federal register

11861

Thursday

March 2, 1995

Part VIII

Department of

Education

Bilingual Education: Systemwide

Improvement Grants; Notice
11862 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 proposed priority for

fiscal year (FY) 1996 and following

years.

SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes a

priority for FY 1996 and following years

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.

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

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

proposes to require 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.

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 7115(a) of the Act, the

Secretary gives 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 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.

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.

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, DC, 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. 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. 95–5036 Filed 3–1–95; 8:45 am]

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