[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35993-35994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16861]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No.: 84.330]
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Advanced Placement
Incentive Program
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year
(FY) 1999.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary invites applications for new awards for FY 1999
under the Advanced Placement Incentive Program and announces the
deadline date for the transmittal of applications for funding under the
program. This is a discretionary grant program.
Purpose of Program: One purpose of the Advanced Placement Incentive
Program is to enable States to reimburse part or all of the cost of
advanced placement test fees for eligible low-income individuals. In
addition, a State educational agency (SEA) in a State in which no
eligible low-income individual is required to pay more than a nominal
fee to take advanced placement tests in core subjects may use grant
funds for activities directly related to increasing (a) the enrollment
of low-income individuals in advanced placement courses; (b) the
participation of low-income individuals in advanced placement tests;
and (c) the availability of advanced placement courses in schools
serving high-poverty areas. This program is authorized under title
VIII, part B, of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (1998
Amendments) (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the March 11, 1999 Federal Register (64
FR 12154), the Secretary published a notice inviting applications for
new awards for FY 1999 under the Advanced Placement Incentive Program.
Under that competition, which closed on April 26, 1999, the Secretary
has awarded approximately $2.8 million in grants of a total FY 1999
appropriation of $4 million for this program. In order to provide more
States that are eligible for funds under section 810(d) of the 1998
Amendments (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11(d), note) an opportunity to apply, the
Secretary hereby announces a supplemental FY 1999 grant competition for
new awards under the Advanced Placement Incentive Program to carry out
activities directly related to increasing (a) the enrollment of low-
income individuals in advanced placement courses; (b) the participation
of low-income individuals in advanced placement tests; and (c) the
availability of advanced placement courses in schools serving high-
poverty areas. The Secretary also announces the deadline date for the
transmittal of applications under this supplemental competition.
Who May Apply: SEAs in any State; including the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic
of Palau; in which no eligible low-income individual is required to pay
more than a nominal fee to take advanced placement tests in core
subjects. SEAs receiving grants under the competition that closed on
April 26, 1999, may apply for additional funds under this supplemental
competition, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria described
above.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 16, 1999.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 15, 1999.
Applications Available: July 2, 1999.
Available Funds: $1,200,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000 to $1,200,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $120,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
Note: These estimates are projections for the guidance of
potential applicants. The Department is not bound by any estimates
in this notice.
Project Period: Up to 12 months.
Requirements for Approval of Applications
In order to receive funding under this supplemental competition, an
SEA must submit to the Department an application that contains the
following:
(a) A description of the advanced placement test fees the State
will pay on behalf of individual students;
(b) A description of the State's plan to disseminate information on
the availability of test fee payments to eligible individuals through
secondary school teachers and guidance counselors;
(c) The number of children in the State who were eligible to be
counted
[[Page 35994]]
under section 1124(c) of title I, part A of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)),
during the preceding State fiscal year;
(d) A description of the State's plan to evaluate the effectiveness
of the program;
(e) An assurance that funds provided under this program will be
used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, local, or
private funds available to assist low-income individuals in paying for
advanced placement testing;
(f) An assurance that no eligible low-income individual in the
State will be required to pay more than a nominal fee to take advanced
placement tests in core subjects; and
(g) A narrative that addresses the selection criteria described
below.
Selection Criteria
The Secretary will use the following selection criteria to evaluate
applications for funding under this supplemental competition. These
criteria are taken from the Education Department General Administrative
Regulations, as codified at 34 CFR 75.210. The maximum total score for
all of the selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each
criterion is as follows:
(a) Need for project--10 points.
(b) Significance--5 points.
(c) Quality of project design--25 points.
(d) Quality of project services--25 points.
(e) Quality of project personnel--10 points.
(f) Adequacy of resources--10 points.
(g) Quality of the management plan--10 points.
(h) Quality of the project evaluation--5 points.
Allowable Activities
States receiving grants under this supplemental competition may use
the grant funds to support activities directly related to increasing
(a) the enrollment of low-income individuals in advanced placement
courses; (b) the participation of low-income individuals in advanced
placement tests; and (c) the availability of advanced placement courses
in schools serving high-poverty areas.
Applicable Statute and Regulations: Title VIII, part B of the 1998
Amendments (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note). The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 76, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 85, and 86.
The following definitions and other provisions are taken from the
Advanced Placement Incentive Program statute, in title VIII, part B of
the 1998 Amendments (20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note). They are repeated in
this application notice for the convenience of the applicant.
Definitions
As used in this section:
(a) The term ``advanced placement test'' includes only an advanced
placement test approved by the Secretary of Education for the purposes
of this program.
(b) The term ``low-income individual'' has the meaning given the
term in section 402A(g)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA)
(20 U.S.C. 1070a-11(g)(2)).
Note: Under section 402A(g)(2) of the HEA, as amended, the term
``low-income individual'' means an individual from a family whose
taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of
an amount equal to the poverty level determined by using criteria of
poverty established by the Bureau of the Census (20 U.S.C. 1070a-
11(g)(2)).
Information Dissemination
The SEA shall disseminate information regarding the availability of
test fee payments under this program to eligible individuals through
secondary school teachers and guidance counselors.
Supplementation of Funding
Funds provided under this program must be used to supplement and
not supplant other non-Federal funds that are available to assist low-
income individuals in paying advanced placement test fees.
For Applications or Information Contact: Frank B. Robinson, U.S.
Department of Education, School Improvement Programs, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW, Room 3C153, Washington, DC 20202-6140. Telephone (202) 260-
2669. Internet address: frank__robinson@ed.gov. 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 alternate 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.
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 toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
Note: The official version of a document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, note.
Dated: June 29, 1999.
Judith Johnson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-16861 Filed 7-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
