[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 67 (Thursday, April 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18204-18205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8453]



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Part VII





Department of Education





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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities National Programs; Federal Activities; and 
Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant 
Competition; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 67 / Thursday, April 6, 2000 / 
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; Alcohol 
and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant Competition

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority, eligible applicants, and selection 
criteria.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a final priority, eligible applicants, 
and selection criteria for fiscal year (FY) 2000 under the Safe and 
Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs--Federal 
Activities--Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College 
Campuses Grant Competition. The Secretary may use this priority, 
eligible applicants, and selection criteria for competitions in FY 2001 
and later years. 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).

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority, eligible applicants, and selection 
criteria are effective May 8, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Light, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW--Room 3E222, Washington, DC 20202-
6123. Telephone: (202) 260-2647. If you use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at (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 in the preceding 
paragraph.

    Note: This notice of final priorities does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition 
is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The 
notice inviting applications will specify the date and time by which 
applications for this competition must be received by the 
Department. Applications received after that time will not be 
eligible for funding. Postmarked dates will not be accepted.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary published a notice of proposed 
priority, eligible applicants, and selection criteria for this 
competition in the Federal Register on February 14, 2000 (65 FR 7370-
7372). Except for minor editorial revisions, there are no differences 
between the notice of proposed priority, eligible applicants, and 
selection criteria and this notice of final priority, eligible 
applicants, and selection criteria.

Analysis of Comments and Changes

    In response to the Secretary's invitation in the notice of proposed 
priority, two parties submitted comments on the proposed priority. An 
analysis of the comments follows. Comments that propose changes the law 
does not authorize the Secretary to make under the applicable statutory 
authority are not addressed.

Eligible Applicants

    Comments: One commenter recommended that eligible applicants 
include park and recreation sites adjacent to campuses.
    Discussion: In the original authorization for this program (Section 
120(f) of the Higher Education Act, as amended), Congress clearly 
intended the recipients of grant awards to be IHEs. Although the 
current grant program is being administered under the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities National Programs, the Secretary plans to 
follow as closely as possible the original intent of Congress to award 
funds to IHEs.
    Changes: None.

Absolute Priority

    Comments: One commenter suggested that student assistance programs 
be among the models emphasized under the priority.
    Discussion: The priority language is broad enough to include a wide 
range of alcohol and other drug programs, which may include student 
assistance programs. It is not necessary to emphasize any particular 
type of program within the priority.
    Changes: None.

General

    In making awards under this grant program, the Secretary may take 
into consideration the geographic distribution of the projects and the 
diversity of activities addressed by the projects in addition to the 
rank order of applicants.
    Contingent upon availability of funds, the Secretary may make 
additional awards in FY 2001 from the rank-ordered list of nonfunded 
applications from this competition.
    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, and funds 
under this competition only those applications that meet the following 
absolute priority:
    Under this priority, an IHE that wishes to be considered for an 
award for a model program must identify, propose to maintain, improve, 
or further evaluate, and propose to disseminate information about an 
effective alcohol or other drug prevention program currently being used 
on its campus. Applications must:
    (1) Describe an alcohol or other drug prevention program that has 
been implemented for at least one full academic year on the applicant's 
campus;
    (2) Provide evidence of the effectiveness of the program;
    (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 program.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) are 
the eligible applicants under this competition. To be eligible, an IHE 
must not have received an award under this competition (under either 
CFDA 84.116X or 84.184N) during the previous two (2) fiscal years.
    Selection Criteria: The Assistant Secretary uses the following 
selection criteria 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) Significance. (25 points)
    In determining the significance of the model, the following factors 
are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the program involves the development or 
demonstration of innovative strategies that build on, or are 
alternatives to, existing strategies. (15 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 
following factors are considered:
    (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

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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 following information is 
considered:
    (1) The quality of the needs assessment and how well this 
assessment relates to the goals and objectives of the program.
    (2) How well the 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.
    (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. (35 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 
program. (10 points)
    (b) The extent to which the evaluation data provide evidence of the 
effectiveness of the 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. (25 
points)
    In applying the above criteria, the following information is 
considered:
    (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 program has been implemented, 
including data collected both before and after initiation of the 
program.
    (3) How evaluation information has been used for continuous 
improvement of the program.
    Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive 
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the 
objectives of the Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental 
partnership and a strengthened federalism. The Executive order relies 
on processes developed by State and local governments for coordination 
and review of proposed Federal financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

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

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 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 (GPO) toll free at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC area 
at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:


http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184N Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities National Programs--Federal Activities--Alcohol and Other 
Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant Competition)

    Dated: March 31, 2000.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-8453 Filed 4-5-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U