29300 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices

ACTION: Notice of closed meeting.

SUMMARY: The CNO Executive Panel

will meet to conduct the midterm

briefing of the War for People and

Professional Development Task Forces

to the Chief of Naval Operations. This

meeting will consist of discussions

relating to Navy strategy for human

resources. This meeting will be closed

to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on

Friday, June 8, 2001, from 7:30 a.m. to

8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Office of the Chief of Naval

Operations, 2000 Navy Pentagon, Room

4E630, Washington, DC 20350–2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING

THIS MEETING CONTACT: Commander

Christopher Agan, CNO Executive

Panel, 4825 Mark Center Drive,

Alexandria, VA 22311, (703) 681–6205.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to the provisions of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.

2), these matters constitute information

that relates solely to the internal rules

and practices of the agency.

Accordingly, the Secretary of the Navy

has determined in writing that the

public interest requires that all sessions

of the meeting be closed to the public

because they will be concerned with

matters listed in title 5 U.S.C, section

552b(c)(2).

Dated: May 18, 2001.

J.L. Roth,

Lieutenant Commander, Judge Advocate

General’s Corps, Federal Register Liaison

Officer.

[FR Doc. 01–13462 Filed 5–29–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.282A]

Office of Elementary and Secondary

Education; Public Charter Schools

Program—Field-Initiated National

Activities Projects Notice Inviting

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal

Year (FY) 2001

Purpose of Program: The purpose of

the Public Charter Schools Program

(PCSP) is to increase national

understanding of the charter schools

model by providing financial assistance

for the planning, program design, and

initial implementation of charter

schools; evaluating the effects of charter

schools; and disseminating information

about charter schools and successful

practices in charter schools.

Eligible Applicants: State and local

educational agencies, public and private

nonprofit organizations, institutions of

higher education, authorized public

chartering agencies, charter school

developers, and public schools,

including public charter schools.

Eligible applicants may also apply as a

group, or consortium.

Applications Available: May 30, 2001.

Application packages will be

available by mail and electronically on

the World Wide Web at the following

sites:

http://www.ed.gov/GrantApps

http://www.uscharterschools.org

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: July 16, 2001.

Estimated Available Funds: $4

million.

Estimated Range of Awards: The size

of awards will be commensurate with

the nature and scope of the work

proposed.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$200,000-$400,000 per year.

Estimated Number of Awards: 10–20.

Note: These estimates are projections for

the guidance of potential applicants. The

Department is not bound by any estimates in

this notice.

Budget Period: 12 months.

Project Period: Up to 24 months.

Page Limit: The application narrative

may not exceed the equivalent of 20

double-spaced pages, with printing on

only one side of 81⁄2 x 11-inch paper.

Our reviewers will not read any pages

of your application that —

• Exceed the page limit if you apply

these standards; or

• Exceed the equivalent of the page

limit if you apply other standards.

Thus, we will remove all pages in

excess of the 20-page narrative

maximum or its equivalent.

Note: We have found that reviewers are

able to conduct the highest quality review

when applications are concise and easy to

read. We strongly encourage applicants to

use a 12-point or larger size font, one-inch

margins at the top, bottom, and both sides,

and pages numbered consecutively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

10305 of the ESEA (National Activities)

authorizes the Secretary to award grants

under the PCSP to carry out national

activities. For FY 2001, the Department

is holding a grant competition for fieldinitiated national activities projects.

Grants for national activities projects

under the PCSP are highly competitive.

Strong applications for national

activities grants clearly address each of

the applicable selection criteria. They

make a well-reasoned and compelling

case for the national significance of the

problems or issues that will be the

subject of the proposed project, and

present a project design that is

complete, clearly delineated, and

incorporates sound implementation

methods. In addition, the personnel

descriptions included in strong

applications make it apparent that the

project director, principal investigator,

and other key personnel possess

training and experience commensurate

with their duties.

The project period of the grant may be

from one to two years. In the

application, the project period should

be divided into 12-month budget

periods. Each 12-month budget should

be clearly delineated and justified in

terms of the proposed activities.

Allowable Activities: The following

are examples of the types of projects

that could be supported with a national

activities grant under the PCSP (for the

specific national activities authorized

under the PCSP, see section 10305(a) of

the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 8065(a)):

(1) Access to Federal Funds.

Disseminate information to charter

schools about federal programs in which

they may be eligible to participate and

provide technical assistance to charter

schools in applying for federal funds.

(2) Research. Conduct evaluations or

studies on various issues concerning

charter schools, such as student

achievement, teacher qualifications and

retention, and the demographic makeup

(e.g., age, race, gender, disability,

limited-English proficiency, and

previous public or private school

enrollment) of charter school students.

(3) Technical Assistance and

Planning. Assist charter school

developers with all aspects of planning,

designing, and implementing a charter

school. Some areas in which newly

created charter schools face challenges

include program design, curriculum

development, defining the school’s

mission, hiring staff, drafting charter

applications, student recruitment and

admissions, public relations and

community involvement, governance,

acquiring equipment and services,

budget and finances, facilities,

assessment and accountability, parental

involvement, serving students with

disabilities, and collaborating with other

entities to provide quality instruction

and services.

(4) Best or Promising Practices.

Disseminate information on best or

promising practices in charter schools to

other public schools, including charter

schools.

(5) Facilities. Disseminate information

about programs and financial resources

available to charter schools for facilities,

including information about successful

programs and how charter schools can

access private capital.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2001 / Notices 29301

Collaboration: We encourage

collaboration in the development of

these projects. For example, charter

school resource centers may collaborate

with successful charter schools to

disseminate information about the

charter school’s program; authorized

institutions of higher education may

collaborate with authorized public

chartering agencies to develop methods

for assessing student achievement in

charter schools; and charter schools may

collaborate with each other to establish

networks to address some of the

implementation issues facing newly

created charter schools.

Selection Criteria: The Secretary uses

the selection criteria published in 34

CFR 75.210 to evaluate applications for

grants under the field-initiated national

activities competition for FY 2001. The

application package includes the

specific SELECTION CRITERIA and the

points assigned to each criterion.

Applicable Regulations and Statute:

The Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

34 CFR parts 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82,

85, 86, 97, and 99. Title X, part C,

Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, 20

U.S.C. 8061–8067.

The following definitions are taken

from the PCSP authorizing statute, in

title X, part C of the ESEA. They are

being repeated in this application notice

for the convenience of the applicant.

Definitions

The following definitions apply to

this program:

(a) Charter school means a public

school that

(1) In accordance with a specific State

statute authorizing the granting of

charters to schools, is exempted from

significant State or local rules that

inhibit the flexible operation and

management of public schools, but not

from any rules relating to the other

requirements of this definition;

(2) Is created by a developer as a

public school, or is adapted by a

developer from an existing public

school, and is operated under public

supervision and direction;

(3) Operates in pursuit of a specific

set of educational objectives determined

by the school’s developer and agreed to

by the authorized public chartering

agency;

(4) Provides a program of elementary

or secondary education, or both;

(5) Is nonsectarian in its programs,

admissions policies, employment

practices, and all other operations, and

is not affiliated with a sectarian school

or religious institution;

(6) Does not charge tuition;

(7) Complies with the Age

Discrimination Act of 1975, title VI of

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, title IX of

the Education Amendments of 1972,

section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

1973, and part B of the Individuals With

Disabilities Education Act;

(8) Is a school to which parents

choose to send their children, and that

admits students on the basis of a lottery,

if more students apply for admission

than can be accommodated;

(9) Agrees to comply with the same

Federal and State audit requirements as

do other elementary and secondary

schools in the State, unless the

requirements are specifically waived for

the purposes of this program;

(10) Meets all applicable Federal,

State, and local health and safety

requirements;

(11) Operates in accordance with

State law; and

(12) Has a written performance

contract with the authorized public

chartering agency in the State that

includes a description of how student

performance will be measured in charter

schools pursuant to State assessments

that are required of other schools and

pursuant to any other assessments

mutually agreeable to the authorized

public chartering agency and the charter

school.

(b) Developer means an individual or

group of individuals (including a public

or private nonprofit organization),

which may include teachers,

administrators and other school staff,

parents, or other members of the local

community in which a charter school

project will be carried out.

(c) Eligible applicant means an

authorized public chartering agency

participating in a partnership with a

developer to establish a charter school

in accordance with title X, part C of the

ESEA.

(d) Authorized public chartering

agency means a State educational

agency, local educational agency, or

other public entity that has the authority

under State law and is approved by the

Secretary to authorize or approve a

charter school.

For Applications and Further

Information Contact: Donna M. Hoblit,

U.S. Department of Education, 400

Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3C148,

Washington, DC 20202–6140.

Telephone (202) 205–9178. Internet

address: Donna.Hoblit@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.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternative

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) upon

request to the contact person listed

under For Applications and Further

Information Contact. Individuals with

disabilities may obtain a copy of the

application package in an alternative

format, also, by contacting that person.

However, the Department is not able to

reproduce in an alternative format the

standard forms included in the

application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register in text or Adobe Portable

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet

at the following site: www.ed.gov/

legislation/FedRegister.

To use PDF, you must have Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at the previous site. If you have

questions about using PDF, call the U.S.

Government Printing Office toll free at

1–888–293–6498; or in the Washington,

DC area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of a document is

the document published in the Federal

Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8061–8067.

Dated: May 24, 2001.

Thomas M. Corwin,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for

Elementary and Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 01–13551 Filed 5–29–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Arbitration Panel Decision Under the

Randolph-Sheppard Act

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of arbitration panel

decision under the Randolph-Sheppard

Act.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that on

August 22, 2000, an arbitration panel

rendered a decision in the matter of Jack

Bedikian v. California Department of

Rehabilitation (Docket No. R–S/98–6).

This panel was convened by the U.S.

Department of Education pursuant to 20

U.S.C. 107d–1(a) upon receipt of a

complaint filed by petitioner, Jack

Bedikian.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A

copy of the full text of the arbitration

panel decision may be obtained from

George F. Arsnow, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

room 3230, Mary E. Switzer Building,

Washington, DC 20202–2738.

Telephone: (202) 205–9317. If you use a