Office of Educational Research and Improvement; Fund for the Improvement of Education: Partnerships in Character Education Pilot Projects; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68928-68929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31775]



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Part V





Department of Education





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Office of Educational Research and Improvement; Fund for the 
Improvement of Education: Partnerships in Character Education Pilot 
Projects; Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 2000; 
Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 1999 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.215V]


Office of Educational Research and Improvement; Fund for the 
Improvement of Education: Partnerships in Character Education Pilot 
Projects; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2000

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Fund for the Improvement of 
Education (FIE) is to support nationally significant programs to 
improve the quality of education, assist all students to meet 
challenging State content standards, and contribute to the achievement 
of the National Education Goals. The purpose of this competition is to 
support pilot projects that design and implement character education 
programs as a way to address the broader FIE objectives.
    Eligible Applicants: Only State educational agencies, in 
partnership with one or more local educational agencies, may apply for 
grants under this program.
    The term ``State educational agency'' means the agency primarily 
responsible for the State supervision of public elementary and 
secondary schools (20 U.S.C. 8011 (28)).
    The term ``local educational agency'' means--
    (1) A public board of education or other public authority legally 
constituted within a State for either administrative control or 
direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary 
or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or 
other political subdivision of a State, or for such combination of 
school districts or counties as are recognized in a State as an 
administrative agency for its public elementary or secondary schools.
    (2) The term includes any other public institution or agency having 
administrative control and direction of a public elementary or 
secondary school.
    (3) The term includes an elementary or secondary school funded by 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs but only to the extent that such inclusion 
makes such school eligible for programs for which specific eligibility 
is not provided to such school in another provision of law and such 
school does not have a student population that is smaller than the 
student population of the local educational agency receiving assistance 
under this chapter with the smallest student population, except that 
such school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any State 
educational agency other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs (20 U.S.C. 
8011 (18)).
    Applications Available: 12/13/1999.
    Deadline for Receipt of Applications: 02/11/2000.
    We must receive all applications on or before this date. This 
requirement takes exception to the Education Department General 
Administrative regulations (EDGAR), 34 CFR 75.102. Under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally 
offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed 
regulations. However, this exception to EDGAR makes procedural changes 
only and does not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, under 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational 
Research and Improvement has determined that proposed rulemaking is not 
required.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: 4/11/2000.
    Available Funds: Up to $2,000,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$1,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $350,000.
    Maximum Award: We will reject an application that proposes a budget 
exceeding a total of $1,000,000 for the entire project period.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Up to 10.
    Budget Period: 12 months.
    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 86, 98, and 99; and (b) The regulations in 34 CFR part 299.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The statute governing the Partnerships in 
Character Education Pilot Projects program limits the total amount 
awarded to any State to $1,000,000 and the funding period to five 
years, of which not more than one year may be used for planning and 
program design. Each applicant, operating within these parameters, may, 
in designing character education activities, determine the combination 
of funds and time that is most appropriate. For example, one applicant 
may request $500,000 per year for two years, another may request 
$100,000 for the first year, $400,000 for the second and third years, 
and $100,000 for the fourth year, and a third may request $200,000 per 
year for five years. In preparing your application, you should take 
special care to provide a timeline and a narrative that explains the 
costs requested for each budget period. Under the Character Education 
program, State educational agencies provide technical and professional 
assistance to local educational agencies in the development and 
implementation of curriculum materials, teacher training, and other 
activities related to character education. You must propose projects 
designed to develop character education programs that incorporate the 
following elements of character:
    (a) Caring.
    (b) Civic virtue and citizenship.
    (c) Justice and fairness.
    (d) Respect.
    (e) Responsibility.
    (f) Trustworthiness.
    (g) Any other elements deemed appropriate by the members of the 
partnership. Other program requirements are described in the 
application package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Farrar, U.S. Department of 
Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 502J, Washington, DC 20208-
5645. Telephone: (202) 219-1301. If you use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

FOR APPLICATIONS CONTACT: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. 
Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. 
FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734.
    You may also contact ED Pubs via its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/
pubs/edpubs.html
    Or you may contact ED Pubs at its E-mail address: 
edpubs@inet.ed.gov
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.215V.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternative format by contacting that person. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 
format the standard forms included in the application package.

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

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Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 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 (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, 
area at (202) 512-1530.

    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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8003.

    Dated: December 3, 1999.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 99-31775 Filed 12-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P