[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8530-8536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4138]



[[Page 8529]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part II





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



Office of Special and Rehabilitative Services; Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements: Availability, etc.: Children With Disabilities Programs; 
Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 33 / Thursday, February 19, 1998 / 
Notices  

[[Page 8530]]



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Grants 
and Cooperative Agreements: Availability, etc.: Children With 
Disabilities Programs; Notice

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes priorities for two programs 
administered by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services (OSERS) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(IDEA), as amended. The Secretary may use these priorities in Fiscal 
Year 1998 and subsequent years. The Secretary takes this action to 
focus Federal assistance on identified needs to improve results for 
children with disabilities. The proposed priorities are intended to 
ensure wide and effective use of program funds.

DATES: Comments on all proposed priorities must be received on or 
before March 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning proposed priorities should be 
addressed to: Debra Sturdivant, U.S. Department of Education, 600 
Independence Avenue, SW, Room 3521, Switzer Building, Washington, D.C. 
20202-2641.

Comments may also be sent through the Internet: [email protected]

    You must include the term ``Technical Assistance and Dissemination 
and Research and Innovation'' in the electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on these 
proposed priorities contact Debra Sturdivant, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, room 3317, Switzer Building, 
Washington, D.C. 20202-2641. FAX: (202) 205-8717 (FAX is the preferred 
method for requesting information). Telephone: (202) 205-8038. 
Internet: Debra__S[email protected]

    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the TDD number: (202) 205-8953. Individuals with disabilities 
may obtain a copy of this notice in an alternate format (e.g. Braille, 
large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by calling (202) 205-
8113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice contains three proposed 
priorities under two programs authorized by the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, as follows: Technical Assistance and 
Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with 
Disabilities (two proposed priorities); and Research and Innovation to 
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities (one 
proposed priority). These proposed priorities would support the 
National Education Goals by helping to improve results for children 
with disabilities.

    The Secretary will announce the final priorities in a notice in the 
Federal Register. The final priorities will be determined by responses 
to this notice, available funds, and other considerations of the 
Department. Funding of particular projects depends on the availability 
of funds, the content of the final priorities, and the quality of the 
applications received. The publication of these proposed priorities 
does not preclude the Secretary from proposing additional priorities, 
nor does it limit the Secretary to funding only these priorities, 
subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

General Requirements

    All projects funded under the proposed priorities must make 
positive efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified 
individuals with disabilities in project activities (see Section 606 of 
IDEA). In addition, all applicants and projects funded under the 
proposed priorities must involve individuals with disabilities or 
parents of individuals with disabilities in planning, implementing, and 
evaluating the projects (see Section 661(f)(1)(A) of IDEA).

    Note: This notice of proposed priorities does not solicit 
applications. Notices inviting applications under these competitions 
will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or 
following publication of the notice of final priorities.

Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and 
Results for Children With Disabilities

Purpose of Program

    The purpose of this program is to provide technical assistance and 
information through such mechanisms as institutes, regional resource 
centers, clearinghouses, and programs that support States and local 
entities in building capacity, to improve early intervention, 
educational, and transitional services and results for children with 
disabilities and their families, and to address systemic-change goals 
and priorities.

Priorities

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary proposes to give an 
absolute preference to applications that meet one of the following 
priorities. The Secretary proposes to fund under these competitions 
only applications that meet one of these absolute priorities:

Proposed Absolute Priority 1--Center for Positive Behavioral 
Interventions and Supports

Background

    Problem behaviors are one of the most common reasons children with 
disabilities are excluded from school, community, and work. Research on 
positive behavioral support is rapidly developing and demonstrates how 
school-wide approaches to positive behavioral interventions can enable 
students with disabilities who exhibit problem behaviors to achieve 
independence and become participants and contributing members in 
school, community, and work.
    Despite this growing body of knowledge, however, awareness of the 
value of these approaches and their use in the educational environment 
remains limited. There is clearly a need to develop a greater awareness 
on the part of educators and others of the important contribution that 
positive behavioral interventions can make in achieving successful 
results for children with disabilities who exhibit challenging problem 
behaviors and for improving the overall climate of schools.
    Part B of IDEA includes provisions intended to guide and assist 
schools in cases in which the behavior of a child with a disability 
impedes learning. For example, the Act specifies that teams developing 
individualized education programs (IEPs) consider, when appropriate, 
positive behavioral supports and other strategies to address behavior 
problems. The following priority is intended to assist schools in 
designing and implementing effective school-wide positive behavioral 
support programs by creating a greater awareness of these approaches, 
including identifying effective State and local policies which support 
the approaches, and by building the necessary knowledge base, momentum, 
and resource network to encourage their widespread application.

Priority

    The Secretary proposes to establish an absolute priority to support 
a Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports that builds 
awareness and motivation for schools to design and implement school-
wide support for children with disabilities who exhibit challenging 
problem behaviors. The Center must, at a minimum:
    (a) Evaluate the state of policy and practice regarding school-wide 
behavioral support, including relevant State and local policies and 
guidelines, and financing and cross-agency coordination strategies for 
supporting

[[Page 8531]]

behavioral intervention services. Develop and apply criteria for 
identifying exemplary programs of school-wide positive behavioral 
support. Identify and publicize schools implementing such programs.
    (b) Establish a coordinated network of researchers, educators, 
parents, mental health professionals, and policymakers who will serve 
as resources to schools and each other in designing and implementing 
school-wide positive behavioral support programs. Conduct outreach 
activities with relevant federally supported technical assistance and 
information activities and projects (e.g., the National Institute of 
Disability and Rehabilitation Research programs, the Federal Resource 
Center, regional resource centers, the Office of Educational Research 
and Improvement (OERI), the Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education's Safe and Drug Free Schools program, the Department of 
Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, etc.), 
State and local organizations and other relevant organizations and 
projects to promote public awareness of positive behavioral support 
practices and the availability of information, supports and services.
    (c) Provide for information exchanges between researchers and 
practitioners who direct exemplary behavioral support programs and 
educators who seek to design and implement effective school-wide 
programs. The exchanges must include, but are not limited to, two 
regional forums during each of the first four years of the project, and 
a national forum in the fifth year. The forums must be designed to 
expand the coordinated network, develop awareness of research-based 
practices, and create a dialogue about school-wide positive behavioral 
support programs. The forums must include examples and descriptions of 
exemplary school-wide programs and effective State and local policies, 
and may include other appropriate activities such as visits to 
exemplary sites.
    (d) Provide information to the national information center for 
children with disabilities. Collaborate with the national information 
center for children with disabilities on the development and 
dissemination of materials on behavioral intervention and supports. 
Establish linkages with the national information center for children 
with disabilities to ensure timely and accurate dissemination of 
information to customers.
    (e) Organize, synthesize, and report information to teachers, 
administrators, parents, and other interested parties regarding 
research, policy, and practice advances on positive behavioral support. 
Develop and disseminate products that are easy to use and accessible 
(e.g., print and electronic formats). Respond to written and telephone 
inquiries with research-based information.
    (f) Develop and implement a blueprint for providing technical 
assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs), which includes 
alternative designs of effective school wide positive behavioral 
support programs and alternative approaches to delivering technical 
assistance in their implementation. Identify barriers to assisting 
school districts across the country in developing and implementing 
school-wide positive behavioral support programs and develop strategies 
for overcoming these barriers.
    (g) Budget for two trips annually to Washington, D.C., for: (1) A 
two-day Research to Practice Division Project Directors' meeting; and 
(2) a meeting to collaborate with the Research to Practice Division 
project officer and the other related projects, and to share 
information and discuss findings and methods of dissemination.
    (h) Conduct, every two years, a results-based evaluation of the 
technical assistance provided. Such an evaluation must be conducted by 
a review team consisting of three experts approved by the Secretary and 
must measure elements such as--
    (1) The type of technical assistance provided and the perception of 
its quality by the target audience;
    (2) The changes that occurred as a result of the technical 
assistance provided; and
    (3) The review team will examine the progress that the Center has 
made with respect to the objectives in its application.
    The services of the review team, including a two-day site visit to 
the Center is to be performed during the last half of the center's 
second year and may be included in that year's evaluation required 
under 34 CFR 75.590. Costs associated with the services to be performed 
by the review team must also be included in the Center's budget for 
year two. These costs are estimated to be approximately $4,000.
    Under this priority, the Secretary will make one award for 
cooperative agreements with a project period of up to 60 months subject 
to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a) for continuation awards. In 
determining whether to continue the center for the fourth and fifth 
years of the project period, the Secretary, in addition to the 
requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a), will consider--
    (a) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of 
the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or is being met by the 
Center; and
    (b) The degree to which the Center's design and methodology 
demonstrates the potential for advancing significant new knowledge.

Proposed Absolute Priority 2--National Center on Dispute Resolution

Background

    Disputes within the education community affect systemic change and 
results for children with disabilities. A dispute resolution process 
such as mediation is less costly to schools and families, can help to 
minimize adverse effects on a child's progress in school, and is more 
apt to foster positive relationships between families and educators 
than litigation. Technical assistance that focuses primarily on dispute 
resolution procedures would assist State educational agencies (SEAs), 
local educational agencies (LEAs), and families to resolve their 
differences in a less adversarial and more responsive manner than 
through standard due process hearing procedures, while enabling State 
and local entities to achieve systemic change and promoting improved 
early intervention, educational, and transitional results for children 
with disabilities. This priority would support a national center to 
provide technical assistance to SEAs, LEAs, and families on resolving 
their differences. The center would provide technical assistance on 
mediation and other effective dispute resolution procedures that do not 
impede parental rights under IDEA or otherwise conflict with the 
statute. As such the center would provide technical assistance as 
needed in order to facilitate the effective use of due process 
procedures. The chief aim of the center however, would be to provide 
needed technical assistance to enable parties to effectively resolve 
their disputes through more expedient and less confrontational means, 
including mediation.

Priority

    The Secretary establishes an absolute priority to support a 
national technical assistance center on dispute resolution procedures, 
including mediation. The center must--
    (a) Provide technical assistance on dispute resolution procedures 
(with an emphasis on procedures other than due process hearings) to all 
States, outlying areas, and the freely associated States (to the extent 
such States participate in Parts B or C of IDEA), and the Bureau

[[Page 8532]]

of Indian Affairs. At a minimum, the center must--
    (1) Conduct annual needs assessments;
    (2) Develop technical assistance agreements with each entity; and
    (3) Provide technical assistance, training, and on-going 
consultation based on the technical assistance agreements (including 
technical assistance, training, and on-going consultation at the local 
level, as appropriate).
    (b) Coordinate with the existing technical assistance to parent 
project to provide technical assistance to all parent training and 
information centers and community parent resource centers on dispute 
resolution procedures;
    (c) Develop informational exchanges about dispute resolution 
procedures between the center and other technical assistance and 
information dissemination systems;
    (d) Establish an advisory group of persons with complementary 
expertise on dispute resolution procedures to advise the center on its 
technical assistance activities;
    (e) Collect information on the use and effectiveness of mediation 
and other dispute resolution procedures. The effectiveness of any such 
procedure would be based on the degree to which all parties feel 
satisfied with the result and agree that an efficient and expeditious 
process had been followed;
    (f) Identify, and disseminate information on, best practices in 
dispute resolution;
    (g) Maintain an information data base that includes: (1) State 
practices on dispute resolution, including information on mediator 
training and the implementation of the mediation requirements in Parts 
B and C of IDEA; and (2) research, literature, and products about 
dispute resolution procedures.
    (h) Examine the effectiveness of State efforts regarding mediation 
and other dispute resolution proceedings. Analyze information on the 
number of due process hearings, mediation sessions, and other dispute 
resolution proceedings conducted and on the outcome of each such 
hearing, session, or proceeding;
    (i) Collaborate with the national information center on children 
with disabilities regarding the dissemination of information to respond 
to information needs. Establish linkages with the national information 
center on children with disabilities to ensure timely and accurate 
dissemination of information to customers;
    (j) Serve as a clearinghouse for information on dispute resolution 
procedures;
    (k) Conduct an annual forum each year of the project that 
identifies the unique features of dispute resolution procedures, the 
strengths of the procedures, and the potential for adopting the 
procedures. At least one forum must address the specific needs of under 
represented and underserved populations; another must address dispute 
resolution procedures (including mediator training issues) in the 
context of general education reform;
    (l) Evaluate the impact of the center's technical assistance system 
and its components relative to the--
    (1) Assessed needs of States and jurisdictions;
    (2) Needs of parents; and
    (3) Linkages with other technical assistance and information 
dissemination systems; and
    (m) Budget for two trips annually to Washington, D.C., for: (1) A 
two-day Research to Practice Division Project Directors' meeting; and 
(2) a meeting to collaborate with the Research to Practice Division 
project officer and the other related projects to share information, 
and to discuss findings and methods of dissemination.
    (n) Conduct, every two years, a results-based evaluation of the 
technical assistance provided. Such an evaluation must be conducted by 
a review team consisting of three experts approved by the Secretary and 
must measure elements such as--
    (1) The type of technical assistance provided and the perception of 
its quality by the target audience; and
    (2) The changes that occurred as a result of the technical 
assistance provided; and
    (3) The review team will examine the progress that the Center has 
made with respect to the objectives in its application.
    The services of the review team, including a two-day site visit to 
the center is to be performed during the last half of the center's 
second year and may be included in that year's evaluation required 
under 34 CFR 75.590. Costs associated with the services to be performed 
by the review team must also be included in the center's budget for 
year two. These costs are estimated to be approximately $4,000.
    Under this priority, the Secretary will make one award for a 
cooperative agreement with a project period of up to 60 months subject 
to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a) for continuation awards. In 
determining whether to continue the center for the fourth and fifth 
years of the project period, the Secretary, in addition to the 
requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a), will consider--
    (a) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of 
the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or is being met by the 
center.
    (b) The degree to which the center's design and methodology 
demonstrates the potential for advancing significant new knowledge.

    Program Authority: Section 685 of IDEA.

Research and Innovation to Improve Services and Results for Children 
With Disabilities

Purpose of Program

    To produce, and advance the use of, knowledge to: (1) Improve 
services provided under IDEA, including the practices of professionals 
and others involved in providing those services to children with 
disabilities; and (2) improve educational and early intervention 
results for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities.

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary proposes to give an 
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority. 
The Secretary proposes to fund under this competition only applications 
that meet this absolute priority.

Proposed Absolute Priority--Directed Research Projects

    This priority provides support for projects that advance and 
improve the knowledge base and improve the practice of professionals, 
parents, and others providing early intervention, special education, 
and related services, including professionals who work with children 
with disabilities in regular education environments and natural 
environments, to provide those children effective instruction and 
interventions that enable them to learn and develop successfully. Under 
this priority, projects must support innovation, development, exchange 
of information, and use of advancements in knowledge and practice 
designed to contribute to the improvement of early intervention, 
instruction, and learning of infants, toddlers, and children with 
disabilities.
    A research project must address one of the following focus areas 
and the Secretary intends to award at least one project in each focus 
area:

Focus 1--Beacons of Excellence

    Research projects supported under Focus 1 must identify and study 
schools or programs achieving exemplary results for students with 
disabilities in the

[[Page 8533]]

context of efforts to achieve exemplary results for all students. 
Projects must develop and apply procedures and criteria to identify 
these schools or programs, and to identify factors contributing to 
exemplary learning or developmental results, and examine how those 
factors and other factors relate to achieving exemplary learning or 
developmental results for children with disabilities. Projects may 
focus on early intervention, preschool, elementary, or secondary 
levels, or a combination of levels. Following the second year of the 
project, the Secretary may fund an optional six-month period for 
additional dissemination activities.

Focus 2--The Sustainability of Promising Innovations

    A growing body of practice-based research and model demonstration 
work in schools, local districts, and early intervention programs, 
including projects supported by the Office of Special Education 
Programs (OSEP), has focused on meeting the needs of, and improving 
results for, children with disabilities in schools, districts, or early 
intervention programs involved in reform and restructuring initiatives. 
Some of this work is yielding promising positive results for children 
with disabilities. However, little is known about the extent to which 
the innovations developed and implemented in these efforts are 
sustained in project sites beyond the term of time-limited external 
support and assistance.
    Focus 2 supports projects to study the implementation of practices 
that have been found to be effective in meeting the needs of children 
with disabilities by reform and restructuring initiatives in local and 
district schools, or early intervention programs. The study must 
address: (a) The extent to which practices that have been shown to be 
effective have been sustained beyond the existence of the projects; and 
(b) factors that influence the level of sustainability. Factors to be 
studied may include, but are not limited to: (a) The nature of the 
innovations and the extent to which the innovations have undergone 
adaptation or alteration over time; (b) the type and extent of support 
strategies employed during initial implementation stages and over time; 
(c) planned and unplanned changes in agency, school organizational or 
structural contexts, or both; (d) the level of penetration of the 
innovation; (e) the actual or perceived, or both, cost and benefit for 
participants; (f) constancy of site leadership, staff, and policy 
requirements; (g) the extent of consonance or dissonance between 
critical features of the innovations and existing (and emerging) school 
and district or agency practices and policies; and (h) resource access 
and allocation. Projects must provide comprehensive descriptions of the 
targeted effective practices to be studied, and evidence of positive 
results for children with disabilities. In addition, projects must 
dedicate the bulk of support requested to research on the issues of 
sustainability including the ability to sustain the project results 
beyond the life of the project. The Secretary particularly encourages 
an in-depth case study research design where the site or sites to be 
studied is the case (unit of analysis).

Focus 3--Research on Improving Reading Comprehension Results for 
Children With Learning Disabilities

    In recent years, research has advanced our understanding of how 
skilled readers comprehend and instructional strategies that support 
children with learning disabilities to comprehend text. Comprehension 
is not merely a text-based process where meaning resides in the text 
and the role of the reader is to get the meaning. Meaning comes from 
both the text and the reader. Many children with learning disabilities 
need an instructional program that: (a) Teaches them how to access 
prior knowledge (e.g., strategies such as story grammar elements, 
semantic mapping, or think aloud sheets); (b) motivates and supports 
persistence on a task (e.g., including expressions of a student's own 
thoughts when reading and writing, questioning the expert or inquiry, 
or using technology or grouping practices); and (c) teaches them 
cognitive and metacognitive strategies for reading with understanding, 
including how to monitor one's own progress (e.g., summarizing, 
generating questions, mnemonics, or imagery). Therefore, becoming a 
skilled reader is not automatic. Teachers need to teach reading 
comprehension, and, in particular, children with learning disabilities 
need effective instructional approaches.
    Under Focus 3, a research project must pursue a systematic program 
of applied research that focuses on one or more issues related to 
improving reading comprehension results of children with learning 
disabilities related to reading. These issues include, but are not 
limited to:
    (a) The extent to which children with learning disabilities need 
differential strategies to comprehend narrative and expository text;
    (b) The types of effective comprehension instruction for children 
with learning disabilities in grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 inclusive; the 
components of particularly effective programs for children with 
learning disabilities; the basal materials, supplemental materials, and 
instructional strategies used by teachers; and how families support the 
instructional program;
    (c) The types of effective questioning strategies used by teachers, 
peers, and experts affecting comprehension; and
    (d) The kind of contexts that promote critical analysis and 
evaluation for comprehension and learning, and the grouping practices, 
instructional strategies, and curricula that promote comprehension and 
problem solving.

Focus 4--Studying Models That Bridge the Gap Between Research and 
Practice

    Educational research most often includes the following phases: (1) 
Planning and preparation; (2) information gathering; (3) analysis and 
interpretation; (4) reporting and dissemination; and (5) use of 
findings. In traditional research models, the researcher is solely or 
primarily responsible for all phases but the last. Using research 
findings is seen as a job for the practitioner. However, it has been 
observed that research knowledge rarely translates directly into 
practice.
    In recent years, a variety of promising models have been developed 
to bridge the gap between research and practice by altering the roles 
of researchers and practitioners for one or more phases of the 
research. In some models (e.g., interactive research and development, 
practitioner-researcher, partnership research) researchers and 
practitioners collaborate in all phases of the research process. Some 
of these models include parents on their site-based research teams. In 
other models, practitioners, working individually (e.g., practitioner-
research linkers), in groups (e.g., practitioner study groups), or in 
pairs (e.g., peer coaching) interpret extant research to understand how 
to integrate research into practice. In some models, teachers conduct 
research (e.g., action research, or collegial experimentation). To date 
there have been few systematic examinations of the effectiveness of the 
various models to improve practice in special education or early 
intervention.
    Under Focus 4, research projects must implement and examine a model 
or models for using research knowledge to improve educational practice 
and results for children with disabilities.
    In studying a model or models, projects must apply methodologies 
with the capacity to determine the effectiveness of the model or models 
as implemented in practice settings. The projects must identify the 
knowledge

[[Page 8534]]

utilization model or models to be studied, specify the components of 
the knowledge utilization model or models selected or created, the 
supports and policies necessary to support the model or models, both 
alterable and unalterable factors affecting practice improvement, and 
the effect of the model or models to improve organizational culture, 
practitioner attitudes and practices, and child results. In judging 
effectiveness, the projects must address improvements for researchers, 
practitioners, and children with disabilities.
    The projects must report their findings in a manner which can serve 
as a ``blueprint'' so that practitioners in other school districts or 
agencies can implement the model using research knowledge to improve 
practice in special education or early intervention.

Focus 5--Inclusion of Students With Disabilities in Large-Scale 
Assessment Programs

    IDEA includes a number of provisions to ensure the participation of 
students with disabilities in general State and district-wide 
assessment programs. Students with disabilities must participate in 
large-scale assessment programs if they are to benefit from the 
educational accountability and reforms that are linked to these 
assessments. While much information has been gained from prior efforts 
to include disabled students in assessments such as the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress, applied research is needed to build 
on this base of information in order to provide technical and 
implementation information to guide the effective inclusion of students 
with disabilities in large-scale assessment programs.
    Focus 5 supports projects that pursue systematic programs of 
applied research to determine how State and local educational programs 
can best meet one or more of the following requirements:
    (a) Including students with disabilities in either general State or 
district-wide assessment programs or both;
    (b) Developing and using appropriate accommodations for students 
with disabilities on general State or district-wide assessments, or 
both;
    (c) Developing and using alternate assessments for students with 
disabilities who cannot participate in State and district-wide 
assessment programs;
    (d) Reporting on the participation or performance or both of 
students with disabilities in either general assessment programs, or on 
alternate assessments, or both; and
    (e) Making decisions during the development of individualized 
education programs concerning individual modifications in the 
administration of State or district-wide assessments, or individual 
participation in alternate assessments.

Focus 6--Synthesize and Communicate a Professional Knowledge Base: 
Contributions to Research and Practice

    Traditionally researchers have communicated their findings from 
individual research projects and systematic lines of research through 
journal publications and conference presentations. These findings are 
communicated to other researchers and engage researchers in dialogues. 
These dialogues contribute to innovation and development in special 
education and early intervention. In recent years the Office of Special 
Education Programs (OSEP) has sought to expand these traditional 
approaches. While continuing to support innovation and development, 
OSEP has established a goal to foster the use of a professional 
knowledge base by professionals who serve children with disabilities 
and parents who are involved in the education and development of their 
children with disabilities.
    Focus 6 supports projects that synthesize and communicate an extant 
professional knowledge base on curricular, instructional, early 
intervention, or organizational strategies and approaches that would 
contribute to professional practice as a means for achieving better 
results for children with disabilities. In past years, the Department 
has supported syntheses on positive behavioral supports of children who 
exhibit challenging behaviors, grouping practices in reading, 
differences between children with learning disabilities and low 
achieving students, instructional approaches for special education 
students who speak English as a second language, generalization 
strategies for using augmentative communication devices, interventions 
for children with learning disabilities, and effects of setting on 
social and academic outcomes. Building upon these previous efforts, the 
Secretary intends to support and fund a limited number of new syntheses 
in other areas such as--
    (a) Effects of self-determination and self-advocacy interventions 
on children with disabilities;
    (b) Effects of interventions on children with disabilities that 
promote generalization of academic or developmental skills;
    (c) Effects of teacher or practitioner efficacy on children with 
disabilities' achievement or development;
    (d) Effects of technology for improving literacy results for 
children with disabilities;
    (e) Effects of school-wide approaches for improving reading results 
of children with disabilities; or
    (f) Effects of school-wide approaches for improving math results of 
children with disabilities.
    Under Focus 6, a synthesis project must--
    (a) Identify the topical focus and the relevant and irrelevant 
concepts under review, and pose hypotheses around which the synthesis 
would be conducted;
    (b) Identify and implement rigorous social science methods for 
synthesizing the professional knowledge base (e.g., integrative reviews 
(Cooper, 1982), best-evidence synthesis (Slavin, 1989), meta-analysis 
(Glass, 1977), multi-vocal approach (Ogawa & Malen, 1991), and National 
Institute of Mental Health consensus development program (Huberman, 
1977));
    (c) Develop hypotheses with input from potential consumers of the 
synthesis to enhance the usability and validity of project efforts. 
Consumers include researchers, technical assistance providers, policy 
makers, educators, other relevant practitioners, individuals with 
disabilities, and parents;
    (d) Develop linkage of synthesis with technical assistance 
providers and disseminators and prepare products for use by 
practitioners, technical assistance providers, and disseminators;
    (e) Implement procedures for locating and organizing the extant 
literature and ensure that these procedures address and guard against 
potential threats to the integrity, including generalization of 
findings;
    (f) Establish criteria and procedures for judging the 
appropriateness of studies;
    (g) Meet with the Office of Special Education Programs to review 
the project's topical focus and methodological approach for conducting 
the synthesis prior to the start of its synthesis;
    (h) Analyze and interpret the professional knowledge base, 
including identification of general trends in the literature, points of 
consensus and conflict among the findings, and areas of evidence where 
the literature base is lacking. The interpretation of the literature 
base must address the contributions of the findings for improving the 
practice of professionals serving children with disabilities; and

[[Page 8535]]

    (i) Submit a draft report in the 21st month of the project and, 
based on peer reviews, revise and submit a final report of the 
synthesis in the 24th month. During the second year of the project, the 
Secretary may fund an optional six-month period for additional 
dissemination activities.

Focus 7--Improving the Delivery of Special Education and Related 
Services or Early Intervention Services to Children Who Are English 
Language Learners

    Appropriate instruction and intervention for children with 
disabilities who are limited in their English language proficiency can 
be achieved in a variety of ways. Ultimately, the responsibility for 
assuring that the English language learner is receiving appropriate 
access to the curriculum or intervention rests with the school district 
or agency in its provision of necessary training and ongoing support to 
the teachers or practitioners. Providing native speakers of the child's 
language in the classroom or intervention program, including parents, 
may not be sufficient to assure delivery of appropriate education or 
interventions. Limitations of resources and availability of qualified 
bilingual personnel to provide special education, related services, or 
early intervention services throughout the Nation suggest that other 
approaches should be investigated that will enhance the availability 
and assurance of the provision of meaningful education.
    Under Focus 7 projects must pursue a systematic program of applied 
research that focuses on one or more areas related to improved 
approaches to the delivery of special education and related services or 
early intervention services to children who are English language 
learners. These areas may include, for example--
    (a) Examination of early reading practices (K-3) for children with 
learning and behavior issues who are limited in their English 
proficiency;
    (b) Improvement of reading comprehension in content area 
instruction in grades 4-8;
    (c) Examination of alternatives in the delivery of services to 
children with disabilities who are English language learners (e.g., is 
placement optimal in regular classes or programs with support from 
special education resources or is the child better served in placements 
with other children with similar disabilities with support from 
bilingual resources?);
    (d) The role cultural issues play in the provision of services 
(e.g., how do the perceptions of families regarding disabilities and 
services affect delivery of services?);
    (e) The preferred strategies to support the transition from 
bilingual to mainstream English speaking classes or programs (e.g., 
what teaching or intervention strategies are most effective?);
    (f) Examination of specific instructional approaches that promote 
problem solving and comprehension in reading, science, math, and social 
studies;
    (g) Examination of instructional or intervention approaches for 
growth in English language learning for these children;
    (h) Factors that improve the effectiveness of cooperative learning 
and classwide peer tutoring for English language learners;
    (i) The techniques that improve the transfer of proven practices to 
practitioner; and
    (j) The qualitative differences that exist in implementation of 
proven practices with practitioner and children who are English 
language learners who are located in inner-city schools or served 
through inner-city agencies (e.g., what is the involvement of 
families).

Focus 8--Educating Children With Disabilities in Inclusive Settings

    Focus 8 supports research projects to (a) identify new or improved 
systems change strategies that provide all children with disabilities, 
including children with severe disabilities, effective access to the 
general curriculum in regular classrooms as well as to nonsegregated 
extracurricular activities, and (b) describe how these school inclusion 
efforts as identified in (a) are aligned with systemic reform and 
school improvement strategies for all students.
    Each project will identify, describe, and examine: (1) The efficacy 
and linkages of existing systemic reform and school inclusion 
strategies; (2) how school systems provide administrative and other 
supports in general education settings to meet the needs of students 
with disabilities and other diverse learners; (3) how standards 
established for all children and authentic assessment practices are 
implemented for students with disabilities, and (4) social support 
strategies, including peer mediated strategies, that promote positive 
interactions among students with disabilities and their same-aged peers 
to foster cohesive school and classroom communities.
    To be considered for funding under Focus 8, a research project 
must--
    (a) Identify specific interventions or strategies to be 
investigated;
    (b) Design the research activities in a manner that is likely to 
improve services for all students in inclusive classrooms, including 
students with severe disabilities;
    (c) Conduct the research in schools pursuing systemic education 
reform and school inclusion; and
    (d) Use methodological procedures designed to produce findings 
useful to program implementers and policy makers regarding the impact 
and interaction effects of systemic reform and school inclusion 
strategies in State and local contexts and demonstrate the benefits to 
students including the reciprocal benefits of inclusive schooling for 
all students.

Requirements for All Directed Research Projects

    In addition to addressing one of the above mentioned focus areas, 
projects must--
    (a) Apply rigorous research methods (qualitative or quantitative, 
or both) to identify approaches contributing to improved results for 
children with disabilities;
    (b) Provide a conceptual framework, based on extant research and 
theory to serve as a basis for the issues to be studied, the research 
design, and the target population;
    (c) Prepare dissemination materials for both researcher and 
practitioner audiences and develop linkages with U.S. Department of 
Education dissemination and technical assistance providers, in 
particular those supported under the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act, to communicate research findings and distribute 
products; and
    (d) Budget for two trips annually to Washington, D.C., for: (1) A 
two-day Research to Practice Division Project Directors' meeting; and 
(2) another meeting to collaborate with the Research to Practice 
Division project officer and the other projects funded under this 
priority, and to share information and discuss findings and methods of 
dissemination.

Executive Order 12866

    This notice of proposed priorities has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order the Secretary 
has assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory 
action.
    The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed 
priorities are those determined by the Secretary as necessary for 
administering this program effectively and efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed

[[Page 8536]]

priorities, the Secretary has determined that the benefits of the 
proposed priorities justify the costs.
    The Secretary has also determined that this regulatory action does 
not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
    To assist the Department in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866, the Secretary invites comment on 
whether there may be further opportunities to reduce any potential 
costs or increase potential benefits resulting from these proposed 
priorities without impeding the effective and efficient administration 
of the program.

Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits

    There are no identified costs associated with this notice of 
proposed priorities. Announcement of the priorities will not result in 
costs to State and local governments, recipients of grant funds, or to 
children and youth with disabilities and their families. The benefit 
from these priorities will be to focus activities and Federal 
assistance on improving results for children and youth with 
disabilities.

Intergovernmental Review

    All programs in this notice (except for the Research and Innovation 
Projects) are 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.

Invitation to Comment

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments and 
recommendations regarding these proposed priorities.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
for public inspection, during and after the comment period, in Room 
3524, 300 C Street, SW, Washington, D.C., between the hours of 8:30 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.
    On request the Department supplies an appropriate aid, such as a 
reader or print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking docket for these proposed priorities. An individual with a 
disability who wants to schedule an appointment for this type of aid 
may call (202)-205-8113 or (202) 260-9895. An individual who uses a TDD 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339, 
between 8 a.m., and 8 p.m., eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Electronic Access to This Document

    Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or 
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
    To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases.

    Note: The official version of a document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: Research and 
Innovation to Improve Services and Results for Children with 
Disabilities, 84.324; and Technical Assistance and Dissemination to 
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities, 84.326)

    Dated: January 29, 1998.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 98-4138 Filed 2-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P