[Federal Register: February 13, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 30)]
[Notices]
[Page 7635-7637]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13fe98-147]
[[Page 7635]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VIII
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Advanced Placement Fee Payment Program; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998; Notice
[[Page 7636]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No.: 84.330]
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Advanced Placement Fee Payment Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998
Summary
The Secretary invites applications for new awards for FY 1998 under
the Advanced Placement Fee Payment discretionary grant program and
announces deadline dates for the transmittal of applications for
funding under the program.
Purpose of Program
The primary purpose of the Advanced Placement Fee Payment Program
is to enable States to reimburse part or all of the cost of advanced
placement test fees for low-income individuals who (1) are enrolled in
an advanced placement class; and (2) plan to take an advanced placement
test. This program is authorized by section 1545 of the Higher
Education Amendments of 1992, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note.
Who May Apply
State educational agencies (SEAs) in any State, including the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the
former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 20, 1998.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 10, 1998. The 60-day
period for intergovernmental review has been waived.
Applications Available: February 13, 1998.
Available Funds: $3,000,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $1,000 to $400,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $50,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 57.
*Note: These estimates are projections for the guidance of
potential applicants. The Department is not bound by any estimates
in this notice.
Project Period
Up to 15 months. States receiving grants under this program may use
the funds to reimburse eligible individuals for advanced placement
tests taken in FY 1998, FY 1999, or both.
Requirements for Approval of Applications
In order to receive funding under this program, an SEA must submit
to the Department an application that contains the following:
(a) A description of the advanced placement test fees the State
will pay on behalf of individual students, including the approximate
number of students on whose behalf the State will pay these fees and
the approximate date the State expects each student to take the
advanced placement exam;
(b) A description of the method by which eligible low-income
individuals will be identified, and the steps the State will take to
ensure that any students receiving payments under this program are
eligible for such payments;
(c) A description of the State's plan to disseminate information on
the availability of test fee payments to eligible individuals through
secondary school teachers and guidance counselors;
(d) A description of the State's plan to evaluate the effectiveness
of the program;
(e) An assurance that any funds received under this program will
only be used to pay advanced placement test fees for qualifying low-
income individuals;
(f) An assurance that the State will document the eligibility of
each individual on whose behalf the State pays part or all of an
advanced placement test fee in accordance with section 402A(e) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965; and
(g) An assurance that funds provided under this program will be
used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, local, or
private funds available to assist low-income individuals in paying for
advanced placement testing.
Allowable Activities
States receiving grants under this program may use the grant funds
only to pay advanced placement test fees. The Department encourages
States to undertake activities to increase the participation of low-
income students in advanced placement classes and testing, but grant
funds may not be used for this purpose.
Allocation of Funds
The Department intends to fund all applications meeting the
requirements for approval of applications previously described in this
notice. In determining the amount of grant funds to be allocated to
each State, the Department will rely on the U.S. Census Bureau count of
poor children ages 5-17 that is used for allocations under Title I,
Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20
U.S.C. 6311-6338. The Department will also consider the State's
description of the advanced placement test fees it intends to pay, and
whether those fees are reasonable and allowable. The application
package will provide each State with an estimate of the approximate
amount of grant funds it can expect to receive if all States
participate in the program. In the event that all States do not
participate in the program, the Department will reallocate the funds
that would have been awarded to the non-participating States to States
whose applications have been approved.
Waiver of Rulemaking
Because the Department intends to fund all applications meeting the
requirements for approval of applications described in this notice,
Department regulations governing the selection of new discretionary
grant projects, codified at 34 CFR 75.200-75.222, will not apply to
this program. While it is generally the practice of the Secretary to
offer interested parties the opportunity to comment on such a
regulation before it is implemented, section 437(d) of the General
Education Provisions Act exempts from formal rulemaking requirements
regulations governing the first grant competition under a new or
substantially revised program authority (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1)). In
order to make awards on a timely basis, the Secretary has decided to
publish this regulation in final under the authority of section 437(d).
Applicable Statute and Regulations
Title XV, Part G, of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992, 20
U.S.C. 1070a-11, note. The Education Department General Administrative
Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 75 (except 75.200-75.222), 76, 77,
79, 80, 81, 82, 85, and 86.
The following definitions and other provisions are taken from the
Advanced Placement Fee Payment Program statute, in Title XV, Part G, of
the Higher Education Amendments of 1992. They are repeated in this
application notice for the convenience of the applicant.
Definitions
As used in this section:
(a) The term advanced placement test includes only an advanced
placement test approved by the Secretary of Education for the purposes
of this section.
(b) The term ``low-income individual'' has the meaning given the
term in
[[Page 7637]]
section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
*Note: Under section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher Education Act of
1965, the term low-income individual means an individual from a
family whose taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed
150 percent of an amount equal to the poverty level determined by
using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census
(20 U.S.C. 1070a-11(g)(2)).
Information Dissemination
The SEA shall disseminate information on the availability of test
fee payments under this program to eligible individuals through
secondary school teachers and guidance counselors.
Supplementation of Funding
Funds provided under this program must be used to supplement and
not supplant other Federal, State, and local or private funds available
to assist low-income individuals in paying for advanced placement
testing.
For Applications or Information Contact: Frank B. Robinson, U.S.
Department of Education, School Improvement Programs, Portals Building,
Room 4500, Washington, D.C. 20202-6140. Telephone (202) 260-2669.
Internet address: frank__robinson@ed.gov. 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) upon request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternate format, also, by contacting that
person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an
alternate format the standard forms included in the application
package.
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 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 a document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note.
Dated: February 10, 1998.
Gerald N. Tirozzi,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-3762 Filed 2-12-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P