[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19814-19816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-9716]




[[Page 19813]]

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Part II





Department of Education





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Bilingual Education: Program Grants; Notices

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 76 / Thursday, April 20, 1995 / 
Notices 
[[Page 19814]] 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants; Bilingual 
Education: Systemwide Improvement Grants; and Bilingual Education: 
Program Enhancement Grants

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priorities for fiscal year (FY) 1995.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces priorities for FY 1995 under the 
following programs authorized by title VII of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act, as amended (the Act): (1) Bilingual Education: 
Comprehensive School Grants, (2) Bilingual Education: Systemwide 
Improvement Grants, and (3) Bilingual Education: Program Enhancement 
Grants. The Secretary takes this action to focus Federal financial 
assistance on an identified national need. These priorities provide for 
a competitive preference to be given to projects providing program 
services in an Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community designated 
under section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by title 
XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These priorities take effect on May 22, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry Logel, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 5090, Switzer Building, 
Washington, D.C. 20202. 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: This notice contains priorities under the 
following programs:

Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants.
Bilingual Education: Systemwide Improvement Grants.
Bilingual Education: Program Enhancement Grants.

    The purpose of each program is stated separately under the title of 
that program in a later section of this notice.
    Funding of particular projects depends on the availability of funds 
and the quality of the applications received.

    Note: This notice of final priorities does not solicit 
applications. Notices inviting applications under these competitions 
are published separately in this issue of the Federal Register.

Background

    The Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program is a critical 
element of the Administration's community revitalization strategy. The 
program is a first step in rebuilding communities in America's poverty-
stricken inner cities and rural heartlands. It is designed to empower 
people and communities by inspiring Americans to work together to 
create jobs and opportunity.
    Under this program, the Federal Government has designated certain 
areas as Empowerment Zones and as Enterprise Communities in accordance 
with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 1391, as amended by title XIII 
of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-66). Each 
of these areas was nominated by one or more local governments and the 
State or States in which it is located or by a State-Chartered Economic 
Development Corporation. The selected areas are characterized by 
pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress, and have a 
poverty rate of not less than the level specified in section 1392 of 
the IRC.
    Interested individuals may contact the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development (HUD) at 1-800-998-9999 for additional information on 
the Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program. A listing of 
areas that have been selected as Empowerment Zones and Enterprise 
Communities is included as an appendix to this notice.
    In the Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program, 
communities submitted strategic plans that comprehensively address how 
the community would link economic development with education and 
training as well as how community development, public safety, human 
services, and environmental initiatives together would support 
sustainable communities. Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities 
were designated by the Department of Agriculture and HUD based on the 
quality of their strategic plans. Designated areas will receive Federal 
grant funds and substantial tax benefits and will have access to other 
Federal programs.
    The Department of Education is supporting the Empowerment Zone and 
Enterprise Community initiative in a variety of ways. It is encouraging 
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities to use funds they already 
receive from Department of Education programs (including Title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended, the Drug-
Free Schools and Community Act, the Adult Education Act, and the Carl 
D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act) to support 
the comprehensive vision of their strategic plans. In addition, the 
Department of Education intends to give preferences to Empowerment 
Zones and Enterprise Communities in a number of discretionary grant 
programs that are well-suited for inclusion in a comprehensive approach 
to economic and community development. In addition to the Bilingual 
Education: Comprehensive School Grants program, the Bilingual 
Education: Systemwide Improvement Grants program, and the Bilingual 
Education: Program Enhancement Grants program, the Department intends 
to give preferences to Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities in 
the Urban Community Service program, the Parent Training program and 
Early Childhood Education program under the Individuals With 
Disabilities Education Act, and a variety of discretionary programs 
under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

Relationship of the Program Enhancement Grants Program, the 
Comprehensive School Grants Program, and the Systemwide Improvement 
Grants Program to the Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community 
Program

    These Bilingual Education programs provide grants to assist local 
educational agencies (LEAs), LEAs in collaboration with other entities, 
institutions of higher education (IHEs), and community-based 
organizations (CBOs) to develop and enhance their capacity to provide 
high-quality instruction through bilingual education or special 
alternative instruction programs to limited English proficient (LEP) 
children and youth. These programs are intended to help LEP children 
and youth to develop proficiency in English and, to the extent 
possible, their native language and to meet the same challenging 
academic State standards set for all children and youth.
    These Bilingual Education programs are ideally suited to play a key 
role in the Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program because 
of the high concentration of LEP children and youth in low-income 
areas. By improving the quality of education provided to LEP children 
and youth, these programs enhance their economic opportunities and 
contribute to the improvement of our communities.
    Communities designated as Empowerment Zones or Enterprise 
Communities already have demonstrated a capacity for the type of 
cooperative planning that is critical to [[Page 19815]] developing and 
maintaining successful educational systems. Projects funded under these 
programs will provide models for educational systems in other 
distressed areas.
    In addition, these Bilingual Education programs provide a vehicle 
for achieving the National Education Goal that by the year 2000 every 
adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and 
skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights 
and responsibilities of citizenship. These programs help further this 
goal by encouraging programs that help LEP children and youth become 
proficient in English and meet the same high academic State standards 
set for all children and youth.
    Accordingly, the Secretary has determined that it would serve the 
purposes of the three programs in this notice to award a competitive 
preference to applications that propose projects that serve these 
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities.

Bilingual Education: Program Enhancement Grants

Purpose of Program

    Under section 7113 of the Act, the purpose of the program is to 
assist (1) LEAs, (2) LEAs in collaboration with IHEs, CBOs, other LEAs, 
or an SEA, or (3) CBOs and IHEs that have had their applications 
approved by LEAs to carry out highly focused, innovative, locally 
designed projects to expand or enhance existing bilingual education or 
special alternative instructional programs for LEP students.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7423

Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants

Purpose of Program

    Under section 7114 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.

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

Bilingual Education: Systemwide Improvement Grants

Purpose of Program

    Under section 7115 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.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7425

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), the Secretary gives preference to 
applications that meet the following competitive priority. The 
Secretary awards 5 points to an application that meets this competitive 
priority. These points would be in addition to any points an 
application earns under the selection criteria for the programs to 
which this priority applies. The priority applies to the following 
programs:

Bilingual Education: Comprehensive School Grants.
Bilingual Education: Systemwide Improvement Grants.
Bilingual Education: Program Enhancement Grants.

    Under each of these programs, competitive preference will be given 
to applications that--
    (1) Propose to provide services to schools and LEP students 
eligible to be served under the program located in one or more 
Empowerment Zones or Enterprise Communities; and
    (2) Propose projects that contribute to the strategic plan of the 
Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community and that are made an integral 
component of the Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community activities.

Waiver of Proposed Priority

    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.

Intergovernmental Review

    These programs are 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 
these programs.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: 84.289 Bilingual 
Education: Program Enhancement Grants; 84.290 Bilingual Education: 
Comprehensive School Grants; and 84.291
Bilingual Education: Systemwide Improvement Grants.)

    Dated: April 11, 1995.
Eugene E. Garcia,
Director, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.

Appendix--Areas Designated as Empowerment Zones and Enterprise 
Communities

Urban Empowerment Zones

Atlanta, Georgia
Baltimore, Maryland
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
New York, New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania & Camden, New Jersey

Urban Supplemental Zones

Los Angeles, California
Cleveland, Ohio

Rural Empowerment Zones

Kentucky Highlands (Clinton, Jackson, Wayne Counties, Kentucky)
Mid-Delta Mississippi (Bolivar, Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore Counties, 
Mississippi)
Rio Grande Valley Texas (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Willacy Counties, 
Texas)

Urban Enhanced Enterprise Communities

Boston, Massachusetts
Houston, Texas
Kansas City, Kansas & Kansas City, Missouri
Oakland, California

Urban and Rural Enterprise Communities

(Listed Alphabetically by State)

Alabama

Birmingham
Chambers County
Green & Sumter Counties

Arizona

Arizona Border Region: Cochise, Santa Cruz & Yuma Counties
Phoenix

Arkansas

Eastern Arkansas: Cross, Lee, Monrow & St. Francis Counties
Mississippi County
Pulaski County

California

Imperial County
Los Angeles (South Central/Huntington Park)
San Diego [[Page 19816]] 
San Francisco (Hunters Point)
City of Watsonville: Santa Cruz County

Colorado

Denver

Connecticut

Bridgeport
New Haven

Delaware

Wilmington

District of Columbia

Washington

Florida

Dade County/Miami
Jackson County
Tampa

Georgia

Albany
Crisp & Dooly Counties
Central Savannah River Area: Burke, Hancock, Jefferson, McDuffie, 
Tallaferro & Warren Counties

Illinois

East St. Louis
Springfield

Indiana

Indianapolis

Iowa

Des Moines

Kentucky

Louisville
McCreary County

Louisiana

Macon Ridge: Catahouis, Concordia, Franklin, Morehouse & Tensas 
Parishes
New Orleans
Northeast Louisiana Delta: Madison Parish
Ouachita Parish

Massachusetts

Lowell
Springfield

Michigan

Flint
Lake County
Muskegon

Minnesota

Minneapolis
St. Paul

Mississippi

Jackson
North Delta: Panola, Quitman & Tallahatchie Counties

Missouri

City of East Prairie: Mississippi County
St. Louis

Nebraska

Omaha

Nevada

Clark County/Las Vegas

New Hampshire

Manchester

New Jersey

Newark

New Mexico

Albuquerque
Mora, Taos, & Rio Ariba Counties

New York

Albany
Buffalo
Newburgh-Kingston
Rochester

North Carolina

Charlotte
Halifax, Edgecombe & Wilson Counties
Robeson County

Ohio

Akron
Columbus
Greater Portsmouth: Scioto County

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City
Southeast Oklahoma: Choctaw & McCurtain Counties

Oregon

Josephine County
Portland

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg
City of Lock Haven: Clinton County
Pittsburgh

Rhode Island

Providence

South Carolina

Charleston
Williamsburg County & Lake City: Florence & Williamsburg Counties

South Dakota

Boadie & Spink Counties

Tennessee

Fayette & Haywood Counties
Memphis
Nashville
Scott County

Texas

Dallas
El Paso
San Antonio
Waco

Utah

Ogden

Vermont

Burlington

Virginia

Accomack & Northampton Counties
Norfolk

Washington

Lower Yakima County
Seattle
Tacoma

West Virginia

Central Appalachia: Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Nicholas & Roane 
Counties
Huntington
McDowell County

Wisconsin

Milwaukee
[FR Doc. 95-9716 Filed 4-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P