FR Doc 06-4614
[Federal Register: May 19, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 97)]
[Notices]
[Page 29221-29223]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19my06-110]
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Part II
Department of Education
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Foreign Language Assistance Program--State Educational Agencies; Office
of English Language Acquisition, Enhancement, and Academic Achievement
for Limited English Proficient Students; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006; Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Foreign Language Assistance Program--State Educational Agencies
AGENCY: Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement,
and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of final priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director for English
Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement
for Limited English Proficient Students, announces a priority under the
Foreign Language Assistance program. We may use this priority for
competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and later years. We take this
action to focus Federal financial assistance on an identified national
need for programs in critical foreign languages within kindergarten
through grade twelve during the traditional school day. We intend this
priority to enable the Department to award grants that increase the
number of State educational agency programs implementing elementary and
secondary school projects teaching languages of major economic and
political importance.
DATES: Effective Date: This priority is effective June 19, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Richey, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 10080, PCP, Washington, DC
20202-6510. Telephone: (202) 245-7133 or via Internet:
rebecca.richey@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 contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through this program, the Department intends
to fund elementary and secondary school projects teaching critical
languages within kindergarten through grade twelve during the
traditional school day. The purpose of the program is to provide grants
to State educational agencies for innovative model programs providing
for the establishment, improvement, or expansion of foreign language
study for elementary and secondary school students.
We published a notice of proposed priority for this program in the
Federal Register on February 28, 2006 (71 FR 10024). There are no
differences between the notice of proposed priority and this notice of
final priority.
Analysis of Comments and Changes
In response to our invitation in the notice of proposed priority
more than 4 parties submitted comments on the proposed priority. An
analysis of the comments follows.
Generally, we do not address technical and other minor changes--and
suggested changes that we are not authorized to make under the
applicable statutory authority.
Comment: One commenter suggested that the proposed priority for
critical languages include a preference for projects that begin as
early as kindergarten in order to promote sequential study of the
foreign language.
Discussion: The Foreign Language Assistance Act of 2001, which
authorizes this program, provides for the Department to give special
consideration to projects that promote the sequential study of a
foreign language for students beginning in elementary schools. It is
not necessary for us to establish a separate priority for these
projects.
Change: None.
Comment: Two commenters suggested that emphasizing support for
specific critical languages, to the exclusion of other languages, would
be detrimental to foreign language instruction in other languages more
commonly taught in their states.
Discussion: Depending on how we apply this priority and any other
priorities we fund in a particular competition, this priority for
projects teaching critical languages would not necessarily preclude
applicants from proposing projects providing instruction in other
foreign languages when applying for a grant. Establishing this priority
simply allows the Secretary to use this priority in a competition in a
given year and as necessary to meet the needs and goals of this
program.
Change: None.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use this 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 competitive preference priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the
competitive preference 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
invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over other
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Priority
Critical Need Languages
This priority supports projects that establish, improve or expand
foreign language learning primarily during the traditional school day,
within grade kindergarten through grade 12 that exclusively teach one
or more of the following less commonly taught languages: Arabic,
Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and languages in the Indic,
Iranian, and Turkic language families.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of final 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 final 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 final priority, we have determined
that the benefits of the final 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.
We summarized the costs and benefits in the notice of proposed
priority.
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
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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 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 84.293C Foreign
Language Assistance Program--State Educational Agencies)
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7259a-7259b.
Dated: May 12, 2006.
Kathleen Leos,
Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director for English Language
Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited
English Proficient Students.
[FR Doc. 06-4614 Filed 5-18-06; 8:45 am]
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