African American/Black Student Success Rules

For a PDF version of the AABSS Student Success Plan Grant Program Rules click here

See below for links to the specific OAR's for the African American/Black Student Success Program on the Secretary of State's Website

581-017-0550: Definitions
581-017-0553: Establishment
581-017-0556: Eligibility
581-017-0559: Criteria
581-017-0562: Funding
581-017-0565: Reporting

581-017-0550: Definitions

African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program: Definitions

The following definitions apply to OAR 581-017-0550 to 581-017-0565:

“Achievement Gap” means any significant and persistent measurable disparity in academic performance or educational attainment between different groups of students, such as white students and African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students, for example, or students from higher income and lower income households.
“African American” means a person of African descent, having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, living in America, including African immigrants. African Americans are members of the African Diaspora.
“African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant” means the Grant established in OAR 581-017-0553 to implement ORS 329.841.
“African Diaspora” means the worldwide distribution of peoples descended from native Africans or people from Africa, specifically persons having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, and living outside of the continent by choice, or most predominantly against their will, particularly the descendants of Africans who were involuntarily migrated via the slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries, including the Transatlantic slave trade. The African Diaspora is vast and includes displaced Africans living in numerous countries around the world, including but not limited to African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latinx immigrants.
“Black” means a person of African descent, having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, living in America. Black people are members of the African Diaspora.
“Community-Based Organization” means a Nonprofit Organization that is representative of a community or significant segments of a community, which is located within or in close proximity to the community it serves. This includes Culturally Specific Organizations that have an expressed mission of providing services to specific populations within a community.
“Community Voice” means that members representing the community served by the project will be involved in co-constructing the project design, implementation, and/or providing strategic guidance in final decision-making.
“Culturally Responsive” means the implicit recognition and incorporation of the cultural knowledge and experience of students served by the African American/Black Student Success Plan in teaching, learning, assessment, and support. This includes identifying and valuing: students’ cultural assets in instruction and assessment; diverse frames of reference that correspond to multifaceted cultural perspectives/experiences; and performance styles and behaviors in the classroom that can differ from dominant culture views of what qualifies as achievement or success.
“Culturally Specific Organization” means an organization that serves a particular cultural community and is primarily staffed and led by members of that community. These organizations demonstrate: intimate knowledge of lived experience of the community, including but not limited to the impact of structural and individual racism or discrimination on the community; knowledge of specific disparities, barriers, or challenges documented in the community and how that influences the structure of their program or service; commitment to the community’s strength-based and self-driven thriving and resilience; ability to describe and adapt their services to the community’s cultural practices, health and safety beliefs/practices, positive cultural identity/pride, religious beliefs, etc.
“Disciplinary Incidents” means any form of disciplinary or behavioral action, particularly those resulting in removal from regular instruction and activities, including referrals, detention, in and out of school suspensions, and expulsions.
“Disproportionate” means unequal or inequitable differences in outcomes for African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students based on race, gender/gender identities, and/or sexual orientation compared to other groups of students, particularly their white counterparts.
“Nonprofit Organization” means nonprofit corporation as defined by ORS 65.001.
“Opportunity Gap” means the unequal or inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities, particularly the ways in which race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English proficiency, community wealth, familial situations, or other factors contribute to or perpetuate that inequitable distribution for certain groups of students, for example a school offers AP classes but erects or fails to address barriers that limit the enrollment of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students
“Partnership” means a group of organizations, Tribes, districts or individuals who agree to work together with a common interest and shared vision. In a partnership, there is a high level of trust and 2-way communication, and differences in power and privilege are addressed. Roles and responsibilities on all sides are well defined and developed with shared authority in decision making. There might be shared space and staff, with expectations and agreements in writing.
“Student” means an individual who is enrolled in early childhood through post-secondary education (including non-traditional settings) and who is African/African American/Black or otherwise part of the African Diaspora.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 329.841
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 329.841
History: ODE 9-2021, temporary amend filed 03/29/2021, effective 03/29/2021 through 09/24/2021
ODE 11-2018, amend filed 04/03/2018, effective 04/03/2018
ODE 35-2016, f. & cert. ef. 6-15-16

581-017-0553: Establishment

African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program: Establishment

There is established the African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program to support early learning hubs, providers of early learning services, school districts, education service districts, post-secondary institutions of education, and Community-Based Organizations who are working to design, implement, improve, expand, or otherwise revise programs and services for African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students.
The programs and services to be provided under the Grant must implement one or more of the strategies or address one or more of the objectives included in the African American/Black Student Success Plan and must address one or more of the following indicators:
1. Decrease the Disproportionate rate of Disciplinary Incidents;
2. Increase parental engagement;
3. Increase the engagement of Students in educational activities before and after regular school hours;
4. Increase participation in kindergarten readiness and early childhood education programs;
5. Improve literacy and numeracy levels across kindergarten through grade three;
6. Support Student transitions to and through the middle school grades to maintain and improve academic performance;
7. Support Student transitions from middle school to and through the high school grades to maintain and improve academic performance;
8. Support the development and implementation of Culturally Responsive pedagogy and practices from early childhood through post-secondary education;
9. Support the development of Culturally Responsive curricula from early childhood through post-secondary education;
10. Increase attendance of Students in community colleges and professional certification programs;
11. Increase attendance of Students in four-year post-secondary institutions of education; or
12. Increase financial resources to sustain and advance the work of the African American/Black Student Success Plan.
Subject to available funds, the Department of Education shall award Grants based on a detailed description of proposed programming or services. The programs or services may include:
1. The scale-up of an existing program or project; and/or
2. The implementation of a new program or project.
The purpose of the Grant program is to provide funds to applicants that document an understanding of the unique needs of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students, have the potential to become exemplar programs, and who create collaborative practices relating to strategies outlined in the African American/Black Student Success Plan.

581-017-0556: Eligibility

African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program: Eligibility

To be eligible to receive an African American/Black Student Success Grant, an applicant must:
1. Be an early learning hub, a provider of early learning services, a school district, an education service district, a post-secondary institution of education, or a Community-Based Organization;
2. Serve African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students and youth populations and their families as follows:
  1. For existing programs or projects that are being scaled up, provide data to the Department of Education validating that the majority of their students who are served through the programming or services the organization is providing under the Grant are African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students;
  2. For new programs or services, provide information to the Department of Education about how the program or project will serve African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students and estimating the total number of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students who will be served; and
3. Be actively engaged in or prepared to enter into an inclusive Partnership and/or consortium with other entities invested in the success of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students through the implementation of Culturally Responsive programming or services. The Partnership or consortium must meet the following criteria:
  1. Consortiums and Partnerships must include a Culturally Specific Organization that works with African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students.
  2. If the applicant is a Culturally Specific or Community-Based Organization, it must have at least one school district or post-secondary institution as a partner.
  3. If the applicant is an early learning hub or provider of early learning services, it must have at least one school district or post-secondary institution as a partner.
A single grant proposal may include more than one applicant, but the lead applicant must be one of the eligible types identified in subsection (1) of this rule.

581-017-0559: Criteria

African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program: Criteria

The Department of Education shall establish a request for proposal solicitation and approval process by which to award African American/Black Student Success Plan Grants. All proposals must comply with the requirements of the Department’s Procurement processes. Grants shall be awarded based on the following criteria:
1. Whether the proposed program or project successfully aligns with strategies and objectives described in the African American/Black Student Success Plan;
2. Ability of the applicant to demonstrate knowledge, experience, and expertise in addressing parent and community engagement to improve academic achievement, opportunities, access, and graduation rates of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students; and
3. Whether the applicant authentically and consistently engages Community Voice in the proposed project.
The Department shall give priority to proposals that:
1. Provide a sustainability plan to continue the program for at least two years after the Grant funding has ended;
2. The extent to which the applicant clearly documents its capacity to implement and carry out programming and services for addressing the needs of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora student populations, including demonstrated intentions to work in a collaborative way with school districts or post-secondary institutions; and
3. Geographic location of Grant applicants to ensure geographic diversity and representation within the recipients of and students served by Grant programs funded throughout the state. This includes areas of the state that demonstrate a lack of services specific to the needs of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students and as identified in the African American/Black Student Success Plan.
The Department of Education shall allocate funds for the Grant program based on the evaluation of the Grant application and the following considerations:
1. Whether the applicant meets the minimum requirements in OAR 581-017-0556;
2. Geographic location of Grant applicants to ensure geographic diversity and representation within the recipients of and students served by Grant programs funded throughout the state. This includes areas of the state that demonstrate a lack of services specific to the needs of African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students and as identified in the African American/Black Student Success Plan; and
3. Whether Grant applicants demonstrate commitment and readiness to use best practices around Culturally Responsive programming and services to close Achievement and Opportunity Gaps for African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students; and
4. Whether applicant demonstrates evidence of prior implementation of a robust Culturally Responsive program or service as a way to close Achievement and Opportunity Gaps for African/African American/Black/African Diaspora students.

581-017-0562: Funding

African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program: Funding

Applicants shall submit a detailed budget that explains how Grant funds will be used.
Grantees shall use funds received as authorized by the resulting Grant.
Grantees must be able to expend the funds for allowable purposes specified in the request for proposal within the Grant timeline according to acceptable accounting procedures.
Administrative costs, which include indirect costs, will be allowed as a percentage of the Grant funds disbursed as follows:
1. Up to five percent for school districts, early learning hubs, or post-secondary institutions of education; or
2. Up to 15 percent for Community-Based Organizations or providers of early learning services.

581-017-0565: Reporting

African American/Black Student Success Plan Grant Program: Reporting

Grant recipients must report project or program outcomes in the manner and form required by the Department of Education. Grantees are required to submit a final report prior to receiving their final request for funds.