40342 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Bilingual Education and

Minority Languages Affairs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Limitations and

Procedures for Submission and

Evaluation of Amended Applications for

Bilingual Education: Program

Development and Implementation

Grants.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces

limitations and procedures for

submission and evaluation of amended

applications for new grants under the

Program Development and

Implementation Grant(PDI) program

which is administered by the Office of

Bilingual Education and Minority

Languages Affairs (OBEMLA). The

limitations and procedures for

evaluation and submission apply only

in fiscal year (FY) 1998. The Secretary

takes this action to allow eligible

applicants from California that

participated in the PDI program

competition announced in the Federal

Register on November 14, 1997 (62 FR

61180–61202) to submit amended

applications that take into account the

new requirements for serving students

with limited English proficiency (LEP)

established in that State by Proposition

227, ‘‘English Language Education for

Children in Public Schools.’’

Proposition 227 was passed by

California’s voters on June 2, 1998. No

other applications or amendments will

be accepted.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice takes effect

July 28, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rebecca Richey or Carol Manitaras, U.S.

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, SW, room 5607,

Switzer Building, Washington, DC

20202–6510. Telephone: Rebecca

Richey, (202) 205–9717, Carol Manitaras

(202) 205–9729. 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 one of

the contact persons listed in the

preceding paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PDI

program is authorized in section 7112 of

Title VII of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965

(ESEA), as amended (20 U.S.C. 7422).

This program provides grants to local

educational agencies (LEAs) or one or

more LEAs in collaboration with an

institution of higher education (IHE),

community-based organizations (CBO),

other LEAS, or a State educational

agency and to a CBO or an IHE that have

an application approved by an LEA to

develop and implement early childhood

education or family education programs

or to conduct an instructional program

that supplements the educational

services provided by an LEA. Funds

under this program are to be used to

provide grants to develop and

implement new comprehensive,

coherent, and successful bilingual

education or special alternative

instructional programs for LEP students,

including programs of early childhood

education, kindergarten through twelfth

grade education, gifted and talented

education, and vocational and applied

technology education.

On November 14, 1997, the

Department announced in the Federal

Register the FY 1998 competition for

the PDI program. The deadline for

transmittal of applications was January

20, 1998 (62 FR 61180). In response to

that invitation 242 eligible applications,

36 of which were from California, were

submitted to the Department. These

applications have all been evaluated, on

the basis of the selection criteria set out

in the November 14, 1997 notice, by

panels of expert reviewers and placed in

a rank order. Based on that rank

ordering, the amount of available funds,

and other relevant factors, the

Department has determined that

approximately 35 applications are

eligible to receive new awards under the

PDI program. A number of applications

from California were within the funding

range of this rank order.

On June 2, 1998, prior to the

Department making any new awards

under this year’s PDI program

competition, the voters of California

approved Proposition 227, which

imposes significant new requirements

and limitations on how LEAs in that

State can educate LEP students.

Proposition 227 will take effect at the

start of the coming school year. As a

result, many of the California LEAs and

other eligible entities that submitted

applications for new awards in this

year’s PDI program competition may not

be able to carry out the projects

described in their applications. The

eligible applicants from California that

submitted applications in this year’s PDI

program competition acted in good faith

in relying on the State laws on serving

LEP students that were in effect on the

date applications were due, January 20,

1998. The Secretary has concluded that

it would be unfair to the eligible

applicants from California that

participated in this year’s PDI program

competition, and contrary to the needs

of children who would be served by

those projects, to deny them an

opportunity to compete for funding

because of the changes in that State’s

law brought about by the passage of

Proposition 227.

Given these unique and

unprecedented circumstances, the

Secretary has decided to allow all

eligible applicants from California in

this year’s PDI competition an

opportunity to submit amended

versions of their original applications to

make them consistent with Proposition

227. The Secretary has concluded that it

is necessary to offer this opportunity

because applicants that cannot carry out

their proposed projects due to

Proposition 227 will need to amend

their applications in order to be eligible

for a PDI award.

The procedures established in this

notice will operate in the following way.

First, these procedures will not

adversely affect applicants from outside

California that finished in the funding

range in this year’s competition. These

applicants will receive grant awards

under the PDI program without regard

to the procedures announced in this

notice. Second, eligible applicants from

California that cannot carry out their

proposed projects consistent with

Proposition 227 will be allowed to

submit, by not later than August 18,

1998, amended applications. These

amended applications will be evaluated

by panels of experts using the selection

criteria set out in the November 14,

1997 Federal Register notice (62 FR

61180–61202). (The competitive priority

set out in that notice will also apply).

Third, eligible applicants from

California that have concluded that their

applications are consistent with

Proposition 227 will inform the

Department of that conclusion, and its

basis, by August 18, 1998. Finally, based

on the scores provided for the amended

applications from California and the

previous scores of all other applications,

a new rank order for the PDI

competition will be created. This new

rank order will include all applications

from California and all the applications

from outside of California that did not

finish in the funding range in the initial

rank order. (As noted earlier, applicants

from outside of California that finished

in the funding range in the initial rank

order will receive PDI grant awards).

Those applicants that rank high enough

in the new rank order will receive PDI

grant awards. Under this process, it is

possible that applicants from California

that would have finished in the funding

range in the initial rank order may not,
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 / Notices 40343

because of the score received by their

amended proposal, finish in the funding

range in the new rank order. Conversely,

other applicants that would not have

finished in the funding range in the

initial rank order may finish in the

funding range in the new rank order.

The Secretary has concluded that this

process appropriately addresses and

balances the needs of all the applicants

that participated in this year’s

competition, the unique circumstances

brought about by the passage of

Proposition 227 after the due date for

applications had passed, and the public

interest in selecting quality projects that

address the educational needs of LEP

students.

The opportunity to submit amended

applications is limited to eligible

applicants from California that

responded to the November 14, 1997

Federal Register notice. Eligible

applicants from other States that

submitted applications in response to

that notice are not affected by

Proposition 227 and, as a consequence,

do not need to amend their applications.

LEAs and other eligible entities from

California or other States that did not

submit PDI applications in response to

the November 14, 1997 Federal Register

notice are also excluded because their

status in a competition in which they

did not elect to participate was not

affected by the passage of Proposition

227.

Deadline and Procedures for

Submission and Evaluation of

Amended Applications

The Secretary, in order to ensure

timely receipt and processing,

establishes the following deadline and

procedures for submission and

evaluation of amended applications

from eligible California applicants that

responded to the November 14, 1997

Federal Register notice.

Amended applications: In order to be

considered for funding under this

program, amended applications must be

received by the Secretary on or before

August 18, 1998. For purposes of

amended applications submitted

pursuant to this notice, the Secretary

will not apply 34 CFR 75.102(b), which

requires an application to be mailed,

rather than received, by the deadline

date.

If an eligible applicant wants to

submit an amended application, the

applicant shall:

(1) Mail the original and two copies

of the amended application to: U.S.

Department of Education, Office of

Bilingual Education and Minority

Languages Affairs, (Attention West

Regional Cluster), 600 Independence

Avenue, SW, Switzer Building, room

5607, Washington, D.C. 20202–6510; or

(2) Hand-deliver the original and two

copies of the amended application by

4:30 p.m. on or before the deadline date

to: U.S. Department of Education, Office

of Bilingual Education and Minority

Languages Affairs, (Attention West

Regional Cluster), Switzer Building,

room 5607, 330 C Street, SW,

Washington, D.C.

Non-amended applications: If an

eligible applicant concludes that no

changes are needed to its application

due to Proposition 227, the applicant

must inform the Secretary, in writing, of

that conclusion, and the basis for

reaching it, by August 18, 1998. Mail

this statement to: U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Bilingual Education

and Minority Languages Affairs,

(Attention West Regional Cluster), 600

Independence Avenue, SW, Switzer

Building, room 5607, Washington, D.C.

20202–6510.

Amended applications will be

reviewed in accordance with the

selection criteria and priorities

announced in the November 14, 1997

notice for the PDI program (62 FR

61180–61202). The scores for the

amended applications will then be

combined with the scores of the other

unfunded applications to create a new

rank order.

Waiver of Intergovernmental Review

for Federal Programs for Amended

Application

The Secretary waives the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

(Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs) for amended applications

submitted in response to this notice.

State Educational Agency Comment

The Department, prior to making an

award to any applicant from California,

including both the amended proposals

and the non-amended proposals, will

obtain verification from the California

Department of Education that the

applicant’s proposal is consistent with

Proposition 227.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

In accordance with the

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.

553), it is the practice of the Department

to offer interested parties an opportunity

to comment on proposed rules or

priorities that are not taken directly

from a statute. Ordinarily, this practice

would have applied to the limitations

and procedures in this notice. The

Administrative Procedure Act, however,

exempts rules from this requirement in

those cases where providing an

opportunity for public comment is

‘‘impracticable * * * or contrary to the

public interest’’ (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)). In

this instance, the Secretary finds that it

would be both impracticable and

contrary to the public interest to provide

an opportunity for public comment.

Because FY 1998 awards under the

Comprehensive School Grants program

can be made no later than September 30,

1998, the Secretary has determined that

there is not sufficient time to allow

interested parties to comment on this

notice. The Department, for the

foregoing reasons, also waives the 30

day delayed effective date pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 553(d).

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://gcs.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

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

To use 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 G

—Files/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of a document is

the document published in the Federal

Register.

Program authority: 20 U.S.C. 7422.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.288S, Bilingual Education:

Program Development and Implementation

Grants)

Dated: July 22, 1998.

Delia Pompa,

Director, Office of Bilingual Education and

Minority Languages Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98–20122 Filed 7–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Bilingual Education and

Minority Languages Affairs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Limitations and

Procedures for Submission and

Evaluation of Amended Applications for