[Federal Register: June 18, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 117)]
[Notices]
[Page 41585-41587]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jn02-144]
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Part III
Department of Education
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Office of Special Education Programs; Notice of Proposed Priority;
State Program Improvement Grant Program; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education Programs; Notice of Proposed
Priority; State Program Improvement Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services proposes a priority for the State Program
Improvement Grant program administered by the Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended. The Assistant
Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year 2002
and subsequent years. The Secretary takes this action to focus Federal
assistance on identified needs to improve results for children with
disabilities. The proposed priority is intended to ensure wide and
effective use of program funds.
DATES: We must receive all comments on the proposed priority on or
before July 18, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Debra
Sturdivant, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 3527, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2641. Comments may
also be sent through the Internet: Larry.Wexler@ed.gov
You must include the term "State Improvement Grant" in the
electronic message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Wexler, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3630, Switzer Building,
Washington, DC 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-5390. FAX: (202) 205-
9179. Internet: Larry.Wexler@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 a copy of 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 3630, 330 C Street, SW.,
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 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, contact the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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. 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 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 invitational
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications
(34 CFR 75. 105(c)(1)).
General Requirements
All projects funded under the proposed priority must make positive
efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with
disabilities in project activities (see section 606 of IDEA). In
addition, all applicants and projects funded under the proposed
priority must involve individuals with disabilities or parents of
individuals with disabilities in planning, implementing, and evaluating
the projects (see section 661(f)(1)(A) of IDEA) State Program
Improvement Grants Program.
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the State Program Improvement
Grant program is to assist State educational agencies and their
partners referred to in section 652(b) of IDEA with reforming and
improving their systems for providing educational, early intervention,
and transitional services, including their systems for professional
development, technical assistance, and dissemination of knowledge about
best practices, to improve results for children with disabilities.
Priority
Proposed Priority--Competitive Supplement to State Improvement Grants
Background
There are currently 36 State educational agencies that are funded
under the State Improvement Grant program. These grants are meant to
improve results for children with disabilities by addressing personnel
training needs of States, as identified by the States, and have been an
example of the Department's continuing effort to improve educational
opportunities for all children. Congress established the State Program
Improvement Grant program when it reauthorized IDEA in 1997. The money
helps State educational agencies reform their systems for providing
educational, early intervention and transitional services for children
with disabilities. It also supports technical assistance for local
schools and dissemination of knowledge about best practices. Seventy-
five percent of each grant of up to five years must be used for
professional development.
As part of the competition, each State, in conjunction with
required partners, including local education agencies and other State
agencies that provide special education services (at its option the
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State may also include other partners such as the Governor, parents of
children with disabilities, organizations representing individuals with
disabilities and their parents, the lead State agency for part C IDEA,
institutions of higher education within the State, etc.), submitted
improvement plans focused on such areas as: (1) Training and personnel;
(2) recruitment and retention of special education, related services
and early intervention staff; (3) performance of children with
disabilities; and (4) improving overall program effectiveness. The
States receiving the grants have used the funds to implement the
improvement strategies that they proposed in their plans. The Secretary
anticipates that there will be additional fiscal year 2001 funds
available subsequent to making awards under this year's competition. To
utilize additional funds that may become available, the Secretary is
proposing to conduct a separate competition under which only grantees
from the FY 1999, 2000 and 2001 competitions would be eligible.
Priority
The Secretary proposes to establish a priority to award competitive
supplements to State Improvement Grants awarded in 1999, 2000, or 2001
for the purpose of enhancing current grant activities. Applicants must
describe additional activities that augment or complement those goals
and activities that are already being implemented as part of their
State Improvement Grant. Enhancement activities may be simply an
expansion of activities already described in the narrative or they may
be new activities that will improve the quality of the previously
approved State improvement grant tasks. The Secretary is particularly
interested in activities that focus on: (1) Retention and recruitment
of highly qualified personnel; (2) the use of research-based reading
intervention strategies; and (3) the use of research-based positive
behavior supports.
Projects must--
(a) Enhance only those State Improvement Grant activities that can
be shown, based on the project's data-based evaluation, to have
impacted positively on the goal(s) of the project;
(b) Incorporate the expanded or new activities into the project's
ongoing evaluation activities;
(c) Incorporate the expanded or new activities into the project's
existing partnership agreements; and
(d) Ensure that the State uses not less than 75 percent of the
funds (existing budget plus any supplemental funds) it receives under
the grant for any fiscal year on professional development and training
of regular education, special education, or related services personnel.
Only 50 percent of the funds must be used on professional development
if the State can demonstrate to the Department that it has sufficient
personnel.
Under this priority, the Secretary will make, based on available
funds, up to 36 awards with a project period of up to the amount of
months remaining in the applicant's current State Improvement Grant
subject to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a) for continuation
awards.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to the requirements of 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 either of the
following site: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: State Program
Improvement Grants Program, 84.323A.)
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1405, 1461, 1472, 1474, and 1487.
Dated: June 13, 2002.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 02-15301 Filed 6-17-02; 8:45 am]
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