[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 54 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13689-13690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6695]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.215L]


Office of Vocational and Adult Education--Smaller Learning 
Communities Program

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

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    Purpose of Program: On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush 
signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which 
reauthorized the Smaller Learning Communities Program. The purpose of 
the Smaller Learning Communities Program is to support academic 
achievement through awarding competitive grants to LEAs applying on 
behalf of large public high schools for the planning and implementation 
or expansion of small, safe, and successful learning environments in 
large public high schools. These grants are authorized by Title V, part 
D, subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7249), as amended by Public Law 107-110, the No Child 
Left Behind Act of 2001.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs), including 
schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA schools), applying 
on behalf of large high schools are eligible. For purposes of this 
program, a large high school is defined as a school that includes 
grades 11 and 12 and enrolls at least 1,000 students in grades 9 and 
above.
    Applications Available: March 20, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 19, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 18, 2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: $135,000,000.
    Types and Ranges of Awards: The Secretary will award both planning 
and implementation grants under this competition. In an effort to 
encourage systemic, district-level reform efforts, the Secretary is 
permitting an individual LEA to submit a maximum of one planning grant 
application and one implementation grant application under this 
competition, specifying in each application which high schools the LEA 
intends to fund. An LEA may not apply for both a planning and 
implementation grant on behalf of the same high school. A high school 
may only be included in either the LEA's planning grant application or 
its implementation grant application. Applicants pursuing planning 
grant funds must not yet have developed a viable plan for creating 
smaller learning communities in the schools that would be served 
through the grant. To apply for implementation grant funds, applicants 
must be prepared either to implement a new smaller learning community 
program within each targeted high school, or to expand an existing 
smaller learning community program.
    For a one-year planning grant, LEAs may receive, on behalf of a 
single school, $25,000 to $50,000 per project. LEAs applying on behalf 
of a group of eligible schools may receive up to $250,000 per planning 
grant. As this program is designed for redesign and improvement efforts 
at the individual school level, districts must stay within the minimum 
and maximum school allocations when determining their award request. In 
addition, in order to ensure sufficient planning funds at the local 
level, LEAs may not request funds for more than 10 schools under a 
single application.
    The chart below provides eligible ranges for awards under a 
planning grant:

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        Number of schools in LEA application             Award ranges
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One school..........................................      $25,000-50,000
Two schools.........................................     $50,000-100,000
Three schools.......................................     $75,000-150,000
Four schools........................................    $100,000-200,000
Five schools........................................    $125,000-250,000
Six schools.........................................    $150,000-250,000
Seven schools.......................................    $175,000-250,000
Eight schools.......................................    $200,000-250,000
Nine schools........................................    $225,000-250,000
Ten schools.........................................            $250,000
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    In previous SLC competitions, applicants have routinely requested 
more money than the above award ranges dictate. As a result, plans 
submitted to the Department have included any number of activities that 
could only be made possible if an applicant received a funding amount 
much higher than intended in the award range. Based on this experience, 
the Department will fund only those applications that correctly request 
funds within the award ranges specified in this notice for both 
planning and implementation grants. Applicants requesting funding 
amounts higher than the award ranges dictated by the number of schools 
to be served will be declared ineligible and will not receive funding. 
Further, schools that received support through planning grants in the 
FY 2000 or FY 2001 competition are not eligible to receive support 
through additional planning grants under this competition.
    For a three-year implementation grant, LEAs may receive, on behalf 
of a single school, $250,000 to $500,000. LEAs applying on behalf of a 
group of eligible schools may request up to $2,500,000 per 
implementation grant. As with planning grants, districts must stay 
within the minimum and maximum school allocations when determining 
their group award request, or the Department will consider the 
application ineligible. In order to ensure sufficient implementation 
funds at the local level, LEAs may not request funds for more than 10 
schools under a single application.
    The chart below provides eligible ranges for awards under the 
implementation grant:

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       Number of schools in LEA application             Award ranges
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One school.......................................       $250,000-500,000
Two schools......................................      500,000-1,000,000

[[Page 13690]]

 
Three Schools....................................      750,000-1,500,000
Four schools.....................................    1,000,000-2,000,000
Five schools.....................................    1,250,000-2,500,000
Six schools......................................    1,500,000-2,500,000
Seven schools....................................    1,750,000-2,500,000
Eight schools....................................    2,000,000-2,500,000
Nine schools.....................................    2,250,000-2,500,000
Ten schools......................................              2,500,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As previously noted, LEAs may not apply on behalf of a single high 
school in more than one application. Schools that benefited from FY 
2000 or FY 2001 implementation awards are not eligible to receive 
additional support under this competition.
    Applicants should note that the requirements listed in this notice 
are material requirements. Please note that a failure to comply with 
any applicable program requirement (for example, failure to reasonably 
implement the proposed grant-funded project) may subject a grantee to 
administrative action, including the imposition of special conditions 
or termination of the grant.

    Note: The size of awards will be based on a number of factors. 
These factors include the scope, quality, and comprehensiveness of 
the proposed program, and the recommended range of awards indicated 
in the application.


    Estimated Number of Awards: The Secretary anticipates making 
approximately 100 new planning grant awards and approximately 100 new 
implementation awards under this competition.

    Note: The Department of Education is not bound by any estimates 
in this notice.


    Project Period: Planning grants will fund activities up to 12 
months. Implementation grants will fund activities up to 36 months. 
Understanding the unique complexities of implementing a program that 
affects a school's organization, physical design, curriculum, 
instruction, and preparation of teachers, the Secretary anticipates 
awarding the entire grant amount for implementation projects at the 
time of the initial award. This will provide the applicant with the 
capacity to effectively carry out the comprehensive long-term 
activities involved in these projects.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and (b) the regulations in the notice of 
final priorities, application requirements, and selection criteria for 
FY 2002 as published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

Priorities

    This competition gives absolute and competitive priorities to 
applicants that meet the conditions outlined in the Notice of the Final 
Priorities for this program, which is published elsewhere in this issue 
of the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the program and to 
download an application, you may access the SLC program Web site at 
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/HS/SLCP/. If you need further assistance 
and need to speak with someone in the SLC program, you may contact 
Karen Stratman Clark, by phone at (202) 205-3779, or by mail 330 C 
Street, SW., Room 5523, Washington, DC 20202. Requests for applications 
may also be sent by fax to (202) 401-4079.
    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
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 one of the contact persons listed in the 
preceding paragraph.

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: 
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 any 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. 7249.

    Dated: March 14, 2003.
Richard La Pointe,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 03-6695 Filed 3-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P