[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 101 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27812-27814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12786]




[[Page 27811]]

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Part II





Department of Labor





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Employment and Training Administration



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Department of Education





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School-to-Work Opportunities Act; Local Partnership Grants; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 101 / Thursday, May 25, 1995 / 
Notices  
[[Page 27812]] 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1830-ZA02


School-to-Work Opportunities Act; Local Partnership Grants

AGENCIES: Department of Labor and Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed selection criteria, administrative cost cap, 
and definition.

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SUMMARY: The Departments of Labor and Education jointly propose 
selection criteria to be used in evaluating applications submitted 
under the School-to-Work Opportunities Local Partnership (Local 
Partnership Grants) competition in fiscal year (FY) 1995 and succeeding 
years, authorized under Title III of the School-to-Work Opportunities 
Act of 1994 (the Act). Local Partnership Grants will enable local 
partnerships, that have built a sound planning and development base, to 
begin implementation of School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives that 
will become a part of a statewide School-to-Work Opportunities system. 
These initiatives will offer young Americans access to programs 
designed to prepare them for first jobs in high-skill, high-wage 
careers, and to increase their opportunities for further education and 
training. The Departments also propose a definition for the term 
``administrative costs'' as well as a 10 percent cap on administrative 
costs incurred by local partnerships receiving grants under Title III.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 26, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Maria Kniesler, National 
School-to-Work Office, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW., Suite 210, Washington, 
DC 20024. Comments may also be faxed to the National School-to-Work 
Office, Attention: Maria Kniesler at (202) 401-6211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Kniesler, National School-to-
Work Office (202) 401-6218 (this is not a toll-free number). 
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:

Background

    The Departments of Labor and Education intend to reserve funds 
appropriated for FY 1995 under the Act (P.L. 103-239) for a competition 
for Local Partnership Grants authorized under Title III of the Act. The 
Departments propose an administrative cost cap, a definition of the 
term ``administrative costs,'' and selection criteria that would be 
used in evaluating applications submitted in response to the FY 1995 
Local Partnership Grant competition. Local partnerships are advised 
that applications for Local Partnership Grants must meet all of the 
requirements of the Act that apply to programs funded under Title III.
    In accordance with section 5 of the Act, and as part of their 
ongoing efforts to improve their joint administration of all School-to-
Work Opportunities programs authorized under the Act, including the 
School-to-Work Opportunities Local Partnership program, the Departments 
are currently in the process of considering appropriate administrative 
procedures. It is the intent of the Departments that whatever 
procedures are used will result in the most effective and efficient 
joint administration of all School-to-Work Opportunities programs. In 
response to this notice, commenters are encouraged to submit comments 
and suggestions on how the Departments can best achieve the efficient 
and effective joint administration of the School-to-Work Opportunities 
Local Partnership program, including comments and suggestions relating 
to the joint grants administration process and to the applicability of 
administrative regulations.

Proposed Administrative Cost Cap, Definition, and Selection Criteria

    The Departments propose to apply the 10 percent cap on 
administrative costs contained in section 215(b)(6) of the Act to local 
partnerships receiving grants directly under this competition. The 
Departments have concluded that applying the 10 percent cap to Title 
III grants awarded to local partnerships by the Departments would be 
consistent with the Act's broader limitations on administrative costs, 
with the 10 percent cap imposed on partnerships receiving School-to-
Work Opportunities subgrants from States, and with section 305 of Title 
III, which requires conformity between School-to-Work Opportunities 
plans of local partnerships and State School-to-Work Opportunities 
plans. The Departments also propose a definition of the term 
``administrative costs,'' which is a term that appears in the Act but 
which the Act does not define, and the Departments propose to apply the 
selection criteria in this notice to the FY 1995 competition for Local 
Partnership Grants. Unless modified in the final notice for this 
competition, the 10 percent administrative cap, the definition of 
administrative costs, and selection criteria proposed herein, will be 
used for future Local Partnership Grants in the years succeeding FY 
1995. The Departments solicit comments on the proposed 10 percent cap, 
the proposed definition, and the proposed selection criteria. A final 
notice of selection criteria will be published in the Federal Register 
after the Departments have taken into account the responses to this 
notice and have applied other relevant considerations.

    Note: This notice of proposed selection criteria does not 
solicit applications. A notice inviting applications for School-to-
Work Opportunities Local Partnership Grants will be published in the 
Federal Register concurrent with or immediately following 
publication of the notice of final selection criteria.

Definition

    All definitions in the Act apply to School-to-Work Opportunities 
systems funded under this and future Local Partnership Grant 
competitions. However, the Act does not contain a definition of the 
term ``administrative costs.'' The Departments, therefore, propose to 
apply the following definition to the administration of grants under 
this competition:
    The term ``administrative costs'' means the activities of a local 
partnership that are necessary for the proper and efficient performance 
of its duties under the Local Partnership Grant pursuant to the School-
to-Work Opportunities Act and that are not directly related to the 
provision of services to participants or otherwise allocable to the 
program's allowable activities under the grant listed in section 
215(b)(4) and section 215(c) of the Act. Administrative costs may be 
either personnel and non-personnel costs, and may be either direct and 
indirect. Costs of administration include those costs that are related 
to this grant in such categories as--
    A. Costs of salaries, wages, and related costs of the grantee's 
staff engaged in--
    <bullet> Overall system management, system coordination, and 
general administrative functions;
    <bullet> Preparing program plans, budgets, and schedules, as well 
as applicable amendments; [[Page 27813]] 
    <bullet> Monitoring of local initiatives, pilot projects, 
subrecipients, and related systems and processes;
    <bullet> Procurement activities, including the award of specific 
subgrants, contracts, and purchase orders;
    <bullet> Developing systems and procedures, including management 
information systems, for ensuring compliance with the requirements 
under the Act;
    <bullet> Preparing reports and other documents related to the Act;
    <bullet> Coordinating the resolution of audit findings;
    B. Costs for goods and services required for administration of the 
School-to-Work Opportunities system;
    C. Costs of system-wide management functions; and
    D. Travel costs incurred for official business in carrying out 
grants management or administrative activities.

Selection Criteria

Selection Criterion 1: Comprehensive Local School-to-Work Opportunities 
System (40 Points)

    Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will 
consider--
    A. 20 Points. The extent to which the partnership has designed a 
comprehensive local School-to-Work Opportunities plan that--
    <bullet> Includes effective strategies for integrating school-based 
and work-based learning, integrating academic and vocational education, 
and establishing linkages between secondary and postsecondary 
education;
    <bullet> Is likely to produce systemic change that will have 
substantial impact on the preparation of all students for a first job 
in a high-skill, high-wage career and in increasing their opportunities 
for further learning;
    <bullet> Ensures all students will have a range of options, 
including options for higher education, additional training and 
employment in high-skill, high-wage jobs;
    <bullet> Ensures coordination and integration with existing school-
to-work programs, including programs financed from State and private 
sources, with funds available from Federal education and training 
programs (such as the Job Training Partnership Act and the Carl D. 
Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act); and where 
applicable, communities designated as Empowerment Zones or Enhanced 
Enterprise Communities (EZ/EEC);
    <bullet> Serves a geographical area that reflects the needs of the 
local labor market, and is able to adjust to regional structures that 
the State School-to-Work Opportunities plan may identify; and
    <bullet> Targets occupational clusters that represent growing 
industries in the partnership's geographic area; and, where applicable, 
demonstrates that the clusters are included among the occupational 
clusters being targeted by the State School-to-Work Opportunities 
system.
    B. 20 Points. The extent to which the partnership's plan 
demonstrates its capability to achieve the statutory requirements and 
to effectively put in place the system components in Title I of the 
School-to-Work Opportunities Act, including--
    <bullet> A work-based learning component that includes the 
statutory ``mandatory activities'' and that contributes to the 
transformation of workplaces into active learning components of the 
education system through an array of learning experiences such as 
mentoring, job-shadowing, unpaid work experiences, school-sponsored 
enterprises, and paid work experiences;
    <bullet> A school-based learning component that provides students 
with high-level academic and technical skills consistent with academic 
standards that the State establishes for all students, including, where 
applicable, standards established under the Goals 2000: Educate America 
Act;
    <bullet> A connecting activities component to provide a functional 
link between students' school and work activities, and between 
employers and educators;
    <bullet> Effective processes for assessing skills and knowledge 
required in career majors, and issuing portable skill certificates that 
are benchmarked to high-quality standards such as those States will 
establish under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and for 
periodically assessing and collecting information on student outcomes, 
as well as a realistic strategy and timetable for implementing the 
process in concert with the State.
    <bullet> A flexible School-to-Work Opportunities system that allows 
students participating in the local system to develop new career goals 
over time, and to change career majors; and
    <bullet> Effective strategies for: providing staff development for 
teachers, worksite mentors and other key personnel; developing model 
curricula and innovative instructional methodologies; expanding career 
and academic counseling in elementary and secondary schools; and 
utilizing innovative technology-based instructional techniques.

Selection Criterion 2: Quality and Effectiveness of the Local 
Partnership (20 Points)

    Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will refer to 
section 4(11) of the Act and consider--
    <bullet> Whether the partnership's plan demonstrates an effective 
and convincing strategy for continuing the commitment of employers and 
other interested parties in the local School-to-Work Opportunities 
system;
    <bullet> The effectiveness of the partnership's plan to include 
private sector representatives as joint partners with educators in both 
the design and the implementation of the local School-to-Work 
Opportunities system;
    <bullet> The extent to which the local partnership has developed 
strategies to provide a range of opportunities for employers to 
participate in the design and implementation of the local School-to-
Work Opportunities system, including membership on councils and 
partnerships; assistance in setting standards, designing curricula, and 
determining outcomes; providing worksite experiences for teachers; 
helping to recruit other employers; and providing worksite learning 
activities for students such as mentoring, job shadowing, unpaid work 
experiences, and paid work experiences;
    <bullet> The extent to which the roles and responsibilities of the 
key partners, including employers, educators, representatives of labor 
organizations or nonmanagerial employee representatives, community-
based organizations, and other key parties are clearly defined and are 
likely to produce the desired changes in the way students are prepared 
for the future;
    <bullet> The extent to which the partnership demonstrates the 
capacity to build a quality local School-to-Work Opportunities system;
    <bullet> Whether the partnership has included methods for 
sustaining and expanding the partnership, as the program expands in 
scope and size.

Selection Criterion 3: Participation of All Students (15 Points)

    Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will 
consider--
    <bullet> The extent to which the partnership has developed 
realistic strategies for ensuring that all students have effective and 
meaningful opportunities to participate in the local School-to-Work 
Opportunities system;
    <bullet> Whether the partnership has identified potential barriers 
to the participation of any students, and the degree to which it 
proposes effective ways of overcoming these barriers;

[[Page 27814]]

    <bullet> The degree to which the partnership has developed 
realistic goals and methods for assisting young women to participate in 
School-to-Work Opportunities programs leading to employment in high-
performance, high-paying jobs, including non-traditional jobs;
    <bullet> The partnership's methods for ensuring safe and healthy 
work environments for students; and
    <bullet> The extent to which the partnership's plan provides for 
the participation of a significant number or percentage of students in 
School-to-Work Opportunities activities listed under Title I of the 
Act.

Selection Criterion 4: Collaboration With State (15 Points)

    Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will 
consider--
    <bullet> The extent to which the local partnership has effectively 
consulted with its State School-to-Work Opportunities partnership, and 
has established realistic methods for ensuring consistency of its local 
strategies with the statewide School-to-Work Opportunities system being 
developed by that State partnership;
    <bullet> Whether the local partnership has developed a sound 
strategy for integrating its plan, as necessary, with the State plan 
for a statewide School-to-Work Opportunities system;
    <bullet> The extent to which the local partnership has developed 
effective processes through which it is able to assist and collaborate 
with the State in establishing the statewide School-to-Work system, and 
is able to provide feedback to the state on their system-building 
process.
    <bullet> Whether the plan includes a feasible workplan that 
describes the steps that will be taken in order to make the local 
system part of the State School-to-Work Opportunities system, including 
a timeline that includes major planned objectives during the grant 
period.

Selection Criterion 5: Management Plan (10 Points)

    Considerations: In applying this criterion, reviewers will 
consider--
    <bullet> The feasibility and effectiveness of the partnership's 
strategy for using other resources, including private sector resources, 
to maintain the system when Federal resources under the School-to-Work 
Opportunities Act are no longer available.
    <bullet> The extent to which the partnership's management plan 
anticipates barriers to implementation and proposes effective methods 
for addressing barriers as they arise.
    <bullet> Whether the plan includes feasible measurable goals for 
the School-to-Work Opportunities system, based on performance outcomes 
established under section 402 of the Act, and an effective method for 
collecting information relevant to the local partnership's progress in 
meeting its goals.
    <bullet> Whether the plan includes a regularly scheduled process 
for improving or redesigning the School-to-Work Opportunities system 
based on performance outcomes established under section 402 of the Act.
    <bullet> The extent to which the resources requested will be used 
to develop information, products and ideas that will assist other 
States and local partnerships as they design and implement local 
systems.
    <bullet> The extent to which the partnership will limit equipment 
and other purchases in order to maximize the amounts spent on delivery 
of services to students.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order 
12372 and the regulations in 29 CFR Part 17. The objectives 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 Departments' specific plans and actions for 
this program.

Executive Order 12866

    This notice of proposed priority has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order the Secretary 
has assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory 
action.
    The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed priority 
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those determined by 
the Secretary to be necessary for administering this program 
effectively and efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, the Secretary has 
determined that the benefits of the proposed priority justify the 
costs.
    The Secretary has also determined that this regulatory action does 
not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
    To assist the Department in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866, the Secretary invites comment on 
whether there may be further opportunities to reduce any potential 
costs or increase potential benefits resulting from this proposed 
priority without impeding the effective and efficient administration of 
the program.

Invitation to Comment

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the proposed 
application of the 10 percent cap on administrative costs, the proposed 
selection criteria, and the proposed definition of the term 
``administrative costs'' contained in this notice. All comments 
submitted in response to this notice will be available for public 
inspection, during and after the comment period, in the National 
School-to-Work Office, 400 Virginia Avenue, S.W., Suite 210, 
Washington, D.C., between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday of each week, except Federal holidays.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number has not been 
assigned.)

    Dated: May 16, 1995.
Doug Ross,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Department of Labor.
Augusta Kappner,
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.
[FR Doc. 95-12786 Filed 5-24-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P