An LEA is eligible for financial assistance under section 8003(b)(1)(F) if the Secretary determines that the LEA meets all of the following requirements—

(a)(1) The LEA is eligible for a basic support payment under section 8003(b), including meeting the maintenance of effort requirements in section 8003(g) of the Act;

(2) The LEA timely applies for assistance under section 8003(b)(1)(F) and meets all other requirements of subparts A and C;

(3) The LEA is meeting the tax rate requirement in § 222.68(c) and the other applicable requirements of §§ 222.68 through 222.72; and

(4) The LEA is not in a State that takes the LEA's payment under section 8003(b)(1)(F) into account in an equalization program that qualifies under section 8009 of the Act.

(b)(1) As part of its section 8003 application, the LEA indicates in writing that it wishes to apply for an “unusual geographic” payment and it will provide the Secretary with documentation upon request that demonstrates that the LEA is unable to provide a level of education equivalent to that provided by its generally comparable LEAs because—

(i) The applicant's current expenditures are affected by unusual geographic factors; and

(ii) As a result, those current expenditures are not reasonably comparable to the current expenditures of its generally comparable LEAs.

(2) The LEA's documentation must include—

(i) A specific description of the unusual geographic factors on which the applicant is basing its request for compensation under this section and objective data demonstrating that the applicant is more severely affected by the factors than any other LEA in its State;

(ii) Objective data demonstrating the specific ways in which the unusual geographic factors affect the applicant's current expenditures so that they are not reasonably comparable to the current expenditures of its generally comparable LEAs;

(iii) Objective data demonstrating the specific ways in which the unusual geographic factors prevent the applicant from providing a level of education equivalent to that provided by its generally comparable LEAs; and

(iv) Any other information that the Secretary may require to make an eligibility determination under this section.