[Federal Register: April 25, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 80)]
[Notices]
[Page 20499-20503]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25ap02-30]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.184L]
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Safe Schools/
Healthy Students Initiative; Notice Inviting Applications for New
Awards in Fiscal Year (FY) 2002
Purpose: Under this program, the Departments of Education (ED),
Health and Human Services (HHS), and Justice (DOJ) will support the
implementation and enhancement of comprehensive community-wide
strategies for creating safe and drug-free schools and promoting
healthy childhood development.
For FY 2002 the competition focuses on projects designed to meet
the priority we describe in the PRIORITIES setion of this notice.
Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs) or consortia
of LEAs. LEAs that have received a grant under this initiative in FYs
1999, 2000, or 2001, or have received services under this initiative as
part of a grant to a consortium of LEAs in those years, may not apply
for funding in FY 2002.
Applications Available: April 25, 2002.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 21, 2002.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 20, 2002.
Estimated Available Funds: $79,000,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: Up to $1 million per year for LEAs or
consortia in rural areas and tribal school districts; up to $2,000,000
per year for LEAs or consortia in suburban areas; up to $3,000,000 per
year for LEAs or consortia in urban areas.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $2,000,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 40.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Page Limit: The program narrative section of applications submitted
under this competition may not exceed 30 pages in length. Each page
must:
--Be 8.5" x 11".
--Be doubled spaced (no more than three lines per vertical inch).
--Have margins of one inch on the top, bottom and sides.
--Contain type on only one side.
--Use a type font that is either 12-point or larger or not smaller than
10 pitch (characters per inch).
Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that
exceed the page limit if you apply these standards, or that exceed the
equivalent of the page limit if you apply other standards. These
requirements are designed to prevent an applicant from gaining an
unfair competitive advantage by providing a more extensive discussion
than the requirements permit and to facilitate evaluation of
applications by peer reviewers by ensuring that applications are
readable.
Additional information about the structure and organization of the
grant proposal is included in the application package for the program.
Applicable Program Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85,
98, and 99.
Priority: This competition focuses on projects designed to meet a
program priority established in this notice.
Implementing and Enhancing Comprehensive Community-Wide Strategies
for Creating Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Promoting Healthy
Childhood Development
Applicants proposing a project under this priority must demonstrate
how the funds they are requesting support or enhance a comprehensive,
integrated strategy for an entire school district (or entire school
districts in the case of a consortium) that is designed to create safe
and drug-free schools and promote healthy childhood development. The
applicant must propose evidence-based approaches and include, at a
minimum, the following six elements: (1) Safe school environment; (2)
alcohol and other drugs and violence prevention and early intervention;
(3) school and community mental health preventive and treatment
intervention programs; (4) early childhood psychosocial and
[[Page 20500]]
emotional development services; (5) educational reform; and (6) safe
school policies. In circumstances where implementation of the strategy
for an entire school district is not possible, applicants must provide
a full explanation of how the chosen schools will receive services
under all six elements of the plan and why district-wide implementation
is not feasible or appropriate.
Under element 1, no more than 10 percent of funds proposed for that
element may be used to support costs associated with (1) security
equipment and personnel, and (2) minor remodeling of school facilities
to improve school safety.
For FY 2002 this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR
75.105(c)(3); Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (20 U.S.C.
7131); Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa); Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 5614(b)(4)(e) and 5781 et
seq.); the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002, January 10,
2002, P.L. 107-116, 115 Stat. 2177; and the Departments of Commerce,
Justice, and State Appropriations Act, 2002, November 28, 2001, P.L.
107-77, 115 Stat. 748, we consider only applications that meet the
priority.
Other Requirements
We will award approximately 40 grants in FY 2002 to LEAs. To be
eligible for funding, applicants must:
(a) Develop and submit a Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/
HS)application that addresses the following six elements: (1) Safe
school environment, (2) alcohol and other drugs and violence prevention
and early intervention programs, (3) school and community mental health
preventive and treatment intervention services, (4) early childhood
psychosocial and emotional development services, (5) educational
reform, and (6) safe school policies.
The SS/HS application must show evidence of a partnership
comprising the LEA, local public mental health authority, and local law
enforcement agency. Applicants are strongly encouraged also to include
other entities in the partnership. For example, community- and faith-
based organizations, juvenile justice and family court officials, and
family members, teachers, and students could all play important roles
in developing and implementing the initiative.
(b) Include two formal written agreements. The first must describe
the goals and objectives of the partnership and include a delineation
of the roles and responsibilities of each partner. This agreement must
contain the signatures of the school superintendent, the head of the
local public mental health authority, and the chief law enforcement
executive. If a consortium of LEAs is applying for funds, the
superintendent of each participating LEA must sign this agreement.
The second written agreement must contain the signatures of the
school superintendent and the head of the local public mental health
authority. This agreement must describe the procedures to be used for
referral, treatment, and follow-up for children and adolescents with
serious mental health problems. For this purpose, the local public
mental health authority is the legally constituted entity closest to
the community level that, directly or through contract with the State
mental health authority, provides administrative control or oversight
of mental health services delivery within the community. If a
consortium of LEAs is applying for funds, the superintendent of each
participating LEA must sign this agreement.
(c) Include an assurance in their application that they are
enforcing the requirements in the Federal Gun-Free Schools Act
(regarding possession of firearms at school and reporting of firearms
offenses to appropriate law enforcement officials) and the Pro-Children
Act (regarding tobacco use in facilities used to provide educational
services).
(d) Develop and submit performance indicators for the grant.
Performance indicators must link to proposed goals and objectives for
the grant, include baseline data (if available), levels of performance
for each indicator, timeframes for achieving levels of performance for
each indicator, and source of data for measuring progress on each
indicator. Applicants must select at least one performance indicator
for each of the six required program elements. We intend that grantees
use these indicators as a tool to assist in the management of the grant
and to focus attention on progress being made by the grantee.
Examples of indicators for the elements include:
Safe School Environment
--rates of school crime.
--student perceptions of the school environment as safe.
Alcohol and Other Drugs, Violence Prevention, and Early Intervention
--prevalence of alcohol and other drug use by students.
--rates of fighting, interpersonal injury, weapon carrying, and gang-
related crime in schools.
School and Community Mental Health Preventive and Treatment
Intervention Programs
--incidence and prevalence of mental disorders among students (e.g.,
conduct and related problems, depression, anxiety disorders).
--presence of screening, assessment, and referral mechanisms for mental
disorders in the school setting.
Early Childhood Psychosocial and Emotional Development Services
--incidence of adverse mental health outcomes (e.g., conduct problems
and other antisocial behaviors, depression, and anxiety disorders)
among young children.
--number and types of services for early childhood psychosocial and
emotional development.
Educational Reform
--measures of interaction and coordination between academic staff,
student support staff, and school security staff.
--use of interventions that teach positive behavior as a supplement or
an alternative to other disciplinary approaches.
--measures of academic achievement for students.
Safe Schools Policies
--presence and enforcement of discipline codes and penalties/sanctions
for infractions.
--awareness of established policies.
--penalties/sanctions for infractions that emphasize continuing
connections to school.
--policies that establish zero-tolerance for drugs and weapons on
school premises.
(e) Provide a local plan for evaluating the community-wide strategy
and agree to set aside at least 7 percent of the project budget to fund
this local evaluation.
(f) Select evidence-based programs and activities for
implementation as part of the SS/HS Initiative. The application must
include a rationale for the selection of programs and activities that
will be implemented by the applicant. This rationale should include
information about the research base that supports selected programs and
activities, as well as a discussion about
[[Page 20501]]
why the selected programs or activities are appropriate for the target
population and meet needs identified in the needs assessment process.
Information about the research base for programs or activities may
reference either specific program evaluations or accepted theory from
youth development or human development research.
Determining Urbanicity
The maximum amount of funds that an applicant is eligible to
receive is based on the applicant's urbanicity. Urban districts may
receive grants of up to $3,000,000 per year. Suburban districts may
receive grants of up to $2,000,000 per year. Rural districts (including
tribal school districts) may receive grants of up to $1,000,000 per
year.
Grants will not be awarded for amounts that exceed these
established caps. Applicants should ensure that their budget requests
do not exceed the caps.
In order to determine its urbanicity, an LEA must use the National
Public School and School District Locator to find the locale code for
the district. The Locator is available online at: http://nces.ed.gov/
ccdweb/school/index.asp.
For the purposes of this competition, the following categories of
urbanicity apply:
Rural sites--(1) Large town [an incorporated place or a Census-
designated place (CDP) with a population of at least 25,000 and located
outside a consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA) or
metropolitan statistical area (MSA)]; (2) small town [an incorporated
place or CDP with a population between 2,500 and 24,999 and located
outside a CMSA or MSA]; or (3) any incorporated place, CDP, or non-
place territory designated as rural by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Suburban sites--(1) Urban fringe of a large city [any incorporated
place, CDP, or non-place territory within a CMSA or MSA of a large city
and defined as urban by the U.S. Bureau of Census; or (2) urban fringe
of a midsize city [any incorporated place, CDP, or non-place within a
CMSA or MSA of a midsize central city and defined as urban by the U.S.
Bureau of the Census].
Urban sites--(1) Large city [a central city of a MSA or CMSA with a
population of at least 250,000] or (2) midsize city [central city of an
MSA or CMSA with a population of less than 250,000].
Participation by Private School Students and Teachers
LEAs that receive a SS/HS grant are required to provide for the
equitable participation of eligible private school children and their
teachers or other educational personnel. In order to ensure that grant
program activities address the needs of private school children, timely
and meaningful consultation with appropriate private school officials
must occur during the design and development of the program.
Administrative direction and control over grant funds must remain with
the grantee.
Maintenance of Effort
An LEA may receive a SS/HS grant only if the State educational
agency (SEA) finds that the combined fiscal effort per student or the
aggregate expenditures of the agency and the State with respect to the
provisions of free public education by the agency for the preceding
fiscal year was not less than 90 percent of the combined fiscal effort
or aggregate expenditures for the second preceding fiscal year.
Equitable Distribution
In making awards under this grant program, we may (1) take into
consideration the geographic distribution and diversity of activities
addressed by the projects, in addition to the rank order of applicants,
and (2) in accordance with Sec. 75.217(d) of the Education Department
General Administrative Regulations, ensure equitable distribution of
grants under this program among urban, suburban, and rural LEAs.
Contingent upon the availability of funds, we may make additional
awards in FY 2003 from the rank-ordered list of unfunded applicants
from this competition.
Definitions
For the purpose of this competition, the definition of the term
``local educational agency'' is the definition at section 9101(26) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended:
(a) General. In general, the term ``local educational agency''
means a public board of education or other public authority legally
constituted within a State for either administrative control or
direction of, or to perform a service function for public elementary or
secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or
other political subdivision of a State, or of or for a combination of
school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an
administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary
schools.
(b) Administrative control and direction. The term includes any
other public institution or agency having administrative control or
direction of a public elementary or secondary school.
(c) BIA Schools. The term includes an elementary school or
secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs but only to the
extent that including the school makes the school eligible for programs
for which specific eligiblity is not provided to the school in another
provision of law and the school does not have a student population that
is smaller than the student population of the LEA receiving assistance
under the ESEA with the smallest student population, except that the
school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any SEA other than
the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(d) Educational service agencies. The term includes educational
service agencies and consortia of these agencies.
(e) State educational agency. The term includes the SEA in a State
in which the SEA is the sole educational agency for all public schools.
Selection Criteria
We use the following selection criteria to evaluate applications
for new grants under this competition. The maximum total score for all
of these criteria is 100 points.
The maximum score for each criterion or factor under that criterion
is indicated in parentheses.
(a) Problems to be addressed (15 points).
In assessing the extent to which the application is based on a
clear and accurate statement of the significant problems faced by the
target community, the following factors are considered:
(1) The magnitude or severity of the problem(s) to be addressed by
the proposed strategy;
(2) The extent to which existing gaps in services, infrastructure
and resources exist, and the magnitude of those gaps and weaknesses;
(3) Evidence of community risk factors that may contribute to youth
violence, drug use, and deliquency; and
(4) The extent to which the problem statement includes an
assessment of the community resources available for children and
adolescents.
(b) Goals and objectives (10 points).
In assessing the goals and objectives of the proposed application,
the following factors are considered:
(1) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable;
and
(2) The extent to which the objectives identified are related to
measurable action steps needed to achieve the goal(s).
[[Page 20502]]
(c) Design of proposed strategy (30 points).
In assessing the design of the proposed strategy, the following
factors are considered:
(1) The extent to which the proposed strategy represents a
comprehensive, integrated approach that addresses the six elements of
the SS/HS Initiative;
(2) The extent to which the intervention is appropriate for the age
and developmental levels, gender, and ethnic and cultural diversity of
the target population, and demonstrates the ability to engage and
respond to the needs of identified ethnic and racial minority
populations;
(3) The extent to which the application clearly describes the
programs, activities, and services that comprise the proposed strategy,
and details how they will be implemented;
(4) The extent to which the proposed programs and activities are
evidence based;
(5) The extent to which the proposed strategy will be coordinated
with similar or related efforts and will establish linkages with other
appropriate agencies and organizations providing services to the target
population;
(6) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system
change or improvement; and
(7) The potential for continued support of the strategy after
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated
commitment of appropriate entities to such support.
(d) Evaluation plan (15 points).
In determining the quality of the evaluation plan, the following
factors will be considered:
(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for
examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies.
(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward
achieving intended outcomes.
(3) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project; and
(4) The adequacy of the identified performance measures to
demonstrate whether and to what extent the proposed strategy is meeting
its short-term, intermediate, and long-term objectives.
(e) Management and organizational capability (20 points).
In determining the quality of management and organizational
capability, the following factors are considered:
(1) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed strategy (as demonstrated in the written agreements) to
the implementation and success of the strategy, and how they will
participate in the proposed project;
(2) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing
project tasks;
(3) The adequacy of procedures for communicating and sharing
information among all partners to ensure feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the proposed comprehensive plan;
(4) The skills, experience, time commitments, and educational
requirements of key staff and their relevance to the objectives of the
proposed comprehensive plan; and
(5) The extent to which staff qualifications and training represent
diverse and relevant experience in engaging and providing services to
underserved, underrepresented, and diverse racial and ethnic groups.
(f) Budget (10 points).
In determining the quality of the budget, the following factors
will be considered:
(1) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
number of students to be served and to the anticipated benefits and
results;
(2) The extent to which fiscal control and accounting procedures
will ensure prudent use, proper and timely disbursement, and accurate
accounting of funds received under the grant.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
It is the Secretary's practice, in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), to offer interested
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed rules. Section 437(d)(1)
of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), however, exempts from
this requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a new
or substantially revised program. This is the first competition for the
SS/HS Initiative under the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001.
FOR INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS CONTACT: For information contact
Kellie Dressler Tetrick, SS/HS Program Coordinator, Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US Department of Justice, 810 7th
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531. Telephone: (202) 514-4817 or via
Internet: dresslek@ojp.usdoj.gov.
If you use a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-888-877-8339.
Detailed information regarding the SS/HS Initiative is also
available at the following sites on the Internet:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS
http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org
http://www.samhsa.gov
The application package is available on these three Web sites at
the addresses indicated above. For printed applications contact:
Education Publication Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD
20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call
(toll free): 1-877-576-7734 or via Internet: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR
APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternative format by contacting that person.
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative
format the standard forms included in the application package.
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:
www.ed.gov/legislation/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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131; 42 U.S.C. 290aa; 42 U.S.C.
5614(b)(4)(e) and 5781 et seq.; the Departments of Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 2002, January 10, 2002, Pub. L. 107-116, 115 Stat. 2177; the
Departments of Commerce, State, and Justice Appropriations Act,
2002, November 28, 2001, Pub. L. 107-77, 115 Stat. 748.
[[Page 20503]]
Dated: April 22, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-10173 Filed 4-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P