[Federal Register: May 18, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 97)]
[Notices]
[Page 27819-27823]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18my01-114]
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Part VI
Department of Education
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Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities National Programs; Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities National Programs
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of final priority and selection criteria for Fiscal Year
2001--Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education (the Secretary) announces a final
priority and selection criteria for fiscal year (FY) 2001. Under this
priority, the Departments of Education (ED), Health and Human Services
(HHS), and Justice (DOJ) will fund the implementation and enhancement
of comprehensive community-wide strategies for creating safe and drug-
free schools and promoting healthy childhood development.
To be funded, local comprehensive strategies must address the
following six elements and may address other elements as determined by
the needs of the community: (1) Safe school environment; (2) alcohol
and other drugs and violence prevention and early intervention; (3)
school and community mental health preventive and treatment
intervention programs; (4) early childhood psychosocial and emotional
development services; (5) educational reform; and (6) safe school
policies.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice takes effect May 18, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Detailed information regarding the
Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative is available at the following
sites on the Internet:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS
http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org
http://www.samhsa.gov
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: More than a generation of research has
provided a solid knowledge base of the complex risk processes that lead
to violent outcomes for children, families, schools, and communities.
Antisocial behaviors of children and adolescents at highest risk arise
from the interaction of multiple environmental and individual
antecedents that begin early in the child's life. They include (1)
stressful family environments; (2) lack of parenting skills; (3)
alienation between family and school (and other community
institutions); and (4) individual characteristics of the child that may
be biologically based (e.g., irritability, impulsivity), that interfere
with critical early attachment and nurturing relationships and later
make the child's behavior difficult to control. This results in the
early onset of aggressive behaviors, an increase in behavior problems
at home, and the continuation and escalation of problems with peers and
teachers when the child reaches school age. Unless interrupted,
antisocial behavior persists throughout the school career and on into
adulthood. High risk converges in middle school and accelerates into
adolescence. Risk is exacerbated by exposure to negative peer pressure
and a noxious environment where few protective factors are available.
This, in turn, increases the likelihood of interpersonal violence and
other antisocial behavior, substance abuse and addiction, potential
drug dealing, the emergence of disorders such as depression and
anxiety, academic failure, risky sexual behaviors leading to increased
risk for HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases, and teen
pregnancy.
The Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative draws on the
best practices in the fields of education, justice, social service, and
mental health to promote a comprehensive, integrated framework for use
by communities in planning, designing, and implementing programs to
prevent school violence and youth alcohol and other drug use. This
comprehensive framework includes: (1) Establishing school-community
partnerships; (2) identifying and measuring the problem; (3) setting
measurable goals and objectives; (4) identifying appropriate research-
based programs and strategies; (5) implementing the programs and
strategies in an integrated fashion; (6) evaluating the outcomes of the
programs and strategies; and (7) revising the comprehensive plan on the
basis of evaluation information.
The goal of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative is to help
students develop the skills and emotional resilience necessary to
promote positive mental health and engage in pro-social behavior,
thereby preventing violent behavior and alcohol and other drug use so
that that all students who attend the schools served by this initiative
are able to learn in a safe, disciplined, and drug-free environment.
Successful applicants will provide students, schools, and families
within the targeted geographic area to be served a network of effective
comprehensive services, support, and activities that promote healthy
youth development and safety.
Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies.
The Secretary, with the Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General,
will award approximately 15 grants in FY 2001 to local educational
agencies. To be eligible for funding, applicants must:
(a) Develop a SS/HS comprehensive plan that addresses the following
six elements: (1) Safe school environment, (2) alcohol and other drugs
and violence prevention and early intervention programs, (3) school and
community mental health preventive and treatment intervention services,
(4) early childhood psychosocial and emotional development programs,
(5) educational reform, and (6) safe school policies.
The SS/HS comprehensive plan must show evidence of a partnership
comprising, at a minimum, the local educational agency, local public
mental health authority, local law enforcement agency, family members,
teachers, students, juvenile justice officials, and community
organizations, including faith-based organizations.
(b) Submit two formal written agreements. The first must describe
the goals and objectives of the partnership and include a delineation
of the roles and responsibilities of each partner. This agreement must
contain the signatures of the school superintendent, the head of the
local public mental health authority, and the chief law enforcement
executive adopting the SS/HS comprehensive plan, and commitments by
each to accomplish all objectives.
The second written agreement must describe the procedures to be
used for referral, treatment, and follow-up by the specialty mental
health system for children and adolescents with serious mental health
problems. This agreement must be signed by the school superintendent
and the head of the local public mental health organization.
(c) Provide documentation of the community need and available
resources as follows:
--Baseline assessment of risk factors among students, such as (1)
students engaged in alcohol and drug use and violent behavior; (2)
incidence and prevalence of alcohol and drug use by youth; (3)
prevalence of weapons in schools; (4) incidents of serious and violent
crime in schools; (5) truancy and other unauthorized absences; (6)
suicidal behaviors; (7) student suspensions and expulsions for drug use
or violent behavior; (8) students on probation; (9) students in
juvenile justice placements; (10) students in foster care and child
protective services; (11) students with emotional
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and behavioral disorders; (12) children abused and neglected; and (13)
school attendance and performance.
--An assessment of community risk factors such as (1) socioeconomic
conditions as measured by the percentage of families at or below the
poverty level and percentage of students receiving free and reduced
price lunch at school; (2) population turnover; (3) racial and ethnic
heterogeneity; (4) housing density; (5) household composition; (6)
crime and delinquency rates including domestic violence and rape; and
(7) suicide rates.
--An assessment of resources and services available to students and
their families, such as (1) number of afterschool programs; (2) number
of youth served by programs to build social skills; (3) number and
quality of community mental health and social service organizations
available to provide services to children, adolescents, and families;
(4) number of youth participating in academic readiness programs; (5)
number and types of early intervention services and programs; (6)
number and types of law enforcement prevention programs; (7) number of
substance abuse programs; (8) presence of a community anti-drug
coalition; and (9) number and types of peer mediation and community
mediation programs.
(d) Provide for mental health services to all students in the SS/HS
comprehensive plan.
(e) Show that Federal regulations regarding possession of firearms
and reporting of firearm offenses to appropriate law enforcement
officials and regulations regarding tobacco use are being enforced.
(f) Provide documentation (charter, publications, meeting minutes,
etc.) of the existing partnership in operation that will be enhanced
and expanded.
In making awards under this grant program, the Secretary, with the
Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General, may (1) take into
consideration the geographic distribution and diversity of activities
addressed by the projects, in addition to the rank order of applicants,
and (2) in accordance with 34 CFR 75.217(d) of the Education Department
General Administrative Regulations, ensure equitable distribution of
grants under this program among urban, suburban, and rural LEAs.
Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Secretary, with the
Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General, may make additional awards
in FY 2002 from the rank-ordered list of unfunded applicants from this
competition.
Note: This notice of final priority and selection criteria does
not solicit applications. A notice inviting applications under this
competition is published in a separate notice in this issue of the
Federal Register.
Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3); the Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities Act; and Public Laws 106-554 and 106-553
enacted December 21, 2000, the Secretary, with the Secretary of HHS and
the Attorney General, gives an absolute preference to applications that
meet the following priority:
Implementing and Enhancing Comprehensive Community-wide Strategies
for Creating Safe and Drug-free Schools and Promoting Healthy
Childhood Development
Applicants proposing a project under this priority must demonstrate
how the funds they are requesting support or enhance a comprehensive,
integrated strategy for an entire school district that includes, at a
minimum, the following six elements: (1) Safe school environment; (2)
alcohol and other drugs and violence prevention and early intervention;
(3) school and community mental health preventive and treatment
intervention programs; (4) early childhood psychosocial and emotion
development services; (5) educational reform; and (6) safe school
policies. In circumstances where implementation of the strategy for an
entire school district is not possible, applicants must provide a full
explanation of how the chosen schools will receive services under all
six elements of the plan, and why district-wide implementation is not
feasible or appropriate.
Selection Criteria
The Secretary, with the Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General,
uses the following selection criteria to evaluate applications for new
grants under this competition. The maximum total score for all of these
criteria is 100 points.
The maximum score for each criterion or factor under that criterion
is indicated in parentheses.
(a) Problems to be addressed (15 points).
In assessing the extent to which the application is based on a
clear and accurate statement of the significant problems faced by the
target community, the following factors are considered:
(1) The magnitude or severity of the problem(s) to be addressed by
the proposed strategy;
(2) The extent to which existing gaps in services and resources
exist, the magnitude of those gaps and weaknesses, and the extent to
which the community is ready to improve current conditions;
(3) The factual basis for the problem statement, based on data
including, at a minimum but not limited to, the rates of the following:
--Students engaged in alcohol and drug use and violent behavior;
--Incidence and prevalence of alcohol and drug use by youth;
--Prevalence of weapons in schools;
--Incidents of serious and violent crime in schools;
--Truancy and other unauthorized absences;
--Suicidal behaviors;
--Student suspensions and expulsions;
--Students on probation;
--Students in juvenile justice placements;
--Students in foster care and child protective services;
--Child abuse and neglect;
--School attendance and academic performance data;
--Students with emotional and behavioral disorders;
(4) Evidence of community risk factors that may contribute to youth
violence, drug use, and delinquency such as the following:
--Socioeconomic conditions as measured by the percentage of families at
or below the poverty level and percentage of students receiving free
and reduced price lunch at school;
--Population turnover;
--Racial and ethnic heterogeneity;
--Housing density;
--Household composition;
--Crime and delinquency rates including domestic violence and rape;
--Suicide rates;
--Violent crime victimization rate for youth under the age of 18;
(1) The extent to which the problem statement includes an
assessment of the community resources available for children and
adolescents, including:
--Number of afterschool programs;
--Number of youth served by programs to build social skills;
--Number and quality of community mental health and social service
organizations available to provide services to children, adolescents,
and families;
--Number of youth participating in academic readiness programs;
--Number and types of early intervention services and programs;
--Number and types of law enforcement prevention programs;
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--Number and quality of substance abuse prevention programs;
--Presence of a community anti-drug coalition;
--Presence of community mediation or victim-offender mediation
programs; and
(6) Extent of community readiness to collaborate and improve
current conditions.
(b) Goals and objectives (10 points).
In assessing the goals and objectives of the proposed comprehensive
plan, the following factors are considered:
(1) The extent to which the goals and objectives for the proposed
strategy are clearly defined, measurable, and attainable;
(2) The extent to which the proposed strategy will meet the
established goals and objectives and lead to healthy childhood
development and positive mental health, and safe, disciplined, and
alcohol- and drug-free learning environments; and
(3) The extent to which the objectives identified are related to
measurable action steps needed to achieve the goal(s).
(c) Design of proposed strategy (30 points).
In assessing the design of the proposed strategy, the following
factors are considered:
(1) The extent to which the proposed strategy represents a
comprehensive network in which each element of the Safe Schools/Healthy
Students Initiative is addressed and incorporated in an integrated
fashion;
(2) The extent to which the intervention is appropriate for the age
and developmental levels, gender, and ethnic and cultural diversity of
the target population, and demonstrates the ability to engage and
respond to the needs of identified ethnic/racial minority populations;
(3) The extent to which the application clearly describes the
programs, activities, and services that comprise the proposed strategy;
(4) For Elements 2, 3, and 4 of the SS/HS comprehensive plan
described under Eligible Applicants (above), the extent to which the
proposed programs provide evidence that they are effective and do no
harm. (Up to 10 points out of the maximum 30 points for this criterion
will be used to assess the strength of the applicant's design for these
elements);
(5) The extent to which the proposed strategy will be coordinated
with similar or related efforts and will establish linkages with other
appropriate agencies and organizations providing services to the target
population;
(6) The potential for continued support of the strategy after
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated
commitment of appropriate entities to such support;
(7) The extent to which the implementation process is adequately
documented;
(8) The extent to which the program selected is designed to help
meet the goals and objectives of the community's comprehensive plan.
(d) Evaluation plan (15 points).
In determining the quality of the evaluation plan, the following
factors will be considered:
(1) The extent to which the plan provides information for
increasing the effectiveness of management and administration of the
SS/HS comprehensive plan, documents that objectives have been met, and
determines the overall effectiveness of the plan, its programs, and
strategies;
(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed comprehensive plan;
(3) The adequacy of the identified performance measures to
demonstrate whether and to what extent the proposed strategy is meeting
its short-term, intermediate, and long-term objectives;
(4) Adequacy and appropriateness of the plan to collect data
related to violence from a variety of sources such as mental health
services, social services, schools, law enforcement agencies, and the
juvenile justice system;
(5) The extent to which the methods of evaluation address data
needs for sustainability of the SS/HS comprehensive plan after Federal
support has ended.
(e) Management and organizational capability (20 points).
In determining the quality of management and organizational
capability, the following factors are considered:
(1) The level of commitment proposed by the written agreements
signed by the school superintendent, the head of the local public
mental health authority, and the chief law enforcement executive, as
well as written agreements with other community partners;
(2) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed strategy to the implementation and success of the
strategy, and how they will participate in the proposed project;
(3) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing
project tasks;
(4) The adequacy of procedures for communicating and sharing
information among all partners to ensure feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the proposed comprehensive plan;
(5) The skills, experience, time commitments, and educational
requirements of key staff and relevance of those qualifications to the
objectives of the proposed SS/HS comprehensive plan;
(6) The extent to which staff qualifications and training represent
diverse and relevant experience in engaging and providing services to
underserved, underrepresented, and/or diverse racial/ethnic groups.
(f) Budget (10 points).
In determining the quality of the budget, the following factors
will be considered:
(1) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
number of students to be served and to the anticipated benefits and
results;
(2) The extent to which fiscal control and accounting procedures
will ensure prudent use, proper and timely disbursement and accurate
accounting of funds received under the grant.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
It is the Secretary's practice, in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), to offer interested
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed rules. Section 437(d)(1)
of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), however, exempts from
this requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a new
or substantially revised program. Congressional action that provided
Department of Labor funds in 2001 for the Safe Schools/Healthy Students
constituted a significant change in the initiative. As a result of this
change, the Assistant Secretary, in accordance with section 437(d)(1)
of GEPA, has decided to forego public comment in order to ensure timely
awards.
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.
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This document provides early notification of our specific plans and
actions for this program.
Applicable Program Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Guidelines in 34 CFR parts 74, 75 (except 75.102), 77,
79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 98, and 99.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131.
Electronic Access to This Document:
You may view this document in text or Adobe Portable Document
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Note: The official version of this document is the document
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Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184L, Safe and
Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act National Programs--Federal
Activities Grants Program)
Dated: May 14, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-12557 Filed 5-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U