FR Doc E7-22680
[Federal Register: November 20, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 223)]
[Notices]
[Page 65316-65318]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20no07-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Migrant Education Program Consortium Incentive Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
proposes to add an eighth absolute priority to the seven absolute
priorities for the Migrant Education Program (MEP) Consortium Incentive
Grant (CIG) Program established in the notice of final requirements
published in the Federal Register on March 3, 2004 (69 FR 10110)
(Notice). The Assistant Secretary may use this proposed absolute
priority and the absolute priorities established in the Notice for
competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2008 and later years. We take this
action to give State educational agencies the option to propose
consortium arrangements that would address the educational attainment
needs of out-of-school migratory youth whose education is interrupted.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before December 20, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Lisa
Gillette, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room
3E253, LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-6135. If you prefer to send your
comments through the Internet, use the following address:
lisa.gillette@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Gillette. Telephone: (202) 205-
0316 or via Internet: lisa.gillette@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain 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 3E253 at the U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, 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 this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
The MEP CIG Program is authorized under section 1308(d) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (ESEA). The CIG Program provides, on a
competitive basis, incentive grants to the State educational agencies
(SEAs) receiving MEP Basic Formula Grant awards that participate in
high-quality consortium arrangements with another State or appropriate
entity. The purpose of these grants is to improve the delivery of
services to migratory children whose education is interrupted.
In the Notice, the Department established seven absolute priorities
that promote key national objectives. SEAs that sought funding under
the CIG had to propose a consortium that addressed one or more of these
absolute priorities. These seven absolute priorities are:
(1) Services designed to improve the proper and timely
identification and recruitment of eligible migratory children whose
education is interrupted;
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(2) Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to improve the school readiness of pre-school-aged migratory
children whose education is interrupted;
(3) Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to improve the reading proficiency of migratory children
whose education is interrupted;
(4) Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to improve the mathematics proficiency of migratory children
whose education is interrupted;
(5) Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to decrease the dropout rate of migratory students whose
education is interrupted and improve their high school completion rate;
(6) Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to strengthen the involvement of migratory parents in the
education of migratory students whose education is interrupted; and
(7) Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to expand access to innovative educational technologies
intended to increase the academic achievement of migratory students
whose education is interrupted.
In the past few years, the Department has noticed an increasing
trend in the numbers of out-of-school migratory youth (typically ages
15-22) eligible for the MEP. Often, these young men and women have
received limited schooling or have dropped out of high school before
earning their diploma or general education development (GED)
certificate. Due to their long work hours, the short periods of time
that they remain in an area, and the remote locations, away from
educational facilities, where they live and work, these out-of-school
migratory youth are often the most difficult for SEAs to serve.
The seven absolute priorities established in 2004 do not
specifically authorize CIG Program awards for consortium arrangements
designed to improve the educational attainment of these out-of-school
migratory youth. Given the particular educational needs of this sector
of the migrant population, the Department proposes a new, eighth
absolute priority under the CIG Program for consortium arrangements
that would address out-of-school migratory youth whose education is
interrupted. Thus, the proposed change would allow SEAs, based on the
needs of migratory children in their respective consortium States, to
seek CIG Program funding for consortium activities that would address
any one or more of these eight absolute priorities.
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 final priority will be in addition to the seven
absolute priorities published in the Notice.
Note: 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.
Priority: Services designed (based on a review of scientifically
based research) to improve the educational attainment of out-of-school
migratory youth whose education is interrupted.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of proposed priority has been reviewed in accordance
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed priority
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and
efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, we have
determined that the benefits of the proposed priority justify the
costs.
We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of
their governmental functions.
Summary of potential costs and benefits: The addition of this
proposed absolute priority will not increase the costs to the SEAs
applying for consortium awards. The CIG Program is a competitive
program for which SEAs may choose to apply. The only eligible
applicants for the CIG Program are SEAs receiving MEP Basic State
Formula grants under Title I, Part C of the ESEA. Under the MEP Basic
State Formula program, SEAs are required to promote interstate and
intrastate coordination of services for migratory children. Under the
CIG Program, successful applicants receive awards in the form of
supplements to their MEP awards. SEAs may use these newly awarded funds
to pay for any costs they incur under the MEP--including costs of
consortium activities described in their CIG Program applications.
If finalized, this absolute priority will not create any new costs.
In preparing the application package for the CIG Program, the
Department estimated that SEAs would prepare a total of 15 applications
and expend, over a two-year application cycle, 50.67 hours per
application. The Department believes that the proposed absolute
priority will not add to the costs of implementing the MEP. SEAs should
take no more time to prepare a CIG application that addresses the
proposed absolute priority than to prepare an application that
addresses one of the seven existing absolute priorities. Further, the
Department does not anticipate that the addition of this absolute
priority will generate an increase in the number of applications it
will receive.
On the other hand, the proposed absolute priority will provide
significant benefits. It will give SEAs the opportunity to seek these
supplemental MEP funds on the basis of consortium activities that
address an important new area--the educational attainment of out-of-
school migratory youth whose education is interrupted. In this regard,
out-of-school migratory youth typically have received limited schooling
or have dropped out of high school without attaining a high school
diploma or GED certificate. Adding this new absolute priority to the
seven existing absolute priorities for the CIG Program can thereby help
out-of-school migratory youth improve their educational attainment.
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
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 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
[[Page 65318]]
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.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.144 Migrant
Education Coordination Program).
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6398(d).
Dated: November 5, 2007.
Kerri L. Briggs,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. E7-22680 Filed 11-19-07; 8:45 am]
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