide a cross-reference to the section(s) in their State Plans that includes the information responsive to that question on this form or may restate that information on this form.
• Applicants are not required to have mission statements or policies that align with equity to apply.
• Applicants that have already undertaken steps to address barriers must still provide an explanation and/or description of the steps already taken in each text box, as appropriate, to satisfy the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
• Applicants that believe no barriers exist must still provide an explanation and/or description to each question to validate that perception, as appropriate, to satisfy the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
GEPA Section 427 Instructions to State Applicants for their Subrecipient Applicants
The State grantee provides a subrecipient applicant seeking Federal assistance instructions and guidance for how it must comply with the GEPA Section 427 requirement. The State grantee determines the form and content of the information a subrecipient applicant must include in its application regarding the steps it proposes to take to ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, its local-level project or activity. For example:
• The State grantee may require its subrecipient applicant to use and submit the GEPA Section 427 form that it is required to submit to the Department; or
• The State grantee may use a State-developed form that is sufficient to meet the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
• The State grantee maintains the subrecipient applicants’ responses in the State office.
Please refer to GEPA 427 - Form Instructions for AEFLA Application Package
- Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)
2. Based on your proposed project or activity, what barriers may impede equitable access and participation of students, educators, or other beneficiaries?
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1228a) applies to a State applicant submitting a state plan for a formula grant from the US Department of Education. The State applicant is responsible for completing the GEPA Section 427 form that provides a description of the steps the State proposes to take to ensure all program beneficiaries have equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally funded, State-level project or activity. The State applicant is also responsible for ensuring that its subrecipient applicants complete the GEPA Section 427 form or a State developed form that sufficiently meets the GEPA Section 427 requirement for any local-level-project and activity and maintains the subrecipients’ responses in the State office.
GEPA 427 - Form Instructions for AEFLA Application Package
State applicants must respond to four questions.
The second of four questions is:
Based on your proposed project or activity, what barriers may impede equitable access and participation of students, educators, or other beneficiaries?
Current Narrative:
In addition, the ACCS Adult Education Division will work with providers to ensure strategies are implemented to recruit and serve participants to achieve a proportional representation of male and female participants according to the service area demographics. Applications and desk-top/virtual monitoring from providers ensure a continued commitment to recruit and serve eligible individuals from diverse populations (national origin, race, color) and that all activities, program components and published materials will remain free of bias of national origin, race, and color. To further ensure equitable access to the program, all providers are monitored to ensure that all sites, including sites in partnership with community or faith-based organizations and one-stop centers are physically maintained to be compliant with the American Disability Act requirements, and are accessible to individuals with disabilities to ensure their equal access in adult education activities.
Providers of Title II services will ensure that their social media accounts are produced and maintained by their respective organization’s policy and while the ACCS Adult Education Division does not regularly review content posted, it shall have the right to request the removal of any content that is not aligned with these GEPA standards, a violation of intellectual property rights or privacy laws, off-topic, commercial or promotion of organizations or programs not related to or affiliated with WIOA services.
ACCS Adult Education Division will continue to utilize State Leadership funds to provide professional development opportunities, in part, for program staff to address culturally responsive practices to satisfy the GEPA requirement.