Title V, Part B - Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)

Title V, Part B - Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP)

Published: 10/23/2024 10:45 AM

​Title V, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), is also known as the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP). REAP is designed to assist rural school districts that may often receive grant allocations in amounts that are too small to be effective in meeting their intended purposes.

Schools are designated as rural by the Secretary of Education. Rural schools are assigned locale codes which specify the number of people living in a particular area and the distance from a metropolitan area.

​The two initiatives with REAP are: The Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) Program and the Rural Low-Income Schools (RLIS) Program.

Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) Program

The SRSA program’s purpose is to provide rural local educational agencies (LEAs) with financial assistance to fund initiatives aimed at improving student academic achievement. To qualify for SRSA, a school district must meet the statutory requirements of being both small and rural [ESSA 5211(b)]. To be considered small and rural a school district must have an average daily attendance of less than 600 students and only serve schools with a locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary of Education, or the secretary of education has determined, based on a demonstration by the LEA and concurrence of the state education agency (SEA), that the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by the state.

Rural Low-Income Schools (RLIS) Program

The RLIS program is a non-competitive grant with the purpose of providing rural districts with financial assistance for initiatives aimed at improving student achievement. Districts may use RLIS funds to pay for activities authorized under Title I, Part A (including parent and family engagement); Title II, Part ATitle III; and Title IV, Part A.

To qualify for RLIS, a school district must meet the statutory requirements of being both low-income and rural [ESSA 5211(b)(1)]. To meet these requirements, 20% or more of children ages 5 to 17 years served by the school district must be from families with incomes below the poverty line and all schools served by the district must have a school locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43 as determined by the Secretary of Education, or the secretary of education has determined, based on a demonstration by the LEA and concurrence of the SEA, that the LEA is defined as rural by the state.



Shashawna Williams
Office of Continuous Improvement and Support
Division of School and Program Improvement
300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 564-3791 Ext. 4077
Fax (502) 564-8149

Shashawna.williams@education.ky.gov

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