Guidelines for Developing a Title III Consortium

If a district’s Title III allocation is less than $10,000, it must either join a consortium or refuse the funds. Districts must develop a Memorandum of Agreement (Doc needs to updated/made accessible) to enter into a Title III Multilingual Learners (MLs) consortium.  The fiscal agent of the consortium is responsible for ensuring that consortium members fulfill their fiscal and programmatic responsibilities as subgrantees under Title III MLs.

  1. On the Electronic Web-Enabled Grant Sytem (EWEG) main menu, select Consortium Administration. 
  2. Select the Applicant Consortium tab. 
  3. Select the Program and the Year. 
  4. Select participants from the list of available districts on the left and select Add” to enter them in the participant participant box on the right. 
  5. Scroll to the bottom and select “Save. 
  6. Repeat the steps for any additional titles. 
  7. Notify the participants that the consortium is set up. 

  1. On the EWEG main menu, select Consortium Administration. 
  2. Select the Participant Consortium tab. 
  3. Select Confirm next to each title. 
  4. Scroll to the bottom and select Save. 

  1. On the EWEG main menu, select Consortium Administration. 
  2. Select the Applicant Consortium tab. 
  3. Select the Program and the Year.” 
  4. Select Submit. 
  5. Repeat for any additional titles. 

After OGM approves the consortium, the funds from the participant district’s applications transfer to the lead district’s application. The Lead Applicant enters all program and budget information on behalf of the participants. 

Important Notes:

  1. Applicants and participants should wait to submit their consolidated Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) application until the consortium is approved and the funds have transferred into or out of their applications. 
  2. Participants should not refuse funds for titles in which they are contributing funds to a consortium. 
  3. Participants should not enter any information into the program or budget sections of their application for titles in which they have contributed funds to a consortium. 

Email the EWEG Help Desk at eweghelp@doe.nj.gov for assistance with setting up a consortium. 

Email the Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) Unit Office Education at ML@doe.nj.gov for assistance with consortium program/accountability requirements. 

If your school district offers an ESL or Bilingual program, there is a good chance your district receives Title III MLs and/or Title III Immigrant funds.  While there are allowable costs that may be funded by Title III and Title III Immigrant, this money cannot be used for the core program that is mandated by the New Jersey Bilingual Education Code, or to supplant costs for which a district has in the past funded with local funds.  For example, if a particular activity in the past year was paid with non-federal funds, the same activity the following year cannot be paid with federal funds.

More information and guidance on how school districts can serve MLs with federal funding is provided in the Title III Immigrant Federal Funding Resource.