The US Department of Education has rejected Mansfield ISD’s revised Arabic FLAP grant proposal. As a result, Mansfield ISD has ended all Arabic FLAP grant-related activities and will no longer accept funds related to this grant.

In the spring of 2010, MISD applied for Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grants in Chinese and Arabic, and the district was awarded a 5-year grant for Arabic. As MISD began to implement the grant, concerns were heard from the community. The district then suspended the program in order to seek feedback and further evaluate the program.

Based on feedback from community members on both sides of the issue and with the full support of grant evaluators, MISD amended the grant application and resubmitted the grant in February with changes that better met the expectations of the MISD community. On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, the district received notification from the US Department of Education that the amended grant had been rejected.

From Dr. Bob Morrison, Superintendent

“It is clear to me that MISD and the Department of Education will be unable to agree on the specifics of this grant’s implementation,” said Dr. Bob Morrison, MISD Superintendent. “It is my decision as Superintendent that we accept the Department of Education’s decision without appeal. We appreciate our local community’s patience and honesty as we worked through this process. Thank you for your continued support of our schools.”