[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 52853-52856]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01oc98-31]
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Part V
Department of Education
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34 CFR Part 675
Federal Work-Study Programs; Final Rule
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 675
RIN 1840-AC56
Federal Work-Study Programs
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Final regulations.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the regulations governing the Federal
Work-Study (FWS) Program authorized under title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended (title IV, HEA programs). The
Secretary makes these changes in response to the national need to
improve student achievement in mathematics by providing for an
additional waiver of the FWS institutional-share requirement for
mathematics tutors of children who are in elementary school through the
ninth grade.
EFFECTIVE DATE: These regulations take effect on July 1, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy S. Gause, U.S. Department of
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Regional Office Building 3,
Room 3045, Washington, DC 20202-5447. Telephone: (202) 708-8242.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
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 person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Part 675--Federal Work-Study Programs
The Secretary is providing for an additional waiver of the FWS
institutional-share requirement in Sec. 675.26. The Secretary will
authorize a Federal share of 100 percent of the compensation earned by
a student during an award year if both of the following criteria are
met:
1. The work performed by the student is for the institution itself,
for a Federal, State, or local public agency, or for a private
nonprofit organization.
2. The student is employed as a mathematics tutor for children who
are in elementary school through the ninth grade.
This regulatory change will provide an institution with additional
flexibility necessary to respond to the national need to improve
student achievement in mathematics. Student achievement in mathematics
in the United States is not at an internationally competitive level.
Thirty-six percent of fourth graders and 38 percent of eighth graders
score below the basic level in mathematics. The recent Third
International Math and Science Study shows that, while U.S. students
perform above the international average in mathematics at the fourth-
grade level, by the eighth grade, relative performance is below the
international average.
The President has issued a challenge to public officials, business
leaders, professional organizations, institutions of higher education,
teachers, parents, and students to take the steps necessary to improve
student achievement in mathematics in order to prepare our students and
the Nation for the twenty-first century. This challenge seeks to
mobilize resources to ensure that all students are prepared to pursue
rigorous high school mathematics and science courses that prepare them
for college and careers. A mastery of mathematics, including a strong
foundation in algebra and geometry, is a gateway to college and the job
market.
One important step to improving student achievement in mathematics
is to ensure that students who need it get support and activities that
reinforce the classroom experience and convey the importance of
acquiring a solid foundation in mathematics. The tutoring of children
who are in elementary school through the ninth grade in mathematics can
build a firm foundation for success throughout their lives. This
investment in our youth is an investment in this country's future. The
efforts associated with this new waiver for mathematics tutors of
children, including the preparation of the FWS students as tutors, are
justified by the benefits of preparing children to compete in the
global economy and ensuring our Nation's economic growth.
This new waiver builds on the success of the ``America Reads
Challenge.'' Effective with the 1997-98 award year, the Secretary
waived the FWS institutional-share requirement for reading tutors of
children from infancy through elementary school. See 61 FR 60392
(November 27, 1996). That waiver provided institutions with the
flexibility necessary to respond to the ``America Reads Challenge,''
which is mobilizing resources to ensure that all children can read
independently and well by the end of the third grade. The Secretary is
pleased with the overwhelming response to that reading initiative. Over
one thousand institutions have joined the ``America Reads Challenge''
by committing FWS students to tutor young children in reading. A
diverse array of institutions, representing all types of students, made
the commitment to tutor children in their communities. The ``America
Reads Challenge'' is helping thousands of children learn to read. The
FWS students not only help children read better by giving them extra
learning time, they also build confidence, boost motivation, and send
each child an important message: that reading counts!
Effective with the 1998-99 award year, the Secretary added a waiver
of the institutional-share requirement under the FWS Program for
students employed as tutors in a family literacy program that provides
literacy services to children from infancy through elementary school or
to their parents or caregivers. See 62 FR 63438 (November 28, 1997).
This waiver for tutors working in family literacy programs is based on
research that shows that children whose parents work with them on
literacy skills during early childhood have a better chance of reading
well and independently.
This new waiver for mathematics tutors will help ensure that
students have a solid foundation in mathematics as they enter high
school. The Department, in a 1997 report entitled ``Mathematics Equals
Opportunity,'' noted that low-income students who take algebra and
geometry are almost three times as likely to attend college as those
who do not. Although taking algebra by the eighth grade is a gateway to
college preparatory courses, only 15 percent of low-income students
enroll in algebra by the eighth grade. Mathematics tutors working with
students who are in elementary school through the ninth grade can be
one component of an institution's efforts to get students on the track
to college.
The Secretary strongly encourages all institutions to employ FWS
students as reading and mathematics tutors for children and as tutors
in family literacy programs that provide services to families with
preschool age children or children who are in elementary school. The
placement of students in these jobs is, in many instances, an important
way for institutions to meet the community service expenditure
requirement under the FWS Program, serve the needs of the community,
and give the FWS students a rewarding and enriching experience. As with
programs providing tutoring in reading and family literacy, programs
providing mathematics tutoring may take place during the children's
school hours, after school, on weekends, or in the summer in order to
extend learning time. The institution may create a
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mathematics-tutoring program, expand an existing reading tutoring
program to incorporate mathematics, or continue to focus solely on
reading. In addition, the institution may construct its own tutoring
program or become involved in existing tutoring programs.
The new waiver of the FWS institutional-share requirement in
Sec. 675.26 for mathematics tutors of children who are in elementary
school through the ninth grade does not require the institution to make
a request for a waiver. Also, the institution has the option of still
providing an institutional share and determining the amount of that
share.
It is important to note that the Secretary continues the current
exceptions that authorize a Federal share of 100 percent of the
compensation earned by students employed as reading tutors of preschool
age children or children who are in elementary school, students
employed as tutors in a family literacy program that provides services
to families with preschool age children or children who are in
elementary school, and students enrolled at eligible institutions under
the Strengthening Institutions Program, the Strengthening Historically
Black Colleges and Universities Program, or the Strengthening
Historically Black Graduate Institutions Program.
Goals 2000: Educate America Act
The Goals 2000: Educate America Act (Goals 2000) focuses the
Nation's education reform efforts on the eight National Education Goals
and provides a framework for meeting them. Goals 2000 promotes new
partnerships to strengthen schools and expands the Department's
capacities for helping communities to exchange ideas and obtain
information needed to achieve the goals.
These regulations address the National Education Goal that calls
for increasing the rate at which students graduate from high school and
pursue high quality postsecondary education.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553),
it is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, the Secretary
is specifically authorized under section 443(b)(5) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2753(b)(5)) to determine,
through the promulgation of regulations, that the Federal share of
compensation for FWS students may exceed 75 percent if required in
furtherance of the purposes of the program. The Secretary has made such
a determination in this case. Revising Sec. 675.26(d) will increase
institutional flexibility and help to meet an important educational
need for mathematics tutors in elementary school through the ninth
grade without imposing any burden on the affected parties. For these
reasons, the Secretary has determined, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B),
that public comment on the amendment to Sec. 675.26(d) is unnecessary
and contrary to the public interest.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that these regulations would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Small entities affected by these regulations are small institutions of
postsecondary education.
The provisions of these regulations provide added flexibility to
institutions. Thus, no significant adverse economic impacts on small
entities are expected to occur.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
These regulations have been examined under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 and have been found to contain no information collection
requirements.
Intergovernmental Review
The Federal Work-Study Program is not subject to the requirements
of Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
Assessment of Educational Impact
Based on its own review, the Department has determined that the
regulations in this document do not require transmission of information
that is being gathered by or is available from any other agency or
authority of the United States.
Electronic Access to This Document
Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free, at 1-888-293-6498.
Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 675
Loan programs--education, Student aid.
Dated: September 28, 1998.
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.033 Federal Work-
Study Program)
The Secretary amends chapter VI of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
PART 675--FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS
1. The authority citation for Part 675 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2751-2756a, unless otherwise noted.
2. Section 675.26 is amended by revising paragraph (d) to read as
follows:
Sec. 675.26 FWS Federal share limitations.
* * * * *
(d) For each award year, the Secretary authorizes a Federal share
of 100 percent of the compensation earned by a student under this part
if--
(1) The work performed by the student is for the institution
itself, for a Federal, State, or local public agency, or for a private
nonprofit organization; and
(2)(i) The institution in which the student is enrolled--
(A) Is designated as an eligible institution under the
Strengthening Institutions Program (34 CFR part 607), the Strengthening
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program (34 CFR part 608),
or the Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions Program
(34 CFR part 609); and
(B) Requests that increased Federal share as part of its regular
FWS funding application for that year;
(ii) The student is employed as a reading tutor for preschool age
children or children who are in elementary school;
(iii) The student is employed as a tutor in a family literacy
program that provides services to families with preschool age children
or children who are in elementary school; or
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(iv) The student is employed as a mathematics tutor for children
who are in elementary school through the ninth grade.
[FR Doc. 98-26256 Filed 9-30-98; 8:45 am]
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