29902 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Final Principles of

Effectiveness.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces final

Principles of Effectiveness for

recipients’ use of funds under the Safe

and Drug-Free Schools (SDFC) Program.

The Secretary takes this action to

promote the most effective use of

limited resources. The Principles of

Effectiveness will govern recipients’ use

of funds under the State and Local

Grants Program of the Safe and DrugFree Schools and Communities Act

(SDFSCA) for fiscal year 1998 and

future years.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These Principles of

Effectiveness take effect on July 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William Modzeleski, U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Elementary and

Secondary Education, Safe and DrugFree Schools Program, 600

Independence Avenue, SW, room 604,

The Portals, Washington, DC 20202–

6123. Telephone: (202) 260–3954. The

E-mail address is

billlmodzeleski@ed.gov. 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 document in alternate

formats (e.g. Braille, large print, audio

tape, or computer diskette) on request

from the contact person listed in the

preceding paragraph.

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

previous 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 GFiles/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of a document is

the document published in the Federal

Register.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

SDFSCA, as reauthorized in 1994 by the

Improving America’s Schools Act

(Public Law 103–382), offers States,

school districts, schools, and other

recipients wide latitude in using

SDFSCA State and Local Grants

Program funds to implement the kinds

of drug and violence prevention

programs that they believe best serve

their needs. While the Administration

favors local discretion over Federal

prescription in the use of SDFSCA State

and local grant funds, the

Administration also has a responsibility

to promote the most effective use

possible of these limited resources. In

many instances these funds are the only

financial assistance available to help

local schools address their youth drug

and violence problems. With the

increasing availability of information

about promising and successful drug

and violence prevention programs, State

and local decisions about which

prevention programs to implement

should be guided by research on best

practices. Furthermore, schools and

community organizations that initiate

programs designed to prevent youth

drug use or violence without conducting

a high-quality needs assessment or

establishing clear and objective

measurable expectations about program

outcomes have difficulty determining

whether their programs are successful.

Therefore, as one of a series of

activities designed to improve the

quality of drug and violence prevention

programming implemented with

SDFSCA funds, the Secretary is

adopting these final SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness. The Principles will

require grant recipients to use SDFSCA

State and Local Grants Program funds to

support research-based drug and

violence prevention programs for youth.

These SDFS Principles of Effectiveness,

in conjunction with existing statutory

and regulatory provisions, will ensure

that State and local educational

agencies, Governors’ offices, and

community-based organizations plan

and implement effective drug and

violence prevention programs.

On July 16, 1997, the Secretary

published the draft SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness in a Notice of Request for

Public Comment in the Federal Register

(62 FR 38072). In response to comments

received, the Secretary made minor

modifications, as noted in the following

section—Analysis of Comments and

Changes—of this notice of final

Principles.

Analysis of Comments and Changes

In response to the Secretary’s

invitation to comment on the proposed

SDFS Principles of Effectiveness, the

Department received letters from 19

commenters. These included State and

local educational agencies, other State

agencies, non-profit organizations, and

individuals. An analysis of the

comments follows. Comments are

grouped according to each of the four

SDFS Principles of Effectiveness; a

section on general comments is also

included. Minor editorial changes—and

comments recommending changes the

Secretary is not legally authorized to

make under the applicable statutory

authority—are not addressed.

Principle 1—A grant recipient shall

base its program on a thorough

assessment of objective data about the

drug and violence problems in the

schools and communities served.

Comments: Several commenters

expressed concerns about difficulties

associated with collecting assessment

data. One difficulty mentioned included

the provisions of the Protection of Pupil

Rights Amendment (PPRA), which

require parental permission before

administering a student survey

regarding the use of alcohol, tobacco, or

other drugs. Another difficulty cited

was the problem of developing scientific

and rigorous sampling methods.

Discussion: PPRA establishes

requirements that must be met when

students participate in surveys,

analyses, or evaluations that (1) reveal

information about several subjects,

including illegal, anti-social, selfincriminating, and demeaning behavior;

and (2) are conducted using U.S.

Department of Education funds.

Although meeting the PPRA

requirements may add an additional

step to the collection of survey data,

grantees are encouraged to consider

using student surveys as part of their

needs assessment efforts.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that the definition of ‘‘objective data’’

include information other than

‘‘archival data’’ because it would cost

some small LEAs more than the

SDFSCA allocation they receive to

conduct a thorough assessment.

Discussion: Grantees are encouraged

to develop the broadest possible needs

assessment that will provide a

comprehensive picture of drug and

violence problems among local youth.

Grantees may want to complement

objective data with subjective measures,

such as perceptions of teachers,
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Notices 29903

students, or administrators about the

youth drug and violence problem.

However, grantees should not limit

needs assessment to such subjective

measures, because they need such hard

data as rates of student drug use or

numbers of violent incidents to guide

program selection and measure fully the

effectiveness of their programs.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that LEAs be encouraged to present the

results of their needs assessments in

terms of prevention needs.

Discussion: Currently, many needs

assessments prepared by grantees focus

on short-term interventions rather than

long-term preventive strategies. For

example, grantee needs assessments

may focus on increased disciplinary

sanctions to prevent current conflicts

among middle school students, rather

than on introducing conflict resolution

strategies to the students in an earlier

grade. Although the latter is perhaps

more desirable, the former approach is

acceptable.

Changes: None.

Principle 2—A grant recipient shall,

with the assistance of a local or regional

advisory council, which includes

community representatives, establish a

set of measurable goals and objectives,

and design its activities to meet those

goals and objectives.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that LEAs adopt multi-year objectives

with annual milestones to support a

prevention perspective in planning

strategies.

Discussion: The establishment of

multi-year objectives is desirable, and

States certainly may encourage their

LEAs to adopt them. As their

implementation proceeds, local grantees

may become increasingly comfortable

with designing multi-year objectives for

their prevention programming.

However, it is important for grantees to

have the flexibility to adopt objectives

on an annual, as well as multi-year,

basis.

Changes: None.

Comments: Several commenters

suggested that ‘‘program outcomes’’ be

defined. One commenter suggested

including in the definition

improvements in youth knowledge,

attitudes, skills, and behaviors related to

drug use or violence prevention; another

recommended including attitudes and

behaviors that research has shown to be

precursors to or predictors of drug use.

Discussion: The SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness require that program

outcomes include information about

changed behaviors or attitudes about

violence or drug use. Although

information about knowledge and skills

is an important part of assessing

implementation quality, that

information is not sufficient to measure

program outcomes.

Changes: Based on these comments,

the Secretary has modified explanatory

language accompanying this principle to

clarify the meaning of the term

‘‘program outcomes’’.

Comment: One commenter urged the

Secretary to recognize that it will take

as much as two or three years for many

LEAs to adopt outcome-related

measurable goals and objectives even

with the support of an appropriate

measurement instrument.

Discussion: While it may take several

years for LEAs to perfect the

identification of outcome-related

measurable goals and objectives, the

Department expects that by July 1, 1998,

when the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness take effect, LEAs will be

able to develop satisfactory goals and

objectives that will help improve

accountability for their drug and

violence prevention programs. In

addition, the Department intends to

provide technical assistance and

guidance to help grantees develop their

goals and objectives.

Changes: None.

Principle 3—A grant recipient shall

design and implement its activities

based on research or evaluation that

provides evidence that the strategies

used prevent or reduce drug use,

violence, or disruptive behavior.

Comments: Several commenters noted

a lack of available research-based

programs in drug and violence

prevention that meet local needs. One of

those commenters stated that the high

standard imposed by the SDFS

Principles of Effectiveness would create

a ‘‘cartel’’ or monopoly since very few

programs can meet the standard

established.

Discussion: While a significant body

of research about effective programs that

prevent youth drug use and violence

exists, even more needs to be done to

identify a broader group of programs

and practices that respond to varied

needs.

Changes: Based on these concerns, the

Secretary has modified the explanatory

language accompanying this Principle.

These modifications broaden the scope

of the term ‘‘research-based’’ approach

to include programs that show promise

of being effective in preventing or

reducing drug use or violence.

Comments: Several commenters

expressed a concern that the SDFS

Principles of Effectiveness do not

address intervention services, staff

development, parent training, and other

activities supported with SDFSCA funds

by many LEAs.

Discussion: Grantees that choose to

implement the kinds of interventions

mentioned by the commenters must take

care to observe the requirements

embodied in the principles. It may be

difficult to find research-based programs

in the areas mentioned by the

commenters that link directly to

changes in rates of youth drug use or

violence.

Changes: A change has been made to

this principle to clarify that the

‘‘research-based’’ requirement is limited

to programs for youth.

Comment: One commenter requested

that the Secretary provide guidance

about how LEAs may structure a

program that is both comprehensive and

research based.

Discussion: The comment identifies

two separate requirements. First, by

statute, an LEA must use all SDFSCA

funds to support a comprehensive drug

and violence prevention program. The

program may also receive funding from

other State and local sources. Second,

under the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness, all specific programs for

youth funded by the SDFSCA must be

research based. The Secretary believes

that these two requirements are

consistent and compatible, and the

Department will provide guidance on

how local programs may be structured

to meet both requirements.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter noted that

effective approaches to preventing

youth drug use and violence may not

always be able to show results for a

wide variety of reasons, including

missed lessons, inconsistent

application, and insufficient time given

to the program.

Discussion: Research-based programs

that have demonstrated success in

reducing drug use and violence are

dependent upon strong, consistent

implementation with sufficient time

provided. The implementation problems

cited in the comment would undermine

any program, research-based or

otherwise, and limit its ability to

produce results.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter expressed

concern that implementation of the

SDFS Principles of Effectiveness may

force rural LEAs to replace ‘‘old

favorite’’ programs that they feel have

been working for them with prevention

programs that have been proven to work

in other socio-economic areas—such as

high-population urban LEAs—but may

not be appropriate to their needs.

Discussion: The Department plans to

provide technical assistance to help
29904 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Notices

LEAs obtain information about effective,

research-based programs appropriate for

an LEA’s demographics. The purpose of

SDFS Principles of Effectiveness is to

ensure that funds available to grantees

under the SDFSCA are used in the most

effective way. This allows LEAs to

continue ‘‘old favorite’’ programs if they

are effective or show promise of

effectiveness.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter expressed

concern about being required to

implement a research-based program

with fidelity, preferring to take the best

components from many programs

without duplicating any one program

exactly.

Discussion: Replication with fidelity

is crucial to implementing a researchbased program and producing the

desired outcomes. If an LEA takes the

best elements from many programs

without replicating one program with

fidelity, the resulting mix of activities is

not a research-based program that has

been proven to be effective. Grantees are

cautioned not to assume that

components of research-based programs

can be extracted and implemented,

alone or in combination, to produce

effective results.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness should ensure that the

program to be implemented is

applicable or transferable to the cultural

or other characteristics of the target

population.

Discussion: A grantee is not

prohibited from making minor

modifications in a research-based

program, but should ensure

modifications to address cultural or

other characteristics of the target

population will not prevent the grantee

from replicating the program in a

manner consistent with the original

design.

Changes: None.

Principle 4—A grant recipient shall

evaluate its program periodically to

assess its progress toward achieving its

goals and objectives and use its

evaluation results to refine, improve,

and strengthen its program and to refine

its goals and objectives as appropriate.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that every school system not be required

to conduct an evaluation of its

prevention programs, and rather that the

Department concentrate on seeking

separate funding for research that

supports primary prevention through

the re-enforcement of protective factors.

Discussion: The SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness do not require a recipient

that replicates with fidelity a researchbased program to pursue an outcomesbased evaluations of this prevention

program.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter

recommended inclusion of ‘‘fidelity

evaluation language’’ in the principle

concerning evaluation.

Discussion: Grantees cannot hope to

reproduce the results of an effective,

research-based drug or violence

prevention program unless that program

is replicated with fidelity.

Changes: Based on this comment, the

Secretary has modified the explanatory

language accompanying this principle to

require assessment of fidelity of

replication.

Comments: Several commenters

raised a concern about the difficulties—

including the establishment of a control

group—associated with collecting data

to evaluate an intervention designed to

prevent youth drug use and violence.

Discussion: Grantees need not

evaluate for behavioral or attitudinal

outcomes if they select and implement

with fidelity a research-based

prevention program that has already

demonstrated through rigorous

evaluation that it has reduced youth

drug use or violence or changed

attitudes that have been demonstrated to

be precursors to or predictors of drug

use or violence. If grantees wish to

select a program that shows promise of

effectiveness, those grantees must

conduct an evaluation of outcomes in

terms of youth behavior and attitudes.

While a control group design would be

excellent from a technical point of view,

such a design can be complicated and

expensive. There are other less rigorous

but still valid options. The Department

intends to offer technical assistance on

evaluation.

Changes: None.

General Comments on SDFS Principles

of Effectiveness

Comments: Two commenters

indicated that it would be unfair to

expect one organization, especially a

school district, to be responsible for

outcomes of reducing and preventing

drug use and violence.

Discussion: A school district should

not be held solely responsible for

producing outcomes of reducing and

preventing drug use and violence.

However, the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness will help schools focus

their efforts on programs that are likely

to make the biggest contribution to

community-wide efforts to reduce youth

drug use and violence and to set goals

for changed student behaviors. It is

hoped that the school and community

will work together in developing,

implementing, and evaluating these

prevention efforts and will take

appropriate responsibility for efforts to

ensure their success.

Changes: None.

Comments: A number of comments

concerned the extra burden and costs

imposed by the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness at both the SEA and LEA

levels. These commenters mentioned

such factors as, at the SEA level, the

need for a more extensive review

process for LEA applications and, at the

LEA level, the possibility of an

insufficient allocation of funds or

availability of staff resources to cover

the costs associated with implementing

the SDFS Principles of Effectiveness.

One commenter suggested that SDFS

should fund an coordinator for each

LEA; another expressed a concern that

the SDFS Principles of Effectiveness

will overshadow the Improving

America’s Schools Act’s focus on

increased flexibility.

Discussion: No additional burden is

imposed by the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness. A major theme of the

Improving America’s Schools Act was

an increase in flexibility in exchange for

enhanced program accountability in

order to make the best possible use of

scarce resources. The commenter has

focused on increased flexibility without

sufficient regard for the need for

accountability. The SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness are designed to assist

grantees in meeting their obligations for

accountability that are implicit in the

statutory framework provided in the

SDFSCA by encouraging recipients to

implement programs that are most likely

to be effective.

Changes: None.

Comments: One commenter

questioned how the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness would help to integrate

SDFS efforts with those of other Federal

programs.

Discussion: The SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness apply to the SDFSCA

SEA/LEA and Governor’s Programs and

the Program for Indian Youth, and

impose no new requirements that would

hinder efforts to integrate SDFSCA

efforts with those of other Federal

programs.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter

recommended that grantees be

encouraged to foster meaningful

involvement by young people in the

design, governance, and implementation

of projects designed to prevent youth

drug use and violence.

Discussion: While the SDFS

Principles of Effectiveness do not

explicitly require the involvement of

young people in the design, governance,
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Notices 29905

and implementation of projects

designed to prevent youth drug use and

violence, the Secretary encourages

recipients of SDFS funds to look for

opportunities to involve youth in

prevention programs in meaningful

ways.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness more strongly emphasize

the need for close coordination between

school-and community-based

prevention programs.

Discussion: Several of the SDFS

Principles of Effectiveness address the

issue of coordination and collaboration

between schools and their communities,

and the SDFSCA also includes

provisions that require such

coordination.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that the SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness be reviewed to ensure that

terms (such as program, program

activities, strategies, and approaches) be

defined in order to reduce confusion

and make the language more precise.

Discussion: The draft SDFS Principles

of Effectiveness have been reviewed to

ensure that terms are used consistently.

Changes: Modifications have been

made in the principles and explanatory

language that make the Principles more

precise.

Comment: One commenter requested

that the Department clarify that the

SDFS Principles of Effectiveness are not

standards, and that the Secretary change

the title to Principles of Program

Effectiveness.

Discussion: The SDFS Principles of

Effectiveness do not attempt to provide

detailed standards for the content or

structure of individual prevention

programs, but rather, create a framework

to support the selection and

implementation of the best possible

youth drug and violence prevention

programs. While standards for content

and structure of prevention programs

are implied by the third principle

(requiring that programs be research

based), adding the word ‘‘Program’’ to

the current title would not serve to

clarify that the principles are not

standards.

Changes: None.

SDFS Principles of Effectiveness

Having safe and drug-free schools is

one of our Nation’s highest priorities. To

ensure that recipients of Title IV funds

use those funds in ways that preserve

State and local flexibility but are most

likely to reduce drug use and violence

among youth, a recipient shall

coordinate its SDFSCA funded programs

with other available prevention efforts

to maximize the impact of all the drug

and violence prevention programs and

resources available to its State, school

district, or community, and shall—

• Base its programs on a thorough

assessment of objective data about the

drug and violence problems in the

schools and communities served. Each

SDFSCA grant recipient shall conduct a

thorough assessment of the nature and

extent of youth drug use and violence

problems. Grantees are encouraged to

build on existing data collection efforts

and examine available objective data

from a variety of sources, including law

enforcement and public health officials.

Grantees are encouraged to assess the

needs of all segments of the youth

population. While information about the

availability of relevant services in the

community and schools is an important

part of any needs assessment, and while

grantees may wish to include data on

adult drug use and violence problems,

grantees shall, at a minimum, include in

the needs assessment data on youth

drug use and violence;

• With the assistance of a local or

regional advisory council where

required by the SDFSCA, establish a set

of measurable goals and objectives and

design its programs to meet those goals

and objectives. Sections 4112 and 4115

of the SDFSCA require that grantees

develop measurable goals and objectives

for their programs. Grantees shall

develop goals and objectives that focus

on behavioral or attitudinal program

outcomes, as well as on program

implementation (sometimes called

‘‘process data’’). While measures of

implementation (such as the hours of

instruction provided or number of

teachers trained) are important, they are

not sufficient to measure program

outcomes. Grantees shall develop goals

and objectives that permit them to

determine the extent to which programs

are effective in reducing or preventing

drug use, violence, or disruptive

behavior among youth;

• Design and implement its programs

for youth based on research or

evaluation that provides evidence that

the programs used prevent or reduce

drug use, violence, or disruptive

behavior among youth. In designing and

improving its youth programs, a grant

recipient shall taking into consideration

its needs assessment and measurable

goals and objectives, select and

implement programs for youth that have

demonstrated effectiveness or promise

of effectiveness, in preventing or

reducing drug use, violence, or

disruptive behavior, or other behaviors

or attitudes demonstrated to be

precursors to or predictors of drug use

or violence. While the Secretary

recognizes the importance of flexibility

in addressing State and local needs, the

Secretary believes that the

implementation of research-based

programs will significantly enhance the

effectiveness of programs supported

with SDFSCA funds. In selecting

effective programs most responsive to

their needs, grantees are encouraged to

review the breadth of available research

and evaluation literature, and to

replicate these programs in a manner

consistent with their original design;

and

• Evaluate its programs periodically

to assess its progress toward achieving

its goals and objectives, and use its

evaluation results to refine, improve,

and strengthen its program, and to

refine its goals and objectives as

appropriate. Grant recipients shall

assess their programs and use the

information about program outcomes

and fidelity of replication to re-evaluate

existing program efforts. The Secretary

recognizes that prevention programs

may have a long implementation phase,

may have long-term goals, and may

include some objectives that are broadly

focused. However, grantees shall not

continue to use SDFSCA funds to

implement programs that cannot

demonstrate positive outcomes in terms

of reducing or preventing drug use,

violence, or disruptive behavior among

youth, or other behaviors or attitudes

demonstrated to be precursors to or

predictors of drug use or violence.

Grantees shall use their assessment

results to determine whether programs

need to be strengthened or improved,

and whether program goals and

objectives are reasonable or have

already been met and should be revised.

Consistent with Sections 4112 and 4115

of the SDFSCA, grant recipients shall

report to the public on progress toward

attaining measurable goals and

objectives for drug and violence

prevention.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.

The objective of the Executive Order is

to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened

federalism by relying on processes

developed by State and local

governments for coordination and

review of proposed Federal financial

assistance.

In accordance with the order, this

document is intended to provide early

notification of the Department’s specific

plans and actions for this program.
29906 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Notices

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 86.186, Safe and Drug-Free Schools

and Communities Act State Grants Program)

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7111–7116.

Dated: May 27, 1998.

Gerald N. Tirozzi,

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and

Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 98–14372 Filed 5–29–98; 8:45 am]

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