FR Doc 04-5820
[Federal Register: March 15, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 50)]
[Notices]
[Page 12138-12140]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15mr04-51]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1865-ZA00
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools--Mentoring Programs
AGENCY: Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Department of Education .
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities, requirements, and selection
criteria.
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SUMMARY: We propose priorities, requirements, and selection criteria
under the Mentoring Programs discretionary grant competition. We may
use these priorities, requirements, and selection criteria for
competitions in FY 2004 and later years.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 14, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed priorities,
requirements and selection criteria to Bryan Williams, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E259, Washington, DC
20202-6450. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet,
please use the following address: bryan.williams@ed.gov.
You must include the phrase "Mentoring Programs-Comments on FY
2004 Proposed Priorities" in the subject line of your electronic
message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Williams (202) 260-2391.
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 person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed
priorities, requirements, and selection criteria. To ensure that your
comments have maximum effect in developing the notice of final
priorities, requirements, and selection criteria, we urge you to
identify clearly the specific proposed priority, requirement, or
selection criterion that each comment addresses.
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 these proposed
priorities, requirements, and selection criteria. 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 these proposed priorities, requirements, and selection
criteria in room 3E259, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 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 these proposed priorities, requirements and
selection criteria. If you want to schedule an appointment for this
type of aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Proposed Priorities, Requirements, and Selection Criteria
We will announce the final priorities, requirements, and selection
criteria in a notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the
final priorities, requirements and selection criteria 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, requirements or selection criteria subject to
meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Discussion of Proposed Priorities
Building on the infrastructure and support available in school
settings, including private schools, these proposed priorities focus on
youth who are most at risk of educational failure, dropping out of
school, or involvement in criminal or delinquent activities, or who
lack strong positive role models. To the extent practicable, applicants
must propose programs that follow the same students for all three years
of the program. New participants may be selected to replace students
who are not able to continue in the program, or for other reasons
related to attrition.
Proposed Priorities: We propose the following absolute and
competitive preference priorities.
Proposed Absolute Priority--This priority would support projects
that address the academic and social needs of children with the
greatest need through school-based mentoring programs and activities
and provide these students with mentors. These programs and activities
must serve children with the greatest need in one or more grades 4th
through 8th living in rural areas, high-crime areas, or troubled home
environments, or who attend schools with violence problems.
Proposed Competitive Preference Priority--We propose a priority
under which we will award five additional points to a consortium of
eligible applicants that includes either: (a) At least one LEA and at
least one CBO other than a school that provides services to youth and
families in the community; or (b) at least one private school that
qualifies as a nonprofit CBO and at least one other CBO other than a
school, that provides services to youth and families in the community.
The consortium must designate one member of the group to apply for
the grant, unless the consortium is itself eligible as a partnership
between a local educational agency and a nonprofit, community-based
organization. To
[[Page 12139]]
receive this competitive preference, the applicant must clearly
identify the agencies that comprise the consortium and must include a
detailed plan of their working relationship and of the activities that
each member will perform, including a project budget that reflects the
contractual disbursements to the members of the consortium. For the
purpose of this priority, a "consortium" means a group application in
accordance with the provisions of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129.
Proposed Eligibility Requirement for All Applicants
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) embodies the principles of the
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and its focus on
performance and accountability. It demands achievement in return for
investment, and requires a system of performance measures throughout
the educational enterprise. The NCLB act and its principles of reform--
accountability, flexibility, expanded parental options and doing what
works--are also the foundation of the Department's strategic plan. This
plan states the measurable goals and objectives that the Department
intends to achieve, and mandates a performance and accountability
system for this agency as well as its grantees. Therefore, we propose
that, to be eligible for funding, an applicant must include in its
application an assurance that it will establish clear, measurable
performance goals, and will collect and report to the Department data
related to the established GPRA performance indicators for the
Mentoring Programs grant competition. We will reject any application
that does not contain this assurance.
Proposed Application Requirement for Community-Based Organizations
Because the focus of this program is school-based mentoring, we
propose that each community-based organization (CBO) that is eligible
to apply for funding provide a letter of agreement to participate from
an LEA or private school. The agreement (not a partnership as described
in the competitive preference priority) must delineate the roles and
responsibilities of each entity, and must contain the signatures of the
authorized representative from the LEA or private school where program
activities will primarily be located, and the authorized representative
of the CBO that will provide program services.
Proposed Definitions
The statute does not define the term "school-based mentoring." We
propose to define the term "school-based mentoring" to mean mentoring
activities that occur primarily on school grounds, with teachers,
counselors, or other school staff assisting in the identification and
referral of participants.
We propose to define the term "core academic subjects" to mean
English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign
languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and
geography.
Proposed Performance Measures Under the Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA)
We propose the following key performance measures for assessing the
effectiveness of this program: (1) The percentage of student/mentor
matches that are sustained for a period of twelve months will increase;
(2) The percentage of mentored students who demonstrate improvement in
core academic subjects as measured by grade point average after 12
months will increase; and (3) The percentage of mentored students whose
number of unexcused absences will decrease.
Proposed Selection Criteria
The Secretary proposes to use the following selection criteria to
evaluate applications under this competition. The maximum score for all
of these criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each criterion
is indicated in parentheses.
(1) Need for the Project. (10 points)
In determining the need for the proposed project, the following
factor is considered:
(a) The magnitude and severity of problems that will be addressed
by the project, including the number of youth to be served who: (i) are
at risk of educational failure or dropping out of school, (ii) are
involved in criminal, delinquent, or gang activities, or (iii) lack
strong, positive role models. (10 points)
(2) Quality of the Project Design. (30 points)
In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project,
the following factors are considered:
(a) The degree to which the applicant proposes a high quality
mentoring project that provides for, but is not limited to: (1) A low
student-to-mentor ratio (one-to-one, where practicable), (2) frequent
contacts between mentors and the children they mentor; and (3)
mentoring relationships of 12 months or more duration. (10 points)
(b) The quality of mentoring services that will be provided,
including the quality of services designed to improve academic
achievement in core academic subjects, strengthen school bonding
(positive commitment and attachment to school), and promote pro-social
norms and behaviors, and the resources, if any, the eligible entity
will dedicate to providing children with opportunities for job training
or postsecondary education. (10 points)
(c) The capability of each eligible entity to effectively implement
its mentoring program, and the degree to which parents, teachers,
community-based organizations, and the local community have
participated, or will participate, in the design and implementation of
the proposed mentoring program. (10 points)
(3) Quality of the Management Plan. (35 points)
In determining the quality of the management plan, the following
factors are considered:
(a) The quality of the system that will be used to manage and
monitor mentor reference checks, including, at a minimum, child and
domestic abuse record checks and criminal background checks. (10
points)
(b) The quality of the training that will be provided to mentors,
including orientation, follow-up, and support of each match between
mentor and child. (10 points)
(c) The quality of the applicant's plan to recruit and retain
mentors, including outreach, criteria for recruiting mentors,
terminating unsuccessful matches, and replacing mentors, if necessary.
(5 points)
(d) The extent to which the applicant provides a comprehensive plan
to match mentors with students, based on the needs of the children,
including criteria for matches, and the extent to which teachers,
counselors, and other school staff are involved. (5 points)
(e) The extent to which the applicant demonstrates the ability to
carefully monitor and support the mentoring matches, including
terminating matches when necessary and reassigning students to new
mentors, and the degree to which the mentoring program will continue to
serve children from the 9th grade through graduation from secondary
school, as needed. (5 points)
(4) Quality of Project Personnel. (10 points)
In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary
considers:
[[Page 12140]]
(a) The qualifications and relevant training of key staff,
including time commitments, and experience in mentoring services and
case management. (10 points)
(5) Quality of the Project Evaluation. (15 points)
In determining the quality of the evaluation, the following factors
are considered:
(a) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
performance feedback to the Department, grantees, and mentors, and
permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended
outcomes, including the GPRA performance measures for the Mentoring
Program grant competition. (5 points)
(b) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and
qualitative data on the GPRA performance measures for the Mentoring
Program grant competition. (10 points)
Executive Order 12866
This notice of proposed priorities, requirements and selection
criteria 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
priorities, requirements and selection criteria 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 priorities, requirements
and selection criteria, we have determined that the benefits of the
proposed priorities, requirements and selection criteria justify the
costs.
Summary of potential costs and benefits: The potential cost
associated with these proposed priorities, requirements and selection
criteria is minimal while the benefits are significant. Grantees may
anticipate costs related to completing the application process in terms
of staff time, copying, and mailing or delivery. The use of E-
Application technology may significantly reduce mailing and copying
costs.
The primary benefit of these proposed priorities, requirements and
selection criteria is that grantees can support school-based mentoring
programs that address the academic and social needs of at-risk youth.
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.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7140.
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 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 (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 84.184B Office of
Safe and Drug-Free Schools--Mentoring Programs)
Dated: March 9, 2004.
Deborah A. Price,
Deputy Under Secretary for Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
[FR Doc. 04-5820 Filed 3-12-04; 8:45 am]
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