[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 190 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52854-52856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26256]



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Part V





Department of Education





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34 CFR Part 675



Federal Work-Study Programs; Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 190 / Thursday, October 1, 1998 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 675

RIN 1840-AC56


Federal Work-Study Programs

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Final regulations.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the regulations governing the Federal 
Work-Study (FWS) Program authorized under title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (title IV, HEA programs). The 
Secretary makes these changes in response to the national need to 
improve student achievement in mathematics by providing for an 
additional waiver of the FWS institutional-share requirement for 
mathematics tutors of children who are in elementary school through the 
ninth grade.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These regulations take effect on July 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy S. Gause, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Regional Office Building 3, 
Room 3045, Washington, DC 20202-5447. Telephone: (202) 708-8242. 
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) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Part 675--Federal Work-Study Programs

    The Secretary is providing for an additional waiver of the FWS 
institutional-share requirement in Sec. 675.26. The Secretary will 
authorize a Federal share of 100 percent of the compensation earned by 
a student during an award year if both of the following criteria are 
met:
    1. The work performed by the student is for the institution itself, 
for a Federal, State, or local public agency, or for a private 
nonprofit organization.
    2. The student is employed as a mathematics tutor for children who 
are in elementary school through the ninth grade.
    This regulatory change will provide an institution with additional 
flexibility necessary to respond to the national need to improve 
student achievement in mathematics. Student achievement in mathematics 
in the United States is not at an internationally competitive level. 
Thirty-six percent of fourth graders and 38 percent of eighth graders 
score below the basic level in mathematics. The recent Third 
International Math and Science Study shows that, while U.S. students 
perform above the international average in mathematics at the fourth-
grade level, by the eighth grade, relative performance is below the 
international average.
    The President has issued a challenge to public officials, business 
leaders, professional organizations, institutions of higher education, 
teachers, parents, and students to take the steps necessary to improve 
student achievement in mathematics in order to prepare our students and 
the Nation for the twenty-first century. This challenge seeks to 
mobilize resources to ensure that all students are prepared to pursue 
rigorous high school mathematics and science courses that prepare them 
for college and careers. A mastery of mathematics, including a strong 
foundation in algebra and geometry, is a gateway to college and the job 
market.
    One important step to improving student achievement in mathematics 
is to ensure that students who need it get support and activities that 
reinforce the classroom experience and convey the importance of 
acquiring a solid foundation in mathematics. The tutoring of children 
who are in elementary school through the ninth grade in mathematics can 
build a firm foundation for success throughout their lives. This 
investment in our youth is an investment in this country's future. The 
efforts associated with this new waiver for mathematics tutors of 
children, including the preparation of the FWS students as tutors, are 
justified by the benefits of preparing children to compete in the 
global economy and ensuring our Nation's economic growth.
    This new waiver builds on the success of the ``America Reads 
Challenge.'' Effective with the 1997-98 award year, the Secretary 
waived the FWS institutional-share requirement for reading tutors of 
children from infancy through elementary school. See 61 FR 60392 
(November 27, 1996). That waiver provided institutions with the 
flexibility necessary to respond to the ``America Reads Challenge,'' 
which is mobilizing resources to ensure that all children can read 
independently and well by the end of the third grade. The Secretary is 
pleased with the overwhelming response to that reading initiative. Over 
one thousand institutions have joined the ``America Reads Challenge'' 
by committing FWS students to tutor young children in reading. A 
diverse array of institutions, representing all types of students, made 
the commitment to tutor children in their communities. The ``America 
Reads Challenge'' is helping thousands of children learn to read. The 
FWS students not only help children read better by giving them extra 
learning time, they also build confidence, boost motivation, and send 
each child an important message: that reading counts!
    Effective with the 1998-99 award year, the Secretary added a waiver 
of the institutional-share requirement under the FWS Program for 
students employed as tutors in a family literacy program that provides 
literacy services to children from infancy through elementary school or 
to their parents or caregivers. See 62 FR 63438 (November 28, 1997). 
This waiver for tutors working in family literacy programs is based on 
research that shows that children whose parents work with them on 
literacy skills during early childhood have a better chance of reading 
well and independently.
    This new waiver for mathematics tutors will help ensure that 
students have a solid foundation in mathematics as they enter high 
school. The Department, in a 1997 report entitled ``Mathematics Equals 
Opportunity,'' noted that low-income students who take algebra and 
geometry are almost three times as likely to attend college as those 
who do not. Although taking algebra by the eighth grade is a gateway to 
college preparatory courses, only 15 percent of low-income students 
enroll in algebra by the eighth grade. Mathematics tutors working with 
students who are in elementary school through the ninth grade can be 
one component of an institution's efforts to get students on the track 
to college.
    The Secretary strongly encourages all institutions to employ FWS 
students as reading and mathematics tutors for children and as tutors 
in family literacy programs that provide services to families with 
preschool age children or children who are in elementary school. The 
placement of students in these jobs is, in many instances, an important 
way for institutions to meet the community service expenditure 
requirement under the FWS Program, serve the needs of the community, 
and give the FWS students a rewarding and enriching experience. As with 
programs providing tutoring in reading and family literacy, programs 
providing mathematics tutoring may take place during the children's 
school hours, after school, on weekends, or in the summer in order to 
extend learning time. The institution may create a

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mathematics-tutoring program, expand an existing reading tutoring 
program to incorporate mathematics, or continue to focus solely on 
reading. In addition, the institution may construct its own tutoring 
program or become involved in existing tutoring programs.
    The new waiver of the FWS institutional-share requirement in 
Sec. 675.26 for mathematics tutors of children who are in elementary 
school through the ninth grade does not require the institution to make 
a request for a waiver. Also, the institution has the option of still 
providing an institutional share and determining the amount of that 
share.
    It is important to note that the Secretary continues the current 
exceptions that authorize a Federal share of 100 percent of the 
compensation earned by students employed as reading tutors of preschool 
age children or children who are in elementary school, students 
employed as tutors in a family literacy program that provides services 
to families with preschool age children or children who are in 
elementary school, and students enrolled at eligible institutions under 
the Strengthening Institutions Program, the Strengthening Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities Program, or the Strengthening 
Historically Black Graduate Institutions Program.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act

    The Goals 2000: Educate America Act (Goals 2000) focuses the 
Nation's education reform efforts on the eight National Education Goals 
and provides a framework for meeting them. Goals 2000 promotes new 
partnerships to strengthen schools and expands the Department's 
capacities for helping communities to exchange ideas and obtain 
information needed to achieve the goals.
    These regulations address the National Education Goal that calls 
for increasing the rate at which students graduate from high school and 
pursue high quality postsecondary education.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), 
it is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, the Secretary 
is specifically authorized under section 443(b)(5) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2753(b)(5)) to determine, 
through the promulgation of regulations, that the Federal share of 
compensation for FWS students may exceed 75 percent if required in 
furtherance of the purposes of the program. The Secretary has made such 
a determination in this case. Revising Sec. 675.26(d) will increase 
institutional flexibility and help to meet an important educational 
need for mathematics tutors in elementary school through the ninth 
grade without imposing any burden on the affected parties. For these 
reasons, the Secretary has determined, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), 
that public comment on the amendment to Sec. 675.26(d) is unnecessary 
and contrary to the public interest.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that these regulations would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Small entities affected by these regulations are small institutions of 
postsecondary education.
    The provisions of these regulations provide added flexibility to 
institutions. Thus, no significant adverse economic impacts on small 
entities are expected to occur.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    These regulations have been examined under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 and have been found to contain no information collection 
requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    The Federal Work-Study Program is not subject to the requirements 
of Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.

Assessment of Educational Impact

    Based on its own review, the Department has determined that the 
regulations in this document do not require transmission of information 
that is being gathered by or is available from any other agency or 
authority of the United States.

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 at (202) 512-1530 or, 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 this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 675

    Loan programs--education, Student aid.

    Dated: September 28, 1998.
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.033 Federal Work-
Study Program)

    The Secretary amends chapter VI of Title 34 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 675--FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS

    1. The authority citation for Part 675 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2751-2756a, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 675.26 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 675.26  FWS Federal share limitations.

* * * * *
    (d) For each award year, the Secretary authorizes a Federal share 
of 100 percent of the compensation earned by a student under this part 
if--
    (1) The work performed by the student is for the institution 
itself, for a Federal, State, or local public agency, or for a private 
nonprofit organization; and
    (2)(i) The institution in which the student is enrolled--
    (A) Is designated as an eligible institution under the 
Strengthening Institutions Program (34 CFR part 607), the Strengthening 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program (34 CFR part 608), 
or the Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions Program 
(34 CFR part 609); and
    (B) Requests that increased Federal share as part of its regular 
FWS funding application for that year;
    (ii) The student is employed as a reading tutor for preschool age 
children or children who are in elementary school;
    (iii) The student is employed as a tutor in a family literacy 
program that provides services to families with preschool age children 
or children who are in elementary school; or

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    (iv) The student is employed as a mathematics tutor for children 
who are in elementary school through the ninth grade.

[FR Doc. 98-26256 Filed 9-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U