[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 123 (Monday, June 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34638-34640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16408]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education, Fund for the Improvement of 
Postsecondary Education and the Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities--Alcohol and 
Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant Competition

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority and selection criteria for fiscal year 
1999.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a final priority and selection 
criteria for fiscal year (FY) 1999 under the Office of Postsecondary 
Education, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education and the 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities--Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on 
College Campuses Grant Competition. The Secretary takes this action to 
use Federal financial assistance to identify and disseminate models of 
alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention at institutions of higher 
education (IHEs). Alcohol and other drug use are closely related 
problems that are frequently addressed together as part of 
comprehensive AOD prevention efforts. However, for the purposes of this 
competition, the Secretary is interested in making awards to five (5) 
IHEs that have innovative programs aimed at alcohol prevention and five 
(5) IHEs that have innovative programs aimed at other drug prevention. 
These specific programs should be implemented within the context of a 
comprehensive AOD prevention effort on campus. IHEs that receive awards 
will use the funds to maintain, improve, or further evaluate their 
innovative programs and disseminate information about these innovative 
programs to other IHEs.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect on June 28, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
priority, contact Kimberly Light at the Safe and Drug-Free Schools 
Program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, 
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. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) upon request to the contact person listed above.

    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. Under the absolute priority, the 
Secretary may make awards for up to 12 months to institutions of higher 
education.

[[Page 34639]]

    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 the deadline date. 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), Title VII, Part B of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended, and the Department of Labor, Health 
and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 1999, 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, an 
IHE that wishes to be considered for an award as a model under this 
competition must identify, propose to maintain, improve, or further 
evaluate, and propose to disseminate information about an innovative 
and effective alcohol or other drug prevention program being used on 
its campus. Applications must:

    (1) Describe an innovative alcohol or other drug prevention 
program, and indicate how that program is integrated within a 
comprehensive approach to reducing alcohol and other drug-related 
problems on campus;
    (2) Provide evidence of the effectiveness of the innovative 
program in reducing either alcohol or other drug use, in reducing 
the problems resulting from either alcohol or other drug use, or in 
meeting outcome objectives that are associated with reductions in 
alcohol or other drug use or resulting problems;
    (3) Provide a plan to maintain, improve, or further evaluate the 
program during the year following award; and
    (4) Provide a plan to disseminate information to assist other 
IHEs in implementing a similar innovative program.

    In making awards under this grant program, the Secretary may take 
into consideration the geographic distribution and the diversity of 
activities addressed by the projects in addition to the rank order of 
applicants.

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) Significance (30 points).
    In determining the significance of the model, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (A) The extent to which the program involves the development or 
demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, or are 
alternatives to, existing strategies. (20 points)
    (B) The potential replicability of the program, including, as 
appropriate, the potential for implementation in a variety of settings. 
(5 points)
    (C) The extent to which the results of the program are to be 
disseminated in ways that will enable others to use the information or 
strategies. (5 points)
    (2) Quality of the program design (40 points).
    In determining the quality of the design of the program, the 
Secretary considers the following factors:
    (A) The extent to which the design of the program reflects up-to-
date knowledge from research and effective practice. (20 points)
    (B) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
program are clearly specified and measurable. (5 points)
    (C) The extent to which the design of the program is appropriate 
to, and successfully addresses, the needs of the target population or 
other identified needs. (10 points)
    (D) The quality of the plan to maintain, improve, or further 
evaluate the program. (5 points)
    In applying the above criteria, the Secretary considers the 
following information:
    (1) The quality of the needs assessment and how well this 
assessment relates to the goals and objectives of the innovative 
program;
    (2) How well the innovative program is integrated within a 
comprehensive alcohol and other drug prevention effort;
    (3) The level of institutional commitment, leadership and support 
for alcohol and other drug prevention efforts;
    (4) The clarity and strength of the institution's alcohol or other 
drug policies and the extent to which those policies are broadly 
disseminated and consistently enforced;
    (5) The extent to which students and employees are involved in the 
program design and implementation process;
    (6) The extent to which the institution has joined with community 
leaders to address AOD issues; and (7) If applying to be considered as 
an alcohol prevention model, what steps the institution is taking to 
limit alcoholic beverage sponsorship, advertising, and marketing on 
campus; and what steps are being taken to establish or expand upon 
alcohol-free living arrangements for students.
    (3) Quality of the project evaluation (30 points).
    In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (A) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives and outcomes of the 
program. (10 points)
    (B) 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 program and produce quantitative and 
qualitative data to the extent possible. (20 points)
    In applying the above criteria, the Secretary considers the 
following information:

    (1) The quality of the evaluation methodology and evaluation 
instruments;
    (2) Whether both process (formative) and outcome (summative) 
data are included for each year that the alcohol or other drug 
prevention program has been implemented, including data collected 
both before and after initiation of the program; and
    (3) How evaluation information has been used for continuous 
improvement of the institution's approach to alcohol or other drug 
prevention.

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 Provisions 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 FY 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 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)

[[Page 34640]]

on the World Wide Web at either of the following sites:

http://www.ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use pdf you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with search, 
which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If you have 
questions about using pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing Office, 
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 USC 1138-1138d; Public Law 105-277, 112 
Stat. 2681, 2681-371.

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.116X, Office of 
Postsecondary Education, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary 
Education and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities--
Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant 
Competition)

    Dated: June 23, 1999.
Judith Johnson,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
Claudio R. Prieto,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-16408 Filed 6-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P