[Federal Register: January 22, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 14)]
[Notices]
[Page 6588-6589]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ja01-86]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) Program
AGENCY: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and
Improvement proposes a priority under the Fund for the Improvement of
Education (FIE) for a grant competition for Community Coaches. The
Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal
year (FY) 2001 and later years.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 21, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Pat
O'Connell Ross, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue,
NW., room 602D, Washington, DC 20202-5530. If you prefer to send your
comments through the Internet, use the following address:
comments@ed.gov.
You must include the term Community Coaches in the subject line of
your electronic message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat O'Connell Ross. Telephone: (202)
219-2169 or via Internet: patricia_ross@ed.gov.
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 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 600, 555 New Jersey
Avenue, 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 this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or
(202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
General Information
OERI administers the Fund for the Improvement of Education under
section 10101, Part A of Title X of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, as amended. The purpose of the Fund for the
Improvement of Education (FIE) is to support nationally significant
programs to improve the quality of education, assist all students to
meet challenging State content standards, and contribute to the
achievement of the National Education Goals.
The Assistant Secretary is authorized, under section 10101, to
support nationally significant programs and projects to improve the
quality of education, and may carry out programs and projects through
grants to State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher
education, and other public and private agencies, organizations, and
institutions. These activities may
[[Page 6589]]
include activities to promote and evaluate counseling and mentoring for
students, including intergenerational mentoring.
The Assistant Secretary believes that community coaches, who can
help young people in learning through community service and who can
serve to link the school with the business sector and the community,
have the potential for providing high-quality, cost-effective mentoring
for elementary and secondary students that can lead to improved
personal, civic, and academic skills. The Assistant Secretary is
interested in funding pilot projects that can serve as models for
schools across the nation. These projects should support and evaluate
the effectiveness of strategies that--
Help young people gain concrete leadership skills by
designing and implementing their own community-building projects;
Help teachers and other school personnel identify and use
the resources of their surrounding community to engage children in
community service connected to their academic learning; and
Engage students in hands-on learning and help them develop
personal, civic, and academic skills through structured service
projects that meet community needs.
Projects could include partnerships between schools and hospitals,
nursing homes, community recreation centers, and human service agencies
of all types. The community coaches could be AmeriCorp members,
teachers, guidance counselors, or other members of the community.
Discussion of Priority
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.
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. When inviting
applications we designate the priority as absolute, competitive
preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of priority
follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either (1)
awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent to
which the application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or
(2) selecting an application that meets the priority over an
application of comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications
(34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Priority
Pilot Projects--Community Coaches for Elementary and Secondary Students
Projects that propose to develop and evaluate pilot programs that
use community coaches in schools to help elementary or secondary or
both students engage in structured service-learning projects that meet
community needs. A ``community coach'' is a caring adult who offers
guidance and support to young people and is committed to strengthening
student community service. ``Service learning'' engages students in
hands-on learning and helps them develop personal, civic, and academic
skills through structured service projects that meet community needs.
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 either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at either of the previous sites. 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C.8001.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.215 Fund for the
Improvement of Education Program)
Dated: January 16, 2001.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 01-1761 Filed 1-17-01; 11:06 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P