[Federal Register: April 12, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 71)]
[Notices]
[Page 17974-17976]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ap02-35]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.184K]
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Coordinator
Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year
(FY) 2002.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary invites applications for new grant
awards for FY 2002 for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
(SDFSC) National Coordinator Program. These grants are authorized under
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended, title
IV, part A, subpart 2, section 4125, SDFSC National Programs. The
Assistant Secretary also announces the final priority, definitions, and
selection criteria to govern this competition and FY 2002 awards of
these grants.
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the SDFSC National Coordinator
Program is to provide grants to local educational agencies to recruit,
hire, and train individuals to serve as drug prevention and school
safety program coordinators in schools with significant drug and school
safety problems.
Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)
Note: LEAs may apply in consortium with one or more adjacent
LEAs; however, each LEA in the consortium must meet all requirements
of the priority for this competition, and one LEA must serve as lead
applicant.
Applications Available: April 12, 2002.
Deadline for Receipt of Applications: May 28, 2002.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 26, 2002.
Available Funds: Approximately $12,000,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 30.
Estimated Size of Awards: $250,000--$650,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $400,000.
Note: These estimates are projections for the guidance of
potential applicants. The Department is not bound by any estimates
in this notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 85, 97, 98, and 99.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In making awards under this grant program,
the Assistant Secretary may take into consideration the geographic
distribution of the projects in addition to the rank order of
applicants.
Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Assistant Secretary
may make additional awards in FY 2003 from the rank-ordered list of
unfunded applications from this competition.
LEAs receiving grants under this program will use funds to recruit,
hire, and train individuals to serve as drug prevention and school
safety program coordinators in schools with significant drug and school
safety problems. Those coordinators will be responsible for developing,
conducting, and analyzing assessments of drug and crime problems at
their schools and for administering the safe and drug-free grant
program at those schools.
Definitions
a. For purposes of this competition, ``administering the safe and
drug-free grant program'' means that the coordinator will perform the
following functions in schools with significant drug and school safety
problems:
(1) Identify research-based drug and violence prevention
strategies;
(2) Assist schools in adopting the most successful strategies,
including training of teachers and staff and relevant partners as
needed;
(3) Assist schools in developing and improving school safety plans
that address responses to and recovery from large-scale disasters;
(4) Work with parents and students to obtain information about
effective programs and strategies and encourage their participation in
the development and implementation of those strategies and programs;
(5) Facilitate evaluation of the schools prevention programs and
strategies and use findings to modify programs, as needed;
(6) Identify additional funding sources for drug prevention and
school safety programming;
(7) Provide information to State educational agencies (SEAs) on
programs and activities that have proven to be successful in reducing
drug use and violent behavior;
[[Page 17975]]
(8) Coordinate with student assistance and employee assistance
programs; and
(9) Link other educational resources (e.g., Title I funds) to
programs and strategies that serve to create safer, more orderly
schools.
b. ``Schools with significant drug and school safety problems'' are
defined as those that have identified drug use and school safety as
serious problems in their most recent needs assessment and that have
taken one or more of the following actions within the 12 months
preceding the date of this announcement:
(1) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or
programs at least one student for possession, distribution, or use of
alcohol or drugs, including tobacco;
(2) Referred for treatment of substance abuse at least five
students;
(3) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or
programs at least one student for possession or use of a firearm or
other weapon; or
(4) Suspended, expelled, or transferred to alternative schools or
programs at least five students for physical attacks or fights.
Other Requirements
(a) Participation by Private School Children and Teachers. LEAs
that receive a National Coordinator Program 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.
(b) Maintenance of Effort. An LEA may receive a National
Coordinator Program grant only if the SEA finds that the combined
fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of the agency
and the State with respect to the provision 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.
(c) Annual Report. LEAs receiving a grant under this program must
report annually to the Department of Education on progress toward
meeting measurable goals and objectives of the funded project.
(d) National Evaluation. The Department of Education is conducting
a national evaluation of the National Coordinator Program to determine
its efficacy as a means of improving prevention programming. Grantees
must agree to participate in the evaluation as a condition of receiving
a grant.
(e) Hiring. LEAs may apply for grant funding under the absolute
priority for this competition to hire one or more coordinators to serve
schools in the district. Each coordinator hired with funds from this
grant must: (1) Serve at least one school and no more than four
schools; (2) have no duties other than coordinating and administering
the drug prevention and school safety programs in those schools; (3)
have a degree from an accredited four-year institution of higher
education and an academic background or equivalent work experience in a
field related to youth development, such as education, psychology,
sociology, social work, or nursing; and (4) participate in any training
required by the Department.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested parties
the opportunity to comment on proposed rules. Section 437(d)(1) of the
General Education Provisions Act, however, exempts from this
requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a new or
substantially revised program authority. This is the first competition
under the National Coordinator Program, which was substantially revised
by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities Act, the Assistant Secretary gives an
absolute priority to applications that meet the following priority and
funds under this competition only applications that meet this absolute
priority. Under the absolute funding priority for this grant
competition, LEAs with significant drug and school safety problems in
their schools must propose projects that--
Recruit, hire, and train individuals to serve as full-time drug
prevention and school safety program coordinator(s) in schools with
significant drug and school safety problems, who are responsible only
for: (1) Developing, conducting, and analyzing assessments of drug and
crime problems at their schools; and (2) administering the school's
safe and drug-free grant program as defined in this notice.
Selection Criteria: The Assistant Secretary uses the following
selection criteria to evaluate applications for new grants under this
competition. The maximum score for all of these criteria is 100 points.
The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses.
(1) Need for the project. (25 points)
In determining the need for the proposed project, the following
factor is considered: The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses
in services, infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and
will be addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and
magnitude of those gaps or weaknesses.
(2) Quality of the project design. (30 points)
In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project,
the following factors are considered:
(i) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target
population;
(ii) The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build
capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of
Federal financial assistance;
(iii) The extent to which the proposed project will establish
linkages with other appropriate agencies and organizations providing
services to the target population, including community coalitions;
(iv) The extent to which the proposed project encourages parental
involvement in the development and implementation of the project; and
(v) The extent to which performance feedback and continuous
improvement are integral to the design of the proposed project.
(3) Adequacy of resources. (25 points)
In determining the adequacy of resources, the following factors are
considered:
(i) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment,
supplies and other resources from the applicant organization or the
lead applicant organization;
(ii) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to
the number of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and
benefits;
(iii) The potential for continued support of the project after
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated
commitment of appropriate entities to such support; and
(iv) The potential for the incorporation of project purposes,
activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or
organization at the end of Federal funding.
(4) Quality of the project evaluation. (20 points)
In determining the quality of the project evaluation, the following
factors are considered:
(i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are appropriate
to the
[[Page 17976]]
context within which the project operates;
(ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for
examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies; and
(iii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward
achieving intended outcomes.
Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications
In FY 2002, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing to
expand its pilot project of electronic submission of applications to
include additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary
grant competitions. The National Coordinator Program (84.184K) is one
of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant
under the National Coordinator Program, you may submit your application
to us in either electronic or paper format.
The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant
Application System (e-APPLICATION, formerly e-GAPS) portion of the
Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). We request your
participation in this pilot project. We shall continue to evaluate its
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
If you participate in this e-APPLICATION pilot, please note the
following:
Your participation is voluntary.
You will not receive any additional point value or penalty
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format.
You can submit all documents electronically, including the
Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications.
Within three working days of submitting your electronic
application fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Assistance
(ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following these steps:
1. Print ED 424 from the e-APPLICATION system.
2. Make sure that the institution's Authorizing Representative
signs this form.
3. Before faxing this form, submit your electronic application via
the e-APPLICATION system. You will receive an automatic
acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying
number unique to your application).
4. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right corner of ED 424.
5. Fax ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202) 260-1349.
We may request that you give us original signatures on all
other forms at a later date.
You may access the electronic grant application for the National
Coordinator Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
We have included additional information on the e-APPLICATION pilot
project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic
Applications) in the application package.
FOR APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deirdra R. Hilliard,
U.S. Department of Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E256, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Telephone:
(202) 260-2643, or the following email or internet addresses:
deirdra.hilliard@ ed.gov www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document, or an
application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact
person listed in the preceding paragraph. 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 1-888-293-
6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7135.
Dated: April 9, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-8971 Filed 4-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P