[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5426]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 9, 1994]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part V
Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Job Training Partnership Act: School-to-Work Opportunities; Local
Partnership Implementation Grants; Application Procedures; Notice
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Job Training Partnership Act: School-to-Work Opportunities; Local
Partnership Implementation Grants; Application Procedures
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor. Office of
Vocational and Adult Education, Education.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds and solicitation for grant
applications (SGA).
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SUMMARY: This notice contains all of the necessary information and
forms needed to apply for grant funding. This notice announces the
competition for Local Partnership Grants financed under title IV of the
Job Training Partnership Act, to enable local partnerships to begin
implementation of School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives that will
eventually be a part of a statewide School-to-Work Opportunities
system. These initiatives will offer young Americans access to programs
designed to prepare them for a first job in high-skill, high-wage
careers, and to increase their opportunities for further education.
DATES: Applications for grant awards will be accepted commencing March
9, 1994. The closing date for receipt of applications is May 9, 1994,
at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the address below. Telefacsimile (FAX)
applications will not be honored.
ADDRESSES: Applications shall be mailed to: U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training Administration, Division of Acquisition and
Assistance, Attention: Ms. Laura Cesario, Reference: SGA/DAA 94-007,
200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room S-4203, Washington, DC 20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Laura Cesario, Division of Acquisition and Assistance, telephone:
(202) 219-8702 (this is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Section A. Purpose
The U.S. Departments of Labor and Education are conducting separate
competitions for grants to States that are prepared to implement
statewide School-to-Work Opportunities systems and to local
partnerships that are prepared to implement local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiatives. This notice announces the competition for
Local Partnership Grants. Grants under this competition will be
financed under title IV of the Job Training Partnership Act to enable
local partnerships to begin implementation of School-to-Work
Opportunities initiatives that will eventually be a part of a statewide
School-to-Work Opportunities system.
Multiple awards will be made to local partnerships to implement
local School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives as defined in this
notice. Approximately $10 million to $12 million are available for
awards under this notice. The amount of an award under this competition
will be determined on a case-by-case basis and will depend upon the
scope and quality of the application, the size of the jurisdictions
covered by the local partnership, and the number of projected program
participants. The estimated number of awards under this competition is
expected to be between 15 and 25. The Departments are not bound by the
estimates in this notice.
The Departments intend to conduct subsequent competitions for Local
Partnership Grants, on an annual basis, under the proposed ``School-to-
Work Opportunities Act'' currently pending in Congress.
Section B. Application Process
1. Eligible Applicants
A local entity that meets the definition of ``partnership'' in
Section B (7) of this notice is eligible to apply for a Local
Partnership Grant. An eligible partnership must include employers,
public secondary and postsecondary educational institutions or
agencies, and labor organizations or non-managerial employee
representatives. Other entities appropriate to effective implementation
of the proposed School-to-Work Opportunities initiative may also be
included in the partnership. The partnership must demonstrate that a
sound planning and development base for a School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative has been built and that implementation is ready to begin.
2. Submission of Application
Applicants must submit an original and four (4) copies of the
application. The application shall consist of two (2) separate parts:
Part I shall contain the Standard Form (SF) 424, ``Application for
Federal Assistance,'' and SF 424A, ``Budget'' (Appendix A). All copies
of the 424 Form must have original signatures of the designated fiscal
agent. In addition, the budget shall include--on a separate page(s)--a
detailed cost break-out of each line item on Budget Form 424A.
Assurances and Certifications (Appendix B) shall also be included in
this part.
Part II shall contain the application narrative that demonstrates
the applicant's plan and capabilities in accordance with the Statement
of Work in Section C. No cost data or reference to price shall be
included in this part of the application. In order to assist applicants
in the preparation of their applications and to facilitate the
expeditious evaluation by the panel, applicants should describe their
proposed plan in light of each of the Selection Criteria in Section E
of this notice.
The Departments strongly request that applicants limit the
application narrative to no more than 40 double-spaced pages, on one
side only.
3. Late Applications
Any application received after the exact time specified for receipt
at the office designated in this notice will not be considered, unless
it is received before awards are made and it--
(a) Was sent by registered or certified mail not later than the
fifth calendar day before the date specified for receipt of
applications (e.g., an application submitted in response to a
solicitation requiring receipt of applications by the 20th of the month
must have been mailed/post marked by the 15th of that month); or
(b) Was sent by the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day
Service to addressee not later than 5 p.m. at the place of mailing two
working days prior to the date specified for receipt of applications.
The term ``working days'' excludes weekends and Federal holidays.
The term ``post marked'' means a printed, stamped, or otherwise
placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression)
that is readily identifiable, without further action, as having been
supplied or affixed on the date of mailing by an employee of the U.S.
Postal Service.
4. Hand-Delivered Applications
It is preferred that applications be mailed at least five days
prior to the closing date. To be considered for funding, hand-delivered
applications must be received by 2 p.m., Eastern Time, on the closing
date. Telegraphed and/or faxed applications will not be honored.
Failure to adhere to the above instructions will be a basis for a
determination of nonresponsiveness. Overnight express mail from
carriers other than the U.S. Postal Service will be considered hand-
delivered applications and MUST BE RECEIVED by the above specified date
and time.
5. Period of Performance
The period of performance shall be twelve (12) months from the date
of award by the Department of Labor.
6. Option To Extend
These Local Partnership Grants may be extended at the discretion of
the Government, based upon the availability of funds. Additional funds
may be added if the State in which the local partnership is located has
not begun the second year of a School-to-Work Opportunities State
Implementation Grant.
The amount of Federal funds, if any, that are added to a grant
awarded under this notice will decrease in any subsequent year.
7. Definitions
As used in this notice--
``All aspects of the industry'' includes, with respect to a
particular industry that a student is preparing to enter, planning,
management, finances, technical and production skills, underlying
principles of technology, labor and community issues, health and safety
issues, and environmental issues related to that industry;
``All students'' means students from the broad range of backgrounds
and circumstances, including disadvantaged students, students of
diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, students with
disabilities, students with limited-English proficiency, students who
have dropped out of school, and academically talented students;
``Career major'' means a coherent sequence of courses or field of study
that prepares a student for a first job and that--
(a) Integrates occupational and academic learning, integrates work-
based and school-based learning, and establishes linkages between
secondary and post-secondary education;
(b) Prepares the student for employment in broad occupational
clusters or industry sectors;
(c) Typically includes at least two years of secondary school and
one or two years of postsecondary education;
(d) Results in the award of a high school diploma or its
equivalent, a certificate or diploma recognizing successful completion
of one or two years of postsecondary education (if appropriate), and a
skill certificate; and
(e) May lead to further training, such as entry into a registered
apprenticeship program, or admission into a degree-granting college or
university.
``Employer'' includes both public and private employers;
``Partnership'' means a local entity that is responsible for local
School-to-Work Opportunities programs and that consists of employers,
public secondary and postsecondary educational institutions or
agencies, and labor organizations or non-managerial employee
representatives, and may include other entities, such as non-profit or
community-based organizations, rehabilitation agencies and
organizations, registered apprenticeship agencies, local vocational
education entities, local government agencies, parent organizations and
teacher organizations, Private Industry Councils established under the
Job Training Partnership Act, national trade associations working at
the local levels, proprietary institutions of higher education (as
defined in section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1088(b)) that continue to meet the eligibility and certification
requirements under section 498 of the Higher Education Act of 1965,
vocational student organizations, and Federally recognized Indian
tribes and Alaska Native villages;
``Postsecondary education institution'' means a public or private
nonprofit institution that is authorized within a State to provide a
program of education beyond secondary education, and includes a
community college, a technical college, a postsecondary vocational
institution, or a tribally controlled community college;
``Registered apprenticeship agency'' means either the Bureau of
Apprenticeship and Training in the U.S. Department of Labor or a State
apprenticeship agency recognized and approved by the Bureau of
Apprenticeship and Training as the appropriate body for State
registration or approval of local apprenticeship programs and
agreements for Federal purposes;
``Registered apprenticeship program'' means a program registered by
a registered apprenticeship agency;
``Skill certificate'' means a portable, industry-recognized
credential issued by a School-to-Work Opportunities program under a
statewide School-to-Work Opportunities plan submitted by a State and
approved by the Secretaries of Education and Labor, that certifies that
a student has mastered skills that are benchmarked to high-quality
standards, such as the skill standards envisioned in the proposed Goals
2000: Educate America Act. Until such plan is approved and until such
skill standards are developed under the Act, the term ``skill
certificate'' means a credential certifying that a student has mastered
skills that are benchmarked to high-quality standards, issued under a
process described in a Local Partnership's approved grant;
``State'' means each of the several States, the District of
Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
``Workplace mentor'' means an employee at the workplace, or another
individual approved by the employer, who possesses the skills and
knowledge to be mastered by a student, and who instructs the student,
critiques the student's performance, challenges the student to perform
well, and works in consultation with classroom teachers and the
employer.
Section C. Statement of Work
Part I. Background
The United States is the only industrialized nation that lacks a
comprehensive and coherent system to help its youth acquire the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and information about the labor market
necessary to make an effective transition from school to career-
oriented work. Three-fourths of America's high school students enter
the workforce without four-year college degrees. Many of them do not
possess the basic academic and occupational skills necessary for the
changing workplace or to pursue further education.
In order to create a national framework for high-quality, statewide
school-to-work transition systems that enable young Americans to
identify and navigate paths to productive and progressively more
rewarding roles in the workplace, the Secretaries of Education and
Labor have developed the School-to-Work Opportunities initiative. Under
this initiative, which is based on the Administration's proposed
``School-to-Work Opportunities Act'' currently pending in Congress, the
Departments of Education and Labor are using current legislative
authority in fiscal year 1994 to begin the development and
implementation of statewide School-to-Work Opportunities systems in
every State. In addition, the Departments are conducting the
competition announced in this notice to award grants to local
partnerships to operate local School-to-Work Opportunities programs
that meet the requirements established in the notice.
The overall purpose of the initiative is to support the development
and initial stages of implementation of statewide School-to-Work
Opportunities systems within which local partnerships will apply for
funds to develop local programs. However, through this competition, a
local partnership may apply directly to the Federal Government. These
grants may be renewed on an annual basis until the State in which the
partnership is located is in its second year of a School-to-Work
Opportunities State Implementation Grant. Each State that receives one
of these State Implementation Grants will be required to have a plan
for expanding the State's system over time to cover all geographic
areas in the State, including those with high concentrations of poor
and disadvantaged youth, and will be making direct subgrants to local
partnerships.
It is expected that the States will benefit from the experiences of
the local partnerships and may incorporate successful elements of local
initiatives into their statewide systems. Local and State programs may
be developed by enhancing existing programs such as tech-prep
education, career academies, youth apprenticeship, cooperative
education, school-to-apprenticeship, and business-education compacts.
However, the purpose of funding under the School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative is not simply to augment existing programs, but rather to
build statewide systems that provide opportunities for students to
achieve the benefits and outcomes of the School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative.
Grant Program Schedule
The School-to-Work Opportunities initiative is proceeding on two
funding tracks--(1) during fiscal year 1994, the initiative is being
funded under current legislative authority in the Job Training
Partnership Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied
Technology Education Act; and (2) for fiscal year 1995 and beyond, it
will be funded under the proposed ``School-to-Work Opportunities Act,''
when that legislation is enacted. The funds will be made available
through a grants program administered cooperatively by the Department
of Education and the Department of Labor that consists of--
(a) State Development Grants, awarded to each State for developing
a statewide School-to-Work Opportunities plan;
(b) State Implementation Grants, awarded competitively to States
that can demonstrate substantial ability to begin full-scale operation
and implement the Statewide plan;
(c) Local Partnership Grants, as announced in this notice, awarded
competitively to localities that are prepared to implement School-to-
Work Opportunities initiatives;
(d) High Poverty Grants, awarded competitively to local
partnerships to support the development and implementation of School-
to-Work Opportunities programs in urban and rural areas of high
poverty; and
(e) Grants for Territories and Native American programs, to support
School-to-Work Opportunities programs in the territories and for Indian
youth, respectively.
The competition for Local Partnership Grants will run concurrently
with the State Implementation Grant competition, for which the
application announcement was published in the Federal Register on
February 3, 1994. Thus, both States and local partnerships prepared to
implement School-to-Work Opportunities programs will be eligible for
direct Federal funding, through separate competitions, in the current
program year. The intent of this funding strategy is to allow ``leading
edge'' communities to begin implementation of local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiatives, even if their States are still in the
program development phase. This parallel funding will allow States in
the development phase to learn from innovative local partnerships and
will build incentives for States and localities to work together to
maximize funding within the State.
To permit a smooth transition from Federal to State funding, a
local partnership applying for a grant under this competition should
consult with the State at the earliest possible time. These
consultations will permit local initiatives to be designed so that they
are, or will be, consistent with State plans for a comprehensive
statewide School-to-Work Opportunities system. This is particularly
important because, beginning in the second year that a State receives
as Implementation Grant, the only source of funding for a local
partnership initiative will be through the State.
Since no State has yet received a School-to-Work Opportunities
Implementation Grant, local partnerships in all States are eligible to
apply for Local Partnership Grants this first year. This could result
in a State and one or more of its local partnerships each receiving a
competitive implementation grant award in 1994.
Part II. Program Description
a. Objectives
The School-to-Work Opportunities initiative provides for a
substantial degree of State and local flexibility and experimentation,
but all State systems and individual local programs will share several
common features and basic program components. (Although there may be
certain differences between requirements under the legislation as
eventually enacted and grant requirements under this notice, these
differences are not expected to be fundamental.) A local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative under this competition must include the
following common features and basic program components:
1. The basis of the School-to-Work Opportunities system is--
(a) The integration of work-based learning and school-based
learning, that provides students, to the extent practicable, with broad
instruction in all aspects of the industries students are preparing to
enter;
(b) The integration of occupational and academic learning; and
(c) The linking of secondary and postsecondary education.
2. School-to-Work Opportunities programs will result in students
attaining--
(a) A high school diploma, or its equivalent;
(b) A certificate or diploma recognizing successful completion of
one or two years of postsecondary education, if appropriate; and
(c) A skill certificate.
3. School-to-Work Opportunities programs must incorporate three
basic program components;
(a) Work-Based Learning, that includes--
A planned program of job training and work experiences,
including pre-employment and employment skills to be mastered at
progressively higher levels, that are relevant to a student's career
major and lead to the award of a skill certificate;
Paid work experience;
Workplace mentoring; and
Instruction in general workplace competencies.
(b) School-Based Learning, that includes--
Career awareness and career exploration and counseling
(beginning at the earliest possible age) in order to help students who
may be interested to identify, and select or reconsider, their
interests, goals, and career majors including those options that may
not be traditional for their gender, race, or ethnicity;
Initial selection by interested students of a career major
not later than the beginning of the 11th grade;
A program of study designed to meet the same challenging
academic standards developed by the State for all students including,
where applicable, standards established under the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act, and to meet the requirements necessary for a student to
earn a skill certificate; and
Regularly scheduled evaluations to identify academic
strengths and weaknesses, academic progress, workplace knowledge and
goals of students and the need for additional learning opportunities to
master core academic and vocational skills.
(c) Connecting Activities, that include--
Matching students with employers' work-based learning
opportunities;
Serving as a liaison among the employer, school, teacher,
parent, and student and, if appropriate, other community partners;
Providing technical assistance and services to employers,
including small and medium-sized businesses, and others in designing
work-based learning components and counseling and case management
services, and in training teachers, workplace mentors, and counselors;
Providing assistance to students who have completed the
program in finding an appropriate job, continuing their education, or
entering into an additional training program;
Providing assistance to schools and employers to integrate
school-based and work-based learning and integrate academic and
occupational learning;
Collecting and analyzing information regarding post-
program outcomes of students who participate in the School-to-Work
Opportunities program which may include information on gender, race,
ethnicity, socio-economic background, limited-English proficiency, and
disability; and
Linking youth development activities under the School-to-
Work Opportunities program with employer and industry strategies for
upgrading the skills of their workers.
b. Scope
As noted above in Section B. 1., ``Eligible Applicants,'' a local
partnership must demonstrate that a sound planning and development base
for School-to-Work Opportunities programs has been built and that
implementation is ready to begin. The Departments encourage only
applications for high quality, comprehensive School-to-Work
Opportunities programs that--
1. Will deliver the common features and basic program components
defined above in Part II. a., ``Objectives;''
2. Have the potential to serve significant numbers of students
during the grant period, in accordance with the size and type (i.e.,
urban, suburban, or rural) of the targeted geographic area;
3. Include plans to ensure opportunities for all students to
participate.
4. Show strong evidence of employer involvement.
5. Demonstrate strong potential for achieving the local
partnership's planned goals and outcomes.
c. Examples of allowable activities
Funds awarded to a local partnership that receives a grant under
this competition may be used only for activities undertaken to
implement the local partnership's plan that will provide opportunities
for students to participate successfully in a School-to-Work
Opportunities program. Among the activities that may be conducted with
funds awarded under a Local Partnership Grant are--
1. Recruiting and providing assistance to employers, including
small and medium-sized businesses, to provide the work-based learning
components in the School-to-Work Opportunities program;
2. Establishing consortia of employers to support the School-to-
Work Opportunities program and provide access to jobs related to the
students' career majors;
3. Supporting or establishing intermediaries to perform the
connecting activities described above in Part II. a., ``Objectives''
and to provide assistance to students in obtaining jobs and further
education and training;
4. Designing or adapting school curricula that can be used to
integrate academic and vocational learning, school-based and work-based
learning, and secondary and postsecondary education;
5. Providing training to work-based and school-based staff on new
curricula, student assessments, student guidance, and feedback to the
school regarding student performance;
6. Providing career exploration and awareness services, beginning
at the earliest possible age, including counseling and mentoring
services, college awareness, and other services to prepare students for
the transition from school to work;
7. Establishing in schools participating in a School-to-Work
Opportunities program a graduation assistance program to assist at-
risk, disabled, and low-achieving students in graduating from high
school, enrolling in postsecondary education or training, and finding,
maintaining, or advancing in jobs;
8. Conducting or obtaining an in-depth analysis of the local labor
market and the generic and specific skill needs of employers to
identify high-demand, high-wage careers to target;
9. Integrating work-based and school-based learning into existing
job training programs for youth who have dropped out of school;
10. Establishing or expanding school-to-apprenticeship programs in
cooperation with registered apprenticeship agencies and apprenticeship
sponsors;
11. Assisting participating employers, including small and medium-
sized businesses, to identify and train workplace mentors and to
develop work-based learning components;
12. Designing local strategies to provide adequate planning time
and staff development activities for teachers, school counselors, and
related services personnel;
13. Enhancing linkages between after-school, weekend, and summer
jobs, and opportunities for career exploration and school-based
learning; and
14. Conducting outreach to all students in a manner that most
appropriately meets their needs and the needs of their communities.
Part III. Application Contents
An eligible applicant must submit an application that includes the
following:
a. The State's comments on the application. The local partnership
must submit its application to the State for review and comment before
submitting the application to the Department. Many States have
designated a State School-to-Work Opportunities contact. Applicants
should call the office of their Governor for the name of the School-to-
Work Opportunities contact. The Departments expect that all State
School-to-Work Opportunities team members (i.e., the Governor; the
State educational agency; the State agency officials responsible for
job training and employment, economic development, and postsecondary
education; and other appropriate officials on the State team) will be
provided an opportunity to review and comment on the local
partnership's application. Of particular importance to the Departments
are the State's comments on the consistency of the partnership's
planned activities with the State's plans for a comprehensive statewide
School-to-Work Opportunities system.
The State's comments must be included in the local partnership's
application; however, the local partnership may submit the application
without State comment if proof of receipt by the State office is
provided that the State was given the opportunity to comment, but did
not do so within ten (10) days of receiving the request. A State's
written comments received by the Department after this time will still
be given consideration, if received within ten (10) days of the closing
date for receipt of applications in order to be considered, although
the local partnership will no longer be responsible for the submission
of the State's comments.
b. A description of the composition of the local partnership. The
application must identify the members of the local partnership, which
must include employers, public secondary and postsecondary educational
institutions or agencies, and labor organizations or non-managerial
employee representatives, and may include others appropriate to
effective implementation of the proposed School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative; the respective roles of each member; and how the
partnership is organized to successfully implement the planned local
School-to-Work Opportunities initiative.
c. A description of the geographic area to be covered, which shall,
to the extent feasible, reflect local labor market areas. The
application must describe the relationship of the geographic area to be
covered under the proposed Local Partnership Grant to the local labor
market. It should include information on specific employer needs;
industry and occupational growth projections; and high-demand, high-
wage careers to be targeted. A partnership is encouraged to be
comprehensive in scope and in geographic area and should describe any
collaboration among school districts, employers, labor organizations,
and other entities that are, or will be, a part of the local School-to-
Work initiative in the same labor market area.
d. A plan for implementing a local School-to-Work Opportunities
program. This plan must:
1. Show how the local School-to-Work Opportunities initiative will
include the basic features and program components outlined above in
Part II. a., ``Objectives;''
2. Describe the manner in which the local partnership has obtained
and will continue to obtain the active and continued involvement in
local School-to-Work Opportunities programs of employers and other
interested parties such as locally elected officials, secondary and
postsecondary educational institutions or agencies, business
associations, employees, labor organizations or associations thereof,
teachers, related services personnel, students, parents, community-
based organizations, rehabilitation agencies and organizations,
registered apprenticeship agencies, human service agencies, language
minority communities, Private Industry Councils established under the
Job Training Partnership Act, vocational student organizations, State
or regional cooperative education associations, and local vocational
educational agencies;
3. Describe the manner in which the local partnership will
coordinate with or integrate its School-to-Work Opportunities
program(s) with programs financed from State and private sources and
from funds available from related Federal programs such as the Adult
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Applied Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), Part F of Title IV of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) (authorizing the Job
Opportunity Basic Skills Training Program), the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1400 et seq.), the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1501 et
seq.), the National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.); and the National
and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.);
4. Describe the local partnership's strategy for providing training
for teachers, employers, mentors, counselors, and other parties
involved in the local partnership's initiative;
5. Describe the resources, including private sector resources, the
local partnership intends to employ in maintaining local School-to-Work
Opportunities programs when Federal School-to-Work Opportunities funds,
including Federal funds awarded for State Development Grants and State
Implementation Grants, are no longer available;
6. Describe how the local partnership will ensure effective and
meaningful opportunities for all students, as defined in this notice,
to participate in School-to-Work Opportunities programs;
7. Describe the goals of the local partnership and the methods the
local partnership will use, such as awareness and outreach, to ensure
opportunities for young women to participate in School-to-Work
Opportunities programs in a manner that leads to employment in high-
performance, high-paying jobs, including non-traditional employment;
8. Describe how the local partnership will ensure opportunities for
low-achieving students, students with disabilities, and former students
who have dropped out of school to participate in School-to-Work
Opportunities programs in a manner that leads to employment in high-
performance, high-paying jobs; and
9. Describe the local partnership's process for assessing the
skills and knowledge required in career majors, and awarding skill
certificates that is consistent with the work of the proposed National
Skill Standards Board and the criteria established under the Goals
2000: Educate America Act. (See Appendix C for a summary of Goals 2000:
Educate America Act)
e. A description of the local partnership's plans for integrating
existing school-to-work-related activities with local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiatives planned for implementation under this
announcement. Existing programs and projects related to school-to-work
transition in the geographic area should be briefly described. The
local partnership should describe its long-range plans to integrate
these programs and projects with local School-to-Work Opportunities
initiatives so that all students will be provided an opportunity to
participate successfully in School-to-Work Opportunities systems.
f. A description of the short- and long-term goals and performance
outcomes that the partnership has established and how the partnership
will measure its progress in meeting these goals.
In addition to describing its own goals and outcomes, each local
partnership awarded a grant under this notice must commit to assisting
the Federal Government in the conduct of a national evaluation that
will track and assess the progress and effectiveness of statewide
School-to-Work Opportunities systems and the progress and outcomes of
local programs.
g. A description of the current and planned coordination between
the local partnership's initiative and the State's plans for a
comprehensive statewide School-to-Work Opportunities system.
In order to ensure consistency with the State's developing School-
to-Work Opportunities system, the local partnership should describe any
current or planned coordination activities with expected statewide-
building efforts in such areas as: the development of skill standards
and processes for awarding skill certificates; the establishment of a
State evaluation system; the identification of emerging occupations
appropriate for career majors; the development of new curricula;
strategies for recruiting employers; and plans for providing
professional staff development. Should the State not have a plan for
developing skill standards and awarding skill certificates, the
application should describe the local partnership's investigation and
adaptation of existing industry-recognized standards or existing
processes for awarding industry-recognized certificates to incorporate
the criteria established in the proposed Goals 2000: Educate America
Act.
h. A timeline outlining the specific tasks, with expected
completion dates, that will be undertaken to implement the proposed
plan, enroll significant numbers of students, and achieve the stated
outcomes.
Section D. Safeguards
The Departments apply the following safeguards to School-to-Work
Opportunities programs funded under this competition:
1. No student shall displace any currently employed worker
(including a partial displacement, such as a reduction in the hours of
non-overtime work, wages, or employment benefits).
2. No School-to-Work Opportunities program shall impair existing
contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements, except that
no program under this competition that would be inconsistent with the
terms of a collective bargaining agreement shall be undertaken without
the written concurrence of the labor organization and employer
concerned.
3. No student shall be employed or job opening filled--
a. When any other individual is on temporary layoff from the
participating employer, with the clear possibility of recall, from the
same or any substantially equivalent job; or
b. When the employer has terminated the employment of any regular
employee or otherwise reduced its workforce with the intention of
filling the vacancy so created with a student.
4. Students shall be provided with adequate and safe equipment and
a safe and healthful workplace in conformity with all health, safety,
and labor standards of Federal, State, and local law.
5. Nothing in this notice shall be construed so as to modify or
affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination on the basis
of race, religion, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, or
disability.
6. Funds awarded under this competition shall not be expended for
wages of students.
The grantee shall implement and maintain such other safeguards as
the Departments may deem appropriate in order to ensure that School-to-
Work Opportunities participants are afforded adequate supervision by
skilled adult workers, or, otherwise, to further the purposes of this
program.
An applicant must provide an assurance, in the application, that
the foregoing safeguards will be implemented and maintained throughout
all program activities.
Section E. Selection Criteria
Under the fiscal year 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Local
Partnership Grant competition, a careful evaluation of applications
will be made by a panel of (a) peer reviewers and/or (b) specialists
within the Departments of Labor and Education. Each panelist will
evaluate the applications against the criteria listed below, with
emphasis on the scope and quality of the proposed plan and with careful
consideration to the effectiveness, rather than the presence, of each
program component. The panel results are advisory in nature and not
binding on the Government. Final funding decisions will be made based
on the results of the panel review process and such other factors as:
geographic balance, diversity of programmatic approaches,
replicability, sustainability, and innovation.
The Government will use the following selection criteria in
evaluating applications:
1. Scope and Quality of Local School-to-Work Opportunities
Initiative (25 points) Is there an effective strategy for implementing
a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative that integrates occupational
and academic learning, integrates work-based learning and school-based
learning, establishes linkages between secondary and postsecondary
education, and results in the award of a high school diploma or its
equivalent, a certificate or diploma recognizing successful completion
of one or two years of postsecondary education (if appropriate), and a
skill certificate? Does the application demonstrate an effective
strategy for targeting high-demand, high-wage jobs? How effectively are
the common features and basic program components described in Part
II.a. of the Statement of Work included in the local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative? Have promising existing programs been
considered for adaptation? Have new directions and approaches been
planned to ensure that these programs include the common features and
basic program components? Is there an effective long-range plan for
integrating existing promising school-to-work programs with the
proposed School-to-Work Opportunities initiative?
2. Scope and Effectiveness of Local Partnerships (25 points) Does
the application demonstrate the strong commitment and support of
employers, public secondary and postsecondary educational institutions
or agencies, and labor organizations or non-managerial employee
representatives and provide for their sustained and specific
involvement? Given the scope of the proposed School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative, does the partnership include other members
appropriate to effective implementation? Are the roles and
responsibilities of the members of the partnership appropriate and
likely to produce the desired changes in the way students are prepared
for the future? Does the partnership's plan include an effective and
convincing strategy for obtaining the active and continued involvement
of employers and other interested parties such as locally elected
officials, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions or
agencies, business associations, employees, labor organizations or
associations thereof, teachers, students, parents, community-based
organizations, rehabilitation agencies and organizations, registered
apprenticeship agencies, and local vocational educational agencies in
the implementation of the local program(s)?
3. Student Participation (20 points) Does the plan propose
realistic strategies to ensure that ``all students,'' including young
women, minorities, low-achieving students, students with disabilities,
students with limited-English proficiency, academically talented
students, and former students who have dropped out of school, have
opportunities to participate in School-to-Work Opportunities programs?
Does the strategy recognize barriers to their participation and propose
effective ways of overcoming them so that these students are prepared
for high-skill, high-wage jobs, including--for young women and
minorities--nontraditional employment? Does the plan provide for the
direct delivery of services to significant numbers of students?
4. Comprehensiveness (10 points) To what extent does the
geographical area to be served by the partnership reflect the needs of
the local labor market area? Is the strategy for implementing the
School-to-Work Opportunities initiative likely to produce systemic
change that will have substantial impact on the preparation of youth
for a first job in a high-skill, high-wage career and in increasing
their opportunities for further education? Is there existing or planned
collaboration among other school districts, employers, labor
organizations, and community groups that will lead to an increasingly
comprehensive local School-to-Work Opportunities system?
5. Collaboration with State (10 points) To the extent practicable,
has the partnership effectively consulted with the State in which it is
located and established realistic methods for ensuring consistency of
its program(s) with the statewide School-to-Work Opportunities system
being developed by the State? Has the local partnership developed a
sound strategy for adapting its plans, as necessary, to coincide with
the State plan for a School-to-Work Opportunities system?
6. Management plan (10 points) Does the entity submitting the
application on the part of the partnership have the capacity to manage
the implementation of the local School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative? Does the management plan anticipate barriers to
implementation and include a system for addressing them as they arise?
Does the applicant limit administrative costs in order to maximize the
amounts spent on delivery of services to students enrolled in its
School-to-Work Opportunities programs? Does the plan include methods
for sustaining and expanding the partnership, as the program expands in
scope and size? Is there an effective strategy for identifying and
utilizing other resources, including private sector resources to
maintain and expand School-to-Work Opportunities programs? Does the
management plan reflect continuous improvement methodologies by
building in specific, outcome-based, evaluative checkpoints and the
mechanisms necessary to carry out improvements, redesigns, or mid-
course corrections along the way? Are key personnel under the plan
qualified to perform the required activities, including maintaining the
essential partnership?
Section F. Reporting Requirements/Deliverables
The local partnership will be required to provide the following:
1. Quarterly and Final Reports
Quarterly financial reports as required by the grant award
documents;
Quarterly narrative reports on progress made and problems
encountered in implementing the proposed plan and that indicate, where
relevant, the corrective action(s) proposed to address implementation
problems; and
A final report at year-end on the activities and
accomplishments of the local partnership's School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative.
2. Deliverables
At a minimum, preparing an assessment of accomplishments
and results at program year-end suitable for dissemination to other
local partnerships still in the development phase; and
Acting as a host to outside visitors who are interested in
developing and implementing School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives of
their own and to State visitors interested in the replication and
adaption of successful program elements.
Signed at Washington DC this 3rd day of March 1994.
Doug Ross,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Department of Labor.
Augusta Kappner,
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Department of
Education.
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Appendix C--Goals 2000: Educate America Act
Supporting Systemic Education Reform Nationwide
Overview
Goals 2000 provides resources to States and communities to
develop and implement systemic education reforms aimed at helping all
students reach challenging academic and occupational standards.
Legislative Update
A unique bipartisan consensus among Governors, Members of
Congress, business leaders, and educators has emerged in support of the
systemic education reform reflected in the ``Goals 2000: Educate
America Act.''
On October 13, the House of Representatives voted 307-118
in support of Goals 2000.
On February 8, the Senate voted 71-25 in support of Goals
2000.
It is anticipated the President will sign the bill by late
March.
Components of The ``Goals 2000: Educate America Act''
Title I: National Education Goals
Codifies in law the original six National Education Goals
and adds two new goals related to parental participation and
professional development.
Title II: National Education Reform Leadership, Standards, and
Assessments
Establishes in law the National Education Goals Panel and
adds new responsibilities to build public support for reform and
approve criteria for certifying voluntary national content and student
performance standards and voluntary opportunity-to-learn standards.
Creates a National Education Standards and Improvement
Council (NESIC) to examine and certify national and State content
standards, opportunity-to-learn standards, and assessment systems
submitted on a voluntary basis. The establishment of NESIC was
recommended by a bipartisan task force, the National Council on
Education Standards and Testing, chaired by Governors Roy Romer and
Carroll Campbell.
Provides grants to support the development of voluntary
model opportunity-to-learn standards as well as assessment systems
aligned to State content standards.
Title III: State and Local Education Systemic Improvement
Title III is a State grant program to support, accelerate, and
sustain State and local improvement efforts aimed at helping all
students reach challenging academic standards.
State Planning Panel
The Governor and the Chief State School Officer will
appoint a broad-based panel comprised of policymakers, teachers,
principals, administrators, representatives of business and labor, and
members of the public.
The Governor and the Chief State School Officer will each
appoint half the members of the State panel.
States that already have a broad-based panel in place can
request that the Secretary of Education recognize the existing panel.
Comprehensive Improvement Plan
The State Planning Panel has responsibility for developing
a comprehensive reform plan.
States with reform plans already in place that meet the
Act's requirements will not have to develop new plans for Goals 2000.
The Secretary can approve plans, or portions of plans, already adopted
by the State.
In order to receive funds after the first year, a State
has to have an approved plan or have made substantial progress in
developing it.
A peer review process will be used to review the State
plans and offer guidance to the State Planning Panel. The Department of
Education will also offer other technical assistance and support.
In general, the plans are to address:
Strategies for the development of content standards,
student performance standards, student assessment, and plans of teacher
training.
Strategies for providing all students an opportunity to
learn to challenging academic standards.
Management and governance strategies that promote
accountability for results, flexibility, site-based management, and
other principles of high-performance management.
Strategies to involve parents and the community in helping
all students meet the challenging State standards and for promoting
grass roots, bottom-up involvement in reform.
Strategies for bringing education reform to scale and
ensuring that all local educational agencies and schools in the State
are involved in developing and implementing needed improvements.
Funds will also be available to States to support the development
of a technology plan, which will be coordinated with the overall reform
plan. This plan is to describe how States will use technology to
support systemic reform and the achievement of high standards.
Title IV: National Skill Standards Board
This title creates a National Skill Standards Board to
serve as a catalyst in stimulating the development and adoption of a
voluntary national system of occupational skill standards and
certification that will serve as a cornerstone of the national strategy
to enhance workforce skills. The Board would be responsible for
identifying broad clusters of major occupations in the U.S. and
facilitating the establishment of voluntary partnerships to develop
skill standards for each cluster. The Board would endorse those skill
standards submitted by the partnerships that meet certain statutorily
prescribed criteria.
Timetable and Funding
Congress has appropriated $105 million for Goals 2000 for
fiscal year 1994. First-year funds will be available to the States on
July 1, 1994. The President has asked for $700 million in his 1995
budget proposal for the Department of Education's portions of the Act
and $12 million for the Department of Labor's portion of the Act, which
is the National Skill Standards Board.
For first-year funding, States will be asked to submit an
application that will describe the process by which the State will
develop a school improvement plan and how the SEA will use the funds
received.
In year 1, it remains unclear how much of the funds will
stay at the State level and what will be distributed, through a
competitive process, to local educational agencies. The House-Senate
conference will resolve this.
In succeeding years, either 85 percent or 90 percent of
each State's funds are to be used to make subgrants for the
implementation of the State and local improvement plans and to support
educator preservice and professional development.
LEAs that receive funding must use 75 percent to fund
individual school improvement initiatives. After year one, LEA's must
pass through 85 percent of the funds to schools.
Waivers
SEAs can apply to the Secretary of Education for waivers
of certain programmatic requirements that impede the implementation of
the State or local implementation plans.
The Act will not allow the Secretary to waive civil rights
regulations or requirements in such areas as parental involvement.
The Relationship of Goals 2000 to Other Federal Education Programs
State participation in all aspects of Goals 2000 is
voluntary, and is not a precondition for participation in other Federal
programs.
Goals 2000 is the first step toward making the Federal
Government a supportive partner in State and local systemic reforms
aimed at helping all children reach high standards.
Other new and existing education and training programs
will fit within the Goals 2000 framework of challenging academic and
occupational standards, systemic reform, and flexibility at the State
and local levels. The aim is to promote greater coherence among Federal
programs and between Federal programs and State and local education
reforms.
For example, the pending School-to-Work Opportunities Act
will support State and local efforts to build a school-to-work
transition system that will help youth acquire the knowledge, skills,
abilities and labor market information they need to make a smooth
transition from school to career-oriented work and to further education
and training. Students in these programs will be expected to meet the
same academic standards States establish under Goals 2000 and will earn
portable, industry-recognized skill certificates that are benchmarked
to high quality standards such as the skill standards that will be
established under Goals 2000.
Similarly, the Administration's proposed reauthorization
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) allows
States that have developed standards and assessments under Goals 2000
to use them for ESEA, thereby providing a single set of standards and
assessments for States to use for their reform needs and to meet
Federal requirements.
In the future, the Administration's proposals for the
reauthorization of education programs will also fit within the same
framework of challenging standards and systemic reform.
[FR Doc. 94-5426 Filed 3-8-94; 8:45 am]
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