Section 560.40  Criteria for the Review of Initial Proposals

a)         Applications for initial funding shall be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

1)         Need for the Project; Quality of the Plan (70 points)

A)        The proposal demonstrates that one or more of the elements of need discussed in Section 2-3.137(d)(1) of the School Code are applicable to the schools to be served by the project.

B)        The proposal demonstrates that the activities proposed as part of its pilot project are consistent with the parental involvement activities set forth in any approved district or school improvement plan.

C)        The proposal demonstrates that other sources of funding are limited to such an extent that the applicant is unable to conduct the proposed activities without funding under this Part.

D)        The proposed activities are designed to increase parental participation in the affected school or schools, and the proposal demonstrates that the activities were chosen in response to the needs and characteristics of the families to be served.

E)         The proposal indicates how the intended activities are expected to result in one or more of the possible effects described in Section 2-3.137(f) of the School Code.

F)         The scope of the proposed activities is reasonable in light of the amount of funding to be provided, and the project will be cost-effective considering the number of students and parents to be involved.

2)         Evaluation Plan (30 points)

A)        From among the possible effects described in Section 2-3.137(f) of the School Code, the proposal identifies one or more areas of improvement to be targeted by the project.

B)        The proposal identifies specific data and other types of information that will be gathered systematically over the course of the project to determine whether the intended improvements are occurring and to gauge the project's impact.

b)         Proposals shall be grouped according to the geographic areas delineated in Section 2-3.137(d) of the School Code, and each proposal shall be ranked only in comparison to proposals from other eligible entities within its respective group.