[Federal Register: June 24, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 121)]
[Notices]
[Page 37469-37470]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24jn03-42]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1840-ZA03
Upward Bound Program Participant Expansion Initiative
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
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SUMMARY: Using fiscal year (FY) 2003 funds, the Secretary of Education
proposes to establish an absolute priority to provide supplemental
funds of up to $100,000 to selected Upward Bound Program projects.
Those eligible to receive funds under this absolute priority must have
received supplemental funds in FY 2000 and serve at least one target
high school in which at least 50 percent of the students were eligible
for free lunch under the National School Lunch Act during the 2001-2002
school year. Applicants not eligible for the absolute priority are
invited to apply and will be funded, subject to availability of funds,
as described in the funding order below. The selected projects must use
the supplemental funds to provide services to eligible project
participants with the greatest need for those services.
The Secretary further proposes that projects that receive
supplemental funds under this priority are required to select otherwise
eligible participants who attend a target high school in which at least
50 percent of the students were eligible for free lunch under the
National School Lunch Act during the 2001-2002 school year and who have
the greatest need for Upward Bound services. Otherwise, eligible
students having the greatest need for Upward Bound services are those
who:
1. Have not met the State academic achievement standard for grade
eight in reading/language arts;
2. Have not met the State academic achievement standard for grade
eight in math; or
3. Have a grade point average of 2.5 or less (on a 4.0 scale) for
the most recent school year for which grade point averages are
available.
By using State academic achievement assessments to determine
student eligibility for services, schools can align this initiative
with the requirements and activities supported by the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before July 24, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Larry
Oxendine, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 7044,
Washington, DC 20006-8510. If you prefer to send your comments through
the Internet, use the following address: margarita.benitez@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margarita Benitez, Sheryl Wilson, or
Gaby Watts, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room
7020, Washington, DC 20006-8510. Telephone (202) 502-7600.
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
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact persons listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this priority in room 7039, 1990 K Street, NW.,
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time,
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
[[Page 37470]]
this type of aid, you may call (202) 502-7600. If you use a TDD, you
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.
Background
In FY 2003, the Congress appropriated 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, helps low-income, potential
first-generation, college students acquire the skills and motivation
necessary for success in education beyond secondary school.
The purpose of this proposed supplement is to help the Upward Bound
Program achieve one of its key performance goals: increasing the
college enrollment rate of low-income, first generation college
students. A recent evaluation of the Upward Bound Program found it has
not been effective in increasing college preparation and enrollment of
its program participants. The evaluation did find that the program has
significant effects on higher risk students, but that the program was
inadequately targeted to these students.
Under the absolute priority, the Upward Bound Program will increase
the number of eligible students with the greatest need who are served
by the Upward Bound Program. The students with the greatest need are
generally those from the lowest income levels who have potential for
college but are not performing successfully in high school. The
Secretary believes that limiting supplemental funds to projects that
serve the above described target schools is a good way to ensure that
projects serve the lowest income students because the free lunch is
limited to students from families with the lowest family income. An
estimated 150 current Upward Bound projects could receive supplemental
funds to serve at least twenty (20) additional students.
Proposed Absolute Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c), the Secretary proposes to give an absolute
preference to applications that meet the following absolute priority.
The Secretary will provide supplemental funds of up to $100,000 to
regular Upward Bound Program projects that:
1. Are selected for funding under the FY 2003 Upward Bound Program
funding competition;
2. Serve a target high school in which at least 50 percent of the
students were eligible to receive free lunch under the National School
Lunch Act during the 2001-2002 school year;
3. Received supplemental funds in FY 2000 under the Notice of Final
Priority dated July 24, 2000 (65 FR 45698-45699); and
4. Agree to select at least 20 students who attend a target high
school in which at least 50 percent of the students were eligible to
receive free lunches under the National School Lunch Act during the
2001-2002 school year and have the greatest need for project services.
Students who have the greatest need for project services are those
students who:
a. Have not met the State academic achievement standard for grade
eight in reading/language arts;
b. Have not met the State academic achievement standard for grade
eight in math; or
c. Have a grade point average of 2.5 or less (on a 4.0 scale) for
the most recent school year for which grade point averages are
available.
Veteran Upward Bound projects and Upward Bound Math/Science
projects are not eligible to participate in this initiative.
The Secretary proposes to fund applications in the following order:
1. Applications that meet the absolute priority.
2. All other applications.
If funds are available after funding all applications that meet the
absolute priority, the Secretary will select from among the remaining
applicants based upon the highest scores received (including prior
experience points) in the Upward Bound FY 2003 Funding Competition.
Upward Bound projects that wish to receive supplemental funds will
be required to submit:
[sbull] The identity of the target schools to be served by the
project.
[sbull] The number of students who were eligible for free lunch
under the National School Lunch Act at each of the target high schools
to be served by the project in the 2001-2002 school year and the total
number of students enrolled at those target schools in that year,
[sbull] The number of additional students, not less than 20, that
the project plans to serve,
[sbull] A revised budget; and
[sbull] A narrative describing how the supplemental funds will be
used to address each participant's greatest need.
Performance Measures: The effectiveness of the Upward Bound Program
Participant Expansion Initiative will be measured by the college
enrollment rate of higher-risk low-income first generation college
students who are program participants. All grantees will be expected to
provide documentation of educational outcomes of participating students
for the purposes of assessing the effectiveness of individual projects
and the initiative overall.
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 this program.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 645.
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 the 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.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070.
Dated: June 19, 2003.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 03-15933 Filed 6-23-03; 8:45 am]
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