[Federal Register: January 12, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 9)]
[Notices]
[Page 2893-2894]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12ja01-71]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No.: 84.310A]
Parental Assistance Program
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Priority for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary proposes to give a competitive
preference in the FY 2001 grant competition under the Parental
Assistance Program (20 U.S.C. 5911 et seq.). The program provides
grants to eligible non-profit organizations, and eligible non-profit
organizations in consortia with local educational agencies (LEAs), to
establish parental information and resource centers.
Under this competitive preference, the Assistant Secretary would
award up to 10 additional points to an applicant that would implement
comprehensive strategies designed to strengthen school-family-community
partnerships in order to help children in low-performing schools reach
high academic standards.
DATES: We must receive your comments on the proposed priority or before
February 12, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Daisy
Greenfield, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E307,
Washington, DC 20202-6410, Telephone: (202) 401-0039, FAX: (202) 205-
0303. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the
following address: daisy_greenfield@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daisy Greenfield, (202) 401-0039. If
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit comments and
recommendations regarding the proposed priority. All comments submitted
in response to this notice will be available for public inspection,
during and after the comment period, in Room 3E307, 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 Individual With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record
On request, the Department supplies an appropriate aid, such as a
reader or print magnifier, to an individual with a
[[Page 2894]]
disability who needs assistance to review the comments. 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 1-800-877-8339.
Background
Research has shown that one of the keys to improving the
achievement levels of children is increasing family and community
involvement in children's education. Strong school-family-community
partnerships include practices such as the following: (1) helping
families establish home environments that support children's academic
success; (2) improving communication among schools, families, and the
community concerning all aspects of children's education; (3)
encouraging effective volunteerism among families and community members
to enhance classroom activities and school functions; (4) providing
information to families on how to encourage their children's learning
and to assist with curriculum-related activities; (5) including
families in various aspects of school governance; and (6) facilitating
cooperation and interaction among schools, families, and the community
to achieve shared goals.
Title IV of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, authorizes
Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs), which seek to
increase parents' knowledge of and confidence in child-rearing
activities as well as help to build and strengthen partnerships between
parents and schools in meeting the educational needs of children. PIRCs
are currently providing information, training and support services to
parents and professionals who work with parents. They are also
implementing strategies that foster more frequent and meaningful
opportunities for parents and schools to work together; this work may
include the full range of schools, e.g. elementary, secondary, low-
performing, gifted and talented, magnet, alternative, etc. One of the
keys to improving the achievement levels of children in low-performing
schools, particularly at-risk children, is implementing specific
strategies to enhance the involvement and participation of parents in
all aspects of their children's education. The Assistant Secretary
proposes to give a competitive preference to applicants that would
implement comprehensive strategies designed to enhance parental
involvement in low-performing schools--in particular, in schools that
have been identified as in need of improvement under Title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (These are schools that have
been identified as not making continuous and sustained academic
progress toward meeting state standards. These schools also tend to
have high percentages of minority and high-poverty students and are
frequently located in rural and urban areas). To receive this
preference, an applicant must be a consortium that includes a non-
profit organization and one or more LEAs. The schools to be assisted by
the grant must be low-performing schools identified as in need of
improvement under Title I. The Assistant Secretary believes that
consortia applications would be particularly effective in helping LEAs
and low-performing schools build the capacity to enhance and sustain
high-quality parental involvement programs. The Department currently
does not fund any consortia grants under the Parental Assistant
Program.
The Assistant Secretary will announce final priorities for these
competitions in a notice in the Federal Register. The final priorities
will be determined by responses to this notice, available funds, and
other considerations of the Department.
Competitive Preference
Under 34 CFR 75.105 (c)(2)(i) and Title IV of the Goals 2000
Educate America Act, the Assistant Secretary proposes a competitive
preference in the FY 2001 competition under the Parental Assistance
Program. To receive this preference, an applicant must--
(1) Consist of a consortium that includes a non-profit organization
and one or more LEAs with low-performing schools. The low-performing
schools must be schools identified as in need of improvement under
Section 1116(c) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act.
(2) Propose to implement comprehensive strategies designed to
strengthen school-family-community partnerships in order to help
children in the low-performing schools reach challenging academic
standards. The applicant must clearly describe the role of the non-
profit organization and the LEA(s) in conducting these activities with
the identified low-performing schools.
(3) Provide documentation from the identified low-performing
schools demonstrating that the schools will cooperate and coordinate
with the applicant in implementing the proposed activities.
An applicant that meets the competitive preference would receive up
to 10 points in the competition. These points are in addition to any
points the applicant earns under the selection criteria. The number of
points awarded would be determined on the basis of how well the
applicant addresses the competitive preference.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may review 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 Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free
at either of the preceding sites. If you have question 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.
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
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 59911 et seq.
Dated: January 8, 2001.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
[FR Doc. 01-1054 Filed 1-11-01; 8:45 am]
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