[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23006-23008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11441]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CDFA No. 84.215F]


Physical Education for Progress Grant Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority and selection criteria for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2001.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the final priority and selection 
criteria under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 
Title X, Part L, Physical Education for Progress Grant Program. The 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education will administer this grant 
competition. The Secretary takes this action to help initiate, expand, 
and improve physical education programs in local educational agencies.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority and selection criteria are effective June 
18, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Connie Ann Deshpande, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW--Room 3E332, Washington, DC 
20202-6123. Telephone: (202) 401-2140, email address: 
[email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-888-877-8339.
    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 at the beginning of 
this section.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which the Secretary chooses to use this final priority and selection 
criteria, we invite applications through a notice in the Federal 
Register. A notice inviting applications under this competition is 
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General

    In making awards under this grant competition, the Secretary shall 
ensure an equitable distribution of awards between local educational 
agencies serving urban and rural areas, and between local educational 
agencies serving large and small numbers of students. Contingent upon 
the availability of funds, the Secretary may make additional awards in 
FY 2002 from the rank-ordered list of nonfunded applications from this 
competition.

Administrative Costs

    Not more than 5 percent of the grant funds made available to a 
local educational agency under this program in any fiscal year may be 
used for administrative costs.

[[Page 23007]]

Federal Share

    The Federal share for grants under this program may not exceed 90 
percent of the total cost of a project.

Prohibition Against Supplanting

    Grant funds made available under this program shall be used to 
supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local funds 
available for physical education activities.

Participation of Home Schooled or Private School Students

    An applicant for funds under this program may provide for the 
participation of home schooled children and their parents and teachers, 
or children enrolled in private non-profit elementary and secondary 
schools, and their parents and teachers. Applicants are not required to 
propose services for these groups.

Special Rule

    Grant funds made available under this program shall not be used to 
fund extracurricular activities.
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and Title X, Part L of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8351 et 
seq.), 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: Local 
educational agency (LEA) projects to initiate, expand, and improve 
physical education programs in schools. Such programs must be designed 
to assist the LEA in making progress toward meeting State standards for 
physical education, by providing funds for training and education of 
teachers and staff, and for equipment and support, to enable students 
in one or more grades kindergarten through 12 to participate actively 
in physical education activities. Under this absolute priority, to be 
considered for funding, an applicant is required to:
    (1) Have conducted a needs assessment of how well its current 
physical education program is enabling the LEA to attain State 
standards for physical education;
    (2) Based on the results of that needs assessment, include in its 
application a description of how the proposed activities will help the 
LEA make progress toward meeting State standards for physical 
education; and;
    (3) Set measurable goals and objectives for the proposed project 
and provide a description of how progress toward achieving goals will 
be measured annually.
    Competitive Preference: Within the absolute priority in this 
notice, the Secretary gives preference to applications that meet the 
following competitive priority: Applicants that provide an assurance 
that at least one-half of the funding provided to them under this 
program will be used to benefit students who attend schools identified 
for improvement by their States, consistent with the requirements in 
Title I, Section 1116(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2) the Secretary awards 5 points to an 
application that meets this competitive priority. These points are in 
addition to any points the applicant earns under the selection criteria 
for the program.

Selection Criteria

    The 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) Need for project. (20 points)
    In determining the need for the proposed project, the following 
factors are considered:
    (a) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project. (10 points)
    (b) 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. (10 points)
    (2) Significance. (20 points)
    In determining the significance of the proposed project, the 
following factors are considered:
    (a) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system 
change or improvement. (10 points)
    (b) The extent to which the proposed project involves the 
development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, 
or are alternatives to, existing strategies. (5 points)
    (c) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement. (5 points)
    (3) Quality of the project design. (45 points)
    In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, 
the following factors are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the proposed activities constitute a 
coherent, sustained program of training in the field. (20 points)
    (b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects 
up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice. (10 points)
    (c) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable. 
(5 points)
    (d) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target 
population or other identified needs. (10 points)
    (4) Quality of the project evaluation. (15 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 
proposed project. (5 points)
    (b) 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. (5 points)
    (c) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide 
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward 
achieving intended outcomes. (5 points)
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on a proposed priority and selection criteria. However, in 
order to make timely grant awards in fiscal year (FY) 2001, the 
Secretary has decided to issue this notice without first publishing a 
proposed priority and selection criteria for public comment. This 
priority will apply to the FY 2001 grant competition only. The 
Secretary takes this action under section 437(d)(1) of the General 
Education Provisions Act.
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.

[[Page 23008]]

    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.
    Applicable Program Regulations: (a) The Education Department 
General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations in 34 CFR part 299.

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 the following site: 
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free 
at the previous site. If you have questions about using 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 84.215F, Physical 
Education for Progress Grant Program)

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8351.

    Dated: April 27, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-11441 Filed 5-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U