[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 2, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34670-34671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16835]
[[Page 34669]]
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Part VI
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Federal Activities Grants
Program (Hate Crimes Prevention); Final Priority and Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 1996; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 2, 1996 /
Notices
[[Page 34670]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Federal Activities
Grants Program (Hate Crimes Prevention)
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Final Priority for Fiscal Year 1996.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a final priority for fiscal year (FY)
1996 under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Federal
Activities Grants Program. The Secretary takes this action to focus
Federal financial assistance on unmet national needs. Under this
priority, the Department will fund the development and implementation
of innovative, effective strategies for preventing and reducing the
incidence of crimes and conflicts motivated by hate in localities
directly affected by hate crimes. Strategies may include, but need not
be limited to: (1) Developing and disseminating curricula or other
instructional materials on the causes and consequences of hate-
motivated behavior and effective measures of intervening with youth to
prevent such behaviors; (2) school-community partnerships that provide
opportunities for youth to engage in service learning activities
designed to reduce the incidence of crimes and conflicts motivated by
hate; and (3) training of school personnel, parents, and community
members on issues related to crimes and conflicts motivated by hate.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect August 1, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charlotte Gillespie, U.S. Department
of Education, 600 Independence Ave., SW., Room 604 Portals, Washington,
DC 20202-6123. Telephone: (202) 260-3954. 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 seventh National Education Goal provides
that, by the year 2000, all schools in America will be free of drugs
and violence and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and
will offer a disciplined environment that is conducive to learning. The
State grant portion of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
Act (SDFSCA) provides funding to 97 percent of school districts in the
Nation to assist them in preventing violence in and around schools,
promoting safety and discipline for students, and preventing the
illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The SDFSCA Federal
Activities Grants Program reinforces that effort by supporting the
development of innovative programs that (1) Demonstrate effective new
methods of ensuring safe and drug-free schools and communities, and (2)
ultimately will provide models of proven effective practice that will
assist schools and communities around the Nation to improve their
programs under the SDFSCA.
This notice contains one absolute priority to be applied to this
competition under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
Federal Activities Grants Program.
The Secretary will award approximately 10 grants in fiscal year
1996 to public and private nonprofit organizations and individuals,
including local educational agencies, for applications that address the
absolute priority in a particularly innovative and effective manner.
Grants will be for a period of one year; however, because of the urgent
national need for effective programs to address violent behavior
motivated by hate, applications must clearly demonstrate an ability to
begin service delivery to the target audience within four months of the
grant award.
In making awards under this grant program, the Secretary may take
into consideration the geographic distribution and diversity of
activities addressed by the projects, in addition to the rank order of
applicants.
Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Secretary may make
additional awards in fiscal year 1997 from the rank-ordered list of
unfunded applicants from this competition.
Note: This notice of final priorities does not solicit
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition
is published in a separate notice in this issue of the Federal
Register.
Applications for this competition must be received at the address
specified in the notice inviting applications for this competition no
later than 4:30 p.m. on August 2, 1996. Applications received after
that time will not be eligible for funding. Postmarked dates will not
be accepted.
Priorities
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities 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:
Absolute Priority--Developing and implementing innovative,
effective strategies for preventing and reducing the incidence of
crimes and conflicts motivated by hate in localities directly affected
by hate crimes.
Applicants proposing a project under this priority must--
(1) Describe the problem that will be addressed, including an
assessment of the number of persons who will benefit from the project;
(2) Demonstrate that the community to be served by the project has
a significant level of crime or conflict motivated by hate;
(3) Describe the activities to be implemented and explain how they
are based on research and best practices, how they will lead to
sustained improvements in the school and community environment, and how
they will be cost-effective and replicable;
(4) Provide evidence of collaboration with the following groups in
the planning and implementation of the program--
(i) Students and families,
(ii) Local school officials and teachers,
(iii) Community leaders and representatives from groups such as
religious, business, and civic organizations, and
(iv) Juvenile justice, law enforcement, and community policing
representatives;
(5) Identify the roles and responsibilities of each participating
group;
(6) Describe the behavioral, developmental, or theoretical basis
for the proposed project and provide evidence for its effectiveness in
preventing and reducing the incidence of crimes and conflicts motivated
by hate;
(7) Identify the intended audience to be served and describe how
the proposed activities are appropriate for the target population;
(8) Provide a detailed plan of implementation, including evidence
of ability to begin service delivery within four months of the grant
award;
(9) Identify performance goals for the project and provide a
description of how progress toward achieving goals will be measured;
and
(10) Provide evidence of the proposed strategy's potential to
provide a replicable model of effective practice for other schools and
communities facing similar problems.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553),
it is the practice of the Department to offer interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed rules. Ordinarily, this practice
would
[[Page 34671]]
have applied to the rules in this notice. However, the Secretary waives
rulemaking under section 553(b)(B) of the Administrative Procedures
Act. This section provides that rulemaking is not required when the
agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure are
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. The
Secretary believes that, in order to make timely grant awards using
Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 funds, public comment on those rules is
impracticable. Congress did not appropriate FY 1996 funds for this
program until April 26, 1996. The Secretary must make new awards no
later than September 30, 1996. Moreover, the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
and Communities National Programs statute is designed to address
emergency needs in drug and violence prevention. Programs need to be
implemented as early as possible in the 1996-97 school year. Due to the
delay in the appropriation of FY 1996 funds, it is now impracticable to
receive public comments and still allow FY 1996 awards to be made by
September 30, 1996.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order
12372 (Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs) and the
regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.
The objective of the Executive order is to foster an
intergovernmental partnership and to strengthen 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. 7131.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 84.184E Safe
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Federal Activities Grants
Program)
Dated: June 26, 1996.
Gerald N. Tirozzi,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 96-16835 Filed 6-28-96; 9:01 am]
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