[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2816-2817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-604]
[[Page 2815]]
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Part II
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
_______________________________________________________________________
34 CFR Part 201
Migrant Education Program Services; Funding Formula; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 11, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 2816]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
34 CFR Part 201
Implementation of the Funding Formula Under Part C of Title I of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposal; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary of Education for Elementary and
Secondary Education (Assistant Secretary) proposes a method for
implementing section 1303(e)(3) of Title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Improving America's
Schools Act (IASA), under which provision of Migrant Education Program
(MEP) services during intersession periods would be factored into
calculations of State MEP allocations for fiscal year (FY) 1995.
The Assistant Secretary also solicits comments on how, given the
end of the Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS), the
Department should obtain information on the estimated number of
migratory children residing in each State, as is required under section
1303(e) of ESEA, in order to make MEP allocations for FY 1996 and
beyond.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before February 10,
1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments sent by mail should be addressed to James English,
Program Analyst, Office of Migrant Education, U.S. Department of
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., Portals Building, Room 4100,
Washington, DC 20202-6135. The Internet address for comments is James--
English@ed.gov. The FAX number is 202-205-0089.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James English, Office of Migrant
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Portals Building, Room 4100, Washington, DC 20202-6135. Telephone:
(202) 260-1394. 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
State allocations under the MEP are based on a formula that uses
State per-pupil expenditures and counts of the number of eligible
migratory children residing in each State full- and part-time. Until
enactment of the IASA, the Department determined the number of eligible
migratory children residing in each State on the basis of information
from the MSRTS on the full-time-equivalent (FTE) number of migratory
children in each State during the prior calendar year. The MSRTS will
go out of existence on June 30, 1995. Calendar year 1994 will be the
last year for which FTE counts of eligible migratory children will be
available from the MSRTS. Thereafter, the Department will have no
single source of information from the prior calendar year that can be
used for purposes of determining MEP allocations for FY 1996 and
beyond.
Section 1303(e)(3) of Title I of the ESEA, as amended by the IASA,
now requires the Department to adjust the number of migratory children
residing in each State full- and part-time to take into consideration
the needs of students participating in, and the costs of programs
operating during, both summer and intersession periods.
(Note: The Department defines intersession periods as those periods
of time when a year-round school is not in session.)
Prior law only required the Department to make an adjustment on the
basis of programs that operated during the summer, which the Department
had defined as May 15 through August 31. The Department does not, at
present, have information to make adjustments in the MEP formula based
on MEP projects that operate during intersession periods. Moreover, the
Department will be able to implement this provision as part of the
allocation formula for FY 1995 MEP funds only if an acceptable source
of information can be found.
The Department is proposing a method for implementing section
1303(e)(3) for FY 1995, and is requesting public comment on the
proposal and the availability of information to implement it (See Issue
1). With regard to changes in allocating funds beginning with FY 1996
that stem from the end of the MSRTS, the Department is requesting
public comment on a number of approaches that appear to be available
(See Issue 2).
Issue 1: Adjusting the FY 1995 MEP State Formula Allocation for
Children Participating in Programs Operated During Intersession Periods
Subsection 1303(e)(3) of the ESEA provides for implementation of an
intersession period adjustment for FY 1995 MEP awards. However, while
the MSRTS can provide the Department with FTE data on the overall
number ofeligible migratory children residing in each State and the
number of those served by the MEP in summer periods (and this data can
be adjusted to reflect the 36-month eligibility period required by
section 1309(a) of Title I, as amended) for purposes of FY 1995 MEP
allocations, neither MSRTS nor the Department has similar data relating
to intersession periods.
The Department believes that an accurate intersession period
adjustment to the FY 1995 MEP allocations can only be made using
information on migratory student participation in intersession periods
that is comparable to data that the MSRTS provides on counts of
migratory children served in regular-term and summer programs during
calendar year 1994. Thus, to make an adjustment of FY 1995 MEP
allocations for intersession period participation, the Department will
need data for each State on the FTE number of migratory children served
by MEP projects, in calendar year 1994, in those intersession periods
that occur outside the period, from May 15 to August 31, 1994, for
which a summer adjustment is already being made. Additionally, these
FTE counts will need to reflect only those migratory children who are
eligible based on the 36-month eligibility period required by section
1309(a) of Title I, as amended.
The Department invites comments from the public, especially SEA
staff, as to the availability of these data and any other options for
adjusting the FY 1995 MEP allocation accurately to reflect
participation by migratory children in intersession period MEP
programs.
Issue 2: Collection of Migratory Childcount Data for FY 1996 and
Thereafter, Given the End of the MSRTS
While FTE data from calendar year 1994 (including the summer
adjustment) will be available to the Department in order to make the FY
1995 MEP allocations, the pending end of the MSRTS in 1995 requires the
Department and States receiving MEP funds to utilize a new procedure to
allocate MEP funds appropriated for FY 1996 and later.
[[Page 2817]]
The Department believes that any future procedure for determining
State MEP allocations should be simple and cost-efficient. Possible
approaches include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
States could report standard data--either at several
points in the year, annually, or perhaps once every few years--on an
unduplicated count of eligible migratory children identified as
residing in the State during a given year. These data could be
collected and reviewed (subject to audit) for accuracy relatively
easily by counting the children listed as eligible on the Certificates
of Eligibility (COEs) that the State and its operating agencies will
continue to use to document eligibility. (The COE is a legal document,
completed by an individual authorized by the State to recruit for the
MEP, which contains information explaining the basis on which a
particular child has been determined to be a migratory child.) States
would have to make sure that a child listed on COEs maintained by two
different local agencies is counted only once for the regular year (or
period)--to ensure that an unduplicated count is reported. Similarly,
unique counts of children present during the summer or intersession
periods could also be compiled by the States based on COEs (or other
data on participants maintained by the State or its subgrantees).
The Department could continue to use the calendar year
1994 FTE data from MSRTS to make allocations in FY 1996 and, perhaps,
for subsequent years. Using 1994 data for making allocations in more
than one fiscal year would be cost-effective and would require less
burden on State and local agencies than collecting and reporting
participation data annually. Other Federal programs, such as Title I,
Part A, always have used data collected in one year to allocate funds
in more than one subsequent fiscal year.
States might report, annually or periodically, an
unduplicated count of migratory children served in Title I, Part C
programs during the regular school term, and in summer or intersession
periods in a prior year. These data would be similar to those the
States now submit for MEP participation reports.
The Department could commission periodic national surveys
of the population of migratory children in sufficient detail to yield
estimates of the number of these children who reside in each State.
The Assistant Secretary invites comments on the above approaches,
as well as recommendations (with justifications) for other possible
options.
Invitation to Comment
The Department solicits the views of interested parties,
particularly parents of migratory students, and those State and local
administrators and teachers who serve migratory children under the MEP.
The Assistant Secretary requests that each commenter identify his or
her role in education and the perspective from which he or she views
the educational system--either as a representative of an association,
agency, or school (public or private), or as an individual teacher,
parent or public citizen. The Assistant Secretary urges each commenter
to be specific regarding his or her recommendations.
All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available
for public inspection during and after the comment period in room 4100
Portals Building, 1250 Maryland Ave., SW., Washington, DC, between the
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week,
except Federal holidays.
(Program Authority: Section 1303(e) of Title I of the ESEA, as
amended.)
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.011, Migratory
Education Basic State Formula Grant Program)
Dated: January 3, 1995.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 95-604 Filed 1-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
