Office of Elementary and Secondary EducationSafe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National ProgramsFederal ActivitiesState and Regional Coalition Grant Competition To Prevent High-Risk Drinking Among College Students

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free

Schools and Communities National Programs--Federal Activities--State

and Regional Coalition Grant Competition To Prevent High-Risk Drinking

Among College Students

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority, eligible applicants, and selection

criteria for fiscal year 1999 and subsequent years.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a proposed priority, eligible

applicants, and selection criteria for fiscal year (FY) 1999 and, at

the discretion of the Secretary, for subsequent years under the Safe

and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Programs--Federal

Activities-- State and Regional Coalition Grant Competition to Prevent

High-Risk Drinking Among College Students. The Secretary takes this

action to focus Federal financial assistance on an identified national

need. This competition seeks to reduce and prevent high-risk drinking

among college students by funding State or regional coalitions for a

two-year period to bring together institutions of higher education

(IHEs) to share ideas and develop, implement, and evaluate

collaborative strategies.

Invitation to Comment: Interested persons are invited to submit

comments and recommendations regarding this proposed priority. All

comments submitted in response to this notice will be available for

public inspection, during and after the comment period, in Room 3E222,

400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m.

and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except

Federal holidays.

On request the Department supplies an appropriate aid, such as a

reader or print magnifier, to an individual with a disability that

needs assistance to review the comments. An individual with a

disability who wants to schedule an appointment for this type of aid

may call (202) 205-8113 or (202) 260-9895. An individual who uses a TDD

may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-

8339.

DATES: Comments must be received by the Department on or before May 20,

1999.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be

addressed to Kimberly Light, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 3E222, Washington, DC 20202-6123. Comments may be sent

through the Internet: [email protected] You must include the term

``Alcohol, Other Drug, and Violence Prevention for IHEs'' in the

subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Light, (202) 260-2647.

Individuals who use a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) may

call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternate

format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed above.

Note: This notice of proposed priorities does not solicit

applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition

will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or

following the publication of the notice of final priorities.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: High-risk drinking, including ``binge''

drinking, continues to affect the health, learning, and safety of

college students. Excessive use of alcohol has resulted in deaths,

serious injuries, vandalism, and sexual assault on college campuses.

There is strong evidence that environmental factors, including alcohol

availability, high-risk alcohol use norms, and the restrictiveness of

State drunk driving laws, play a major role in student alcohol use.

Different IHEs may have high-risk drinking problems that are affected

by similar environmental concerns; therefore, developing partnerships

with other IHEs can provide a forum to develop common solutions as well

as a mechanism to create the ``critical mass'' of concerned

stakeholders needed to influence broader environmental changes. The

recent development of a number of IHE coalitions across the country

suggests that such partnerships may be an effective method for IHEs

with common environmental concerns to build local capacity to address

high-risk drinking within their campus-communities. In addition, these

efforts can have an impact within a larger community context, such as

geographic regions within States (e.g., a large metropolitan area),

similar institutions within States (e.g., all public universities), or

institutions in States that share common borders. This competition

seeks to

[[Page 19348]]

encourage these collaborative efforts and evaluate their effectiveness

so that other IHEs may adopt effective strategies.

Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the Safe and Drug-

Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994, the Secretary gives an

absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority.

The Secretary funds under this competition only applications that meet

the following absolute priority:

Implement and Evaluate the Impact of a State or Regional Coalition

to Develop Strategies for Reducing and Preventing High-Risk

Drinking Among College Students

Applicants proposing a project under this priority must:

(1) Propose to expand an existing or establish a new State or

regional coalition of IHEs and other relevant organizations that

includes key stakeholders who will have an impact on the development

and implementation of State, local, and campus policies and programs to

reduce and prevent high-risk drinking;

(2) Explain how coalition members will work together on a regular

basis, including meeting to discuss common problems and share effective

strategies;

(3) Use community collaboration prevention approaches, including

involvement of students, that research or evaluation has shown to be

effective in preventing or reducing high-risk drinking;

(4) Use a qualified evaluator to design and implement an evaluation

of the project using outcomes-based (summative) performance indicators

in addition to process (formative) measures that documents strategies

used and measures the effectiveness of the coalition;

(5) Demonstrate the ability to start the project within 60 days

after receiving Federal funding in order to maximize the time available

to show impact within the grant period; and (6) Share information about

their projects with the Department of Education or its agents.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants under this competition are IHEs and consortia

of IHEs, and other public and private nonprofit organizations.

Selection Criteria

The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate

applications for new grants under this competition. The maximum score

for all of these criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each

criterion or factor under that criterion is indicated in parentheses.

(1) Need for project (15 points).

In determining the need for the proposed project, the following

factors are considered:

(a) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the

proposed project. (10 points)

(b) The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services,

infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be

addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude

of those gaps or weaknesses. (5 points)

(2) Significance (14 points).

In determining the significance of the proposed project, the

following factors are considered:

(a) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system

change or improvement. (10 points)

(b) The potential replicability of the proposed project or

strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation

in a variety of settings. (4 points)

(3) Quality of the project design (15 points).

In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project,

the following factors are considered:

(a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be

achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.

(4 points)

(b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects

up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice. (6 points)

(c) The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build

capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of

Federal financial assistance. (5 points)

(4) Quality of the project personnel (15 points).

In determining the quality of project personnel, the following

factors are considered:

(a) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for

employment from persons who are members of groups that have

traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national

origin, gender, age, or disability. (3 points)

(b) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,

of key project personnel. (12 points)

(5) Adequacy of resources (16 points).

In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed project,

the following factors are considered:

(a) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in

the proposed project the implementation and success of the project. (8

points)

(b) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the

number of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and

benefits. (4 points)

(c) The potential for continued support of the project after

Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated

commitment of appropriate entities to such support. (4 points)

(6) Quality of the management plan (14 points).

In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed

project, the following factors are considered:

(a) How the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives

are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project, including

those of students, faculty, parents, the business community, a variety

of disciplinary and professional fields, recipients or beneficiaries of

services, or others, as appropriate. (10 points)

(b) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives

of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly

defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing

project tasks. (4 points)

(7) Quality of the project evaluation (11 points).

In determining the quality of the evaluation, the following factors

are considered:

(a) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,

feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives and outcomes of the

proposed project. (4 points)

(b) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide

performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward

achieving intended outcomes. (3 points)

(c) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use

of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the

intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and

qualitative data to the extent possible. (4 points)

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,

[[Page 19349]]

which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If you have

questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing

officer toll free at 1-888-293-6498.

Note: The official version of this document is the document

published in the Federal Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131.

Dated: April 16, 1999.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.184H Office of

Elementary and Secondary Education--Safe and Drug-Free Schools and

Communities National Programs--Federal Activities --State and

Regional Coalition Grant Competition to Prevent High-Risk Drinking

Among College Students)

Judith Johnson,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 99-10025 Filed 4-19-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P