[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15048-15050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7474]



[[Page 15047]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part III





Department of Education





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 60 / Thursday, March 28, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 15048]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No: 84.215E]


Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 2002.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We invite applications for new grant awards for FY 2002 for 
the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs. These grants 
are authorized under Title V, Part D, Subpart 2 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act (ESEA). We also announce the final priority and 
selection criteria to govern this competition and FY 2002 award of 
these grants. The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Safe 
and Drug-Free Schools Program will administer this grant competition.
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to focus Federal 
financial assistance on establishing and expanding elementary school 
counseling programs.
    Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants under this competition are 
local educational agencies (LEAs). 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.
    Applications Available: March 28, 2002.
    Deadline for Receipt of Applications: May 13, 2002.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 11, 2002.
    Available Funds: approximately $2.3 million.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 7.
    Maximum Grant Award: $400,000 (for each year of funding).
    Estimated Size of Awards: $250,000--$400,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $335,000.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Applicable Program Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 97, 98, and 99.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In making awards under this grant program, 
we will ensure an equitable geographic distribution among the regions 
of the United States and among LEAs located in urban, suburban, and 
rural areas.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds, we may make additional 
awards in FY 2003 from the rank-ordered list of unfunded applications 
from this competition.

    Note: Section 5421(g)(2) of the ESEA requires the Secretary to 
award grants to LEAs only to establish or expand counseling programs 
in elementary schools if the appropriation for the program is less 
than $40,000,000. The appropriation for fiscal year 2002 is 
$32,500,000, so FY 2002 funds may be used only to establish or 
expand counseling programs in elementary schools.

    Definitions: By statute, the following definitions apply to this 
program:
    (1) The term `child and adolescent psychiatrist' means an 
individual who-
    (A) possesses State medical licensure; and
    (B) has completed residency training programs in both general 
psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry;
    (2) The term `other qualified psychologist' means an individual who 
has demonstrated competence in counseling children in a school setting 
and who-
    (A) is licensed in psychology by the State in which the individual 
works; and
    (B) practices in the scope of the individual's education, training, 
and experience with children in school settings;
    (3) The term `school counselor' means an individual who has 
documented competence in counseling children and adolescents in a 
school setting and who--
    (A) is licensed by the State or certified 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;
    (4) The term `school psychologist' means an individual who--
    (A) has completed 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 psychology internship, of 
which 600 hours are in the school setting;
    (B) is licensed or certified in school psychology by 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; and
    (5) The term `school social worker' means an individual who--
    (A) holds a master's degree in social work from a program 
accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; and
    (B)(i) is licensed or certified by the State in which services are 
provided; or
    (ii) in the absence of such State licensure or certification, 
possesses a national credential or certification as a school social 
work specialist granted by an independent professional organization.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: It is the 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 Provisions 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 and Secondary School Counseling 
Programs, which was substantially revised by the No Child Left Behind 
Act.
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we give an absolute 
priority to LEA projects that establish or expand elementary school 
counseling programs at elementary schools with at least one grade below 
fifth and no grade higher than eighth. Under this competition, we fund 
only applications that meet this absolute priority.
    Statutory Requirements: The statute requires each program assisted 
under this competition to:
    (1) Be comprehensive in addressing the counseling 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 LEA;
    (4) Expand counseling services through qualified school counselors, 
school social workers, school psychologists, other qualified 
psychologists, or child and adolescent psychiatrists;
    (5) Use innovative approaches to increase children's understanding 
of peer and family relationships, work and self, decision making, 
academic and career planning, or to improve peer interaction;
    (6) Provide counseling services in settings that meet the range of 
student needs;
    (7) Include in-service training for teachers, instructional staff, 
and appropriate school personnel, including in-service training in 
appropriate

[[Page 15049]]

identification and early intervention techniques by school counselors, 
school social workers, school psychologists, other qualified 
psychologists, and child and adolescent psychiatrists;
    (8) Involve parents of participating students in the design, 
implementation, and evaluation of the counseling program;
    (9) Involve community groups, social service agencies, or other 
public or private entities in collaborative efforts to enhance the 
program and promote school-linked integration of services;
    (10) Evaluate annually the effectiveness and outcomes of the 
counseling services and activities assisted under this section;
    (11) Ensure a team approach to school counseling in the schools 
served by the LEA by working toward ratios recommended by the American 
School Health Association of one school counselor to 250 students, one 
school social worker to 800 students, and one school psychologist to 
1,000 students; and
    (12) Ensure that school counselors, school psychologists, other 
qualified psychologists, school social workers, or child and adolescent 
psychiatrists paid from funds made available under this section spend a 
majority of their time counseling students or in other activities 
directly related to the counseling process.
    The statute also requires each grantee to--
    (1) Assure that the funds made available for any fiscal year will 
be used to supplement, and not supplant, any other Federal, State, or 
local funds used for providing school-based counseling and mental 
health services to students.
    (2) Assure that the applicant will appoint an advisory board 
composed of interested parties, including parents, teachers, school 
administrators, counseling service providers, and community leaders to 
advise the LEA on the design and implementation of the counseling 
program.
    (3) Use not more than 4 percent of the amounts made available for 
any fiscal year for administrative costs.
    Selection Criteria: We will use the following selection criteria to 
evaluate applications under this competition.
    The maximum score for all of these criteria is 100 points.
    The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parenthesis 
with the criterion.
    (1) Need for the project (20 points).
    (A) 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;
    (B) In determining applications with the greatest need the 
following factors are considered:
    (i) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the 
proposed project;
    (ii) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project; and
    (iii) 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
    (C) In describing the proposed project, applicants must:
    (i) Describe the school population to be targeted by the program; 
the particular counseling needs of that population; the current ratios 
of students to school counselors, students to school social workers, 
and students to school psychologists; and the current school counseling 
resources available for meeting such needs; and
    (ii) Describe how diverse cultural populations, if applicable, will 
be served through the program.
    (2) Quality of the project design (20 points).
    (A) Applicants must propose projects that demonstrate the most 
promising and innovative approaches for initiating or expanding 
counseling services in the target schools;
    (B) In determining the quality of the project design the following 
factors are considered:
    (i) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the counseling needs of 
the target population;
    (ii) 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; and
    (iii) The extent to which the proposed project will establish 
linkages with other appropriate agencies or organizations providing 
services to the target population; and
    (C) In describing the project design, applicants must:
    (i) 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; and
    (ii) Describe how the LEA will involve community groups, social 
service agencies, and other public and private entities in 
collaborative efforts to enhance the program and promote school-linked 
services integration.
    (3) Quality of the project evaluation (20 points).
    (A) Applicants must provide a detailed description of their plan to 
annually evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of the proposed 
counseling services and strategies;
    (B) In determining the quality of the project evaluation the 
following factors are considered:
    (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluations are thorough, 
feasible, measurable, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and 
outcomes of the proposed project;
    (ii) 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; and
    (iii) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance 
about effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings; and
    (C) In describing the proposed project evaluation, applicants must:
    (i) Describe the methods to be used to evaluate the outcomes and 
effectiveness of the project; and
    (ii) Agree to cooperate with any national evaluation of this grant 
competition that we may require.
    (4) Quality of the management plan (20 points).
    (A) Applicants must provide a detailed description of their plan to 
manage the activities outlined in their proposal;
    (B) In determining the quality of the management plan the following 
factors are considered:
    (i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, timeliness, and milestones for accomplishing 
project tasks;
    (ii) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director, project evaluator, and other key project personnel are 
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed 
project; and
    (iii) The extent to which the applicant will ensure that a 
diversity of perspectives is 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; and
    (C) In describing the management plan, applicants must:
    (i) Describe how the LEA will involve community groups, social 
service

[[Page 15050]]

agencies, and other public or private entities in collaborative efforts 
to enhance the program and promote school-linked services integration; 
and
    (ii) Document that the LEA has the personnel qualified to develop, 
implement, and administer the program.
    (5) Adequacy of resources (20 points).
    (A) Applicants must describe the resources committed to the 
proposed project;
    (B) In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed 
project, the following factors are considered:
    (i) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in 
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project;
    (ii) 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; and
    (iii) 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.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    In FY 2002, the U.S. Department of Education is expanding its pilot 
project of electronic submission of applications to include certain 
formula grant programs, as well as additional discretionary grant 
competitions. The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs 
is one of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an 
applicant under the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program, 
you may submit your application to us in either electronic or paper 
format.
    The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-APPLICATION, formerly e-GAPS) portion of the 
Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). We request your 
participation in this pilot project. We shall continue to evaluate its 
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
    If you participate in this e-APPLICATION pilot, please note the 
following:
     Your participation is voluntary.
     You will not receive any additional point value or penalty 
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format.
     You can submit all documents electronically, including the 
Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
     Within three working days of submitting your electronic 
application fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Assistance 
(ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following these steps:
    1. Print ED 424 from the e-APPLICATION system.
    2. Make sure that the institution's Authorizing Representative 
signs this form.
    3. Before faxing this form, submit your electronic application via 
the e-APPLICATION system. You will receive an automatic 
acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying 
number unique to your application).
    4. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of ED 
424.
    5. Fax ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202) 260-1349.
     We may request that you give us original signatures on all 
other forms at a later date.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Elementary 
and Secondary School Counseling Programs at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    We have included additional information about the e-APPLICATION 
pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic 
Applications) in the application package.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Loretta McDaniel, U.S. 
Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E220, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Telephone: 
(202) 260-2661, or the following e-mail or Internet addresses:

[email protected].
www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS.

    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person 
listed in this section. However, the Department is not able to 
reproduce in an alternate format the standard forms included in the 
application package.

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 Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this 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


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 5421.

    Dated: March 25, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-7474 Filed 3-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-M