13372 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 54 / Thursday, March 20, 1997 / Notices

Attention: Wendy Taylor, Desk Officer:

Department of Education, Office of

Management and Budget, 725 17th

Street, NW., Room 10235, New

Executive Office Building, Washington,

D.C. 20503. Requests for copies of the

proposed information collection request

should be addressed to Patrick J.

Sherrill, Department of Education, 7th &

D Streets, S.W., Room 5624, Regional

Office Building 3, Washington, D.C.

20202–4651. Written comments

regarding the regular clearance and

requests for copies of the proposed

information collection requests should

be addressed to Patrick J. Sherrill,

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, S.W., Room

5624, Regional Office Building 3,

Washington, DC 20202–4651, or should

be electronic mailed to the internet

address #FIRB@ed.gov, or should be

faxed to 202–708–9346.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick J. Sherrill (202) 708–8196.

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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 3506 (c)(2)(A) requires that the

Director of OMB provide interested

Federal agencies and the public an early

opportunity to comment on information

collection requests. The Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) may

amend or waive the requirement for

public consultation to the extent that

public participation in the approval

process would defeat the purpose of the

information collection, violate State or

Federal law, or substantially interfere

with any agency’s ability to perform its

statutory obligations. The Director of the

Information Resources Management

Group, publishes this notice containing

proposed information collection

requests at the beginning of the

Departmental review of the information

collection. Each proposed information

collection, grouped by office, contains

the following: (1) Type of review

requested, e.g., new, revision, extension,

existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3)

Summary of the collection; (4)

Description of the need for, and

proposed use of, the information; (5)

Respondents and frequency of

collection; and (6) Reporting and/or

Recordkeeping burden. ED invites

public comment at the address specified

above. Copies of the requests are

available from Patrick J. Sherrill at the

address specified above.

The Department of Education is

especially interested in public comment

addressing the following issues: (1) Is

this collection necessary to the proper

functions of the Department, (2) will

this information be processed and used

in a timely manner, (3) is the estimate

of burden accurate, (4) how might the

Department enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected, and (5) how might the

Department minimize the burden of this

collection on the respondents, including

through the use of information

technology.

Dated: March 14, 1997.

Gloria Parker,

Director, Information Resources Management

Group.

Office of Educational Research and

Improvement

Type of Review: Reinstatement.

Title: 1997 State Third International

Mathematics and Science Study

(TIMSS)

Abstract: The 1997 State TIMSS will

use forms and procedures from the 1995

Third International Mathematics and

Science Study to assess grade 8 students

in math and science in states that

choose to participate in the 1997 study.

These states will be taking the first step

toward meeting President Clinton’s

challenge to adopt national education

standards and to voluntarily administer

tests to monitor progress toward these

standards.

Additional Information: Emergency

clearance to reinstate TIMSS, with

changes, for 90 days is requested

because the need to conduct TIMSS

assessments in 1997 was not anticipated

until mid-February 1997. At that time,

two states, Missouri and Oregon,

requested administration of the TIMSS

assessment for grade 8 in statewide

samples of their schools during the

spring 1997 semester. TIMSS for 1997

would be conducted from mid-April to

mid-May 1997 in two states only and at

grade 8 only, and would exclude any

performance tasks, case studies, or

videotape studies associated with the

original 1997 data collection. Thus, the

1997 study is a substantially reduced

version of the original study.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Individuals or

households; Not-for-profit institutions.

Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping

Hour Burden: Responses: 3,025. Burden

Hours: 7,150.

[FR Doc. 97–6993 Filed 3–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

[CFDA No.: 84.215P]

Fund for the Improvement of

Education Program—Assessment

Development Grants; Notice Inviting

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal

Year (FY) 1997

Purpose of Program: To fund projects

that develop, evaluate and field-test

assessments aligned with challenging

State content standards. The Secretary

intends to provide Federal financial

assistance to assist eligible applicants in

the development or modification of

such assessments that can be used to

improve classroom instruction, motivate

all students to improve educational

performance, and provide examples for

students, teachers and parents of the

learning outcomes that can be expected

for all students.

Eligible Applicants: State educational

agencies (SEAs), local educational

agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher

education, and other public and private

agencies, organizations, and

institutions, including consortia of such

organizations, are eligible to receive

funds under these priorities.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: May 30, 1997.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: July 29, 1997.

Applications Available: March 24,

1997.

Estimated Available Funds: Up to

$4,000,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000

to $1,000,000 per year.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$400,000 per year.

Estimated Number of Awards: 10

awards.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Maximum Award: The Secretary does

not consider an application that

proposes a budget exceeding $1,000,000

for the first budget period of 12 months.

Project Period: Up to 48 months.

Budget Period: 12 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; and (b) The regulations in

34 CFR Parts 98, 99, and 700.

Priorities

The priorities in the notice of final

priorities for this program, published in

the Federal Register on April 1, 1996

(61 FR 14392) and repeated below apply

to this competition.

Absolute Priority 1—Projects that

develop, field-test, and evaluate

assessments that are aligned to State

content standards.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 54 / Thursday, March 20, 1997 / Notices 13373

Absolute Priority 2—Projects that

modify, field-test, and evaluate

assessments to address the needs of

children and youth with disabilities or

limited English proficiency.

Assessments to be modified must be

those developed under priority (1) or

similar assessments developed for all

students and aligned to State content

standards.

All projects must—

(a) Examine the validity and

reliability of the assessment for the

particular purposes for which the

assessment was developed;

(b) Ensure that the assessment is

consistent with relevant, nationally

recognized professional and technical

standards for assessments;

(c) Devote special attention to how the

assessment treats all students, especially

with regard to race, gender, ethnicity,

disability, and language proficiency of

those students; and

(d) Be developed by, or under the

direction of, an SEA, LEA, or consortia

of those agencies.

Invitational Priorities

Within the absolute priorities

specified in this notice, the Secretary is

particularly interested in applications

that meet the invitational priorities in

the next two paragraphs. However, an

application that meets one or more of

these invitational priorities does not

receive competitive or absolute

preference over other applications (34

CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Invitational Priority 1—Projects that

focus on the assessment of reading and

mathematics and are used to meet the

assessment requirements of ESEA Title

I.

Invitational Priority 2—Projects that

involve consortia of states working

together to develop or modify

assessment instruments aligned with

content standards.

For Applications or Information

Contact: Applicants are encouraged to

request an application by facsimile

machine: David Sweet, (202) 219–2135,

by electronic mail: Paige—Russ@ed.gov,

or by mail: Assessment Development

Grant Application, U.S. Department of

Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue,

N.W., Room 510, Washington, D.C.

20208–5573. However, if that is not

convenient, you may use voicemail:

(202) 219–2079. 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.

Information about the Department’s

funding opportunities, including copies

of application notices for discretionary

grant competitions, can be viewed on

the Department’s electronic bulletin

board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260–

9950; on the Internet Gopher Server at

(gopher://gcs.ed.gov); or on the World

Wide Web at (http://gcs.ed.gov).

However, the official application notice

for a discretionary grant competition is

the notice published in the Federal

Register.

Program authority: 20 U.S.C. 8001.

Dated: March 14, 1997.

Marshall S. Smith,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational

Research and Improvement.

[FR Doc. 97–6950 Filed 3–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Environmental Management Advisory

Board Meeting

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(Public Law 92–463, 86 Stat. 770),

notice is hereby given of the following

Advisory Committee meeting:

NAME: Environmental Management

Advisory Board.

DATE AND TIMES: Thursday, April 10,

1997, 8:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m.

PLACE: U.S. Department of Energy/

Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence

Avenue, S.W.; Room 1E–245,

Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586–

4400.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James T. Melillo, Special Assistant to

the Assistant Secretary for

Environmental Management;

Environmental Management Advisory

Board (EMAB), EM-22, 1000

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–4400.

The Internet address is:

James.Melillo@em.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of

the Board. The purpose of the Board is

to provide the Assistant Secretary for

Environmental Management (EM) with

advice and recommendations on issues

confronting the Environmental

Management program and the

Programmatic Environmental

Management Impact Statement, from the

perspectives of affected groups and

state, local, and tribal governments. The

Board will help to improve the

Environmental Management Program by

assisting in the process of securing

consensus recommendations, and

providing the Department’s numerous

publics with opportunities to express

their opinions regarding the

Environmental Management Program.

Tentative Agenda

Thursday, April 10, 1997

8:30 a.m.—Co-Chairmen Open Public

Meeting

8:35 a.m.—Opening Remarks Assistant

Secretary for Environmental

Management

9:30 a.m.—Privatization Committee

Presentation and Discussion

10:00 a.m.—Ten Year Plan & Strategic

Integration Committees Joint

Presentation and Discussion

10:30 a.m.—Technology Development

and Transfer Committee

Presentation and Discussion

11:00 a.m.—Science Committee

Presentation and Discussion

11:30 a.m.—FUSRAP Committee

Presentation and Discussion

12:00 p.m.—Lunch

1:00 p.m.—Board Business

2:00 p.m.—Public Comment Session

2:30 p.m.—Meeting Adjourns

A final agenda will be available at the

meeting.

Public Participation: The meeting is

open to the public. Written statements

may be filed with the Board either

before or after the meeting. Members of

the public who wish to make oral

statements pertaining to agenda items

should either contact James T. Melillo at

the address or telephone number listed

above, or call 1–(800) 736–3282, the

Center for Environmental Management

Information and register to speak during

the public comment session of the

meeting. Individuals may also register

on April 10, 1997 at the meeting site.

Every effort will be made to hear all

those wishing to speak to the Board, on

a first come, first serve basis. Those who

call in and reserve time will be given

the opportunity to speak first. The

Board Co-Chairs are empowered to

conduct the meeting in a fashion that

will facilitate the orderly conduct of

business.

Transcripts and Minutes: A meeting

transcript and minutes will be available

for public review and copying at the

Freedom of Information Public Reading

Room, 1E–190, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, DC 20585 between 9:00

a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

Issued at Washington, DC on March 17,

1997.

Rachel M. Samuel,

Acting Deputy Advisory Committee

Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–7030 Filed 3–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P