[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47528-47529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18306]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Local Flexibility Demonstration Program: Office of Elementary and 
Secondary Education, Department of Education; Notice Inviting 
Applications for the Local Flexibility Demonstration Program

    Purpose of the Program: To provide local educational agencies 
(LEAs) with high-quality local flexibility demonstration proposals an 
opportunity to enter into local flexibility demonstration agreements 
(``Local-Flex'' agreements) with the Secretary. The LEAs that the 
Secretary selects to participate in the Local-Flex program will have 
the flexibility to consolidate certain Federal formula grant funds in 
order to assist them in meeting the State's definition of adequate 
yearly progress and the LEA's specific measurable goals for improving 
student achievement and narrowing achievement gaps.
    Eligible Applicants: LEAs in the following States are eligible to 
apply for Local-Flex: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, 
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, 
Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North 
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South 
Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, 
and Wyoming.
    By statute, the Secretary may enter into Local-Flex agreements with 
no more than three LEAs in a State. Therefore, any consortium that 
seeks a Local-Flex agreement may include no more than three LEAs. 
Furthermore, only LEAs that receive formula grant funds from their 
State educational agency (SEA) under the Federal programs subject to 
consolidation may seek Local-Flex authority.
    LEAs in the following States may not apply at this time because 
their SEA indicated, by May 8, 2002, an intent to apply for State-Flex 
authority: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, 
Massachusetts, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. In 
addition, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the 
outlying areas are not eligible to apply for Local-Flex because, for 
purposes of this program, the legislation considers a state-wide LEA to 
be an SEA.
    Under the legislation, a State generally cannot receive State-Flex 
authority if one of its LEAs has entered into a Local-Flex agreement 
with the Secretary. If an LEA enters into a Local-Flex agreement with 
the Secretary, its SEA may subsequently seek State-Flex authority only 
if that LEA agrees to be part of the SEA's State-Flex proposal.
    Applications Available: September 17, 2002.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 17, 2002.
    Notification of Intent to Apply for Local-Flex: We will be able to 
develop a more efficient process for reviewing Local-Flex applications 
if we have a better understanding of the number of LEAs that intend to 
seek participation in the program. Therefore, we strongly encourage 
each potential applicant to send, by August 19, 2002, a notification of 
its intent to apply for participation in the Local-Flex program to the 
following address: [email protected].
    The notification of intent to apply for participation in Local-Flex 
is optional and should not include information regarding the potential 
applicant's Local-Flex proposal. LEAs that fail to provide the 
notification may still submit an application by the application 
deadline.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sections 6151 through 6156 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child 
Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), authorize the Secretary of 
Education to enter into local flexibility demonstration agreements 
(``Local-Flex'' agreements) with up to eighty LEAs. The Secretary will 
select Local-Flex LEAs on a competitive basis in accordance with the 
selection criteria contained in a notice published elsewhere in this 
issue of the Federal Register. The application requirements and a 
description of the application process are also provided in that 
notice.
    The Secretary intends to select up to forty LEAs for participation 
in Local-Flex under this competition, and will select the remaining 
LEAs in a subsequent competition.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Milagros Lanauze. Telephone: (202) 
401-0039 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 notice in an alternative 
format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the contact person listed above.
    Applications: You may obtain a copy of the application on the 
Department's Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/flexibility/#prog.
    You may also obtain a copy of the application from the contact 
person identified under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as 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 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 version of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO

[[Page 47529]]

access at: www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: Sections 6151 through 6156 of the ESEA, as 
amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110).

    Dated: July 15, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-18306 Filed 7-18-02; 8:45 am]
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