FR Doc 05-19618
[Federal Register: September 30, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 189)]
[Notices]
[Page 57257-57258]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30se05-78]
Download: 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Striving Readers Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year
(FY) 2005; Modification.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.371A.
SUMMARY: On August 15, 2005, the Department published in the Federal
Register (70 FR 47816-47821) a notice inviting applications for new
awards for FY 2005 for the Striving Readers program. In the notice
inviting applications, we established certain eligibility requirements
and two absolute priorities for the Striving Readers competition. We
are now modifying the eligibility requirements to expand who may apply
for a grant under this competition and modifying Priority Two--
Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components--to clarify further the
requirements under this priority.
DATES: All dates and deadlines published in the notice inviting
applications remain the same.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Doherty, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W309, Washington, DC 20202-
6132. Telephone: (202) 205-6272 or by e-mail: StrivingReaders@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Subsequent to the publication on August 15, 2005 of the notice
inviting applications for the Striving Readers competition, the
Department conducted a series of teleconference briefings with more
than 500 potential applicants to discuss the purposes of the
competition, the funding priorities, the selection criteria, and the
competition process. Based on questions and comments that we received
during these teleconferences, we are modifying the notice inviting
applications to expand who may apply for a grant under this competition
and also modifying the Statement of Priority Two--Comprehensive Reading
Initiative Components.
Modification of Applicant Eligibility Requirements
In the original notice inviting applications for the Striving
Readers competition, we stated that eligible applicants were local
educational agencies (LEAs) that--
1. Are eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA),
pursuant to section 1113 of the ESEA, and
2. Serve students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
We also indicated that eligible LEAS may apply individually or,
with other eligible LEAs, or in partnership with one or more of the
following entities:
State educational agencies (SEAs),
Intermediate service agencies,
Public or private institutions of higher education, and
Public or private organizations with expertise in
adolescent literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
Finally, the original notice provided that in any partnership, the
fiscal agent must be the eligible LEA.
In the teleconferences, a number of LEAs and some SEAs expressed
interest in working with consortia of several school districts and
having the SEA apply for the grant and serve as the fiscal agent for
the grant. They requested that the eligibility requirements be modified
to permit an SEA to partner with, and apply on behalf of, LEAs that
meet the eligibility requirements described in the original notice
inviting applications. We believe that a modification is warranted and
are changing the eligibility requirements as follows:
Eligible Applicants: The following entities are eligible to apply
for funding under this competition:
1. LEAs that--
(a) Are eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the
ESEA, pursuant to section 1113 of the ESEA, and
(b) Serve students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
Eligible LEAs may apply individually, with other eligible LEAs, or
in partnership with one or more of the following entities:
SEAs,
Intermediate service agencies,
Public or private institutions of higher education, and
Public or private organizations with expertise in
adolescent literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
2. SEAs on behalf of one or more LEAs that meet the requirements of
paragraph 1.
SEAs must apply on behalf of one or more eligible LEAs and may also
partner with one or more of the following entities:
Intermediate service agencies,
Public or private institutions of higher education, and
Public or private organizations with expertise in
adolescent literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
For any application, the fiscal agent must be an eligible LEA or an
SEA.
Modification of Priority Two
In the original notice inviting applications for the Striving
Readers competition, we also established an absolute priority (Priority
Two--Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components) that set forth
required activities that must be conducted by all Striving Readers
grantees. Under this priority, Striving Readers grantees must use funds
awarded under the competition to support a comprehensive reading
initiative that includes three essential components: (1) School-level
strategies designed to increase reading achievement throughout the
curriculum; (2) an intensive, targeted intervention for some or all
struggling readers (i.e., students who read at least two years below
grade level, including limited English proficient students and students
with disabilities); and (3) a rigorous project evaluation that includes
an experimental research evaluation of the intensive, targeted
intervention for struggling readers.
Based on our telephone conferences, we are modifying this absolute
priority to make several clarifications.
First, we recognize that there are many different school
configurations and want to clarify that Striving Reading services may
be carried out in schools that contain grades other than grades 6
through 12 (for example, kindergarten through grade 8 schools, grades 5
through 8 schools, or kindergarten
[[Page 57258]]
through grade 12 schools). Second, we want to make it clear that under
this priority, grantees must implement both school-level strategies to
enhance reading achievement and intensive, targeted interventions, and
these strategies and interventions must be directed at students in
grades 6 and above only. Finally, we want to clarify when grantees must
begin to provide these services.
The school-level strategies must focus on improving literacy for
the entire grade span/student population in the grades 6 through 12
that are included in the school and be implemented in each of these
grades no later than the start of the 2006-2007 school year. In a
kindergarten through grade 12 school, for example, the school-level
strategies must be designed to enhance the literacy skills of all
students in grades 6 through 12. In a high school with grades 9 through
12, the school-level strategies must encompass all of the grades in the
school. Further, the school-level strategies must be provided in all of
the covered grade levels (i.e., grades 6 through 12) during each year
of the project, beginning no later than the start of the 2006-2007
school year.
The targeted interventions must be for some or all students in
grades 6 through 12 who are reading at least two years below grade
level. In schools that include grades kindergarten through 8, for
example, the targeted intervention must be targeted at struggling
readers in one or more grades 6 through 8. However, the grantee would
not have to provide targeted interventions to all struggling readers in
grades 6 through 8. In this example, the targeted intervention must
focus on all or some struggling readers either in a given grade level
or in more than one grade in grades 6 through 8. Furthermore, the
grantee must provide intensive, targeted intervention strategies during
each year of the project beginning no later than the start of the 2006-
2007 school year.
Statement of Priority Two--Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components
The applicant, if awarded a grant under this program, will use the
funds to support a comprehensive reading initiative that includes the
following components:
1. School-level strategies designed to increase reading achievement
for students by integrating enhanced literacy instruction throughout
the curriculum and the entire school. These strategies must include, at
a minimum, a needs assessment, professional development, and a process
for monitoring student performance. The school-level strategies must
focus on improving literacy for the entire grade span/student
population in the grades 6 through 12 that are included in the school
and be implemented in each of these grades during each year of the
project period beginning no later than the start of the 2006-2007
school year.
2. An intensive, targeted intervention for struggling readers
(i.e., students who read at least two years below grade level,
including limited English proficient students and students with
disabilities). The intervention must include, at a minimum, assessments
to identify struggling readers, a supplementary literacy intervention
designed to accelerate the development of literacy skills for these
readers, professional development for their teachers, and a process for
monitoring student progress that includes the administration of student
assessments. The intensive, targeted interventions must be for some or
all struggling readers in one or more grades 6 through 12. The grantee
must provide intensive, targeted intervention strategies during each
year of the project period beginning no later than the start of the
2006-2007 school year.
3. A project evaluation that includes--
(a) A rigorous experimental research evaluation of the intensive,
targeted intervention for struggling readers. The evaluation of the
intensive, targeted intervention must be conducted by an independent
evaluator and must include a randomized control trial; and
(b) A rigorous evaluation of the school-level strategies designed
to increase reading achievement for students by integrating enhanced
literacy instruction throughout the curriculum and the school. The
evaluation of the school-level strategies must be conducted by an
independent evaluator and may, but need not, include a randomized
control trial.
To meet this priority, applicants must demonstrate that they have
allocated sufficient program and other funds to carry out a high-
quality evaluation of the proposed Striving Readers project. Applicants
also will need to include a sufficient number of schools and students
to support an experimental evaluation design of the targeted
intervention in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested
parties the opportunity to comment on eligibility requirements and
priorities. Section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act
(20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1)), however, allows the Secretary to exempt from
rulemaking requirements, regulations governing the first grant
competition under a new or substantially revised program authority.
This is the first grant competition for this program under section 1502
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and
therefore qualifies for this exemption. In order to ensure timely grant
awards, the Secretary has decided to forgo public comment on the
modified eligibility requirements and priority in this notice under
section 437(d)(1). These modified eligibility requirements and priority
will apply to the FY 2005 grant competition and any subsequent awards
we make based on the list of unfunded applications from this
competition.
Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6492.
Dated: September 27, 2005.
Henry Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 05-19618 Filed 9-29-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P