Announcement of Funding Opportunity
RFP #GC23-015
New York State Smart Scholars Early College High School (SS-ECHS) Program
Grant Application Documents
Application in PDF 
| Application in Word 
Questions and Answers – Posted 11/14/23
Purpose of Grant
To increase high school graduation and postsecondary degree completion rates among historically underrepresented and/or economically disadvantaged students by developing Smart Scholars Early College High School (SS-ECHS) Partnerships in New York State.
Note: Currently funded Smart Scholars Early College High School (SS-ECHS) partnerships may apply to create a new Smart Scholars ECHS project, separate from currently operating projects; however, they may not apply to expand their current projects. Additionally, these funds are not meant to replace any previously awarded Smart Scholars ECHS projects.
Grant Term
March 1, 2024 – August 31, 2028
Project Description
Through the creation of Smart Scholars ECHS Programs consisting of partnerships between public school districts, BOCES, and eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs), historically underrepresented and/or economically disadvantaged students in Grades 9-12 will be provided additional counseling, academic support, and college courses that will be used to both meet the high school graduation/Regents diploma requirements and earn a minimum of 24 and up to 60 transferable college credits or an associate degree at no cost to their families. Ideally, the project will commit to fully implement the NYS SS-ECHS model beginning in 9th grade to assure that all students have a consistent, innovative program, a college-going culture, and that all core faculty can collaborate on SS-ECHS instructional and support services.
Eligible Applicants
Public school districts or BOCES must serve as the applicant/fiscal agent for this grant program. An exception will be made for applications from IHEs that currently serve as lead fiscal agent in an existing Smart Scholars ECHS partnership; those IHEs may serve as the applicant/fiscal agent for new projects proposed under this RFP, in which case they must be named on the cover page as the applicant (i.e., Research Foundation may be designated as fiscal agent but is not allowed to be named the lead applicant).
To implement this grant program, the public school districts (or BOCES) must also be partnered in a formal agreement (MOU) with one or more institutions of higher education (IHEs). Applications that do not include an MOU signed by all required partners will not be considered for funding. Letters of support will not be accepted in lieu of a required partner’s signature on the MOU.
If the lead applicant is a BOCES, at least one Target District served by the BOCES must join the partnership and sign the MOU. Additionally, more than 50% of the students who enroll in the consortium program must be from Target District(s). Please see Section VI. Applicant and Partner Qualifications below for additional information.
IHEs must be public (SUNY/CUNY), private, or independent degree-granting colleges and universities whose programs are registered with the New York State Education Department (NYSED).
Note: For-profit institutions of higher education are not eligible to serve as a higher education (IHE) partner. Additionally, either the public school district, BOCES, or IHE partner may serve as the lead implementation partner for this grant program.
Amount of Funding
Estimated Funds Available: $22,500,000 over the grant cycle (March 1, 2024 – August 31, 2028), contingent on availability of funds after the Planning Period. The planning period is defined by the amount of time needed from the time of award notification and the time a project begins implementation of the SS-ECHS program on September 1, 2024. Regardless of the amount of planning time needed, all programs must meet the pre-launch criteria set forth by the New York State Education Department (e.g., see Section XVI. Required Reports; Accountability Section).
Sub-contracting
Subcontracting will be limited to twenty-five percent (25%) of the annual contract budget. Subcontracting is defined as non-employee direct personal services and related incidental expenses, including travel; it does not include service contracts between members of the partnership. Services provided by collaborators, such as community-based organizations (CBOs) and local businesses, will be subject to the 25% limitation. This limit applies to subcontracting carried out by the applicant and members of the partnership. It is the responsibility of the applicant/fiscal agent to ensure that the aggregate total subcontracting carried out by the applicant/fiscal agent and the partners does not exceed the 25% subcontracting limit.
The fiscal agent/ applicant must provide at least 50% of direct program services.
*Partners include but are not limited to IHEs, BOCES, and LEAs
Mandatory Application Requirement
Applications that do not include an MOU signed by the Chief Official – or their designee – of all required partners will not be considered for funding.
Non-Mandatory Notice of Intent
The Notice of Intent (NOI) is not a requirement for submitting a complete application by the application date; however, NYSED strongly encourages all prospective applicants to submit an NOI to ensure a timely and thorough review and rating process. A non-profit applicant’s NOI will also help to facilitate timely review of their prequalification materials. The notice of intent is a simple email notice stating your organization’s (use the legal name) intent to submit an application for this grant. Please also include your organization’s NYS Vendor ID. The due date is November 20, 2023. Please send the NOI to ECHSRFP@nysed.gov.
Pre- qualification Requirement
The State of New York has implemented a statewide prequalification process (described on the New York State Grants Management website) designed to facilitate prompt contracting for not-for-profit vendors. All not-for-profit vendors are required to prequalify prior to grant application. This includes all currently funded not-for-profit institutions that have already received an award and are in the middle of the program cycle. The prequalification must be completed by all not-for-profit institutions prior to application in order to receive an award under this RFP. Please review the additional information regarding this requirement in the Prequalification for Individual Applications section below (beginning on page 33).
Application Deadline
Submit one (1) original and two (2) paper copies (both the narrative application and the budget/budget narrative, and M/WBE documents) as well as one electronic copy of the complete application on flash drive to the following address:
New York State Education Department
Attention: NYS ECHS RFP
Office of Postsecondary Access, Support, and Success
89 Washington Ave., Rm. EBA 971
Albany, New York 12234
Applications must be postmarked by December 5, 2023.
Planning Phase
March 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024
Implementation Period
September 1, 2024– August 31, 2028
Questions and Answers
Questions and Answers – Posted 11/14/23
State Education Department Contacts
Program: Adrienne Day, ECHSRFP@nysed.gov
Fiscal: Thomas McBride, ECHSRFP@nysed.gov
MWBE: Brian Hackett, ECHSRFP@nysed.gov
Grant Application Documents
Application in PDF | Application in Word
Questions and Answers – Posted 11/14/23