[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6588-6589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1761]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) Program

AGENCY: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and 
Improvement proposes a priority under the Fund for the Improvement of 
Education (FIE) for a grant competition for Community Coaches. The 
Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal 
year (FY) 2001 and later years.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 21, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Pat 
O'Connell Ross, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, 
NW., room 602D, Washington, DC 20202-5530. If you prefer to send your 
comments through the Internet, use the following address: 
[email protected].
    You must include the term Community Coaches in the subject line of 
your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat O'Connell Ross. Telephone: (202) 
219-2169 or via Internet: [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.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation to Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
reducing regulatory burden that might result from this proposed 
priority. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should 
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while 
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed priority in room 600, 555 New Jersey 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for this proposed priority. If you want to schedule 
an appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or 
(202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information 
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

General Information

    OERI administers the Fund for the Improvement of Education under 
section 10101, Part A of Title X of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended. The purpose of the Fund for the 
Improvement of Education (FIE) is to support nationally significant 
programs to improve the quality of education, assist all students to 
meet challenging State content standards, and contribute to the 
achievement of the National Education Goals.
    The Assistant Secretary is authorized, under section 10101, to 
support nationally significant programs and projects to improve the 
quality of education, and may carry out programs and projects through 
grants to State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher 
education, and other public and private agencies, organizations, and 
institutions. These activities may

[[Page 6589]]

include activities to promote and evaluate counseling and mentoring for 
students, including intergenerational mentoring.
    The Assistant Secretary believes that community coaches, who can 
help young people in learning through community service and who can 
serve to link the school with the business sector and the community, 
have the potential for providing high-quality, cost-effective mentoring 
for elementary and secondary students that can lead to improved 
personal, civic, and academic skills. The Assistant Secretary is 
interested in funding pilot projects that can serve as models for 
schools across the nation. These projects should support and evaluate 
the effectiveness of strategies that--
     Help young people gain concrete leadership skills by 
designing and implementing their own community-building projects;
     Help teachers and other school personnel identify and use 
the resources of their surrounding community to engage children in 
community service connected to their academic learning; and
     Engage students in hands-on learning and help them develop 
personal, civic, and academic skills through structured service 
projects that meet community needs.
    Projects could include partnerships between schools and hospitals, 
nursing homes, community recreation centers, and human service agencies 
of all types. The community coaches could be AmeriCorp members, 
teachers, guidance counselors, or other members of the community.

Discussion of Priority

    We will announce the final priority in a notice in the Federal 
Register. We will determine the final priority after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to the 
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding 
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking 
requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use this proposed priority, we invite 
applications through a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting 
applications we designate the priority as absolute, competitive 
preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of priority 
follows:

    Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only 
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
    Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference 
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either (1) 
awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent to 
which the application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or 
(2) selecting an application that meets the priority over an 
application of comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
    Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are 
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational 
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the 
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications 
(34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Priority

Pilot Projects--Community Coaches for Elementary and Secondary Students

    Projects that propose to develop and evaluate pilot programs that 
use community coaches in schools to help elementary or secondary or 
both students engage in structured service-learning projects that meet 
community needs. A ``community coach'' is a caring adult who offers 
guidance and support to young people and is committed to strengthening 
student community service. ``Service learning'' engages students in 
hands-on learning and helps them develop personal, civic, and academic 
skills through structured service projects that meet community needs.

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.

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 PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using 
PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 
(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



    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C.8001.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.215 Fund for the 
Improvement of Education Program)

    Dated: January 16, 2001.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 01-1761 Filed 1-17-01; 11:06 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P