[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17974-17976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8971]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.184K]


Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Coordinator 
Program

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

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

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary invites applications for new grant 
awards for FY 2002 for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities 
(SDFSC) National Coordinator Program. These grants are authorized under 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended, title 
IV, part A, subpart 2, section 4125, SDFSC National Programs. The 
Assistant Secretary also announces the final priority, definitions, and 
selection criteria to govern this competition and FY 2002 awards of 
these grants.
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the SDFSC National Coordinator 
Program is to provide grants to local educational agencies to recruit, 
hire, and train individuals to serve as drug prevention and school 
safety program coordinators in schools with significant drug and school 
safety problems.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)

    Note: LEAs may apply in consortium with one or more adjacent 
LEAs; however, each LEA in the consortium must meet all requirements 
of the priority for this competition, and one LEA must serve as lead 
applicant.

    Applications Available: April 12, 2002.
    Deadline for Receipt of Applications: May 28, 2002.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 26, 2002.
    Available Funds: Approximately $12,000,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 30.
    Estimated Size of Awards: $250,000--$650,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $400,000.

    Note: These estimates are projections for the guidance of 
potential applicants. The Department is not bound by any estimates 
in this notice.

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Applicable 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, 
the Assistant Secretary may take into consideration the geographic 
distribution of the projects in addition to the rank order of 
applicants.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Assistant Secretary 
may make additional awards in FY 2003 from the rank-ordered list of 
unfunded applications from this competition.
    LEAs receiving grants under this program will use funds to recruit, 
hire, and train individuals to serve as drug prevention and school 
safety program coordinators in schools with significant drug and school 
safety problems. Those coordinators will be responsible for developing, 
conducting, and analyzing assessments of drug and crime problems at 
their schools and for administering the safe and drug-free grant 
program at those schools.

Definitions

    a. For purposes of this competition, ``administering the safe and 
drug-free grant program'' means that the coordinator will perform the 
following functions in schools with significant drug and school safety 
problems:
    (1) Identify research-based drug and violence prevention 
strategies;
    (2) Assist schools in adopting the most successful strategies, 
including training of teachers and staff and relevant partners as 
needed;
    (3) Assist schools in developing and improving school safety plans 
that address responses to and recovery from large-scale disasters;
    (4) Work with parents and students to obtain information about 
effective programs and strategies and encourage their participation in 
the development and implementation of those strategies and programs;
    (5) Facilitate evaluation of the schools prevention programs and 
strategies and use findings to modify programs, as needed;
    (6) Identify additional funding sources for drug prevention and 
school safety programming;
    (7) Provide information to State educational agencies (SEAs) on 
programs and activities that have proven to be successful in reducing 
drug use and violent behavior;

[[Page 17975]]

    (8) Coordinate with student assistance and employee assistance 
programs; and
    (9) Link other educational resources (e.g., Title I funds) to 
programs and strategies that serve to create safer, more orderly 
schools.
    b. ``Schools with significant drug and school safety problems'' are 
defined as those that have identified drug use and school safety as 
serious problems in their most recent needs assessment and that have 
taken one or more of the following actions within the 12 months 
preceding the date of this announcement:
    (1) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or 
programs at least one student for possession, distribution, or use of 
alcohol or drugs, including tobacco;
    (2) Referred for treatment of substance abuse at least five 
students;
    (3) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or 
programs at least one student for possession or use of a firearm or 
other weapon; or
    (4) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or 
programs at least five students for physical attacks or fights.

Other Requirements

    (a) Participation by Private School Children and Teachers. LEAs 
that receive a National Coordinator Program grant are required to 
provide for the equitable participation of eligible private school 
children and their teachers or other educational personnel. In order to 
ensure that grant program activities address the needs of private 
school children, timely and meaningful consultation with appropriate 
private school officials must occur during the design and development 
of the program. Administrative direction and control over grant funds 
must remain with the grantee.
    (b) Maintenance of Effort. An LEA may receive a National 
Coordinator Program grant only if the SEA finds that the combined 
fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of the agency 
and the State with respect to the provision of free public education by 
the agency for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 percent 
of the combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the second 
preceding fiscal year.
    (c) Annual Report. LEAs receiving a grant under this program must 
report annually to the Department of Education on progress toward 
meeting measurable goals and objectives of the funded project.
    (d) National Evaluation. The Department of Education is conducting 
a national evaluation of the National Coordinator Program to determine 
its efficacy as a means of improving prevention programming. Grantees 
must agree to participate in the evaluation as a condition of receiving 
a grant.
    (e) Hiring. LEAs may apply for grant funding under the absolute 
priority for this competition to hire one or more coordinators to serve 
schools in the district. Each coordinator hired with funds from this 
grant must: (1) Serve at least one school and no more than four 
schools; (2) have no duties other than coordinating and administering 
the drug prevention and school safety programs in those schools; (3) 
have a degree from an accredited four-year institution of higher 
education and an academic background or equivalent work experience in a 
field related to youth development, such as education, psychology, 
sociology, social work, or nursing; and (4) participate in any training 
required by the Department.
    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 proposed rules. Section 437(d)(1) of the 
General Education Provisions Act, however, exempts from this 
requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a new or 
substantially revised program authority. This is the first competition 
under the National Coordinator Program, which was substantially revised 
by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities Act, the Assistant Secretary gives an 
absolute priority to applications that meet the following priority and 
funds under this competition only applications that meet this absolute 
priority. Under the absolute funding priority for this grant 
competition, LEAs with significant drug and school safety problems in 
their schools must propose projects that--
    Recruit, hire, and train individuals to serve as full-time drug 
prevention and school safety program coordinator(s) in schools with 
significant drug and school safety problems, who are responsible only 
for: (1) Developing, conducting, and analyzing assessments of drug and 
crime problems at their schools; and (2) administering the school's 
safe and drug-free grant program as defined in this notice.
    Selection Criteria: The Assistant 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 is indicated in parentheses.
    (1) Need for the project. (25 points)
    In determining the need for the proposed project, the following 
factor is considered: 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.
    (2) Quality of the project design. (30 points)
    In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, 
the following factors are considered:
    (i) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the 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;
    (iii) The extent to which the proposed project will establish 
linkages with other appropriate agencies and organizations providing 
services to the target population, including community coalitions;
    (iv) The extent to which the proposed project encourages parental 
involvement in the development and implementation of the project; and
    (v) The extent to which performance feedback and continuous 
improvement are integral to the design of the proposed project.
    (3) Adequacy of resources. (25 points)
    In determining the adequacy of resources, the following factors are 
considered:
    (i) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, 
supplies and other resources from the applicant organization or the 
lead applicant organization;
    (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;
    (iii) The potential for continued support of the project after 
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated 
commitment of appropriate entities to such support; and
    (iv) The potential for the incorporation of project purposes, 
activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or 
organization at the end of Federal funding.
    (4) Quality of the project evaluation. (20 points)
    In determining the quality of the project evaluation, the following 
factors are considered:
    (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are appropriate 
to the

[[Page 17976]]

context within which the project operates;
    (ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for 
examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies; and
    (iii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide 
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward 
achieving intended outcomes.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    In FY 2002, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing to 
expand its pilot project of electronic submission of applications to 
include additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary 
grant competitions. The National Coordinator Program (84.184K) is one 
of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant 
under the National Coordinator 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 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 National 
Coordinator Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    We have included additional information on the e-APPLICATION pilot 
project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic 
Applications) in the application package.

FOR APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deirdra R. Hilliard, 
U.S. Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E256, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Telephone: 
(202) 260-2643, or the following email or internet addresses: 
deirdra.hilliard@ ed.gov 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, or an 
application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large 
print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact 
person listed in the preceding paragraph. 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 the following site: 
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
    To use PDF you must have the 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. 7135.

    Dated: April 9, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-8971 Filed 4-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P