[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31304]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 21, 1994]


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Part IV





Department of Education





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Special Studies Program; Notice of Final Priorities and Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 1995
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Special Studies Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priorities.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces final priorities for the Special 
Studies program. The Secretary may use these priorities in Fiscal Year 
1995 and subsequent years. The Secretary takes this action to focus 
Federal assistance on identified needs to improve outcomes for children 
with disabilities. The final priorities are intended to ensure wide and 
effective use of program funds.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These priorities take effect on January 20, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The name, address, and telephone 
number of the person at the Department to contact for information on 
each specific priority is listed under that priority.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Special Studies Program, authorized by 
section 618 of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (IDEA), as amended, supports studies to evaluate the impact of the 
IDEA, including efforts to provide a free appropriate public education 
and early intervention services to infants, toddlers, children and 
youth with disabilities. The results of these studies must be included 
in the annual report submitted to the Congress by the Department. 
Section 618 also authorizes the Secretary to provide technical 
assistance to participating State agencies in the implementation of the 
study design, analysis, and reporting procedures.
    On August 1, 1994, the Secretary published a notice of proposed 
priorities for this program in the Federal Register (59 FR 39236-
39237).
    These final priorities support the National Education Goals by 
improving understanding of how to enable children and youth with 
disabilities to reach higher levels of academic achievement.
    The publication of these priorities does not preclude the Secretary 
from proposing additional priorities, nor does it limit the Secretary 
to funding only these priorities, subject to meeting applicable 
rulemaking requirements. Funding of particular projects depends on the 
availability of funds, and the quality of the applications received. 
Further, FY 1995 priorities could be affected by enactment of 
legislation reauthorizing these programs.

    Note: This notice of final priorities does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under these 
competitions is published in a separate notice in this issue of the 
Federal Register.

Analysis of Comments and Changes

    In response to the Secretary's invitation in the notice of proposed 
priorities six parties submitted comments. An analysis of the comments 
and of the changes in the proposed priorities follows. Technical and 
other minor changes--as well as suggested changes the Secretary is not 
legally authorized to make under the applicable statutory authority--
are not addressed.

Absolute Priority 1--Center To Support the Achievement of World Class 
Outcomes for Students With Disabilities

    Comment: One commenter suggested that the center be required to 
study formative as well as summative evaluation.
    Discussion: Applicants may or may not agree that formative 
evaluation is a critical topic for the center to address, and it would 
be overly prescriptive for the priority to require that it be studied. 
The priority as written has sufficient latitude to allow applicants to 
include this topic if they feel it is appropriate.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: One commenter suggested that ``World Class'' be dropped 
from the title of the priority.
    Discussion: The expression ``world class'' is commonly used to 
connote high educational standards and outcomes relative to 
international criteria. The Secretary believes this principle is 
important in Goals 2000, and that it is appropriately reflected in the 
title of the priority.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: One commenter suggested that the priority should require 
the center to have the capacity for successful coordination with State 
educational agencies.
    Discussion: The priority as written explicitly requires that the 
center must work directly with States in a number of activities. The 
capacity to coordinate and work with States is therefore an attribute 
upon which applicants will be evaluated during the review process.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: One commenter suggested that the center should address 
questions related to culturally different students with disabilities.
    Discussion: Cultural differences are among a large number of 
factors that are likely to be highly relevant to the center's 
activities. The priority does not attempt to identify all of these 
factors nor to prescribe a focus on any one of them. The center is 
intended to benefit the full range of students with disabilities. 
Applicants may categorize this population and define important factors 
as needed to facilitate the achievement of world class standards.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: One commenter suggested that studies are needed to 
determine the extent to which children with disabilities are included 
or excluded in regular classrooms.
    Discussion: While educational placement is not a central focus in 
the priority, it is one of the factors that may be relevant to the 
center's activities. Applicants may propose to address it as 
appropriate.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: Two commenters suggested that the priority should be 
expanded in a number of ways. One commenter suggested expanding the 
priority in the following ways: (1) require the development of training 
materials on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act 
(ADA), Section 504, and IDEA; (2) place greater emphasis on content 
standards and accommodations, such as assistive technology, 
accessibility, and telecommunications; (3) strengthen the training of 
Regional Resource Centers and other technical assistance providers ``to 
ensure their knowledge and expertise in the application of ADA, Section 
504, IDEA, and best practice assistive technology and other educational 
supports * * *''; (4) add specified elements to activities (b), (c), 
and (d); (5) expand activities (f) and (g) to include classroom 
inclusion, supports, and accommodations; (6) expand activity (h) to 
include direct participation of individuals with disabilities and their 
families; and (7) expand activity (i) to include providing necessary 
assistance to infuse disability related issues into activities. The 
other commenter suggested that the priority be expanded to require that 
the center document intended and unintended consequences of the 
inclusion of students with disabilities in State activities.
    Discussion: The Secretary believes that activities such as those 
suggested by these commenters might be valuable components for the 
proposed center, but a priority that enumerated all of the possible 
valuable components would be excessively long and prescriptive. The 
Secretary prefers that applicants propose activities on the basis of 
the requirements of the priority and an analysis of the approaches most 
likely to achieve the center's purposes.
    Changes: None.

Absolute Priority 2--Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Early 
Intervention Services on Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities

    Comment: One commenter suggested the resources that different 
participants and programs contribute to implementing the components of 
Part H must be measured in order to evaluate the impact of Part H on 
participants and stakeholders. The commenter further indicated that the 
effects of different Part H programs would be very difficult to 
interpret without cost information.
    Discussion: The Secretary believes that the priority as written 
allows applicants to collect cost data as justified or to construct 
cost estimates from service data. The Secretary does not want to 
specify a requirement but prefers to ask applicants to propose the 
research methodology most appropriate to the project.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: Two commenters suggested that the study focus on family, 
as well as child outcomes.
    Discussion: The Secretary agrees that the family-centered nature of 
the Act makes family outcomes of critical importance for the 
longitudinal study.
    Changes: Language has been added to the priority to incorporate 
these suggestions.
    Comment: Two commenters suggested that information be collected on 
State and local administrative structures, because the implementation 
of Part H varies across the Nation. This would allow for an evaluation 
of how State and local variables influence outcomes.
    Discussion: The Secretary believes that the priority as written 
allows applicants to gather data on State and local administrative 
structures as justified. The Secretary does not want to specify such 
variables, but prefers to ask applicants to propose the particular 
research variables most appropriate for evaluation.
    Changes: None.
    Comment: One commenter suggested that the priority must be more 
tied to components of the Federal statute that it is undertaking to 
evaluate. This would allow for an assessment of the impact of 
particular statutory components on outcomes.
    Discussion: The Secretary believes that the priority as written 
allows applicants to organize the study along the lines of the 
components of the Federal statute as justified. The Secretary does not 
wish to be overly prescriptive, and prefers to allow applicants to 
propose the particular organizational structure most appropriate for 
conducting a longitudinal study.
    Changes: None.

Priorities

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary gives an absolute 
preference to applications that meet any one of the following 
priorities. The Secretary will fund under these competitions only 
applications that meet any one of these absolute priorities:

Absolute Priority 1--Center to Support the Achievement of World Class 
Outcomes for Students With Disabilities

    Background: The enactment of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act 
(Pub. L. 103-227, March 31, 1994) will stimulate standards-based 
assessment and reform in schools across the Nation. Most States already 
conduct assessments of student achievement. However, surveys of States 
conducted by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) funded 
National Center for Educational Outcomes (NCEO) have revealed that most 
States exclude large numbers of students with disabilities from 
assessments. Typically, no accommodations have been provided to enable 
students with disabilities to participate. In many States no policies 
or guidelines exist to facilitate or encourage participation of 
students with disabilities. NCEO has also observed that the development 
of national and State content standards often do not explicitly 
consider the needs of student with disabilities.
    The new Federal law requires that students with disabilities be 
included in the Goals 2000 reform efforts. Because so few students with 
disabilities are currently included in assessments, States will need 
considerable assistance to permit these students to participate. States 
will need help developing accommodations for assessments and for 
designing policies to cover the implementation of these accommodations. 
States will also need assistance analyzing and reporting results of 
these assessments. In addition, it is essential to document the 
progress of the States in including students with disabilities in 
assessments and other reform initiatives.
    Priority: The Assistant Secretary establishes an absolute priority 
for a center to assist States in implementing activities to improve 
outcomes for students with disabilities and to assist in the 
implementation of the requirements of Goals 2000 for students with 
disabilities, and to document States' efforts in doing so.
    The Center must--
    (a) Work with Regional Resource Centers (RRCs), other technical 
assistance providers, and directly with States;
    (b) Develop and facilitate the use of appropriate accommodations 
and adaptations of assessments in the States for students with 
disabilities and advance and support the use of outcome related data 
for these students;
    (c) Document the extent to which students with disabilities are 
included in State activities;
    (d) Provide assistance in analyzing and reporting outcome data for 
students with disabilities;
    (e) Work with the Department to develop and report national level 
data on the status of outcomes for students with disabilities and the 
degree to which these students are achieving the National Education 
Goals;
    (f) Synthesize and report on technical advances in the 
accommodation and participation of students with disabilities in State 
activities, especially those related to Goals 2000, and ensure that 
States are assisted in using such advances;
    (g) Work with researchers and developers who are conducting related 
work and facilitate the exchange of information among such projects, 
including projects funded under the priority ``Examining Alternatives 
for Outcome Assessment for Children with Disabilities'', and projects 
funded under Goals 2000 authority;
    (h) Assist States and the Department to ensure that standards-
setting and assessment processes and documents, as well as any other 
Goals 2000 related activities, include the perspectives of the 
disability community; and
    (i) Conduct periodic examinations of the status of standards-
setting activities at the State and national level.
    The center must budget for two trips annually to Washington, D.C., 
for (1) a two-day Research Project Directors' meeting; and (2) another 
meeting, to meet with the project officer of the Office of Special 
Education Programs to plan and review project activities and progress.
    For Further Information Contact: David Malouf, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Switzer Building, Room 3529, 
Washington, D.C. 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-8111. Individuals who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Absolute Priority 2--Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Early 
Intervention Services on Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities

    Background: As Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act moves into full implementation, there is a critical need 
to discern the immediate and long-term effects of this program on 
children, families, and service providers. Although federally mandated 
data collection activities provide some information on the ages of 
infants and toddlers served by the program and on the services received 
and their settings, little is known on a national basis about the 
developmental and behavioral characteristics of children served by the 
program. Moreover, a national systematic evaluation of the impact of 
the Part H program on children, families and other stakeholders within 
the context of child development is clearly lacking.
    PRIORITY: The Assistant Secretary establishes an absolute priority 
for a project to design and conduct a five-year longitudinal study of 
infants and toddlers and their families served under Part H. The 
project must assess the effects of the program over a five-year period, 
and include an evaluation of the Part H program impact on children, 
families, and service providers. The study design must consider the 
interaction of program variables with variables related to childhood 
development. The project must conduct analyses that:
    (1) Compare and evaluate different patterns of child development 
related to long-term outcomes for children and their families;
    (2) Assess the effects of socioeconomic, demographic and health-
related variables on long-term developmental and behavioral 
characteristics of the children;
    (3) Isolate and explain the long-term effects of intervention on 
children and their families;
    (4) Incorporate factors related to medical variables (e.g., 
psychological, physiological, and anatomical structure or function), 
personal functioning variables, and the interaction of the environment 
with these variables that could result in a disadvantage limiting or 
preventing the fulfillment of an age-appropriate role;
    (5) Incorporate family variables, including family background and 
the need for service; and
    (6) Provide information on services, service-providers, and the 
appropriateness of particular service settings.
    The project must budget for three trips annually to Washington, DC, 
for (1) a two-day Research Project Directors' meeting; and (2) an 
additional two meetings, to meet and collaborate with the project 
officer of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and with 
other relevant OSEP funded projects. The project must also coordinate 
activities with the ongoing Policy Research Institute funded by OSEP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Brown, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., Switzer Building, Room 3522, 
Washington, DC 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-8117. Individuals who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
    Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR Part 327.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418.


    Dated: December 15, 1994.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.159, Special 
Studies Program)
Judith E. Heuman,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 94-31304 Filed 12-20-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P