[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 353-355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-128]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.287]


21st Century Community Learning Centers; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001

    Purpose of Program: The 21st Century Community Learning Centers 
Program was established by Congress to award grants to rural and inner-
city public schools, or consortia of such schools, to enable them to 
plan, implement, or expand projects that benefit the educational, 
health, social services, cultural and recreational needs of the 
community. School-based community learning centers can provide expanded 
learning opportunities for children, youth and their families as well 
as a safe, drug-free, supervised and cost-effective afterschool, 
weekend or summer haven.
    For fiscal year (FY) 2001 we strongly encourage applicants to 
design projects that focus on the invitational priority in the 
PRIORITIES section of this application notice.
    Eligible Applicants: Only rural or inner-city public elementary or 
secondary schools, consortia of those schools, or local educational 
agencies (LEAs) applying on their behalf, are eligible to receive a 
grant under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. An LEA 
considering serving more than one school is encouraged to submit a 
consortium application on their behalf. Grants awarded under the 
program may be used to plan, implement, or expand community learning 
centers. Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the statutory 
program purpose of serving either ``rural'' or ``inner-city'' schools 
or a consortium of such schools.
    Applications Available: January 4, 2001.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 30, 2001.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 31, 2001.
    Available Funds: Approximately $205 million.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $35,000-$2,000,000, depending on the 
number of Centers included in each grant application.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000, for a grant that will 
support 4 Centers. The average funding for a single Center is $125,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 400 awards.
    Project Period: Up to 36 months. Please note that all applicants 
for multi-year awards are required to provide detailed budget 
information for the total grant period requested. The Department will 
negotiate at the time of the initial award the funding level for each 
year of the grant award.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part IV of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria reviewers 
use to evaluate your application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to 
limit Part IV to the equivalent of no more than 20 pages.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, and 86, and (b) the regulations in 34 CFR part 299.

Priorities

    The Absolute Priority, published in the notice of final priorities 
for this program in the Federal Register on December 2, 1997 (62 FR 
63773) and repeated below, applies to this competition. In addition, we 
give preference to applications that meet the Competitive Priority (34 
CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii) and 34 CFR 299.3(a)).
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only 
applications that meet the absolute priority in the next paragraph.
    Activities To Expand Learning Opportunities: We fund only those 
applications for 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants that 
include, among the array of services required and authorized by the 
statute, activities that offer significant expanded learning 
opportunities for children and youth in the community and that 
contribute to reduced drug use and violence.
    Invitational Priority: Within the absolute priority, Activities to 
Expand Learning Opportunities, in accordance with the Department of 
Education Appropriations Act, 2001, the Secretary strongly encourages 
applications that are submitted jointly by a local educational agency 
(or a consortium of local educational agencies) and at least one 
community-based organization that has experience in providing before-
and afterschool services. We are particularly interested in 
applications that meet this invitational priority.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give to an application that 
meets the invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference 
over other applications.
    Competitive Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we give 
preference to applications that meet the competitive priority described 
below.
    Competitive Priority. Projects that will use a significant portion 
of the program funds to address substantial problems in an Empowerment 
Zone, including a Supplemental Empowerment Zone, or an Enterprise 
Community designated by the United States Department of Housing and 
Urban Development or the United States Department of Agriculture. We 
select an application that meets this priority over an

[[Page 354]]

application of comparable merit that does not meet this competitive 
priority.


    Note: A list of areas that have been designated as Empowerment 
Zones and Enterprise Communities is published as an appendix to this 
notice.

    Applicable Funding Criteria: See application package.

Supplementary Information: The 21st Century Community Learning Centers 
Program is authorized under Title X, Part I (20 U.S.C. 8241) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Grantees under this program 
must use grant funds to plan, implement, or expand community learning 
centers which are required to carry out at least four of the activities 
listed in section 10905 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
(20 U.S.C. 8245), as listed below:
    (1) Literacy education programs;
    (2) Senior citizen programs;
    (3) Children's day care services;
    (4) Integrated education, health, social service, recreational, or 
cultural programs;
    (5) Summer and weekend school programs in conjunction with 
recreation programs;
    (6) Nutrition and health programs;
    (7) Expanded library service hours to serve community needs;
    (8) Telecommunications and technology education programs for 
individuals of all ages;
    (9) Parenting skills education programs;
    (10) Support and training for child day care providers;
    (11) Employment counseling, training, and placement;
    (12) Services for individuals who leave school before graduating 
from secondary school, regardless of the age of such individual; and
    (13) Services for individuals with disabilities.

    Applicants should propose an array of inclusive and supervised 
services that include expanded learning opportunities (such as 
instructional enrichment programs, tutoring, or homework assistance) 
but may also include recreational, musical and artistic activities, and 
opportunities to use advanced technology, particularly for those 
community members who do not have access to computers or 
telecommunications at home.
    Application Requirements. In accordance with the Department of 
Education Appropriations Act, 2001, applicants must describe in their 
application the elements of their projects that are designed to assist 
students to meet or exceed state and local standards in core academic 
subjects, as appropriate to the needs of the participating children.
    For the purpose of the program, the term ``community learning 
center'' ``means an entity within a public elementary or secondary 
school building that
    ``(1) provides educational, recreational, health, and social 
service programs for residents of all ages within a local community; 
and
    ``(2) is operated by a local educational agency in conjunction with 
local governmental agencies, businesses, vocational education programs, 
institutions of higher education, community colleges, and cultural, 
recreational, and other community and human service entities'' (20 
U.S.C. 8246).
    Geographic distribution: In awarding grants, the Secretary assures 
an equitable distribution of assistance among the States, among urban 
and rural areas of a State, and among urban and rural areas of the 
United States (20 U.S.C. 8243(b)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amanda Clyburn (Telephone: (202) 260-
3804) or Peter Eldridge (Telephone: (202) 260-2514), U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-6175. E-mail: 
[email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    For Applications Contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), 
P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-
7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734.

    You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.
    Or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
[email protected]

    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.287.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternative format by contacting that person. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 
format the standard forms included in the application package.

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, 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, D.C., 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.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8241-8246.

    Dated: December 28, 2000.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

Appendix--Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities

Urban and Rural Empowerment Zones (* indicates a rural zone)

California: Los Angeles, Oakland, Santa Ana, Riverside County*
Connecticut: New Haven
Florida: Miami/Dade County
Georgia: Atlanta, Cordele*
Illinois: Chicago, East St. Louis, Ullin*
Indiana: Gary, East Chicago
Kentucky: Kentucky Highlands* (Clinton, Jackson, and Wayne Counties)
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Boston
Michigan: Detroit
Minnesota: Minneapolis
Mississippi: Mid-Delta* (Bolivar, Holmes, Humphreys, LeFlore, 
Sunflower, Washington Counties)
Missouri/Kansas: Kansas City
Missouri: St. Louis
New Jersey: Cumberland County
New York: New York (Harlem, Bronx)
North Dakota: Lake Agassiz *
Ohio: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus
Ohio/West Virginia: Ironton/Huntington
Pennsylvania/New Jersey: Philadelphia/Camden
South Carolina: Columbia/Sumter*
South Dakota: Oglala Sioux Reservation in Pine Ridge*
Tennessee: Knoxville
Texas: Houston, El Paso, Rio Grande Valley* (Cameron, Hidalgo, 
Starr, and Willacy Counties)
Virginia: Norfolk/Portsmouth

Urban and Rural Enterprise Communities (* indicates a rural 
community)

Alabama: Birmingham, Chambers County*, Greene County*, Sumter 
County*

[[Page 355]]

Alaska: Juneau*
Arizona: Arizona Border* (Cochise, Santa Cruz and Yuma Counties), 
Phoenix, Window Rock*
Arkansas: East Central* (Cross, Lee, Monroe, and St. Francis 
Counties), Mississippi County*, Pulaski County
California: Imperial County*, Los Angeles, Huntington Park, San 
Diego, San Francisco, Bayview, Hunter's Point, Watonsville*, Orange 
Cove*
Colorado: Denver
Connecticut: Bridgeport, New Haven
Delaware: Wilmington
District of Columbia: Washington
Florida: Jackson County*, Miami, Dade County, Tampa, Immokalee*
Georgia: Albany, Central Savannah River* (Burke, Hancock, Jefferson, 
McDuffie, Tallafero, and Warren Counties), Crisp County*, Dooley 
County*
Hawaii: Kaunakakai*
Illinois: East St. Louis, Springfield
Indiana: Indianapolis, Austin*
Iowa: Des Moines
Kansas: Leoti*
Kentucky: Louisville, Bowling Green*
Louisiana: Macon Ridge* (Catahoula, Concordia, Franklin, Morehouse, 
and Tensas Parishes), New Orleans, Northeast Louisiana Delta* 
(Madison Parish), Ouachita Parish
Maine: Lewiston*
Massachusetts: Lowell, Springfield
Michigan: Five Cap*, Flint, Muskegon, Harrison*
Minnesota: Minneapolis, St. Paul
Mississippi: Jackson, North Delta Area* (Panola, Quitman, and 
Tallahatchie Counties)
Missouri: East Prairie*, St. Louis
Montana: Poplar*
Nebraska: Omaha
Nevada: Clarke County, Las Vegas
New Hampshire: Manchester
New Jersey: Newark
New Mexico: Albuquerque, La Jicarita* (Mora, Rio Arriba, Taos 
Counties), Deming*
New York: Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Buffalo, Newburg, Kingston, 
Rochester
North Carolina: Charlotte, Edgecombe, Halifax, Wilson*, Robeson 
Counties
Ohio: Akron, Columbus, Greater Portsmouth* (Scioto County)
Oklahoma: Choctaw, McCurtain Counties*, Oklahoma City, Ada*
Oregon: Josephine County*, Portland
Pennsylvania: Lock Haven*, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Uniontown*
Rhode Island: Providence
South Carolina: Hallandale*, Charleston, Williamsburg, Florence 
County*
South Dakota: Beadle, Spink Counties*
Tennessee: Fayette*, Haywood Counties*, Memphis, Nashville, 
Rutledge*
Tennessee/Kentucky: Scott, McCreary Counties*
Texas: Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, Waco, Uvalde*
Utah: Ogden
Vermont: Burlington
Virginia: Accomack* (Northhampton County), Norfolk
Washington: Lower Yakima County*, Seattle, Tacoma, Collie*
West Virginia: Charleston*, Huntington, McDowell County*, West 
Central Appalachia* (Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Nicholas, and Roane)
Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Keshena*
[FR Doc. 01-128 Filed 1-2-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P