[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 183 (Thursday, September 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49174-49176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23471]




[[Page 49173]]

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Part XIII





Department of Education





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Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965, as Amended; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 183 / Thursday, September 21, 1995 / 
Notices   

[[Page 49174]]


DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965, as amended

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice exempting schoolwide programs under Part A of Title I of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, 
from statutory or regulatory requirements of other Federal education 
programs.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Secretary of Education (the Secretary) exempts 
schoolwide programs under Part A of Title I, ESEA, from complying with 
statutory or regulatory provisions of most Federal education programs, 
if the intent and purposes of those programs are met in the schoolwide 
program. This notice complements the final Title I regulations that 
were published in the Federal Register on July 3, 1995 (60 FR 34800). 
Those final regulations explain schoolwide programs in greater detail, 
including eligibility requirements and program components. This notice 
identifies which Federal education program funds and services may be 
incorporated in a schoolwide program and provides guidance on 
satisfying the intent and purposes of the programs included.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Jean LeTendre, Director, 
Compensatory Education Programs, Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW 
(Portals Building, room 4400), Washington, D.C. 20202-6132. Telephone 
(202) 260-0826. 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:

Schoolwide Programs in General

    One of the most promising changes in the recent reauthorization of 
Title I, ESEA, is the expansion of schoolwide programs. A schoolwide 
program permits a school to use funds under Part A of Title I to 
upgrade the entire educational program of the school and to raise 
academic achievement for all children in the school, in contrast to a 
Title I targeted assistance program, in which Part A funds may be used 
only for supplementary educational services for eligible children. 
Under the reauthorized ESEA, this authority has now been expanded to 
include other Federal education funds (see the heading ``Inclusion of 
other Federal Funds'').
    Schoolwide programs grew out of research about what makes schools 
work for disadvantaged students. Repeated findings show that the 
principals, teachers, and other staff in highly successful schools 
develop and carry out comprehensive schoolwide reform strategies and 
expect high academic achievement from every child. They establish safe 
environments that are conducive to learning and support enriched 
instruction in an expanded core of subjects. Over the years, 
researchers have documented that when the entire school is the target 
of change, schools serving even the most disadvantaged youth can 
achieve success.
    Section 1114 of Title I authorizes a school with a concentration of 
poverty of at least 60 percent in the 1995-96 school year and 50 
percent in subsequent years to use funds under Part A to operate a 
schoolwide program and upgrade the entire educational program in the 
school. Under section 1114(b) of Title I and Sec. 200.8(d) of the final 
regulations, each schoolwide program must include a number of specific 
components. A schoolwide program school, for example, must conduct a 
comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school to determine the 
performance of its children in relation to the State's challenging 
content and performance standards; implement schoolwide reform 
strategies that are based on effective means of improving the 
achievement of children and that address the needs of all children in 
the school; use highly qualified professional staff; provide 
professional development for teachers and other staff; and implement 
strategies to increase parental involvement. Under a schoolwide 
program, a school is not required to identify particular children as 
eligible to receive Part A services, demonstrate that the services 
provided with Part A funds are supplemental to services that would 
otherwise be provided, or document that Part A funds are used to 
benefit only the intended beneficiaries.

Inclusion of Other Federal Education Funds

    For the first time, a schoolwide program school may also use funds 
from other Federal education programs in addition to Part A funds to 
upgrade the entire educational program. Specifically, section 
1114(a)(4) of Title I authorizes the Secretary, through publication of 
a notice in the Federal Register, to exempt schoolwide programs from 
statutory or regulatory provisions of any other noncompetitive, formula 
grant program or any discretionary grant program administered by the 
Secretary (other than formula or discretionary grant programs under the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), if the intent and 
purposes of those programs are met.
    This authority affords a schoolwide program school significant 
flexibility to serve better all children in the school and their 
families through comprehensive reforms of the entire instructional 
program, rather than by providing separate services to specific target 
populations. The Secretary emphasizes that a school with a schoolwide 
program must address the needs of all children in the school, 
particularly the needs of children who are members of the target 
population of any other Federal education program that is included in 
the schoolwide program.
    Through this notice, the Secretary authorizes a schoolwide program 
school to use funds from most Federal education programs administered 
by the Secretary (including programs under the School-to-Work 
Opportunities Act, which is jointly administered by the Secretary and 
the U.S. Secretary of Labor) to support its schoolwide program. This 
authority also extends to services, materials, and equipment purchased 
with those funds and provided to the school. To provide schoolwide 
program schools maximum discretion in using resources from Federal 
education programs to their best advantage, the Secretary encourages 
local educational agencies (LEAs), to the extent possible, to provide 
Federal funds directly to those schools, rather than providing 
personnel, materials, or equipment.

Programs That May Be included

    Except as provided below and consistent with this notice and 
section 1114 of Title I, the Secretary authorizes a schoolwide program 
school to use funds or services that the school receives from any 
Federal education program administered by the Secretary to upgrade its 
entire educational program. This authority does not apply to funds from 
the following types of programs:
     Formula or discretionary grant programs under the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (excluded by section 
1114(a)(4)(A) of Title I) and funds provided for eligible children with 
disabilities under section 8003(d) of the ESEA.
     Funds provided under the Schools Facilities Infrastructure 
Improvement 

[[Page 49175]]
Act to ensure the health and safety of students through the repair, 
renovation, alteration, and construction of school facilities.
     Programs under Subpart 1 of Part D of Title I, ESEA, to 
State agencies for services to children in State institutions for 
neglected or delinquent children, unless funds are used for transition 
services involving a schoolwide program school.
     Programs under the Adult Education Act or Subpart 3 of 
Part A of Title IX of the ESEA (adult Indians), unless adult literacy 
services are integrated within a schoolwide program plan. Adult 
education funds could be included, for example, if they provide adult 
literacy as part of a family literacy activity under a schoolwide 
program plan.
     Funds awarded to institutions of higher education, unless 
those funds support elementary or secondary schools (e.g., the School, 
College, and University Partnerships program).
     Programs that are not administered by the Secretary, such 
as the National School Lunch Program and Head Start.
    In addition, the authority to use funds under other programs in 
schoolwide program schools does not apply to funds that are allocated 
by formula to nonschoolwide program schools in an LEA. This is not an 
authority to redistribute funds among schools. Any redistribution of 
funds would have to be consistent with the authorizing statute.

Satisfying ``Intent and Purposes''

    In general, a school that combines funds from other Federal 
education programs in a schoolwide program is not required to meet the 
statutory or regulatory requirements of those programs. Combining funds 
to meet the collective needs of the included programs allows schools to 
address needs in an integrated way and frees schools from documenting 
that a specific program dollar was spent only for a specific program 
activity. However, the school must meet the intent and purposes of the 
included programs to ensure that the needs of the intended 
beneficiaries of those programs are addressed by the school. In so 
doing, the school must be able to demonstrate that its schoolwide 
program contains sufficient activities to reasonably address those 
needs and thus meet the intent and purposes of each included program. 
However, the school need not document that it used funds from a 
particular program to meet the specific intent and purposes of that 
particular program.
    The following examples illustrate how a schoolwide program could 
meet the intent and purposes of specific Federal education programs:
     A secondary school may use funds received under the Carl 
D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act to support 
its schoolwide program if its program improves vocational education in 
the school, for example, by integrating academic and vocational 
education, and its program improves access to vocational education for 
special populations in the school.
     A schoolwide program school may use funds received under 
the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development program provided the 
school has a sustained and intensive high-quality professional 
development program for school staff in core academic subjects that is 
aligned with the State's content and performance standards, reflects 
recent research on teaching and learning, and incorporates methods and 
practices to meet the educational needs of diverse student populations.
     A schoolwide program school may use funds received under 
Subpart 1 of Part A of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities 
program provided the school has a comprehensive drug and violence 
prevention program designed for all students and employees to create a 
disciplined environment conducive to learning, prevent violence and 
promote school safety, prevent the use, possession, and distribution of 
tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs by students, and prevent the 
illegal use, possession, and distribution of those substances by 
employees.
     A school may use funds received under Subpart 1 of the 
Bilingual Education Act to support its schoolwide program provided the 
program implements a bilingual education or special alternative 
instruction program that reforms, restructures, and upgrades the 
programs and operations that serve limited-English proficient children 
and youth in the school.
     A secondary school may use funds received under the 
School-to-Work Opportunities Act to support its schoolwide program 
provided the program integrates school-based and work-based learning, 
establishes effective linkages between secondary and postsecondary 
education, and is part of a comprehensive State model school-to-work 
opportunities system that provides for the early selection of career 
majors and the awarding of skill certificates.
    The Department will provide examples from schoolwide schools when 
they become available.

Requirements With Which a Schoolwide Program School Must comply.

    Even though a schoolwide program school combines funds from other 
Federal programs in its schoolwide program and is thus freed from most 
statutory and regulatory requirements of those programs, the school and 
its LEA, as appropriate, must still comply with requirements applicable 
to those programs relating to--
     Health and safety requirements.
     Civil rights requirements. These requirements include 
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education 
Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the 
Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title II of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990. In addition, if a schoolwide program school 
receives Magnet Schools Assistance funds, to eliminate, reduce, or 
prevent minority group isolation, the school must continue to operate 
under its desegregation plan.
     Gender equity requirements.
     Participation and involvement of parents and students. A 
schoolwide program school must implement extensive parent involvement 
requirements under Part A that would likely satisfy most, if not all, 
parent involvement requirements in other Federal education programs.
     Private school children, teachers, and other educational 
personnel. In other words, applicable requirements concerning the 
equitable participation of eligible private school children, teachers, 
and other educational personnel under other Federal education programs 
must be met even though funds from those programs are combined in 
schoolwide program schools.
     Maintenance of effort. For programs covered under the 
maintenance of effort requirements in section 14501 of the ESEA, those 
requirements would be met through participation in Part A.
     Comparability of services. For example, a secondary 
schoolwide program school within an LEA that receives funds under the 
Carl D. Perkins State Vocational and Applied Technology Education 
Program must be provided services from State and local funds that, 
taken as a whole, are at least comparable to the services being 
provided in other secondary schools or sites within the same LEA that 
are not being served with Perkins funds.
     Use of Federal funds to supplement, not supplant non-
Federal funds. In other words, a schoolwide program school must receive 
at least the same amount of State and local funds that, in 

[[Page 49176]]
the aggregate, it would have received in the absence of the schoolwide 
program, including funds needed to provide services that are required 
by law for children with disabilities and children with limited-English 
proficiency. The school, however, does not have to demonstrate that the 
specific services provided with those funds are supplemental to 
services that would have been provided in that school in the absence of 
the schoolwide program.
     Distribution of funds to State educational agencies (SEAs) 
and LEAs. In addition, a school must comply with the following 
requirements if it combines funds from these programs in its schoolwide 
program:
     Consistent with section 1306(b)(3) of Title I and 
Sec. 200.8(c)(3)(ii)(B)(1) of the proposed Title I regulations, a 
schoolwide program school that combines funds received under Part C of 
Title I, ESEA, for the education of migratory children must, in 
consultation with parents of migratory children or organizations 
representing those parents, first address the identified needs of 
migratory children that result from the effects of their migratory 
lifestyle or are needed to permit those children to participate 
effectively in school and document that services to address those needs 
have been provided.
     Consistent with section 9115(c) of the ESEA and 
Sec. 200.8(c)(3)(ii)(B)(2) of the Title I regulations, a schoolwide 
program school may combine funds received under Subpart 1 of Part A of 
Title IX of the ESEA regarding Indian education if the parent committee 
established by the LEA under section 9114(c)(4) of the ESEA approves 
the inclusion of those funds.

Cross-cutting Federal Requirements

    There are requirements contained in the General Education 
Provisions Act and in the Education Department General Administrative 
Regulations that apply generally to Department of Education grants, 
including Title I. To the extent that these requirements affect 
activities in schools, they would also apply to a schoolwide program 
school by virtue of its participation in Title I. The consolidation of 
Department programs in a schoolwide program, however, would not add to 
these requirements or require that they be applied separately on a 
program-by-program basis.

Discretionary Grant Funds

    In general, a schoolwide program school may combine funds it 
receives from discretionary (competitive) grants as well as from 
formula grants. If a schoolwide program school combines funds from 
discretionary grant programs, the school must still carry out the 
activities described in the application under which the funds were 
awarded. For example, if a schoolwide program is based in a school 
receiving Federal funds under the Magnet Schools Assistance program, 
the school must implement activities described in its plan to 
eliminate, reduce, or prevent minority group isolation. However, a 
schoolwide program school would not need to account separately for 
specific expenditures of the combined Federal funds. Although not 
required, the applicant LEA or school preferably should indicate in its 
application for discretionary funds that some or all of the funds would 
be used to support a schoolwide program and describe its activities 
accordingly. Moreover, if authorized by the program statute, the 
Department or an SEA could include in its selection criteria for a 
particular program extra points for conducting activities in a 
schoolwide program school. For example, an SEA could include such 
points when awarding subgrants under the Even Start Family Literacy 
program, which requires an SEA to give priority to applicants that 
target services to families in need of family literacy services 
residing in areas with high levels of poverty, illiteracy, or other 
such need-related factors, including projects that serve a high 
percentage of children to be served who reside in participating areas 
under Part A.

Limitations

    The authority in this notice does not apply to nonschoolwide 
program schools that participate in Title I. Those schools must comply 
with all statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to funds or 
benefits they receive. This authority also does not relieve an LEA from 
complying with all requirements that do not affect the operation of a 
schoolwide program. For example, to the extent an LEA is required under 
the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to designate a homeless 
liaison to ensure, among other things, that homeless children and youth 
enroll and succeed in school, the LEA would not be relieved of this 
requirement by virtue of operating one or more schoolwide programs.

Guidance and Technical Assistance

    The Secretary intends to issue additional guidance on schoolwide 
programs in the near future. In addition, staff in the office of 
Compensatory Education Programs, in conjunction with staff in the other 
affected Federal program offices, are available to assist LEAs and 
schools operating schoolwide programs to implement the authority 
contained in this notice. If LEAs or schools have specific questions, 
they should contact Mary Jean LeTendre, Director, Compensatory 
Education Programs, as provided at the beginning of this notice.

National Assessment of Schoolwide Programs

    The Department is directed by section 1501 of Title I to examine, 
in a national assessment of Title I programs, how well schools are 
providing participating children an enriched and accelerated 
educational program through schoolwide programs and how schoolwide 
programs are meeting the needs of children from migratory families. In 
this assessment, the Department will examine how the authority 
contained in this notice has been implemented.

    Dated: September 15, 1995.

Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.010, Improving 
Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies)
[FR Doc. 95-23471 Filed 9-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P