[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8166]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: April 6, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

Cooperative Demonstration Program (Correctional Education)

AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities, required activities, selection 
criteria, and Other rquirements for grants to be made in Fiscal Year 
1995.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes priorities for awards to be made in 
fiscal year (FY) 1995 using funds appropriated in FY 1994 under the 
Cooperative Demonstration Program, which is authorized by the Carl D. 
Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (Perkins Act). 
Under the proposed absolute priority, funds under this competition 
would be reserved for applications proposing to demonstrate successful 
cooperation between the private sector and public agencies in 
vocational education programs that serve criminal offenders under the 
supervision of the justice system. In addition, the Secretary intends 
to invite applications that, within the absolute priority of 
correctional education, incorporate one or more of the following 
invitational priorities: (1) Advanced technologies; (2) community-based 
correctional education; and (3) juvenile justice education. The 
Secretary also proposes to impose requirements related to the 
priorities and other matters, and to use new selection criteria in 
evaluating applications submitted for this competition only.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 6, 1994.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be 
addressed to Gail M. Schwartz, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4529, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 
20202-7242.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gail M. Schwartz or Christopher Koch, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 4529, 
Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-7242. Telephone: (202)-205-5621. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Dual Party Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 
a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cooperative Demonstration Program 
provides financial assistance for, among other things, model projects 
that demonstrate successful cooperation between the private sector 
(including employers, consortia of employers, labor organizations, 
building trade councils, and private agencies, organizations, and 
institutions) and public agencies in vocational education (including 
State boards for vocational education, State or local corrections or 
correctional education agencies, or eligible recipients as defined in 
34 CFR 400.4). This program can help further the purposes of the 
National Education Goals. Specifically, the correctional education 
priority directly supports Goal 5, that every adult American will be 
literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete 
in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of 
citizenship.
    The designation of correctional education as a priority under the 
Cooperative Demonstration program is based on the critical problems of 
illiteracy and recidivism pervading our Nation's adult and juvenile 
corrections population. The U.S. Department of Education's National 
Adult Literacy Survey Report, ``Literacy Behind Prison Walls'' 
described a 70 percent illiteracy rate among a sample of prisoners as 
follows:

    About seven in ten prisoners * * * are apt to experience 
difficulty in performing tasks that require them to integrate or 
synthesize information from complex or lengthy texts or to perform 
quantitative tasks that involve two or more sequential operations 
and that require the individual to set up the problem (1993, p.vi).

    Additionally, a recent study, ``Vocational and Academic Indicators 
of Parole Success'' published in the Journal of Correctional Education, 
found that inmates who had received academic and vocational training 
while in prison were more likely to be employed and less likely to 
commit crimes after their release than other inmates (Schumacker, et 
al., 1990).
    Academic and vocational training is also critical for probationers 
and parolees since the majority of the Nation's criminal offenders are 
serving sentences within community corrections settings. There were 
about 4.5 million individuals under correctional supervision in the 
United States by the end of 1991, according to the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics. Of these, 3.3 million, or approximately 73 percent, were 
under active probation or parole supervision within the community.
    Educational programs for criminal offenders that use applied 
learning strategies to teach life skills, job skills, and literacy can 
reduce the likelihood that the offenders will return to the criminal 
justice system. After completing their sentences, ex-offenders often 
have limited opportunities for meaningful employment and lack necessary 
basic life skills, including the job-seeking and job-retention skills 
needed to obtain and maintain employment. Without basic literacy and 
job skills, it is unlikely that these persons will become fully 
productive members of society.
    The Secretary will announce the final priority in a notice in the 
Federal Register. The final priority will be determined by responses to 
this notice, available funds, and other considerations of the 
Department. Funding of particular projects depends on the availability 
of funds, the nature of the final priority, and the quality of the 
applications received. The publication of this proposed priority does 
not preclude the Secretary from proposing additional priorities, nor 
does it limit the Secretary to funding only this priority, subject to 
meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
    The Office of Vocational and Adult Education's Office of 
Correctional Education coordinates programs for criminal offenders with 
other Department of Education offices and other Federal offices, 
including the Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons, 
National Institute of Justice, and Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention. The Office of Correctional Education 
collaborated with these Department of Justice offices in preparing this 
notice.

    Note:  This notice of proposed priorities does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition 
will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or 
following publication of the notice of final priorities.

Priorities

Absolute Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary gives an absolute 
preference to applications that meet the following priority. The 
Secretary will fund under this competition only model projects that 
demonstrate ways in which public agencies in vocational education and 
the private sector can work together effectively to assist vocational 
education students who are criminal offenders under the supervision of 
the justice system to attain the advanced level of skills they need to 
make a successful transition from correctional education programs to 
productive employment including--
    (a) Work experience or apprenticeship programs;
    (b) Transitional worksite job training for vocational education 
students that is related to their occupational goals and closely linked 
to classroom and laboratory instruction provided by an eligible 
recipient;
    (c) Placement services in occupations that the students are 
preparing to enter;
    (d) If practical, projects that will benefit the public, such as 
the rehabilitation of public schools or housing in inner cities or 
economically depressed rural areas; or
    (e) Employment-based learning programs.

Required Activities

    The Secretary requires that any projects funded under this 
competition--
    (a) Coordinate with community agencies that furnish transitional 
supportive services to criminal offenders such as individual and family 
counseling, housing assistance, transportation, and social and cultural 
activities;
    (b) Include a well-designed staff inservice education component to 
ensure the effective implementation of the program;
    (c) Address the special learning needs of offenders;
    (d) Use applied learning strategies to teach life skills, jobs 
skills, and literacy;
    (e) If applicable, provide for a transition from institutional 
environments to community settings;
    (f) Address State and local labor shortages and consult the State 
Occupational Information Coordinating Committee or State Labor Market 
Information Unit in making this determination; and
    (g) Must submit proof of committed partnerships between public 
agencies and the private sector. The definitions of ``private'' and 
``public'' contained in 34 CFR 77.1 do not include entities under the 
supervision or control of the Federal Government; thus, Federal 
entities, including Federal prisons, are not eligible members of the 
partnerships required by 34 CFR 426.4(b).
    This program activity is authorized by section 420A(a)(2) of the 
Perkins Act (Pub. L. 101-392, 104 Stat. 753 (1990)).

Invitational Priorities

    Within the absolute priority specified in this notice, the 
Secretary is particularly interested in applications that meet one or 
more of the following invitational priorities. However, under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(1) an application that meets these invitational priorities 
does not receive competitive or absolute preference over other 
applications:

Invitational Priority 1--Advanced Technologies

    Projects that incorporate the use of interactive instructional 
technologies, such as distance learning, in the context of both student 
training and staff inservice training.

Invitational Priority 2--Community Corrections

    Projects that provide integrated vocational and academic education 
to individuals on probation or parole in community corrections.

Invitational Priority 3--Juvenile Justice Education

    Projects that provide integrated vocational and academic education 
to students in the juvenile justice system. This may include youth 
placed in detention centers, training schools, boot camps, or 
community-based programs.

Definitions

    As used in this notice--
    ``Applied learning'' is actively student-oriented, characterized by 
lively classroom discussions, absorbing group projects, meaningful 
homework assignments, laboratory experiments, live and videotaped 
presentations, and other hands-on activities. The purpose of applied 
learning is to create an environment that actively engages students and 
teachers in a collaborative learning process.
    ``Community corrections'' refers to programs serving probationers 
and parolees.
    ``Life skills'' includes self-development, communication skills, 
job development, and education.
    ``Literacy'' means an individual's ability to read, write, and 
speak in English and compute and solve problems, at levels of 
proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society, to achieve 
one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential.

Criteria for Evaluating Applications

    For the FY 1995 grant competition under the Cooperative 
Demonstration program (Correctional Education) only, the Secretary uses 
the selection criteria and assigned points in 34 CFR 426.21 with the 
exception of 34 CFR 426.21(a) and (b), which are replaced with the 
following:
    (a) Program factors. (25 points) The Secretary reviews the 
application to assess the quality of the proposed project, including 
the extent to which the proposed project will provide--
    (1) Integrated academic and vocational activities that reflect 
current and projected labor market trends and are based upon the 
Secretary of Labor's Commission on Achievement of Necessary Skills 
(SCANS) report recommendations;
    (2) Transition from correctional education programs to productive 
employment including one or more of the following:
    (i) Work experience or apprenticeship projects.
    (ii) Transitional worksite job training for vocational education 
students that is related to their occupational goals and closely linked 
to classroom and laboratory instruction provided by an eligible 
recipient.
    (iii) Placement services in occupations that the students are 
preparing to enter.
    (iv) If practical, projects that will benefit the public, such as 
the rehabilitation of public schools or housing in inner cities or 
economically depressed rural areas.
    (v) Employment-based learning programs.
    (3) Post-sentence transitional services and follow-up assistance;
    (4) Interdisciplinary staff in-service education that includes 
security personnel;
    (5) Inmate assessment that addresses academic, vocational and 
special learning needs;
    (6) Ongoing occupational counseling to assist with the development 
of an individual vocational plan;
    (7) Coordination with community agencies that furnish transitional 
supportive services to criminal offenders such as individual and family 
counseling, housing assistance, transportation, and social and cultural 
activities;
    (8) Coordination with the State Occupational Information 
Coordinating Committee or State Labor Market Information Unit in 
determining State and local labor shortages; and
    (9) Adequate and appropriate involvement and cooperation of the 
public and private sectors in the projects, including--
    (i) A clear identification of the public and private sector 
involvement in the planning of the project;
    (ii) A description of public and private sector involvement in the 
planning of the project including letters of commitment; and
    (iii) A description of public and private sector involvement in the 
operation of the project.
    (b) Educational significance. (10 points) The Secretary reviews 
each application to determine the extent to which the applicant 
proposes--
    (1) Project objectives that contribute to the improvement of 
education for criminal offenders;
    (2) To use unique and innovative techniques to produce benefits 
that address educational problems and needs that are of national 
significance; and
    (3) To base the proposed project on successfully designed, 
established, and operated model vocational education programs that 
include components similar to the components required by this program, 
as evidenced by empirical data that demonstrate impact from those 
programs in factors such as--
    (i) Student performance and achievement;
    (ii) GED completion; and
    (iii) Post-sentence employment or enrollment in education or 
training programs or both.

Other Requirements

Purchase of Equipment

    The projects funded under this competition may expend up to 10 
percent of Federal funds for equipment as defined in 34 CFR 74.132 and 
80.3.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

    This priority contains information collection requirements. As 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, the Department of 
Education will submit a copy of the proposed priority to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for its review. (44 U.S.C. 350(h)).
    This priority would affect the following types of entities eligible 
to apply for a grant under this program: State boards of vocational 
education, State or local corrections or correctional education 
agencies, State or local educational agencies, postsecondary 
educational institutions, institutions of higher education, area 
vocational education schools, intermediate educational agencies, 
community correctional education agencies, other public or private non-
profit agencies, institutions, or organizations, and the private sector 
(including employers, labor organizations, building trade councils, and 
private agencies, organizations, and institutions). The Secretary needs 
and uses the information to determine whether proposed projects are 
likely to meet identified national needs. The annual public reporting 
burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 90 
hours per response for 130 respondents, including the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information.
    Organizations and individuals desiring to submit comments on the 
information collection requirements should direct them to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Room 3002, New Executive 
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Daniel J. Chenok.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order 
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. The objective of the 
Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a 
strengthened federalism by relying on processes developed by State and 
local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    In accordance with the order, this document is intended to provide 
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for 
this program.

Invitation to Comment

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments and 
recommendations regarding these proposed priorities.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
for public inspection, during and after the comment period in 330 C 
Street, SW., room 4529, Mary E. Switzer Building, Washington, DC, 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday of 
each week, except Federal holidays.

APPLICABLE PROGRAM REGULATIONS: 34 CFR parts 400 and 426. Program 
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2420a.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.199D Cooperative 
Demonstration Program)

    Dated: March 30, 1994.
Augusta Souza Kappner,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 94-8166 Filed 4-5-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P