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
40344 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 / Notices

Bilingual Education: Comprehensive

School Grants

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces

limitations and procedures for

submission and evaluation of amended

applications for new grants under the

Comprehensive School Grants 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 Comprehensive

School Grants program competition

announced in the Federal Register on

October 16, 1997 (62 FR 53880–53905)

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:

Harpreet Sandhu or Diane DeMaio, U.S.

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, SW., room 5607,

Switzer Building, Washington, DC

20202–6510. Telephone: Harpreet

Sandhu (202) 205–9808, Diane DeMaio

(202) 205–5716. 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

Comprehensive School Grants program

is authorized in section 7114 of Title VII

of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as

amended (20 U.S.C. 7424). This program

provides grants to local educational

agencies (LEAs) or one or more LEAs in

collaboration with an institution of

higher education, community-based

organizations, other LEAS, or a State

educational agency. Funds under this

program are to be used to implement

schoolwide bilingual education

programs or schoolwide special

alternative instruction programs for

reforming, restructuring, and upgrading

all relevant programs and operations,

within an individual school, that serve

all or virtually all LEP children and

youth in one or more schools with

significant concentrations of those

children and youth.

On October 16, 1997, the Department

announced in the Federal Register the

FY 1998 competition for the

Comprehensive School Grants program.

The deadline for transmittal of

applications was January 26, 1998 (62

FR 53880). In response to that invitation

386 eligible applications, 108 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

October 16, 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 45

applications are eligible to receive new

awards under the Comprehensive

School Grants 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 Comprehensive School

Grants 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 that submitted applications for

new awards in this year’s

Comprehensive School Grants program

competition may not be able to carry out

the projects described in their

application. The California LEAs that

submitted applications in this year’s

Comprehensive School Grants 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 26, 1998.

The Secretary has concluded that it

would be unfair to the eligible

applicants from California that

participated in this year’s

Comprehensive School Grants 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 Comprehensive School Grant

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 Comprehensive School

Grant 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 Comprehensive School

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 October 16, 1997

Federal Register notice (62 FR 53880–

53905). The absolute and competitive

priorities 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 Comprehensive

School Grant 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 Comprehensive School

grant awards). Those applicants that

rank high enough in the new rank order

will receive Comprehensive School

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,

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.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 / Notices 40345

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

California LEAs that responded to the

October 16, 1997 Federal Register

notice. LEAs 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 from California or other States that

did not submit Comprehensive School

Grant applications in response to the

October 16, 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 California LEAs that responded to

the October 16, 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, DC. 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 DC.

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, DC.

20202–6510.

Amended applications will be

reviewed in accordance with the

selection criteria and priorities

announced in the October 16, 1997

notice for the Comprehensive School

Grants program (62 FR 53880–53905).

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

Applications

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.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number, 84.290U, Bilingual Education:

Comprehensive School Grants)

Program authority: 20 U.S.C. 7424.

Dated: July 22, 1998.

Delia Pompa,

Director, Office of Bilingual Education and

Minority Languages Affairs.

[FR Doc. 98–20123 Filed 7–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P