[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70497-70500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31010]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Department of 
Education; Notice of Intent to Award Grantback Funds to the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education

SUMMARY: Under section 459 of the General Education Provisions Act 
(GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1234h, the Secretary of Education (Secretary) intends 
to repay to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education 
(MADOE), under a grantback agreement, an amount equal to 75 percent of 
the principal amount of funds recovered by the U.S. Department of 
Education (Department) in resolution of findings 42, 51, 54, 57, and 60 
of the State's Single Audit Reports for the years ended June 30, 1997 
(ACN: 01-97-88064); June 30, 1998 (ACN: 01-98-08038); and June 30, 1999 
(ACN: 01-99-08038), respectively. The Department's recovery of funds 
followed two settlement agreements executed by the parties under which 
the MADOE refunded $2,432,628 to the Department in full resolution of 
the findings noted above. The MADOE has submitted to the Department a 
grantback application in accordance with section 459(a) of GEPA. This 
notice describes the MADOE's plan for use of the repaid funds and the 
terms and conditions under which the Secretary intends to make those 
funds available. This notice also invites comments on the proposed 
grantback.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 20, 2004.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to Maurice James, 
Chief, State Administration Branch, Office of Vocational and Adult 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Mary 
E. Switzer Building, Room 4319, MS 7323, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maurice James. Telephone: (202) 205-
8781 or via Internet at: [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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Under two settlement agreements between the Department and the 
MADOE, the Department recovered $3,841,433 from the MADOE in full 
resolution of claims arising under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and 
Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III), 20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq., 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 
U.S.C. 6301 et seq., and the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1401, 1411-1419. Of the total amount 
recovered under the two agreements, $2,432,628 resolved Perkins III-
related findings cited in Massachusetts' Single Audit Reports covering 
State fiscal years (FYs) 1997 (ACN: 01-97-88064), 1998 (ACN: 01-98-
98009) and 1999 (ACN: 01-99-08038). In its grantback application, the 
MADOE requests repayment of 75 percent of the $2,432,628 recovered by 
the Department for Perkins III-related claims.
    The Department's claim of $2,432,628 for Perkins III-related 
findings was contained in a May 25, 2001 program determination letter 
(PDL) and accompanying Matrix of Closed Findings (Matrix) issued by the 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education and other 
Department officials. The Matrix noted that the MADOE violated the 
Federal requirements governing matching and time distribution. 
Specifically, the MADOE failed to match, from non-Federal sources and 
on a dollar-for-dollar basis, Federal funds reserved for State 
administration. In addition, the MADOE failed to keep proper time 
distribution records for salaries and fringe benefits paid with Perkins 
III funds. These findings were resolved through the Department's 
Cooperative Audit Resolution and Oversight Initiative (CAROI).

[[Page 70498]]

    The CAROI process culminated in the two settlement agreements under 
which the MADOE refunded to the Department a principal amount of 
$2,432,628 for Perkins III-related claims. The settlement agreements 
were executed in May 2001. The Department received full payment for 
these determinations in October 2001.

B. Authority for Awarding a Grantback

    Section 459(a) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1234h(a), provides that whenever 
the Secretary has recovered funds following a final audit determination 
with respect to any applicable program, the Secretary may consider 
those funds to be additional funds available for the program and may 
arrange to repay to the State or local educational agency affected by 
that determination an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the recovered 
funds. The Secretary may enter into this grantback arrangement if the 
Secretary determines that--
    (1) The practices or procedures of the recipient that resulted in 
the violation of law have been corrected and the recipient is in all 
other respects in compliance with the requirements of that program;
    (2) The recipient has submitted to the Secretary a plan for the use 
of those funds pursuant to the requirements of that program and, to the 
extent possible, for the benefit of the population that was affected by 
the failure to comply or by the misuse of funds that resulted in the 
recovery; and
    (3) The use of the funds in accordance with that plan would serve 
to achieve the purposes of the program under which the funds were 
originally paid.

C. Plan for Use of Funds Awarded Under a Grantback Arrangement

    Pursuant to section 459(a)(2) of GEPA, the MADOE has applied for a 
grantback of $1,824,471, or 75 percent of the $2,432,628 refunded to 
the Department for Perkins III-related claims under the two settlement 
agreements, and has submitted a plan for use of the proposed grantback 
funds, consistent with Perkins III. The MADOE has implemented a system 
to address the requirement in Perkins III to match administration costs 
on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The MADOE will not count towards the 
match any State administrative expenditures for staff that are not 100 
percent related to vocational education. The positions funded from 
Perkins III administrative funds will be supported by monthly time 
sheets, and their costs will be counted toward the match.
    A May 2002 on-site monitoring visit by Department staff confirmed 
that the MADOE has implemented policies and procedures for the process 
and reconciliation of salary charges to Federal programs, including the 
Perkins III account. Adjustments will be made to the Federal accounts 
in a timely manner, and any excess charges will be the responsibility 
of the State. The salary adjustment plan that was implemented specified 
a monthly reporting requirement. There are no plans to alter these 
procedures. There were no questioned costs in this area based on the FY 
2002 audit conducted by the independent public accounting firm of 
Deloitte and Touche.

D. Consultation in the Development of the Grantback Application

    In developing the grantback application, the MADOE states that it 
solicited input from:
    [sbull] Secondary and postsecondary educators in the State;
    [sbull] Workforce training and development organizations;
    [sbull] Massachusetts Community College Executive Office;
    [sbull] Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators;
    [sbull] Massachusetts Tech Prep Roundtable;
    [sbull] Massachusetts Postsecondary Perkins Committee.
    According to the MADOE, each constituency group reviewed and 
supported the identified priorities. The priorities include:
    [sbull] Improving the transition of career and technical education 
(CTE) students from high school to college CTE programs;
    [sbull] Supporting the development and implementation of Statewide 
secondary to postsecondary ``pathways'' in information technology, 
health and pre-engineering career fields;
    [sbull] Increasing the participation and completion of CTE programs 
that lead to nontraditional training and employment;
    [sbull] Increasing the pool of highly qualified vocational 
technical educators through a Web-based licensing and job bank system 
and an improved pre-service program for new vocational technical 
educators; and
    [sbull] Providing support to Perkins-eligible secondary and 
postsecondary schools and colleges to add new CTE programs for 
occupations in information technology, health and pre-engineering, or 
to assist these schools and colleges in attaining national program 
approval or business and industry standards in these three areas.
    The MADOE's grantback application indicates that the Executive 
Director for the Massachusetts Community College System is especially 
supportive of the grantback priority that focuses on the improvement of 
postsecondary CTE student retention and graduation rates. Approximately 
50 percent of the proposed grantback activities will support a 
strengthened partnership between secondary and postsecondary education 
institutions.

E. Description of the State's Current Activities Under the Applicable 
Program

    The MADOE's CTE unit is directly responsible for administering 
programs authorized under Perkins III. The unit is also responsible for 
approving programs under Charter 74 (the State law for CTE) and for 
providing technical assistance to school districts, community colleges, 
and other agencies on issues related to the transition from school to 
careers.
    According to the MADOE, over the past three years, the CTE unit has 
focused its work on addressing the four core indicators in the State's 
Perkins accountability system. These efforts address:
    [sbull] Improving academic and technical skill gains for secondary 
and postsecondary CTE students;
    [sbull] Increasing the number of CTE students graduating from high 
school and receiving a two-year associate degree or a one- or two-year 
certificate;
    [sbull] Improving the placement of students in technical careers 
related to their fields of study; and
    [sbull] Increasing the number of students enrolled in and 
completing nontraditional programs.
    To reach these goals the CTE unit has focused on:
    [sbull] Supporting whole school restructuring through the State's 
membership in the High Schools that Work initiative. The State network 
is comprised of 30 high schools, including many of the most challenged 
schools in the Commonwealth;
    [sbull] Offering State-sponsored professional development 
highlighting ``best practices'' that lead to improved student 
achievement. Perkins III local recipients provide high-quality 
professional development through the use of a mandated ``15 percent or 
more set-aside'' of State leadership funds. The State has designed its 
professional development programs in a manner intended to increase 
teachers' knowledge of academic and technical subject matter and to 
support school-wide academic initiatives in such areas as reading, 
writing and mathematics;
    [sbull] Providing additional financial resources to school 
districts' CTE programs through the MADOE's ``Academic Support Grants'' 
to increase the number of CTE students passing the

[[Page 70499]]

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam (a requirement for 
receiving a high school diploma);
    [sbull] Encouraging and supporting schools and colleges in applying 
for and receiving national program approval and helping students to 
earn industry or State-recognized credentials;
    [sbull] Supporting the development of a career and technical 
assessment system that would lead to issuing a certificate of 
occupational proficiency;
    [sbull] Providing strong tech-prep programs that lead to increased 
numbers of CTE students successfully transitioning to and completing 
two-year and four-year postsecondary programs of study; and
    [sbull] Providing technical assistance and professional development 
specifically targeted to increasing the number of CTE students 
enrolling in and completing nontraditional programs.
    In its grantback application, the MADOE states that for the past 
two years, the CTE unit's administration and staff have analyzed the 
data collected from their work addressing the four core indicators and 
identified particular areas of need for the focus of the grantback 
application. In addition, the Perkins program compliance audit, 
conducted in May 2002 by a team from the Department's Office of 
Vocational and Adult Education, and subsequent report support the need 
for the initiatives outlined in the grantback application.

F. Proposed Initiatives

    The following is a description of the seven proposed initiatives, 
as outlined in the MADOE's grantback application:
    (1) Successful transition of CTE students from high school to 
college--competitive grant program.
    The MADOE proposes to offer a competitive request for proposal 
(RFP) to Perkins-eligible secondary and postsecondary institutions to 
develop collaborative programs that focus on intensive college 
transition and preparation programs for CTE high school students. This 
initiative would focus on the academic and technical preparedness 
needed for a student's success at the postsecondary level. Programs 
would include academic school year preparedness and transition 
activities with an intensive summer program for entering college 
students.
    (2) Development and dissemination of Statewide secondary-to-
postsecondary pathways in information technology, health and pre-
engineering/engineering career fields.
    The MADOE's CTE unit proposes to develop specific high school-to-
college (four-year high school to one-year, two-year and four-year 
college) program pathways in health, information technology and 
engineering. Competencies, course and program sequencing, syllabi, 
curricula, articulation processes, workplace opportunities and 
assessment models will be identified in all three career areas. All of 
the resources produced as part of this initiative will be posted at the 
CTE unit's Web site for employers, schools and colleges. The CTE unit 
also will provide professional development opportunities to support 
Statewide implementation of the pathway models. This initiative will be 
aligned with and be part of the implementation of the new system to 
issue Certificates of Occupational Proficiency and the new 
Massachusetts Vocational-Technical Career 74 Regulations.
    (3) Workplace models in high-wage, high-demand career and technical 
education pathways--competitive grant program.
    The MADOE proposes to issue a competitive RFP to Perkins-eligible 
school districts and colleges to develop and provide workplace models 
in health, information technology and engineering program pathways. 
Program models must include intensive workplace projects, employer 
mentoring, academic and technical skill competency attainment related 
to course content, collaborative project development that includes 
industry employees and high school and college staff, and assessment of 
both product outcomes for industry and academic and technical skill 
gain by students.
    (4) Increased participation in and completion of technical 
education programs that lead to nontraditional training and employment.
    The MADOE is proposing a two-pronged study to alter current career 
and technical education enrollment patterns. A contractor will be 
selected through a competitive ``request for response'' (RFR) process 
to study the current nontraditional enrollment patterns in secondary 
career and technical education programs. The study will examine the 
underlying factors for selecting a career major and take into 
consideration any recent research done in the field. The study will 
also include actions that the MADOE and school districts can take to 
help alter current secondary career and technical education enrollment 
patterns.
    (5) Web-based Perkins accountability system.
    The MADOE proposes to develop a Web-based application for licensing 
vocational technical educators. This will be an enhancement to the 
State's current ``Educator Licensure and Recruitment'' system, known as 
ELAR. The system will allow applicants to request waivers, search jobs 
and post resumes, and make fee payments online. It will be linked to 
the State's educator preparation education programs and its vocational 
educator testing center. The new system will include an on-line faculty 
register that will be used by MADOE staff to ensure that all current 
vocational technical education teachers employed by school districts 
and collaboratives have the appropriate credentials.
    (6) High-wage, high-demand career and technical education--
competitive grant program.
    The MADOE will issue a competitive RFP for Perkins-eligible 
secondary and postsecondary institutions with career and technical 
programs. Grantees will use funds either to begin a new CTE program in 
high-wage, high-demand fields within the three cluster areas or to 
update existing programs in those clusters to align with national 
program standards or industry-recognized certifications. The MADOE 
believes that there is an inadequate number of technically skilled 
workers to fill the jobs being created in technology-driven services. 
As a result of rapid growth in this sector, demand for professional and 
technical workers, including in fields requiring less than a four-year 
degree for entry-level positions, is expected to expand the fastest and 
generate the most new jobs in the State. It is also expected that 
engineering and architectural services will grow by 13 percent and 
generate 4,300 new jobs. Of the 25 fastest growing occupations in the 
State, more than half are related to information technology and health 
care.
    (7) Vocational technical education teachers' pre-service training.
    The Massachusetts Board of Education recently approved a new set of 
vocational technical education regulations that became effective on 
September 1, 2003. The teacher credentialing portion of the regulations 
contains a new provision that requires vocational technical education 
teacher candidates to earn 21 college degree credits in professional 
education courses. These courses include a three credit college degree 
seminar specifically designed for new teachers. New teachers will be 
required to take these courses in their first year of teaching. As part 
of the State's effort to prepare first-year vocational technical 
education teachers better, a ``new teachers tool kit'' will be 
developed in consultation with the State's three vocational technical 
educator preparation programs. The tool kit will

[[Page 70500]]

be based upon the professional standards for vocational technical 
education teachers contained in the regulations. Topics covered in the 
tool kit may include, but are not limited to, student grading, 
assigning and reviewing homework, classroom management, lesson 
planning, developing a course syllabus and project-based learning, and 
pertinent State and Federal laws and regulations.

G. The Secretary's Determination

    The Secretary has carefully reviewed the plan submitted by the 
MADOE and other relevant documentation. Based upon that review, the 
Secretary has determined that the conditions under section 459(a) of 
GEPA have been met.
    This determination is based upon the best information available to 
the Secretary at the present time. If this information is not accurate 
or complete, the Secretary is not precluded from taking appropriate 
administrative action. In finding that the conditions of section 459(a) 
of GEPA have been met, the Secretary makes no determination concerning 
any pending audit recommendations or other investigations.

H. Notice of the Secretary's Intent To Enter Into a Grantback 
Arrangement

    Section 459(d) of GEPA requires that, at least 30 days before 
entering into an agreement to award funds under a grantback 
arrangement, the Secretary publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
intent to do so, and the terms and conditions under which the payment 
will be made.
    In accordance with section 459(d) of GEPA, notice is hereby given 
that the Secretary intends to make funds available to the MADOE under a 
grantback agreement. The grantback award would be in the amount of 
$1,824,471, which is 75 percent--the maximum percentage authorized by 
GEPA--of the principal recovered by the Department as a result of the 
final audit determinations and resolution of the Perkins III-related 
claims.

I. Terms and Conditions Under Which Payments Under a Grantback 
Arrangement Would Be Made

    The MADOE has agreed to comply with the following terms and 
conditions under which payment under a grantback arrangement would be 
made:
    (1) The MADOE will expend the funds awarded under the grantback in 
accordance with --
    (a) All applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and
    (b) The plan that was submitted and any amendments to the plan that 
are approved in advance by the Secretary; and
    (2) All funds received under this grantback arrangement must be 
obligated by September 30, 2004, in accordance with section 459(c) of 
GEPA and the MADOE's plan;
    (3) The MADOE will, no later than 90 calendar days after the 
expiration date of the approved grantback award, submit a report to the 
Secretary that--
    (a) Indicates that the funds awarded under the grantback have been 
expended in accordance with the proposed plan, and
    (b) Describes the results and effectiveness of the projects for 
which the funds were spent; and
    (4) Separate accounting records must be maintained documenting the 
expenditures of funds awarded under the grantback arrangement.

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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.048, Basic State 
Grants for Vocational Education)

    Dated: December 11, 2003.
Richard T. LaPointe,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 03-31010 Filed 12-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P