FR Doc E6-20456
[Federal Register: December 4, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 232)]
[Notices]
[Page 70369-70371]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04de06-39]
Download: 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools--Discretionary Grant
Programs
AGENCY: Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of final eligibility requirement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools
announces an eligibility requirement for the following discretionary
grant programs administered by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
(OSDFS Discretionary Grant Programs):
Federal Activities (CFDA No. 84.184).
Alcohol Abuse Reduction (CFDA No. 84.184A).
Mentoring Programs (CFDA No. 84.184B).
Student Drug Testing (CFDA No. 84.184D).
Emergency Response and Crisis Management (CFDA No.
84.184E).
Grants to Prevent High-Risk Drinking or Violent Behavior
Among College Students (CFDA No. 84.184H).
Safe Schools/Healthy Students (CFDA No. 84.184L).
Prevention Models on College Campuses (CFDA No. 84.184N).
Grants to States to Improve Management of Drug and
Violence Prevention Programs (CFDA No. 84.184R).
Native Hawaiians (CFDA No. 84.186C).
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (CFDA
No. 84.215E).
Carol M. White Physical Education Program (CFDA No.
84.215F).
Foundations for Learning (CFDA No. 84.215H).
Grants to Integrate Schools and Mental Health Systems
(CFDA No. 84.215M).
Partnerships in Character Education Program (CFDA No.
84.215S/V).
Cooperative Civic Education and Economic Education
Exchange (CFDA No. 84.304A).
We may use the eligibility requirement for competitions under the
OSDFS Discretionary Grant Programs in fiscal year 2007 and later years.
We take this action to focus Federal financial assistance on identified
national needs. We intend for the eligibility requirement to ensure an
equitable distribution of awards among eligible applicants for grants
under the OSDFS Discretionary Grant Programs.
DATES: Effective Date: This requirement is effective January 3, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole A. White, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-6450.
Telephone: (202) 260-1131. E-mail: nicole.white@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
(OSDFS) Discretionary Grant Programs provide funding to develop,
implement, or expand drug and violence prevention, physical education,
school counseling, mentoring, character education, civics education,
and related projects at the local and State levels. In addition to
providing this initial funding, OSDFS also is committed to promoting
sustainability of projects and activities by encouraging grantees to
seek other sources of funding and support when their project period
ends.
We published a notice of proposed eligibility requirement in the
Federal Register on February 23, 2006 (71 FR 9329).
With one exception, there are no differences between the notice of
proposed eligibility requirement and this notice of final eligibility
requirement. The exception is that the final eligibility requirement in
this notice does not include the Life Skills for State and Local
Prisoners program (CFDA No. 84.255A) because that program is no longer
administered by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
Analysis of Comments
In response to our invitation in the notice of proposed eligibility
requirement, fourteen parties submitted comments. Eleven comments did
not address the proposed eligibility requirement and are not discussed
here. An analysis of the comments and of any changes in the eligibility
requirement since publication of the notice of proposed eligibility
requirement follows.
We group major issues according to subject. Generally, we do not
address technical and other minor changes and suggested changes the law
does not authorize us to make under the applicable statutory authority.
Quality of Applications
Comments: Several commenters said the quality of an application,
regardless of an applicant's previous history, should be the main
criterion for awarding Federal funds.
Discussion: The quality of an application is, and will remain, the
principal criterion for awarding Federal funds under the Discretionary
Grant Programs. However, the eligibility requirement will permit the
Secretary to take previous funding history into account when
determining who is eligible to compete for an award. We take this
action for several reasons: First, to focus Federal financial
assistance on expanding the number of programs and projects that
support activities in a covered program; second, to promote rigorous
assessment of results of funded projects to determine their impact on
target populations and to inform future improvement efforts before
making a second award under the same program; and, finally, to promote
management improvement in Federal grant administration by requiring
grantees to complete activities under current grants before embarking
on a second grant under the same program.
Change: None.
Comment: One commenter objected to excluding current grantees from
reapplying to the same program because the experience of one grant
often leads to the identification of gaps that need to be addressed
through a second grant.
Discussion: We agree that project implementation often results in
grantees gaining a greater awareness of needs and
[[Page 70370]]
gaps in service. For that reason, we encourage grantees to design
procedures that ensure feedback and continuous improvement in the
operation of their projects. By completing one full grant cycle before
considering whether to apply for another award, we think grantees will
achieve a better understanding of the effectiveness of their efforts
and be better able to design new projects that are fully reflective of
newly identified needs as well as what has been learned through their
first implementation efforts.
Change: None.
Comment: One commenter expressed concern that the eligibility
requirement would deny funding to the best qualified applicants and
result in the selection of applications of lesser quality that are
likely to have weaker outcomes.
Discussion: OSDFS grant competitions are generally highly
competitive, and fractions of a point may separate funded and unfunded
applications. For example, in fiscal year 2006, 88 applications
submitted for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program
scored 90 or above, and we were able to fund only 49 of them. We do not
agree, therefore, that excluding current grantees would necessarily
result in poor-quality applications receiving funds.
Change: None.
Comment: Several commenters expressed strong opposition to the
eligibility requirement's perceived limitation on the number of awards
a grantee could have.
Discussion: The eligibility requirement will prohibit only
applicants with an active grant from receiving a new grant for that
same program. The requirement would have no effect on the number of
grants an entity could receive under different programs. Applicants may
apply for and receive grants under competitions offered by the
Department under any of the 16 named programs, except for any program
in which they currently have an active grant.
Change: None.
Comment: One commenter expressed concern that the eligibility
requirement would have a negative impact on large school districts with
a greater need for Federal funds and recommended a per-student
enrollment limitation on the number of active grants one entity could
receive under the same program.
Discussion: Although we understand that larger school districts may
have greater needs, we do not think that multiple or overlapping grants
in the same program are an appropriate means of meeting those needs
because they encourage fragmentation of efforts rather than a
comprehensive, unified approach to problems. All applicants, including
those in larger school districts, are encouraged to carefully assess
their needs and request an amount of funding commensurate with those
needs in their initial application.
Change: None.
Comment: None.
Discussion: Since publication of the notice of proposed eligibility
requirement, administration of the Life Skills for State and Local
Prisoners program has been assigned to the Office of Vocational and
Adult Education, and therefore will not be subject to the final
eligibility requirement.
Change: We have removed the Life Skills for State and Local
Prisoners program from the list of Discretionary Grant programs.
Note: In any year in which we elect to use the eligibility
requirement, we will announce the eligibility requirement in the
Federal Register notice governing the applicable grant competition.
Eligibility Requirement for OSDFS Discretionary Grant Programs--
Federal Activities (CFDA No. 84.184); Alcohol Abuse Reduction (CFDA No.
84.184A); Mentoring Programs (CFDA No. 84.184B); Student Drug Testing
(CFDA No. 84.184D); Emergency Response and Crisis Management (CFDA No.
84.184E); Grants to Prevent High-Risk Drinking or Violent Behavior
Among College Students (CFDA No. 84.184H); Safe Schools/Healthy
Students (CFDA No. 84.184L); Prevention Models on College Campuses
(CFDA No. 84.184N); Grants to States to Improve Management of Drug and
Violence Prevention Programs (CFDA No. 84.184R); Native Hawaiians (CFDA
No. 84.186C); Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (CFDA
No. 84.215E); Carol M. White Physical Education Program (CFDA No.
84.215F); Foundations for Learning (CFDA No. 84.215H); Grants to
Integrate Schools and Mental Health Systems (CFDA No. 84.215M);
Partnerships in Character Education (CFDA No. 84.215S/V); Cooperative
Civic Education and Economic Education Exchange (CFDA No. 84.304A)
Active Grants
Under this requirement, the Secretary limits eligibility under the
discretionary grant program competition to applicants that do not
currently have an active grant under the same discretionary grant
program. For the purpose of this eligibility requirement, a grant is
considered active until the end of the grant's project or funding
period, including any extensions of those periods that extend the
grantee's authority to obligate funds.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of final eligibility requirement has been reviewed in
accordance with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we
have assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory
action.
The potential costs associated with this notice of final
eligibility requirement are those we have determined as necessary for
administering this program effectively and efficiently. The benefit of
this final eligibility requirement is to ensure that limited Federal
financial assistance under the Discretionary Grant Programs is made
available in a manner that is fair and equitable to the greatest number
of applicants.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this notice of final eligibility requirement, we
have determined that the benefits of the final eligibility requirement
justify the costs.
We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of
their governmental functions.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive
Order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened
federalism. The Executive Order relies on processes developed by State
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal
financial assistance.
This document provides early notification of our specific plans and
actions for this program.
Electronic Access To This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other documents of this
Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister
.
To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO) toll free at 1-888-293-6498; or in the
Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO
[[Page 70371]]
Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1211-2 (1991), 6715, 7117, 7131,
7139, 7140, 7245, 7247, 7261, 7269, and 7269a.
Dated: November 28, 2006.
Deborah A. Price,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
[FR Doc. E6-20456 Filed 12-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P