69986 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2010 / Notices 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 900. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 2,025. 

Abstract: The U.S. Department of 

Education has as one of its important 

policy goals expanding the number of 

high-quality public school choice 

options. Specifically, according to Part 

B section 5201 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act, two of the 

established purposes of the Charter 

School Program office are: Evaluating 

the effects of charter schools, including 

the effects on students, student 

academic achievement, staff and 

parents; and expanding the number of 

high-quality charter schools available to 

students across the nation. 

Charter school authorization is the 

center of efforts to expand and ensure 

high-quality public school choice 

options through public charter schools. 

Charter school authorizers are the 

public entities primarily responsible for: 

Initial charter authorizations, on-going 

monitoring and oversight, and charter 

renewal and closure decisions. 

Currently there is not a comprehensive, 

fully-populated tool for tracking the 

activities of and evaluating the quality 

of authorizers nationwide based on their 

authorizing decisions in light of schools’ 

performance. 

The charter authorizer survey will be 

the key tool by which the National 

Charter School Resource Center collects 

the following data elements from the 

nation’s charter school authorizers: 

Authorizing agency; authorizing agency 

type (e.g., school district, State 

Educational Agency, independent 

authorizer), basic school information, 

year the school opened, past renewal 

decision(s), reasons for nonrenewal (if 

applicable), year closed (if applicable), 

reason for closure (if applicable), and 

the next renewal decision year. The 

charter school authorizer survey will be 

administered once annually, in the 

spring. Respondents will be able to 

complete and return the survey in paper 

form or electronically, by visiting a link 

stated on the paper form. 

Requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, 

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on link 

number 4445. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

Requests may also be electronically 

mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed 

to 202–401–0920. Please specify the 

complete title of the information 

collection and OMB Control Number 

when making your request. 

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28867 Filed 11–15–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Striving Readers Comprehensive 

Literacy Program 

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, U.S. Department 

of Education. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

request for input to gather technical 

expertise pertaining to the U.S. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.371C. 

Department of Education’s 

(Department) development of a State 

competition for funding under the 

Striving Readers Comprehensive 

Literacy program. 

SUMMARY: By February 2011, the 

Secretary of Education (Secretary) 

intends to announce a competition for 

State educational agency (SEA) projects 

to support comprehensive literacy 

development and to advance literacy 

skills, including pre-literacy skills, 

reading, and writing, for students from 

birth through grade 12, including 

limited-English-proficient students and 

students with disabilities. To inform the 

development of a notice inviting 

applications that establishes the 

requirements for this competition, the 

Secretary is seeking input from States, 

technical experts, and members of the 

public through a public meeting and 

written submissions. Following the 

public meeting and review of the 

written submissions, the Department 

will publish a notice inviting 

applications for this competition. 

DATES: The public meeting will occur on 

Friday, November 19, 2010, in 

Washington, DC, at the Department’s 

Potomac Center Plaza (PCP) 

Auditorium, 550 12th Street, SW.; from 

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 

p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Washington, DC time. 

Written submissions must be received 

by the Department on or before 5:00 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

November 19, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: For those submitting 

written input, we encourage 

submissions by e-mail using the 

following address: Striving.readers.

comprehensive.literacy@ed.gov. You 

must include the term ‘‘Striving Readers 

Public Input’’ in the subject line of your 

e-mail. If you prefer to send your input 

by mail, address it to Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education, 

Attention: Striving Readers Public Input 

Meeting, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 

3E230, Washington, DC 20202. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Deborah Spitz, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 3E230, Washington, DC 20202. 

Telephone: 202–260–3793 or by e-mail: 

Striving.readers.comprehensive.

literacy@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 

1–800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Striving Readers 

program is authorized as part of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 

(Pub. L. 111–117) (the Act) under the 

demonstration authority in Title I, part 

E, section 1502 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (ESEA). $200 million in funds 

is available in fiscal year 2010 under 

section 1502 of the ESEA for a 

comprehensive literacy development 

and education program to advance 

literacy skills, including pre-literacy 

skills, reading, and writing, for students 

from birth through grade 12, including 

limited-English-proficient students and 

students with disabilities. To clearly 

distinguish this program from the 

Striving Readers program funded from 

FY 2005 to FY 2009, which focused on 

adolescent literacy, the Department is 

referring to the program created 

pursuant to the FY 2010 appropriation 

as the ‘‘Striving Readers Comprehensive 

Literacy’’ program. 

The Act reserves $10 million for 

formula grants to States to create or 

maintain a State Literacy Team with 

expertise in literacy development and 

education for children from birth 

through grade 12 and to assist States in 

developing a comprehensive literacy 

plan. One-half of one percent of these 

funds is reserved for the Secretary of the 

Interior for a comprehensive literacy 

program for schools funded by the 

Bureau of Indian Education and onehalf of one percent is reserved for such 

programs for grants to the outlying 

areas. 

After reserving up to 5 percent of the 

total appropriation for national 

activities, the Department must use the 

remaining funds for competitive awards 

to SEAs. SEAs may use up to five 

percent for State leadership activities 

and must award not less than 95 percent 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2010 / Notices 69987 

through subgrants to local educational 

agencies (LEAs) or, in the case of early 

literacy, to LEAs or other nonprofit 

providers of early childhood education 

that partner with a public or private 

nonprofit organization or agency with a 

demonstrated record of effectiveness in 

improving the early literacy 

development of children from birth 

through kindergarten entry and in 

providing professional development in 

early literacy, giving priority to such 

agencies or other entities serving greater 

numbers or percentages of 

disadvantaged children. 

The Act requires that the subgrants to 

LEAs be allocated as follows: (1) At least 

15 percent to serve children from birth 

through age five, (2) 40 percent to serve 

students in kindergarten through grade 

five, and (3) 40 percent to serve students 

in middle and high school, through 

grade 12, including an equitable 

distribution of funds between middle 

and high schools. Eligible entities 

receiving subgrants must use these 

funds for services and activities that 

have the characteristics of effective 

literacy instruction through professional 

development, screening and assessment, 

targeted interventions for students 

reading below grade level, and other 

research-based methods of improving 

classroom instruction and practice. 

The Department wishes to solicit 

input, including written input, from 

literacy experts, literacy organizations, 

States, other key stakeholders, and 

members of the public to inform the 

design and development of this new 

competition for SEAs. 

Because we are inviting public input 

in this manner, and because we want to 

facilitate the award of funds in a timely 

manner, we do not intend to conduct 

notice-and-comment rulemaking. 

Section 437(d)(1) of the General 

Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 

1232(d)(1), allows the Department to 

waive notice-and-comment rulemaking 

for the first grant competition under a 

new or substantially revised program 

authority. This will be the first 

competition for the Striving Readers 

Comprehensive Literacy program. 

Details of Public Meeting 

Structure of Public Meeting 

The Department anticipates that the 

meeting will have two components as 

follows: 

(1) Input from invited panels of 

experts and stakeholders. 

Æ The morning and afternoon 

sessions of the meeting will each have 

an invited set of panelists who will have 

a set amount of time to respond 

individually to the questions in this 

notice. 

Æ The Department representatives 

will then ask questions of individual 

panelists and facilitate cross-panelist 

discussion. 

(2) Open opportunity to share input. 

Æ The morning and afternoon 

sessions of the meeting will each have 

60 to 90 minutes dedicated to 

opportunities for interested members of 

the public, who have registered to 

speak, to respond to the questions in 

this notice. 

Æ Each individual scheduled to speak 

will have five minutes to provide oral 

input. 

Æ Written submissions will also be 

accepted as described in the 

SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN INPUT 

section. 

The Department will share any 

updates, including posting an agenda 

and list of invited experts, online at 

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/

strivingreaders-literacy/index.html. 

Topic Areas, Dates, Times, Locations, 

and Registration Information 

Topic Areas: The morning session of 

the meeting will address the topics of 

Transition and Alignment; Professional 

Development, Instruction, and 

Assessment; and Evidence and 

Evaluation. The afternoon session of the 

meeting will address the topics of SEA 

and LEA Capacity and Support; and 

Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners. 

Specific questions relating to these 

topics are provided in the Questions for 

Input section of this notice. The 

Department reserves the right to change 

the order of these topics; please check 

the program Web site at http:// 

www2.ed.gov/programs/strivingreadersliteracy/index.html for the latest 

information. 

Attendance at the meeting: If you are 

interested in attending the meeting, you 

should register by sending an e-mail to 

Striving.readers.comprehensive.

literacy@ed.gov with your name, 

organization, and the session you are 

interested in attending (morning or 

afternoon) at least three days before the 

scheduled meeting date. Registration is 

not required for attendance but will 

help us to plan the meeting and to 

facilitate the security process. 

Providing input at the meeting: If you 

are interested in speaking during the 

open-input portion of the meeting, you 

must register by sending an e-mail to 

Striving.readers.

comprehensive.literacy@ed.gov at least 

three days before the scheduled meeting 

date. Registrations will be processed on 

a first-come, first-served basis. People 

who are unable to attend a meeting in 

person or who do not register early 

enough to speak during the meeting are 

encouraged to submit written input. 

Assistance to Individuals with 

Disabilities at the Public Meetings 

The meeting site will be accessible to 

individuals with disabilities and sign 

language interpreters will be available. 

If you need an auxiliary aid or service 

other than a sign language interpreter to 

participate in the meeting (e.g., 

interpreting service such as oral, cued 

speech, or tactile interpreter; assisted 

listening device; or materials in 

alternate format), notify the contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as 

possible before the scheduled meeting 

date. Although we will attempt to meet 

every request we receive, we might not 

be able to make available the requested 

auxiliary aid or service because of 

insufficient time to arrange it. 

Submission of Written Input 

All interested parties, including those 

who cannot attend a meeting or from 

whom we do not have time to hear at 

the meeting, may submit written input 

in response to this notice. 

Written input will be accepted at the 

meeting site or via e-mail and mail at 

the addresses listed in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. Written input 

must be submitted by the date listed in 

the DATES section. 

When submitting input at the 

meeting, we request that you submit 

three written copies and an electronic 

file (CD or diskette) of your statement at 

the meeting. Please include your name 

and contact information on the written 

and electronic files. 

Both at the meeting and in your 

written submission, we encourage you 

to be as specific as possible. To ensure 

that your input is fully considered, we 

urge you to identify clearly the specific 

question, purpose, and characteristic 

that each of your suggestions addresses 

and to arrange your submission in the 

order of the questions listed later in this 

notice. 

Sharing Input Publicly 

The Department is committed to 

gathering and sharing publicly the input 

from the meeting and written 

submissions. The meeting will be videotaped and/or transcribed, and the video 

and/or transcript will be available for 

viewing at http://www2.ed.gov/ 

programs/strivingreaders-literacy/ 

index.html. All written input received 

will also be available for viewing via 

this Web site. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

69988 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2010 / Notices 

Questions for Input 

In the following paragraphs, we have 

listed the specific questions on which 

we seek input. These relate to both SEA 

and subgrantee uses of funds. 

All input, including expert 

presentations and discussions, public 

input, and written submissions, should 

focus primarily on responding to these 

questions. We encourage you to make 

your input as specific as possible, to 

provide evidence to support your 

proposals, and to present the 

information in a context and format that 

will be helpful to the Department in 

developing the Striving Readers 

Comprehensive Literacy program 

competition and to States implementing 

comprehensive literacy plans and 

making high-quality literacy subgrant 

awards. 

To ensure that your input is fully 

considered in the development of the 

notice inviting applications, we urge 

you to identify clearly the specific 

question, purpose, or characteristic that 

you are addressing, and to arrange your 

input in the order of the questions as 

they are listed in the next section. 

SEA and LEA Capacity and Support 

(1) What should States be considering 

in their State Literacy Plans to ensure 

effective literacy and language 

development and instruction? For 

example, what are core components of 

a State Literacy Plan? What roles and 

capacities should States have or develop 

in order to effectively support 

subgrantees in carrying out substantial 

improvements in literacy and language 

development, teaching, and learning? 

(2) How can this program most 

effectively support States’ and LEAs’ 

transition to new internationallybenchmarked college- and career-ready 

standards held in common by multiple 

States, as well as their alignment with 

State early learning standards? 

(3) How can SEAs and subgrantees 

best leverage the use of funds under the 

ESEA, the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act, and the Perkins Career 

and Technical Education Act, as well as 

other Federal, State, and local funds, for 

effective literacy development and 

instruction? 

(4) What other key factors should a 

State consider in regards to how it 

would structure and administer its 

subgrant competition? 

Transition and Alignment Across Birth 

Through Grade 12 

(1) How should States and LEAs 

assess the needs of children from birth 

through grade 12 in order to effectively 

target the funds to appropriately support 

literacy and language development? 

(2) How can subgrantees ensure that 

the needs of children from birth through 

age five will be met under this program? 

How should subgrantees create effective 

partnerships with relevant 

organizations, including the State 

Advisory Council on Early Childhood 

Education and Care in their State? 

(3) How can subgrantees ensure that 

the needs of adolescent learners will be 

met under this program? Specifically, 

how can subgrantees ensure that schools 

integrate effective literacy development 

and instruction into core subject areas 

and increase motivation and interest in 

reading and writing? 

Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners 

(1) How can a State best ensure that 

its comprehensive literacy plan will 

effectively address the needs of 

economically disadvantaged children 

and youth, limited-English-proficient 

children and youth, and children and 

youth with disabilities? 

(2) How can a State ensure that 

subgrantees will effectively address the 

needs of economically disadvantaged 

children and youth, limited-Englishproficient children and youth, and 

children and youth with disabilities? 

(3) What should subgrantees consider 

when addressing the needs of their 

diverse learners across the age spans? 

Professional Development, Instruction, 

and Assessment 

(1) What are the essential components 

of high-quality literacy-related 

professional development? What 

aspects, if any, should be considered 

essential in a successful subgrant 

proposal? 

(2) In what ways can technology and 

materials conforming to principles of 

universal design for learning (UDL) 

support effective literacy development 

and instruction for limited-Englishproficient children and youth and 

children and youth with disabilities? 

What aspects of technology and UDL 

should be considered for incorporation 

in subgrant proposals? 

(3) What are the critical elements of 

an integrated, age-appropriate 

assessment system for identifying the 

strengths and weaknesses of children 

and youth and improving literacy 

development and instruction? 

(4) What are the most important ways 

to collect, analyze, and use data to 

improve literacy development and 

instructional practices and child and 

youth outcomes in early learning 

settings and in schools? 

Evidence and Evaluation 

(1) In order to have a rigorous 

competition and make high-quality 

subgrant awards, what evidence should 

States require subgrantees to put 

forward in their applications? How can 

early learning providers demonstrate a 

‘‘record of effectiveness,’’ as required in 

the Act? 

(2) What approaches should States 

and subgrantees implement in order to 

effectively monitor program 

implementation and outcomes so as to 

inform continuous program 

improvement? 

(3) What strategies should States and 

subgrantees implement in order to 

monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 

of job-embedded, ongoing professional 

development for teachers, coaches, 

principals, and administrators? 

(4) What should the Department 

require regarding rigorous, independent 

State evaluations of the program, given 

limited State-level administrative 

funds? 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can 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 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Program Authority: Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2010, Pub. L. 111–117. 

Dated: November 10, 2010. 

Thelma Mele ́ndez de Santa Ana, 

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28779 Filed 11–15–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Privacy Act of 1974; Computer 

Matching Program 

AGENCY: Department of Education. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES