[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19347-19349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10025]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities National Programs--Federal Activities--State 
and Regional Coalition Grant Competition To Prevent High-Risk Drinking 
Among College Students

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority, eligible applicants, and selection 
criteria for fiscal year 1999 and subsequent years.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a proposed priority, eligible 
applicants, 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 National Programs--Federal 
Activities-- State and Regional Coalition Grant Competition to Prevent 
High-Risk Drinking Among College Students. The Secretary takes this 
action to focus Federal financial assistance on an identified national 
need. This competition seeks to reduce and prevent high-risk drinking 
among college students by funding State or regional coalitions for a 
two-year period to bring together institutions of higher education 
(IHEs) to share ideas and develop, implement, and evaluate 
collaborative strategies.
    Invitation to Comment: Interested persons are invited to submit 
comments and recommendations regarding this proposed priority. All 
comments submitted in response to this notice will be available for 
public inspection, during and after the comment period, in Room 3E222, 
400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. 
and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, 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 that 
needs assistance to review the comments. 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 (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.

DATES: Comments must be received by the Department on or before May 20, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be 
addressed to Kimberly Light, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW, Room 3E222, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Comments may be sent 
through the Internet: [email protected] You must include the term 
``Alcohol, Other Drug, and Violence Prevention for IHEs'' in the 
subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Light, (202) 260-2647. 
Individuals who use a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339. 
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 above.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: High-risk drinking, including ``binge'' 
drinking, continues to affect the health, learning, and safety of 
college students. Excessive use of alcohol has resulted in deaths, 
serious injuries, vandalism, and sexual assault on college campuses. 
There is strong evidence that environmental factors, including alcohol 
availability, high-risk alcohol use norms, and the restrictiveness of 
State drunk driving laws, play a major role in student alcohol use. 
Different IHEs may have high-risk drinking problems that are affected 
by similar environmental concerns; therefore, developing partnerships 
with other IHEs can provide a forum to develop common solutions as well 
as a mechanism to create the ``critical mass'' of concerned 
stakeholders needed to influence broader environmental changes. The 
recent development of a number of IHE coalitions across the country 
suggests that such partnerships may be an effective method for IHEs 
with common environmental concerns to build local capacity to address 
high-risk drinking within their campus-communities. In addition, these 
efforts can have an impact within a larger community context, such as 
geographic regions within States (e.g., a large metropolitan area), 
similar institutions within States (e.g., all public universities), or 
institutions in States that share common borders. This competition 
seeks to

[[Page 19348]]

encourage these collaborative efforts and evaluate their effectiveness 
so that other IHEs may adopt effective strategies.
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994, the Secretary gives an 
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority. 
The Secretary funds under this competition only applications that meet 
the following absolute priority:

Implement and Evaluate the Impact of a State or Regional Coalition 
to Develop Strategies for Reducing and Preventing High-Risk 
Drinking Among College Students

    Applicants proposing a project under this priority must:
    (1) Propose to expand an existing or establish a new State or 
regional coalition of IHEs and other relevant organizations that 
includes key stakeholders who will have an impact on the development 
and implementation of State, local, and campus policies and programs to 
reduce and prevent high-risk drinking;
    (2) Explain how coalition members will work together on a regular 
basis, including meeting to discuss common problems and share effective 
strategies;
    (3) Use community collaboration prevention approaches, including 
involvement of students, that research or evaluation has shown to be 
effective in preventing or reducing high-risk drinking;
    (4) Use a qualified evaluator to design and implement an evaluation 
of the project using outcomes-based (summative) performance indicators 
in addition to process (formative) measures that documents strategies 
used and measures the effectiveness of the coalition;
    (5) Demonstrate the ability to start the project within 60 days 
after receiving Federal funding in order to maximize the time available 
to show impact within the grant period; and (6) Share information about 
their projects with the Department of Education or its agents.

Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants under this competition are IHEs and consortia 
of IHEs, and other public and private nonprofit organizations.

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. The maximum score for each 
criterion or factor under that criterion is indicated in parentheses.
    (1) Need for project (15 points).
    In determining the need for the proposed project, the following 
factors are considered:
    (a) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the 
proposed project. (10 points)
    (b) 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. (5 points)
    (2) Significance (14 points).
    In determining the significance of the proposed project, the 
following factors are considered:
    (a) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system 
change or improvement. (10 points)
    (b) The potential replicability of the proposed project or 
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation 
in a variety of settings. (4 points)
    (3) Quality of the project design (15 points).
    In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, 
the following factors are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable. 
(4 points)
    (b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects 
up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice. (6 points)
    (c) 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. (5 points)
    (4) Quality of the project personnel (15 points).
    In determining the quality of project personnel, the following 
factors are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for 
employment from persons who are members of groups that have 
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national 
origin, gender, age, or disability. (3 points)
    (b) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of key project personnel. (12 points)
    (5) Adequacy of resources (16 points).
    In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed project, 
the following factors are considered:
    (a) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in 
the proposed project the implementation and success of the project. (8 
points)
    (b) 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. (4 points)
    (c) The potential for continued support of the project after 
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated 
commitment of appropriate entities to such support. (4 points)
    (6) Quality of the management plan (14 points).
    In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed 
project, the following factors are considered:
    (a) How the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives 
are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project, including 
those of students, faculty, parents, the business community, a variety 
of disciplinary and professional fields, recipients or beneficiaries of 
services, or others, as appropriate. (10 points)
    (b) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing 
project tasks. (4 points)
    (7) Quality of the project evaluation (11 points).
    In determining the quality of the evaluation, the following factors 
are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives and outcomes of the 
proposed project. (4 points)
    (b) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide 
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward 
achieving intended outcomes. (3 points)
    (c) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use 
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the 
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and 
qualitative data to the extent possible. (4 points)

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,

[[Page 19349]]

which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If you have 
questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing 
officer toll free at 1-888-293-6498.

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

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

    Dated: April 16, 1999.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184H Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities National Programs--Federal Activities --State and 
Regional Coalition Grant Competition to Prevent High-Risk Drinking 
Among College Students)
Judith Johnson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-10025 Filed 4-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P