1. Eligible Applicants: (a) An LEA;(b) An SEA;(c) The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE);(d) A consortium of SEAs or LEAs;(e) A nonprofit organization; and(f) An LEA, an SEA, the BIE, or a consortium described in clause (d), in partnership with—(1) A nonprofit (as defined in this notice) organization;(2) A business;(3) An educational service agency; or(4) An IHE.To qualify as a rural applicant under the EIR program, an applicant must meet both of the following requirements:(a) The applicant is—(1) An LEA with an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary;(2) A consortium of such LEAs;(3) An educational service agency or a nonprofit organization in partnership with such an LEA; or(4) A grantee described in clause (1) or (2) in partnership with an SEA; and (b) A majority of the schools to be served by the program are designated with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, or a combination of such codes, as determined by the Secretary.Note: An applicant that is a nonprofit organization may, under 34 CFR 75.51, demonstrate its nonprofit status by providing: (1) proof that the Internal Revenue Service currently recognizes the applicant as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a statement from a State taxing body or the State attorney general certifying that the organization is a nonprofit organization operating within the State and that no part of its net earnings may lawfully benefit any private shareholder or individual; (3) a certified copy of the applicant’s certificate of incorporation or similar document if it clearly establishes the nonprofit status of the applicant; or (4) any item described above if that item applies to a State or national parent organization, together with a statement by the State or parent organization that the applicant is a local nonprofit affiliate. In addition, with respect to IHEs and their affiliates, the following entities may apply for a grant under this competition: (1) As noted above, any IHE that is a partner in an application submitted by an LEA, SEA, BIE, consortium of SEAs or LEAs, or a nonprofit organization; (2) A private IHE that is a nonprofit organization; (3) A nonprofit organization, such as a development foundation, that is affiliated with a public IHE; and (4) A public IHE with 501(c)(3) status. A public IHE without 501(c)(3) status (even if that entity is tax exempt under Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code or any other State or Federal provision), or that could not provide any other documentation of nonprofit status described above, however, would not qualify as a nonprofit organization, and therefore would not be eligible to apply for and receive an EIR grant.

Dr. Sonji Jones-Manson U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-5900 Telephone: 202-987-1753 Email: eir@ed.gov