[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 41 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 11866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-5037]




[[Page 11865]]

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Part X





Department of Education





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Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 41 / Thursday, March 2, 1995 / 
Notices 
[[Page 11866]] 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority for fiscal year (FY) 1996 and 
following years.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes a priority for FY 1996 and following 
years under the Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants 
program authorized in 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 the Act by focusing Federal 
financial assistance on an identified national need. The priority is 
intended to provide financial assistance to those 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) proposing projects that will serve 
schools with significant concentrations of limited English proficient 
(LEP) students.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning this proposed priority should be 
addressed to: Harry Logel, U.S. Department of Education, 600 
Independence Ave., 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry Logel. Telephone: (202) 205-
5530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Comprehensive School Grants program is a 
new program. Under section 7114(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 schoolwide bilingual education 
programs or special alternative instructional programs for reforming, 
restructuring, and upgrading all relevant programs and operations, 
within an individual school, that serve virtually all LEP children and 
youth in schools with significant concentrations of these children and 
youth.
    To assist those schools with significant concentrations of LEP 
children and youth, the Secretary proposes to require that to be 
eligible for funding the project must serve only schools in which the 
number of LEP students, in each school served, equals at least 25 
percent of the total student enrollment. By using a 25 percent 
threshold the Secretary is targeting those schools in which LEP 
students constitute a major portion of the school population. The 
Secretary chose a percentage threshold rather than a number threshold 
to include schools with small student enrollments. Using the 25 percent 
threshold, approximately 4,400 schools would be eligible to participate 
under this program. These numbers are based on data from the 
Descriptive Study of Services to LEP Students conducted by Development 
Associates, Inc., in 1993.
    The Secretary will announce the final priority for FY 1996 and 
following years in a notice in the Federal Register at a later date. 
The final priority for FY 1996 and following years will be determined 
by response to this notice, available funds, and other considerations 
of the Department. Funding of particular projects depends on the 
availability of funds, the nature of the final priority, and the 
quality of the applications received. The publication of this proposed 
priority does not preclude the Secretary from proposing additional 
priorities, nor does it limit the Secretary to funding only this 
priority, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

    Note: This notice of proposed priority does not solicit 
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition 
for FY 1996 will be published in the Federal Register following 
publication of the notice of final priority. A notice of final 
priority for FY 1995 for this program is published elsewhere in this 
issue of the Federal Register.

Priority

    Under section 7114(a) of the Act, the Secretary proposes to give an 
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority. 
The Secretary proposes to fund under this competition only applications 
that meet this absolute priority:
    Projects that serve only schools in which the number of LEP 
students, in each school served, equals at least 25 percent of the 
total student enrollment.

Intergovernmentary 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.

Invitation to Comment

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments and 
recommendations regarding this proposed priority.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available 
for public inspection, during and after the comment period, in Room 
5611, 330 C Street, SW., Washington, D.C., between the hours of 8:30 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

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

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.290 Bilingual 
Education: Comprehensive School Grants.)

    Dated: February 6, 1995.
Eugene E. Garcia,
Director, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.
[FR Doc. 95-5037 Filed 3-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P