[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5243-5246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2309]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Proposed Priority, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection 
Criteria--Arts in Education National Program (AENP)

AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.351F.

SUMMARY: The Assistant Deputy Secretary proposes a priority, 
requirements, definitions, and selection criteria under the Arts in 
Education National Program (AENP). We may use the priority, 
requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for competitions in 
fiscal year (FY) 2012 and later years. We intend to use the priority, 
requirements, definitions, and selection criteria to award a grant to 
an eligible applicant to encourage and expand national-level high-
quality arts education activities and services for children and youth, 
with special emphasis on serving children from low-income families and 
children with disabilities.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before March 5, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this notice to Edith Harvey, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 4W308, 
Washington, DC 20202-5970.
    If you prefer to send your comments by email, use the following 
address: [email protected]. You must include the phrase ``Arts in 
Education National Program--Comments on FY 2012 Proposed Priority'' in 
the subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edith Harvey. Telephone: (202) 260-
1393 or by email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-(800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
this notice. To ensure that your comments have maximum effect in 
developing the notice of final priority, requirements, definitions, and 
selection criteria, we urge you to identify clearly the proposed 
priority, requirement, definition, or selection criterion that each 
comment addresses.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 and their overall 
requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result from the 
proposed priority, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria. 
Please let us know of any further ways we could 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 notice in room 4W308, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Washington, 
DC time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the AENP is to support national-
level high-quality arts education activities and services for children 
and youth, with special emphasis on serving children from low-income 
families and children with disabilities.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7271.

    Proposed Priority: This notice contains one proposed priority.

Model Projects

Background

    Arts is a core academic subject. Arts education encourages 
creativity and analytical thinking and it highlights a student's unique 
qualities. Accordingly, and because the focus of the AENP is to promote 
high-quality arts education with special emphasis on serving children 
from low-income families and children with disabilities, we are seeking 
to support one or more projects that will develop and implement 
exemplary national-level arts education activities and services.

Proposed Priority

    One or more high-quality projects that are designed to develop and 
implement, or expand, initiatives in arts education and arts 
integration (as defined in this notice) on a national level for pre-
kindergarten-through-grade-12 children and youth, with special emphasis 
on serving children from low-income families (as defined in this 
notice) and children with disabilities. In order to meet this priority, 
an applicant must demonstrate that the project for which it seeks 
funding will provide services and develop initiatives in multiple 
schools and school districts throughout the country, including in at 
least one urban, at least one rural, and at least one high-need 
community (as defined in this notice).

Types of Priorities

    When inviting applications for a competition using one or more 
priorities, we designate the type of each priority as absolute, 
competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in the Federal 
Register. 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 (1) 
awarding additional points, depending on the extent to which the 
application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) 
selecting an application that meets the 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 priority. 
However, we do not give an

[[Page 5244]]

application that meets the priority a preference over other 
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Proposed Requirements

Background

    The AENP supports the implementation of high-quality arts education 
and arts integration activities and services in music, dance, theater, 
media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts. We are proposing 
these requirements to ensure that funded projects have the capacity to 
provide high-quality professional development, programming, and 
resources in all of these art forms and to expand the reach of services 
through strong partnerships with schools and communities.

Proposed Eligibility and Application Requirements

    The Assistant Deputy Secretary proposes the following eligibility 
and application requirements for this program. We may use one or more 
of these requirements in any year in which we award grants for the 
AENP.
    1. To be eligible for an award, an applicant must be a national 
nonprofit arts education organization (as defined in this notice).
    2. An applicant must describe in its application how it would serve 
children from low-income families and children with disabilities.
    3. An applicant must describe in its application how it would 
implement the following activities and services at the national level:
    (i) Professional development based on State or national standards 
for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 arts educators (as defined in 
this notice).

    Note:  National standards are the arts standards developed by 
the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations or another, 
comparable set of national arts standards. The standards developed 
by the Consortium outline what students should know and be able to 
do in the arts. These are not Department standards. To view the 
standards, please go to www.menc.org/resources/view/the-national-standards-for-arts-education-a-brief-history.

    (ii) Development and dissemination of instructional materials, 
including online resources, in music, dance, theater, media arts, and 
visual arts, including folk arts, for arts educators.
    (iii) Arts-based educational programming in music, dance, theater, 
media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts, for pre-kindergarten-
through-grade-12 students and arts educators.
    (iv) Community and national outreach activities and services that 
strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, school districts, and 
communities throughout the country.

Proposed Definitions

Background

    Several terms associated with this program are not defined in 
section 9101 of the ESEA. Therefore, we are proposing the following 
definitions for these terms.

Proposed Definitions

    The Assistant Deputy Secretary proposes the following definitions 
for this program. We may use one or more of these definitions in any 
year in which we award grants for the AENP.
    Arts means music, dance, theater, media arts, and visual arts, 
including folk arts.
    Arts educator means a teacher or other instructional staffer who 
works in music, dance, theater, media arts, or visual arts, including 
folk arts.
    Arts integration means (i) using high-quality arts instruction 
within other academic content areas, and (ii) strengthening the arts as 
a core academic subject in the school curriculum.
    High-need community means (i) a political subdivision of a State or 
portion of a political subdivision of a State, in which at least 50 
percent of the children are from low-income families; or (ii) a 
political subdivision of a State that is among the 10 percent of 
political subdivisions of the State having the greatest numbers of such 
children. For the purposes of determining if a community meets this 
definition, the term ``low-income families'' means families with 
incomes below the poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for 
which satisfactory data are available.
    National non-profit arts education organization means an 
organization of national scope that is supported by staff or affiliates 
at the State and local levels and that has a demonstrated history of 
advancing high-quality arts education and arts integration for arts 
educators, education leaders, artists, and students through 
professional development, partnerships, educational programming, and 
supporting systemic school reform.
    Child from low-income family means a child who is determined by a 
State educational agency or local educational agency to be a child, in 
pre-kindergarten through grade 12, from a low-income family, on the 
basis of (a) the family having an income that meets the poverty 
criteria established by the U.S Department of Commerce, (b) the child's 
eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches under the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act, (c) the family's receipt of 
assistance under Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, or (d) 
the child's eligibility for medical assistance under the Medicaid 
program under title XIX of the Social Security Act.

Proposed Selection Criteria

Background

    The AENP is intended to support high-quality arts education and 
arts integration on a national level. To ensure that we award the grant 
to entities that have demonstrated capacity to meet the purposes of the 
program, we have developed program-specific selection criteria. We 
propose to award a grant to an eligible entity on the basis of the 
quality of applications submitted, after taking into consideration one 
or more of the following proposed selection criteria as well as the 
requirements of the program.

Proposed Selection Criteria

    The Assistant Deputy Secretary proposes the following selection 
criteria for evaluating an application under this program. We may apply 
one or more of these criteria, as well as criteria from the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations in 34.CFR 75.210, in any 
year in which this program is in effect. In the notice inviting 
applications or the application package or both we will announce the 
maximum possible points assigned to each criterion.
    (1) Significance. The Secretary reviews each application to 
determine the extent to which--
    (a) The proposed project is likely to build State and local 
capacity to provide, improve, or expand arts education and arts 
integration that address the needs of children and youth, with special 
emphasis on serving children from low-income families and children with 
disabilities; and
    (b) The applicant has a history of three or more years of 
demonstrated excellence in the areas of arts education and arts 
integration on a national scale.
    (2) Quality of the project design. The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine the extent to which--
    (a) The design of the proposed project is appropriate to, and will 
successfully address, the arts education needs of pre-kindergarten-
through-grade-12 children and youth, with special emphasis on children 
from low-income families and children with disabilities;
    (b) The proposed project will provide high-quality professional 
development for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 arts educators who 
provide instruction

[[Page 5245]]

in music, dance, drama, media arts, or visual arts, including folk 
arts;
    (c) The proposed project will develop and disseminate instructional 
materials, including online resources, in multiple arts disciplines for 
arts educators and other instructional staff;
    (d) The proposed project will support arts-based educational 
programming; and
    (e) The proposed project will provide community and national 
outreach that strengthens and expands partnerships among schools, 
school districts, and communities throughout the country.
    (3) Quality of project services. In determining the quality of the 
services to be provided by the proposed project, the Secretary 
considers the extent to which--
    (a) The services to be provided by the proposed project involve the 
collaboration of appropriate partners in order to maximize the 
effectiveness of project services; and
    (b) The proposed project will provide services and initiatives that 
will reach students and arts educators in multiple schools and school 
districts in urban, rural, and high-need communities throughout the 
country.

Final Priority, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria

    We will announce the final priority, requirements, definitions, and 
selection criteria in a notice in the Federal Register. We will 
determine the final priority, requirements, definitions, and selection 
criteria after considering responses to this notice and other 
information available to the Department. This notice does not preclude 
us from proposing additional priorities, requirements, definitions, or 
selection criteria, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking 
requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use this priority, requirements, definitions, and 
selection criteria, we invite applications through a notice in the 
Federal Register.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

Regulatory Impact Analysis

    Under Executive Order 12866, the Secretary must determine whether 
this regulatory action is ``significant'' and, therefore, subject to 
the requirements of the Executive order and subject to review by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866 defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action likely 
to result in a rule that may--
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, 
or adversely affect a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, 
jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local or 
tribal governments or communities in a material way (also referred to 
as an ``economically significant'' rule);
    (2) Create serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles stated in the 
Executive order.
    This proposed regulatory action is not a significant regulatory 
action subject to review by OMB under section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866.
    We have also reviewed these regulations under Executive Order 
13563, which supplements and explicitly reaffirms the principles, 
structures, and definitions governing regulatory review established in 
Executive Order 12866. To the extent permitted by law, Executive Order 
13563 requires that an agency--
    (1) Propose or adopt regulations only on a reasoned determination 
that their benefits justify their costs (recognizing that some benefits 
and costs are difficult to quantify);
    (2) Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden on society, 
consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives and taking into 
account--among other things and to the extent practicable--the costs of 
cumulative regulations;
    (3) In choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, select 
those approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential 
economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other 
advantages; distributive impacts; and equity);
    (4) To the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, rather 
than the behavior or manner of compliance a regulated entity must 
adopt; and
    (5) Identify and assess available alternatives to direct 
regulation, including economic incentives--such as user fees or 
marketable permits--to encourage the desired behavior, or provide 
information that enables the public to make choices.
    Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency ``to use the best 
available techniques to quantify anticipated present and future 
benefits and costs as accurately as possible.'' The Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these 
techniques may include ``identifying changing future compliance costs 
that might result from technological innovation or anticipated 
behavioral changes.''
    We are issuing this proposed priority, requirements, definitions, 
and selection criteria only on a reasoned determination that their 
benefits justify their costs. In choosing among alternative regulatory 
approaches, we selected those approaches that maximize net benefits. 
Based on the analysis that follows, the Department believes that this 
proposed regulatory action is consistent with the principles in 
Executive Order 13563.
    We also have determined that this regulatory action would not 
unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
    In accordance with both Executive orders, the Department has 
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action. 
The potential costs associated with this regulatory action are those 
resulting from statutory requirements and those we have determined as 
necessary for administering the Department's programs and activities.
    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.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can 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). To use PDF 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov.

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Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can 
limit your search to documents published by the Department.

    Dated: January 27, 2012.
James H. Shelton, III.,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2012-2309 Filed 2-1-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P