10/16/00: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs--Federal Activities--Grant Competition To Prevent High-Risk Drinking and Violent Behavior Among College Students: Notice of Proposed Priorities and Proposed Selection Criteria for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 and Subsequent Years [OESE]


[Federal Register: October 16, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 200)]
[Notices]               
[Page 61245-61247]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16oc00-144]                         


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Part III

Department of Education
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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities National Programs; Grant Competition To Prevent 
High-Risk Drinking and Violent Behavior Among College Students; Models 
on College Campuses Grant Competition; Notices


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities National Programs--Federal Activities--Grant 
Competition To Prevent High-Risk Drinking and Violent Behavior Among 
College Students

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Priorities and Proposed Selection Criteria 
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 and Subsequent Years.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and 
Secondary Education proposes priorities and selection criteria under 
the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs--
Federal Activities--Grant Competition to Prevent High-Risk Drinking and 
Violent Behavior Among College Students. The Assistant Secretary may 
use these priorities and selection criteria for competitions in fiscal 
year (FY) 2001 and later years.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 15, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed priorities and 
proposed selection criteria to Richard Lucey, Jr., U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 3E252, Washington, DC 20202-
6123. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the 
following address:

richard_lucey@ed.gov

    You must include the phrase ``Grant Competition to Prevent High-
yRisk Drinking and Violent Behavior Among College Students'' in the 
subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Lucey, Jr., (202) 205-5471. If 
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339. 
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternate 
format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the contact person listed in the preceding paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation To Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed 
priorities and proposed selection criteria.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed 
priorities and proposed selection criteria. Please let us know of any 
further opportunities we should take to reduce potential costs or 
increase potential benefits while preserving the effective and 
efficient administration of the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about these proposed priorities and proposed selection 
criteria in Room 3E252, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 
Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for these proposed priorities and proposed selection 
criteria. If you want to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, 
you may call (202) 205-8113 or (202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-
8339.

General

    In making awards under this grant program, the Assistant Secretary 
may take into consideration the geographic distribution of the projects 
in addition to the rank order of applicants.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Assistant Secretary 
may make additional awards in FY 2002 from the rank-ordered list of 
nonfunded applications from this competition.

Discussion of Priorities

    We will announce the final priorities and selection criteria in a 
notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the final priorities 
and selection criteria after considering responses to this notice and 
other information available to the Department. This notice does not 
preclude us from proposing or funding additional priorities, subject to 
meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which the Assistant Secretary chooses to use these proposed 
priorities and proposed selection criteria, we invite applications 
through a notice in the Federal Register.

Definitions

    ``High-risk drinking'' is defined as those situations that may 
involve but not be limited to: binge drinking (commonly defined as five 
or more drinks on any one occasion); underage drinking; drinking and 
driving; drinking in conjunction with situations when one's condition 
is already impaired by another cause, such as depression or emotional 
stress; or combining alcohol and medications, such as tranquilizers, 
sedatives, and antihistamines.
    ``Specific student populations'' can include but not be limited to 
student athletes, members of fraternities and sororities, students 
attending two-year institutions of higher education, and first-year 
students.
    Priorities: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities Act of 1994, the Assistant Secretary proposes 
to give an absolute preference to applications that meet either of the 
following priorities, and would fund under this competition only those 
applications that meet either of the following absolute priorities:
    Absolute Priority #1--Develop or Enhance, Implement, and Evaluate 
Campus-and/or Community-Based Strategies to Prevent High-Risk Drinking 
Among College Students. Under this proposed priority, applicants would 
be required to propose projects that:
    (1) Identify a specific student population to be served by the 
grant and provide a justification for its selection;
    (2) Provide evidence that a needs assessment has been conducted on 
campus to document prevalence rates related to high-risk drinking by 
the population selected;
    (3) Set measurable goals and objectives for the proposed project 
and provide a description of how progress toward achieving goals will 
be measured annually;
    (4) Design and implement prevention strategies, using student input 
and participation, that research has shown to be effective in 
preventing high-risk drinking by the target population;
    (5) Use a qualified evaluator to design and implement an evaluation 
of the project using outcomes-based (summative) performance indicators 
related to behavioral change and process (formative) measures that 
assess and document the strategies used; and
    (6) Demonstrate the ability to start the project within 60 days 
after receiving Federal funding in order to maximize the time available 
to show impact within the grant period.
    Absolute Priority #2--Develop or Enhance, Implement, and Evaluate 
Campus-and/or Community-Based Strategies to Prevent Violent Behavior 
Among College Students. Under this proposed priority, applicants would 
be required to propose projects that:

[[Page 61247]]

    (1) Identify a specific student population to be served by the 
grant and provide a justification for its selection;
    (2) Provide evidence that a needs assessment has been conducted on 
campus to document prevalence rates related to violent behavior;
    (3) Set measurable goals and objectives for the proposed project 
and provide a description of how progress toward achieving goals will 
be measured annually;
    (4) Design and implement prevention strategies, using student input 
and participation, that research has shown to be effective in 
preventing violent behavior among college students;
    (5) Use a qualified evaluator to design and implement an evaluation 
of the project using outcomes-based (summative) performance indicators 
related to behavioral change and process (formative) measures that 
assess and document the strategies used; and
    (6) Demonstrate the ability to start the project within 60 days 
after receiving Federal funding in order to maximize the time available 
to show impact within the grant period.
    Selection Criteria: The Assistant Secretary proposes to use the 
following selection criteria to evaluate applications for new grants 
under this competition. The maximum score for all of these criteria is 
100 points. The maximum score for each criterion or factor under that 
criterion is indicated in parentheses.

(1) Need for project (15 points)
    In determining the need for the proposed project, the following 
factors are considered:
    (a) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the 
proposed project. (10 points)
    (b) The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services, 
infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be 
addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude 
of those gaps or weaknesses. (5 points)
(2) Significance (20 points)
    In determining the significance of the proposed project, the 
following factors are considered:
    (a) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system 
change or improvement. (5 points)
    (b) The potential contribution of the proposed project to the 
development and advancement of theory, knowledge, and practices in the 
field of study. (10 points)
    (c) The extent to which the proposed project involves the 
development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, 
or are alternatives to, existing strategies. (5 points)

(3) Quality of the project design (30 Points)
    In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, 
the following factors are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable. 
(10 points)
    (b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target 
population or other identified needs. (5 points)
    (c) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects 
up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice. (10 points)
    (d) The extent to which the proposed project will establish 
linkages with other appropriate agencies and organizations providing 
services to the target population. (5 points)
(4) Quality of project personnel (10 points)
    In determining the quality of project personnel, the following 
factors are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for 
employment from persons who are members of groups that have 
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national 
origin, gender, age, or disability. (3 points)
    (b) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of key project personnel. (7 points)
(5) Quality of the project evaluation (25 points)
    In determining the quality of the evaluation, the following factors 
are considered:
    (a) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
proposed project. (10 points)
    (b) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use 
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the 
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and 
qualitative data to the extent possible. (10 points)
    (c) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide 
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward 
achieving intended outcomes. (5 points)

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is 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 this program.
    Applicable Program Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 
85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131.

Electronic Access To This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

    To use PDF, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 
available free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions 
about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) toll 
free at (888) 293-6498; or in the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-
1530.

    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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184H Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities National Programs--Federal Activities--Grant Competition 
to Prevent High-Risk Drinking and Violent Behavior Among College 
Students)

    Dated: October 12, 2000.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-26593 Filed 10-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U