[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 140 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39281-39282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19548]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.282A]


Public Charter Schools Program (PCSP); Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998

    Purpose of Program: A major purpose of the Public Charter Schools 
grant program is to increase understanding of the charter schools model 
by providing financial assistance for the design and initial 
implementation of charter schools.
    Who May Apply: (a) State educational agencies (SEAs) in States with 
laws authorizing the establishment of charter schools. The Secretary 
awards grants to SEAs to enable them to conduct charter schools 
programs in their States. SEAs use their PCSP funds to award subgrants 
to ``eligible applicants,'' as defined in this notice, for planning, 
program design, and initial implementation of a charter school.
    (b) Under certain circumstances, an authorized public chartering 
agency participating in a partnership with a charter school developer. 
Such a partnership is eligible to receive funding directly from the 
U.S. Department of Education if--
    (1) The SEA in its State elects not to participate in this program; 
or
    (2) The SEA in its State does not have an application approved 
under this program.
    If an SEA's application is approved in this competition, 
applications received from non-SEA eligible applicants in that State 
will be returned to the applicants. In such a case, the eligible 
applicant should contact the SEA for information related to its 
subgrant competition.

    Note: The following States currently have approved applications 
under this program: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, 
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, 
Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New 
Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South 
Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. In these States, only the SEA is 
eligible to receive an award under this competition. Eligible 
applicants in these States should contact their respective SEAs for 
information about participation in the State's charter school 
subgrant program.

    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 20, 1998.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental review: September 21, 1998.
    Applications Available: July 22, 1998.
    Available Funds: $55,000,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards:
    State educational agencies: $250,000-$5,000,000 per year.
    Other eligible applicants: $25,000-$150,000 per year.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards:
    State educational agencies: $3,000,000 per year.
    Other eligible applicants: $75,000 per year.
    Estimated Number of Awards:
    State educational agencies: 10-15.
    Other eligible applicants: 5-10.

    Note: These estimates are projections for the guidance of 
potential applicants. The Department is not bound by any estimates 
in this notice.

    Project Period: State educational agencies: Up to 36 months. Other 
eligible applicants: Up to 36 months.

    Note: Grants awarded by the Secretary directly to non-SEA 
eligible applicants or subgrants awarded by SEAs to eligible 
applicants will be awarded for a period of up to 36 months, of which 
the eligible applicant may use--

    (a) Not more than 18 months for planning and program design; and
    (b) Not more than two years for the initial implementation of a 
charter school.
    Applicable Regulations and Statute: The Education Department 
General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 75 (except 
Sec. 75.210), 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, and 86. Title X, Part C, 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 
Sec. 8061-8067.
    Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) the Secretary is particularly 
interested in applications that meet the following invitational 
priority. However, an application that meets this invitational priority 
does not receive absolute or competitive preference over applications 
that do not meet the priority:

Invitational Priority--Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities

    Projects that address linkages between charter school initiatives 
and comprehensive educational improvement strategies undertaken in 
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities designated by the 
Departments of Agriculture or Housing and Urban Development.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of wider education reform efforts to 
strengthen teaching and learning, charter schools can be an innovative 
approach to improving public education and expanding public school 
choice. While there is no one model, public charter schools are 
exempted from most statutory and regulatory requirements in exchange 
for performance-based accountability. They are intended to stimulate 
the creativity and commitment of teachers, parents, students, and 
citizens and contribute to better student academic achievement.
    Information regarding the required contents of applications, 
diversity of projects, and waivers are provided in the application 
package for this program.
    The following definitions, selection criteria, and allowable 
activities are taken from the Public Charter Schools statute, in Title 
X, Part C, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 
amended. They are being repeated in this application notice for the 
convenience of the applicant.

Definitions

    The following definitions apply to this program:
    (a) Charter school means a public school that--
    (1) In accordance with an enabling State statute, is exempted from 
significant State or local rules that inhibit the flexible operation 
and management of public schools, but not from any rules relating to 
the other requirements of this definition;
    (2) Is created by a developer as a public school, or is adapted by 
a developer from an existing public school, and is operated under 
public supervision and direction;
    (3) Operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives 
determined by the school's developer and agreed to

[[Page 39282]]

by the authorized public chartering agency;
    (4) Provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or 
both;
    (5) Is nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, 
employment practices, and all other operations, and is not affiliated 
with a sectarian school or religious institution;
    (6) Does not charge tuition;
    (7) Complies with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 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, and part B of the 
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act;
    (8) Admits students on the basis of a lottery, if more students 
apply for admission than can be accommodated;
    (9) Agrees to comply with the same Federal and State audit 
requirements as do other elementary and secondary schools in the State, 
unless the requirements are specifically waived for the purposes of 
this program;
    (10) Meets all applicable Federal, State, and local health and 
safety requirements; and
    (11) Operates in accordance with State law.
    (b) Developer means an individual or group of individuals 
(including a public or private nonprofit organization), which may 
include teachers, administrators and other school staff, parents, or 
other members of the local community in which a charter school project 
will be carried out.
    (c) Eligible applicant means an authorized public chartering agency 
participating in a partnership with a developer to establish a charter 
school in accordance with this program.
    (d) Authorized public chartering agency means a State educational 
agency, local educational agency, or other public entity that has the 
authority under State law and is approved by the Secretary to authorize 
or approve a charter school.

Selection Criteria for SEAs

    The maximum possible score for all of the criteria in this section 
is 100 points. The maximum possible score for each criterion is 
indicated in parentheses following each criterion. In evaluating an 
application from an SEA, the Secretary considers the following 
criteria:
    (a) The contribution that the charter schools grant program will 
make in assisting educationally disadvantaged and other students to 
achieve State content standards, State student performance standards, 
and, in general, a State's education improvement plan (20 points).
    (b) The degree of flexibility afforded by the SEA to charter 
schools under the State's charter schools law (20 points).
    (c) The ambitiousness of the objectives for the State charter 
schools grant program (20 points).
    (d) The quality of the strategy for assessing achievement of those 
objectives (20 points).
    (e) The likelihood that the charter schools grant program will meet 
those objectives and improve educational results for students (20 
points).

Selection Criteria for Non-SEA Eligible Applicants

    The maximum possible score for all of the criteria in this section 
is 120 points. The maximum possible score for each criterion is 
indicated in parentheses following each criterion. In evaluating an 
application from an eligible applicant other than an SEA the Secretary 
considers the following criteria:
    (a) The quality of the proposed curriculum and instructional 
practices (20 points).
    (b) The degree of flexibility afforded by the SEA and, if 
applicable, the local educational agency to the charter school (20 
points).
    (c) The extent of community support for the application (20 
points).
    (d) The ambitiousness of the objectives for the charter school (20 
points).
    (e) The quality of the strategy for assessing achievement of those 
objectives (20 points).
    (f) The likelihood that the charter school will meet those 
objectives and improve educational results for students (20 points).

Allowable Activities

    An eligible applicant receiving a grant or subgrant under this 
program may use the grant or subgrant funds for only--
    (a) Post-award planning and design of the educational program, 
which may include--
    (1) Refinement of the desired educational results and of the 
methods for measuring progress toward achieving those results; and
    (2) Professional development of teachers and other staff who will 
work in the charter school; and
    (b) Initial implementation of the charter school, which may 
include--
    (1) Informing the community about the school;
    (2) Acquiring necessary equipment and educational materials and 
supplies;
    (3) Acquiring or developing curriculum materials; and
    (4) Other initial operating costs that cannot be met from State or 
local sources.
    For Applications or Information Contact: John Fiegel, U.S. 
Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 4512, 
Portals Building, Washington, DC 20202-6140. Telephone (202) 260-2671. 
Internet address: John__F[email protected]. 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.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) upon request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternate format, also, by contacting that 
person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternate format the standard forms included in the application 
package.

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.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8061-8067.

    Dated: July 17, 1998.
Gerald N. Tirozzi,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-19548 Filed 7-21-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P