[Federal Register: March 20, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 54)]
[Notices]
[Page 13689-13690]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20mr03-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.215L]
Office of Vocational and Adult Education--Smaller Learning
Communities Program
ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year
(FY) 2002.
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Purpose of Program: On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush
signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which
reauthorized the Smaller Learning Communities Program. The purpose of
the Smaller Learning Communities Program is to support academic
achievement through awarding competitive grants to LEAs applying on
behalf of large public high schools for the planning and implementation
or expansion of small, safe, and successful learning environments in
large public high schools. These grants are authorized by Title V, part
D, subpart 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7249), as amended by Public Law 107-110, the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001.
Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs), including
schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA schools), applying
on behalf of large high schools are eligible. For purposes of this
program, a large high school is defined as a school that includes
grades 11 and 12 and enrolls at least 1,000 students in grades 9 and
above.
Applications Available: March 20, 2003.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 19, 2003.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 18, 2003.
Estimated Available Funds: $135,000,000.
Types and Ranges of Awards: The Secretary will award both planning
and implementation grants under this competition. In an effort to
encourage systemic, district-level reform efforts, the Secretary is
permitting an individual LEA to submit a maximum of one planning grant
application and one implementation grant application under this
competition, specifying in each application which high schools the LEA
intends to fund. An LEA may not apply for both a planning and
implementation grant on behalf of the same high school. A high school
may only be included in either the LEA's planning grant application or
its implementation grant application. Applicants pursuing planning
grant funds must not yet have developed a viable plan for creating
smaller learning communities in the schools that would be served
through the grant. To apply for implementation grant funds, applicants
must be prepared either to implement a new smaller learning community
program within each targeted high school, or to expand an existing
smaller learning community program.
For a one-year planning grant, LEAs may receive, on behalf of a
single school, $25,000 to $50,000 per project. LEAs applying on behalf
of a group of eligible schools may receive up to $250,000 per planning
grant. As this program is designed for redesign and improvement efforts
at the individual school level, districts must stay within the minimum
and maximum school allocations when determining their award request. In
addition, in order to ensure sufficient planning funds at the local
level, LEAs may not request funds for more than 10 schools under a
single application.
The chart below provides eligible ranges for awards under a
planning grant:
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Number of schools in LEA application Award ranges
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One school.......................................... $25,000-50,000
Two schools......................................... $50,000-100,000
Three schools....................................... $75,000-150,000
Four schools........................................ $100,000-200,000
Five schools........................................ $125,000-250,000
Six schools......................................... $150,000-250,000
Seven schools....................................... $175,000-250,000
Eight schools....................................... $200,000-250,000
Nine schools........................................ $225,000-250,000
Ten schools......................................... $250,000
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In previous SLC competitions, applicants have routinely requested
more money than the above award ranges dictate. As a result, plans
submitted to the Department have included any number of activities that
could only be made possible if an applicant received a funding amount
much higher than intended in the award range. Based on this experience,
the Department will fund only those applications that correctly request
funds within the award ranges specified in this notice for both
planning and implementation grants. Applicants requesting funding
amounts higher than the award ranges dictated by the number of schools
to be served will be declared ineligible and will not receive funding.
Further, schools that received support through planning grants in the
FY 2000 or FY 2001 competition are not eligible to receive support
through additional planning grants under this competition.
For a three-year implementation grant, LEAs may receive, on behalf
of a single school, $250,000 to $500,000. LEAs applying on behalf of a
group of eligible schools may request up to $2,500,000 per
implementation grant. As with planning grants, districts must stay
within the minimum and maximum school allocations when determining
their group award request, or the Department will consider the
application ineligible. In order to ensure sufficient implementation
funds at the local level, LEAs may not request funds for more than 10
schools under a single application.
The chart below provides eligible ranges for awards under the
implementation grant:
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Number of schools in LEA application Award ranges
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One school....................................... $250,000-500,000
Two schools...................................... 500,000-1,000,000
[[Page 13690]]
Three Schools.................................... 750,000-1,500,000
Four schools..................................... 1,000,000-2,000,000
Five schools..................................... 1,250,000-2,500,000
Six schools...................................... 1,500,000-2,500,000
Seven schools.................................... 1,750,000-2,500,000
Eight schools.................................... 2,000,000-2,500,000
Nine schools..................................... 2,250,000-2,500,000
Ten schools...................................... 2,500,000
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As previously noted, LEAs may not apply on behalf of a single high
school in more than one application. Schools that benefited from FY
2000 or FY 2001 implementation awards are not eligible to receive
additional support under this competition.
Applicants should note that the requirements listed in this notice
are material requirements. Please note that a failure to comply with
any applicable program requirement (for example, failure to reasonably
implement the proposed grant-funded project) may subject a grantee to
administrative action, including the imposition of special conditions
or termination of the grant.
Note: The size of awards will be based on a number of factors.
These factors include the scope, quality, and comprehensiveness of
the proposed program, and the recommended range of awards indicated
in the application.
Estimated Number of Awards: The Secretary anticipates making
approximately 100 new planning grant awards and approximately 100 new
implementation awards under this competition.
Note: The Department of Education is not bound by any estimates
in this notice.
Project Period: Planning grants will fund activities up to 12
months. Implementation grants will fund activities up to 36 months.
Understanding the unique complexities of implementing a program that
affects a school's organization, physical design, curriculum,
instruction, and preparation of teachers, the Secretary anticipates
awarding the entire grant amount for implementation projects at the
time of the initial award. This will provide the applicant with the
capacity to effectively carry out the comprehensive long-term
activities involved in these projects.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and (b) the regulations in the notice of
final priorities, application requirements, and selection criteria for
FY 2002 as published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
Priorities
This competition gives absolute and competitive priorities to
applicants that meet the conditions outlined in the Notice of the Final
Priorities for this program, which is published elsewhere in this issue
of the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the program and to
download an application, you may access the SLC program Web site at:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/HS/SLCP/.
If you need further assistance
and need to speak with someone in the SLC program, you may contact
Karen Stratman Clark, by phone at (202) 205-3779, or by mail 330 C
Street, SW., Room 5523, Washington, DC 20202. Requests for applications
may also be sent by fax to (202) 401-4079.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this notice in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to one of the contact persons listed in the
preceding paragraph.
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/legislation/FedRegister/.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have any 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. 7249.
Dated: March 14, 2003.
Richard La Pointe,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 03-6695 Filed 3-19-03; 8:45 am]
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