Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 91 / Thursday, May 9, 1996 / Notices 21231

grant competitions, can be viewed on

the Department’s electronic bulletin

board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260–

9950; or on the Internet Gopher Server

at GOPHER.ED.GOV (under

Announcements, Bulletins, and Press

Releases); or on the World Wide Web at

http://www.ed.gov/money.html

However, the official application notice

for a discretionary grant competition is

the notice published in the Federal

Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1426.

Dated: May 3, 1996.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 96–11472 Filed 5–8–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priorities.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces final

priorities for two programs administered

by the Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) under

the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act. The Secretary may use

these priorities in Fiscal Year 1996 and

subsequent years. The Secretary takes

this action to focus Federal assistance

on identified needs to improve results

for children with disabilities. These

final priorities are intended to ensure

wide and effective use of program

funds.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These priorities take

effect on June 10, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

name, address, and telephone number of

the person at the Department to contact

for information on each specific final

priority is listed under that priority.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice contains three final priorities

under two programs authorized by the

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act, as follows: Training Personnel for

the Education of Individuals with

Disabilities Program (two final

priorities); and the Program for Children

and Youth with Serious Emotional

Disturbance (one final priority). The

purpose of each program is stated

separately under the title of that

program.

On February 21, 1996, the Secretary

published a notice of proposed

priorities for these programs in the

Federal Register (61 FR 6754–6758).

These final priorities support the

National Education Goals by improving

understanding of how to enable

children and youth with disabilities to

reach higher levels of academic

achievement.

The publication of these 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.

Funding of particular projects depends

on the availability of funds, and the

quality of the applications received.

Further, FY 1996 priorities could be

affected by enactment of legislation

reauthorizing these programs.

Note: This notice of final priorities does

not solicit applications. A notice inviting

applications under these competitions is

published in a separate notice in this issue

of the Federal Register.

Analysis of Comments and Changes

In response to the Secretary’s

invitation in the notice of proposed

priority, fifty-six parties submitted

comments. An analysis of the comments

and of the changes in the proposed

priorities follows. Technical and other

minor changes—as well as suggested

changes the Secretary is not legally

authorized to make under the applicable

statutory authority—are not addressed.

Priority—Preparation of Special

Education, Related Services, and Early

Intervention Personnel To Serve

Infants, Toddlers, Children, and Youth

With Low-Incidence Disabilities

Comment: Forty-two commenters

expressed concern about the severe

shortage of personnel specifically

prepared to work with children and

youth who are deaf-blind. The

commenters felt that the priority should

place more emphasis on preparing

personnel to work with children and

youth with deaf-blindness by

specifically identifying deaf-blindness

as a low-incidence disability.

Identification of deaf-blindness, the

commenters note, is necessary to

preserve the uniqueness of this

disability and to address the lack of

qualified personnel who have the

specialized skills to effectively work

with deaf-blind children.

Discussion: The proposed priority

defined the term ‘‘low-incidence

disability’’ to include a ‘‘visual or

hearing impairment, or simultaneous

visual and hearing impairments.’’ The

proposed definition did not specifically

identify deaf-blindness as a low

incidence disability, although deafblindness clearly satisfies the definition.

The Secretary agrees with the

commenters that there is a need to train

additional personnel to work with the

deaf-blind and notes that the Office of

Special Education Programs currently

funds seven programs that prepare

personnel to work with this population.

Projects proposing to prepare special

education, related service, and early

intervention personnel to work with

children who are deaf-blind are eligible

to receive an award under the final

priority and are encouraged to apply.

Changes: The proposed priority has

been amended to clarify that children

with deaf-blindness would be

considered individuals with ‘‘lowincidence’’ disabilities.

Comment: Four commenters

expressed concern that there is a

shortage of teachers of blind and

visually impaired children. The

commenters recommended that the

Department establish a separate priority

for the training of personnel to work

with blind and visually impaired

children since training programs for

teachers of the visually impaired are

highly specialized and rigorous.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

there is a shortage of teachers of the

visually impaired and blind. The

Secretary emphasizes that the final

priority, like the proposed priority,

authorizes funding of projects designed

to train teachers to work with the blind

and visually impaired.

Changes: None.

Comment: Five commenters

questioned the collaborative, multidisciplinary aspects of the priority. Two

commenters expressed concern that the

priority required projects to demonstrate

collaboration between their project and

other departments and suggested that

such collaboration is beyond the

capability of most programs. In

particular, one commenter stated that

the complexity and intensity of training

programs that prepare individuals to

work with the visually impaired would

make collaboration between these and

other programs (e.g., nursing, physical

therapy, occupational therapy, and

psychology) impossible. Other

commenters mentioned the difficulty of

an over-crowded curriculum and a lack

of time and personnel as additional

reasons for opposing the development of

collaboration among programs.

However, one commenter recommended

that projects demonstrate partnerships

with rehabilitation programs,

independent living centers, employers,

and other community resources that

become critical as youth with lowincidence disabilities transition to

employment.

Discussion: The priority encourages,

but does not require, collaboration
21232 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 91 / Thursday, May 9, 1996 / Notices

among several institutions and between

training institutions and public schools.

The priority also encourages, but does

not require, projects that foster

successful coordination between special

education and regular education

professional development programs in

order to address the needs of children

with low-incidence disabilities in

inclusive settings. The Secretary is

sympathetic to the level and diversity of

knowledge needed to work with many

of the low-incidence populations.

However, students with low-incidence

disabilities may experience multiple

problems that need to be addressed

through services in several disciplines

(e.g., occupational, physical and speech

therapy, social work, psychology).

Special education, related service, and

early intervention personnel that work

with low-incidence populations,

therefore, must possess sufficient

knowledge of other disciplines to

communicate with professionals in

those areas, to function as a team

member when assessing the students,

and to cooperate knowledgeably when

developing individualized education

plans (IEPs). Multi-disciplinary training

projects are encouraged for purposes of

assisting students with low-incidence

disabilities in reaching their maximum

potential. Personnel trained under the

priority, however, are not expected to

become fully knowledgeable in other

disciplines.

The Secretary realizes that the

appropriateness of any collaboration

and coordination is dependent upon the

objectives of a particular project.

Potential variation among projects is the

reason that the collaboration and

coordination is encouraged, not

required.

Changes: None.

Comment: Some commenters

requested that certain occupations be

identified in the priority as types of

careers to which training projects could

be directed. Commenters suggested that

transition staff, direct care professionals,

case managers, orientation and mobility

instructors, interveners and

paraprofessionals be specifically

mentioned in the priority.

Discussion: The priority provides

support for related services personnel

who provide developmental, corrective,

and other supportive services that assist

children with low-incidence disabilities

to benefit from special education.

Transition staff, direct care

professionals, case managers,

orientation and mobility instructors,

interveners and paraprofessionals are

considered related service personnel

under the priority. Because the

population of individuals with lowincidence disabilities requires multiple

services, it would be difficult to provide

an exhaustive list of all types of related

service personnel that can be trained

under this priority. Also, any list of

related service personnel could be

viewed as overly prescriptive. The

Secretary prefers to allow individual

projects the latitude to propose and

justify their particular project

concentration.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter requested

clarification of the language in the

priority that authorizes training of

related service personnel through

‘‘comprehensive programs’’ or

‘‘specialty components of programs that

emphasize children with low-incidence

disabilities within a broader discipline.’’

Discussion: Comprehensive programs

are those that are dedicated to the total

area of preparation. Examples include,

but are not limited to, programs that

prepare psychologists to work with

school-age children with disabilities, or

physical therapy programs that prepare

therapists to function within school

settings. A specialty component of a

program is a segment of a broader

program devoted to a low-incidence

disability. Examples include, but are not

limited to, programs that prepare school

psychologists to work with children

who have traumatic brain injury or

physical therapists to work with

children birth to age three. Both types

of preparation programs may be

supported under this priority. The

Secretary intends to include this

clarifying information in the application

package for the competition.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter described

the potential difficulty in using the State

Comprehensive System of Personnel

Development (CSPD) to substantiate a

State’s need for trained personnel to

serve children with low-incidence

disabilities and asked if other means

might be used to document State needs.

Discussion: The Secretary believes

that the CSPD should be used to support

the need for qualified personnel.

However, the Secretary also recognizes

that projects may have to supplement,

where appropriate, information

provided in a particular State’s CSPD. In

the past, if a State’s CSPD did not

support its need for qualified personnel,

other sources of data have been

accepted for purposes of documenting

need. The Secretary agrees that

applicants should continue to have the

option to use documentation in addition

to the CSPD to demonstrate the lack of

qualified personnel in a particular State.

Regardless of the documentation used, it

remains the responsibility of the

applicant to describe, support, and

justify the personnel needs addressed by

a particular project.

Changes: The priority has been

amended to allow projects to use

documentation in addition to the CSPD

to show how their proposed activities

address the need for trained personnel

in a particular State.

Comment: One commenter asked that

the priority emphasize the need to train

males for careers in special education in

light of the shortage of males who

pursue such training.

Discussion: The Secretary recognizes

that the majority of personnel serving

the needs of children and youth with

low-incidence disabilities are female.

However, the general shortage of

qualified personnel able to serve the

low-incidence population justifies the

need for preparing all potential

candidates, both male and female.

Changes: None.

Comment: Two commenters

questioned the approximate percentages

of available funds to be awarded to the

three components in the priority—55

percent for careers in special education,

30 percent for careers in related

services, and 15 percent for careers in

early intervention. One commenter

sought a decrease in the percentage of

funds allocated to the preparation of

special educators, while another

commenter recommended decreasing

the percentage of funds reserved for

special education and related services

training projects in order to support a

separate allocation for preparation of

individuals who work with the visually

impaired.

Discussion: The priority combines

elements of three previous competitions

that were funded separately and are

now being combined to target the needs

of the low-incidence population. The

percentages in the priority are

approximates and have been developed

in consideration of past levels of

support for the different competitions.

Funding of particular projects depends

on the availability of funds, the quality

of the applications received, and the

results of the peer review process.

However, the Secretary notes that the

amount of proposed funding for this

competition currently surpasses the

total amount of past awards for the three

separate competitions.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter requested

the priority be limited to special

education personnel and specifically

questioned the appropriatness of related

service and early intervention

specialists to work with the lowincidence population. The commenter

asserted that narrowly prepared related
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 91 / Thursday, May 9, 1996 / Notices 21233

service personnel may not find

employment because children with lowincidence disabilities are often widely

dispersed among geographical locations.

As a result, such programs may

experience logistical difficulties and

may be uneconomical.

Discussion: The Secretary is aware of

the logistical and economic difficulties

associated with serving infants,

toddlers, children and youth with lowincidence disabilities in rural and

isolated areas, as well as in public

school settings. The Secretary is also

aware of many instances in which

several children with low-incidence

disabilities are educated within a single

location. Regardless of setting, however,

special educators, related service and

early intervention personnel must be

prepared appropriately to meet the

needs of children with low-incidence

disabilities. The Secretary encourages

programs preparing personnel to

include information and experience

with low-incidence disabilities so that

graduates of their programs are able to

serve their customers in their areas of

expertise no matter where they are

found, as single students in an isolated

setting or as one of a group found in

aggregate settings. Federal support of

these programs is intended to reduce the

need for special educators, related

service and early intervention personnel

to learn on the job, which could

otherwise be detrimental to students.

Change: None.

Priority—Center To Promote

Collaboration and Communication of

Effective Practices for Children With, or

At Risk of Developing, Serious

Emotional Disturbance (SED)

Comment: One commenter wrote that

the allocation of funds under this

priority would be more effective if

provided directly to States with

flexibility on how these funds are used.

The commenter felt this would allow

each State to address issues relating to

the education of students with

emotional disabilities specific to the

needs of that State as identified by

school districts and other agencies.

Discussion: One of the purposes of the

Program for Children and Youth with

Serious Emotional Disturbance is, ‘‘To

provide information and training for

those involved with, or who could be

involved with children and youth with

serious emotional disturbance’’ (34 CFR

328.1(b)(2)). The proposed Center is

targeted toward the information aspect

of this purpose as stated in the program

regulations. There are other purposes of

the Program, and some of those are also

targeted by the priority, but to a lesser

extent.

Given the limited resources, the

Department believes that it would be

most efficient, and have the greatest

impact, to concentrate the funds rather

than to distribute the resources in

significantly smaller portions to the

States. Particularly, the Secretary feels

that in the area of information

development and transfer, multiple

smaller efforts by the States would

generate more duplication and

redundancy, and would have less

overall impact and efficiency than one

Center.

Changes: None.

Training Personnel for the Education of

Individuals With Disabilities Program

Purpose of Program: The purpose of

Grants for Personnel Training is to

increase the quantity and improve the

quality of personnel available to serve

infants, toddlers, children, and youth

with disabilities.

Priorities: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)

the Secretary gives an absolute

preference to applications that meet any

one of the following priorities. The

Secretary will fund under these

competitions only applications that

meet any one of these absolute

priorities:

Absolute Priority 1—Preparation of

Special Education, Related Services,

and Early Intervention Personnel To

Serve Infants, Toddlers, Children, and

Youth with Low-Incidence Disabilities

Background

The national demand for educational,

related services, and early intervention

personnel to serve infants, toddlers,

children and youth with low-incidence

disabilities exceeds available supply.

However, because of the small number

of these personnel needed in each State,

institutions of higher education and

individual States are reluctant to

support the needed professional

development programs. Of the programs

that are available, not all are producing

graduates with the prerequisite skills

needed to meet the needs of the lowincidence disability population. Federal

support is required to ensure an

adequate supply of personnel to serve

children with low-incidence disabilities

and to improve the quality of

appropriate training programs so that

graduates possess necessary prerequisite

skills.

Priority: The Secretary establishes an

absolute priority to support projects that

increase the number and quality of

personnel to serve children with lowincidence disabilities. This priority

supports projects that provide

preservice preparation of special

educators, early intervention personnel,

and related services personnel at the

associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or

specialist level.

The term ‘‘low-incidence disability’’

means a visual or hearing impairment,

or simultaneous visual and hearing

impairments (including deaf-blindness),

significant mental retardation, or an

impairment such as severe and multiple

disabilities, severe orthopedic

disabilities, autism, and traumatic brain

injury, for which a small number of

highly skilled and knowledgeable

personnel are needed.

Applicants may propose to prepare

one or more of the following types of

personnel:

(1) Special educators including early

childhood, speech and language,

adapted physical education, and

assistive technology personnel;

(2) Related services personnel who

provide developmental, corrective, and

other supportive services that assist

children with low-incidence disabilities

to benefit from special education. Both

comprehensive programs and specialty

components within a broader discipline

that prepares personnel for work with

the low-incidence population may be

supported; or,

(3) Early intervention personnel who

serve children birth through age 2 with

disabilities and their families. Early

intervention personnel include persons

prepared to provide training for, or be

consultants to, service providers and

case managers.

The Secretary particularly encourages

projects that address the needs of more

than one State, provide multidisciplinary training, and include

collaboration among several institutions

and between training institutions and

public schools. In addition, projects that

foster successful coordination between

special education and regular education

professional development programs to

meet the needs of children with lowincidence disabilities in inclusive

settings are encouraged.

Projects must:

(a) Show how their proposed

activities address the demands for

trained personnel to serve children with

low-incidence disabilities in the State or

States whose needs the project is

expected to meet. The extent of the need

for trained personnel in a particular

State must be supported by the State’s

Comprehensive System of Personnel

Development (CSPD), or the CSPD

supplemented by other additional

relevant sources which the applicant

demonstrates to be reliable and

accurate.

(b) Prepare personnel to address the

specialized needs of children with low-
21234 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 91 / Thursday, May 9, 1996 / Notices

incidence disabilities from different

cultural and language backgrounds;

(c) Incorporate best practices in the

design of the program and the curricula;

(d) Incorporate curricula that focus on

improving results for children with lowincidence disabilities;

(e) Promote high expectations for

students with low-incidence disabilities

and foster access to the general

curriculum in the regular classroom,

wherever appropriate; and

(f) Develop linkages with Education

Department technical assistance

providers to communicate information

on program models used and program

effectiveness.

Under this absolute priority, the

Secretary plans to award approximately:

• 55 percent of the available funds for

projects that support careers in special

education, including early childhood

educators;

• 30 percent of the available funds for

projects that support careers in related

services; and

• 15 percent of the available funds for

projects that support careers in early

intervention.

For Further Information Contact:

Verna Hart, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

S.W., Room 3519, Switzer Building,

Washington, D.C. 20202–2641.

Telephone: (202) 205–5392. FAX: (202)

205–9070. Internet: VernalHart@ed.gov

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the TDD number: (202)

205–7381.

Absolute Priority 2—Preparation of

Personnel To Serve Children and Youth

with High-Incidence Disabilities

Background

In many States, there are insufficient

numbers of personnel available to meet

the needs of children with highincidence disabilities. In addition, the

quality of personnel preparation

programs needs to be improved so that

professionals will be better prepared to

help children with high-incidence

disabilities reach their individual

developmental goals and meet

challenging standards.

Priority: The Secretary establishes an

absolute priority to support projects that

increase the number and quality of

personnel to serve children ages 3

through 21 with high-incidence

disabilities such as mild or moderate

mental retardation, speech or language

impairments, emotional disturbance, or

specific learning disabilities. This

priority supports projects that provide

preservice preparation of special

educators, including early childhood

educators and related services

personnel.

A preservice program is defined as

one that leads toward a degree,

certification, or professional standard,

and may be supported at the associate,

baccalaureate, master’s or specialist

level. A preservice program may include

the preparation of currently employed

personnel who are seeking additional

degrees, certifications, or endorsements.

Applicants may propose to prepare

one or more of the following types of

personnel:

(1) Special educators including

speech and language, adapted physical

education, and adaptive technology

personnel;

(2) Related services personnel who

provide developmental, corrective, and

other supportive services that assist

children with high-incidence

disabilities to benefit from special

education; and

(3) Early childhood special education

or related services personnel who

address the needs of children age three

through five with high-incidence

disabilities and their families.

The Secretary particularly encourages

projects that foster successful

coordination between special education

and regular education professional

development programs to meet the

needs of children with high-incidence

disabilities in inclusive settings.

Projects must:

(a) Show through letters of

acknowledgement from States or other

documentation that the proposed

professional development activities

support the Comprehensive Systems of

Personnel Development of the State or

States where personnel prepared by the

project are expected to be employed;

(b) Show through letters of

acknowledgement from States or other

documentation that the proposed

personnel preparation meets the

standards for employment in the State

or States where personnel prepared by

the project are expected to be employed;

(c) Prepare personnel to address the

needs of children with high-incidence

disabilities from different cultural and

language backgrounds;

(d) Incorporate best practices in the

design of the program and curricula;

(e) Incorporate curricula that focus on

improving results for children with

high-incidence disabilities;

(f) Promote high expectations for

children with high-incidence

disabilities and foster access to the

general curriculum in the regular

classroom, wherever appropriate; and,

(g) Develop linkages with Education

Department technical assistance

providers to communicate information

on program models used and program

effectiveness.

Under this absolute priority, the

Secretary plans to award approximately:

• 55 percent of the available funds for

projects that support careers in special

education;

• 30 percent of the available funds for

projects that support careers in related

services; and,

• 15 percent of the available funds for

projects that support careers in early

childhood education.

For Further Information Contact:

Martha Bokee, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

S.W., Room 3078, Switzer Building,

Washington, D.C. 20202–2641.

Telephone: (202) 205–5509. FAX: (202)

205–9070. Internet: Marthla

Bokee@ed.gov

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the TDD number: (202)

205–7381.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1431.

Program for Children and Youth With

Serious Emotional Disturbance

Purpose of Program: To support

projects designed to improve special

education and related services to

children and youth with serious

emotional disturbance. Types of projects

that may be supported under the

program include, but are not limited to,

research, development, and

demonstration projects. Funds may also

be used to develop and demonstrate

approaches to assist and prevent

children with emotional and behavioral

problems from developing serious

emotional disturbance.

Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)

the Secretary gives an absolute

preference to applications that meet the

following priority. The Secretary will

fund under this competition only an

application that meets this absolute

priority:

Absolute Priority—Center To Promote

Collaboration and Communication of

Effective Practices for Children With, or

At Risk of Developing, Serious

Emotional Disturbance (SED)

Background

‘‘Collaboration’’ is one of the seven

strategic targets identified in the

National Agenda for Achieving Better

Results for Children and Youth with

SED, developed by the Office of Special

Education Programs (OSEP) with

extensive participation by a variety of

individuals and organizations.

Collaboration is critically important, at

Federal, State, and local levels: ‘‘To

promote systems change resulting in the
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 91 / Thursday, May 9, 1996 / Notices 21235

development of coherent services built

around the individual needs of children

and youth with and at risk of

developing SED.’’ In the past, there has

been too little interaction between

agencies and service providers, e.g.,

education, mental health, child welfare,

and juvenile justice. Lack of

coordination between and across

agencies has had a negative impact on

children and families. The new

direction, demonstrated in many of the

projects currently funded by OSEP and

other agencies, is toward more

‘‘seamless’’ and ‘‘wrap-around’’ service

delivery models built around the needs

of students, families, and

communities—systems that coordinate

services, articulate responsibilities, and

provide system-wide and agency-level

accountability.

Many of these new model programs

are only in their infancy, but are already

documenting their effectiveness. It is

essential that mechanisms be put in

place to foster the identification,

development, and exchange of

information about these innovative

projects—to communicate their findings

and approaches nationally to other

communities and agencies that are

seeking solutions to the needs of

children with mental health problems

and their families.

Priority: The Secretary establishes an

absolute priority to support one

cooperative agreement for a center to

promote Federal, State, and local

interagency collaboration and facilitate

the identification, development, and

exchange of information on effective

practices to improve services for

children with SED and for children with

emotional and behavioral problems who

are at risk of developing SED. The

center must coordinate and collaborate

with related centers and activities across

agencies, including but not limited to:

OSEP’s ongoing activities to validate

and communicate the SED National

Agenda; other OSEP and Departmentsupported technical assistance and

information exchange activities; and the

two rehabilitation research and training

centers (RRTCs) on children’s mental

health jointly funded by the National

Institute on Disability and

Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and

the Center for Mental Health Services

(CMHS). The center must provide and

support information identification,

development, and exchange for Federal,

State, and community-based projects

and programs providing services for

children with or at risk of SED in

accordance with a plan that describes

the centers schedule.

The center must:

(1) Establish working relationships

with Federal, State, and local programs

and projects to identify and develop

useful and usable information for, and

to foster the exchange of usable and

useful information with—

(a) Federal, State, and communitybased programs and projects to assist

them in their efforts; and

(b) Broader audiences of individuals

and organizations including parents and

family members of children with or at

risk of serious emotional disturbance.

(2) Ensure and facilitate access,

including electronic and

telecommunication access, to

information on SED, including

information on projects funded by the

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitation Services; other offices in

the Department of Education; the

Departments of Health and Human

Services, Labor, and Justice; and other

sources such as foundations and

associations, as appropriate.

(3) Evaluate the impact of information

identification, development, and

exchange activities.

It is anticipated that initial

information exchanges will rely heavily

upon information already produced by

programs and projects, but that

additional information will be

synthesized and developed by the

center based on findings from the

available research and information/

findings provided to the center by

programs and projects.

The center must also ensure that the

targets and cross-cutting themes of

OSEP’s National Agenda for Achieving

Better Results for Children and Youth

with SED are addressed in the center’s

information activities. Four areas of

particular interest that must be

addressed in information activities are:

(1) Early identification, intervention,

and prevention; (2) behavior

management, conflict resolution, and

other approaches to creating more

productive and safe educational

environments for all students; (3)

personnel preparation; and (4)

evaluation of community-based (local)

program and service effectiveness.

Under this priority, the Secretary

intends to award one cooperative

agreement with a project period of up to

60 months subject to the requirements

of 34 CFR 75.253(a) for continuation

awards. In determining whether to

continue the center for the fourth and

fifth years of the project period, the

Secretary will consider, in addition to

the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a),

the factors noted below, and the

recommendation of a review team

consisting of three experts selected by

the Secretary. The services of the review

team, including a two-day visit to the

center, are to be performed during the

last half of the center’s second year and

must be included in that year’s

evaluation required under 34 CFR

75.590. In its budget for the second year,

the center must set aside funds to cover

the costs of the review team. These

funds are estimated to be approximately

$4,000.

The Secretary will also consider the

following:

(a) The timeliness and effectiveness

with which all requirements of the

negotiated cooperative agreement have

been or are being met by the center; and

(b) The degree to which the center’s

evaluation methods and information

activities demonstrate the potential for

advancing significant new knowledge.

The Secretary particularly encourages

applicants for this cooperative

agreement to incorporate

technologically innovative approaches

in all aspects of center activities, to

improve their efficiency and impact.

The project must budget for two trips

annually to Washington, D.C., for: (1) A

two-day Research Project Directors’

meeting; and (2) another meeting, in the

first quarter of each project year, to meet

and review project plans and

accomplishments with the OSEP project

officer and other OSEP and other agency

staff to share information on the project.

For Further Information Contact: Tom

V. Hanley, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

S.W., Room 3526, Switzer Building,

Washington, D.C. 20202–2641.

Telephone: (202) 205–8110. FAX: (202)

205–8105. Internet:

TomlHanley@ed.gov

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the TDD number: (202)

205–8953.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1426.

Dated: May 3, 1996.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 96–11473 Filed 5–8–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P