68112 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.195A]

Bilingual Education: Teachers and

Personnel Grants; Notice Inviting

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal

Year (FY) 1998

Note to Applicants

This notice is a complete application

package. Together with the statute

authorizing the program and the

applicable regulations governing this

program, including the Education

Department General Administrative

Regulations (EDGAR), this notice

contains all of the information,

application forms, and instructions

needed to apply for an award under this

program. The statutory authorization for

this program, and the application

requirements that apply to this

competition, are set out in sections 7143

and 7146–7149 of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965, as

amended by the Improving America’s

Schools Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103–382,

enacted October 20, 1994) (the Act) (20

U.S.C. 7473 and 7476–7479).

Purpose of Program

This program provides grants for

preservice and inservice professional

development for bilingual education

teachers, administrators, pupil services

personnel, and other educational

personnel who are either involved in, or

preparing to be involved in, the

provision of educational services for

children and youth of limited English

proficiency.

Eligible Applicants

(1) One or more institutions of higher

education (IHEs) which have entered

into consortia arrangements with local

educational agencies (LEAs) or State

educational agencies (SEAs), to achieve

the purposes of those sections. (2) SEAs

and LEAs for inservice professional

development programs.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: February 23, 1998.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: April 23, 1998.

Available Funds: $4.9 million.

Estimated Range of Awards:

$150,000–$250,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$200,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 25.

Note: The Department of Education is not

bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: 60 months.

Applicable Regulations

(a) The Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82,

85, and 86.

(b) The regulations in 34 CFR part

299, General Provisions, Elementary and

Secondary Education Act, published on

May 22, 1997, in the Federal Register

(62 FR 2827)

Description of Program

Funds under this program are to

provide for preservice and inservice

professional development for bilingual

education teachers and other

educational personnel. Activities will

assist educational personnel in meeting

State and local certification

requirements for bilingual education

and, wherever possible, will lead to the

awarding of college or university credit.

Priorities

Competitive Priority 1

The Secretary, under 34 CFR

75.105(c)(2)(i) and 34 CFR 299.3(b),

gives preference to applications that

meet the following competitive priority.

The Secretary awards up to 3 points for

an application that meets this

competitive priority. These points are in

addition to any points the application

earns under the selection criteria for the

program:

Projects that will contribute to a

systemic educational reform in an

Empowerment Zone, including a

Supplemental Empowerment Zone, or

an Enterprise Community designated by

the United States Department of

Housing and Urban Development or the

United States Department of

Agriculture, and are made an integral

part of the Zone’s or Community’s

comprehensive community

revitalization strategies.

Note: A list of areas that have been

designated as Empowerment Zones and

Enterprise Communities is provided at the

end of this notice.

Competitive Priority 2

Under 34 CFR 75.105 (c)(2)(ii) and

section 7143(b) of the Act, the Secretary

gives a competitive preference to

applications that meet the following

priority:

Institutions of higher education, in

consortia with local or State educational

agencies, that offer degree programs that

prepare new bilingual education

teachers in order to increase the

availability of educators to provide

high-quality education to limited

English proficient students.

The Secretary selects applications that

meet this priority over applications of

comparable merit that do not meet the

priority.

Invitational Priorities

The Secretary is particularly

interested in applications that meet one

of the following invitational priorities in

the next paragraphs. However, an

application that meets these invitational

priorities receives no competitive or

absolute preference over other

applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Applicants that propose to provide

special support for new bilingual

teachers during their initial teaching

years.

Applicants that propose to improve

teacher preparation programs in

institutions of higher education to better

prepare all teachers to meet the needs of

LEP students.

Selection Criteria

(a)(1) The Secretary uses the following

selection criteria in 34 CFR 75.210 to

evaluate applications for new grants

under this competition.

(2) The maximum score for all of

these criteria is 100 points.

(3) The maximum score for each

criterion is indicated in parentheses.

(a) Need for project. (10 points) (1)

The Secretary considers the need for the

proposed project. (2) In determining the

need for the proposed project, the

Secretary considers the following

factors:

(i) The magnitude or severity of the

problem to be addressed by the

proposed project.

(ii) 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 the magnitude of those gaps

or weaknesses.

(Authority: 34 CFR 75.210 (a)(2)(i) and (v))

(b) Quality of the project design. (50

points) (1) The Secretary considers the

quality of the design of the proposed

project.

(2) In determining the quality of the

design of the proposed project, the

Secretary considers the following

factors:

(i) The extent to which the goals,

objectives, and outcomes to be achieved

by the proposed project are clearly

specified and measurable.

(ii) The extent to which the design of

the proposed project is appropriate to,

and will successfully address, the needs

of the target population or other

identified needs.

(iii) 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.

(iv) The extent to which the proposed

activities constitute a coherent,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 1997 / Notices 68113

sustained program of training in the

field.

(v) The extent to which the design of

the proposed project reflects up-to-date

knowledge from research and effective

practice.

(vi) The extent to which the proposed

project will be coordinated with similar

or related efforts, and with other

appropriate community, State, and

Federal resources.

(vii) The extent to which the proposed

project is part of a comprehensive effort

to improve teaching and learning and

support rigorous academic standards for

students.

(viii) The extent to which fellowship

recipients or other project participants

are to be selected on the basis of

academic excellence.

(Authority: 34 CFR 75.210(c)(2)(i), (ii), (v),

(xii), (xiii), (xvi), (xviii), and (xxiii))

(c) Quality of project services. (15

points) (1) The Secretary considers the

quality of the services to be provided by

the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of the

services to be provided by the proposed

project, the Secretary considers the

quality and sufficiency of strategies for

ensuring equal access and treatment for

eligible project participants who are

members of groups that have

traditionally been under represented

based on race, color, national origin,

gender, age, or disability.

(3) In addition, the Secretary

considers the following factors:

(i) The extent to which the training or

professional development services to be

provided by the proposed project are of

sufficient quality, intensity, and

duration to lead to improvements in

practice among the recipients of those

services.

(ii) The extent to which the training

or professional development services to

be provided by the proposed project are

likely to alleviate the personnel

shortages that have been identified or

are the focus of the proposed project.

(iii) The extent to which the services

to be provided by the proposed project

are focused on those with greatest need.

(Authority: 34 CFR 75.210(d)(2) and (3)(v),

(vi), and (xi))

(d) Quality of project personnel. (5

points) (1) The Secretary considers the

quality of the personnel who will carry

out the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of

project personnel, the Secretary

considers the extent to which the

applicant encourages applications for

employment from persons who are

members of groups that have

traditionally been underrepresented

based on race, color, national origin,

gender, age, or disability.

(3) In addition, the Secretary

considers the following factor: The

qualifications, including relevant

training and experience, of key project

personnel.

(Authority: 34 CFR 75.210(e)(2) and (3)(ii)

(e) Quality of the management plan.

(5 points) (1) The Secretary considers

the quality of the management plan for

the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of the

management plan for the proposed

project, the Secretary considers the

following factor: The adequacy of the

management plan to achieve the

objectives of the proposed project on

time and within budget, including

clearly defined responsibilities,

timelines, and milestones for

accomplishing project tasks.

(Authority: 34 CFR 75.210(g)(2)(i))

(f) Quality of the project evaluation.

(15 points) (1) The Secretary considers

the quality of the evaluation to be

conducted of the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of the

evaluation, the Secretary considers the

following factors:

(i) The extent to which the methods

of evaluation provide for examining the

effectiveness of project implementation

strategies.

(ii) The extent to which the methods

of evaluation include the use of

objective performance measures that are

clearly related to the intended outcomes

of the project and will produce

quantitative and qualitative data to the

extent possible.

(iii) The extent to which the methods

of evaluation will provide performance

feedback and permit periodic

assessment of progress toward achieving

intended outcomes.

(Authority: 34 CFR 75.210(h)(2)(iii), (iv), and

(vi)).

Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs

This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

(Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs) and the regulations in 34 CFR

Part 79.

The objective of the Executive Order

is to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and to strengthen

federalism by relying on State and local

processes for State and local

government coordination and review of

proposed Federal financial assistance.

Applicants must contact the

appropriate State Single Point of

Contact to find out about, and to comply

with, the State’s process under

Executive Order 12372. Applicants

proposing to perform activities in more

than one State should immediately

contact the Single Point of Contact for

each of those States and follow the

procedure established in each State

under the Executive Order. If you want

to know the name and address of any

State Single Point of Contact, see the list

published in the Federal Register on

October 7, 1997 (62 FR 52448).

In States that have not established a

process or chosen a program for review,

State, areawide, regional, and local

entities may submit comments directly

to the Department.

Any State Process Recommendation

and other comments submitted by a

State Single Point of Contact and any

comments from State, areawide,

regional, and local entities must be

mailed or hand-delivered by the date

indicated in this notice to the following

address: The Secretary, E.O. 12372—

CFDA #84.195A, U.S. Department of

Education, Room 6213, 600

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, D.C. 20202–0124.

Proof of mailing will be determined

on the same basis as applications (see 34

CFR 75.102). Recommendations or

comments may be hand-delivered until

4:30 p.m. (Washington, D.C. time) on

the date indicated in this notice.

Please note that the above address is

not the same address as the one to

which the applicant submits its

completed application. Do not send

applications to the above address.

Instructions for Transmittal of

Applications

(a) If an applicant wants to apply for

a grant, the applicant shall—

(1) Mail the original and three copies

of the application on or before the

deadline date to: U.S. Department of

Education, Application Control Center,

Attention: (CFDA# 84.195A),

Washington, D.C. 20202–4725 or

(2) Hand-deliver the original and

three copies of the application by 4:30

p.m. (Washington, D.C. time) on or

before the deadline date to: U.S.

Department of Education, Application

Control Center, Attention: (CFDA#

84.195A), Room #3633, Regional Office

Building #3, Third and D Streets, SW.,

Washington, D.C.

(b) An applicant must show one of the

following as proof of mailing:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service

postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the

date of mailing stamped by the U.S.

Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or

receipt from a commercial carrier.
68114 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 1997 / Notices

(4) Any other proof of mailing

acceptable to the Secretary.

(c) If an application is mailed through

the U.S. Postal Service, the Secretary

does not accept either of the following

as proof of mailing:

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by

the U.S. Postal Service.

Notes: (1) The U.S. Postal Service does not

uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before

relying on this method, an applicant should

check with its local post office.

(2) The Application Control Center will

mail a Grant Application Receipt

Acknowledgment to each applicant. If an

applicant fails to receive the notification of

application receipt within 15 days from the

date of mailing the application, the applicant

should call the U.S. Department of Education

Application Control Center at (202) 708–

9495.

(3) The applicant must indicate on the

envelope and—if not provided by the

Department—in Item 10 of the Application

for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424)

the CFDA number and suffix letter, if any, of

the competition under which the application

is being submitted.

Application Instructions and Forms

The appendix to this notice is divided

into three parts containing the following

forms and instructions, plus a statement

regarding estimated public reporting

burden, a notice to applicants regarding

compliance with section 427 of the

General Education Provisions Act, a

checklist for applicants, various

assurances, certifications, and required

documentation. These parts and

additional materials are organized in the

same manner that the submitted

application should be organized. The

parts and additional materials are as

follows:

Part I: Application for Federal

Assistance (Standard Form 424 (Rev. 4–

88)) and instructions.

Part II: Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED Form No.

524) and instructions.

Part III: Application Narrative.

Additional Materials:

a. Estimated Public Reporting Burden.

b. Group Application Certification.

c. Participant Data.

d. Project Documentation.

e. Program Assurances.

f. Assurances—Non-Construction

Programs (Standard Form 424B) and

instructions.

g. Certifications Regarding Lobbying;

Debarment, Suspension, and Other

Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements (ED 80–0013)

and instructions.

h. Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered

Transactions (ED 80–0014, 9/90) and

instructions.

Note: This form is intended for the use of

grantees and should not be transmitted to the

Department

i. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

(Standard Form LLL) (if applicable) and

instructions. The document has been

marked to reflect statutory changes. See

the notice published by the Office of

Management and Budget in the Federal

Register (61 FR 1413) on (January 19,

1996).

An applicant may submit information

on a photostatic copy of the application

and budget forms, the assurances, and

the certifications. However, the

application form, the assurances, and

the certifications must each have an

original signature. All applicants must

submit one original signed application

and three copies of the application.

Please mark each application as

‘‘original’’ or ‘‘copy’’. No grant may be

awarded unless a completed application

has been received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cynthia Ryan (202) 205–8842 or

Petraine Johnson (202) 205–8766 (for

applicants located in Western States);

Mahal May (202) 205–8727 or Steve Van

Pelt (202) 205–8732 (for applicants

located in Eastern States); and Carol

Manitaras (202) 205–9729 (for

applicants located in Midwestern

States), U.S. Department of Education,

600 Independence Avenue, SW., Room

5090, Switzer Building, Washington,

D.C. 20202–6510. Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this notice in an alternate format

(e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or

computer diskette) on request to the

contact persons listed in the preceding

paragraph. Please note, however, that

the Department is not able to reproduce

in an alternate format the standard

forms included in the notice.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the

Federal Register, in text or portable

document format (pdf) on the World

Wide Web at either of the following

sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov//news.html

To use the pdf you must have the Adobe

Acrobat Reader Program with Search,

which is available free at either of the

preceding sites. If you have questions

about using the pdf, call the U.S.

Government Printing Office toll free at

1–888–293–6498.

Anyone may also view these

documents in text copy only on an

electronic bulletin board of the

Department. Telephone: (202) 219–1511

or, toll free 1–800–222–4922. The

documents are located under Option

G—Files/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7473.

Dated: December 23, 1997.

Delia Pompa,

Director, Office of Bilingual Education and

Minority Languages Affairs.

Instructions For Estimated Public

Reporting Burden

According to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are

required to respond to a collection of

information unless it displays a valid

OMB control number. The valid OMB

control number for this information

collection is OMB No. 1885–0528, Exp.

Date: 4/30/98. The time required to

complete this information collection is

estimated to average 80 hours per

response, including the time to review

instructions, search existing data

resources, gather the data needed, and

complete and review the information

collection. If you have any comments

concerning the accuracy of the time

estimate or suggestions for improving

this form, please write to: U.S.

Department of Education, Washington,

D.C. 20202–4651. If you have any

comments or concerns regarding the

status of your individual submission of

this form, write directly to: Office of

Bilingual Education and Minority

Languages Affairs, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, D.C. 20202–6510.

The following forms and other items

must be included in the application:

1. Application for Federal Assistance

(SF 424)

2. Group Application Certification (if

applicable)

3. Budget Information (ED Form No.

524)

4. Itemized Budget for each year

5. Participant Data

6. Project Documentation

Section A—Copy of Transmittal Letter

to SEA requesting SEA to comment

on application

Section B—Documentation of

Empowerment Zone or Enterprise

Community—if applicable

7. Program Assurances

8. Non-Construction Programs (SF

424B)
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 1997 / Notices 68115

9. Certifications Regarding Lobbying;

Debarment, Suspension and Other

Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements (ED 80–0013)

10. Certification Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility

and Voluntary Exclusion—Lower Tier

Covered Transactions (ED 80–0014)

11. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

(SF–LLL)

12. Table of Contents

13. Application Narrative (not to

exceed 30 pages including abstract, see

instructions below)

14. One original and three copies of

the application for transmittal to the

Department’s Application Control

Center.

Mandatory Page Limits for the

Application Narrative

The application narrative must not

exceed the equivalent of 30 pages, using

the following standards: (1) These pages

must be double-spaced and printed on

one side only. (2) A legible font size and

adequate margins should be used. (3)

The narrative must be paginated. (4) The

narrative portion of the application

package, including abstract, charts,

graphs, tables, position descriptions,

illustrations, and appendices, must not

exceed the 30-page limit. The narrative

section should begin with an abstract

that includes a short description of the

population to be served by the project,

project objectives, planned project

activities, and priorities addressed. The

page limit applies only to item 13 (not

including the abstract) and not to the

other items in the checklist.

Applications with a narrative section

that exceeds the page limit will not be

considered for funding.

Application Narrative

The narrative should address fully all

aspects of the selection criteria in the

order listed and should give detailed

information regarding each criterion. Do

not simply paraphrase the criteria.

Provide position descriptions, not

resumes.

Budget

Budget line items must support the

goals and objectives of the proposed

project and be directly applicable to the

program design and all other project

components.

Final Application Preparation

Use the above checklist to verify that

all items are addressed. Prepare one

original with an original signature, and

include three additional copies. Do not

use elaborate bindings or covers. The

application package must be mailed to

the Application Control Center (ACC)

and postmarked by the deadline date of

February 23, l998.

Submission of Application to State

Educational Agency

Section 7146(a)(4) of the Act

(Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965, as amended by the

Improving America’s Schools Act of

1994, Pub. L. 103–382) requires all

applicants except schools funded by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs to submit a

copy of their application to their State

educational agency (SEA) for review

and comment (20 U.S.C. 7476(a)(4)).

Section 75.156 of the Education

Department General Administrative

Regulations (EDGAR) requires these

applicants to submit their application to

the SEA on or before the deadline date

for submitting their application to the

Department of Education. This section

of EDGAR also requires applicants to

attach to their application a copy of

their letter that requests the SEA to

comment on the application (34 CFR

75.156).

Notice To All Applicants

Thank you for your interest in this

program. The purpose of this enclosure

is to inform you about a new provision

in the Department of Education’s

General Education Provisions Act

(GEPA) that applies to applicants for

new grant awards under Department

programs. This provision is Section 427

of GEPA, enacted as part of the

Improving America’s Schools Act of

1994 (Pub. L. 103–382).

To Whom Does This Provision Apply?

Section 427 of GEPA affects

applicants for new discretionary grant

awards under this program. All

applicants for new awards must include

information in their applications to

address this new provision in order to

receive funding under this program.

What Does This Provision Require?

Section 427 requires each applicant

for funds (other than an individual

person) to include in its application a

description of the steps the applicant

proposes to take to ensure equitable

access to, and participation in, its

Federally-assisted program for students,

teachers, and other program

beneficiaries with special needs.

This section allows applicants

discretion in developing the required

description. The statute highlights six

types of barriers that can impede

equitable access or participation that

you may address: gender, race, national

origin, color, disability, or age. Based on

local circumstances, you can determine

whether these or other barriers may

prevent your students, teachers, etc.

from equitable access or participation.

Your description need not be lengthy;

you may provide a clear and succinct

description of how you plan to address

those barriers that are applicable to your

circumstances. In addition, the

information may be provided in a single

narrative, or, if appropriate, may be

discussed in connection with related

topics in the application.

Section 427 is not intended to

duplicate the requirements of civil

rights statutes, but rather to ensure that,

in designing their projects, applicants

for Federal funds address equity

concerns that may affect the ability of

certain potential beneficiaries to fully

participate in the project and to achieve

high standards. Consistent with program

requirements and its approved

application, an applicant may use the

Federal funds awarded to it to eliminate

barriers it identifies.

What Are Examples of How an

Applicant Might Satisfy the

Requirements of This Provision?

The following examples may help

illustrate how an applicant may comply

with Section 427.

(1) An applicant that proposes to

carry out an adult literacy project

serving, among others, adults with

limited English proficiency, might

describe in its application how it

intends to distribute a brochure about

the proposed project to such potential

participants in their native language.

(2) An applicant that proposes to

develop instructional materials for

classroom use might describe how it

will make the materials available on

audio tape or in braille for students who

are blind.

(3) An applicant that proposes to

carry out a model science program for

secondary students and is concerned

that girls may be less likely than boys

to enroll in the course, might indicate

how it intends to conduct ‘‘outreach’’

efforts to girls, to encourage their

enrollment.

We recognize that many applicants

may already be implementing effective

steps to ensure equity of access and

participation in their grant programs,

and we appreciate your cooperation in

responding to the requirements of this

provision.

Estimated Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are

required to respond to a collection of

information unless it displays a valid

OMB control number. The valid OMB

control number for this information

collection is 1801–0004 (Exp. 8/31/98).
68116 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 1997 / Notices

* Denotes rural designee.

The time required to complete this

information collection is estimated to

vary from 1 to 3 hours per response,

with an average of 1.5 hours, including

the time to review instructions, search

existing data resources, gather and

maintain the data needed, and complete

and review the information collection. If

you have any comments concerning the

accuracy of the time estimate(s) or

suggestions for improving this form,

please write to: U.S. Department of

Education, Washington, DC 20202–

4651.

Empowerment Zones And Enterprise

Communities

Empowerment Zones (Listed

Alphabetically by State) *

California: Los Angeles

California: Oakland

Georgia: Atlanta

Illinois: Chicago

Kentucky: Kentucky Highlands*

Maryland: Baltimore

Massachusetts: Boston

Michigan: Detroit

Mississippi: Mid Delta*

Missouri/Kansas: Kansas City, Kansas

City

New York: Harlem, Bronx

Ohio: Cleveland

Pennsylvania/New Jersey: Philadelphia,

Camden

Texas: Houston

Texas: Rio Grande Valley

Enterprise Community (EC)

Alabama: Birmingham

Alabama: Chambers County*

Alabama: Greene, Sumter Counties*

Arizona: Phoenix

Arizona: Arizona Border*

Arkansas: East Central*

Arkansas: Mississippi County*

California: L.A., Huntington Park

California: San Diego

California: San Francisco, Bayview,

Hunter’s Point

California: Watsonville*

Colorado: Denver

Connecticut: Bridgeport

Connecticut: New Haven

Delaware: Wilmington

District of Columbia: Washington

Florida: Jackson County*

Florida: Tampa

Florida: Miami, Dade County

Georgia: Albany

Georgia: Central Savannah*

Georgia: Crisp, Dooley Counties*

Illinois: East St. Louis

Illinois: Springfield

Indiana: Indianapolis

Iowa: Des Moines

Kentucky: Louisville

Louisiana: Northeast Delta*

Louisiana: Macon Ridge*

Louisiana: New Orleans

Louisiana: Ouachita Parish

Massachusetts: Lowell

Massachusetts: Springfield

Michigan: Five Cap*

Michigan: Flint

Michigan: Muskegon

Minnesota: Minneapolis

Minnesota: St. Paul

Mississippi: Jackson

Mississippi: North Delta*

Missouri: East Prairie*

Missouri: St. Louis

Nebraska: Omaha

Nevada: Clarke County, Las Vegas

New Hampshire: Manchester

New Jersey: Newark

New Mexico: Albuquerque

New Mexico: Moro, Rio Arriba, Taos

Counties*

New York: Albany, Schenectady, Troy

New York: Buffalo

New York: Newburgh, Kingston

New York: Rochester

North Carolina: Charlotte

North Carolina: Halifax, Edgecombe,

Wilson Counties*

North Carolina: Robeson County*

Ohio: Akron

Ohio: Columbus

Ohio: Grater Portsmouth *

Oklahoma: Choctaw, McCurtain

Counties*

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City

Oregon: Josephine*

Oregon: Portland

Pennsylvania: Harrisburg

Pennsylvania: Lock Haven*

Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh

Rhode Island: Providence

South Dakota: Deadle, Spink Counties*

South Carolina: Charleston

South Carolina: Williamsburg County*

Tennessee: Fayette, Haywood Counties*

Tennessee: Memphis

Tennessee: Nashville

Tennessee/Kentucky: Scott, McCreary

Counties*

Texas: Dallas

Texas: El Paso

Texas: San Antonio

Texas: Waco

Utah: Ogden

Vermont: Burlington

Virginia: Accomack*

Virginia: Norfolk

Virginia: Lower Yakima*

Washington: Seattle

Washington: Tacoma

West Virginia: West Central*

West Virginia: Huntington

West Virginia: McDowell*

Wisconsin: Milwaukee

Questions and Answers

Does the Teachers and Personnel Grants

Program have specific evaluation

requirements?

Yes, the evaluation requirements are

described in Section 7149 of Title VII of

ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 7479.

What priorities exist for the Teachers

and Personnel Grants?

Fiscal Year 1998, the Department has

announced an invitational priority for

applicants proposing to improve teacher

preparation programs in institutions of

higher education to better prepare all

teachers to meet the needs of LEP

students. In addition, the department

has announced an invitational priority

for applicants which propose to provide

special support for new bilingual

teachers during their initial teaching

years. The competitive priorities for this

program are (1) for institutions of higher

education, in consortia with local or

State educational agencies, that offer

degree programs that prepare new

bilingual education teachers in order to

increase the availability of educators to

provide high-quality education to

limited English proficient students, and,

(2) for programs that will contribute to

systemic educational reform in an

Empowerment Zone, including a

Supplemental Empowerment Zone, or

an Enterprise Community, and are made

an integral part of the Zone’s or

Community’s comprehensive

revitalization strategies.

Applicants proposing to address

invitational or competitive priorities

may include in their abstracts a brief

description of their plans to address the

priorities.

What requirements must grantees meet

related to teacher certification?

The Title VII statute requires grantees

to assist educational personnel in

meeting State and local certification

requirements. 20 U.S.C. 7477. However,

because certification requirements vary

among States, applicants are given

flexibility in designing activities that

lead to meeting State and local

certification requirements.

What activities are authorized under

Teachers and Personnel Grants?

Authorized activities are those which

support the purpose of the program:

providing preservice and inservice

professional development for teachers

and other educational personnel. Such

activities may include, but are not

limited to, the development of program

curricula; collaboration with local

school districts in designing new

teacher training activities; reforming
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 30, 1997 / Notices 68117

and improving teacher training

programs to reflect high standards of

professionalism. Institutions of higher

education, applying in consortia

arrangements with one or more local

educational agencies or State

educational agencies are eligible to

submit applications proposing

preservice and inservice programs. This

means the institution of higher

education would be the lead agency and

the fiscal agent for the grant. State and

local educational agencies may submit

applications and act as fiscal agents and

lead agencies for projects that propose

to carry out inservice—but not

preservice—professional development.

May program budgets include costs for

items other than student tuition and

fees?

Project budgets should reflect the

proposed program activities. In addition

to student support costs, budget items

may include costs for personnel,

supplies or equipment, and other

reasonable and necessary costs to

support developmental activities.

What information may be helpful in

preparing the application narrative for a

Teachers and Personnel Grant?

In responding to the selection criteria

applicants may wish to consider the

following questions as a guide for

preparing application narrative.

• What are the specific

responsibilities of districts, schools,

institutions of higher education and

other partnership organizations in

planning, implementing and evaluating

the proposed program? How is the

program linked to the school district’s

or school’s overall professional

development plan? What resources and

support will each of the consortia

members provide? How will resources

be integrated to ensure maximum

effectiveness of the program and to

promote capacity building and longrange collaboration?

• How does the training curricula

reflect high standards for pedagogy,

content, and proficiency in English and

a second language to ensure that

participants are effectively prepared to

provide instruction and support to LEP

students?

• How will the program assist in

systemically reforming policies and

practices in the target schools and in the

IHE related to the preparation of new

teachers, the induction of new bilingual

teachers, clinical experiences for new

bilingual teachers and other educational

personnel, and professional

development opportunities for all

teachers?

• What special selection criteria will

the applicant adopt to ensure that

individuals selected to participate in the

program hold promise for successfully

completing program requirements?

What special support will be provided

to new bilingual teachers by

experienced bilingual teachers, higher

education faculty, and school

administrators to guide them during

their period of induction or their period

of training?

• How will the instructional

responsibilities of new teachers be

balanced with appropriate professional

development, support and planning

time?

• How will clinical experiences for

preservice participants be structured to

ensure that they are well-supervised, of

sufficient duration and in a setting

which provides opportunities for

participants to experience a variety of

effective bilingual education

instructional methods and approaches?

• How is the training curriculum

based on current research related to

effective teaching and learning? What

evidence of effectiveness supports the

training model?

• What performance indicators will

the proposed program use to support the

effectiveness of the program related to,

for example: Improved teaching

practices; participants’ effectiveness in

the instructional setting; improved

performance on National or State

benchmark tests; reduction in the

number of new bilingual teachers

leaving the profession; improvement of

graduation rates?

• How will the program evaluation

incorporate strategies for assessing the

progress and performance of

participants; communicating

meaningful, regular and timely feedback

to participants; improving the quality of

the training program; documenting and

identifying exemplary program features

and successful strategies; and reporting

on specific data related to the number

of participants completing the program

and the number of graduates placed in

the instructional setting?

• How will the proposed program

improve course curricula and the skills

and knowledge of higher education

faculty to better prepare ALL teachers in

content and pedagogy related to the

needs of LEP students?

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[FR Doc. 97–33952 Filed 12–24–97; 8:58 am]

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