Full-Service Community Schools Program (FSCS)

What’s New?

Fiscal Year 2022 FSCS Grantees:

The Department announced the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grantees on January 18, 2023.  The 42 new grants provide local educational agencies, non-profits, and institutions of higher education across the country with $63 million in funding for community schools in more than twenty states. This 2022 grant competition received the largest number of applications in the history of the program, demonstrating the enormous need for and interest in advancing a continuum of coordinated support to address students’ social, emotional and mental health.  Information on the new grantees can be found on the FSCS Awards Page.

White House Toolkit on Federal Resources to Support Community Schools:

On January 18, 2023, the White House released a fact sheet and toolkit to help community school advocates, coordinators, and directors, as well as other community stakeholders, identify funding sources and grant programs that can be used to support community schools and meet the unique needs of their communities.  The toolkit lists relevant grant programs by federal agency and explains how those grants can be used to provide student services at community schools.

Purpose of FSCS Program

The Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program provides support for the planning, implementation, and operation of full-service community schools that improve the coordination, integration, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children and families, particularly for children attending high-poverty schools, including high-poverty rural schools.  The FSCS program was re-authorized under Title IV through Community Support for School Success, sections 4621-4623 and 4625 (a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA).

Types of Projects

FSCS provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, students’ family members, and community members that will result in improved educational outcomes for children. These services may include:

• high-quality early learning programs and service;
• accelerated learning aligned with academic supports and other enrichment activities, providing students with a comprehensive academic program;
• family engagement, including parental involvement, parent leadership, family literacy, and parent education programs;
• mentoring and other youth development programs;
• community service and service learning opportunities;
• programs that provide assistance to students who have been chronically absent, truant, suspended, or expelled;
• job training and career counseling services;
• nutrition services and physical activities;
• primary health and dental care;
• activities that improve access to and use of social service programs and programs that promote family financial stability; mental health services; and
• adult education, including instruction of adults in English as a second language.