[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 226 (Friday, November 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70627-70629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27744]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Discretionary Grant Programs
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of final discretionary grant priorities for fiscal year
2009.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the continued use--in fiscal year (FY)
2009--of priorities that the Department of Education (Department)
previously established for use in any discretionary grant program
competition in FY 2007 and FY 2008. We take this action in order to
continue to focus Federal financial assistance on expanding the number
of programs and projects that support activities in areas of greatest
educational need. We are continuing the use of these priorities on a
Department-wide basis so that Department offices can use one or more of
them in any discretionary grant competition, as appropriate.
DATES: Effective Date: These priorities are effective for use in FY
2009 on January 20, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margo K. Anderson, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W311, Washington, DC 20202-
5910. Telephone: (202) 205-3010 or by e-mail: [email protected].
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
We published a notice of intent to use certain discretionary grant
priorities in FY 2009 (Notice of Proposed Action) in the Federal
Register on August 27, 2008 (73 FR 50601). In the Notice of Proposed
Action, we proposed to use the priorities in the following areas, which
had been established for use in FY 2007 and FY 2008 only, for
discretionary grant competitions in FY 2009:
1. Mathematics
2. Science
3. Critical-Need Languages
4. Secondary Schools
5. Professional Development for Secondary School Teachers
6. School Districts with Schools in Need of Improvement, Corrective
Action, or Restructuring
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7. Student Achievement Data
8. State Data Systems
Because we determined that these priorities are still relevant to
the Nation's educational needs, we proposed to continue to use them for
discretionary grant competitions in FY 2009.\1\ This will allow the
Department to continue to focus limited Federal resources on areas of
greatest educational need in FY 2009.
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\1\ The Secretary recognizes that some of the priorities will
not be appropriate for particular programs.
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There are no differences between the Notice of Proposed Action and
this notice of final discretionary grant priorities for FY 2009.
Public Comment: In response to our invitation in the Notice of
Proposed Action, one party submitted a comment.
Comment: One commenter generally supported the existing priorities
and the Department's plan to continue their use in discretionary grant
competitions in FY 2009. This commenter also recommended that the
Department establish an additional priority designed to ensure access
for all students to the benefits of the existing priorities.
Discussion: We appreciate the commenter's support for the existing
Department-wide priorities and their continued use in FY 2009. We
decline, however, to establish an additional priority on ensuring
access for all students to the benefits of the other priorities in this
notice. We do not believe it is necessary or appropriate to establish
the additional priority recommended by the commenter. The purpose of
the Department-wide priorities is to focus resources on activities that
will serve students with the greatest need and to address some of the
areas of greatest educational need.
Changes: None.
Final Priorities
Priority 1--Mathematics. Projects that support activities to enable
students to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency in mathematics.
Priority 2--Science. Projects that support activities to enable
students to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency in science.
Priority 3--Critical-Need Languages. Projects that support
activities to enable students to achieve proficiency or advanced
proficiency in one or more of the following less commonly taught
languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and languages in
the Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language families.
Priority 4--Secondary Schools. Projects that support activities and
interventions aimed at improving the academic achievement of secondary
school students who are at greatest risk of not meeting challenging
State academic standards and not completing high school.
Priority 5--Professional Development for Secondary School Teachers.
Projects that support high-quality professional development for
secondary school teachers to help these teachers improve student
academic achievement.
Priority 6--School Districts with Schools in Need of Improvement,
Corrective Action, or Restructuring. Projects that help school
districts implement academic and structural interventions in schools
that have been identified for improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Priority 7--Student Achievement Data. Projects that collect pre-
and post-intervention test data to assess the effect of the projects on
the academic achievement of student participants relative to
appropriate comparison or control groups.
Priority 8--State Data Systems. Projects that help educators use
information from State data systems to improve student achievement or
other appropriate outcomes.
Types of Priorities
When inviting applications for a competition using one or more
priorities, we designate the type of each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in the Federal
Register. The effect of each type of priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by (1)
awarding additional points, depending on the extent to which the
application meets the competitive preference priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the
priority over an application of comparable merit that does not meet the
priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the priority.
However, we do not give an application that meets the priority a
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
This notice does not preclude us from proposing additional
priorities, requirements, definitions, or selection criteria, subject
to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. If we choose to
use one or more of the priorities referenced in this notice in FY
2009, we will invite applications for new awards under the
applicable program through a notice in the Federal Register.
Executive Order 12866: This notice has been reviewed in accordance
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this final regulatory
action.
The potential costs associated with this final regulatory action
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for administering the Department's
discretionary grant programs effectively and efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this notice we have determined that the benefits of
this final regulatory action justify the costs.
We have determined, also, that this regulatory action does not
unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
Executive Order 12372: Some of the programs affected by this notice
are subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part
79. One of the objectives of the Executive order is to foster an
intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened federalism. The
Executive order relies on processes developed by State and local
governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal financial
assistance.
This document provides early notification of our specific plans and
actions for these programs.
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the program contact
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
[[Page 70629]]
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply.)
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3; 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.
Dated: November 18, 2008.
Margaret Spellings,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. E8-27744 Filed 11-20-08; 8:45 am]
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