11864 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 41 / Thursday, March 2, 1995 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Bilingual Education: Systemwide

Improvement Grants

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priority for fiscal

year (FY) 1995.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a

priority for FY 1995 under the Bilingual

Education: Systemwide Improvement

Grants program authorized under title

VII of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 1965, as amended (the

Act). The Secretary takes this action to

implement a provision of this Act by

focusing Federal financial assistance on

an identified national need. The priority

is intended to provide financial

assistance to local educational agencies

(LEAs) or LEAs in collaboration with

institutions of higher education (IHEs),

community-based organizations (CBOs),

other LEAs, or a State educational

agency (SEA) to implement districtwide

bilingual education programs or special

alternative instructional programs that

will serve a significant number of

limited English proficient (LEP)

children and youth in one or more LEAs

with significant concentrations of these

children and youth.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect

April 3, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harry Logel, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue

SW., Room 5090, Switzer Building,

Washington, DC 20202–6510.

Telephone: (202) 205–5530. 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: The

Systemwide Improvement Grants

program is a new program. Under

section 7115(a) of the Act, the purpose

of the program is to assist LEAs or LEAs

in collaboration with IHEs, CBOs, other

LEAs, or an SEA to implement

districtwide bilingual education

programs or special alternative

instructional programs to improve,

reform, and upgrade relevant programs

and operations, within an entire LEA,

that serve a significant number of LEP

children and youth in one or more LEAs

with significant concentrations of these

children and youth.

To assist those LEAs that have a

significant concentration of LEP

children and youth, the Secretary

requires that to be eligible for funding

the project must serve only LEAs in

which the number of LEP students, in

each LEA served, is at least 1,000 or at

least 25 percent of the total student

enrollment. By using a 1,000 or 25

percent threshold, the Secretary is

targeting those LEAs in which LEP

students constitute a major portion of

the LEAs’ programs and operations. The

Secretary chose to allow either a

number or a percentage threshold to

include small and large school districts

with significant concentrations of LEP

students. If the Secretary had used only

a percentage threshold, some of the

larger districts would have been

excluded from participating in the

program even though they had

significant numbers of LEP students

enrolled in their districts. Using the

1,000 or 25 percent threshold,

approximately 450 LEAs would be

eligible to participate under this

program. The number of eligible LEAs is

based on data from the Descriptive

Study of Services to LEP Students

conducted by Development Associates,

Inc., in 1993.

Note: This notice of final priority does not

solicit applications. A notice inviting

applications under this competition for FY

1995 will be published in the Federal

Register at a later date.

Priority

Under section 7115(a) of the Act, the

Secretary gives an absolute preference to

applications that meet the following

priority. The Secretary funds under this

competition only applications that meet

this absolute priority:

Projects that serve only LEAs in

which the number of LEP students, in

each LEA served, is at least 1,000 or at

least 25 percent of the total student

enrollment.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

In accordance with the

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.

553), it is the practice of the Department

of Education to offer interested parties

the opportunity to comment on

proposed priorities. However, in order

to make timely grant awards in FY 1995,

the Director, in accordance with section

437(d)(1) of the General Education

Provisions Act, has decided to issue this

final priority, which will apply only to

the FY 1995 grant competition.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal

Register, the Director is publishing a

notice of proposed priority for this

program and offering interested parties

the opportunity to comment. The

proposed priority, which is identical to

this final priority, would apply to grant

competitions under the program

beginning in FY 1996.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.

The objective 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 Department’s specific

plans and actions for this program.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7425.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.291 Bilingual Education:

Systemwide Improvement Grants)

Dated: February 6, 1995.

Eugene E. Garcia,

Director, Office of Bilingual Education and

Minority Languages Affairs.

[FR Doc. 95–5035 Filed 3–1–95; 8:45 am]

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