Washington’s Community and Technical Colleges
FAQ on IEL/Civics Funding
Overview
Effective July 1 , 2016 the funds that we knew as EL Civics funds are WIOA Section 243 funds and can only be
used in combination with Integrated Education and Training as defined in WIOA Section 203(11):
Integrated Education and Training.—The term integrated education and training means a service approach that
provides adult education and training concurrently and contextually with workforce preparation activities and
workforce training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster for the purpose of educational and career
advancement.
All providers will need to ensure IEL/Civics funds are used only for the activities described above. That may
mean some providers will choose to not continue their IEL/Civics (past EL Civics) grant and only request
funding under their Master Grant in their extension application.
Q&A
1. Are students who have exited out of ESL Level 6 or count as ABE due to math placement eligible to be
served with IEL/Civics funds? In addition, must students be co-enrolled in at least one ESL course to be
eligible to be served with IEL/Civics funds?
The guidance from OCTAE is as follows:

WIOA’s stated goal for IEL is to:
(c) Goal.--Each program that receives funding under this section shall be designed to-(1) prepare adults who are English language learners for, and place such adults in, unsubsidized
employment in in-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency;
and
(2) integrate with the local workforce development system and its functions to carry out the
activities of the program.

WIOA’s definition for English language learner says:
(7) English language learner.--The term ``English language learner'' when used with respect to an
eligible individual, means an eligible individual who has limited ability in reading, writing, speaking, or
comprehending the English language, and—
(A) whose native language is a language other than English; or
(B) who lives in a family or community environment where a language other than English is
the dominant language.
The logical next question is what is limited? I presume that if by your assessments or [documented]
judgement, the student is still limited in reading, writing, speaking, or comprehending English (Note: it
does not appear that math scores affect eligibility) and meets the criteria for either A or B above, the
student should be eligible to participate in IEL.
The answer to the second question is essentially the same. It all hinges on the eligibility criteria
described in the law.
Please be advised that this is my interpretation of the statute and does not include any reference to the
regulations which are still being finalized. It’s entirely possible that once the regulations are final, these items
may have been clarified differently than I have here. If so, please be prepared to make adjustments.
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With this guidance from OCTAE, as long as a program is able to provide evidence that the student meets
either A or B above, the student should be eligible.
2. Can we fund On-Ramps to I-BEST with IEL/Civics dollars?

Professional technical on-ramps can be funded if all basic skills instruction is contextualized
to a specific career or career cluster (e.g., health-care, manufacturing, etc.) and aligned to
College and Career Readiness Standards (CCR)

Academic I-BEST on-ramps are fund-able if all courses in the on ramp are contextualized to
a specific career or career cluster/meta major (e.g., business, elementary ed., etc.) and aligned
to CCR Standards.
3. Are on-ramps funded with IEL/Civics funds required to be I-BESTed?

No, programs funded with IEL/Civics are only required to have all instruction contextualized to a
specific career or career cluster and aligned to CCR Standards. Of course the I-BEST model is
encouraged.
4. Do IEL/Civics funded on-ramps have to lead into I-BEST programs?

No. Again the I-BEST model is encouraged but not required, but all on-ramps must lead to a
certificate or degree program.
5. Can we fund faculty salaries with IEL/Civics dollars?

Yes, as long as the class meets the WIOA federal requirements for IEL/Civics and integrated
education. If the class is not made up of 100% IEL/Civics eligible students, funding for salaries
must be pro-rated. In a mixed class, salaries would be prorated based on the percent
IEL/Civics eligible students vs. non-IEL/Civics eligible students.
6. Can a short work certificate in Food handlers, taught in a contextualized ELA classroom, count for IEL/
Civics? Would it need to be team-taught like I-BEST?

The food handler’s certification would have to be tied to advancement of incumbent workers
in a specific career pathway (perhaps an I-BEST at Work on-ramp) or to a specific career or
career cluster leading to a certificate or degree or employment in a living wage pathway.

No, it does not need to be team taught.
7. Can we fund curriculum development?

Yes, as long as the curriculum supports the IEL/Civics program requirements and aligns with
the College and Career Readiness Standards.
8. Can we fund a navigator position?

Yes, if the position works with IEL/Civics students only. If the navigator position serves other
students besides those who are IEL/Civics eligible, then salary would be required to be
prorated.
9. Can programs use IEL/Civics funding for a part of an adjunct’s salary when she is teaching an I-BEST
overlap if the I-BEST option is also available to ABE students?

Yes. If it is proportionate to the ratio of IEL/Civics students in the class.
10. Can match for IEL/Civics come from other activities that do not follow the IEL/Civics program
requirements?

Yes.
11. With the new legislation will there be a “reset” button on the MOE requirement?
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
No, resetting MOE will not be an option. Programs will be required to meet their overall MOE
from the previous year. However, under WIOA amounts may shift between the master grant
and the IEL/Civics grant to reflect changes in programming. (This focus on reporting overall
MOE won’t be official until the information collection is approved by OMB. It is fully
anticipated that it will be approved.)
12. Does the “IEL/Civics Coordinator” position have to include connecting students to I-BEST, or could a
CBO running on-ramps hire a coordinator paid for with IEL/Civics funds?

An IEL/Civics-funded coordinator can work only with IEL/Civics eligible students. IEL/Civics
coordinators/navigators can provide navigation to on-ramp programming as long as the onramps are articulated to certificate and degree-granting programs. They do not need to be IBESTed programs.
13. For I-BEST at Work, would a CBO be able to develop curriculum specific to an employer’s needs and
charge the employer for that development, and then use IEL/Civics funds for the instruction portion?

A: Yes, the employer can pay you to develop curriculum that is based on College and Career
Readiness Standards (CCRS). You would want to pay for instruction out of IEL/Civics funds so
that you could collect FTE and SAI points on the students.
14. Do on-ramps have to serve levels 1-3 or can they serve higher levels?

On-ramps can serve any level ESL.
15. Can a navigator (or completion coach) support ELA/ESL students who are enrolled in
professional/technical programs that are not I-BEST tracked?

Yes, as long as those professional/technical programs lead to a degree or certificate.
16. Can up to 5% of the IEL Civics grant go toward admin if admin is directly related to IEL Civics
programming?

Yes.
17. Can IEL/Civics money be used to hold orientations and appraisal/pre-testing for potential students
going into and on ramp or other approved IEL/Civic activity? If not all students that are screened end
up being a good fit for the class, does that mean we need to use a different funding source?

As long as the intent and focus of the orientation and assessment is to serve programming that
counts under IEL/Civics funding guidelines, the answer is yes, IEL/Civics funds can be used.
18. Can we use IEL/Civics funds to purchase computers for student usage?

As long as the computers support integrated, contextualized instruction aligned with CCR
Standards that meet the IEL/Civics program requirement and is part of a specific career
pathway in which a student could get a degree or certificate. Computers would have to be
used only by IEL/Civic eligible students and evidence of this provided in an audit situation.
19. Can we pay faculty release time from instructional costs?

Yes. You can pay release time for faculty to develop programming that supports integrated,
contextualized instruction aligned with CCR Standards that meet the IEL/Civics program
requirement and is part of a specific career pathway in which a students could get a degree or
certificate. The work would have to be done outside of the faculty’s regularly scheduled
contracted time.
20. Can funding be used to pay for instruction in I-DEA?

No, because instruction is not contextualized to a specific college or career pathway.
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