[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]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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