[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35993-35994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16861]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.330]


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Advanced Placement 
Incentive Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 1999.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary invites applications for new awards for FY 1999 
under the Advanced Placement Incentive Program and announces the 
deadline date for the transmittal of applications for funding under the 
program. This is a discretionary grant program.
    Purpose of Program: One purpose of the Advanced Placement Incentive 
Program is to enable States to reimburse part or all of the cost of 
advanced placement test fees for eligible low-income individuals. In 
addition, a State educational agency (SEA) in a State in which no 
eligible low-income individual is required to pay more than a nominal 
fee to take advanced placement tests in core subjects may use grant 
funds for activities directly related to increasing (a) the enrollment 
of low-income individuals in advanced placement courses; (b) the 
participation of low-income individuals in advanced placement tests; 
and (c) the availability of advanced placement courses in schools 
serving high-poverty areas. This program is authorized under title 
VIII, part B, of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (1998 
Amendments) (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the March 11, 1999 Federal Register (64 
FR 12154), the Secretary published a notice inviting applications for 
new awards for FY 1999 under the Advanced Placement Incentive Program. 
Under that competition, which closed on April 26, 1999, the Secretary 
has awarded approximately $2.8 million in grants of a total FY 1999 
appropriation of $4 million for this program. In order to provide more 
States that are eligible for funds under section 810(d) of the 1998 
Amendments (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11(d), note) an opportunity to apply, the 
Secretary hereby announces a supplemental FY 1999 grant competition for 
new awards under the Advanced Placement Incentive Program to carry out 
activities directly related to increasing (a) the enrollment of low-
income individuals in advanced placement courses; (b) the participation 
of low-income individuals in advanced placement tests; and (c) the 
availability of advanced placement courses in schools serving high-
poverty areas. The Secretary also announces the deadline date for the 
transmittal of applications under this supplemental competition.
    Who May Apply: SEAs in any State; including the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 
American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the 
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic 
of Palau; in which no eligible low-income individual is required to pay 
more than a nominal fee to take advanced placement tests in core 
subjects. SEAs receiving grants under the competition that closed on 
April 26, 1999, may apply for additional funds under this supplemental 
competition, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria described 
above.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 16, 1999.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 15, 1999.
    Applications Available: July 2, 1999.
    Available Funds: $1,200,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000 to $1,200,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $120,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 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: Up to 12 months.

Requirements for Approval of Applications

    In order to receive funding under this supplemental competition, an 
SEA must submit to the Department an application that contains the 
following:
    (a) A description of the advanced placement test fees the State 
will pay on behalf of individual students;
    (b) A description of the State's plan to disseminate information on 
the availability of test fee payments to eligible individuals through 
secondary school teachers and guidance counselors;
    (c) The number of children in the State who were eligible to be 
counted

[[Page 35994]]

under section 1124(c) of title I, part A of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)), 
during the preceding State fiscal year;
    (d) A description of the State's plan to evaluate the effectiveness 
of the program;
    (e) An assurance that funds provided under this program will be 
used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, local, or 
private funds available to assist low-income individuals in paying for 
advanced placement testing;
    (f) An assurance that no eligible low-income individual in the 
State will be required to pay more than a nominal fee to take advanced 
placement tests in core subjects; and
    (g) A narrative that addresses the selection criteria described 
below.

Selection Criteria

    The Secretary will use the following selection criteria to evaluate 
applications for funding under this supplemental competition. These 
criteria are taken from the Education Department General Administrative 
Regulations, as codified at 34 CFR 75.210. The maximum total score for 
all of the selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each 
criterion is as follows:
    (a) Need for project--10 points.
    (b) Significance--5 points.
    (c) Quality of project design--25 points.
    (d) Quality of project services--25 points.
    (e) Quality of project personnel--10 points.
    (f) Adequacy of resources--10 points.
    (g) Quality of the management plan--10 points.
    (h) Quality of the project evaluation--5 points.
    Allowable Activities
    States receiving grants under this supplemental competition may use 
the grant funds to support activities directly related to increasing 
(a) the enrollment of low-income individuals in advanced placement 
courses; (b) the participation of low-income individuals in advanced 
placement tests; and (c) the availability of advanced placement courses 
in schools serving high-poverty areas.
    Applicable Statute and Regulations: Title VIII, part B of the 1998 
Amendments (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note). The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, and 86.
    The following definitions and other provisions are taken from the 
Advanced Placement Incentive Program statute, in title VIII, part B of 
the 1998 Amendments (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note). They are repeated in 
this application notice for the convenience of the applicant.

Definitions

    As used in this section:
    (a) The term ``advanced placement test'' includes only an advanced 
placement test approved by the Secretary of Education for the purposes 
of this program.
    (b) The term ``low-income individual'' has the meaning given the 
term in section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a-11(g)(2)).

    Note: Under section 402A(g)(2) of the HEA, as amended, the term 
``low-income individual'' means an individual from a family whose 
taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of 
an amount equal to the poverty level determined by using criteria of 
poverty established by the Bureau of the Census (20 U.S.C. 1070a-
11(g)(2)).

Information Dissemination

    The SEA shall disseminate information regarding the availability of 
test fee payments under this program to eligible individuals through 
secondary school teachers and guidance counselors.

Supplementation of Funding

    Funds provided under this program must be used to supplement and 
not supplant other non-Federal funds that are available to assist low-
income individuals in paying advanced placement test fees.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Frank B. Robinson, U.S. 
Department of Education, School Improvement Programs, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW, Room 3C153, Washington, DC 20202-6140. Telephone (202) 260-
2669. Internet address: [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.

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

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note.

    Dated: June 29, 1999.
Judith Johnson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-16861 Filed 7-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P