96-11473. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services  

  • [Federal Register Volume 61, Number 91 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 21231-21235]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 96-11473]
    
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
    
    
    Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
    
    AGENCY: Department of Education.
    
    ACTION: Notice of final priorities.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Secretary announces final priorities for two programs 
    administered by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 
    Services (OSERS) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 
    The Secretary may use these priorities in Fiscal Year 1996 and 
    subsequent years. The Secretary takes this action to focus Federal 
    assistance on identified needs to improve results for children with 
    disabilities. These final priorities are intended to ensure wide and 
    effective use of program funds.
    
    EFFECTIVE DATE: These priorities take effect on June 10, 1996.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The name, address, and telephone 
    number of the person at the Department to contact for information on 
    each specific final priority is listed under that priority.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice contains three final priorities 
    under two programs authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities 
    Education Act, as follows: Training Personnel for the Education of 
    Individuals with Disabilities Program (two final priorities); and the 
    Program for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (one 
    final priority). The purpose of each program is stated separately under 
    the title of that program.
        On February 21, 1996, the Secretary published a notice of proposed 
    priorities for these programs in the Federal Register (61 FR 6754-
    6758).
        These final priorities support the National Education Goals by 
    improving understanding of how to enable children and youth with 
    disabilities to reach higher levels of academic achievement.
        The publication of these priorities does not preclude the Secretary 
    from proposing additional priorities, nor does it limit the Secretary 
    to funding only these priorities, subject to meeting applicable 
    rulemaking requirements. Funding of particular projects depends on the 
    availability of funds, and the quality of the applications received. 
    Further, FY 1996 priorities could be affected by enactment of 
    legislation reauthorizing these programs.
    
        Note: This notice of final priorities does not solicit 
    applications. A notice inviting applications under these 
    competitions is published in a separate notice in this issue of the 
    Federal Register.
    
    Analysis of Comments and Changes
    
        In response to the Secretary's invitation in the notice of proposed 
    priority, fifty-six parties submitted comments. An analysis of the 
    comments and of the changes in the proposed priorities follows. 
    Technical and other minor changes--as well as suggested changes the 
    Secretary is not legally authorized to make under the applicable 
    statutory authority--are not addressed.
    
    Priority--Preparation of Special Education, Related Services, and Early 
    Intervention Personnel To Serve Infants, Toddlers, Children, and Youth 
    With Low-Incidence Disabilities
    
        Comment: Forty-two commenters expressed concern about the severe 
    shortage of personnel specifically prepared to work with children and 
    youth who are deaf-blind. The commenters felt that the priority should 
    place more emphasis on preparing personnel to work with children and 
    youth with deaf-blindness by specifically identifying deaf-blindness as 
    a low-incidence disability. Identification of deaf-blindness, the 
    commenters note, is necessary to preserve the uniqueness of this 
    disability and to address the lack of qualified personnel who have the 
    specialized skills to effectively work with deaf-blind children.
        Discussion: The proposed priority defined the term ``low-incidence 
    disability'' to include a ``visual or hearing impairment, or 
    simultaneous visual and hearing impairments.'' The proposed definition 
    did not specifically identify deaf-blindness as a low incidence 
    disability, although deaf-blindness clearly satisfies the definition. 
    The Secretary agrees with the commenters that there is a need to train 
    additional personnel to work with the deaf-blind and notes that the 
    Office of Special Education Programs currently funds seven programs 
    that prepare personnel to work with this population. Projects proposing 
    to prepare special education, related service, and early intervention 
    personnel to work with children who are deaf-blind are eligible to 
    receive an award under the final priority and are encouraged to apply.
        Changes: The proposed priority has been amended to clarify that 
    children with deaf-blindness would be considered individuals with 
    ``low-incidence'' disabilities.
        Comment: Four commenters expressed concern that there is a shortage 
    of teachers of blind and visually impaired children. The commenters 
    recommended that the Department establish a separate priority for the 
    training of personnel to work with blind and visually impaired children 
    since training programs for teachers of the visually impaired are 
    highly specialized and rigorous.
        Discussion: The Secretary agrees that there is a shortage of 
    teachers of the visually impaired and blind. The Secretary emphasizes 
    that the final priority, like the proposed priority, authorizes funding 
    of projects designed to train teachers to work with the blind and 
    visually impaired.
        Changes: None.
        Comment: Five commenters questioned the collaborative, multi-
    disciplinary aspects of the priority. Two commenters expressed concern 
    that the priority required projects to demonstrate collaboration 
    between their project and other departments and suggested that such 
    collaboration is beyond the capability of most programs. In particular, 
    one commenter stated that the complexity and intensity of training 
    programs that prepare individuals to work with the visually impaired 
    would make collaboration between these and other programs (e.g., 
    nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychology) 
    impossible. Other commenters mentioned the difficulty of an over-
    crowded curriculum and a lack of time and personnel as additional 
    reasons for opposing the development of collaboration among programs. 
    However, one commenter recommended that projects demonstrate 
    partnerships with rehabilitation programs, independent living centers, 
    employers, and other community resources that become critical as youth 
    with low-incidence disabilities transition to employment.
        Discussion: The priority encourages, but does not require, 
    collaboration
    
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    among several institutions and between training institutions and public 
    schools. The priority also encourages, but does not require, projects 
    that foster successful coordination between special education and 
    regular education professional development programs in order to address 
    the needs of children with low-incidence disabilities in inclusive 
    settings. The Secretary is sympathetic to the level and diversity of 
    knowledge needed to work with many of the low-incidence populations. 
    However, students with low-incidence disabilities may experience 
    multiple problems that need to be addressed through services in several 
    disciplines (e.g., occupational, physical and speech therapy, social 
    work, psychology). Special education, related service, and early 
    intervention personnel that work with low-incidence populations, 
    therefore, must possess sufficient knowledge of other disciplines to 
    communicate with professionals in those areas, to function as a team 
    member when assessing the students, and to cooperate knowledgeably when 
    developing individualized education plans (IEPs). Multi-disciplinary 
    training projects are encouraged for purposes of assisting students 
    with low-incidence disabilities in reaching their maximum potential. 
    Personnel trained under the priority, however, are not expected to 
    become fully knowledgeable in other disciplines.
        The Secretary realizes that the appropriateness of any 
    collaboration and coordination is dependent upon the objectives of a 
    particular project. Potential variation among projects is the reason 
    that the collaboration and coordination is encouraged, not required.
        Changes: None.
        Comment: Some commenters requested that certain occupations be 
    identified in the priority as types of careers to which training 
    projects could be directed. Commenters suggested that transition staff, 
    direct care professionals, case managers, orientation and mobility 
    instructors, interveners and paraprofessionals be specifically 
    mentioned in the priority.
        Discussion: The priority provides support for related services 
    personnel who provide developmental, corrective, and other supportive 
    services that assist children with low-incidence disabilities to 
    benefit from special education. Transition staff, direct care 
    professionals, case managers, orientation and mobility instructors, 
    interveners and paraprofessionals are considered related service 
    personnel under the priority. Because the population of individuals 
    with low-incidence disabilities requires multiple services, it would be 
    difficult to provide an exhaustive list of all types of related service 
    personnel that can be trained under this priority. Also, any list of 
    related service personnel could be viewed as overly prescriptive. The 
    Secretary prefers to allow individual projects the latitude to propose 
    and justify their particular project concentration.
        Changes: None.
        Comment: One commenter requested clarification of the language in 
    the priority that authorizes training of related service personnel 
    through ``comprehensive programs'' or ``specialty components of 
    programs that emphasize children with low-incidence disabilities within 
    a broader discipline.''
        Discussion: Comprehensive programs are those that are dedicated to 
    the total area of preparation. Examples include, but are not limited 
    to, programs that prepare psychologists to work with school-age 
    children with disabilities, or physical therapy programs that prepare 
    therapists to function within school settings. A specialty component of 
    a program is a segment of a broader program devoted to a low-incidence 
    disability. Examples include, but are not limited to, programs that 
    prepare school psychologists to work with children who have traumatic 
    brain injury or physical therapists to work with children birth to age 
    three. Both types of preparation programs may be supported under this 
    priority. The Secretary intends to include this clarifying information 
    in the application package for the competition.
        Changes: None.
        Comment: One commenter described the potential difficulty in using 
    the State Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) to 
    substantiate a State's need for trained personnel to serve children 
    with low-incidence disabilities and asked if other means might be used 
    to document State needs.
        Discussion: The Secretary believes that the CSPD should be used to 
    support the need for qualified personnel. However, the Secretary also 
    recognizes that projects may have to supplement, where appropriate, 
    information provided in a particular State's CSPD. In the past, if a 
    State's CSPD did not support its need for qualified personnel, other 
    sources of data have been accepted for purposes of documenting need. 
    The Secretary agrees that applicants should continue to have the option 
    to use documentation in addition to the CSPD to demonstrate the lack of 
    qualified personnel in a particular State. Regardless of the 
    documentation used, it remains the responsibility of the applicant to 
    describe, support, and justify the personnel needs addressed by a 
    particular project.
        Changes: The priority has been amended to allow projects to use 
    documentation in addition to the CSPD to show how their proposed 
    activities address the need for trained personnel in a particular 
    State.
        Comment: One commenter asked that the priority emphasize the need 
    to train males for careers in special education in light of the 
    shortage of males who pursue such training.
        Discussion: The Secretary recognizes that the majority of personnel 
    serving the needs of children and youth with low-incidence disabilities 
    are female. However, the general shortage of qualified personnel able 
    to serve the low-incidence population justifies the need for preparing 
    all potential candidates, both male and female.
        Changes: None.
        Comment: Two commenters questioned the approximate percentages of 
    available funds to be awarded to the three components in the priority--
    55 percent for careers in special education, 30 percent for careers in 
    related services, and 15 percent for careers in early intervention. One 
    commenter sought a decrease in the percentage of funds allocated to the 
    preparation of special educators, while another commenter recommended 
    decreasing the percentage of funds reserved for special education and 
    related services training projects in order to support a separate 
    allocation for preparation of individuals who work with the visually 
    impaired.
        Discussion: The priority combines elements of three previous 
    competitions that were funded separately and are now being combined to 
    target the needs of the low-incidence population. The percentages in 
    the priority are approximates and have been developed in consideration 
    of past levels of support for the different competitions. Funding of 
    particular projects depends on the availability of funds, the quality 
    of the applications received, and the results of the peer review 
    process. However, the Secretary notes that the amount of proposed 
    funding for this competition currently surpasses the total amount of 
    past awards for the three separate competitions.
        Changes: None.
        Comment: One commenter requested the priority be limited to special 
    education personnel and specifically questioned the appropriatness of 
    related service and early intervention specialists to work with the 
    low-incidence population. The commenter asserted that narrowly prepared 
    related
    
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    service personnel may not find employment because children with low-
    incidence disabilities are often widely dispersed among geographical 
    locations. As a result, such programs may experience logistical 
    difficulties and may be uneconomical.
        Discussion: The Secretary is aware of the logistical and economic 
    difficulties associated with serving infants, toddlers, children and 
    youth with low-incidence disabilities in rural and isolated areas, as 
    well as in public school settings. The Secretary is also aware of many 
    instances in which several children with low-incidence disabilities are 
    educated within a single location. Regardless of setting, however, 
    special educators, related service and early intervention personnel 
    must be prepared appropriately to meet the needs of children with low-
    incidence disabilities. The Secretary encourages programs preparing 
    personnel to include information and experience with low-incidence 
    disabilities so that graduates of their programs are able to serve 
    their customers in their areas of expertise no matter where they are 
    found, as single students in an isolated setting or as one of a group 
    found in aggregate settings. Federal support of these programs is 
    intended to reduce the need for special educators, related service and 
    early intervention personnel to learn on the job, which could otherwise 
    be detrimental to students.
        Change: None.
    
    Priority--Center To Promote Collaboration and Communication of 
    Effective Practices for Children With, or At Risk of Developing, 
    Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED)
    
        Comment: One commenter wrote that the allocation of funds under 
    this priority would be more effective if provided directly to States 
    with flexibility on how these funds are used. The commenter felt this 
    would allow each State to address issues relating to the education of 
    students with emotional disabilities specific to the needs of that 
    State as identified by school districts and other agencies.
        Discussion: One of the purposes of the Program for Children and 
    Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance is, ``To provide information 
    and training for those involved with, or who could be involved with 
    children and youth with serious emotional disturbance'' (34 CFR 
    328.1(b)(2)). The proposed Center is targeted toward the information 
    aspect of this purpose as stated in the program regulations. There are 
    other purposes of the Program, and some of those are also targeted by 
    the priority, but to a lesser extent.
        Given the limited resources, the Department believes that it would 
    be most efficient, and have the greatest impact, to concentrate the 
    funds rather than to distribute the resources in significantly smaller 
    portions to the States. Particularly, the Secretary feels that in the 
    area of information development and transfer, multiple smaller efforts 
    by the States would generate more duplication and redundancy, and would 
    have less overall impact and efficiency than one Center.
        Changes: None.
    
    Training Personnel for the Education of Individuals With 
    Disabilities Program
    
        Purpose of Program: The purpose of Grants for Personnel Training is 
    to increase the quantity and improve the quality of personnel available 
    to serve infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.
        Priorities: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary gives an 
    absolute preference to applications that meet any one of the following 
    priorities. The Secretary will fund under these competitions only 
    applications that meet any one of these absolute priorities:
    
    Absolute Priority 1--Preparation of Special Education, Related 
    Services, and Early Intervention Personnel To Serve Infants, Toddlers, 
    Children, and Youth with Low-Incidence Disabilities
    
    Background
    
        The national demand for educational, related services, and early 
    intervention personnel to serve infants, toddlers, children and youth 
    with low-incidence disabilities exceeds available supply. However, 
    because of the small number of these personnel needed in each State, 
    institutions of higher education and individual States are reluctant to 
    support the needed professional development programs. Of the programs 
    that are available, not all are producing graduates with the 
    prerequisite skills needed to meet the needs of the low-incidence 
    disability population. Federal support is required to ensure an 
    adequate supply of personnel to serve children with low-incidence 
    disabilities and to improve the quality of appropriate training 
    programs so that graduates possess necessary prerequisite skills.
         Priority: The Secretary establishes an absolute priority to 
    support projects that increase the number and quality of personnel to 
    serve children with low-incidence disabilities. This priority supports 
    projects that provide preservice preparation of special educators, 
    early intervention personnel, and related services personnel at the 
    associate, baccalaureate, master's, or specialist level.
        The term ``low-incidence disability'' means a visual or hearing 
    impairment, or simultaneous visual and hearing impairments (including 
    deaf-blindness), significant mental retardation, or an impairment such 
    as severe and multiple disabilities, severe orthopedic disabilities, 
    autism, and traumatic brain injury, for which a small number of highly 
    skilled and knowledgeable personnel are needed.
        Applicants may propose to prepare one or more of the following 
    types of personnel:
        (1) Special educators including early childhood, speech and 
    language, adapted physical education, and assistive technology 
    personnel;
        (2) Related services personnel who provide developmental, 
    corrective, and other supportive services that assist children with 
    low-incidence disabilities to benefit from special education. Both 
    comprehensive programs and specialty components within a broader 
    discipline that prepares personnel for work with the low-incidence 
    population may be supported; or,
        (3) Early intervention personnel who serve children birth through 
    age 2 with disabilities and their families. Early intervention 
    personnel include persons prepared to provide training for, or be 
    consultants to, service providers and case managers.
        The Secretary particularly encourages projects that address the 
    needs of more than one State, provide multi-disciplinary training, and 
    include collaboration among several institutions and between training 
    institutions and public schools. In addition, projects that foster 
    successful coordination between special education and regular education 
    professional development programs to meet the needs of children with 
    low-incidence disabilities in inclusive settings are encouraged.
        Projects must:
        (a) Show how their proposed activities address the demands for 
    trained personnel to serve children with low-incidence disabilities in 
    the State or States whose needs the project is expected to meet. The 
    extent of the need for trained personnel in a particular State must be 
    supported by the State's Comprehensive System of Personnel Development 
    (CSPD), or the CSPD supplemented by other additional relevant sources 
    which the applicant demonstrates to be reliable and accurate.
        (b) Prepare personnel to address the specialized needs of children 
    with low-
    
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    incidence disabilities from different cultural and language 
    backgrounds;
        (c) Incorporate best practices in the design of the program and the 
    curricula;
        (d) Incorporate curricula that focus on improving results for 
    children with low-incidence disabilities;
        (e) Promote high expectations for students with low-incidence 
    disabilities and foster access to the general curriculum in the regular 
    classroom, wherever appropriate; and
        (f) Develop linkages with Education Department technical assistance 
    providers to communicate information on program models used and program 
    effectiveness.
        Under this absolute priority, the Secretary plans to award 
    approximately:
         55 percent of the available funds for projects that 
    support careers in special education, including early childhood 
    educators;
         30 percent of the available funds for projects that 
    support careers in related services; and
         15 percent of the available funds for projects that 
    support careers in early intervention.
        For Further Information Contact: Verna Hart, U.S. Department of 
    Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 3519, Switzer Building, 
    Washington, D.C. 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-5392. FAX: (202) 205-
    9070. Internet: Verna__Hart@ed.gov
        Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
    may call the TDD number: (202) 205-7381.
    
    Absolute Priority 2--Preparation of Personnel To Serve Children and 
    Youth with High-Incidence Disabilities
    
    Background
    
        In many States, there are insufficient numbers of personnel 
    available to meet the needs of children with high-incidence 
    disabilities. In addition, the quality of personnel preparation 
    programs needs to be improved so that professionals will be better 
    prepared to help children with high-incidence disabilities reach their 
    individual developmental goals and meet challenging standards.
        Priority: The Secretary establishes an absolute priority to support 
    projects that increase the number and quality of personnel to serve 
    children ages 3 through 21 with high-incidence disabilities such as 
    mild or moderate mental retardation, speech or language impairments, 
    emotional disturbance, or specific learning disabilities. This priority 
    supports projects that provide preservice preparation of special 
    educators, including early childhood educators and related services 
    personnel.
        A preservice program is defined as one that leads toward a degree, 
    certification, or professional standard, and may be supported at the 
    associate, baccalaureate, master's or specialist level. A preservice 
    program may include the preparation of currently employed personnel who 
    are seeking additional degrees, certifications, or endorsements.
        Applicants may propose to prepare one or more of the following 
    types of personnel:
        (1) Special educators including speech and language, adapted 
    physical education, and adaptive technology personnel;
        (2) Related services personnel who provide developmental, 
    corrective, and other supportive services that assist children with 
    high-incidence disabilities to benefit from special education; and
        (3) Early childhood special education or related services personnel 
    who address the needs of children age three through five with high-
    incidence disabilities and their families.
        The Secretary particularly encourages projects that foster 
    successful coordination between special education and regular education 
    professional development programs to meet the needs of children with 
    high-incidence disabilities in inclusive settings.
        Projects must:
        (a) Show through letters of acknowledgement from States or other 
    documentation that the proposed professional development activities 
    support the Comprehensive Systems of Personnel Development of the State 
    or States where personnel prepared by the project are expected to be 
    employed;
        (b) Show through letters of acknowledgement from States or other 
    documentation that the proposed personnel preparation meets the 
    standards for employment in the State or States where personnel 
    prepared by the project are expected to be employed;
        (c) Prepare personnel to address the needs of children with high-
    incidence disabilities from different cultural and language 
    backgrounds;
        (d) Incorporate best practices in the design of the program and 
    curricula;
        (e) Incorporate curricula that focus on improving results for 
    children with high-incidence disabilities;
        (f) Promote high expectations for children with high-incidence 
    disabilities and foster access to the general curriculum in the regular 
    classroom, wherever appropriate; and,
        (g) Develop linkages with Education Department technical assistance 
    providers to communicate information on program models used and program 
    effectiveness.
        Under this absolute priority, the Secretary plans to award 
    approximately:
         55 percent of the available funds for projects that 
    support careers in special education;
         30 percent of the available funds for projects that 
    support careers in related services; and,
         15 percent of the available funds for projects that 
    support careers in early childhood education.
        For Further Information Contact: Martha Bokee, U.S. Department of 
    Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 3078, Switzer Building, 
    Washington, D.C. 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-5509. FAX: (202) 205-
    9070. Internet: Marth__a Bokee@ed.gov
        Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
    may call the TDD number: (202) 205-7381.
    
        Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1431.
    
    Program for Children and Youth With Serious Emotional Disturbance
    
        Purpose of Program: To support projects designed to improve special 
    education and related services to children and youth with serious 
    emotional disturbance. Types of projects that may be supported under 
    the program include, but are not limited to, research, development, and 
    demonstration projects. Funds may also be used to develop and 
    demonstrate approaches to assist and prevent children with emotional 
    and behavioral problems from developing serious emotional disturbance.
        Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary gives an absolute 
    preference to applications that meet the following priority. The 
    Secretary will fund under this competition only an application that 
    meets this absolute priority:
    
    Absolute Priority--Center To Promote Collaboration and Communication of 
    Effective Practices for Children With, or At Risk of Developing, 
    Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED)
    
    Background
    
        ``Collaboration'' is one of the seven strategic targets identified 
    in the National Agenda for Achieving Better Results for Children and 
    Youth with SED, developed by the Office of Special Education Programs 
    (OSEP) with extensive participation by a variety of individuals and 
    organizations. Collaboration is critically important, at Federal, 
    State, and local levels: ``To promote systems change resulting in the
    
    [[Page 21235]]
    
    development of coherent services built around the individual needs of 
    children and youth with and at risk of developing SED.'' In the past, 
    there has been too little interaction between agencies and service 
    providers, e.g., education, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile 
    justice. Lack of coordination between and across agencies has had a 
    negative impact on children and families. The new direction, 
    demonstrated in many of the projects currently funded by OSEP and other 
    agencies, is toward more ``seamless'' and ``wrap-around'' service 
    delivery models built around the needs of students, families, and 
    communities--systems that coordinate services, articulate 
    responsibilities, and provide system-wide and agency-level 
    accountability.
        Many of these new model programs are only in their infancy, but are 
    already documenting their effectiveness. It is essential that 
    mechanisms be put in place to foster the identification, development, 
    and exchange of information about these innovative projects--to 
    communicate their findings and approaches nationally to other 
    communities and agencies that are seeking solutions to the needs of 
    children with mental health problems and their families.
        Priority: The Secretary establishes an absolute priority to support 
    one cooperative agreement for a center to promote Federal, State, and 
    local interagency collaboration and facilitate the identification, 
    development, and exchange of information on effective practices to 
    improve services for children with SED and for children with emotional 
    and behavioral problems who are at risk of developing SED. The center 
    must coordinate and collaborate with related centers and activities 
    across agencies, including but not limited to: OSEP's ongoing 
    activities to validate and communicate the SED National Agenda; other 
    OSEP and Department-supported technical assistance and information 
    exchange activities; and the two rehabilitation research and training 
    centers (RRTCs) on children's mental health jointly funded by the 
    National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) 
    and the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). The center must 
    provide and support information identification, development, and 
    exchange for Federal, State, and community-based projects and programs 
    providing services for children with or at risk of SED in accordance 
    with a plan that describes the centers schedule.
        The center must:
        (1) Establish working relationships with Federal, State, and local 
    programs and projects to identify and develop useful and usable 
    information for, and to foster the exchange of usable and useful 
    information with--
        (a) Federal, State, and community-based programs and projects to 
    assist them in their efforts; and
        (b) Broader audiences of individuals and organizations including 
    parents and family members of children with or at risk of serious 
    emotional disturbance.
        (2) Ensure and facilitate access, including electronic and 
    telecommunication access, to information on SED, including information 
    on projects funded by the Office of Special Education and 
    Rehabilitation Services; other offices in the Department of Education; 
    the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Justice; and 
    other sources such as foundations and associations, as appropriate.
        (3) Evaluate the impact of information identification, development, 
    and exchange activities.
        It is anticipated that initial information exchanges will rely 
    heavily upon information already produced by programs and projects, but 
    that additional information will be synthesized and developed by the 
    center based on findings from the available research and information/
    findings provided to the center by programs and projects.
        The center must also ensure that the targets and cross-cutting 
    themes of OSEP's National Agenda for Achieving Better Results for 
    Children and Youth with SED are addressed in the center's information 
    activities. Four areas of particular interest that must be addressed in 
    information activities are: (1) Early identification, intervention, and 
    prevention; (2) behavior management, conflict resolution, and other 
    approaches to creating more productive and safe educational 
    environments for all students; (3) personnel preparation; and (4) 
    evaluation of community-based (local) program and service 
    effectiveness.
        Under this priority, the Secretary intends to award one cooperative 
    agreement with a project period of up to 60 months subject to the 
    requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a) for continuation awards. In 
    determining whether to continue the center for the fourth and fifth 
    years of the project period, the Secretary will consider, in addition 
    to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a), the factors noted below, and 
    the recommendation of a review team consisting of three experts 
    selected by the Secretary. The services of the review team, including a 
    two-day visit to the center, are to be performed during the last half 
    of the center's second year and must be included in that year's 
    evaluation required under 34 CFR 75.590. In its budget for the second 
    year, the center must set aside funds to cover the costs of the review 
    team. These funds are estimated to be approximately $4,000.
        The Secretary will also consider the following:
        (a) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of 
    the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or are being met by the 
    center; and
        (b) The degree to which the center's evaluation methods and 
    information activities demonstrate the potential for advancing 
    significant new knowledge.
        The Secretary particularly encourages applicants for this 
    cooperative agreement to incorporate technologically innovative 
    approaches in all aspects of center activities, to improve their 
    efficiency and impact.
        The project must budget for two trips annually to Washington, D.C., 
    for: (1) A two-day Research Project Directors' meeting; and (2) another 
    meeting, in the first quarter of each project year, to meet and review 
    project plans and accomplishments with the OSEP project officer and 
    other OSEP and other agency staff to share information on the project.
        For Further Information Contact: Tom V. Hanley, U.S. Department of 
    Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 3526, Switzer Building, 
    Washington, D.C. 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-8110. FAX: (202) 205-
    8105. Internet: Tom__Hanley@ed.gov
        Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
    may call the TDD number: (202) 205-8953.
    
        Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1426.
    
        Dated: May 3, 1996.
    Judith E. Heumann,
    Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
    [FR Doc. 96-11473 Filed 5-8-96; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
    
    

Document Information

Effective Date:
6/10/1996
Published:
05/09/1996
Department:
Education Department
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice of final priorities.
Document Number:
96-11473
Dates:
These priorities take effect on June 10, 1996.
Pages:
21231-21235 (5 pages)
PDF File:
96-11473.pdf