[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40360-40365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15121]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice Authorizing Schoolwide Programs To Consolidate Federal 
Education Funds and Exempting Them From Complying With Statutory or 
Regulatory Provisions of Those Programs

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

ACTION: Notice of authorization and exemption of schoolwide programs.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Secretary of Education (the Secretary) authorizes a 
schoolwide program under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left 
Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), to consolidate funds from Federal education 
programs that the Secretary administers and exempts the school from 
complying with many statutory or regulatory provisions of those 
programs, if the intent and purposes of the programs are met in the 
schoolwide program. This notice identifies which Federal education 
program funds and services may be incorporated in a schoolwide program 
and provides guidance on

[[Page 40361]]

satisfying the intent and purposes of the programs incorporated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacquelyn C. Jackson, Ed.D, Acting 
Director, Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs, 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W202, FB-6, Washington, DC 
20202-6132. Telephone (202) 260-0826.
    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 in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Schoolwide Programs In General

    A schoolwide program is a comprehensive reform strategy to improve 
the academic achievement of all students in the school, particularly 
the lowest-achieving students. Schoolwide programs grew out of research 
about what makes schools work for disadvantaged students. Repeated 
findings show that staff in highly successful high poverty schools 
develop and carry out comprehensive schoolwide reform strategies, 
establish safe environments that are conducive to learning, and support 
enriched instruction in an expanded core of subjects for all students. 
Over the years, researchers have documented that, when the entire 
school is the target of change, schools serving even the most 
academically challenged students can achieve success.
    Section 1114 of Title I authorizes a school with a concentration of 
poverty of at least 40 percent to use funds under Title I, Part A, 
along with other Federal, State and local funds, to operate a 
schoolwide program and upgrade the entire educational program in the 
school in order to improve the academic achievement of all students, 
particularly the lowest-achieving students. This is in contrast to a 
Title I targeted assistance program, in which Part A funds may be used 
only for supplementary educational services for eligible children 
identified as being most at risk of not meeting State standards. The 
school operating a schoolwide program may also combine other Federal 
education funds (see the heading ``Inclusion of Other Federal Education 
Program Funds'').
    There are three core elements of a schoolwide program. (1) A school 
operating as a schoolwide program must conduct a comprehensive needs 
assessment of the entire school to determine the performance of its 
students in relation to the State's challenging academic content and 
achievement standards. (2) Using data from its needs assessment, the 
school must then develop a comprehensive plan to improve teaching and 
learning in the school, particularly for those students farthest away 
from demonstrating proficiency on the State's academic content and 
achievement standards. The comprehensive plan must (a) include 
schoolwide reform strategies that are research-based and designed to 
strengthen the core academic program so that all students attain 
proficient and advanced levels of achievement; (b) provide for 
instruction by highly qualified teachers and contain strategies to 
attract them; (c) provide high-quality and ongoing professional 
development for staff and parents; (d) include strategies to increase 
parental involvement; (e) provide activities to ensure that students 
who experience difficulty attaining proficiency receive effective and 
timely additional assistance; (f) include plans for assisting preschool 
students in the successful transition from early childhood programs to 
elementary schoolwide programs; and (g) provide for coordination and 
integration of Federal, State and local services and programs. (3) A 
school operating a schoolwide program must annually evaluate the 
implementation of, and the results achieved by, the schoolwide program 
and revise the plan as necessary based on the results of the evaluation 
to ensure continuous improvement of students in the school. The final 
Title I regulations that were published in the Federal Register on 
December 2, 2002 (67 FR 71710) explain schoolwide programs in greater 
detail.
    A school operating a schoolwide program is not required to identify 
particular students as eligible to participate in the schoolwide 
program, or demonstrate that the services provided with Title I, Part A 
funds are supplemental to services that would otherwise be provided. 
The school is also not required to maintain separate fiscal accounting 
records, by program, that identify the specific activities supported by 
those particular funds, but must maintain records that demonstrate that 
the schoolwide program addresses the intent and purposes of each of the 
Federal programs whose funds were consolidated to support the 
schoolwide program. Each State educational agency (SEA) must encourage 
schools to consolidate funds from Federal, State and local sources in 
their schoolwide programs, and must modify or eliminate State fiscal 
and accounting barriers so that these funds can be more easily 
consolidated.

Inclusion of Other Federal Education Program Funds

    A school that operates a schoolwide program may consolidate funds 
from other Federal education programs in addition to Title I, Part A 
funds to improve academic achievement throughout the school. 
Specifically, section 1114(a)(3)(A) of Title I authorizes the 
Secretary, through publication of a notice in the Federal Register, to 
permit schoolwide programs to consolidate funds from any other 
noncompetitive, formula grant program or any discretionary grant 
program administered by the Secretary and to exempt schoolwide program 
schools from many statutory and regulatory provisions of the programs 
whose funds are consolidated, if the intent and purposes of the 
programs are met.
    Except as noted below and consistent with section 1114 of Title I 
and this notice, the Secretary authorizes a schoolwide program school 
to consolidate funds that the school receives from any Federal 
education program, administered by the Secretary, whose funds can be 
used to carry out activities in a public elementary or secondary 
school. This authority also extends to services, materials, and 
equipment purchased with those funds and provided to a public 
elementary or secondary school. To provide schoolwide program schools 
maximum discretion in using resources from Federal education programs 
to their best advantage, the Secretary encourages local educational 
agencies (LEAs), to the extent possible, to provide Federal funds 
directly to those schools, rather than only providing personnel, 
materials, or equipment. All consolidated funds and services must 
support the school's schoolwide plan.
    This authority affords a schoolwide program school significant 
flexibility to better serve all students by improving the entire 
instructional program, rather than only providing separate services to 
specific target populations. The Secretary emphasizes that a school 
operating a schoolwide program must address the needs of all students 
in the school, particularly the needs of the lowest-achieving students 
who are members of the target population of any program that is 
included in the schoolwide program.
    A schoolwide program school may not consolidate funds under Subpart 
1

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of Part B of Title I of the ESEA (Reading First) to establish reading 
programs for students in kindergarten through grade 3.
    A schoolwide program school may consolidate funds under the 
following programs only as outlined below:
     Migrant Education. Consistent with section 1306(b)(4) of 
Title I and 34 CFR 200.29(c)(1) before a school operating as a 
schoolwide program consolidates funds received under Part C of Title I, 
ESEA for the education of migratory children, the school must, in 
consultation with parents of migratory children or organizations 
representing those parents, or both, first meet the unique educational 
needs of migratory students that result from the effects of their 
migratory lifestyle and those other needs that are necessary to permit 
those students to participate effectively in school, and must document 
that these needs have been met.
     Indian Education. Consistent with section 7115(c) of the 
ESEA and 34 CFR 200.29(c)(2), a school operating as a schoolwide 
program may consolidate funds received under Subpart 1 of Part A of 
Title VII of the ESEA regarding Indian education only if the parent 
committee established by the LEA under section 7114(c)(4) of the ESEA 
approves the inclusion of those funds.
     Special Education. Consistent with section 613 (a)(2)(D) 
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and 34 CFR 
200.29(c)(3), a school that operates as a schoolwide program may 
consolidate funds received under Part B of IDEA. However, the amount of 
funds consolidated may not exceed the amount received by the LEA under 
Part B of IDEA for that fiscal year, divided by the number of children 
with disabilities in the jurisdiction of the LEA, and multiplied by the 
number of children with disabilities participating in the schoolwide 
program. A school may also consolidate funds it receives for students 
with disabilities under section 8003(d) of the ESEA. A school that 
consolidates funds under Part B of IDEA or section 8003(d) of the ESEA 
may use those funds in its schoolwide program for any activities under 
its schoolwide program plan but must comply with all other requirements 
of Part B of IDEA, to the same extent it would if it did not 
consolidate funds under Part B of IDEA or section 8003(d) of the ESEA 
in the schoolwide program.
    The Secretary notes that he does not administer the National School 
Lunch Program or Head Start programs. As a result, the authority to 
consolidate funds in a schoolwide program does not extend to those 
programs.
    In addition, the authority to consolidate funds from other Federal 
programs in schoolwide program schools does not apply to funds that are 
allocated by formula to nonschoolwide program schools in an LEA. This 
is not an authority to redistribute funds among schools. Any 
redistribution of funds would have to be consistent with the 
authorizing statute.

Satisfying ``Intent and Purposes''

    Consistent with section 1114 of Title I, a school that consolidates 
and uses, in a schoolwide program, funds from any other Federal program 
administered by the Secretary, except Reading First, is not required to 
meet most statutory or regulatory requirements of the program 
applicable at the school level, but must meet the intent and purposes 
of that program to ensure that the needs of the intended beneficiaries 
are met. Such a school must be able to demonstrate that its schoolwide 
program contains sufficient resources and activities to reasonably 
address the intent and purpose of included programs, particularly as 
they relate to the lowest-performing students.
    The school is not required to maintain separate fiscal accounting 
records, by program, that identify the specific activities supported by 
those particular program funds. It must, however, maintain records that 
demonstrate that the schoolwide program as a whole addresses the intent 
and purposes of each of the Federal education programs whose funds were 
consolidated to support it.
    A school operating a schoolwide program must identify in its 
schoolwide plan the programs that have been consolidated and address 
how it intends to meet the intent and purposes of those programs.
    The following examples illustrate how a schoolwide program can meet 
the intent and purposes of specific Federal education programs. An LEA 
should make similar determinations for all other programs it combines.

Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities 
State Grants Program

    The intent and purposes of this program are to support programs 
that prevent violence in and around schools; prevent the illegal use of 
alcohol, tobacco and drugs; and involve parents and communities in 
efforts to foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that 
supports student achievement. A schoolwide program school may 
demonstrate that it has met these intent and purposes if the school has 
implemented drug and violence prevention programs and activities that 
are consistent with the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act 
principles of effectiveness, and are coordinated with other school and 
community-based services and programs.

Title I, Part D, Subpart 2--Prevention and Intervention Programs for 
Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk

    The intent and purposes of this program are to support the 
operation of LEA programs that involve collaboration with locally 
operated correctional facilities to (1) carry out high-quality 
education programs to prepare children and youth for secondary school 
completion, training, employment, or further education; (2) provide 
activities to facilitate the transition of such students and youth from 
the correctional program to further education or employment; and (3) 
operate programs in local schools for children and youth returning from 
correctional facilities and programs that may serve at-risk children 
and youth. A schoolwide program school may demonstrate that it meets 
the intent and purposes of this program if its comprehensive schoolwide 
plan addresses the need to improve educational services and 
opportunities for the achievement of neglected or delinquent children, 
by, for example, providing transitional programming for students 
returning from institutionalization to further schooling or by creating 
other support systems to prevent these students from dropping out of 
school.

Title III, Part A, Subpart 1--English Language Acquisition and Language 
Enhancement and Academic Achievement

    The intent and purposes of this program are to help ensure that 
children with limited English proficiency become proficient in English, 
develop high academic attainment in English, and meet the same 
challenging State academic content and achievement standards in the 
core academic subjects that all other children are expected to meet. 
Another purpose of this program is to increase the capacity of schools 
to establish, implement and sustain high-quality language instruction 
programs and English language development programs that assist schools 
in effectively teaching students with limited English proficiency. 
Title III, Part A is also designed to promote the participation of 
parents and communities of limited English

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proficient children in English language instruction programs.
    A schoolwide program may demonstrate that it meets these intents 
and purposes if it incorporates strategies that provide high-quality 
instruction for students with limited English proficiency in English in 
the core academic subjects that are designed to assist these students 
in attaining the same high academic content and achievement standards 
that all children are expected to meet. In addition, to meet the 
intents and purposes of this program, a schoolwide school must support 
the participation of the parents of limited English proficient students 
in English language instruction programs through the parent involvement 
component of the schoolwide program.

Title II, Part A--Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality 
Teachers and Principals

    The intent and purposes of this program are to increase student 
academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher and 
principal quality; increasing the number of highly qualified teachers, 
principals, and assistant principals in schools; and holding LEAs and 
schools accountable for improvements in student academic achievement.
    A schoolwide program may demonstrate that it meets the intent and 
purposes of this program if the school's comprehensive plan contains 
activities and strategies that promote increased student achievement 
such as helping teachers and the principal or principals become more 
highly qualified through high-quality professional development; 
increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the school 
through recruitment initiatives; and implementing initiatives designed 
to promote the retention of highly qualified teachers, such as teacher 
mentoring and support or other incentives.

IDEA, Part B

    To help facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities, the 
1997 Amendments to the IDEA, under Section 613(a)(2)(D) and 34 CFR 
300.234(a), provided new flexibility to LEAs. The Amendments allow an 
LEA to use a portion of the funds received under Part B of IDEA for any 
fiscal year to carry out a schoolwide program under the ESEA, so long 
as students with disabilities included in such schoolwide programs 
receive special education and related services in accordance with a 
properly developed Individualized Education Program (IEP), and are 
afforded all of the rights and services guaranteed to children with 
disabilities under IDEA.
    The intent and purpose of the IDEA is to ensure that all children 
with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public 
education designed to meet their individual needs. A schoolwide program 
may demonstrate that it meets the intent and purpose of this program by 
ensuring that, except as to certain use of funds requirements, all the 
requirements of the IDEA are met, and that children with disabilities 
are included in schoolwide activities.
    High-quality professional development required for all staff and 
designed to result in improved learning outcomes for all children, 
including children with disabilities, is one example of a schoolwide 
activity that meets the intent and purposes of the IDEA. For example, a 
school may combine IDEA, Part B funds with other program funds for 
professional development activities that support the implementation of 
a comprehensive student assessment model aligned with student academic 
content and achievement standards that enables teachers of all core 
academic subjects to incorporate alternative assessment procedures in 
the instructional setting in order to diagnose student achievement and 
monitor student progress on an ongoing basis. Alternate assessment 
procedures might include individual reading inventories, writing 
samples, classroom observations, conferences, and self-assessments. 
Using this kind of professional development as a way of meeting the 
intent and purposes of the IDEA ensures that all students, regardless 
of their special needs, will benefit.

Requirements With Which a Schoolwide Program School Must Comply

    A school that consolidates funds from other Federal programs in its 
schoolwide program is not relieved of the requirements relating to--
     Health and safety.
     Civil rights. These include the requirements of Title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments 
of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age 
Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title II of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990. In addition, if a schoolwide program school 
receives Magnet Schools Assistance funds to eliminate, reduce, or 
prevent minority group isolation, the school must continue to operate 
under its desegregation plan.
     Participation and involvement of parents and students. A 
schoolwide program school must implement extensive parent involvement 
requirements under Part A that would likely satisfy most, if not all, 
parent involvement requirements in other Federal education programs.
     Private school children, teachers, and other educational 
personnel. Applicable requirements concerning the equitable 
participation of eligible private school children, teachers, and other 
educational personnel under other Federal education programs must be 
met even though funds from those programs are consolidated in 
schoolwide program schools.
     Maintenance of effort. For programs covered under the 
maintenance of effort requirements in section 9521 of the ESEA, those 
requirements would be met through participation in Part A. Note that 
the use of IDEA funds in a schoolwide program does not change an LEA's 
obligation to meet the maintenance of effort requirements in 34 CFR 
300.231.
     Comparability of services. To be eligible to receive funds 
under Parts A and C of Title I, an LEA must already meet the 
comparability requirements in section 1120A(c) of Title I with respect 
to schoolwide program schools. If an LEA consolidates funds under the 
Carl D. Perkins State Vocational and Applied Technology Education 
Program in a secondary schoolwide program, the school must be provided 
services from State and local funds that, taken as a whole, are at 
least comparable to the services being provided in other secondary 
schools or sites within the same LEA that are not being served with 
Perkins funds.
     Use of Federal funds to supplement, not supplant non-
Federal funds. A school operating as a schoolwide program must receive 
at least the same amount of State and local funds that, in the 
aggregate, it would have received in the absence of the schoolwide 
program, including funds needed to provide services that are required 
by law for children with disabilities and children with limited English 
proficiency. The school, however, does not have to demonstrate that the 
specific services provided to students with those funds are 
supplemental to services that would have been provided to them in that 
school in the absence of the schoolwide program.

Distribution of Funds to State Educational Agencies (SEAs) and LEAs

Cross-Cutting Federal Requirements

    There are requirements contained in the General Education 
Provisions Act and in the Education Department

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General Administrative Regulations that apply generally to Department 
of Education grants, including Title I. To the extent that these 
requirements affect activities in schools, they would also apply to a 
schoolwide program school by virtue of its participation in Title I. 
The consolidation of Department programs in a schoolwide program, 
however, would not add to these requirements or require that they be 
applied separately on a program-by-program basis.

Discretionary Grant Funds

    In general, a schoolwide program school may consolidate funds it 
receives from discretionary (competitive) grants as well as from 
formula grants, except for Reading First as indicated earlier in this 
notice. If a schoolwide program school consolidates funds from 
discretionary grant programs, the school must still carry out the 
activities described in the application under which the funds were 
awarded. However, a schoolwide program school would not need to account 
separately for specific expenditures of the consolidated Federal funds.
    Although not required, it is preferable that the applicant LEA or 
school indicate in its application for discretionary funds that some or 
all of the funds would be used to support a schoolwide program and 
describe its activities accordingly. Moreover, if authorized by the 
program statute, the Department or an SEA could include in its 
selection criteria for a particular program extra points for conducting 
activities in a schoolwide program school. For example, an SEA could 
include such points when awarding subgrants under the Even Start Family 
Literacy program, which requires an SEA to give priority to applicants 
that target services to families in need of family literacy services 
residing in areas with high levels of poverty, illiteracy, or other 
such need-related factors, including projects that would serve a high 
percentage of children who reside in participating areas under Part A.
    The following examples illustrate how schoolwide program schools 
can consolidate and use discretionary grant funds by carrying out the 
activities described in the application under which the funds were 
awarded.

Programs Under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998

    The intent and purposes of Adult Education and Family Literacy 
programs are to improve the basic and literacy skills of adults through 
high-quality research-based programs that will equip those adults to 
succeed in the next phase of their education and employment as 
demonstrated by meeting core performance indicators. An LEA receiving 
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act funds has the flexibility to 
determine how it will offer services. Some LEAs may decide to offer 
services at the district level; others may decide to offer services 
through schools, including them as part of a schoolwide program. A 
schoolwide school that combines Adult Education and Family Literacy 
funds must still carry out the activities described in the LEA's Adult 
Education and Family Literacy Act application under which the funds 
were awarded, including complying with the performance reporting and 
accountability requirements established by the State to meet the 
requirements of section 212 of the Act.
    A schoolwide program school could incorporate adult literacy 
services in a number of ways, e.g., as part of a family literacy 
program or as part of a parent involvement strategy to help parents 
work with their children to improve their children's achievement. 
However adult literacy services are addressed through a schoolwide 
program, however, the school's comprehensive plan must contain specific 
goals and objectives for meeting the core performance indicators.

Even Start Family Literacy Programs

    If an LEA participates in a partnership that receives an Even Start 
discretionary subgrant, the approved project may be part of a 
schoolwide program as long as the LEA and its required partners carry 
out the activities described in the Even Start application under which 
the funds were awarded, including serving families with eligible adults 
and children generally under the age of eight. A schoolwide program 
school can consolidate and use Even Start discretionary grant funds by 
offering a four-component family literacy program that is an integral 
part of the overall instructional program of the school. This family 
literacy program must integrate high-quality, intensive, instructional 
programs based on scientifically based reading research (to the extent 
that research is available) in four areas: Early childhood education, 
adult literacy (adult basic and secondary-level education and/or 
instruction for English language learners), parenting education, and 
interactive parent and child literacy activities. While each eligible 
family that participates in these family literacy services must be most 
in need of the services for Even Start purposes, a schoolwide program 
could extend these services to other needy families as part of a 
comprehensive parent involvement strategy.

Limitations

    This notice does not apply to nonschoolwide program schools that 
participate in Title I. Those schools must comply with all statutory 
and regulatory requirements that apply to funds or benefits they 
receive. This notice also does not relieve an LEA from complying with 
all requirements that do not affect the operation of a schoolwide 
program. For example, to the extent an LEA is required under the 
Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to designate a homeless 
liaison to ensure, among other things, that homeless children and youth 
enroll and succeed in school, the LEA would not be relieved of this 
requirement by virtue of operating one or more schoolwide programs.

Guidance and Technical Assistance

    The Secretary intends to issue additional guidance on schoolwide 
programs in the near future. In addition, staff in the office of 
Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs, in conjunction 
with staff in the other affected Federal program offices, are available 
to assist LEAs and schools operating schoolwide programs to implement 
the authority contained in this notice. If LEAs or schools have 
specific questions, they should contact Jacquelyn C. Jackson, Ed.D, 
Director, Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs, as 
provided in the section FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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/news/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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.010, Improving 
Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies)


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    Dated: June 28, 2004.
Rod Paige,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 04-15121 Filed 7-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P