[Federal Register: July 24, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 142)]
[Notices]
[Page 45697-45699]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24jy00-92]
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Part V
Department of Education
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Office of Postsecondary Education Upward Bound Participant Expansion
Initiative and Inviting Applications for Supplemental Awards for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2000; Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Upward Bound Program Participant Expansion Initiative
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Final Priority.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education announces an absolute priority to
provide supplemental funds of up to $85,600 in fiscal year (FY) 2000 to
currently funded Upward Bound projects that serve at least one target
high school in which at least 50 percent of the students were eligible
for a free lunch under the National School Lunch Act (Free Lunch
program) during the 1998-1999 school year.
The purpose of this priority is to increase the number of the
neediest eligible students who are served by the Upward Bound program.
The neediest students are generally those from the lowest income
levels. The Secretary believes that limiting supplemental funds to
projects that serve the above-described target high schools is a good
way to measure whether projects serve the lowest income students
because the Free Lunch program is limited to students from families
with the lowest family income.
Under this priority, supplemental funds of up to $85,600 will be
made to currently funded Upward Bound program projects. An estimated
157-177 current Upward Bound projects could each receive supplemental
funds to serve up to 20 additional students.
Projects that receive supplemental funds under this priority are
strongly encouraged to select eligible participants who have the
greatest need for Upward Bound services.
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 23, 2000.
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Whitehead, Sheryl Wilson, or Gaby
Watts, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 7020,
Washington, DC 20006-8510. Telephone (202) 502-7600. The email address
for The Office of Federal TRIO Programs is: Trio@ed.gov.
The email addresses for Ms. Whitehead, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Watts
are: Peggy_Whitehead@ed.gov, Sheryl_Wilson@ed.gov, Gaby_Watts@ed.gov.
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
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact persons listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of Education published a
notice of proposed priority in the Federal Register on June 1, 2000 (65
FR 35238-35239).
In FY 2000, the Congress provided more funds than the
Administration requested for the Federal TRIO Programs. In examining
the options available to the Secretary for allocating these additional
funds, the Secretary determined that a portion of the funds should be
used to increase support to the Upward Bound program. The Upward Bound
program, authorized under section 402C of the Higher Education Act of
1965 as amended (HEA), 20 U.S.C. 1070a-13, serves low-income, potential
first-generation, college students by helping them generate the skills
and motivation necessary for success in education beyond secondary
school.
Analysis of Comments and Changes
In response to the Secretary's invitation in the notice of proposed
priority, nine parties submitted comments on the proposed priority. An
analysis of the comments and of any changes in the priority since
publication of the notice of proposed priority follows.
Target School Eligibility and Date of Eligibility
Comments: One commenter recommended that free lunch eligibility be
determined for the school district rather than the target high schools.
One commenter recommended the use of 1998-1999 school year data rather
than 1999-2000 school year data, since the 1999-2000 data will not be
available until October 2000. Two commenters recommended use of the
eligibility rate for the county or specified service area for free
lunch or public benefits such as AFDC.
Discussion: Upward Bound projects serve target high schools that
are not necessarily within the same school district since the target
areas do not have to be contiguous. Upward Bound projects also serve
target high schools in different counties and States. Therefore, it is
easier for most Upward Bound projects to collect data from the specific
target high school and certify that the target high school meets the
free lunch criterion, which requires eligibility for the Free Lunch
program, not participation in the Free Lunch program. AFDC benefits are
individual records and collection of AFDC information for a target high
school would be difficult. The Secretary accepts the suggestion that
the data should be collected for school year 1998-1999. In many areas,
the data for school year 1999-2000 may not be readily available.
Changes: The Free Lunch program data will be collected for the
1998-1999 school year.
Low-Income First-Generation Criteria
Comments: One commenter suggested the Secretary use the low-income
first-generation criteria rather than 50 percent Free Lunch program
eligibility for the priority.
Discussion: All participants who receive services under the
priority must meet the eligibility requirements for Upward Bound, which
already require that participants be low-income or potential first-
generation college students.
Changes: None.
Free Lunch Criterion
Comments: One commenter supported the use of the free lunch
statistics as an indicator of high need of students for the Upward
Bound program. The commenter also questioned if other possible
indicators might be used. Another commenter recommended the use of
actual income of the families of students enrolled in the target high
schools as the measure of need for expanded services. The commenter did
not recommend an income threshold to make that determination.
Discussion: The Secretary believes that the use of the Free Lunch
criterion coupled with the requirement that Upward Bound participants
are generally from low-income families is sufficient to target these
supplemental grant funds to the right grantees.
With regard to the use of family income, schools do not know the
family income of their students so the commenter's suggestion is not
practical.
Changes: None.
Comments: Another commenter recommended that the concept of free or
reduced lunch be used as the eligibility criterion for the initiative.
Discussion: The priority is designed to increase the number of the
neediest eligible students who are served by the Upward Bound program.
The neediest students are generally those from the lowest income
levels. The low-income eligibility requirement for students to
participate in Upward Bound is a family income that does not exceed 150
percent of the poverty level established by the Bureau of the Census.
In contrast, the Reduced Lunch program and Free Lunch program
eligibility requirements are set at 185 percent and 130 percent
[[Page 45699]]
of the poverty level, respectively. Therefore, the Reduced Lunch
program has a higher income threshold than the Upward Bound program and
would not be useful for targeting the lowest income students. The
Secretary believes that limiting supplemental funds to projects that
serve target high schools with 50 percent or higher of the students in
the Free Lunch program is a good way to measure whether projects serve
the lowest income students. The Free Lunch program is limited to
students from families with the lowest family income.
Rationale for the Priority
Comments: One commenter questioned the need for the priority. The
commenter recommended allocating the funds to all existing Upward Bound
projects to support student stipends, work study components, increase
staff, and support technology skills.
Discussion: The priority is designed to increase the number of the
neediest students participating in the Upward Bound program.
Changes: None.
Cost Per Participant
Comments: One commenter questioned if additional students would be
funded at the current per student participant rate, since costs vary
among projects.
Discussion: The priority is designed to serve up to 20 additional
students at a cost of up to $85,600. Since the priority is geared to
serving the neediest students, costs may be higher than the current per
student participant rate. This would be determined by the types of
additional services and activities to be provided.
Changes: None.
Participation of Target High Schools
Comments: One commenter questioned whether students enrolled in
target high schools, that were included in a grantee's initial
application but that are not currently being served, can receive
services under this supplemental initiative.
Discussion: Yes, a student enrolled in any target high school
included in the grantee's Upward Bound application, that was submitted
on or before October 30, 1998 would be eligible to participate.
Changes: None.
Page Limitations
Comments: One commenter questioned the existence of a page limit
for the narrative that accompanies the revised budget.
Discussion: The priority provides for supplemental funding to
expand the current projects. Therefore, only a brief narrative is
needed to describe the activities to be provided with the additional
funding.
Changes: None.
Support for the Priority
Comments: Three commenters expressed support of the priority.
Discussion: No changes were recommended.
Changes: None.
Priority
Absolute Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary gives absolute preference
to applications that meet the following priority. The Secretary funds
only applications that meet this absolute priority:
A project funded under this priority must serve a target high
school in which at least 50 percent of the students were eligible for
the Free Lunch program during the 1998-1999 school year.
Invitational Priority
Within the absolute priority specified in this notice, the
Secretary is particularly interested in applications that meet the
following invitational priority. However, under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) an
application that meets this invitational priority does not receive
competitive preference over other applications.
The Secretary strongly encourages projects that receive
supplemental funds to enhance their recruitment strategies and services
to target high schools to select and serve students who are at greatest
risk of not graduating from high school or pursuing postsecondary
education.
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
action for the program.
Applicable Program Regulations
34 CFR part 645
Electronic Access to This Document
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Note: The official version of this document is the document
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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.047A)
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070.
Dated: July 17, 2000.
A. Lee Fritschler,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-18590 Filed 7-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P