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[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 112 (Monday, June 11, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31216-31218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14767]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--School Improvement 
Programs--Native Hawaiian Curriculum Development, Teacher Training and 
Recruitment Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Priorities for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes absolute priorities for the FY 2001 
grant competition under the Native Hawaiian Curriculum Development, 
Teacher Training and Recruitment Program. After funding continuation 
awards, the Secretary would (a) set aside an estimated $500,000 of FY 
2001 funds to award new grants to support activities in the area of 
Native Hawaiian language revitalization; and (b) use the remaining FY 
2001 funds available under the program (approximately $900,000) to 
award new grants to support activities in one or more of the following 
areas: (1) Aquaculture, (2) prisoner education initiatives, (3) waste 
management, (4) computer literacy, (5) Big Island astronomy, and (6) 
indigenous health programs.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before July 11, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about the proposed priorities to Lynn 
Thomas, Office of Elementary and Secondary

[[Page 31217]]

Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 
3C124, Washington, DC 20202-6140, Telephone (202) 260-1541, FAX: (202) 
260-5630. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use 
the following address: [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Thomas, (202) 260-1541. If you 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you 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) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation To Comment

    We invite you to submit comments and recommendations regarding 
these proposed priorities. To ensure your comments have maximum effect 
in developing the notice of final priorities, we urge you to identify 
clearly the specific proposed priority that each comment addresses.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about these proposed priorities in Room 3C124, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record

    On request, the Department supplies an appropriate aid, such as a 
reader or print magnifier, to an individual with a disability that 
needs assistance to review the comments. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or (202) 
260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

General

    There is available for distribution under the Native Hawaiian 
Curriculum Development, Teacher Training and Recruitment Program (20 
U.S.C. 7909) approximately $6.5 million of FY 2001 funds. Of this 
amount, the Secretary plans to use approximately $5.1 million to award 
continuation grants to successful applicants in prior year competitions 
and approximately $500,000 for new awards for grants to support 
activities in the area of Native Hawaiian language revitalization. The 
Secretary would use approximately $900,000 to support new curriculum 
development and teacher training projects in one or more of the 
following areas: (1) Aquaculture, (2) prisoner education initiatives, 
(3) waste management, (4) computer literacy, (5) Big Island astronomy, 
and (6) indigenous health programs.
    Congress has urged the Secretary to support activities in these 
areas. Therefore, the Secretary is proposing absolute funding 
priorities and intends to use available FY 2001 funds under the program 
for new awards to support projects in these areas.
    The Secretary will announce final priorities for these competitions 
in a future notice of the Federal Register. The final priorities will 
be determined by responses to this notice, available funds, and other 
considerations of the Department. Funding of a particular project 
depends on the final priority, the availability of funds, and the 
quality of the applications received. The publication of these proposed 
priorities does not preclude the Secretary from proposing additional 
priorities, nor does it limit the Secretary to funding only these 
priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. A notice 
inviting applications under the competitions will be published in 
the Federal Register concurrent with or following the notice of 
final priorities.

Absolute Priorities

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Native Hawaiian Education Act, 
the Secretary proposes to give an absolute preference to applications 
that meet either of the following priorities, and to fund under this 
competition only those applications that meet either of the following 
absolute priorities:
    Absolute priority 1: Applications that focus entirely on activities 
in one or more of the following areas:
    (1) Acquaculture--to support programs that concentrate on 
acquaculture, the science of the cultivation of marine life. A 
comprehensive acquaculture program will assist Native Hawaiian students 
in reaching challenging standards in science and mathematics in an 
intellectually stimulating environment and give them a greater 
understanding and appreciation of their Native Hawaiian culture.
    (2) Prisoner education initiatives--to support programs that target 
juvenile offenders or youth at risk of becoming juvenile offenders and 
that involve comprehensive and culturally sensitive strategies for 
reaching the target population through family counseling, basic 
education/jobs skills training, and the involvement of community elders 
as mentors;
    (3) Waste management innovation--to study and document traditional 
Hawaiian practices of sustainable waste management and to prepare 
teaching materials for educational purposes and for demonstration of 
the use of Native Hawaiian plants and animals for waste treatment and 
environmental remediation;
    (4) Computer literacy--to support curriculum development, teacher 
training and model programs designed to increase computer literacy and 
access for Native Hawaiian elementary and secondary school students;
    (5) Big Island astronomy--to support the development of educational 
programs in Big Island astronomy for Native Hawaiian elementary and 
secondary school students to assist them in reaching challenging 
science and mathematics standards and to encourage them to enter the 
field of astronomy; and
    (6) Indigenous health programs--to support curriculum development, 
teacher training, and instruction activities that will foster a better 
understanding and knowledge of Native Hawaiian traditional medicine, 
particularly among Native Hawaiian elementary and secondary students.
    Absolute Priority 2: Applications that focus entirely on Native 
Hawaiian language revitalization activities, including K-12 language 
immersion programs, preservice and inservice teacher training programs, 
and programs designed to increase the number of Native Hawaiian 
teachers.

    Program Authority: Section 9209 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 7909).

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may review 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 this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO); toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Domestic Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

[[Page 31218]]

    Dated: June 5, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-14767 Filed 6-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-M
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