[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57257-57258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19618]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Striving Readers Program

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

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 2005; Modification.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.371A.

SUMMARY: On August 15, 2005, the Department published in the Federal 
Register (70 FR 47816-47821) a notice inviting applications for new 
awards for FY 2005 for the Striving Readers program. In the notice 
inviting applications, we established certain eligibility requirements 
and two absolute priorities for the Striving Readers competition. We 
are now modifying the eligibility requirements to expand who may apply 
for a grant under this competition and modifying Priority Two--
Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components--to clarify further the 
requirements under this priority.

DATES: All dates and deadlines published in the notice inviting 
applications remain the same.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Doherty, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W309, Washington, DC 20202-
6132. Telephone: (202) 205-6272 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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 program contact person listed in this 
section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Subsequent to the publication on August 15, 2005 of the notice 
inviting applications for the Striving Readers competition, the 
Department conducted a series of teleconference briefings with more 
than 500 potential applicants to discuss the purposes of the 
competition, the funding priorities, the selection criteria, and the 
competition process. Based on questions and comments that we received 
during these teleconferences, we are modifying the notice inviting 
applications to expand who may apply for a grant under this competition 
and also modifying the Statement of Priority Two--Comprehensive Reading 
Initiative Components.

Modification of Applicant Eligibility Requirements

    In the original notice inviting applications for the Striving 
Readers competition, we stated that eligible applicants were local 
educational agencies (LEAs) that--
    1. Are eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), 
pursuant to section 1113 of the ESEA, and
    2. Serve students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
    We also indicated that eligible LEAS may apply individually or, 
with other eligible LEAs, or in partnership with one or more of the 
following entities:
     State educational agencies (SEAs),
     Intermediate service agencies,
     Public or private institutions of higher education, and
     Public or private organizations with expertise in 
adolescent literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
    Finally, the original notice provided that in any partnership, the 
fiscal agent must be the eligible LEA.
    In the teleconferences, a number of LEAs and some SEAs expressed 
interest in working with consortia of several school districts and 
having the SEA apply for the grant and serve as the fiscal agent for 
the grant. They requested that the eligibility requirements be modified 
to permit an SEA to partner with, and apply on behalf of, LEAs that 
meet the eligibility requirements described in the original notice 
inviting applications. We believe that a modification is warranted and 
are changing the eligibility requirements as follows:
    Eligible Applicants: The following entities are eligible to apply 
for funding under this competition:
    1. LEAs that--
    (a) Are eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the 
ESEA, pursuant to section 1113 of the ESEA, and
    (b) Serve students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
    Eligible LEAs may apply individually, with other eligible LEAs, or 
in partnership with one or more of the following entities:
     SEAs,
     Intermediate service agencies,
     Public or private institutions of higher education, and
     Public or private organizations with expertise in 
adolescent literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
    2. SEAs on behalf of one or more LEAs that meet the requirements of 
paragraph 1.
    SEAs must apply on behalf of one or more eligible LEAs and may also 
partner with one or more of the following entities:
     Intermediate service agencies,
     Public or private institutions of higher education, and
     Public or private organizations with expertise in 
adolescent literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
    For any application, the fiscal agent must be an eligible LEA or an 
SEA.

Modification of Priority Two

    In the original notice inviting applications for the Striving 
Readers competition, we also established an absolute priority (Priority 
Two--Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components) that set forth 
required activities that must be conducted by all Striving Readers 
grantees. Under this priority, Striving Readers grantees must use funds 
awarded under the competition to support a comprehensive reading 
initiative that includes three essential components: (1) School-level 
strategies designed to increase reading achievement throughout the 
curriculum; (2) an intensive, targeted intervention for some or all 
struggling readers (i.e., students who read at least two years below 
grade level, including limited English proficient students and students 
with disabilities); and (3) a rigorous project evaluation that includes 
an experimental research evaluation of the intensive, targeted 
intervention for struggling readers.
    Based on our telephone conferences, we are modifying this absolute 
priority to make several clarifications.
    First, we recognize that there are many different school 
configurations and want to clarify that Striving Reading services may 
be carried out in schools that contain grades other than grades 6 
through 12 (for example, kindergarten through grade 8 schools, grades 5 
through 8 schools, or kindergarten

[[Page 57258]]

through grade 12 schools). Second, we want to make it clear that under 
this priority, grantees must implement both school-level strategies to 
enhance reading achievement and intensive, targeted interventions, and 
these strategies and interventions must be directed at students in 
grades 6 and above only. Finally, we want to clarify when grantees must 
begin to provide these services.
    The school-level strategies must focus on improving literacy for 
the entire grade span/student population in the grades 6 through 12 
that are included in the school and be implemented in each of these 
grades no later than the start of the 2006-2007 school year. In a 
kindergarten through grade 12 school, for example, the school-level 
strategies must be designed to enhance the literacy skills of all 
students in grades 6 through 12. In a high school with grades 9 through 
12, the school-level strategies must encompass all of the grades in the 
school. Further, the school-level strategies must be provided in all of 
the covered grade levels (i.e., grades 6 through 12) during each year 
of the project, beginning no later than the start of the 2006-2007 
school year.
    The targeted interventions must be for some or all students in 
grades 6 through 12 who are reading at least two years below grade 
level. In schools that include grades kindergarten through 8, for 
example, the targeted intervention must be targeted at struggling 
readers in one or more grades 6 through 8. However, the grantee would 
not have to provide targeted interventions to all struggling readers in 
grades 6 through 8. In this example, the targeted intervention must 
focus on all or some struggling readers either in a given grade level 
or in more than one grade in grades 6 through 8. Furthermore, the 
grantee must provide intensive, targeted intervention strategies during 
each year of the project beginning no later than the start of the 2006-
2007 school year.

Statement of Priority Two--Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components

    The applicant, if awarded a grant under this program, will use the 
funds to support a comprehensive reading initiative that includes the 
following components:
    1. School-level strategies designed to increase reading achievement 
for students by integrating enhanced literacy instruction throughout 
the curriculum and the entire school. These strategies must include, at 
a minimum, a needs assessment, professional development, and a process 
for monitoring student performance. The school-level strategies must 
focus on improving literacy for the entire grade span/student 
population in the grades 6 through 12 that are included in the school 
and be implemented in each of these grades during each year of the 
project period beginning no later than the start of the 2006-2007 
school year.
    2. An intensive, targeted intervention for struggling readers 
(i.e., students who read at least two years below grade level, 
including limited English proficient students and students with 
disabilities). The intervention must include, at a minimum, assessments 
to identify struggling readers, a supplementary literacy intervention 
designed to accelerate the development of literacy skills for these 
readers, professional development for their teachers, and a process for 
monitoring student progress that includes the administration of student 
assessments. The intensive, targeted interventions must be for some or 
all struggling readers in one or more grades 6 through 12. The grantee 
must provide intensive, targeted intervention strategies during each 
year of the project period beginning no later than the start of the 
2006-2007 school year.
    3. A project evaluation that includes--
    (a) A rigorous experimental research evaluation of the intensive, 
targeted intervention for struggling readers. The evaluation of the 
intensive, targeted intervention must be conducted by an independent 
evaluator and must include a randomized control trial; and
    (b) A rigorous evaluation of the school-level strategies designed 
to increase reading achievement for students by integrating enhanced 
literacy instruction throughout the curriculum and the school. The 
evaluation of the school-level strategies must be conducted by an 
independent evaluator and may, but need not, include a randomized 
control trial.
    To meet this priority, applicants must demonstrate that they have 
allocated sufficient program and other funds to carry out a high-
quality evaluation of the proposed Striving Readers project. Applicants 
also will need to include a sufficient number of schools and students 
to support an experimental evaluation design of the targeted 
intervention in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on eligibility requirements and 
priorities. Section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1)), however, allows the Secretary to exempt from 
rulemaking requirements, regulations governing the first grant 
competition under a new or substantially revised program authority. 
This is the first grant competition for this program under section 1502 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and 
therefore qualifies for this exemption. In order to ensure timely grant 
awards, the Secretary has decided to forgo public comment on the 
modified eligibility requirements and priority in this notice under 
section 437(d)(1). These modified eligibility requirements and priority 
will apply to the FY 2005 grant competition and any subsequent awards 
we make based on the list of unfunded applications from this 
competition.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department 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.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6492.

    Dated: September 27, 2005.
Henry Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 05-19618 Filed 9-29-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P