[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20888-20890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9781]



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Part V





Department of Education





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Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program; Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 18, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority and selection criteria.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary announces the final priority and 
selection criteria for fiscal year (FY) 2000 under the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act, Title X--Programs of National Significance, 
Part A--Fund for the Improvement of Education--Section 10102, 
Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program. The Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program 
will administer this new grant competition. The Assistant Secretary 
takes this action to focus Federal financial assistance on establishing 
and expanding elementary school counseling programs. The Assistant 
Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 
2000 and later years.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice of priority and selection criteria takes 
effect on May 18, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta Riggans, Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools Program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, 
SW., Room 3E220, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Telephone: (202) 260-2661, 
email address: [email protected], Fax: (202) 260-7767. Internet: 
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS. If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD), you 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 in the preceding 
paragraph.

    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 the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration 
Program (CFDA #84.215E).
    The Assistant Secretary may make awards for up to 36 months to 
local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish or expand elementary 
school counseling programs.
    In making awards under this grant program, the Assistant Secretary 
ensures an equitable geographic distribution among the regions of the 
United States and among urban, suburban, and rural areas.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Assistant Secretary 
may make additional awards in FY 2001 from the rank-ordered list of 
unfunded applications from this competition.
    Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants under this competition are 
local educational agencies (LEAs) only. LEAs may apply in consortia 
with one or more LEAs; however, each participating LEA must ensure that 
all requirements of the priority for this competition are met.
    Deadline for Receipt of Applications: 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. 
Eastern Time on June 9, 2000. Applications received after that time 
will not be read. Postmarked dates will not be accepted.
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and Title X, Section 
10102 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Assistant 
Secretary gives an absolute preference to applications that meet the 
following priority. The Assistant Secretary funds under this 
competition only applications that meet this absolute priority.
    Under the absolute funding priority for this grant competition, LEA 
projects must establish or expand elementary school counseling programs 
at schools with at least one grade below fifth and no grade higher than 
eighth.
    Statutory Requirements: The statute requires each program assisted 
under this competition to:
    (1) Be comprehensive in addressing the personal, social, emotional, 
and educational needs of all students;
    (2) Use a developmental, preventive approach to counseling;
    (3) Increase the range, availability, quantity, and quality of 
counseling services in elementary schools of the local educational 
agency;
    (4) Expand counseling services only through qualified school 
counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers;
    (5) Use innovative approaches to increase children's understanding 
of peer and family relationships, work and self, decisionmaking, 
academic and career planning, or to improve social functioning;
    (6) Provide counseling services that are well-balanced among 
classroom group and small group counseling, individual counseling, and 
consultation with parents, teachers, administrators, and other pupil 
services personnel;
    (7) Include inservice training for school counselors, school social 
workers, school psychologists, other pupil services personnel, 
teachers, and instructional staff;
    (8) Involve parents of participating students in the design, 
implementation, and evaluation of a counseling program;
    (9) Involve collaborative efforts with institutions of higher 
education, businesses, labor organizations, community groups, social 
service agencies, or other public or private entities to enhance the 
program and promote school-linked services integration; and
    (10) evaluate annually the effectiveness and outcomes of the 
counseling services and activities assisted under this program.
    The statute also requires each applicant to--
    (1) Assure that the funds made available under this grant for any 
fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent practicable, 
increase the level of funds that would otherwise be available from non-
Federal sources for the program described in the application, and must 
in no case supplant those funds from non-Federal sources; and
    (2) Assure that the applicant will appoint an advisory board 
composed of parents, school counselors, school psychologists, school 
social workers, other pupil services personnel, teachers, school 
administrators, and community leaders to advise the LEA on the design 
and implementation of the counseling program.
    Definitions: The following definitions apply to this competition:
    (1) The term `school counselor' means an individual who has 
documented competence in counseling children and adolescents in a 
school setting and who--
    (A) Possesses State licensure or certification granted by an 
independent professional regulatory authority;
    (B) In the absence of such State licensure or certification, 
possesses national certification in school counseling or a specialty of 
counseling granted by an independent professional organization; or
    (C) Holds a minimum of a master's degree in school counseling from 
a program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and 
Related Educational Programs or the equivalent;
    (2) The term `school psychologist' means an individual who--
    (A) Possesses a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours in school 
psychology from an institution of higher education and has completed 
1,200 clock hours in a supervised school

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psychology internship, of which 600 hours shall be in the school 
setting;
    (B) Possesses State licensure or certification in the State in 
which the individual works; or
    (C) In the absence of such State licensure or certification, 
possesses national certification by the National School Psychology 
Certification Board;
    (3) The term `school social worker' means an individual who holds a 
master's degree in social work and is licensed or certified by the 
State in which services are provided or holds a school social work 
specialist credential; and
    (4) The term `supervisor' means an individual who has the 
equivalent number of years of professional experience in such 
individual's respective discipline as is required of teaching 
experience for the supervisor or administrative credential in the State 
of such individual.
    Selection Criteria: The following 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. (20 points)
    Applicants must propose projects that demonstrate the greatest need 
for new or additional counseling services among children in the 
elementary schools served by the project.
    In determining applications with the greatest need, the following 
factors are considered:
    (A) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the 
proposed project.
    (B) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
    (C) 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; and
    (D) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
    In describing the proposed project, applicants must:
    (1) Describe the elementary school population to be targeted by the 
program; the particular personal, social, emotional, educational, and 
career development needs of such population; and the current school 
counseling resources available for meeting such needs; and
    (2) Describe how any diverse cultural populations, if applicable, 
would be served through the program.
    (2) Quality of the project design. (20 points)
    Applicants must propose projects that demonstrate the most 
promising and innovative approaches for initiating or expanding 
counseling services in the target elementary schools.
    The following factors are considered in determining the quality of 
the project design:
    (A) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the counseling needs of 
the target population.
    (B) The quality of the proposed demonstration design and procedures 
for documenting project activities and results.
    (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.
    (D) The extent to which the proposed project will establish 
linkages with other appropriate agencies or organizations providing 
services to the target population.
    In describing the project design, applicants must describe the 
activities, services, and training to be provided by the program and 
the specific approaches to be used to meet the needs of the target 
population.
    (3) Significance of the project. (20 points)
    Applicants must propose projects that demonstrate the greatest 
potential for replication and dissemination. The following factors are 
considered in determining the significance of the project:
    (A) The likely utility of the products (such as information, 
materials, processes, or techniques) that will result from the proposed 
project, including the potential for their being used effectively in a 
variety of other settings.
    (B) The extent to which the results of the proposed project are to 
be disseminated in ways that will enable others to use the information 
or strategies.
    (C) The potential replicability of the proposed project or 
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation 
in a variety of settings.
    (D) The extent to which the design for implementing and evaluating 
the proposed project will result in information to guide possible 
replication of project activities, including information about 
effectiveness of the approach or strategies employed by the project.
    (4) Quality of the project evaluation. (20 points)
    Applicants must provide a detailed description of their plan to 
annually evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of the proposed 
counseling services and strategies. The following factors are 
considered in determining the quality of the project evaluation:
    (A) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
proposed project.
    (B) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for 
examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies.
    (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.
    (D) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about 
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings.
    In describing the proposed project evaluation, applicants must:
    (1) Describe the methods to be used to evaluate the outcomes and 
effectiveness of the project.
    (2) Agree to cooperate with any national evaluation of this grant 
competition that the Assistant Secretary may require.
    (5) Quality of the management plan. (10 points)
    Applicants must provide a detailed description of their plan to 
manage the activities outlined in their proposal. The following factors 
are considered in determining the quality of the management plan:
    (A) 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.
    (B) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are 
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed 
project.
    (C) How the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives 
are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project, including 
those of parents, teachers, the business community, a variety of 
disciplinary and professional fields, recipients or beneficiaries of 
services, or others, as appropriate.
    In describing the management plan, applicants must:
    (1) Describe the collaborative efforts to be undertaken with 
institutions of higher education, businesses, labor

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organizations, community groups, social service agencies, and other 
public or private entities to enhance the program and promote school-
linked services integration; describe collaborative efforts with 
institutions of higher education which specifically seek to enhance or 
improve graduate programs specializing in the preparation of elementary 
school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers; and
    (2) Document that the applicant has the personnel qualified to 
develop, implement, and administer the program.
    (6) Adequacy of resources. (10 points)
    Applicants must describe the resources committed to the proposed 
project.
    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 to the implementation and success of the project.
    (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.
    (C) The potential for the incorporation of the project purposes, 
activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or 
organization at the end of Federal funding.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    It is the Assistant 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. This is the first competition under 
the Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program since that 
program was authorized as part of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Improving America's Schools Act 
of 1994.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to the requirements of 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 government 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. 8002

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may review 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 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, 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

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.215E, 
Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Program)

    Dated: April 14, 2000.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-9781 Filed 4-14-00; 1:52 pm]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P