[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3306-3311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-868]



      

[[Page 3305]]

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Part II





Department of Education





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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education



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Consolidated State Plans Under Section 14302 of Title I of the 
Improving America's Schools Act; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 1995 / 
Notices    
[[Page 3306]]

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education


Consolidated State Plans Under Section 14302 of Title I of the 
Improving America's Schools Act

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed criteria and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education proposes criteria for optional 
State consolidated plans submitted under section 14302 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as recently 
reauthorized by the Improving America's Schools Act, Pub. L. 103-382 
(IASA). Submitting a consolidated plan will allow a State to obtain 
funds under many Federal programs through a single plan, rather than 
through separate and detailed program funding plans or applications. 
The consolidated plan would explain how all of the resources of Federal 
programs included in the plan would work together to promote the 
State's educational goals for all students while effectively meeting 
the needs of the programs' intended beneficiaries. To receive fiscal 
year (FY) 1995 program funds, a State educational agency (SEA) would 
need only to describe how it would develop its final plan over the 
following year, and to submit basic information needed to ensure fiscal 
accountability.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 13, 
1995.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Thomas W. Payzant, 
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. 
Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20202-6100. The Internet address for submitting comments is: 
[email protected]. The fax number is (202) 205-0303.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Wooten, Office of Elementary 
and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20202-6100. Telephone: (202) 260-1922. The 
Internet address is: [email protected]. The fax number is 
(202) 205-0303. 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: Section 14302 of the ESEA, as reauthorized 
by Title I of the IASA, permits the Secretary to establish criteria 
under which any SEA may obtain certain Federal program funds through a 
single consolidated plan rather than through separate funding 
applications or plans. As explained in section 14301, this consolidated 
plan would enhance cross-program coordination, planning and service 
delivery, and the integration of Federal program services with services 
offered by States and localities as keys to increased student 
achievement.
    So that the development and use of consolidated plans can achieve 
their maximum potential, the Secretary proposes to offer States a two-
phase process for completing their consolidated plans: (1) Submission 
in the spring of 1995 of a relatively simple preliminary plan, followed 
by (2) the State's development and submission the next year of a final 
consolidated plan. This final plan would focus specifically on how the 
Federal programs included in the plan, while still serving their 
intended beneficiaries, would support State goals and education reform 
strategies. In developing its consolidated plan, a State is encouraged 
to consider the relationship of this plan to the State's overall reform 
efforts, including efforts under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act or 
the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. A State also is encouraged to 
consider what waivers it may need to carry out its reforms effectively. 
Finally, each State is encouraged to consider how its local educational 
agencies (LEAs) and schools can tap the full potential of consolidated 
plans at the local level through the authority offered to them under 
section 14305 of the ESEA.
    These provisions for development of consolidated State plans--
particularly when coupled with the Secretary's new waiver authority, 
contained in section 14401 of the ESEA (as well as in the Goals 2000 
and School-to-Work statutes) and other provisions of the IASA that 
offer new opportunities for flexibility--also enable the Department to 
refocus its administration of programs in ways that can better assist a 
State in meeting its education goals and objectives. Indeed, the 
information contained in a consolidated plan may help to clarify why an 
SEA or LEA needs a waiver of certain program requirements in order to 
improve student achievement. The Department will soon issue separate 
guidance describing the process for obtaining waivers of programmatic 
requirements under section 14401.
    Development of a consolidated State plan, either in preliminary or 
final form, is voluntary. It is the State's decision whether to submit 
a consolidated plan, which of the eligible programs to include in it if 
one is submitted, and whether to add to a final consolidated plan 
programs that were not included in a preliminary plan. Moreover, an SEA 
that submits a preliminary plan for FY 1995 could choose to forgo 
development of the final consolidated plan during the following year, 
and instead submit individual program plans or applications. Likewise, 
an SEA that chooses for FY 1995 to submit individual program plans or 
applications could, in any subsequent fiscal year, submit a final 
consolidated plan.
    Approval of a consolidated plan, whether in preliminary or final 
form, permits the Secretary to award funds under the programs included 
in the plan. Approval of a consolidated plan also eliminates the need 
for an SEA, under those included programs, to submit separate program 
applications or develop separate program planning documents that 
otherwise would be required by the program statutes. Moreover, approval 
of a consolidated plan establishes a different context for any 
Departmental review of an SEA's administration of the included 
programs.
    The Secretary stresses that approval of a consolidated plan does 
not alter the obligation of an SEA and its grantees to continue to 
comply with all requirements of each program, including those that 
would have been described in plan or application descriptions or 
assurances under the statute. (See further discussion and examples 
under ``Assurances'' to be submitted as part of the first-year 
(preliminary) consolidated plan.) In addition, while an SEA that meets 
the conditions of section 14201 of the ESEA may consolidate 
administrative funds under specified programs, approval of a 
consolidated State plan does not authorize commingling of program 
funds. However, the Secretary is authorized to waive certain program 
requirements under waiver provisions contained in the IASA, the Goals 
2000: Educate America Act, and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.
    The remainder of this notice identifies the programs that might be 
included in a consolidated plan, and proposed questions that a State 
might address in both the preliminary and final consolidated plans. 
Appendix A to this document contains the Department's preliminary 
guidance on the consolidated plan; this guidance was provided to 
members of the public who attended a Federal program conference 
[[Page 3307]] in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 2, 1994. Subject to 
review of the comments received on this proposal, the Secretary plans 
to announce final criteria for consolidated State plans in February, 
1995.

Programs That a State May Include in a Consolidated Plan

    Section 14302 permits an SEA to include any of the following State-
administered programs in its consolidated State plan:
    (1) Title I, Part A of the ESEA (LEA Program).
    (2) Title I, Part B of the ESEA (Even Start Program).
    (3) Title I, Part C of the ESEA (Migrant Education).
    (4) Title I, Part D of the ESEA (Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk 
Children).
    (5) Title II of the ESEA (State and local programs) (Professional 
Development).
    (6) Title III, Part A, subpart 2 of the ESEA (Technology for 
Education).
    (7) Title IV, Part A (other than the Governor's Programs in section 
4114) of the ESEA (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities).
    (8) Title VI of the ESEA (Innovative Education Program Strategies 
(formerly Chapter 2)).
    (9) State leadership programs under Title II of the Carl D. Perkins 
Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (Perkins Act).
    (10) Programs under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
    (11) Programs under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.
    In addition, under section 14302(a)(2)(F) of the ESEA, the 
Secretary proposes to designate the following additional programs that 
a State may include in a consolidated plan:
    (12) Subtitle B of Title VII of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless 
Assistance Act (the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program) 
(enacted in Title III, Part B of the IASA).
    (13) All other State formula grant programs under the Perkins Act.
    The Secretary is considering whether to designate Title VII, Part C 
of the ESEA (the Emergency Immigrant Education Program) for possible 
inclusion in the consolidated State plan, but is not proposing to do so 
at this time in view of the significant relationship of this program to 
other Federal initiatives for addressing immigration-related issues.
    Certain programs that the statute specifically identifies for 
possible inclusion in a consolidated State plan, such as the Technology 
for Education program in Title III, Part A, subpart 2 of the ESEA, are 
competitive, rather than formula, grant programs. These competitive 
programs (and others that the Secretary later may designate) can 
promote innovation in specific aspects of a State's reform effort, and 
so can play an important role in a consolidated State plan for the 
overall use of Federal program funds. On the other hand, competitive 
grant programs present special challenges for consolidated plans; not 
only must their applications be reviewed against competitive selection 
criteria and processed on a longer time-line than is needed for formula 
grant programs, but the programs often fund projects with a National 
purpose. Until these competing principles can be better resolved, the 
Secretary proposes that an SEA that includes a competitive grant 
program in its consolidated State plan still will need to meet the 
application content, selection criteria, and closing dates established 
for that program.
    As stated in the ``Invitation to Comment'' section of this notice, 
the public is invited to suggest other grant programs, both formula and 
discretionary, that should be available for inclusion in a consolidated 
State plan, and how that plan can best accommodate these other 
programs.

The Preliminary (First-Year) Consolidated Plan Descriptions

    The preliminary consolidated plan for FY 1995 program funds would 
identify the Federal programs that the plan covers, and address the 
following three areas with respect to the programs included in it:

1. Goals or Objectives

    What are the goals and objectives that the SEA hopes to achieve 
through the development and use of a consolidated program plan, and how 
do they relate to the needs of the intended beneficiaries of programs 
included in the plan? In answering these questions, include:
     Ways in which consolidated plans for use of Federal 
program funds are already being developed and used, and the impediments 
to success that are now most evident.

2. Process for Developing the Final Consolidated Plan

    What process and timelines will the SEA use during the following 
year to develop its final consolidated plan? Include the State's 
strategies for--
     Coordinating the planning for the use of Federal program 
funds with the State's overall education reform efforts (including 
planning under Goals 2000 and School-to-Work for participating States).
     Bringing together all key individuals--Governors, State 
program officials, LEA and school administrators, teachers, adult 
education administrators, parents, and others who can play a key role 
in coordinating and integrating each program included in the plan with 
State and locally funded activities--in the development and review of 
the final consolidated State plan.

3. Fiscal Accountability

    To ensure fiscal accountability and the availability of information 
that the Secretary needs to distribute program funds, provide for each 
included program, where applicable--
     The amount of funds provided under each program that will 
be used to carry out State-level activities (whether or not those 
activities are performed by the SEA), and a general description of how 
these funds will be used.
     The procedures and criteria that the SEA will use to 
distribute program funds within the State where the program statute 
provides no in-State funding formula. (Programs that the Secretary thus 
far has identified as having no statutory in-State funding formula are 
the following: Even Start, Migrant Education, Neglected, Delinquent, or 
At-Risk Children (the local agency program in Part D, Subpart 2), Safe 
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities, Innovative Education, McKinney 
Homeless Assistance, and the Perkins Act, Title III.)
     The amount of funds, if any, provided under each program 
that the State would consolidate for State administration under section 
14201 of the ESEA, along with a statement confirming that the SEA has 
determined that a majority of its resources come from non-Federal 
sources.
Assurances
    In addition, an SEA also would provide in its preliminary plan a 
set of assurances that include the following:
     Those required by section 14306 of the ESEA, which are 
repeated in Appendix B.
     A general assurance that, unless and until these 
requirements are waived, the SEA and its subgrantees will continue to 
comply with all operational requirements of each program, including 
those that the program statute may express in terms of application or 
plan descriptions or assurances.
    Example 1: An SEA includes the Migrant Education Program (MEP) 
(Title I, Part C of the ESEA) in its preliminary 
[[Page 3308]] consolidated plan. The SEA does not need to submit a 
State application, or any of the descriptions described in section 1304 
of Title I, Part C. It also does not need to prepare the separate 
comprehensive service-delivery plan, as otherwise required for the MEP 
under section 1306(a) of the ESEA; that MEP plan is not required 
because it is addressed within the consolidated State plan. However, 
the SEA's receipt of MEP funds under an approved, preliminary 
consolidated plan still would require the SEA to develop and carry out 
activities for migratory children as identified in the comprehensive 
plan requirements of section 1306(a).
    Example 2: An SEA includes the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities program (Title IV, Part A, of the ESEA) in its preliminary 
consolidated plan. The SEA does not need to submit the State 
application under section 4112 of Title IV, Part A, or any of the 
application descriptions, such as the description contained in section 
4112(b)(4) of how the SEA will coordinate its program activities with 
the Governor's drug and violence prevention programs funded under 
section 4114, and prevention efforts of other State agencies. However, 
the SEA's receipt of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program 
funds under an approved, preliminary consolidated plan still would 
require the SEA to meet all applicable program requirements, including 
coordinating its program with relevant programs and activities of the 
Governor and other State agencies.
    Example 3: An SEA includes the Title I, Part A (ESEA) program in 
its preliminary consolidated plan. The SEA does not need to submit the 
State plan, or any of the State plan descriptions described in section 
1111 of Title I, Part A.
    However, the SEA's receipt of Title I, Part A program funds under 
an approved, preliminary consolidated plan still would require the SEA 
to carry out all of the requirements contained in section 1111 with 
regard to standards and assessments and other provisions to support 
teaching and learning.
    The Secretary is considering whether the final instructions for the 
preliminary consolidated plan should include a list, program-by-
program, of all application and plan descriptions and assurances that 
the SEA's general assurance would cover in the absence of a waiver.
Relationship to the Goals 2000 and School-to-Work Initiatives
    The Goals 2000 statute provides States and communities with an 
opportunity to strengthen and broaden their education reform efforts by 
developing comprehensive plans to enable all children to learn to 
challenging academic standards. The School-to-Work Opportunities 
initiative may also play a significant role in a State's education 
reform efforts by helping to establish transition systems for youth 
that integrate challenging academic content with high quality work-
based learning experience leading to postsecondary education and 
career-oriented entry into the workforce. A State's participation in 
these initiatives is voluntary, as it is with all Federal programs. 
States that choose to participate in Goals 2000 and School-to-Work are 
encouraged to integrate their development of consolidated State plans 
under section 14302 of the ESEA with their Goals 2000 and School-to-
Work plans and activities. However, since these initiatives are 
designed as possible frameworks for the use of local, State and Federal 
resources to support a State's overall education reform strategy, the 
Secretary is not proposing that submission of a consolidated State 
plan, in either preliminary or final form, would alter application or 
planning requirements under Goals 2000 or School-to-Work.
The Final (Second-Year) Consolidated State Plan
    The final consolidated plan will provide an opportunity for SEAs to 
consider how the resources of those Federal programs included in the 
plan can be used directly to support their States' overall improvement 
strategies. The following proposal for the content of this final plan 
reflects the Department's current thinking on what issues and questions 
a State might address in a final, second-year plan. After reviewing 
comment on this notice, the Department intends to continue 
collaboration with the public on modifications that may be needed, as 
well as on the formulation of additional examples that can better 
illustrate how States might address the questions presented.
Possible Issues To Be Addressed in a Final (Second-Year) Consolidated 
Plan
    1. What is the SEA's vision (including specific goals) for 
improving its educational system throughout the State? How do these 
goals relate directly to raising student academic achievement, geared 
to challenging academic standards, of all children who benefit from 
Federal programs included in the consolidated plan? In answering these 
questions, the State must address the following:
     How the State will meet the standards and assessment 
requirements of Title 1, Part A, section 1111(b) of the ESEA to ensure 
the use of challenging academic content standards and high-quality 
assessments aligned with the standards.
     What goals and performance indicators will the State 
establish to determine the effectiveness of programs included in the 
plan (e.g., improved professional development based upon realigned 
teacher certification requirements under the Eisenhower Professional 
Development program (Title II, Part B of the ESEA), or additional 
performance indicators for safe and drug-free schools under the Safe 
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program (Title IV, Part A of the 
ESEA).
    2. How will the Federal resources of those programs support, on the 
basis of identified needs, State and local efforts to reach the State's 
specific goals and enable intended program beneficiaries to reach the 
challenging academic standards established in the State? (The Secretary 
recognizes that, given varying SEA responsibilities for the programs 
that a State might include in its consolidated plan, not all of the 
issues raised by this question may be equally relevant to individual 
programs.)
    Example 1: If a State determines that one of its goals to improve 
education is increasing the percentage of youth who complete high 
school, the State might describe how Federal program funds fit into 
State efforts to reach that goal.
    Example 2: If the State has established overall goals for 
professional development, it should describe how it will use resources 
(not limited to Title II, ESEA) to reach these goals.
    In answering Question 2, a State should consider addressing such 
critical areas as the following:
     How the needs of children served by the program are 
identified.
     The most significant barriers to more effective use of 
Federal funds, and how the State and individual programs will work 
together to overcome these barriers.
     Any waivers of Federal statutes or regulations the State 
may need to support its consolidated plan.
     How program administrators in the State will maintain the 
kind of communication and coordination needed to draw effectively on 
all Federal resources as outlined in the plan.
     How program administrators throughout the State will make 
the strategies outlined in the consolidated plan part of their daily 
work. [[Page 3309]] 
     If a State chooses to consolidate its use of State 
administration funds (under section 14201 of the ESEA), how the 
consolidation of these funds relates to the consolidated State plan 
under section 14302.
     Any critical timelines and benchmarks that will guide 
related and ongoing activities.
    3. How will the State enable interested local educational agencies, 
in accordance with section 14305 of the ESEA, to develop their own 
consolidated plans for the use of Federal funds, and help to develop 
the capacity of LEAs and schools to use all of their funds to support 
high academic achievement for all intended program beneficiaries?
    4. For an individual school whose activities are supported with 
Federal funds, how can the needs of its students be better met through 
implementation of the consolidated plan? The answer to this question 
might illustrate how a State's thinking about the usefulness of a 
consolidated plan is rooted in the daily activities of schools and 
students.
    An SEA also would provide an update on any significant changes in 
the procedures for distribution of funds, as well as in the amounts and 
general uses of funds reserved for administrative and State-level 
activities, from those described in the preliminary consolidated plan.
Review of Consolidated Plans
    The Secretary proposes that the State's preliminary consolidated 
plan be approved without peer review, but is strongly considering using 
a peer review process that involves the assistance and advice of State 
officials, and others with relevant expertise, for approving the final 
State consolidated plan.
Public Participation Requirements
    Section 14303(7) of the ESEA requires, as one of the SEA's general 
assurances, that ``before the [consolidated plan] was submitted to the 
Secretary, the State has afforded a reasonable opportunity for public 
comment on the plan * * * and has considered such comment.'' (This 
assurance applies both to consolidated State plans under section 14302 
and to all individual State plans or applications submitted under 
individual programs.)
Invitation to Comment
    The Secretary invites comments from all interested members of the 
public on this proposal for the content of the consolidated State plan. 
The Secretary is particularly interested in receiving comments on 
whether--
     There are additional grant programs, either formula or 
discretionary, that the Secretary should consider designating for 
possible inclusion in a consolidated State plan, and how that plan can 
best accommodate these programs.
     The proposed contents of the preliminary (first-year) 
consolidated plan are reasonable and whether they need to be modified 
or clarified.
     The issues proposed to be addressed in the final, (second-
year) consolidated plan are clearly expressed and properly formulated, 
and what additional examples, if any, should be included to clarify the 
kind of information that the State would need to provide.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
for public inspection, during and after the comment period, in room 
4000, Portals Building, 1250 Maryland Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20202.

    Dated: January 6, 1995.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

Appendix A--Department of Education Preliminary Guidance Document: The 
IASA Consolidated Plan (December 1, 1994)

    (Note: This document was distributed to those who attended the 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education/Office of Bilingual 
Education and Minority Languages Affairs conference in Baltimore, 
Maryland, on December 2, 1994. It is intended to provide useful 
background information.)

A New Approach

     The recently enacted Improving America's Schools Act 
(IASA) stresses, in a variety of ways, the need to rethink how 
Federal, State and local education programs can fit together into a 
unified system that focuses on one principal goal: Enabling all 
students to achieve to challenging standards. The Act reinforces the 
Federal government's limited supporting role in this effort. At the 
same time, it encourages the Secretary of Education to remove 
barriers to State and local efforts to meet student educational 
needs. Indeed, the IASA permits the Secretary to take steps to 
ensure that the way in which the Department administers its programs 
is itself a part of, rather than a hindrance to, educational reform.
     The IASA authorizes the Secretary to waive statutes or 
regulations that impede efforts to increase the quality of student 
instruction or improve student academic performance. It also permits 
the Secretary to eliminate the need for States to submit to the 
Department a myriad of different program funding applications. 
Instead, the IASA authorizes submission of a single consolidated 
plan that, for the programs that it covers, focuses on cross-program 
coordination, integration of services and improved service delivery 
as keys to student achievement. This authority extends to State 
formula grant programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
(ESEA),\1\ as well as to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the 
School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and State leadership programs 
under the Perkins Vocational Education Act.

    \1\The ESEA was reauthorized in Title I of the Improving 
America's Schools Act.
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     To make educational reform truly comprehensive, its 
reach must extend beyond challenging content standards and new 
teaching methods to the very way in which we administer our many 
programs. A consolidated plan can become a driving force for 
thinking about how all Federal, State and local activities might 
work together in a common and coherent effort. Indeed, this 
consolidated plan, when used along with other means of promoting 
State systemic reform under the IASA, Goals 2000 and the School-to-
Work Act, can go a long way toward helping all of us change the way 
in which we do business, so that student academic achievement, 
rather than individual program administration, truly is the focus of 
our work.

The Department's Strategy

    General Approach to Consolidated Planning. The new authority 
that the IASA gives to the Secretary to approve a consolidated 
program plan offers an unprecedented opportunity to tap the full 
potential of Federal programs. This authority can convert the 
current program-by-program application process into a process for 
renewed thinking about how these programs collectively can fit 
together, notwithstanding their distinct purposes and different 
beneficiaries, to increase the quality of student instruction and 
the level of student academic performance.\2\ A truly consolidated 
application--one that is more than a repackaged compilation of even 
the best individual program applications--can reflect the kind of 
broad, creative planning effort that is needed to complement other 
educational reform efforts and strategies.

    \2\Congress expressed the purpose of consolidating existing 
program applications into a single plan in section 14301 of the 
ESEA: ``To improve teaching and learning by encouraging greater 
cross-program coordination, planning, and service delivery under 
this Act and enhanced integration of programs under this Act with 
educational activities carried out with State and local funds.''
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    The Department is working hard to develop criteria for a State's 
consolidated plan that can help State and local officials, teachers 
and other school staff, and parents begin to take advantage of the 
opportunities that a consolidated plan presents. Because the law was 
only recently passed, because the issues are complex, and because 
extensive collaboration with stakeholders is required, any decisions 
thus far are preliminary. However, knowing the substantial interest 
that the prospect of a consolidated plan has generated, and the 
reality that State planning under the IASA already has begun, the 
Department wants to offer whatever guidance that it currently can 
provide about what a plan might contain and how it might be 
developed. The Department expects to provide more information in 
coming weeks.
[[Page 3310]]

    Because a spring 1995 deadline for plan submission and review 
would not permit full public discussion of how to achieve the 
maximum potential of consolidated planning, the Department intends 
to implement the IASA's consolidated plan provision in two stages. 
States choosing to submit a consolidated plan as the basis for its 
FY 1995 program funding will only have to prepare a first year 
``preliminary'' plan. During the following year, these States would 
develop and submit a final, comprehensive, consolidated plan that 
will be the basis for program funding for FY 1996 and beyond. Each 
State that submits a consolidated plan under this process may choose 
among the programs that are eligible for inclusion under the Act. 
Submitting individual program applications for FY 1995 does not 
preclude a State from submitting a full comprehensive plan the 
following year.
    The First Year Consolidated Plan. The preliminary consolidated 
plan for FY 1995 funding would describe--for programs that the State 
expects the final plan to cover--how the State will develop a 
specific and comprehensive plan to support the kinds of cross-
program coordination, program integration and effective modes of 
service delivery that will better enable all children to achieve to 
challenging standards. This preliminary plan also would address 
certain program-by-program application requirements that the 
Secretary determines must be reviewed before FY 1995 grant awards 
are made. The Secretary intends to keep the number of these 
additional requirements that must be addressed in the preliminary 
plan to the minimum needed for basic accountability. The Secretary 
plans to announce these minimum-content requirements by mid-
February, 1995.
    State Planning Activities During the First Year. During the 
first year after the preliminary plan is approved, States would have 
the opportunity to continue their consolidated planning process. In 
doing so, States would be able, among other things, to: (1) engage 
in consolidated planning that is integrated with other broad-ranging 
and systemic efforts such as those under Goals 2000 and the School-
to-Work Acts; and (2) request from the Department--as they can do at 
any time--waivers of program requirements that they may need to 
implement their consolidated plans effectively.
    During this planning period, States also would be responsible 
for implementing the requirements of their individual programs 
whether or not those requirements were addressed in the preliminary 
consolidated plan.
    The Final Consolidated Plan. On the basis of their comprehensive 
planning, States would develop and submit to the Secretary their 
final, comprehensive, consolidated plans. The Department soon will 
begin working with interested States and others to develop guidance 
on how consolidated State planning can support an integrated, 
Statewide service delivery system that promotes higher student 
achievement. These plans also might need to include some minimum 
program-specific information that will be determined by the 
Secretary in close consultation with the field. Approval of this 
comprehensive plan--along with any waivers that may be needed to 
implement it--would be the basis on which funds for covered programs 
would be awarded for FY 1996 and beyond.

Questions and Answers

    The following information tries to address significant questions 
about the Department's strategy for implementing the consolidated 
plan provisions in the IASA.
    Q1. What programs may a State include in its consolidated plan? 

    (Note: The following answer contains both a limited number of 
minor clarifications to the list of programs that the statute 
specifically identifies for possible inclusion in a consolidated 
State plan, and those additional programs that the Secretary is 
proposing to designate for possible inclusion in the plan. These 
clarifications and additions, which are reflected in the foregoing 
notice, were made after release of the guidance document.)

    A1. ESEA programs may include: Title I, Part A (LEA Program); 
Title I, Part B (Even Start); Title I, Part C (Migrant Education); 
Title I, Part D (Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk Children); Title 
II (State and local programs) (Professional Development); Title III, 
Part A, subpart 2 (Technology for Education); Title IV, Part A 
(other than the Governor's Programs in section 4114) (Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities); and Title VI (Innovative Education 
Program Strategies (formerly Chapter 2)). A State also may include 
the following non-ESEA programs: State leadership programs under 
Title II of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology 
Education Act; Programs under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act; 
and Programs under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. (See 
section 14302, and the definition of ``covered program'' in section 
14101 of the ESEA.)
    The IASA authorizes the Secretary to designate other programs 
that may be included as well. The Secretary proposes to designate 
Subtitle B of Title VII of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless 
Assistance Act (the Education for Homeless Children and Youth 
program) (enacted in Title III, Part B of the IASA), and all other 
State formula grant programs under the Perkins Act. The Secretary 
plans to provide a final list of designated programs by mid-
February.
    Q2. Will States that submit a consolidated plan to the 
Department have the option of choosing which among these programs to 
include?
    A2. Yes, selection of programs to include in a consolidated 
plan, like the decision to submit a consolidated plan at all, is 
entirely at the discretion of the State.
    Q3. Will a State have to submit any other funding application 
for programs that are included in its consolidated plan?
    A3. No. For programs that a State includes in its consolidated 
plan, that plan will substitute for any application requirements 
that are contained in the individual program statutes.
    Q4. Since the ESEA authorizes the Secretary to approve many 
individual program applications for the duration of the Act, why 
would review and approval of the consolidated plan be performed in 
two stages?
    A4. Section 14301 of the ESEA, unlike many of the application 
requirements for individual programs, does not require the Secretary 
to approve a consolidated plan for any particular period of time. 
Rather, it gives the Secretary broad authority to ``establish 
procedures and criteria'' that will govern the process for 
submitting the consolidated plan. The Secretary believes that a two-
stage process, with submission of an initial plan in the spring of 
calendar year 1995, followed later by submission of a more 
comprehensive plan, is the best and most practical way to promote 
the broad and critical thinking at all levels that is needed to 
develop a strong consolidated plan.
    Q5. Could funds awarded under a consolidated plan be co-mingled 
and treated as if they were from one funding source?
    A5. No, unless the State receives a waiver of existing 
requirements that govern the way it accounts for funds--perhaps as 
part of the State's overall reform strategy under Goals 2000. 
Otherwise, while the Secretary's approval of a consolidated plan 
permits the Department to award funds under each program that the 
plan covers, it does not change the existing responsibility of 
States to account for those funds separately.
    Q6. Would the Secretary's approval of a consolidated plan in any 
way change the basic purposes or beneficiaries of programs that the 
plan covers?
    A6. No.
    Q7. For those programs that a State includes in its consolidated 
plan, would the State be expected to address any application 
requirements that are contained in individual program statutes?
    A7. Yes. In order to administer programs properly, a State's 
consolidated plan also would need to address certain application 
requirements under individual program statutes that the Secretary 
determines must be reviewed before program grant awards are made.
    Q8. If program application requirements are not addressed in the 
consolidated plan, do these requirements still have to be met?
    A8. Yes. Unless a State receives a waiver of a requirement under 
the applicable authority in the IASA, Goals 2000, or School-to-Work 
Acts, the Secretary's approval of a consolidated plan eliminates the 
need to provide further application information, but does not affect 
the State's responsibility to meet requirements identified in 
program statutes.
    Q9. Can a State that already has an approved plan under Goals 
2000 use the plan as the basis of its IASA consolidated plan?
    A9. Yes. In fact, the Department would encourage it to do so.
    Q10. Will there be discussion with the public about the specific 
content and program-by-program information required to be included 
in the consolidated plan?
    A10. Yes. Section 14302(b) of the Act requires the Secretary to 
collaborate with SEAs, and, as appropriate, with other State 
agencies, LEAs, public and nonprofit organizations and institutions, 
private [[Page 3311]] schools, and representatives of parents, 
students and teachers in implementing consolidated plans. Many 
officials, agencies and organizations at all levels are interested 
in the potential benefits of developing consolidated plans, and the 
Department strongly desires to include all those interested in the 
discussion of what plans should contain. The Department likely will 
use a range of direct and indirect means of conveying information 
and soliciting reaction.
    Q11. When does the Department anticipate that State and local 
officials and others will receive specific instructions about what 
to include in the first-year consolidated plan, and the time-line 
for submission and review?
    A11. The Department is aware that early and careful planning 
about the content of good first-year consolidated plans will require 
early notice about their expected content. The Department intends to 
distribute more information on the content of consolidated plans 
during January, so that States have sufficient time to (1) think 
carefully about how a consolidated plan can propel new dynamic 
thinking about real program coordination (2) how [sic] their 
consolidated planning supports reform strategies that they may be 
developing under Goals 2000, and (3) prepare a proposed plan and 
solicit and review public comment on its content if they choose to 
submit a consolidated plan.
    The Department expects to issue final guidance on the content 
and format of the preliminary consolidated plan by mid-February, as 
well to announce any other programs that may be included in it. 
While no schedule for submission and review of preliminary plans has 
yet been developed, the Department would like that schedule to be 
the same as schedules established for submission and approval of 
individual FY 1995 program applications.
    Q12. Does the IASA contain any requirement that a State discuss 
the content of a preliminary consolidated plan with the public 
before submitting it to the Secretary?
    A12. Yes. The Act requires a State to offer a reasonable 
opportunity for the public to comment on its consolidated plan, and 
to consider that comment, before submitting the plan to the 
Secretary. This requirement would apply both to the preliminary 
consolidated plans and to the final consolidated plans. Public 
comment on a consolidated plan does not necessarily, by itself, meet 
any other individual program requirements for public comment.

Appendix B--General Assurances Applicable to Each Program Covered by 
the Preliminary (First Year) Consolidated Plan

     Each program will be administered in accordance with 
all applicable statutes, regulations, program plans, and 
applications.
     The control of funds provided under each program and 
title to property acquired with program funds will be in a public 
agency, in a nonprofit private agency, institution, or organization, 
or in an Indian tribe if the law authorizing the program provides 
for assistance to these entities.
     The public agency, nonprofit private agency, 
institution, or organization, or Indian tribe will administer the 
funds and property to the extent required by the authorizing law.
     The State will adopt and use proper methods of 
administering each program, including--
    (A) The enforcement of any obligations imposed by law on 
agencies, institutions, organizations, and other recipients 
responsible for carrying out each program;
    (B) The correction of deficiencies in program operations that 
are identified through audits, monitoring, or evaluation; and
    (C) The adoption of written procedures for the receipt and 
resolution of complaints alleging violations of law in the 
administration of each program.
     The State will cooperate in carrying out any evaluation 
of each program conducted by or for the Secretary or other Federal 
officials.
     The State will use fiscal control and fund 
accountability procedures that will ensure proper disbursement of, 
and accounting for, Federal funds paid to the State under each 
program.
     The State will--
    (A) Make reports to the Secretary as may be necessary to enable 
the Secretary to perform the Secretary's duties under each program; 
and
    (B) Maintain records, provide information to the Secretary, and 
afford access to the records as the Secretary may find necessary to 
carry out the Secretary's duties.
     The State has afforded a reasonable opportunity for 
public comment on the plan and has considered this comment.

[FR Doc. 95-868 Filed 1-12-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P