[Federal Register: May 22, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 99)]
[Notices]
[Page 28161-28174]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22my97-162]
[[Page 28161]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part V
Department of Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
Employment and Training Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
_______________________________________________________________________
School-to-Work Opportunities Act; Indian Program Development and
Implementation Grants; Application Procedures; Notice
[[Page 28162]]
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
School-to-Work Opportunities Act; Indian Program Development and
Implementation Grants; Application Procedures
AGENCIES: Employment and Training Administration, Labor. Office of
Vocational and Adult Education, Education.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds and solicitation for Indian
Program Grant Applications (SGA).
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SUMMARY: THIS NOTICE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NECESSARY INFORMATION AND
FORMS NEEDED TO APPLY FOR GRANT FUNDING. This notice announces
competitions for Indian Program Development and Implementation Grants
to enable local partnerships to begin development or implementation of
School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives that serve Indian youth and
involve schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The
School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives funded under this competition
will offer Indian youth access to School-to-Work Opportunities programs
that will prepare them for first jobs in high-skill, high-wage careers
and further postsecondary education and training.
DATES: Applications for grant awards will be accepted commencing May
22, 1997. The closing date for receipt of applications is July 21,
1997, at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the address below. Telefacsimile
(FAX) applications WILL NOT BE HONORED.
ADDRESSES: Applications shall be mailed to: U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training Administration, Division of Acquisition and
Assistance, Attention: Ms. Laura Cesario, Reference: SGA/DAA 97-016,
200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-4203, Washington, D.C. 20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Laura Cesario, Division of
Acquisition and Assistance, telephone: (202) 219-7300, ext. 111 (this
is not a toll-free number). This solicitation will also be published on
the Internet on the Employment and Training Administration's Home Page
at http://www/doleta.gov.
Part I: Supplementary Information
Section A. Purpose
The Departments of Education and Labor are reserving funds
appropriated for FY96 under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (the
Act) (Public Law 103-239) for a competition for Indian Program Grants
authorized under Title II, Subtitle C of the Act. Grants under this
competition will be awarded to local partnerships that serve Indian
youth and involve Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funded schools.
Successful partnerships under this competition must demonstrate the
capacity to either develop or implement local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiatives serving Indian youth. Approximately $750,000
is available for awards under this notice. The Departments expect to
award approximately 4 development grants of about $30,000 each and up
to 7 implementation grants ranging in amounts between $75,000 and
$100,000 each under this notice. Award decisions will be published on
the Internet under the Department's Home Page at
http://www/doleta.gov.
Local Partnerships may apply for either a development grant, an
implementation grant, or both. The competitions have been structured to
allow those partnerships that have been engaged in planning and
development activities, including those funded under last year's
solicitation, to apply for an implementation grant without jeopardizing
their opportunities for receiving a development grant. However, local
partnerships who intend to be considered for either a development or
implementation grant competitions must submit separate applications for
each competition. The amount of any award will be based on a number of
factors, including the scope, quality, and comprehensiveness of the
proposed initiative as well as the size of the population to be served.
The Departments intend to conduct future competitions for Indian
Program Grants, on an annual basis, under the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act of 1994. A local partnership may receive only one (1)
development or implementation grant under this notice, with grant
renewals for up to five years (award plus four option years) to be
awarded based on availability of funds and the demonstrated progress of
the grantee.
Section B. Application Process
1. Eligible Applicants
The definitions for ``Local Partnership'' and ``Bureau-funded
School'' are included in this solicitation due to their critical nature
and their overall application in the eligibility determination. All
other terms defined in the Act are hereby incorporated and applied to
this solicitation.
(A) Local Partnership Definition
An entity that meets the definition of ``local partnership,'' as
defined below, proposes to serve Indian youth, and involves Bureau-
funded schools, is eligible to apply for an Indian Program Grant for
either development or implementation of School-to-Work Opportunities
initiatives.
``Local Partnership'' is defined in the Act to mean an entity
responsible for School-to-Work Opportunities programs funded under this
competition and that--
(a) Consists of tribal organizations responsible for economic
development, employment, job training, and education (such as tribal
business councils, local chapters of tribal business councils, tribal
departments of education), employers (including tribal businesses or
school-based enterprises where applicable), representatives of Bureau-
funded schools and local postsecondary educational institutions
(including representatives of area vocational education schools and
tribal colleges where applicable), local educators (such as teachers,
counselors, or administrators), representatives of labor organizations
or nonmanagerial employee representatives, students and parents; and
(b) May include other entities, such as--
(1) Employer organizations;
(2) Community-based organizations;
(3) National trade associations working at the local level;
(4) Industrial extension centers;
(5) Rehabilitation agencies and organizations;
(6) Registered apprenticeship agencies;
(7) Local vocational education entities;
(8) Proprietary institutions of higher education (as defined in
section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088(b))
that meet the eligibility and certification requirements under Title IV
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.);
(9) Local government agencies;
(10) Parent organizations;
(11) Teacher organizations;
(12) Vocational student organizations;
(13) Private industry councils established under sections 402 of
the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1512);
[[Page 28163]]
(B) Involvement of Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) Funded Schools
In addition to meeting the definition of a ``local partnership'',
applicants seeking funding under this notice must demonstrate that any
funds awarded under this competition will be used to develop and/or
implement initiatives serving Indian youth, and involving schools
funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
* Partnerships may demonstrate service to Indian youth and
involvement by Bureau-funded schools by demonstrating that their
proposed School-to-Work initiatives will provide direct services to
students enrolled in Bureau-funded schools.
``Bureau-funded school'' as defined in Section 1139 (3) of the
``Education Amendments of 1978'' means:
(a) A Bureau school--a Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated elementary
or secondary day or boarding school or a BIA-operated dormitory for
students attending a school other than a Bureau school.
(b) A contract school--an elementary or secondary school or a
dormitory that receives financial assistance for its operation under a
contract or agreement with the BIA under Section 102, 103(a), or 208 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
(c) A school for which assistance is provided under the Tribally
Controlled Schools Act of 1988.
* However, the Departments recognize that there are several
geographic areas throughout the country which contain high
concentrations of Indian youth that are not served by the school
systems supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Partnerships that
include non-Bureau-funded schools serving Indian youth may be eligible
to apply for funding under certain circumstances. For example,
involvement by a Bureau-funded school in a partnership may consist of a
single Bureau-funded school being included within a partnership while
other non-Bureau-funded schools serving Indian youth participate in
those partnerships as well. Therefore, a partnership may be eligible to
apply for funding even where included in the partnership are one or
more non-Bureau-funded schools and the involvement of Bureau-funded
schools consists of a collaborative, consultative, or close advisory
relationship. In such a case, services are not necessarily provided
directly to the Bureau-funded school's students, but there remains a
measurable benefit to both the partnership and the Bureau-funded school
or schools. Thus, a partnership meeting all other eligibility
requirements, including that of serving Indian youth, but located in a
geographical area or State in which there are few, if any, Bureau-
funded schools, may nonetheless be eligible for funding under this
solicitation.
Applicants must provide convincing evidence that strategies devised
and initiatives mounted will, in fact, meet the intent of establishing
the collaborative, consultative or close advisory relationship which
results in measurable benefits to the Bureau-funded school as
stipulated by the Departments. Applicants establishing collaborative,
consultative or advisory relationships with Bureau-funded school(s)
within their partnerships are advised to develop mutually beneficial
initiatives, activities and endeavors which are consistent with the
parameters discussed in Title II of the Act and further illustrated in
Part II, Section C of this solicitation.
In accordance with section 221 of the Act, only those applicants
that provide sufficient information determining their eligibility
against the criteria as stated above will be considered for funding
under this solicitation. The Departments intend to pre-screen all
applications against the aforementioned eligibility criteria prior to
the panelists' review and will not consider any applications that do
not contain the required assurances and determining information.
Applicants will not have the opportunity to submit additional or
revised information should a determination be made that the partnership
does not meet the eligibility criteria.
Entities described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code that engage in lobbying activities are not eligible to receive
funds under this SGA. The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, Public Law
No. 104-65,109 stat.691, that became effective January 1, 1996,
prohibits the award of federal funds to these entities if they engage
in lobbying activities.
2. Submission of Application
Applicants must submit an original and three (3) copies of the
application. The application shall consist of five distinct parts: (I)
detachable description addressing the eligibility criteria, (II)
budget, (III) abstract, (IV) program narrative, and (V) appendices. To
ensure a comprehensive and expedient review, applicants must submit an
application formatted as seen below:
Table of Contents
I. Eligibility Requirements
Part I must contain detailed information as described in Part I,
Section B(1) of this notice and, for prescreening purposes, should be
separate and easily detachable from the remainder of the application.
II. Budget
Part II shall contain the Standard Form (SF) 424, ``Application for
Federal Assistance,'' (Appendix A) and SF 424A, ``Budget'' (Appendix
B). All copies of the 424 Form must have original signatures of the
designated fiscal agent and must indicate in item 11 whether the
application is to be considered for development or implementation
funding. Applicants shall indicate on the SF-424 the organization's IRS
status, if applicable. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
number is 17.249. In addition, the budget shall include--on a separate
page(s)--a detailed cost break-out of each line item on Budget Form
424A. Further, the Departments recommend that applicants break out line
item costs illustrating those items charged under the administrative
costs cap discussed in Part III of this notice.
III. Abstract
Part III shall consist of a one-page abstract summarizing the
essential components and key features of the partnership's plan.
IV. Program Narrative
Part IV shall contain the program narrative that demonstrates the
applicant's plan and capabilities in accordance with the evaluation
criteria contained in this notice. Applicants must describe their plan
in light of each of the Evaluation Criteria in Part III, Section B of
this notice. No cost data or reference to price shall be included in
this part of the application. Applicants must limit the program
narrative section to no more than 40 double-spaced pages, on one side
only. Applications that fail to meet the page limitation requirement
will not be considered.
V. Appendices
All applicable appendices including letters of support, resumes and
organizational charts should be included in this section. The safeguard
assurance, as required under Part II, Section D, ``Safeguards'', of
this notice, should be included in all applications as Appendix A. The
Departments recommend that all appendix entries be cross-referenced
back to applicable sections in the program narrative.
[[Page 28164]]
Applicants must limit the appendices to no more than 20 pages.
Applications that fail to meet the page limitation requirement will not
be considered.
3. Late Applications
Any application received after the exact date and time specified
for receipt at the office designated in this notice will not be
considered, unless it is received before awards are made and it--
(a) Was sent by registered or certified mail not later than the
fifth calendar day before the date specified for receipt of
applications (e.g., an application submitted in response to a
solicitation requiring receipt of applications by the 20th of the month
must have been mailed/post marked by the 15th of that month); or
(b) Was sent by the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day
Service to addressee not later than 5:00 P.M. at the place of mailing
two working days prior to the date specified for receipt of
applications. The term ``working days'' excludes weekends and Federal
holidays.
The term ``post marked'' means a printed, stamped, or otherwise
placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression)
that is readily identifiable, without further action, as having been
supplied or affixed on the date of mailing by an employee of the U.S.
Postal Service.
4. Hand-Delivered Applications
It is preferred that applications be mailed at least five days
prior to the closing date. To be considered for funding, hand-delivered
applications must be received by 4:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on the
closing date. TELEGRAPHED AND/OR FAXED APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE
HONORED. Failure to adhere to the above instructions will be a basis
for a determination of nonresponsiveness. Overnight express mail from
carriers other than the U.S. Postal Service will be considered hand-
delivered applications and MUST BE RECEIVED by the above specified date
and time.
5. Period of Performance
The period of performance will be twelve (12) months from the date
of award by the Department of Labor. Since all awards must be made by
September 30, 1997 under this competition, the Departments recommend
that all applicants use September 30, 1997-October 31, 1998 as both
budgetary and project award periods.
6. Option to Extend
These Indian Program Grants may be extended for up to four
additional years at the discretion of the Federal Government, based
upon the availability of funds and the demonstrated progress of the
grantee under this School-to-Work Opportunities initiative. While the
Departments encourage grantees funded for developmental initiatives
during last year's competition to apply for Implementation funding, it
remains the Departments' desire to continue the developmental
investment until a partnership is ready to successfully compete and
receive Implementation funding under this initiative.
Consistent with the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, the
Departments expect that over time, Federal funds, added to this grant,
will decrease. Funds awarded under this notice are considered ``venture
capital'' for the establishment of School-to-Work Opportunities systems
serving Indian youth. Likewise, local partnerships will eventually
assume responsibility for maintaining School-to-Work Opportunities
systems with other Federal, State and local resources.
7. Reporting Requirements/Deliverables
If awarded a grant, the local partnership will be required to
provide the following:
1. Quarterly and Final Reports
* Quarterly financial reports as required by the grant award
documents;
* Quarterly narrative reports on progress made and problems
encountered in accomplishing the proposed plan and that indicate, where
relevant, the corrective action(s) proposed to address developmental or
implementation problems; and
* Annual reports at year-end on the activities and
accomplishments of the local partnership's School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative.
2. Deliverables
* At a minimum, preparing an assessment of accomplishments
and results at each program year-end suitable for dissemination to
other Indian communities and partnerships.
* Acting as a host to outside visitors from other Indian
communities or local partnerships interested in developing and
implementing School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives in settings with
similar characteristics.
Part II. Program Description
Section A. Background
The United States is the only industrialized nation that lacks a
comprehensive and coherent system to help its youth acquire the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and information about the labor market
necessary to make an effective transition from school to career-
oriented work. Three-fourths of America's high school students do not
attain four-year college degrees. Many of them do not possess the basic
academic and occupational skills necessary for entry into high-skill,
high-wage careers in the changing workplace or to pursue further
education. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 created a
national framework for high-quality, statewide school-to-work
transition systems that enable young Americans to identify and navigate
paths to productive and progressively more rewarding roles in the
workplace.
Partnerships serving Indian youth face particular challenges in
implementing School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives:
1. High unemployment and relatively few high-skill, high-wage
employment opportunities often characterize the areas to be served,
making it more difficult to secure employer participation, work-based
learning opportunities, and career-track jobs for Indian youth who
complete a School-to-Work Opportunities program. Therefore, creative
strategies must be developed to make full use of the capacity of local
institutions to include a variety of alternative work-based learning
environments (ie. tribal businesses, school-based enterprises and
entrepreneurial training) and to support intensive efforts to enhance
diverse employer involvement. Partnerships should strive to engage
employers by offering them a range of opportunities for participating
in the design and implementation of School-to-Work Opportunities
systems, including membership on councils and partnerships; assistance
in setting standards, designing curriculum and determining outcomes;
providing worksite experience for teachers; helping to recruit other
employers; and providing worksite experience for students, such as
mentoring, job shadowing, unpaid work experiences, supported work
experiences, and paid work experiences.
2. High dropout rates, unequal access to quality educational
experiences and the lack of relevant information regarding career
options often plague such high challenge, remote service areas. School-
to-Work Opportunities initiatives can offer alternative learning
environments, creative approaches to academic and technical subjects
and relevant and engaging school-based and work-based activities that
can encourage
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Indian youth to remain in school until completion. To achieve such
objectives, School-to-Work systems need to engage youth as early as
possible. Career awareness and exploration activities allow Indian
youth exposure to a range of high-skill, high-wage careers, the level
of skills and abilities necessary in such occupations, and insight into
the relevance of classroom education and the overall value of learning.
Further, professional development and stakeholder education remains a
critical piece towards the building of School-to-Work systems. In-
service training programs and outreach initiatives are essential
towards developing relevant and engaging curriculum, teaching
methodologies and assessments which let students make the critical
connections between the classroom environment and the world of work.
3. Economic and geographic factors may create uneven educational
and employment opportunities among Indian youth, thus requiring that
careful consideration be given to enhancing both the access and
availability of opportunities. Therefore, partnerships are encouraged
to link School-to-Work initiatives with existing educational reform
strategies, workforce development initiatives and economic development
plans. By doing so, partnerships will initiate School-to-Work systems
capable of equipping tribal youth with the skills and abilities to take
high-skill, high-wage positions within tribal government, targeted
tribal industries, or outside of the tribe in the larger labor market.
Further, communities with highly skilled, highly trained youth will aid
the success of tribal economic development initiatives through the
encouragement of entrepreneurial ventures and the recruitment of
targeted industries and employers interested in developmental ventures
on tribal lands.
Under this competition, federal funds will be used as ``venture
capital'' to establish School-to-Work Opportunities systems serving
Indian youth. Local partnerships applying for development grants should
be ready to use funds to involve Bureau-funded schools in establishing
cooperative linkages and planning innovative methods of providing
School-to-Work services for Indian youth. Local partnerships applying
for implementation grants should be ready to implement School-to-Work
initiatives involving Bureau-funded schools by building on and
enriching existing promising programs such as tech-prep education,
career academies, youth apprenticeship, school-based enterprises, job
training and previous related efforts funded by the BIA. However, the
purpose of funding under the School-to-Work Opportunities initiative is
not simply to augment existing programs, but rather to build systems
that provide opportunities for all students to achieve the benefits and
outcomes of the School-to-Work Opportunities initiative. Building
comprehensive systems will likely involve a combination of enhancing
existing programs, establishing linkages among them, and developing an
effective framework that connects both existing and new programs in a
meaningful way. Through involvement in the School-to-Work Indian
Program Grants, tribal organizations are expected to build over time
the kind of School-to-Work Opportunities Systems that best meet their
needs.
Section B. Objectives
The School-to-Work Opportunities initiative provides for a
substantial degree of State and local flexibility and experimentation,
but all State systems, individual local initiatives and Indian Program
initiatives will share several common features and basic program
components as required by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994.
A School-to-Work Opportunities initiative under this competition must
include the following common features and basic program components:
1. The basis of the School-to-Work Opportunities system is--
(a) The integration of school-based learning and work-based
learning;
(b) The integration of academic and occupational learning; and
(c) The establishment of effective linkages between secondary and
postsecondary education.
2. School-to-Work Opportunities systems will--
(a) Provide participating students with the opportunity to complete
career majors;
(b) Incorporate the system components described below (school-based
learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities);
(c) Provide participating students, to the extent practicable, with
strong experience in and understanding of all aspects of the industry
the students are preparing to enter; and
(d) Provide all students with equal access to the full range of
such system components (including both school-based and work-based
learning components) and related activities, such as recruitment,
enrollment, and placement activities, except that nothing in this
notice shall be construed to provide any individual with an entitlement
to services.
3. School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives must incorporate three
basic program components:
(a) School-Based Learning, that includes--
* Career awareness and career exploration and counseling
(beginning at the earliest possible age, but not later than the 7th
grade) in order to help students and school dropouts who may be
interested to identify, and select or reconsider, their interests,
goals, and career majors, including those options that may not be
traditional for their gender, race, or ethnicity;
* Initial selection by interested students and school
dropouts of a career major not later than the beginning of the 11th
grade;
* A program of study designed to meet the same academic
content standards established for all students, including, where
applicable, standards established under the Goals 2000: Educate America
Act, and to meet the requirements necessary to prepare a student and
school dropouts for postsecondary education and the requirements
necessary to earn a skill certificate;
* A program of instruction and curriculum that integrates
academic and vocational learning (including applied methodologies and
team-teaching strategies), and incorporates instruction, to the extent
practicable, in all aspects of an industry, appropriately tied to the
career of a participant;
* Regularly scheduled evaluations involving ongoing
consultation and problem solving with students and school dropouts to
identify their academic strengths and weaknesses, academic progress,
workplace knowledge, goals, and the need for additional learning
opportunities to master core academic and vocational skills; and
* Procedures to facilitate the entry of students and school
dropouts participating in a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative
into additional training or postsecondary education programs, as well
as to facilitate the transfer of the students and school dropouts
between education and training programs.
(b) Work-based learning, that includes--
(1) Mandatory activities--
* Work experience;
* A planned program of job training and work experiences
(including training related to pre-employment and employment skills to
be mastered at progressively higher levels) that are coordinated with
learning in the school-based learning component described above and are
relevant to the career
[[Page 28166]]
majors of students and school dropouts lead to the award of skill
certificates;
* Workplace mentoring;
* Instruction in general workplace competencies, including
instruction and activities related to developing positive work
attitudes, and employability and participative skills; and
* Broad instruction, to the extent practicable, in all
aspects of the industry.
(2) Permissible activities--Such component may include such
activities as paid work experience, job shadowing, school-sponsored
enterprises, or on-the-job training.
(c) Connecting Activities, that include--
* Matching students and school dropouts with the work-based
learning opportunities of employers;
* Providing, with respect to each student and school
dropout, a school site mentor to act as a liaison among the student and
the employer, school, teacher, school administrator, and parent of the
student, and, if appropriate, other community partners;
* Providing technical assistance and services to employers,
including small-and medium-sized businesses, and other parties in--
(A) Designing school-based learning components as described above,
work-based learning components as described above, and counseling and
case management services; and
(B) Training teachers, workplace mentors, school site mentors, and
counselors;
* Providing assistance to schools and employers to integrate
school-based and work-based learning and integrate academic and
occupational learning into the program;
* Encouraging the active participation of employers, in
cooperation with local education officials, in the implementation of
local activities described in this Part as school-based learning, work-
based learning, or connecting activities;
(A) Providing assistance to participants who have completed the
program in finding an appropriate job, continuing their education, or
entering into an additional training program; or
(B) Linking the participants with other community services that may
be necessary to assure a successful transition from school to work;
* Collecting and analyzing information regarding post-
program outcomes of participants in the School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative, to the extent practicable and appropriate for Indian
programs, on the basis of socioeconomic status, gender, and disability,
and on the basis of whether the participants are students with limited-
English proficiency, school dropouts, disadvantaged students, or
academically talented students; and
* Linking youth development activities under the School-to-
Work Opportunities initiative with employer and industry strategies for
upgrading the skills of their workers.
Section C. Examples of Allowable Activities
Funds awarded under this competition to a partnership serving
Indian youth and involving Bureau-funded schools may be used only for
activities undertaken to develop or implement the local partnership's
plan that will provide opportunities for Indian youth to participate
successfully in a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative.
1. Development Grants
Eligible partnerships that have not fully developed a plan for the
implementation of a School-to-Work Opportunities system may apply for
development grants. These funds may support a wide range of planning
and development activities. These grants are designed for situations in
which an eligible partnership may not be ready to move forward with
implementation of a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative, but
intends to compete for implementation grants in future rounds of
competition. Eligible partnerships seeking development grants must
describe the planning and development activities for the School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative that the partnership proposes to undertake
during the 12-month grant period. The plan should include activities
funded from this grant as well as from other sources. Examples of
development activities that may be conducted with funds awarded under
an Indian Program Grant are similar to those stipulated under section
205 of the Act and as illustrated below--
1. Initiating a planning process aimed at building a School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative;
2. Identifying or establishing an appropriate structure to
administer a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative;
3. Further expanding eligible partnerships as defined in this
notice to participate in the design, development and administration of
the School-to-Work Opportunities initiative;
4. Building consensus among local stakeholders and supporting
planning and development activities to provide guidance in creating the
School-to-Work Opportunities plan;
5. Initiating pilot projects to test key components of program
design such as designing and testing common intake systems for students
participating in School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives, and
determining methods to integrate program data bases;
6. Analyzing current statutory, regulatory and administrative
impediments to the creation of a School-to-Work Opportunities
initiative;
7. Assessing staff training and development needs for participation
in a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative;
8. Preparing the strategic plan required for submission of a
proposal for an implementation grant. The plan should describe the
progress expected to be achieved in the planning and development
process by the end of the 12-month grant period. This should include
expected ``next steps.''
2. Implementation Grants
Eligible partnerships that have developed and are ready to
implement a plan for a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative may
apply for implementation grants. These funds may be used to support a
wide range of activities providing School-to-Work Opportunities for
Indian youth. Examples of implementation activities that may be
conducted with funds awarded under an Indian Program Grant are similar
to those stipulated in section 215 of the Act and as illustrated below:
1. Recruiting and providing assistance to employers, including
small- and medium-sized businesses, tribal businesses and school-based
enterprises, to provide the work-based learning components in the
School-to-Work Opportunities initiative;
2. Establishing consortia of employers, including tribal businesses
and school-based enterprises, to support the School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative and provide access to jobs related to the
career majors of students;
3. Supporting or establishing intermediaries (selected from among
the members of the local partnership) to perform the connecting
activities described above in Part II. B., ``Objectives,'' and to
provide assistance to Indian youth in obtaining jobs and further
education and training;
4. Designing or adapting innovative school curricula that can be
used to integrate academic, vocational, and occupational learning,
school-based and work-based learning, and secondary and postsecondary
education for all students in the area served;
5. Providing training to work-based and school-based staff on new
curricula, student assessments, student guidance,
[[Page 28167]]
and feedback to the school regarding student performance in connection
with the School-to-Work Opportunities Initiative;
6. Establishing, in schools participating in a School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative, a graduation assistance program to assist at-
risk students, low-achieving students, and students with disabilities,
in graduating from high school, enrolling in postsecondary education or
training, and finding or advancing in jobs;
7. Providing career exploration and awareness services, counseling
and mentoring services, college awareness and preparation services, and
other services (beginning at the earliest possible age, but not later
than the 7th grade) to prepare students for the transition from school
to work;
8. Providing supplementary and support services, including child
care and transportation, when such services are necessary for
participation in a local School-to-Work Opportunities initiative;
9. Conducting or obtaining an in-depth analysis of the local labor
market and the generic and specific skill needs of employers to
identify high-demand, high-wage careers to target;
10. Integrating school-based and work-based learning into existing
job training programs for school dropouts;
11. Establishing or expanding school-to-apprenticeship programs in
cooperation with registered apprenticeship agencies and apprenticeship
sponsors;
12. Assisting participating employers, including small- and medium-
sized businesses, tribal businesses and school-based enterprises, to
identify and train workplace mentors and to develop work-based learning
components;
13. Promoting the formation of partnerships between Bureau-funded
schools and other elementary and secondary schools (including middle
schools) and local businesses as an investment in future workplace
productivity and competitiveness;
14. Designing local strategies to provide adequate planning time
and staff development activities for teachers, school counselors,
related services personnel, and school site mentors, including
opportunities outside the classroom that are at the worksite;
15. Enhancing linkages between after-school, weekend, and summer
jobs, career exploration, and school-based learning;
16. Obtaining the assistance of organizations and institutions that
have a history of success in working with school dropouts and at-risk
and disadvantaged youths in recruiting such Indian youth who are at-
risk or school dropouts to participate in a local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative;
17. Conducting outreach to all students in a language and manner
that most appropriately and effectively meets their needs and responds
to the needs of their community;
18. Experimenting with providing work-based learning opportunities
both inside and outside the Indian community;
19. Developing, in conjunction with Title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Schools Act or other funds, improvements in the Bureau-funded
and other elementary and middle schools that serve the Indian community
in order to reduce the long-term dropout rate of Indian youth;
20. Developing and implementing techniques that will increase the
college enrollment of Indian youth in the targeted area;
21. Utilizing complementary initiatives within the targeted area
such as comprehensive sports and recreation programs, after-school
programs, and community development activities;
22. Encouraging Indian youth to design and initiate innovative
work-based learning activities operated within a school setting; and
23. Developing and implementing school-based and work-based
learning and connecting activities that are related to the tribal
organization's economic development plan.
Section D. Safeguards
The Departments apply the following safeguards to School-to-Work
Opportunities programs funded under this competition:
1. No student in a School-to-Work Opportunities system shall
displace any currently employed worker (including a partial
displacement, such as a reduction in the hours of non-overtime work,
wages, or employment benefits).
2. No School-to-Work Opportunities program shall impair existing
contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements, and no
program under this competition that would be inconsistent with the
terms of a collective bargaining agreement shall be undertaken without
the written concurrence of the labor organization and employer
concerned.
3. No student participating in a School-to-Work Opportunities
program shall be employed or fill a job--
a. When any other individual is on temporary layoff, with the clear
possibility of recall, from the same or any substantially equivalent
job with the participating employer; or
b. When the employer has terminated the employment of any regular
employee or otherwise reduced its workforce with the intention of
filling the vacancy so created with a student.
4. Students shall be provided with adequate and safe equipment and
safe and healthful workplaces in conformity with all health and safety
requirements of Federal, State, and local law.
5. Nothing in this notice shall be construed so as to modify or
affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination on the basis
of religion, gender, age, or disability.
6. Funds awarded under this competition shall not be expended for
wages of students or workplace mentors participating in any part of a
School-to-Work Opportunities system.
7. The grantee shall implement and maintain such other safeguards
as the Departments may deem appropriate in order to ensure that School-
to-Work Opportunities participants are afforded adequate supervision by
skilled adult workers, or to otherwise further the purposes of school-
to-work.
An applicant must provide an assurance, as appendix A, that the
foregoing safeguards will be implemented and maintained throughout the
school-to-work system.
Section E. Waivers
Under Title V of the Act, the Secretaries may waive certain Federal
requirements that impede the ability of a State or local partnership to
carry out the purposes of the Act. Only local partnerships in States
with approved School-to-Work Opportunities plans may apply for waivers.
A local partnership that seeks a waiver should contact its State
School-to-Work Contact to determine what documentation is required and
to whom it should be sent. In May, 1995, the National School-to-Work
Opportunities Office issued a document entitled ``School-to-Work
Opportunities Waiver and Plan Approval Process Questions and Answers.''
This document contains answers to many of the questions that localities
may have when preparing their waiver requests. Local Partnerships
interested in applying for waivers should contact the National School-
to-Work Opportunities Office or their State School-to-Work Contact for
a copy of the waiver document.
Part III. Indian Program Grants Competition Requirements
Section A. Administrative Cost Cap
The Departments are applying the 10 percent cap on administrative
costs contained in section 215(b)(6) of the Act to local partnerships
receiving implementation grants directly under this competition.
Section 215(b)(6) of
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the Act applies the 10 percent administrative cap to subgrants received
by local partnerships from a State. The Departments have concluded that
applying the 10 percent cap to local partnerships under this
competition is consistent with the Act's intent and its broader
limitations on administrative costs.
Definition
All definitions in the Act apply to local School-to-Work
Opportunities systems funded under this and future Indian Program Grant
competitions. Since the Act does not contain a definition of the term
``administrative costs'' as used in section 217 of the Act, the
Departments will apply the following definition to this and future
competitions for Indian Program Grants.
The term ``administrative costs'' means the activities of a local
partnership that are necessary for the proper and efficient performance
of its duties under the Indian Program Grant pursuant to the School-to-
Work Opportunities Act and that are not directly related to the
provision of services to participants or otherwise allocable to the
program's allowable activities listed in Title II of the Act.
Administrative costs may be either personnel or non-personnel costs,
and may be either direct or indirect. Costs of administration include
those costs that are related to this grant in such categories as--
A. Costs of salaries, wages, and related costs of the grantee's
staff engaged in--
* Overall system management, system coordination, and
general administrative functions;
* Preparing program plans, budgets, and schedules, as well
as applicable amendments;
* Monitoring of local initiatives, pilot projects,
subrecipients, and related systems and processes;
* Procurement activities, including the award of specific
subgrants, contracts, and purchase orders;
* Developing systems and procedures, including management
information systems, for ensuring compliance with the requirements
under the Act;
* Preparing reports and other documents related to the Act;
* Coordinating the resolution of audit findings;
B. Costs for goods and services required for administration of the
School-to-Work Opportunities system;
C. Costs of system-wide management functions; and
D. Travel costs incurred for official business in carrying out
grants management or administrative activities.
Section B. Evaluation Criteria
Under the School-to-Work Opportunities Indian Program Grants
competition announced in this notice, a careful evaluation of
applications will be made by technical review panel(s). Each panelist
will evaluate the applications against the criteria listed below. The
government may elect to award grant(s) without discussions with the
offerer(s). In such situations, an award based on the offerer's
signature on the SF-424 constitutes a binding offer.
Evaluation Criteria: Development Grants
The Government will use the following evaluation criteria and
associated point values in evaluating applications for development
grants:
Evaluation Criterion 1: Vision of a local School-to-Work
Opportunities initiative incorporating the elements described in Part
II of this notice.
Points: 30.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider:
1. How well does the vision of an integrated delivery system for
School-to-Work Opportunities incorporate the common features and basic
system components described in Part II of this notice?
2. How clearly are the problems and/or inefficiencies of current
programs and approaches understood and articulated?
3. How clearly does the partnership articulate how it envisions
integrating promising existing programs into a comprehensive School-to-
Work Opportunities system?
4. How well does this vision incorporate realistic strategies to
ensure that ``all students'' have opportunities to participate in
School-to-Work initiatives?
5. How well does the vision address the needs of the tribal
economic development plan and the local labor market within which the
targeted area is located?
6. How well does the vision convey the partnership's connection
between the proposed School-to-Work Opportunities system and overall
education reform?
Evaluation Criterion 2: Approach to collaboration, planning and
development.
Points: 30.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider:
1. Does the eligible partnership include all of the required
representatives as defined in Part I, section B.1 of this notice?
2. Whether other appropriate officials and organizations necessary
to achieve the objectives of the application are also represented.
3. To what extent will employers and representatives of workers
participate in the development of the plan?
4. Are the roles and responsibilities of each partner well
articulated and substantive?
5. Is the plan likely to lead to a broad consensus about the design
of the School-to-Work Opportunities system?
6. Is the proposal clear on who will have the day-to-day
responsibilities for the grant and how major decisions will be made?
Evaluation Criterion 3: Feasibility and soundness of the
development plan.
Points: 25.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider:
1. Are the planned activities likely to prepare the eligible
partnership to implement a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative?
2. To what extent has progress already been made?
3. Are staff development and training needs fully considered?
4. To what extent has the partnership envisioned pilot testing of
key components toward the establishment of a comprehensive framework
for implementation?
5. Does the development process fully take advantage of technology?
6. Whether the approach to identifying and overcoming anticipated
barriers to the development of the partnership's School-to-Work plan is
feasible.
7. Whether the management plan and related timeline of activities
included in the application are appropriate to the goals and outcomes
to be achieved.
8. Are key personnel to be used on the project qualified to
undertake proposed activities?
Evaluation Criterion 4: Commitment to the planning and development
effort.
Points: 15.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider:
1. To what extent are Federal or other local resources being
utilized to finance planning and development activities towards the
development of a comprehensive School-to-Work system?
2. To what extent will the partnership provide in-kind support and
resources towards the development of the system?
3. Whether resources available are adequate to support the
activities proposed.
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Evaluation Criteria: Implementation Grants
The Government will use the following evaluation criteria and
associated point values in evaluating applications for implementation
grants.
Evaluation Criterion 1: Comprehensive Local School-to-Work
Opportunities System.
Points: 40.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider:
A. 20 Points--The extent to which the partnership has designed a
comprehensive local School-to-Work Opportunities plan that--
1. Includes effective strategies serving Indian youth and involving
Bureau-funded schools that integrates school-based and work-based
learning, integrates academic and vocational education, and establishes
linkages between secondary and postsecondary education;
2. Is likely to produce systemic change that will have substantial
impact on the preparation of all tribal area students for a first job
in a high-skill, high-wage career and in increasing their opportunities
for further learning;
3. Ensures that all tribal youth will have a full range of options,
including options for higher education, additional training and
employment in high-skill, high-wage jobs;
4. Ensures coordination and integration with existing school-to-
work systems, and with related programs financed from State and private
sources, with funds available from Federal education and training
programs(such as the Job Training Partnership Act and the Carl D.
Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act); and where
applicable, communities designated as Empowerment Zones or Enterprise
Communities (EZ/EC);
5. Serves a geographic area that reflects the needs of the local
labor market and targets occupational clusters that represent growing
industries in the partnership's geographic area and specified in the
tribal economic development plan.
6. Includes an effective strategy for assessing and addressing the
academic and human service needs of students and dropouts within the
tribal community, making improvements or adjustments as necessary, with
particular emphasis on the coordination of various human services
provided within the tribal community.
B. 20 Points--The extent to which the partnership's plan
demonstrates its capability to achieve the statutory requirements and
to effectively put in place the system components in Title I of the
School-to-Work Opportunities Act, including--
1. A work-based learning component that includes the statutory
``mandatory activities'' and that contributes to the transformation of
workplaces into active learning components of the education system
through an array of sequentially enriching permissible learning
activities such as job shadowing, school-sponsored enterprises,
entrepreneurial initiatives, and paid work experiences.
2. A school-based learning component that provides students with
high-level academic and technical skills consistent with academic
standards that the State or Bureau establishes for all students,
including, where applicable, standards established under the Goals 2000
Educate America Act;
3. A connecting activities component to provide a functional link
between students' school and work activities, and between workplace
partners, educators, community organizations, and other appropriate
entities;
4. Effective processes for assessing skills and knowledge required
in career majors, and issuing portable skill certificates that are
benchmarked to high-quality standards such as those States will
establish under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and for
periodically assessing and collecting information on student outcomes,
as well as a realistic strategy and timetable for implementing the
process;
5. A flexible School-to-Work Opportunities system that allows
students participating in the local system to develop new career goals
over time, and to change career majors and;
6. Effective strategies for: providing staff development for
teachers, worksite mentors and other key personnel; developing model
curricula and innovative instructional methodologies, including
processes for infusing culturally sensitive issues, values and beliefs,
expanding career and academic counseling in elementary and secondary
schools; and utilizing innovative technology-based instructional
techniques.
Evaluation Criterion 2: Quality and Effectiveness of the Local
Partnership.
Points: 25.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider--
1. Whether the partnership's plan demonstrates an effective and
convincing strategy for continuing the commitment of required partners
and other interested parties in the local School-to-Work Opportunities
system. As defined in this solicitation, partners must include tribal
organizations (such as tribal business councils or local chapters of
tribal business councils, tribal departments of education), employers
(both within and surrounding the targeted area where applicable and
including tribal businesses and school-based enterprises),
representatives of Bureau of Indian Affairs' funded schools, local
educational agencies and local postsecondary educational institutions
(including representatives of area vocational education schools and
tribal colleges, where applicable), local educators(such as teachers,
counselors, or administrators), representatives of labor organizations
or nonmanagerial employee representatives, parents, and students;
2. Whether the partnership's plan demonstrates an effective and
convincing strategy for continuing the commitment of workplace partners
and other interested parties such as community based organizations and
others experienced and focused on dealing with the distinctive needs of
Indian youth in the local School-to-Work Opportunities system;
3. The effectiveness of the partnership's plan to include private
sector representatives and tribal business leaders as joint partners
with tribal educators in both the design and implementation of the
local School-to-Work Opportunities system;
4. The extent to which the local partnership has developed
strategies to provide a range of opportunities for workplace partners
to participate in the design and implementation of the local School-to-
Work Opportunities system, including membership on councils and
partnerships; assistance in setting standards, designing curricula, and
determining outcomes; providing worksite experiences for teachers;
helping to recruit other employers; and providing worksite learning
activities for students such as mentoring, job shadowing, unpaid work
experiences, and paid work experiences;
5. The extent to which the roles and responsibilities of the key
parties and any other relevant stakeholders are clearly defined and are
likely to produce the desired changes in the way students are prepared
for the future;
6. The extent to which the partnership demonstrates the capacity to
build a quality local School-to-Work Opportunities system; and
7. Whether the partnership has included methods for sustaining and
expanding the partnership, as implementation expands in scope and size.
Evaluation Criterion 3: Participation of All Students.
[[Page 28170]]
Points: 20.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will refer to
the definition of the term ``all students'' as applicable in Title I,
section 4(2) of the Act, and consider--
1. The extent to which the partnership will implement effective
strategies and systems to provide all students with equal access to the
full range of components specified in sections 102 through 104 of the
Act and related activities such as recruitment, enrollment, and
placement activities, and to ensure that all tribal youth have
opportunities to participate in School-to-Work Opportunities
components;
2. Whether the partnership has identified potential barriers to the
participation of any students, and the degree to which it proposes
effective ways of overcoming these barriers;
3. The degree to which the partnership has developed realistic
goals and methods for assisting young women to participate in School-
to-Work Opportunities components leading to employment in high-
performance, high-paying jobs, including non-traditional jobs;
4. The partnership's methods for ensuring safe and healthy work
environments for students, including strategies for encouraging tribal
schools to provide students with general awareness training in
occupational safety and health as part of the school-based learning
component, and for encouraging workplace partners to provide risk-
specific training as part of the work-based learning component, as well
as the extent to which the partnership has developed realistic goals to
ensure environments free from racial and sexual harassment; and
5. The extent to which the partnership's plan provides for the
participation of a significant number or percentage of Indian youth
within the system, including Indian youth located in particularly
remote areas in School-to-Work Opportunities activities listed under
Title I of the Act.
Evaluation Criterion 4: Management plan.
Points: 15.
Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will
consider--
1. The feasibility and effectiveness of the partnership's strategy
for using other resources, including private sector or Tribal
resources, to maintain the system when Federal resources under the
School-to-Work Opportunities Act are no longer available;
2. The extent to which the partnership's management plan
anticipates barriers to implementation and proposes effective methods
for addressing barriers as they arise;
3. Whether the plan includes feasible, measurable goals for the
School-to-Work Opportunities system, based on performance outcomes
established under section 402 of the Act, and an effective method for
collecting information relevant to the local partnership's progress in
meeting its goals;
4. Whether the plan includes a regularly scheduled process for
improving or redesigning the School-to-Work Opportunities system based
on performance outcomes established under section 402 of the Act;
5. The extent to which the resources requested will be used to
develop information, products, and ideas that will assist other local
partnerships as they design and implement local systems; and
6. The extent to which the partnership will limit equipment and
other purchases in order to maximize the amounts spent on delivery of
services to students.
7. Are key personnel under the plan qualified to perform the
required activities, including maintaining the essential partnership?
The panel results are advisory in nature and not binding on the
Grants Officer. Final funding decisions will consider such factors as:
geographic balance, diversity of programmatic approaches,
replicability, sustainability, and innovation.
Signed at Washington D.C., this 16th day of May 1997.
Patricia W. McNeil,
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Department of
Education.
Raymond J. Uhalde,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Department of
Labor.
Appendices
Appendix A: Application for Federal Assistance, SF Form 424 Appendix
B: Budget Form, SF 424 (a)
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