[Federal Register: February 8, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 25)]
[Notices]
[Page 6139-6147]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08fe99-164]
[[Page 6139]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part II
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Postsecondary Education; Notice Inviting Applications for New
Awards and Final Procedures and Requirements for Fiscal Year (FY) 1999
Competitions Under the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant Programs;
Notice
[[Page 6140]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA NO: 84.336]
Office of Postsecondary Education; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards and Final Procedures and Requirements for Fiscal Year
(FY) 1999 Competitions Under the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Programs
SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education (Assistant
Secretary) invites applications for new awards for Fiscal Year (FY)
1999 for the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant Programs for States and
Partnerships authorized by sections 201-205 of the Higher Education Act
(HEA), as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. The
Assistant Secretary also announces final procedures and requirements to
govern the competitions and FY 1999 awards.
PURPOSE OF PROGRAM: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
notice for a description of the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Programs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louis J. Venuto, Higher Education
Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW.,
Portals Building, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20202-5131: Telephone:
(202) 708-8596. Inquiries also may be sent by e-mail to:
Louis__Venuto@ed.gov or by FAX to: (202) 260-9272.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) upon request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternative format, also, by contacting that
person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an
alternate format the standard forms included in the application
package.
Eligible Applicants: The Secretary invites applications from States
and from eligible partnerships comprised, at minimum, of an institution
of higher education with an eligible teacher preparation program, a
school of arts and sciences, and a high-need local educational agency
(LEA). These terms are defined in section 203 of the HEA.
Applicability of Regulations: The following provisions of EDGAR
contained Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) apply to
the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant Programs: 34 CFR Parts 74, 75,
77, 79, 80, 82, 85, and 86. However, section 75.590, regarding a
project evaluation to be submitted at the end of the final year of the
grant, does not apply to recipients of State Program grants.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553),
it is the practice of the Department of Education to offer interested
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed rulemaking documents.
However, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education
Provisions Act, the Secretary has determined that because it is not
possible to offer the public an opportunity for comment on proposed
rulemaking under the Teacher Quality grant programs and still make
awards by September 30, 1999, as required by law, it is desirable to
waive public comment for the first year competition of this new
discretionary grant program. This waiver will apply only to the
criteria, procedures, and requirements included in this notice for
awarding FY 1999 Teacher Quality Enhancement Program grants. Any
criteria and procedures that the Department establishes for the award
of grants under these programs in future years will be based on
experiences with this FY 1999 award process, and will be published in
proposed form in the Federal Register with an opportunity for
interested parties to comment.
Applications Available: On or before February 11, 1999. The
Department also expects that application packages will be available
electronically through the internet on February 11, 1999, at the
Department's website: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/heatqp/index.html
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
[[Page 6141]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN08FE99.000
BILLING CODE 4000-01-C
[[Page 6142]]
Note: Information about six regional workshops the Department
has scheduled between February 17 and March 2, 1999, to answer
questions about the Teacher Quality Programs and to provide general
assistance in preparing applications for each of the programs, is
included in an appendix to this notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 8, 1998, the President signed
into law the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. Title II of this law
addresses the Nation's need to ensure that new teachers enter the
classroom prepared to teach all students to high standards by
authorizing, as Title II of the Higher Education Act, Teacher Quality
Enhancement Grants for States and Partnerships. The new Teacher Quality
programs provide an historic opportunity to effect positive change in
the recruitment, preparation, licensing, and on-going support of
teachers in America. The programs are designed to increase student
achievement by implementing comprehensive approaches to improving
teacher quality.
More specifically, the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant Programs
include three new competitive grant programs:
State Grants Program: Competitive grants to States will support the
implementation of comprehensive statewide reforms to improve the
quality of a State's teaching force. By law, State activities must
include one or more of the following activities: reforming teacher
certification or licensure standards; implementing reforms to hold
institutions of higher education accountable for preparing teachers who
are highly competent in their subject areas; providing prospective
teachers with alternative pathways into teaching; implementing programs
of support for teachers during their initial periods of teaching and
establishing, expanding, or improving alternative routes to State
certification; developing effective methods of recruiting and rewarding
highly competent teachers and removing incompetent or unqualified
teachers; recruiting teachers for high-poverty urban and rural areas;
and developing ways teachers can address the problem of social
promotion.
Partnership Grants For Improving Teacher Preparation Program: The
purpose of the Partnership program is to bring teacher preparation
programs, schools of arts and sciences, and high-need school districts
and schools together (as appropriate with other stakeholders) to create
fundamental change and improvement in traditional teacher education
programs--thereby increasing teachers' capacity to help all students
learn to high standards. Designed to support highly committed
partnerships that will accelerate the change process in teacher
education, the program will (1) strengthen the vital role of K-12
educators in the design and implementation of effective teacher
education programs, and (2) increase collaboration between departments
of arts and sciences and schools of education.
The program is designed to make an important impact on teacher
education and thereby to increase significantly the number of new
teachers emerging from programs that have been redesigned to ensure
that new teachers have the content knowledge and teaching skills to be
effective.
Teacher Recruitment Grants Program: In addition, there is a great
need, especially in high-poverty communities, to recruit and prepare
more people to become teachers. The Teacher Recruitment Grants--awarded
either to States or to partnerships among high-need LEAs, teacher
preparation institutions, and schools of arts and sciences--are
designed to reduce shortages of highly qualified teachers in high-need
school districts.
Local partnerships between school districts and teacher preparation
institutions have been found to be very effective at providing teachers
for communities where they are most needed. The ``grow your own''
approach is also effective for these communities because individuals
who are already members of a community are likely to remain there after
they become teachers. The recruitment grants will allow individual
communities to determine their needs for teachers and to recruit and
prepare teachers who meet those needs. States can also play an
important role in ensuring that high-need school districts are able to
recruit highly qualified teachers, and they can use the recruitment
grants to develop and implement effective mechanisms to do so.
Rules Applicable to These Programs for FY 1999 Competitions
In order to administer the program fairly and properly, the
following rules apply to these competitions:
State Grants Program
The Department will use provisions contained in 34 CFR 75.209-
75.210 to establish selection criteria that reviewers will use to make
recommendations on which applicants to recommend for award. However,
rather than include ``Quality of project personnel'' (75.210(e)) as a
separate criterion, the Department will use, as an additional element
under the criterion ``Quality of the management plan'' (section
75.210(g)), the following: The qualifications, including training and
experience, of key project personnel (including consultants, if any)
that are relevant to implementing the proposed project.
In addition, consistent with section 205(b)(2) of the HEA, which
established priorities for projects awarded grants under the State
Grants program, the Secretary includes in the selection criteria the
following competitive preference:
Competitive Preference: The Secretary reviews each application to
determine the extent to which the State's proposed activities in any
one or more of the following statutory priorities are likely to yield
successful and sustained results.
1. Projects that propose initiatives to reform State teacher
certification requirements that are designed to ensure that current and
future teachers possess the necessary teaching skills and academic
content knowledge in the subject areas in which the teachers are
certified or licensed to teach.
2. Projects that proposes innovative reforms to hold institutions
of higher education with teacher preparation programs accountable for
preparing teachers who are highly competent in academic content area in
which the teachers plan to teach and have strong teaching skills.
3. Projects that propose the development of innovative efforts
aimed at reducing the shortage of highly qualified teachers in high
poverty urban and rural areas.
The Secretary awards up to ten (10) additional points on the basis
of how well the application addresses this preference.
Note: Evaluation. In view of the public accountability required
by section 206(a) of the HEA, States receiving grant awards under
this program will not need to submit the end-of-project evaluation
report otherwise required by 34 CFR 75.590 of the Education
Department's General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).
Partnership Grants Program
Pre-Application Process: So that all applicants have as much time
as possible to design activities and develop new relationships that are
needed for applications that will address these challenges, the
Department will use a two-phase peer review process to select
applicants for awards. All applicants must submit pre-applications by
April 2, 1999 that include a narrative of no more than 10 double-spaced
pages.
Peer reviewers will rate each application on its response to these
topics:
[[Page 6143]]
1. What is the partnership's vision to produce significant and
sustainable improvements in teacher education?
2. Explain what your partnership can accomplish by working together
that could not be accomplished by working separately.
3. Describe key components of the change process to realize your
vision. What are the components? How do they reflect best research and
practice? What will the partnership do to implement these components of
change?
4. Discuss the specific outcomes of the proposed project. What will
change? How will you know that the project is successful?
Each of these topics (i.e., the pre-application selection criteria)
is critical to the design and implementation of high-quality
partnership grants for improving teacher education. Peer reviewers will
rate each pre-application by assigning up to 25 points for each of
these four responses. Only those applicants whose pre-applications are
rated very highly in this competitive peer review process will be
invited and eligible to submit full Partnership Grant applications.
Other Pre-Application Requirements: Pre-applications also will need
to contain the following information:
1. Application face sheet, as well as information on whether key
LEAs are in urban/rural areas and in either Empowerment Zones or
Enterprise Communities.
2. An Addendum that includes--
a. The identity of each of the application's partners, and
sufficient information to permit the Department to determine that the
partnership meets the minimum eligibility definitions included in the
``General Program Information'' (Part C) of the application package;
and
b. Relevant Budgetary Information: For the pre-application, this
information is limited to--
i. An estimated budget that includes--for each year of the
project--the total amount of Title II, HEA funds projected to be
requested, and the projected amount or of cash or in-kind contribution
from each contributing partner; and
ii. A budget narrative of no more than two double-spaced pages that
addresses generally, for each year of the project, how federal grant
funds and the non-federal contribution will be used.
Peer reviewers will use this budget information to gauge the scale
and scope of the proposed project, and to help clarify information
contained in the application narrative. Those invited to submit a full
application may modify this projected budget to reflect the plan of
work in the full proposal. They also will be required to submit more
complete budget information in the full application.
Full Partnership Application: The Secretary will select for funding
under the Partnership Program those applications that are of highest
overall quality. In determining which applications to recommend for
award as having the highest overall quality, reviewers will assign each
application up to 110 points using the following selection criteria and
competitive preference. The relative weights for each criterion are
indicated in parentheses. Applicants are free to respond to these
criteria in any way they choose.
These selection criteria have been designed to ensure that those
partnership applications selected for funding have addressed elements
that the Secretary believes are key to a successful teacher preparation
partnership, and have the greatest promise of meeting the broad
purposes of the program.
Each of these three broad criteria includes one or more key
questions that peer reviewers will consider as they examine an
application, as well as a number of key elements that are critical to a
well-developed response to these questions and to the partnership's
overall success. Peer reviewers will consider what the partnership will
accomplish--from whatever point the partners are in implementing
reform--to enable teachers to have the knowledge and teaching skills
they need to teach all of their students to high standards.
To be recommended for award, peer reviewers must either--
1. Find that the application satisfactorily addresses each of the
key elements that follow each question, or
2. Be satisfied that an inadequate response to an element would
prevent an award to an applicant that otherwise addressed, in
outstanding ways, all Selection Criteria. (Reviewers will still need to
find that the applicant submitted all information required by section
203 of the HEA.
Note: Section 203(b)(1) of the HEA requires that all
partnerships include at least one high-need LEA (which by definition
must have one or more high-need school). The definitions of a high-
need LEA (and of a high-need school) are contained in the section of
this notice entitled ``Program Requirements Applicable to More Than
One Program''.
These definitions present a minimum standard that any partnership
application must meet to be eligible to be considered. (As noted in
``Other Important Application Information'' in the application package,
all applications must include information that confirms that the
partnerships are comprised of the required components--including one or
more school district that is a ``high-need'' LEA.) However, while the
Partnership Program needs to have the greatest possible benefit for all
participating LEAs and schools, the Nation faces a particular need to
address the needs of those LEAs and schools whose students are most at-
risk of failure. Given the particular challenges faced by these
districts and schools, the highest-quality applications are likely to
be those that not only are able to provide outstanding responses to the
three selection criteria, but also focus on LEAs and schools that
greatly exceed the definitions of high need.
Selection Criteria and Competitive Preference
a. Significance of Project Activities: (34 points)
In assessing how well the application meets this criterion,
reviewers will determine how well it responds to the following
question:
How does the partnership plan to meet its objectives and ensure
that, once they begin work in the classroom, new teachers have the
content knowledge and teaching skills they need to enable their
students to succeed?
In responding to this question, applicants should be sure to
address the following key elements:
The existence of institution-wide commitments to high-
quality teacher preparation programs that integrate pedagogy and
subject-area content, and that include--
1. Strong connections between teacher preparation program(s) and
the school(s) of arts and sciences;
2. Permanent institutional mechanisms that reward effective
collaboration with the teacher preparation programs; and
3. Significant involvement of tenured and tenure-track faculty of
the teacher preparation program(s) and the school(s) of arts and
sciences.
The responsiveness of teacher preparation programs to the
needs of K-12 educators in high-need LEAs through, among other things:
1. Joint activities with high-need LEAs that increase the
involvement of classroom teachers and school administrators in the
design, improvement, and implementation of the teacher preparation and
induction programs;
2. Demonstrable evidence of an increased presence of university
faculty and preservice students in participating LEA schools;
[[Page 6144]]
3. Revamped teacher preparation curriculum and related
organizational changes within the institution for higher education; and
4. Strong organizational linkages between each participating
institution of higher education and the participating LEA's.
The partnership's commitment to using evidence of how well
graduates of the teacher preparation program(s) are teaching (including
evidence of how well their students are achieving) to make regular
adjustments and improvements in those programs.
The partners' commitment to share effective practices and
provide technical assistance about ways to improve teacher education at
each teacher preparation institution that participates in the
partnership.
The quality of the partnership activities which--
1. Must include the following mandatory activities--
a. Carrying out reform of teacher preparation programs to hold
those programs accountable for producing highly competent teachers,
including teachers competent to use technology effectively in their
classrooms;
b. Providing good clinical experiences and mentoring for new
teachers and substantially increasing the interaction between teachers,
principals, and administrators and an higher education faculty; and
c. Creating opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional
development that improves the academic content knowledge of teachers in
fields they are or will be certified to teach.
2. And may also include activities such as--
a. Activities to prepare teachers to work with diverse populations
and parents;
b. Broad dissemination of information on effective practices used
by the partnership, and coordination of partnership activities with
State governors, boards of education and State agencies;
c. Developing and implementing proven methods for enhancing the
managerial and leadership skills of superintendents and principals
(including those of master teachers and teacher-mentors); and
d. Teacher recruitment activities that may be conducted under the
Teacher Recruitment Grant Program (see section 204 of the HEA).
Note: See section 203(d) and (e) of the HEA, which identifies
with greater detail the three mandatory and four permissive
activities, included in Part G of the Partnership Program's
application package.
A well-considered statement, for each year of the grant,
of annual goals, benchmarks, and time lines that the partnership will
use to determine whether project activities are effective in meeting
the partnership's objectives.
The commitment and ability of the partnership to:
(1) Integrate its activities with other educational reform
activities underway in the State(s) and communities in which the
partners are located; and (2) coordinate its activities with other
local, State, or federally-supported teacher training or professional
development programs and with appropriate activities of the Governor,
State board of education and State educational agency and agency for
higher education.
b. Extent to Which the Partnership's Objectives Are Built Around the
Needs of High-Need LEAs and Their High-Need Schools. (33 Points)
1. Does the application demonstrate that the partnership has
developed strong measurable objectives, including measurable objectives
for--
Improving teacher preparation programs in the partnership;
and
Improving the quality and number of teacher education
program graduates who (1) meet the teacher preparation needs of high-
need school districts in the partnership, and (2) take teaching
positions in high-need schools in those districts?
2. Does the application demonstrate that the partnership's
objectives build upon a clear and thorough needs assessment performed
by and of all K-12 and higher education partners that--
Was developed with the active participation of school and
district administrators and classroom teachers of all types of
students?
Focuses on what all new teachers must know and be able to
do once they begin teaching in the classroom--particularly in teaching
reading, mathematics, science and other core subjects?
Includes an assessment performed by the partner
institution(s) of higher education that--
Examines the state of collaboration on the campus between arts and
sciences faculty and the education faculty in teacher preparation
activities, and between higher education faculty and K-12 teachers and
administrators;
Examines the adequacy of the clinical experiences afforded to
preservice students;
Examines the adequacy of content preparation for prospective
teachers; and
Explains the need to improve the overall quality of teacher
preparation to better respond to the needs of LEAs, and in particular
of high-need LEAs?
c. Feasibility of Achieving Project Objectives: Quality of Project
Management, Governance Structure, and the Availability and Use of
Resources: (33 Points)
In assessing how well the application meets this criterion,
reviewers will determine how well it responds to the following
question:
How well does the application demonstrate that the partnership will
be able to achieve its objectives, and that all members of the
partnership will work collaboratively to sustain, improve, and enhance
project activities during and beyond the period of the project?
In addressing this question, applicants should be sure to address
the following elements:
The extent to which the partnership has an effective,
inclusive, and responsive governance and decision-making structure--
1. That will permit all members of the partnership (including
teachers of the high-need LEA(s)) to plan, implement, and assess the
adequacy of partnership activities; and
2. Through which the fiscal agent will provide project funds, as
appropriate, to other partners to permit them to implement program
activities.
The extent to which the application demonstrates that the
partnership will sustain itself during and beyond the period of the
grant (which may include evidence that members of the partnership have
succeeded--with each other or other entities--in other significant and
sustained partnering efforts).
The extent to which members of the partnership will
provide technical assistance to each other to further project
objectives.
A resource assessment that describes--
1. The (federal and non-federal) resources available to the
partnership;
2. The intended uses of grant funds (including financial support,
faculty participation, and time commitments), whether awarded by the
Department or provided by the partners, including how grant funds will
be fairly distributed among the partners with no partner retaining more
than 50 percent of grant funds that the Secretary awards; and
3. The commitment of the partnership's own resources to project
activities, including non-federal financial support, faculty
participation, time commitments, and other in-kind services, as well as
continuation of activities when the grant ends.
Note: As required by 34 CFR 75.117, all applications must
include, among other
[[Page 6145]]
things, a multi-year budget reflecting Federal and non-Federal
resources.
The qualifications and relevant experience of the overall
project director and key personnel of each partner who have
responsibility for implementing project activities.
How well the application describes how the partnership
Will--
1. Regularly assess whether it is meeting its program objectives;
2. Take steps to modify project plans and activities if the
partnership finds that it is not meeting its objectives; and
3. Prepare the evaluation and annual progress report that include
strong performance objectives, and measures and reporting information
as required by section 206(b) and (c) of the HEA.
Competitive Preference: Consistent with section 205(b)(2)(B) of the
HEA, the Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to
which the partnership proposes to meet the following statutory
priority: a significant role for private business in the design and
implementation of the partnership. The Secretary awards up to ten (10)
additional points for applications that address this preference.
Teacher Recruitment Grants Program
The Department will use provisions contained in 34 CFR 75.209-
75.210 to establish selection criteria that reviewers will use to make
recommendations on which applicants to recommend for award. However,
rather than include ``Quality of project personnel'' (34 CFR 75.210(e))
as a separate criterion, the Department will use, as an additional
element under the criterion ``Quality of the management plan ``(34 CFR
75.210(g)), the following: The qualifications, including training and
experience, of key project personnel (including consultants, if any)
that are relevant to implementing the proposed project.
Finally, section 204 of the HEA requires partnership and State
grant recipients under the Teacher Recruitment Program to work with
high-need LEAs to recruit and prepare teachers who will work in those
districts and thereby help to address their teacher shortages. To
ensure that program funds are used to meet the purposes of this
program, States and partnerships receiving grant awards under this
program (as well as any high-need LEAs participating in their projects)
must ensure that teachers who have received scholarship assistance and
other services under the Teacher Recruitment Program are placed, to the
extent possible, in high-need schools within the high-need LEAs that
participate in the partnership or State project.
Invitational Priorities: The Secretary is particularly interested
in receiving applications from States and partnerships that propose to
focus their efforts on recruiting members of minority or historically
disadvantaged groups to become teachers in high-need LEAs and schools
because of the growing gap between the diveristy of the student
population and the composition of the teaching force.
In addition, in order to recruit highly competent individuals to
become teachers in high-need LEAs and schools, section 204(d)(1)
permits States and partnerships to use grant funds for the costs of
scholarship assistance that teaching candidates need to enable them to
pay the costs of completing a teacher preparation program in addition
to other support services and follow-up services after they begin
teaching. Alternatively, section 204(d)(2) permits States and
partnerships, more generally, to use grant funds to design and
implement effective mechanisms to ensure that high-need LEAs and
schools are able to effectively recruit highly qualified teachers. The
availability of scholarship assistance is likely to be a very useful
tool in attracting well-qualified individuals to become teachers in
these high-need LEAs and schools. For this reason, regardless of which
approach States and partnerships take in designing their projects, the
Secretary is particularly interested in receiving proposals that would
provide scholarship support for prospective teachers.
Program Requirements Applicable to More Than One Program
The Department is establishing a number of requirements that, in
addition to the statutory requirements in the HEA, govern two or more
of the Teacher Quality Programs. These include the following:
1. Section 201(a)(2) provides a definition of ``high-need'' LEA as
a public school district that serves an elementary or secondary school
located in an area in which there is--
a. A high percentage of individuals from families with incomes
below the poverty line;
b. A high percentage of secondary school teachers not teaching in
the content area in which the teachers were trained to teach; or
c. A high teacher turnover rate.
None of the three alternative meanings can be applied equally and
fairly to all applicants without further definition. Therefore, for
purposes of these Teacher Quality Enhancements Grant Programs--
1. An LEA with at least one school located in an area in which
there is ``a high percentage of individuals from families with incomes
below the poverty line'' is a ``high-need LEA'' if--the LEA has at
least one school in which 40 percent or more of the enrolled students
are eligible for free (not ``free and reduced'') lunch subsidies.
2. An LEA that has one school with a ``high percentage of secondary
school teachers not teaching in the content area in which the teachers
were trained to teach'' is a ``high-need LEA'' if either of the
following conditions holds true:
More than 34 percent of academic classroom teachers
overall (across all academic subjects) do not have a major, minor, or
significant course work in their main assignment field; or
More than 34 percent of the main assignment faculty in two
of the academic departments do not have a major, minor, or significant
work in their main assigned field.
For purposes of the definition above--
``Main assignment field'' means--the academic field in which
teachers have the largest percentage of their classes.
``Significant course work'' means--four or more college-or
graduate-level courses in the content area.
3. An LEA that serves an elementary or secondary school located in
an area in which there is a high turnover rate is a ``high-need LEA''
if the LEA has an elementary or secondary school whose attrition rate
is 15 percent or more in the last three school years.
Note: The Department believes that use of the percentage of
teachers in high-poverty schools who do not return in the following
year is a better source of data than the percentage of teachers in
schools with high percentages of minority students who do not return
to teach the following year--a factor proposed in the draft
application package. In addition, for this third definition of high-
need LEA, data is not readily available on the teacher turnover rate
in schools in which the students are eligible for free lunch
subsidies. Therefore, the data source for this definition and the
first definition of high-need LEA (high-poverty) cannot be the same.
4. Section 205(c)(1) requires that any State that receives either a
State Grant or a Teacher Recruitment Grant provide, from non-Federal
sources, an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of the grant (in
cash or in kind) to carry out grant activities. This 50 percent match
must be made annually, with respect to each grant award of the project
period.
5. For purposes of indirect costs that may be charged to the
Teacher Recruitment Program and to the Partnership Program, all funded
projects
[[Page 6146]]
are treated as ``educational training grants.'' Therefore, consistent
with 34 CFR 75.562, except for costs that may be incurred by State
agencies or LEAs, a recipient's indirect cost rate is limited to the
maximum of eight percent or the amount permitted by its negotiated
indirect cost rate agreement, whichever is less. In addition, this same
eight percent maximum indirect cost rate applies for any funds that
institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations may receive
from States under the State Program.
6. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA)
requires all Federal programs to use performance indicators to measure
their quality and effectiveness. GPRA further requires that the
Department provide Annual Performance Plans to Congress that provide
data on how all of the programs are performing with respect to the
program performance indicators. Therefore, the Department submits an
Annual Plan to Congress that provides the most recent data on the
Department's five-year Strategic Plan, as well as the latest data on
the performance of each program with respect to the program indicators.
7. In the event that the peer reviewers' use of these selection
criteria results in an equal ranking among two or more applicants for
the last available award under any of the three Teacher Quality
Programs, the Department will select the applicant whose activities
will focus (or have most impact) on LEAs and schools located in one (or
more) of the Nation's Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities.
8. In the case of any application or pre-application whose
narrative exceeds the 50-page double-spaced limitation for all Teacher
Quality Program applications and ten-page double-spaced limitation for
Partnership Program pre-applications, the Department will provide to
the peer reviewers only the first 50 pages of narrative and ten pages
of narrative, respectively.
9. The Title II Teacher Quality programs have a set of draft
performance objectives and indicators that appear in Part G,
``Supplementary Information,'' in the application package. Although
these performance objectives and indicators are still draft, the
objectives and indicators will be finalized by February of 1999 and
will look much like the draft performance indicators. All State and
partnership grantees must collect data and report to the Department on
their progress with respect to each of the performance indicators on
all of the final performance indicators.
In addition, there may be a few indicators for which data will be
collected by the contractor hired to conduct the national evaluation of
the Title II programs. All grantees also are required to cooperate with
the contractor for the national evaluation as the contractor collects
data from grantees related to these indicators.
Paperwork Reduction Act Considerations
The procedures and requirements contained in this notice relate to
application packages that the Department has developed under the three
Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant Programs. The public may obtain
copies of these packages by calling or writing the individuals
identified at the beginning of this notice as the Department's contact,
or through the Department's website: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/
heatqp/index.html
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Office of
Management and Budget has approved the use of these application
packages under the following OMB control number 1840-0007, expires
February, 2002. As noted earlier in this notice, these application
packages will be available on or before February 11, 1999.
Electronic Access to This Document.
Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
Anyone may also view these documents in text copy on an electronic
bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 or, toll
free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents located under Option G--Files/
Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases.
Note: The official version of the document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.
Dated: February 1, 1999.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
Appendix
Technical Assistance Workshops on Implementation of Teacher Quality
Enhancement Grant Programs
The Department of Education has scheduled six regional technical
assistance workshops between February 17 and March 2, 1999, to help
prospective applicants to better understand the Department's
approach to implementing the competitive grant competitions to be
held this spring under the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant
Programs, authorized by sections 201-204 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965, as amended. Under the Teacher Quality Programs, States must
submit applications for the State Program by April 16, 1999,
eligible partnerships must submit pre-applications for the
Partnership Program for Improving Teacher Education by April 2,
1999, and States and eligible partnerships must submit applications
for the Teacher Recruitment Program by April 16, 1999. At these
workshops, the public will be able to learn more about the purposes
and requirements of these programs, how to apply for funds, program
eligibility requirements, the application selection process, and
considerations that might help them to improve the quality of their
grant applications. Department of Education staff with expertise on
these and other issues related to the Teacher Quality Programs will
be available to answer any questions on these topics.
The locations and dates of these workshops are: February 17 B
Washington, DC; February 19 B San Diego, California; February 22 B
Seattle, Washington; February 25 B St. Louis, Missouri; February 26
B Dallas, Texas; and March 2, Atlanta, Georgia. Any interested
parties are invited to attend these workshops.
The Department of Education has reserved a limited number of
hotel rooms, at a special government per diem room rate, at each of
the following hotels that will host the workshops. To reserve these
rates, be certain to inform the hotel that you are attending the
workshops with the Department of Education.
The meeting sites are accessible to individuals with
disabilities. The Department will provide a sign language
interpreter at each of the scheduled workshops. An individual with a
disability who will need an auxiliary aid or service other than an
interpreter to participate in the meeting (e.g., assistive listening
device, or materials in an alternative format) should notify the
contact person listed in this notice at least two weeks before the
scheduled meeting date. Although the Department will attempt to meet
a request received after that date, the requested auxiliary aid or
service may not be available because of insufficient time to arrange
it.
Dates, Times, and Locations of Technical Assistance Workshops
Workshop #1: Wednesday, February 17, 1999, Washington, DC,
Washington Hilton
[[Page 6147]]
Hotel, 1919 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005; Phone:
(202) 483-3000. Rate: $115.00 plus tax.
Workshop #2: Friday, February 19, 1999, San Diego, California,
Marriott Hotel--Mission Valley, 8757 Rio San Diego Drive, San Diego,
CA 92108, Phone: (619) 692-3800. Rate: $93.00 plus tax.
Workshop #3: Monday, February 22, 1999, Seattle, Washington,
Renaissance Madison Hotel, 515 Madison & Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA
98104, Phone: 1-800-278-4159. Rate: $104.00 plus tax.
Workshop #4: Thursday, February 25, 1999, St. Louis, Missouri,
Radisson Hotel & Suites, 600 North Fourth Street, St. Louis, MO
63102, Phone: (314) 621-8200. Rate: $66.00 plus tax.
Workshop #5: Friday, February 26, 1999, Dallas, Texas, Wyndham
Garden Hotel/Dallas, Park Central, 8051 LB. Johnson Freeway, Dallas,
TX 75251, Phone: (972) 680-3000. Rate: $89.00 plus tax.
Workshop #6: Tuesday, March 2, 1999, Atlanta, Georgia, Sheraton
Gateway Hotel, 1900 Sullivan Road, College Park, GA 30337, Phone:
(770) 997-1100. Rate: $90.00 plus tax.
For further information about these workshops, please call or
write the Department contact identified at the beginning of this
notice.
[FR Doc. 99-2720 Filed 2-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P