[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10023-10024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2806]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Foreign Language Assistance Program--Local Educational Agencies

AGENCY: Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, 
and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students, 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director for English 
Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement 
for Limited English Proficient Students, proposes a priority under the 
Foreign Language Assistance program. We may use this priority for 
competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and later years. We take this 
action to focus Federal financial assistance on an identified national 
need for programs in critical foreign languages within kindergarten 
through grade twelve during the traditional school day. We intend this 
priority to increase the number of local educational agency programs 
implementing elementary and secondary school projects teaching 
languages of major economic and political importance.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before March 30, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Rebecca 
Richey, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 
10080, PCP, Washington, DC 20202-6510. If you prefer to send your 
comments through the Internet, use the following address: 
[email protected].
    You must include the term ``FLAP LEA Comments'' in the subject line 
of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Richey. Telephone: (202) 245-
7133 or via Internet: [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 contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation To Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
reducing regulatory burden that might result from this proposed 
priority. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should 
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while 
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed priority in room 10080, 550 12th Street, 
SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern 
time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for this proposed priority. If you want to schedule 
an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    In order to address the disparity between the need for and the 
limited number of programs teaching critical languages, we are 
proposing a priority that would provide Federal financial assistance to 
local educational agencies implementing elementary and secondary school 
projects that provide instruction in languages of major economic and 
political importance, such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, 
Russian, and languages in the Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language 
families.
    In addition, the proposed priority provides that the projects it 
supports must establish, improve, or expand foreign language learning 
that occurs primarily during the traditional school day. Because these 
languages are not only less commonly taught, but also

[[Page 10024]]

more difficult to learn, it is especially critical, if proficiency is 
to be obtained, that the rigorous and structured instruction be 
primarily carried out during the traditional school day. A project that 
provides instruction only on weekends or after school is significantly 
less likely to result in student proficiency.
    We will announce the final priority in a notice in the Federal 
Register. We will determine the final priority after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to the 
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding 
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking 
requirements.


    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use this proposed priority, we invite 
applications through a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting 
applications we designate the priority as absolute, competitive 
preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of priority 
follows:
    Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only 
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
    Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference 
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either 
(1) awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent 
to which the application meets the competitive priority (34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the 
competitive priority over an application of comparable merit that 
does not meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
    Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are 
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational 
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the 
invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over 
other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Priority

Critical Need Languages

    This priority supports projects that establish, improve or expand 
foreign language learning primarily during the traditional school day, 
within grade kindergarten through grade 12 that exclusively teach one 
or more of the following less commonly taught languages: Arabic, 
Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and languages in the Indic, 
Iranian, and Turkic language families.

Executive Order 12866

    This notice of proposed priority has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have 
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed priority 
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have 
determined are necessary for administering this program effectively and 
efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, we have 
determined that the benefits of the proposed priority justify the 
costs.
    We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly 
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of 
their governmental functions.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

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 84.293B Foreign 
Language Assistance Program)


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7259-7259b.

    Dated: February 23, 2006.
Kathleen Leos,
Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director for English Language 
Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic--Achievement for 
Limited English--Proficient Students.
[FR Doc. E6-2806 Filed 2-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P