[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30288-30290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14009]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No.: 84.083]
Women's Educational Equity Act Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1995
Purpose of Program: To promote gender equity in education; to
promote equity in education for women and girls who suffer from
multiple forms of discrimination based on sex and race, ethnic origin,
limited English proficiency, disability or age; and to provide
financial assistance to enable educational agencies to meet the
requirements of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Eligible Applicants: Public agencies, private nonprofit agencies,
organizations, institutions, student [[Page 30289]] groups, community
groups, and individuals.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 24, 1995.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 22, 1995.
Applications Available: June 19, 1995.
Available Funds: $3.2 million.
Estimated Range of Awards: Implementation Grants: $210,000-
$310,000; Research and Development Grants: $80,000-$200,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Implementation Grants: $260,000;
Research and Development Grants: $140,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: Implementation Grants: 10; Research and
Development Grants: 4.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in the
notice.
Project Period: Up to 48 months.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 85, and 86.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will award two types of
grants: (1) grants for the implementation of gender equity programs in
schools; and (2) research and development grants to develop model
equity programs. Examples of authorized activities under the program
include--
Implementation Grants
(a) Assisting educational agencies and institutions to implement
policies and practices to comply with title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972;
(b) Training for teachers, counselors, administrators, and other
school personnel, especially preschool and elementary school personnel,
in gender-equitable teaching and learning practices;
(c) Leadership training for women and girls to develop professional
and marketable skills to compete in the global marketplace, improve
self-esteem, and benefit from exposure to positive role models;
(d) School-to-work transition programs, guidance and counseling
activities, and other programs to increase opportunities for women and
girls to enter a technologically demanding workplace and, in
particular, to enter highly skilled, high-paying careers in which women
and girls have been underrepresented;
(e) Enhancing educational and career opportunities for those women
and girls who suffer multiple forms of discrimination, based on sex and
on race, ethnic origin, limited-English proficiency, disability,
socioeconomic status, or age;
(f) Assisting pregnant students and students rearing children to
remain in or to return to secondary school, graduate, and prepare their
preschool children to start school;
(g) Evaluating exemplary model programs to assess the ability of
such programs to advance educational equity for women and girls;
(h) Introduction into the classroom of textbooks, curricula, and
other materials designed to achieve equity for women and girls;
(i) Programs and policies to address sexual harassment and violence
against women and girls and to ensure that educational institutions are
free from threats to the safety of students and personnel;
(j) Nondiscriminatory tests of aptitude and achievement and of
alternative assessments that eliminate biased assessment instruments
from use;
(k) Programs to increase educational opportunities, including
higher education, vocational training, and other educational programs
for low-income women, including underemployed and unemployed women, and
women receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits;
(l) Programs to improve representation of women in educational
administration at all levels; and
(m) Planning, development, and initial implementation of--
(i) Comprehensive institution or districtwide evaluation to assess
the presence or absence of gender equity in educational settings;
(ii) Comprehensive plans for implementation of equity programs in
State and local educational agencies and institutions of higher
education, including community colleges; and
(iii) Innovative approaches to school-community partnerships for
educational equity.
Research and Development Activities
(a) Research and development of innovative strategies and model
training programs for teachers and other education personnel;
(b) The development of high-quality and challenging assessment
instruments that are nondiscriminatory;
(c) The development and evaluation of model curricula, textbooks,
software, and other educational materials to ensure the absence of
gender stereotyping and bias;
(d) The development of instruments and procedures that employ new
and innovative strategies to assess whether diverse educational
settings are gender equitable;
(e) The development of instruments and strategies for evaluation,
dissemination, and replication of promising or exemplary programs
designed to assist local educational agencies in integrating gender
equity in their educational policies and practices;
(f) Updating high-quality educational materials previously
developed through Women's Educational Equity Act grants;
(g) The development of policies and programs to address and prevent
sexual harassment and violence to ensure that educational institutions
are free from threats to safety of students and personnel;
(h) The development and improvement of programs and activities to
increase opportunity for women, including continuing educational
activities, vocational education, and programs for low-income women,
including underemployed and unemployed women, and women receiving Aid
to Families with Dependent Children; and
(i) The development of guidance and counseling activities,
including career education programs, designed to ensure gender equity.
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria for implementation grants and research and
development grants, respectively, are included, in full, in the WEEA
application package. These selection criteria were established based on
the Department's Notice of Optional Procedure for Conducting Fiscal
Year 1995 Grant Competitions Under the Improving America's Schools Act
of 1994, which was published in the Federal Register on March 7, 1995.
The respective criteria provide that the Secretary may award up to
100 points for the selection criteria for that competition. The
selection criteria for each competition include all the EDGAR selection
criteria in 34 CFR 75.210. The Secretary has also established the
following additional selection criteria for the respective competitions
by assigning the number of points indicated to particular WEEA
statutory provisions identified below. The Secretary awards points
under these criteria according to how well the applicant addresses the
statutory provision:
Additional Implementation Grant Criteria
(a) Project as a component of a comprehensive plan--20 U.S.C.
7235(a)(2)(C)--(5 points).
(b) Implementing an institutional change strategy--20 U.S.C.
7235(a)(2)(D)--(5 points).
(c) Meeting local needs--20 U.S.C. 7235(a)(2)(B)--(5 points).
[[Page 30290]]
Additional Research and Development Grant Criteria
(a) Addressing multiple discrimination--20 U.S.C. 7235(a)(2)(A)--(5
points).
(b) Addressing issues of national significance--20 U.S.C.
7235(b)(3)(D)--(5 points).
Priorities
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) and 20 U.S.C. 7235, the Secretary invites
and encourages applications that meet the following invitational
priorities for implementation grant and research and development grant
competitions, respectively. The Secretary is particularly interested in
applications that meet these priorities. However, an application that
meets the respective invitational priority does not receive competitive
or absolute preference over other applications.
Implementation Grants
Projects that address the educational needs of women and girls who
suffer multiple or compound discrimination based on sex and on race,
ethnic origin, disability, or age.
Research and Development Grants
Projects to update high-quality educational materials developed
through previous WEEA grants. These products are identified and
described in the WEEA application package.
Note: In funding projects to update previously developed
materials, the Department will utilize its license under 34 CFR
74.145 and 80.34 to use, and authorize others to use, copyrighted
material for Federal Government purposes. These purposes include
implementing WEEA's statutory authorization to develop, maintain,
and disseminate materials and resources relating to education equity
for women and girls and to update education materials previously
developed through WEEA grants. In addition, the Department expects
to fund only one project to update any individual WEEA product.
FOR APPLICATIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrolyn N. Andrews, U.S.
Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., Portals Room
4500, Washington, DC 20202-6140. Telephone (202) 260-2670. 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.
Information about the Department's funding opportunities, including
copies of application notices for discretionary grant competitions, can
be viewed on the Department's electronic bulletin board (ED Board),
telephone (202) 260-9950; or on the Internet Gopher Server at
GOPHER.ED.GOV (under Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases).
However, the official application notice for a discretionary grant
competition is the notice published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7231-7238.
Dated: June 1, 1995.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 95-14009 Filed 6-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
