[No title available]

SUMMARY: The Secretaries of Education and Labor (the Secretaries)

propose a priority for FY 1995 under the Urban/Rural Opportunities

Grants authorized by Title III of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act

of 1994 (the Act). The Secretaries intend to use this priority, along

with the selection criteria published in the November 14, 1995, issue

of the Federal Register, to select applications for funding under the

FY 1995 Urban/Rural Opportunities Grants competition. The Secretaries

propose to take this action to focus Federal financial assistance on

implementing School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives in urban or rural

areas of high poverty. This proposed priority provides for a preference

to be given to applications from local partnerships proposing to

implement a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative for youth residing

in or attending school in an Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community

(EZ/EC) designated under section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code

(IRC), as amended by Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

Act of 1993.

Note: This notice is an invitation for comment upon the proposed

priority as described; it is not a solicitation for applications for

Urban/Rural Opportunities Grants.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 5, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Karen Clark, National

School-to-Work Office, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW, Room 210, Washington,

DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Clark, National School-to-Work

Office, Telephone: (202) 401-6222 (this is not a toll-free number).

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:

Section A. Background

The Secretaries intend to award grants to local partnerships to

implement School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives serving youth

residing or attending school in urban or rural high poverty areas, as

discussed in the solicitation for grant applications published in the

November 14, 1995, issue of the Federal Register. As discussed in the

solicitation on pages 57276-57282, the Secretaries recognize the

particular challenges faced by local partnerships serving youth in

urban and rural high poverty areas in preparing them for first jobs in

high-skill, high-wage careers and in increasing their opportunities for

further education and training. Similarly, the Empowerment Zone and

Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) initiative is aimed at rebuilding

communities in America's poverty-stricken inner cities and rural

heartlands. Under the EZ/EC initiative, the Federal Government has

designated certain geographic areas as EZs and as ECs in accordance

with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 1391, as amended by Title XIII

of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-66). The

selected areas were designated as EZs or ECs based on the quality of

their strategic plans addressing how each zone or community would link

economic development with education and training, as well as how

community development, public safety, human services, and environmental

initiatives together would support sustainable communities.

The Secretaries view Urban/Rural Opportunities Grants as well

suited for inclusion in a comprehensive approach to economic and

community development that addresses the special challenges facing

youth in high poverty areas in making the transition from school to

work or further education and training. By improving the quality of

education and training provided to high poverty area youth, School-to-

Work Opportunities initiatives enhance the economic opportunities of

such youth and contribute to the improvement of impoverished

communities. Communities designated as EZs or ECs have already

demonstrated a capacity for the type of collaboration and cooperative

planning that is critical to developing and implementing successful

School-to-Work Opportunities initiatives.

Interested individuals may contact the Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD) at 1-800-998-9999 for additional information on

the urban EZ/EC initiative and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) at

1-800-645-4712 for additional information on the rural EZ/EC

initiative. A listing of areas that have been selected as EZs or ECs is

included in an appendix to this notice.

Section B. Priority

In addition to the priority in section 302(b)(3) of the School-to-

Work Opportunities Act, the Secretaries propose to give competitive

preference to applications from partnerships that propose to implement

a School-to-Work Opportunities initiative serving youth who reside or

attend school in an area designated as an EZ or an EC. The Secretaries

would select an application for an Urban/Rural Opportunities Grant that

meets this priority over an application of comparable merit that does

not meet the priority.

Invitation to Comment

Interested persons are invited to submit comments and

recommendations regarding this proposed competitive preference. All

comments submitted in response to this notice will be available for

public inspection, during and after the comment period, at the National

School-to-Work Office, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW., Room 210, Washington,

DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

of each week, except Federal holidays.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order

12372 as implemented in 34 CFR Part 79 and 29 CFR Part 17. The

objective of the Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened federalism by relying on processes

developed by State and local governments for coordination and review of

proposed Federal financial assistance.

In accordance with the order, this document is intended to provide

early notification of the Departments' specific plans and actions for

this program.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6101.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 278D: School-to-Work

Opportunities: Urban/Rural Opportunities Grants)

[[Page 62699]]

Dated: November 27, 1995.

Timothy M. Barnicle,

Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Department of Labor.

Patricia McNeil,

Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Department of

Education.

Appendix--Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities

Empowerment Zones (EZ)

Georgia: Atlanta

Illinois: Chicago

Kentucky: Kentucky Highlands*

Maryland: Baltimore

Michigan: Detroit

Mississippi: Mid Delta*

New York: Harlem, Bronx

Pennsylvania/New Jersey: Philadelphia, Camden

Texas: Rio Grande Valley*

Supplemental Empowerment Zones (SEZ)

California: Los Angeles

Ohio: Cleveland

Enterprise Communities (EC)

Alabama: Birmingham

Alabama: Chambers County*

Alabama: Greene, Sumter Counties*

Arizona: Phoenix

Arizona: Arizona Border*

Arkansas: East Central*

Arkansas: Mississippi County*

Arkansas: Pulaski County

California: Imperial County*

California: Los Angeles, Huntington Park

California: San Diego

California: San Francisco, Bayview, Hunter's Point

California: Watsonville*

Colorado: Denver

Connecticut: Bridgeport

Connecticut: New Haven

Delaware: Wilmington

District of Columbia: Washington

Florida: Jackson County*

Florida: Tampa

Florida: Miami, Dade County

Georgia: Albany

Georgia: Central Savannah*

Georgia: Crisp, Dooley Counties*

Illinois: East St. Louis

Illinois: Springfield

Indiana: Indianapolis

Iowa: Des Moines

Kentucky: Louisville

Louisiana: Northeast Delta*

Louisiana: Macon Ridge*

Louisiana: New Orleans

Louisiana: Ouachita Parish

Massachusetts: Lowell

Massachusetts: Springfield

Michigan: Five Cap*

Michigan: Flint

Michigan: Muskegon

Minnesota: Minneapolis

Minnesota: St. Paul

Mississippi: Jackson

Mississippi: North Delta*

Missouri: East Prairie*

Missouri: St. Louis

Nebraska: Omaha

Nevada: Clarke County, Las Vegas

New Hampshire: Manchester

New Jersey: Newark

New Mexico: Albuquerque

New Mexico: Moro, Rico Arriba, Taos Counties*

New York: Albany, Schenectady, Troy

New York: Buffalo

New York: Newburgh, Kingston

New York: Rochester

North Carolina: Charlotte

North Carolina: Halifax, Edgecombe, Wilson Counties*

North Carolina: Robeson County*

Ohio: Akron

Ohio: Columbus

Ohio: Greater Portsmouth*

Oklahoma: Choctaw, McCurtain Counties*

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City

Oregon: Josephine*

Oregon: Portland

Pennsylvania: Harrisburg

Pennsylvania: Lock Haven*

Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh

Rhode Island: Providence

South Carolina: Charleston

South Carolina: Williamsburg County*

South Dakota: Beadle, Spink Counties*

Tennessee: Fayette, Haywood Counties*

Tennessee: Memphis

Tennessee: Nashville

Tennessee/Kentucky: Scott, McCreary Counties*

Texas: Dallas

Texas: El Paso

Texas: San Antonio

Texas: Waco

Utah: Ogden

Vermont: Burlington

Virginia: Accomack*

Virginia: Norfolk

Washington: Lower Yakima*

Washington: Seattle

Washington: Tacoma

West Virginia: West Central*

West Virginia: Huntington

West Virginia: McDowell*

Wisconsin: Milwaukee

*denotes rural designee

Enhanced Enterprise Communities (EEC)

California: Oakland

Massachusetts: Boston

Missouri/Kansas: Kansas City, Kansas City

Texas: Houston

[FR Doc. 95-29698 Filed 12-5-95; 8:45 am]

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