The Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) provides grants to support magnet schools under an approved, required or voluntary, desegregation plan. By supporting the development and implementation of magnet schools that reduce, eliminate, or prevent minority group isolation, these program resources can be used in pursuit of the objectives of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), which supports State and local efforts to enable all elementary and secondary school students to achieve high standards. In particular, the MSAP provides an opportunity for eligible entities to provide students from varied backgrounds with the educational benefits of diversity and equitable access to a high-quality education that will enable all students to succeed academically.
In this competition, OII is particularly interested in projects that seek to improve MSAP outcomes related to minority group isolation and academic achievement by implementing complementary strategies to increase the socio-economic integration of schools in an effort to eliminate, reduce, or prevent minority group isolation.
The competition is also designed to improve MSAP outcomes by supporting evidence-based strategies for eliminating, reducing, or preventing minority group isolation; increasing diversity; and improving academic achievement. There is particular interest in evidence-based strategies that promote racial integration by taking into account socio-economic diversity.
In FY 2016, competitive preference priorities include:
- Need for Assistance - The Secretary evaluates the applicants need for assistance by considering
- The costs of fully implementing the magnet schools project as proposed;
- The resources available to the applicant to carry out the project if funds under the program were not provided;
- The extent to which the costs of the project exceed the applicants resources; and
- The difficulty of effectively carrying out the approved plan and the project for which assistance is sought, including consideration of how the design of the magnet schools project” e.g., the type of program proposed, the location of the magnet school within the LEA”impacts the applicants ability to successfully carry out the approved plan.
- New or Revised Magnet Schools Projects
- Selection of Students - The Secretary determines the extent to which the applicant proposes to select students to attend magnet schools by methods such as lottery, rather than through academic examination.
- Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education - Projects that are designed to improve student achievement or other related outcomes by supporting local or regional partnerships to give students access to real-world STEM experiences and to give educators access to high-quality STEM-related professional learning.
- Supporting Strategies for which there is Evidence of Promise
‹In FY 2016, invitational priorities include:
- Racial and Socioeconomic Integration - Socioeconomic Integration is of particular interest in FY 2016 - Projects that work to increase racial integration by taking into account socioeconomic diversity in designing and implementing magnet school programs. Projects may implement inter-district or intra-district integration strategies such as neighborhood preferences or weighted lotteries.