[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 41 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 11868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5038]




[[Page 11867]]

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Part XI





Department of Education





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Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 41 / Thursday, March 2, 1995 / 
Notices  
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[[Page 11868]] 


DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority for fiscal year (FY) 1995.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a priority for FY 1995 under the 
Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants program authorized in 
title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 
amended (the Act). The Secretary takes this action to implement a 
provision of the Act by focusing Federal financial assistance on an 
identified national need. The priority is intended to provide financial 
assistance to those local educational agencies (LEAs) or LEAs in 
collaboration with institutions of higher education (IHEs), community-
based organizations (CBOs), other LEAs, or a State educational agency 
(SEA) proposing projects that will serve schools with significant 
concentrations of limited English proficient (LEP) students.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect April 3, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry Logel, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Ave., SW., Room 5090, Switzer Building, 
Washington, DC 20202-6510. Telephone: (202) 205-5530. 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: The Comprehensive School Grants program is a 
new program. Under section 7114(a) of the Act, the purpose of the 
program is to assist LEAs or LEAs in collaboration with IHEs, CBOs, 
other LEAs, or an SEA to implement schoolwide bilingual education 
programs or special alternative instructional programs for reforming, 
restructuring, and upgrading all relevant programs and operations, 
within an individual school, that serve virtually all LEP children and 
youth in schools with significant concentrations of these children and 
youth.
    To assist those schools with significant concentrations of LEP 
children and youth, the Secretary requires that to be eligible for 
funding the project must serve only schools in which the number of LEP 
students, in each school served, equals at least 25 percent of the 
total student enrollment. By using a 25 percent threshold the Secretary 
is targeting those schools in which LEP students constitute a major 
portion of the school population. The Secretary chose a percentage 
threshold rather than a number threshold to include schools with small 
student enrollments. Using the 25 percent threshold, approximately 
4,400 schools would be eligible to participate under this program. 
These numbers are based on data from the Descriptive Study of Services 
to LEP Students conducted by Development Associates, Inc., in 1993.

    Note: This notice of final priority does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition 
for FY 1995 will be published in the Federal Register at a later 
date.

Priority

    Under section 7114(a) of the Act, the Secretary gives an absolute 
preference to applications that meet the following priority. The 
Secretary funds under this competition only applications that meet this 
absolute priority:
    Projects that serve only schools in which the number of LEP 
students, in each school served, equals at least 25 percent of the 
total student enrollment.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), 
it is the practice of the Department of Education to offer interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. However, in 
order to make timely grant awards in FY 1995, the Director, in 
accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions 
Act, has decided to issue this final priority, which will apply only to 
the FY 1995 grant competition.
    Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Director is 
publishing a notice of proposed priority for this program and offering 
interested parties the opportunity to comment. The proposed priority, 
which is identical to the final priority, would apply to grant 
competitions under the program beginning in FY 1996.

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.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7424.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.290 Bilingual 
Education: Comprehensive School Grants.)

    Dated: February 6, 1995.
Eugene E. Garcia,
Director, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-5038 Filed 3-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P