Current through Vol. 42, No. 4, November 1, 2024
Section 780:35-1-2 - Adult Education and Family Literacy(a) Programs, services and activities funded in accordance with uses specified in this Act are designed to expand or improve the quality of adult education programs, including priority programs for eligible individuals.(b) Adult education programs governed by the Act shall make every effort to provide free classes to students. Adult education programs may charge necessary and reasonable fees for consumable materials and work-based classes. Adult education programs that wish to implement fees must develop a fee policy that has been approved by the adult education program's local governing board. The fee policy must be reasonable and may not restrict access to services.(c) The Act permits local adult education programs to generate income. The purpose of income is not to make a profit, but rather to expand services. Income and donations received must be reinvested in the adult education program. Any income must be accounted for in records and reported to the state Adult Education and Family Literacy office for National Reporting System Financial Reports.(d) Adult education programs governed by the Act must follow the state adult education Assessment Policy per federal guidelines.(e) For each year covered by the plan, the fiscal effort per student from nonfederal sources available for expenditure by the state for adult education, during the second preceding fiscal year must not be less than the fiscal effort per student from nonfederal sources during the third preceding fiscal year to meet the maintenance of effort requirement.(f) Teachers of adult education and family literacy activities located in the adult education programs funded by the state under the Act, shall have a valid Oklahoma Teacher's Certificate or a minimum of a Master's degree. Directors of adult education located in the adult learning centers shall have a valid Oklahoma Teacher's Certificate or a minimum of a Master's degree. Prior to employing a Teacher or Director who does not meet the above criteria, the Adult Education Program must seek written approval from the ODCTE.(g) For fiscal control, the obligation basis of accounting is used.Expenditures will be supported by copies of paid claims and invoices and will be audited following accepted auditing procedures.(h) Federal funds for adult education programs operating under a grant extension will be allocated according to, the funding formula described in Oklahoma's AEFLA State Plan.(i) State funds for adult education programs operating under a grant extension will be allocated according to the funding formula described in Oklahoma's AEFLA State Plan.(j) The ODCTE and the adult education programs participating in the plan shall enter into cooperative arrangements, when feasible and appropriate, with such entities as other state agencies, community-based organizations, community action agencies, career technology schools, churches, businesses, etc. in order to carry out the general purpose of the Act.(k) The adult education programs will expend 95% of the funding for adult education activities and 5% can be used for administrative costs.However, if the administrative cost limits would be insufficient for adequate planning and administration of the program, the ODCTE may negotiate with the local grant recipient in order to determine an adequate level of funds to be used for noninstructional purposes. Negotiated administrative cost limits are indicated in the Adult Education and Family Literacy State Plan/State Plan Amendments.(l) The ODCTE will provide direct and equitable access to and will review grant proposal applications during open grant competition. The adult education program will demonstrate that the thirteen considerations outlined in Section 231 of the Act are being met in order to be considered for a grant award. The adult education program must assure that the services are coordinated with and are not duplicated services under other Federal, State and local programs. The comments of the adult education program and responses thereto shall be attached to the application when it is forwarded to the state.(m) Federal funds for new grantees shall be allocated on the basis of an application, budget, and census data. State funds will be matched on the ratio specified by the Act's regulations in existence for the current fiscal program year.(n) The ODCTE will monitor grant recipients based on federal and state requirements.(o) Adult education programs will follow all requirements set forth in the ODCTE Adult Education State Plan, State Plan Amendments, and AEFL handbook.(p) Adult education programs will meet the state performance measures of pre-and post-assessing 60% of their students and increasing the average number of student contact hours each fiscal year.(q) Adult education programs will use the ODCTE-approved management system to document student enrollment, attendance, measurable skill gains, and other information as required by the National Reporting System (NRS). At a minimum, programswill update data monthly.Okla. Admin. Code § 780:35-1-2
Transferred from 210:10-9-2 by SB 1661 (2014), eff 7-1-14 (see Editor's Note at beginning of this Chapter)Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 33, Issue 24, September 1, 2016, eff. 9/11/2016Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 34, Issue 24, September 1, 2017, eff. 9/11/2017Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 38, Issue 24, September 1, 2021, eff. 9/11/2021Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 39, Issue 24, September 1, 2022, eff. 9/11/2022Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 21, July 15, 2024, eff. 7/25/2024