[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18544-18546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9341]



[[Page 18543]]

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Part VI





Department of Education





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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Programs; Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 1999; Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 71 / Wednesday, April 14, 1999 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities National Programs; Federal Activities Grant 
Program--Middle School Drug Prevention and School Safety Program 
Coordinators

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority and selection criteria for Fiscal Year 
1999 and subsequent years.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the final priority and selection 
criteria for fiscal year (FY) 1999, and at the discretion of the 
Secretary for subsequent years, under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools 
and Communities (SDFSC) National Programs Federal Activities Grants 
Program for the Middle School Drug Prevention and School Safety Program 
Coordinators competition. The Secretary takes this action to focus 
Federal financial assistance on national needs to recruit, hire, and 
train drug prevention and school safety program coordinators for middle 
schools with significant drug, discipline and violence problems.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect on April 14, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
priority under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National 
Programs Federal Activities Grants Program, contact the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools Program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Room 3E324, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Telephone: (202) 
260-3954. FAX: (202) 260-7767. Internet: http://www.ed.gov/offices/
OESE/SDFS.
    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g. Braille, large print, audio tape, or computer 
diskette) upon request to the contact office listed above. Individuals 
with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an 
alternative format, also, by contacting that office. However, the 
Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format the standard 
forms included in the application package.

    Note: This notice of final priority does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition 
is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice contains the final priority and 
selection criteria for FY 1999, and at the discretion of the Secretary, 
subsequent years. Under the absolute priority (Middle School Drug 
Prevention and School Safety Program Coordinators (CFDA 84.184K)), the 
Secretary may make awards for up to 36 months to local educational 
agencies.
    In making awards under this grant program, the Secretary may take 
into consideration the geographic distribution and the diversity of 
proposed 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 FY 2000 from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 
applications from this competition.

Definitions

    The following definitions apply to this competition:
    (a) Middle schools are defined as any school serving students in 
two or more grades from grades five through nine.

    Note: Students in grades lower than five or higher than nine are 
not eligible to be served under this priority.

    (b) Local education agencies (LEAs) with the most significant 
problems in their middle schools are defined as those that have 
identified drug use, drug prevention and school safety as serious 
problems in their most recent needs assessment and have taken one or 
more of the following actions within the 12 months preceding the date 
of this announcement:
    (1) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or 
programs at least one middle school student for possession, 
distribution, or use of alcohol or drugs, including tobacco;
    (2) Referred for treatment of substance abuse at least five middle 
school students;
    (3) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or 
programs at least one middle school student for possession or use of a 
firearm or other weapon;
    (4) Suspended, expelled or transferred to alternative schools or 
programs at least five middle school students for physical attacks or 
fights.
    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 June 1, 1999. Applications received after that 
time will not be eligible for funding. Postmarked dates will not be 
accepted.

Absolute Priority

    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.
    Under the absolute funding priority for this grant competition, 
LEAs with significant drug, discipline, or school safety problems in 
their middle schools must propose projects that--
    (a) Recruit, hire, and train full-time drug prevention and school 
safety program coordinator(s) for their middle schools with the most 
significant drug, discipline, or school safety problems;
    (c) Require coordinators hired with funds under this priority to 
perform at least the following functions in one or more middle schools 
with significant drug, discipline or school safety problems:
    (1) Identify research-based drug and violence prevention strategies 
and programs;
    (2) Assist schools in adopting the most successful strategies, 
including training of teachers, staff and relevant partners as, as 
needed;
    (3) Develop, conduct, and analyze assessments of school crime and 
drug problems;
    (4) Work with community agencies and organizations to ensure that 
students' needs are met;
    (5) Work with parents and students to obtain information about 
effective programs and strategies and encourage their participation in 
program selection and implementation;
    (6) Assist in the development and implementation of evaluation 
strategies;
    (7) Identify additional funding sources for drug prevention and 
school safety program initiatives;
    (8) Provide feedback to SEAs on programs and activities that have 
proven to be successful in reducing drug use and violent behavior; and
    (9) Coordinate with student assistance and employee assistance 
programs.
    Local educational agencies may apply for funding under this 
priority to hire one or more coordinators to serve middle schools in 
the district. Each coordinator hired with funds from this grant must:
    (1) Serve at least one middle school but no more than seven middle 
schools;
    (2) Serve only students in two or more grades from grades five 
through nine;

    Note: Students in grades lower than five or higher than nine are 
not eligible to be served under this priority.


[[Page 18545]]


    (3) Have no duties other than coordination of drug prevention or 
school safety programs;
    (4) At a minimum, have a degree from an accredited four-year 
institution of higher education and an academic background or 
equivalent work experience in a field related to youth development, 
such as education, psychology, sociology, social work, or nursing.
    LEAs may apply in consortia with one or more adjacent LEAs; 
however, each participating LEA must ensure that all requirements of 
the priority for this competition are met.
    The Secretary funds under this competition only applications that 
meet this absolute priority.

Selection Criteria

    The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate 
applications for new grants under this competition. The maximum score 
for all of these criteria is 100 points.
    (1) Need for the project. (25 points)
    (a) Applicants must:
    (i) Describe the drug, violence, or safety problems in middle 
schools that will be served by coordinators(s) funded by these grants;
    (ii) Provide data on the number of students in grades five through 
nine who were suspended, expelled or transferred to alternative 
settings for drug use or violent behavior during the 12 months 
preceding the date of this announcement;
    (iii) Explain how the coordinator(s) will make a difference in the 
drug, violence and safety problems at the middle schools to be served 
by this initiative; and
    (iv) Describe how the position funded by this grant will be 
coordinated with existing prevention programs and staff.
    (b) In determining the need for the proposed project, the following 
factor is considered:
    The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services, 
infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be 
addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude 
of those gaps or weaknesses.
    (2) Quality of the project design. (25 points)
    (a) Applicants must:
    (i) Provide a detailed description of their plan for bringing about 
change in the type and quality of drug prevention and school safety 
programs for students in grades five through nine; and
    (ii) Describe how the community will be involved in designing and 
supporting these programs.
    (b) The following factors are considered in determining the quality 
of the project design:
    (i) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target 
population;
    (ii) The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build 
capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of 
Federal financial assistance;
    (iii) The extent to which the proposed project will establish 
linkages with other appropriate agencies and organizations providing 
services to the target population, including community coalitions;
    (iv) The extent to which the proposed project encourages parental 
involvement; and
    (v) The extent to which performance feedback and continuous 
improvement are integral to the design of the proposed project.
    (3) Adequacy of Resources (25 points)
    (a) Applicants must:
    (i) Describe their plan for supporting and institutionalizing the 
coordinator position into the district's permanent staffing structure, 
including how they will ensure its continuation when Federal funding 
ends;
    (ii) Explain how this coordinator position will be integrated into 
the staffing structure of the district as a whole, including where the 
coordinator will be housed and to whom the coordinator will report;
    (iii) Explain the district's plan to support the authority of the 
coordinator to design, select and implement prevention initiatives; and
    (iv) Explain how information developed by coordinators will be used 
by LEA policy makers.
    (b) Factors considered in determining the adequacy of resources 
are:
    (i) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, 
supplies, and other resources from the applicant organization or the 
lead applicant organization;
    (ii) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to 
the number of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and 
benefits;
    (iii) The potential for continued support of the project after 
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated 
commitment of appropriate entities to such support; and
    (iv) The potential for the incorporation of project purposes, 
activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or 
organization at the end of Federal funding.
    (4) Quality of the project evaluation (25 points)
    (a) Applicants must:
    (i) Provide a detailed description of their plan to evaluate 
implementation of the coordinator initiative with particular attention 
to how prevention strategies have changed as a result of the 
coordinator's efforts and the effects on student outcomes; and
    (ii) Agree to cooperate with the national evaluation of the 
coordinators' initiative that will be funded by the Department of 
Education.
    (b) In determining the quality of the project evaluation, the 
following factors are considered:
    (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are appropriate 
to the context within which the project operates;
    (ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for 
examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies; and
    (iii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide 
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward 
achieving intended outcomes.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    It is the Secretary's practice, in accordance with the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), to offer interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed rules. Section 437 
(d)(1) of the General Education Provision Act (GEPA), however, exempts 
from this requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a 
new or substantially revised program. Funding was provided for this new 
initiative in the fiscal year 1999 appropriations act enacted October 
21, 1998. The Secretary, in accordance with section 437 (d)(1) of GEPA, 
has decided to forego public comment in order to ensure timely grant 
awards.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is 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 government for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    In accordance with this order, this document is intended to provide 
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for 
this program.

Electronic Access to This Document

    Department of Education documents are published in the Federal 
Register, in text or portable document format (PDF) on the world wide 
web at either of the following sites:
    http://www.ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.html or http://www.ed.gov/news.html.

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

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

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131.

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184K, Safe and 
Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act National Programs--Federal 
Activities Grants Program)
Judith Johnson,
Acting/Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 99-9341 Filed 4-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U