FR Doc 04-4719
[Federal Register: March 3, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 42)]
[Notices]
[Page 10109-10113]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03mr04-149]
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Part III
Department of Education
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Migrant Education Program (MEP) Consortium Incentive Grant Program;
Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1810-ZA08
Migrant Education Program Consortium Incentive Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of final requirements.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
announces final requirements under the Migrant Education Program
Consortium Incentive Grant Program. The Assistant Secretary establishes
these requirements for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2004 and later
years. The Department intends that these requirements will promote the
participation of State educational agencies in high-quality consortia.
EFFECTIVE DATE: These requirements are effective April 2, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elsa Chagolla, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E257, FOB-6, Washington, DC
20202-6135. Telephone: (202) 260-2823, or via Internet:
elsa.chagolla@ed.gov.
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:
Background
The Migrant Education Program (MEP), authorized by Title I, Part C
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as
amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, is a State-operated
and State-administered formula grant program. The MEP provides
assistance to State educational agencies (SEAs) to support high-quality
and comprehensive educational programs that provide migratory children
appropriate educational and supportive services to address their
special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner, and to give
migratory children the opportunity to meet the same challenging State
academic content and student academic achievement standards that all
children are expected to meet.
Section 1308(d) of the ESEA authorizes the Secretary to ``reserve
not more than $3,000,000 to award grants of not more than $250,000 on a
competitive basis to State educational agencies that propose a
consortium arrangement with another State or other appropriate entity
that the Secretary determines, pursuant to criteria that the Secretary
shall establish, will improve the delivery of services to migratory
children whose education is interrupted.'' Through this program, the
Department provides financial incentives to SEAs to participate in
high-quality consortia that improve the interstate or intrastate
coordination of migrant education programs by addressing key needs of
migratory children who have their education interrupted.
We published a notice of proposed requirements for this program in
the Federal Register on Friday, July 11, 2003 (68 FR 41323) that
discussed, and invited public comment on, proposed procedures to award
consortium incentive grants in FY 2003 and subsequent years.
Analysis of Comments and Changes
In response to our invitation in the notice of proposed
requirements, four parties submitted a total of eight comments on the
proposed requirements. An analysis of the comments and of any changes
in the requirements since the publication of the notice of proposed
requirements is provided in an appendix at the end of this notice of
final requirements.
This notice of final requirements contains six significant changes
from the notice of proposed requirements. Specifically:
(1) The Application Requirements have been revised to require that,
to be funded, an applicant must explain how the proposed consortium
will improve interstate or intrastate coordination of migrant education
programs.
(2) The definition of ``other appropriate entity'' has been revised
to include specific examples of public or private entities with which
an SEA may establish a consortium.
(3) The discussion regarding grantees' submission of a first-year
performance report and a second-year final evaluation report has been
revised to clarify that, in these reports, grantees must address their
completion of activities and attainment of objectives described in the
approved consortium application, rather than describe the uses of their
incentive grant funds.
(4) The discussion regarding the applicability of parts 76 and 80
of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR)
has been revised to clarify that, while an SEA that receives incentive
grant funds does not need to submit performance reports on its use of
the incentive grant funds as otherwise required under Sec. 76.720 and
Sec. 80.40(b), it must submit the financial reports regarding use of
incentive grant funds required by Sec. 76.720 and Sec. 80.41 of
EDGAR.
(5) The discussion regarding Use of Consortium Incentive Grant
Funds has been revised to make the supplement-not-supplant provision of
sections 1120A(b) and 1304(c)(2) of the ESEA apply to the use of the
incentive grant funds.
(6) The discussion regarding Amount and Duration of Incentive
Grants has been revised to explain more clearly the funding formula
that the Department will use to calculate the amounts of the incentive
grant awards.
With these changes, and for the reasons discussed in the notice of
proposed requirements (68 FR 41323) and in the Analysis of Comments and
Changes contained in the appendix to this notice, the Department
establishes the following final definitions, requirements, criteria,
and procedures to award and use consortium incentive grants in FY 2004
and subsequent years.
Definition for Eligibility To Participate in Consortium Incentive
Grants
Section 1308(d) permits an SEA to enter into a consortium with
another State or other appropriate entity. The Department defines the
term ``other appropriate entity'' to mean any public or private agency
or organization, such as a school district, a charter school, a
nonprofit or for-profit organization, or an institution of higher
education. However, under section 1308(d), only SEAs are eligible
applicants to receive consortium incentive grants.
Application Requirements
An application for an incentive grant must be submitted by an SEA
that will act as the ``lead SEA'' for the proposed consortium. To be
eligible for award, this application must include--
1. The identity of the lead SEA for the consortium, and of each
other SEA or entity participating in the consortium;
2. The goals and measurable outcomes of the consortium, and the
activities that each participating SEA or entity in the consortium will
conduct during each project year to improve the delivery of services to
migratory children whose education is interrupted;
3. A concise and cogent explanation of the need for and value of
the proposed consortium to each participating SEA, and of how the
proposed consortium will improve interstate or intrastate coordination
of migrant education programs;
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4. A description of the process each participating SEA will use for
evaluating its progress in achieving the measurable outcomes of the
consortium; and
5. A signed statement from the Chief State School Officer (or his
or her authorized representative) of each SEA that is participating in
the proposed consortium of his or her SEA's commitment to implement its
activities as described in the application.
Absolute Priorities
For competitions in FY 2004 and later years, the Department
establishes the following seven absolute priorities that promote key
national objectives of the MEP. In order for SEAs to be considered for
incentive grants, a proposed consortium in which an SEA would
participate must address one or more of the following absolute
priorities:
1. Services designed to improve the proper and timely
identification and recruitment of eligible migratory children whose
education is interrupted;
2. Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to improve the school readiness of pre-school-aged migratory
children whose education is interrupted;
3. Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to improve the reading proficiency of migratory children
whose education is interrupted;
4. Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to improve the mathematics proficiency of migratory children
whose education is interrupted;
5. Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to decrease the dropout rate of migratory students whose
education is interrupted and improve their high school completion rate;
6. Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to strengthen the involvement of migratory parents in the
education of migratory students whose education is interrupted; and
7. Services designed (based on a review of scientifically based
research) to expand access to innovative educational technologies
intended to increase the academic achievement of migratory students
whose education is interrupted.
Amount and Duration of Incentive Grants
An SEA that participates in a high-quality consortium, as the
Department will select by use of the program's selection criteria,
shall receive only one incentive grant award regardless of the number
of high-quality consortia in which it participates.
In determining the amount of incentive grant awards, the Department
will not use a cost analysis as described in Sec. 75.232 of EDGAR.
Rather, the Department will determine the amounts of the incentive
grant awards on the basis of the following two-tiered funding formula:
The first tier consists of those SEAs participating in high-quality
consortia whose MEP Basic State Formula grant allocations are $1
million or more. Each of these SEAs will, subject to the following
exceptions, receive an incentive grant award of the same base amount.
The second tier consists of those SEAs participating in high-
quality consortia whose MEP Basic State Formula grant allocations are
$1 million or less. Each of these SEAs will, subject to the following
exceptions, receive an incentive grant award that is twice the base
amount.
Within each tier, awards will be of equal size, except that the
amount of any SEA's incentive grant award in either tier may not exceed
$250,000 (which is the statutory maximum) or the amount of its MEP
Basic State Formula grant, whichever is less.
The base amount will be calculated by dividing the total amount
reserved for incentive grants by the sum of the total number of SEAs
participating in high-quality consortia whose MEP Basic State Formula
grant allocations are greater than $1 million and two times the total
number of SEAs participating in high-quality consortia whose MEP Basic
State Formula grant allocations are $1 million or less.
It must be noted that, because an SEA cannot receive an incentive
award that exceeds its MEP Basic State Formula grant allocation or
$250,000, whichever is less, it is possible that some SEAs with MEP
Basic State Formula allocations of $1 million or less will not receive
an incentive grant amount that is actually twice the amount of the
awards provided to SEAs whose MEP Basic State Formula allocations are
greater than $1 million.
For FY 2004, the Department plans to reserve $2.5 million for
consortium incentive awards. The amount reserved for awards in future
years will vary and will be announced prior to any future competition.
With a $2.5 million reservation of funds, the range of annual awards to
SEAs participating in consortia will be between $35,738 (if all 52 SEAs
receive grants under this competition) to $250,000 (the statutory
maximum). Assuming the number of SEAs that receive consortium incentive
grants for FY 2004 is the same as the number of SEAs that received them
in FY 2002 (39), the size of an annual award will be $45,997 for SEAs
whose MEP allocations are greater than $1 million, and $91,995 for SEAs
whose MEP allocations are $1 million or less (and greater than
$91,995). The actual size of an SEA's award will depend on the number
of SEAs that participate in high-quality consortia and the size of
those SEAs' MEP formula grant allocations.
Consortium incentive grants will be awarded for up to two years.
(The Department will not conduct a new incentive grant competition in
FY 2005; rather, it will make second-year funding available to those
SEAs that receive a FY 2004 incentive award.)
In this regard, pursuant to Sec. 75.118 and Sec. 75.590 of EDGAR,
each SEA that receives a consortium incentive grant award must submit a
performance report (through the consortium's lead State) toward the end
of the first project year, and a final evaluation report at the end of
the second year. These reports must address the SEA's completion of
activities and attainment of objectives of the approved consortium,
rather than the activities supported with incentive grant funds.
Eligibility of each SEA for second-year awards will depend on the
information provided in the first-year performance report regarding the
SEA's substantial completion of first-year consortium activities and
attainment of the outcomes identified in the approved consortium
application.
Selection Criteria
The Department has established selection criteria from the general
criteria for competitive grants contained in Sec. 75.210 of EDGAR to
evaluate applications for the incentive grants competition. The
selection criteria may be found in the application package for the FY
2004 competition. The Department will review and rank applications on
the basis of how well the information provided responds to these
selection criteria. However, to be funded, an application must also
address one or more of the absolute priorities, and the elements
described in the Application Requirements section of this notice.
Use of Consortium Incentive Grant Funds
An SEA may use incentive grant funds to implement the consortium or
to carry out any other activities authorized under the MEP. Because the
incentive grants may be used for any activities authorized under the
MEP, the
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supplement-not-supplant provision of section 1120A(b) and section
1304(c)(2) of the ESEA applies to the use of the incentive grant funds.
Moreover, because the MEP is a formula grant program, the use and
reporting of the incentive grant funds are governed by the provisions
of parts 76 and 80 of EDGAR, which concern State-administered formula
grant programs, rather than the provisions of part 75 of EDGAR, which
concern discretionary grant programs. In this regard, an SEA receiving
an incentive grant must submit the financial reports required under
Sec. 76.720 (and Sec. 80.41) of EDGAR. However, under these
requirements, an SEA does not need to submit the performance reports on
the use of the incentive grant funds otherwise required under Sec.
76.720 and Sec. 80.40(b). Instead, information on the effects of the
incentive grant funds will be gathered through the performance
reporting to be required by the Department for the MEP Basic State
Formula grant.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 does not require you to respond
to collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. We display the valid OMB control number assigned to the
collection of information in this final notice at the end of this
notice.
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 is intended to provide early notification of our
specific plans and actions for this program.
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 the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
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http://www.ed.gov/ about/offices/ list/oese/ome/index.html.
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
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control
number 1810-0649)
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.144: (Migrant
Education Coordination Program)
Dated: February 26, 2004.
Raymond Simon,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
Appendix--Analysis of Comments and Changes
We group major issues according to subject. Generally, we do not
address technical and other minor changes, and suggested changes the
law does not authorize us to make under applicable statutory
authority.
Eligibility for Consortium Incentive Grants
Comment: One commenter suggested that the notice include
clarifying language that charter schools may also be an ``other
appropriate entity'' with which an SEA may enter into a consortium.
The commenter also suggested that the notice clarify that ``migrant
children whose education is interrupted'' would include ``all [such]
public school students, including migrant students enrolled in
charter schools.''
Discussion: The Department agrees that prospective applicants
would benefit from inclusion of examples of ``other appropriate
entities.'' However, we do not agree that the notice needs to
further clarify the term ``migrant children whose education is
interrupted'' since the term already clearly includes any such
migrant children whether they are enrolled in public or private
school or are out-of-school.
Changes: The definition of ``other appropriate entity'' has been
revised to include examples, ``such as a school district, a charter
school, a nonprofit or for-profit organization, or an institution of
higher education.''
Application Requirements
Comment: One commenter asserted that the requirements of section
1308(a), which focus on interstate and intrastate coordination,
apply to all provisions in section 1308. The commenter said that, as
a result, the consortia and the incentive grants authorized under
section 1308(d) must, as a matter of law, be designed to ``improve
the interstate and intrastate coordination among [State and local]
agencies' migrant educational programs. * * *''
Discussion: The Department does not agree with the comment.
Section 1308 is entitled ``Coordination of Migrant Education
Activities,'' and the provisions contained in this section all
generally relate to coordination. The specific provision to which
the commenter refers is in a subparagraph of section 1308(a), which
itself is entitled ``Improvement of Coordination.'' Specifically,
subparagraph 1308(a)(1), entitled ``In General,'' authorizes the
Department, among other things, to award grants or contracts to
various specific agencies in order to improve interstate and
intrastate coordination of those agencies' migrant education
programs. Neither this subparagraph (a)(1) nor the duration-of-
grants provision in subparagraph (a)(2) applies to the specific
authorizations and provisions contained in sections 1308(b) through
(e). However, while not legally required to do so, the Department
has decided that to be considered high-quality consortia selected in
this competition under section 1308(d), the proposed consortia must
be designed to improve the interstate or intrastate coordination of
migrant education programs.
Changes: We have revised the Application Requirements to require
that, to be funded, an applicant must explain how the proposed
consortium will improve interstate and intrastate coordination of
migrant education programs.
Absolute Priorities
Comment: One commenter recommended that absolute priority 1
(regarding services to improve the identification and recruitment of
migratory children whose education is interrupted) must be put in
place before incentive grants are provided for the other absolute
priorities. The commenter also urged the Department to develop a
nationwide Internet-based data management system that is accessible
to all school districts and compatible with standard operating
systems. The commenter stated that a system of this kind would
enable school districts to access critical information on migrant
children, thereby increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the
MEP and its services.
Discussion: The Department agrees that absolute priority 1 is a
critical first component of any migrant education program. However,
for reasons discussed in the notice of proposed requirements,
absolute priorities 2 through 7 reflect areas of national
significance for migrant students that warrant award of consortium
incentive grants, and there is no reason to delay consortia's
efforts to address these six areas while SEAs further their
identification and recruitment of migrant students.
In addition, the Department agrees with the commenter that a
system that facilitates the timely access to and transfer of student
records can be an effective means of reducing the effects of
educational disruption on migrant students. Pursuant to section
1308(b)(2), the Department is currently in the process of developing
and implementing a migrant student records system for the purpose of
electronically exchanging health and educational information
regarding migrant children among States. Because this is a separate
national initiative, the Department is not addressing it through
this grant program.
Changes: None.
Comment: One commenter, believing that migrant education
programs do not provide
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for the dental and vision needs of migrant children, recommended
that dental and vision needs be addressed as an additional priority.
The commenter also recommended recognition and support of programs
addressing cultural self-identification and self-esteem for migrant
children.
Discussion: Dental and vision screenings, as well as activities
that promote self-esteem of migrant students, are allowable services
under the MEP Basic State Formula grant program to the extent that
such services address needs that result from the migratory lifestyle
and are educationally-related (i.e., are needed to permit migrant
children to function effectively in school). However, while these
issues are important for migrant children, the Department does not
believe that they reflect the same high level of national
significance as do the seven absolute priorities established for the
incentive grant competition.
Changes: None.
Reporting Requirements
Comment: One commenter asked whether a grantee must submit a
final summary evaluation report at the end of the second year, or
whether instead it could submit a developmental evaluation for the
second year, continue its work on consortium activities (with the
use of other funds) for a third year, and then submit a final
summary evaluation report at the end of third year. The commenter
noted that the second option would allow a longer window of time to
achieve the measurable goals of the consortium.
Discussion: The Department is soliciting applications for
consortia that will complete described activities in no more than
two years. These applications must include objectives and measurable
outcomes to be completed within the maximum two-year performance
period. Participating SEAs or other entities in a consortium may
continue to support and evaluate the effectiveness of consortium
activities that they choose to carry out after the second year.
However, participating SEAs must still provide a final report, under
Sec. 75.590 of EDGAR, that addresses their success in completing
the activities and achieving the objectives and outcomes that were
established in their approved consortium applications for completion
within the maximum two-year performance period.
Changes: None.
Comment: None.
Discussion: In reviewing the notice, the Department noted a need
to clarify the grantee reporting requirements.
Changes: The reporting requirements have been revised to clarify
that:
(1) The first-year performance report and the final second-year
evaluation report required under Sec. 75.118 and Sec. 75.590 of
EDGAR concern the completion of activities of the approved
consortium, rather than the use of the awarded incentive grant
funds, and
(2) SEAs do not need to submit a performance report on the use
of the incentive grant funds. Instead, because an SEA may use
incentive grant funds for any activity authorized under the MEP, the
effectiveness of the incentive grants will be measured through those
performance reports required by the Department for the MEP Basic
State Formula grant. However, an SEA receiving an incentive grant
must submit the financial reports relating to incentive grant funds
required under Sec. 76.720 and Sec. 80.41 of EDGAR.
Use of Consortium Incentive Grant Funds
Comment: None.
Discussion: In reviewing the notice, the Department noted that,
because the incentive grants may be used for any activities
authorized under the MEP, the supplement-not-supplant provision
found in sections 1120A(b) and 1304(c)(2) of the ESEA should be made
applicable to the consortium incentive grants.
Changes: The final requirements clarify that the supplement-not-
supplant provision of sections 1120A(b) and 1304(c)(2) apply to the
use of these incentive grant funds.
Amount and Duration of Incentive Grants
Comment: None.
Discussion: In reviewing the notice, the Department noted the
need to explain more clearly the funding formula that it will use to
calculate the incentive grant award amounts.
Changes: We have revised the final requirements to clarify the
language explaining the funding formula.
[FR Doc. 04-4719 Filed 3-2-04; 8:45 am]
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