[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2816-2817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-604]



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Part II





Department of Education





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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education



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34 CFR Part 201



Migrant Education Program Services; Funding Formula; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 11, 1995 / 
Proposed Rules  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

34 CFR Part 201


Implementation of the Funding Formula Under Part C of Title I of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposal; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and 
Secondary Education (Assistant Secretary) proposes a method for 
implementing section 1303(e)(3) of Title I of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Improving America's 
Schools Act (IASA), under which provision of Migrant Education Program 
(MEP) services during intersession periods would be factored into 
calculations of State MEP allocations for fiscal year (FY) 1995.
    The Assistant Secretary also solicits comments on how, given the 
end of the Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS), the 
Department should obtain information on the estimated number of 
migratory children residing in each State, as is required under section 
1303(e) of ESEA, in order to make MEP allocations for FY 1996 and 
beyond.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 10, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments sent by mail should be addressed to James English, 
Program Analyst, Office of Migrant Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., Portals Building, Room 4100, 
Washington, DC 20202-6135. The Internet address for comments is James--
E[email protected]. The FAX number is 202-205-0089.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James English, Office of Migrant 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Portals Building, Room 4100, Washington, DC 20202-6135. Telephone: 
(202) 260-1394. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    State allocations under the MEP are based on a formula that uses 
State per-pupil expenditures and counts of the number of eligible 
migratory children residing in each State full- and part-time. Until 
enactment of the IASA, the Department determined the number of eligible 
migratory children residing in each State on the basis of information 
from the MSRTS on the full-time-equivalent (FTE) number of migratory 
children in each State during the prior calendar year. The MSRTS will 
go out of existence on June 30, 1995. Calendar year 1994 will be the 
last year for which FTE counts of eligible migratory children will be 
available from the MSRTS. Thereafter, the Department will have no 
single source of information from the prior calendar year that can be 
used for purposes of determining MEP allocations for FY 1996 and 
beyond.
    Section 1303(e)(3) of Title I of the ESEA, as amended by the IASA, 
now requires the Department to adjust the number of migratory children 
residing in each State full- and part-time to take into consideration 
the needs of students participating in, and the costs of programs 
operating during, both summer and intersession periods.

(Note: The Department defines intersession periods as those periods 
of time when a year-round school is not in session.)

Prior law only required the Department to make an adjustment on the 
basis of programs that operated during the summer, which the Department 
had defined as May 15 through August 31. The Department does not, at 
present, have information to make adjustments in the MEP formula based 
on MEP projects that operate during intersession periods. Moreover, the 
Department will be able to implement this provision as part of the 
allocation formula for FY 1995 MEP funds only if an acceptable source 
of information can be found.
    The Department is proposing a method for implementing section 
1303(e)(3) for FY 1995, and is requesting public comment on the 
proposal and the availability of information to implement it (See Issue 
1). With regard to changes in allocating funds beginning with FY 1996 
that stem from the end of the MSRTS, the Department is requesting 
public comment on a number of approaches that appear to be available 
(See Issue 2).

Issue 1: Adjusting the FY 1995 MEP State Formula Allocation for 
Children Participating in Programs Operated During Intersession Periods

    Subsection 1303(e)(3) of the ESEA provides for implementation of an 
intersession period adjustment for FY 1995 MEP awards. However, while 
the MSRTS can provide the Department with FTE data on the overall 
number ofeligible migratory children residing in each State and the 
number of those served by the MEP in summer periods (and this data can 
be adjusted to reflect the 36-month eligibility period required by 
section 1309(a) of Title I, as amended) for purposes of FY 1995 MEP 
allocations, neither MSRTS nor the Department has similar data relating 
to intersession periods.
    The Department believes that an accurate intersession period 
adjustment to the FY 1995 MEP allocations can only be made using 
information on migratory student participation in intersession periods 
that is comparable to data that the MSRTS provides on counts of 
migratory children served in regular-term and summer programs during 
calendar year 1994. Thus, to make an adjustment of FY 1995 MEP 
allocations for intersession period participation, the Department will 
need data for each State on the FTE number of migratory children served 
by MEP projects, in calendar year 1994, in those intersession periods 
that occur outside the period, from May 15 to August 31, 1994, for 
which a summer adjustment is already being made. Additionally, these 
FTE counts will need to reflect only those migratory children who are 
eligible based on the 36-month eligibility period required by section 
1309(a) of Title I, as amended.
    The Department invites comments from the public, especially SEA 
staff, as to the availability of these data and any other options for 
adjusting the FY 1995 MEP allocation accurately to reflect 
participation by migratory children in intersession period MEP 
programs.

Issue 2: Collection of Migratory Childcount Data for FY 1996 and 
Thereafter, Given the End of the MSRTS

    While FTE data from calendar year 1994 (including the summer 
adjustment) will be available to the Department in order to make the FY 
1995 MEP allocations, the pending end of the MSRTS in 1995 requires the 
Department and States receiving MEP funds to utilize a new procedure to 
allocate MEP funds appropriated for FY 1996 and later.

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    The Department believes that any future procedure for determining 
State MEP allocations should be simple and cost-efficient. Possible 
approaches include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
     States could report standard data--either at several 
points in the year, annually, or perhaps once every few years--on an 
unduplicated count of eligible migratory children identified as 
residing in the State during a given year. These data could be 
collected and reviewed (subject to audit) for accuracy relatively 
easily by counting the children listed as eligible on the Certificates 
of Eligibility (COEs) that the State and its operating agencies will 
continue to use to document eligibility. (The COE is a legal document, 
completed by an individual authorized by the State to recruit for the 
MEP, which contains information explaining the basis on which a 
particular child has been determined to be a migratory child.) States 
would have to make sure that a child listed on COEs maintained by two 
different local agencies is counted only once for the regular year (or 
period)--to ensure that an unduplicated count is reported. Similarly, 
unique counts of children present during the summer or intersession 
periods could also be compiled by the States based on COEs (or other 
data on participants maintained by the State or its subgrantees).
     The Department could continue to use the calendar year 
1994 FTE data from MSRTS to make allocations in FY 1996 and, perhaps, 
for subsequent years. Using 1994 data for making allocations in more 
than one fiscal year would be cost-effective and would require less 
burden on State and local agencies than collecting and reporting 
participation data annually. Other Federal programs, such as Title I, 
Part A, always have used data collected in one year to allocate funds 
in more than one subsequent fiscal year.
     States might report, annually or periodically, an 
unduplicated count of migratory children served in Title I, Part C 
programs during the regular school term, and in summer or intersession 
periods in a prior year. These data would be similar to those the 
States now submit for MEP participation reports.
     The Department could commission periodic national surveys 
of the population of migratory children in sufficient detail to yield 
estimates of the number of these children who reside in each State.
    The Assistant Secretary invites comments on the above approaches, 
as well as recommendations (with justifications) for other possible 
options.

Invitation to Comment

    The Department solicits the views of interested parties, 
particularly parents of migratory students, and those State and local 
administrators and teachers who serve migratory children under the MEP. 
The Assistant Secretary requests that each commenter identify his or 
her role in education and the perspective from which he or she views 
the educational system--either as a representative of an association, 
agency, or school (public or private), or as an individual teacher, 
parent or public citizen. The Assistant Secretary urges each commenter 
to be specific regarding his or her recommendations.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
for public inspection during and after the comment period in room 4100 
Portals Building, 1250 Maryland Ave., SW., Washington, DC, between the 
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week, 
except Federal holidays.

(Program Authority: Section 1303(e) of Title I of the ESEA, as 
amended.)
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.011, Migratory 
Education Basic State Formula Grant Program)

    Dated: January 3, 1995.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 95-604 Filed 1-10-95; 8:45 am]
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