TUPE Tier 2 Grant Program Guidance�Request for Applications Webinar
Tobacco-Use Prevention Education (TUPE) Office
Whole Child Division
California Department of Education
�Malini Doering, Education Programs Consultant�Michelle Woods, Education Programs Consultant
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CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Housekeeping
https://sites.google.com/view/tupegemsresources/applicants/tier2-2023?authuser=0
Passcode: Tier2
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Purpose of Webinar
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�What’s New in this RFA
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Tier 2 Grant Purpose
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Tier 2 Grant�Applicable Laws and Regulations
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Tier 2 Grant�Funding
1) For one year only, not all three years of the grant
2) Only an estimate
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Enrollment
What student counts are requested for the Tier 2 grant?
Where can the data be found?
Who can access the data?
What if a school in a district declines to participate in the TUPE program, what should an applicant do?
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Types
There are two allowable application types:
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Tier 2 Grant�Who May Apply
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Tier 2 Grant�Absence of Industry Funding/Support
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Tier 2 Grant�Geographic Categories
The CDE must consider the need to balance urban and rural applicants when allocating awards (HSC 104420(k)(2)(D)(4)), so applicants must identify their geographic category:
(Visit https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/ to find your classification.)
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Tier 2 Grant�Use of Funds
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Tier 2 Grant�Reporting Requirements
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Tier 2 Grant�Format and Content Requirements
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Submission
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Tier 2 Grant�General Guidance: Collaborative Process
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Tier 2 Grant�General Guidance: Needs Assessment
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Tier 2 Grant�General Guidance: Program Plan
The program plan guides the overall development, implementation, and evaluation of a TUPE Tier 2 program. It addresses five program areas:
Each of these program areas will be discussed in turn.
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 1:�Applicant Summary
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 2:�Participating School Districts
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 3:�Capacity
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 4:�General Population Plan Summary
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 4A:�General Population Student Services
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 4B:�General Pop. Family & Community Engagement
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 4C:�General Pop. Staff Professional Development
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Sections 5–5C:�Health Disparity (HD) Populations
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 6:�Tobacco-Free Policy Development & Implementation
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 7:�Project Monitoring & Evaluation
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 8:�Assurances
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 9:�Budget
The TUPE Office has posted a spreadsheet in TUPE GEMS with each applicant’s estimated funding amount, listed by the application identification number which was generated in TUPE GEMS when the ITS was submitted.
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Narrative Section 9:�Budget (cont.)
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Tier 2 Grant�Signature & Submission
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Tier 2 Grant�Specific Terms & Conditions
Applicants funded through this RFA must agree to specific terms and conditions:
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Review
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Tier 2 Grant�Evaluation Criteria
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Scoring: Weights
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Tier 2 Grant�Application Scoring: Ratings
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Tier 2 Grant�Tentative Timeline
*All dates are subject to change.
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Questions and Answers
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CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Questions Sent in Advance
1. Are CTA funds affected by the recent changes to Health Disparities and Tier 2? In other words, will we still receive these funds through Prop 99 and 56?
A: CTA funds are not affected by the recent changes to the Health Disparities and Tier 2 grant programs. Money is appropriated in the State Budget specifically for the CTA grant. The CDE plans to release the CTA RFA, as usual, in late April 2023.
2. Can we as a county still submit our letter of intent including all districts even if certain districts also submit a letter of intent to apply? For example, if a district submitted their intent to apply for the Tier 2 comprehensive grant, can we as a county still include them in our intent submission?
A: Since the Intent to Submit deadline has passed, the question is no longer relevant. However, please note that for the application, a district cannot be part of a consortium AND apply as a single agency. A district cannot be part of a consortium and apply for funding on their own.
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Questions Sent in Advance
3. I see that “students in nontraditional school settings” is an example of a HD population. Can you clarify if this includes students at continuation schools? Does this term also include schools that are online learning?
A: The following school types are considered non-traditional:
Adult Education Centers, Alternative Schools of Choices, Continuation High Schools, County Community, District Community Day School, Juvenile Court Schools, Mental Hospitals, Opportunity Schools, ROC/ROP, Special Education Schools, State Special Schools, Youth Authority Facilities
This may include virtual learning in cases where the school falls into one of the categories listed above. The TUPE Office recommends looking up the school in the California School Directory https://www.cde.ca.gov/schooldirectory/. The “School Type” column will let you know if the school falls into one of the categories listed above and is therefore a non-traditional school.
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Questions Sent in Advance
4. Just to make sure that I understand correctly, is participation in the webinars scheduled on January 31st and February 3rd optional for applicants or mandatory?
A: The webinars are not mandatory, but they are highly recommended. If a person is unable to attend, the webinars will be recorded and the Q&A from the webinars will be posted in TUPE GEMS website.
5. Our county office is currently a recipient of a Cohort P, Tier 1 grant, and we are wondering if we are eligible to apply for this Tier 2 grant?
A: Yes, you can apply for the Tier 2 grant because Tier 1, Cohort P is expiring on June 30, 2023. For current consortium grantees in our other Tier 1 grants (i.e., Cohorts Q, R, and upcoming S) may apply for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 only if the districts in each grant are different.
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Questions Sent in Advance
6. I am currently a Tier 1 grantee; however, I submitted the Intent to Submit for Tier 2 funding but I am not sure if I should apply. When will the Tier 1 RFA be released? Should I stick with Tier 1?
A: The TUPE Office is in the process of getting the Tier 1, Cohort S RFA approved, and hope to have it posted by late March/early April 2023.
There is no need to be consistent and stay with Tier 1. It is really up to your county office and participating districts to determine if you have the capacity to carry out the grant requirements of a Tier 2 grant, which are much more rigorous than Tier 1. However, if you feel you are ready, we definitely encourage you to apply for Tier 2 funds.
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Questions Sent in Advance
7. So for the Tier 2 application in GEMS, is the only way we can actually see the application sections and what they entail to complete, is by completing an Intent to Submit an Application? Our small county is trying to figure out if it will be feasible again to apply for Tier 2, but I feel strongly that I need to be able to see the application sections and the budget requirements in the application before making that decision.
A: The Tier 2 application template is also posted under resources on TUPE GEMS. The direct link is https://sites.google.com/view/tupegemsresources/applicants/tier2-2023?authuser=0#h.me31lj92befk.
8. The RFA states 60% of grant to be allocated to student services, does this include the 15% of the allocation to health disparities, or is this in addition?
A: The 60% allocated to student services includes services for both general students and health disparities students.
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Questions Sent in Advance
9. We have always included students attending non-traditional schools in our peer education program and all related trainings and activities. Should we list this as both an activity for the general population and health disparities groups, or do we just list under general population, knowing that we also include health disparities? Or vice versa?
A: If the service/activity is designed for both general and health disparity populations, it should be considered a general population service. Health disparity services/activities differ in that they are designed specifically for health disparity students and include culturally responsive recruitment strategies. Culturally responsive strategies are those that foster equity and belonging. They empower youth, parents, and other community members to affirm their own values, customs, genders, and ethnic/racial heritages while also affirming the lived experiences of others.
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Questions Sent in Advance
10. When the RFA describes items such as there are 4 services required in the General Population Staff Development section. Does that mean 4 services per year? Or 4 services over the course of the grant?
A: Four services are required per year. Trainings may be developed locally or provided by the county office of education (COE) or the Capacity Building Project (CBP). They may cover a variety of tobacco-related topics and include attendance at TUPE-related conferences. They should be interactive, and may be provided in-person or online.
Your staff professional development plan should include training for non-TUPE funded staff. In our experience, this is most easily accomplished by working with district administrators and presenting on TUPE at an existing district-wide staff meeting.
Interactive trainings are when trainees interact with a trainer and/or content, such as by asking questions, taking a learning assessment at the end of a training, or attending a conference.
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Questions Sent in Advance
11. If selecting CATCH My Breath, can a single grade level be selected or does the program need to be implemented in multiple grade levels, like Project ALERT? We have districts that would like a grade 6 curriculum and this may be a great fit, although want to make sure they are implementing with fidelity.
A: The same curriculum does not need to be implemented at all grade levels. You may use different TUPE curricula in different grades. However please be sure you select curricula that is on our approved list.
12. Does the prevention curriculum have to be delivered during the regular school day or can it be delivered during the after school program?
A: As you develop your Tier 2 application, program reach is something you should definitely consider. Ideally the prevention curriculum would be offered during the regular school day to reach as many students as possible. However, if delivering the prevention curriculum after school works best in your schools/district(s) it is allowable.
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Questions Sent in Advance
13. For a specific health disparities group (i.e. students attending non-traditional schools), I understand that we can propose student services, professional development, and family and community engagement strategies. Are we able to propose just staff professional development for another group (i.e. unhoused/foster youth, LGBTQ+), or do we have to propose services for all three areas for each identified group, regardless of the specific needs to support each group?
A: If you have more than one disparity student group (for example, non-traditional students, unhoused/foster youth, and LGBTQ+ students), you should plan your staff professional development based on where services are most needed, as identified in your needs assessment. However, you will want to be sure to explain why you are providing staff professional development for only one of your health disparity populations and not the others.
14. Should we exclude general population students from services that are designed for our health disparity students?
A: No. General population students should not be excluded. Again, health disparity services and activities should be designed for health disparity students, however, they should be made available to non-HD students who also want to use them.
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Questions Sent in Advance
15. Can we utilize the same strategy, such as Brief Intervention for serving both health disparity and general population groups?
A: Yes. However, you must describe how you will use culturally responsive recruitment strategies in order to reach your health disparity students. In other words, you can use the same strategy for general population students and health disparity students, however, you must explain what is being done differently to accommodate the needs of your health disparity students.
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Questions Sent in Advance
16. Health Disparities: The majority of our student population falls under “students with health disparities,” therefore would we need to propose new services and activities in Sections 5A through 5C, because this would be a repeat of Sections 4A through 4C? Please advise
A: The purpose of providing additional HD targeted services is to close the gaps between HD populations and the general student population. For services that are already provided to the general population of which your HD populations are part of, these services must NOT be repeated in the HD section, unless they are modified to address the unique needs of the locally identified HD populations.
For individual applications, HD populations should be defined locally by utilizing local data. What is identified at the state level with state level data may not precisely reflect local situations. County and district level data can be accessed at the public data dashboard at https://calschls.org/reports-data/public-dashboards/. An applicant would be in the best position to identify which local populations need additional targeted services, on top of the services designed for all. Again, the purpose of HD targeted services is to close gaps between the general population and HD populations.
In addition, we encourage you dig deeper into your data. Perhaps within your disparity population (which comprises the majority of your students), there is a sub-population of students that require extra support. For example, if your disparity population is Hispanic students, perhaps there is a sub-population within this students group such as LGBTQ+ that requires extra support.
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Questions Sent in Advance
17. I have a question about two charter schools. The first is a locally-funded charter school. Would this school qualify to be included in the single agency application or do they need to become tobacco-free certified independently to apply as a charter to be a part of the grant. The second charter school that I am looking into is direct-funded. Same question applies here, would they be able to join the TUPE grant through the county office of education or would they have to apply as an independent charter?
A: For direct-funded charters, they are treated as school districts and thus may join other districts to apply as a consortium or apply independently. Locally funded charters need to join their authorizing LEA to apply.
In terms of tobacco free policy certification, for direct-funded charters since they are treated as school districts, they need to have their own certification. For locally funded charters, if their authorizing agency has a umbrella policy that is implemented in the charter, independent certification may not be necessary.
To check the charter type, you may access the California School Directory at https://www.cde.ca.gov/SchoolDirectory/.
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Questions Sent in Advance
18. What does the MOU process look like for adding a charter? Do we need an MOU from the charter, or does it need to be from the charter and the district they are under?
A: If the charter school is under their authorizing district (i.e., they are locally funded), then an MOU from the district would include the charter school. If the charter is direct-funded then their administrator would need to sign the MOU.
As a reminder, the MOU should be signed in one document by all participating members of the consortium and submitted as a PDF through TUPE GEMS. Electronic signatures are acceptable. Alternatively, the lead agency may collect separate signed MOUs from each participating member of the consortium. If separate MOUs are obtained, only one should be uploaded to TUPE GEMS. The remaining MOUs should be filed locally for auditing purposes. Single LEA applicants do not need to submit an MOU.
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Questions Sent in Advance
19. Will you accept a Letter of Agreement (LoA) that states that a MOU will be signed if funding is awarded, if the LoA clearly describes the roles and responsibilities of the lead agency and consortium members, with respect to service provision and data collection, and affirms that all participating districts agree to the terms of the RFA and agree to implement the services outlined in the application?
A: Yes, this is fine for the application. However, if funding is awarded, you will need to submit the signed MOU to the TUPE Office.
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Questions Sent in Advance
20. I didn't see an actual formula such as an ADA amount in order to determine the amount of funding. It is difficult to get this presented to our admins if they don't have all the data they need in order for the approval of writing this grant. Is there any ballpark number or formula that can be presented to them?
A: Upon receipt of the Intent to Submit forms, the TUPE Office calculated an estimated funding amount for each prospective applicant based on their enrollment and the TUPE Office’s available funding. This information is provided in a spreadsheet that was posted this morning (January 31, 2023) to TUPE GEMS in the “Getting Started” box. Please use this amount to create your budget. The final funding amounts will change based on the number of applications that are awarded.
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Questions Sent in Advance
21. This RFA doesn't reference the specific $54/ADA over the course of the grant as before. Then goes on to talk about the $50,000/year minimum. My question is, say our ADA x $54/student is less than $50,000 per year. But we feel based on our budget that we actually need more than $50,000/year to attain our goals, can we request more than that, such as $55,000 or $60,000/year?
A: Applicants cannot request additional funds. Per the RFA, "The number of grants awarded will depend on the number and quality of applications received, the number of students enrolled in districts and schools applying for funding, and the total amount of funding available." The size of the awards will be based largely on student enrollment in the grades to be served by the program.
22. I need to verify if this grant allows for the indirect rate of 5% or are we allowed to use our LEA approved rate of 7.97%.
A: Please use your LEA-approved rate for 2022–23, which can be found here: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/ic/.
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Questions Sent in Advance
23. I see on the intent to submit/application, you must give enrollment numbers. What is the best way to collect this information? I don’t see in the RFA a cap on the dollar amount awarded. In the November statewide meeting, a slide indicated that the $2 million cap was being reinstated. I’m assuming that is not the case, and CDE will assign on cap on an individual basis?
A. This year, the data of student enrollment is very easy to get, either by county, district or school. It is publicly available on the CDE DataQuest webpage and we are requesting the 2021-22 annual enrollment data. If you have 10 districts, you just need to check their 2021-22 enrollments and add them together. No new data collection is needed at all. For your convenience, the link to DataQuest is at https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/.
As for funding, currently there is no cap but a minimum baseline of $50,000 per year per grantee. The general funding distribution method is "The number of grants awarded will depend on the number and quality of applications received, the number of students enrolled in districts and schools applying for funding, and the total amount of funding available."
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Questions Sent in Advance
24. I understand that the size of the award will be based largely on student enrollment. Last year TUPE GEMS included a calculator which we were to use to determine the size of our budget, which was based on student enrollment. This year, I am not able to locate this calculator. Is this something that we will find once we enter all of our numbers for our student enrollment?
A: The 2023-26 Tier 2 funding awards are not based on a per student allocation. The TUPE Office is taking its available funding and proportionately distributing it based on enrollment, with no award being less than $50,000 per year. As such, the calculator functionality is not necessary in TUPE GEMS. Based on the enrollment numbers entered in the Intent to Submit, the TUPE Office has calculated an estimated funding amount for each prospective applicant based on their enrollment and the TUPE Office’s available funding. This information is provided in a spreadsheet that was posted on January 30, 2023 to TUPE GEMS in the “Getting Started” box. Please use this amount to create your budget. The final funding amounts will change based on the number of applications that are awarded and the enacted State Budget for FY2023 as of July 1, 2023.
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Questions Sent in Advance
25. Can TUPE funds be used to provide incentives for adults? For example, we provide shirts for all trained peer educators (students). Can grant funds be used for shirts for TUPE site coordinators (adults)?
A: For Tier 2 (2023-2026), as identified in the Program Budget Guidance(link below), more precisely on pages 8-9, incentives are for the students/schools only. For staff, you may consider offering stipends for their TUPE work. Resources - Tier 2 2023-2026 (google.com)
26. How much funding is available to fund 2023-2026 Tier 2 grants and, based on the final list of ITS submissions, how many grants are likely to be funded (or not)?
A: The number of grants awarded/funded will depend on the number and quality of applications approved, the number of students enrolled in districts and schools applying for funding, and the total amount of funding available. The available funding will be determined based on the enacted FY23/24 State Budget allocation as of July 1, 2023.
The current estimated funding is approximately $27.8 million dollars for 2023–24.
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Questions Sent in Advance
27. May we use the sequence of lessons from the Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit as our prevention curriculum? In the TUPE grant application, You and Me, Together Vape-Free is the only check box listed in prevention curriculum with Stanford; the application doesn't refer to the prevention curriculum option like they have it written on pg. 7 of the TUPE General Program Guidance Guide, "Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit/You and Me, Together Vape-Free Curriculum"
A: The You and Me, Together Vape-Free is the current prevention curriculum within the larger Stanford Tobacco Prevention Toolkit. As such, you must use You and Me, Together Vape-Free as this is the updated version of Stanford’s tobacco-use prevention curriculum. If you wish for your prevention curriculum to be more comprehensive, you could also add the Smokeless Tobacco 101 Curriculum and the Hookah 101 Curriculum, which are each one session.
28. Are we required to have an evidence based approved curriculum proposed in both middle and high school for our general student population?
A: For whichever grade(s) you provide the prevention curriculum, you must use one of the TUPE-approved curricula. However, providing a prevention curriculum at all grades (or in both middle school and high school) is not required. But keep in mind your program reach. In general, more effective programs will have a greater reach. So while you are not required to provide prevention curriculum in all grades, we encourage you to identify prevention and youth development activities that will reach the greatest number of students in grades 6–12.
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�Helpful Resources
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Tier 2 Grant�Thank You and Good Luck!
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