A State agency is eligible for assistance under this subpart if such State agency is responsible for providing free public education for children and youth

1. in institutions for neglected or delinquent children and youth;
2. attending community day programs for neglected or delinquent children and youth; or
3. in adult correctional institutions.

And the neglected or delinquent children and youth:

1. are enrolled for at least 15 hours per week in education programs in adult correctional institutions; and
2. are enrolled for at least 20 hours per week:
   1. in education programs in institutions for neglected or delinquent children and youth; or
   2. in community day programs for neglected or delinquent children and youth.

Use of Funds
A State agency shall use funds received under this subpart only for programs and projects that

• are consistent with the State plan under section 1414(a); and
• concentrate on providing participants with the knowledge and skills needed to make a successful transition to secondary school completion, vocational or technical training, further education, or employment.

Such programs and projects

• may include the acquisition of equipment;
• shall be designed to support educational services that:
  • except for institution-wide projects under section 1416, are provided to children and youth identified by the State agency as failing, or most at-risk of failing, to meet the State's challenging academic content standards and student academic achievement standards;
  • supplement and improve the quality of the educational services provided to such children and youth by the State agency; and
  • afford such children and youth an opportunity to meet challenging State academic achievement standards;
• shall be carried out in a manner consistent with section 1120A and part I (as applied to programs and projects under this part); and
• may include the costs of meeting the evaluation requirements of section 9601.

Transition Services
Each State agency shall reserve not less than 15 percent and not more than 30 percent of the amount such agency receives under this subpart for any fiscal year to support:

(1) projects that facilitate the transition of children and youth from State-operated institutions to schools served by local educational agencies; or
(2) the successful reentry of youth offenders, who are age 20 or younger and have received a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, into postsecondary education, or vocational and technical training programs, through strategies designed to expose the youth to, and prepare the youth for, postsecondary education, or vocational and technical training programs, such as:
pre-placement programs that allow adjudicated or incarcerated youth to audit or attend courses on college, university, or community college campuses, or through programs provided in institutional settings;
worksite schools, in which institutions of higher education and private or public employers partner to create programs to help students make a successful transition to postsecondary education and employment; and
essential support services to ensure the success of the youth, such as:
• personal, vocational and technical, and academic, counseling;
• placement services designed to place the youth in a university, college, or junior college program;
• information concerning, and assistance in obtaining, available student financial aid;
• counseling services; and
• job placement services.

Institution-Wide Projects
A State agency that provides free public education for children and youth in an institution for neglected or delinquent children and youth (other than an adult correctional institution) or attending a community-day program for such children and youth may use funds received under this subpart to serve all children in, and upgrade the entire educational effort of, that institution or program if the State agency has developed, and the State educational agency has approved, a comprehensive plan for that institution or program that:

1. provides for a comprehensive assessment of the educational needs of all children and youth in the institution or program serving juveniles;
2. provides for a comprehensive assessment of the educational needs of youth aged 20 and younger in adult facilities who are expected to complete incarceration within a 2-year period;
3. describes the steps the State agency has taken, or will take, to provide all children and youth under age 21 with the opportunity to meet challenging State academic content standards and student academic achievement standards in order to improve the likelihood that the children and youth will complete secondary school, attain a secondary diploma or its recognized equivalent, or find employment after leaving the institution;
4. describes the instructional program, pupil services, and procedures that will be used to meet the needs described in paragraph (1), including, to the extent feasible, the provision of mentors for the children and youth described in paragraph (1);
5. specifically describes how such funds will be used;
6. describes the measures and procedures that will be used to assess student progress;
7. describes how the agency has planned, and will implement and evaluate, the institution-wide or program-wide project in consultation with personnel providing direct instructional services and support services in institutions or community-day programs for neglected or delinquent children and youth, and with personnel from the State educational agency; and
8. includes an assurance that the State agency has provided for appropriate training for teachers and other instructional and administrative personnel to enable such teachers and personnel to carry out the project effectively.

The purpose of this subpart is to support the operation of local educational agency programs that involve collaboration with locally operated correctional facilities:

1. to carry out high quality education programs to prepare children and youth for secondary school completion, training, employment, or further education;
2. to provide activities to facilitate the transition of such children and youth from the correctional program to further education or employment; and
3. to operate programs in local schools for children and youth returning from correctional facilities, and programs which may serve at-risk children and youth.

Use of Funds
Funds provided to local educational agencies under this subpart may be used, as appropriate, for:

1. programs that serve children and youth returning to local schools from correctional facilities, to assist in the transition of such children and youth to the school environment and help them remain in school in order to complete their education;
2. dropout prevention programs which serve at-risk children and youth, including pregnant and parenting teens, children and youth who have come in contact with the juvenile justice system, children and youth at least 1 year behind their expected grade level, migrant youth, immigrant youth, students with limited English proficiency, and gang members;
3. the coordination of health and social services for such individuals if there is a likelihood that the provision of such services, including day care, drug and alcohol counseling, and mental health services, will improve the likelihood such individuals will complete their
4. special programs to meet the unique academic needs of participating children and youth, including vocational and technical education, special education, career counseling, curriculum-based youth entrepreneurship education, and assistance in securing student loans or grants for postsecondary education; and
5. programs providing mentoring and peer mediation.

Transitional and Academic Services
Transitional and supportive programs operated in local educational agencies under this subpart shall be designed primarily to meet the transitional and academic needs of students returning to local educational agencies or alternative education programs from correctional facilities. Services to students at-risk of dropping out of school shall not have a negative impact on meeting the transitional and academic needs of the students returning from correctional facilities.

The State educational agency may:

1. reduce or terminate funding for projects under this subpart if a local educational agency does not show progress in reducing dropout rates for male students and for female students over a 3-year period; and
2. require correctional facilities or institutions for neglected or delinquent children and youth to demonstrate, after receiving assistance under this subpart for 3 years, that there has been an increase in the number of children and youth returning to school, obtaining a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, or obtaining employment after such children and youth are released.

Each State agency or local educational agency that conducts a program under subpart 1 or 2 shall evaluate the program, disaggregating data on participation by gender, race, ethnicity, and age, not less than once every 3 years, to determine the program's impact on the ability of participants:

1. to maintain and improve educational achievement;
2. to accrue school credits that meet State requirements for grade promotion and secondary school graduation;
3. to make the transition to a regular program or other education program operated by a local educational agency;
4. to complete secondary school (or secondary school equivalency requirements) and obtain employment after leaving the correctional facility or institution for neglected or delinquent children and youth; and
5. as appropriate, to participate in postsecondary education and job training programs.

The disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student.

In conducting each evaluation, a State agency or local educational agency shall use multiple and appropriate measures of student progress.

Each State agency and local educational agency shall:

1. submit evaluation results to the State educational agency and the Secretary; and
2. use the results of evaluations under this section to plan and improve subsequent programs for participating children and youth.