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             REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES COMPETITION

                 United States Department of Education
            Office of Educational Research and Improvement

              PUBLIC MEETINGS - August 22, 23 & 25, 1994

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), in
cooperation with the Secretary's Regional Representative, invites
the public to comment on issues related to the competition of the
regional educational laboratories.  The laboratories provide
applied research, development, dissemination, and technical
assistance services in ten geographic regions of the nation.  The
five-year funding cycle for the ten regional laboratory contracts
ends November 30, 1995.  The competitions will be announced in the
late fall of 1994, with new five-year awards effective December 1,
1995.

WHERE:          The Edward R. Roybal Auditorium, Third Floor
                Oakland Federal Building
                1301 Clay Street
                Oakland, California
                Contact:  Loni Hancock at (415) 556-4920
WHEN:           Monday, August 22, 1994, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

WHERE:          U.S. Forest Service Auditorium
                740 Simms Street
                Denver, Colorado
                Contact:  Lynn Simons at (303) 844-3544
WHEN:           Tuesday, August 23, 1994, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

WHERE:          The Walsh Theater of Suffolk University
                Suffolk University
                55 Temple Street
                Boston, Massachusetts
                Contact:  Ed O'Connell at (617) 223-9317
WHEN:           Thursday, August 25, 1994 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

The agenda for each meeting will be as follows:

        9:00 -  9:30        Registration
        9:30 - 10:00        Briefing on Background of Meeting
       10:00 - 12:00        Presentations/Comments
        1:00 -  4:00        Presentations/Comments

OERI invites interested persons to make an oral presentation of not
more than ten minutes, addressing any of the following nine
questions:

1)     How adequate are the current laboratory regions?

2)     What is the advisability of creating one or two new
       laboratory regions?

3)     Based on the requirements of the new legislation, are there
       specific adjustments in regional boundaries that you would
       suggest?

4)     What are the most important needs, issues, activities, and
       client groups on which the laboratory in your region should
       focus its resources over the next several years?

5)     What is an appropriate distribution of laboratory effort
       among these functions based on the needs in your region and
       what should be emphasized the most?

6)     What crosscutting themes are most important for the
       laboratories to address as a network?

7)     What portion of the laboratory work should address national
       needs?

8)     In what specific ways should the laboratories and the
       Department work together to address national priorities
       such as systemic, standards-based reform?

9)     What should be the relationship between the laboratories and
       other agencies within the region that are involved in
       research, development, dissemination, or technical
       assistance?

To make an oral presentation, reach the respective contact person
for each meeting in advance.  Oral testimony should be accompanied
by a written statement to be included in the meeting record.

If you are unable to attend these meetings, but have suggestions or
comments regarding these questions, you may submit them by mail to
Adria White, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue,
NW, Room 500-M, Washington, DC  20208-5644; or by FAX c/o Adria
White, (202) 219-2106; or by electronic mail at the following
Internet addresses:

      -- for comments only, Lab_Comments@inet.ed.gov

      -- for questions only, Lab_Questions@inet.ed.gov

      -- to request the supplementary reference package, from
         the e-mail address where you wish to receive the
         material, send e-mail to almanac@inet.ed.gov and in the
         body of the message type "send LabPackage" (without the
         quotes); leave the Subject line blank and avoid the use
         of any signature block.

The materials in the supplementary reference package are also
available on the U.S. Department of Education Gopher Server, which
can be accessed by pointing your Gopher client software to

     gopher.ed.gov

or following the path:  All/Other Gophers in the World --> North
America --> USA --> General --> U.S. Department of Education.

From the ED Gopher main menu, follow the path:

   Educational Research, Improvement, and Statistics (OERI & NCES)/
      Regional Educational Laboratories/

and retrieve the following documents:

         Issues for Recompetition of Regional Educational Laboratories.
         List of Regional Educational Laboratories.
         Public Meetings:  Regional Ed. Laboratory Recompetition (8/94).
         Regional Laboratory Section of OERI Reauthorizing Legislation.

The full text of the "Notice of Public Meetings & Invitation to Comment"
which the Department submitted for publication in the _Federal Register_
on Monday, August 1, 1994 is included below.

Please direct inquiries to the address, telephone number, FAX, or
electronic mail addresses listed above, NOT to this listserv or the
poster of the announcement.

Please pass this notice along to other lists and individuals who may
have an interest in commenting on the Regional Lab recompetition.
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             Federal Register / Vol. 59. No. 146
               Monday, August 1, 1994 / Notices
                      Pages 39200-39201

4000-01P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Education Research and Improvement (OERI)

AGENCY:  Department of Education

ACTION:  Notice of Public Meetings--Invitation to Comment

SUMMARY:  This notice provides the schedule for a series of three
public meetings.  The Office of Educational Research and
Improvement (OERI) is sponsoring these meetings in cooperation
with the Secretary's Regional Representative for each of the
designated sites to seek public comment on issues regarding the
recompetition of the regional educational laboratories.  Written
comment may be submitted at the time of the public meetings or
may be submitted by mail, FAX, or electronic mail to the number
or addresses listed below in the ADDRESSES section.

DATE, TIME, AND LOCATION:  Meetings will be held in three
metropolitan areas, starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m.
The dates and locations of the meetings are as follows:

o    August 22, 1994 - Oakland, CA      Edward R. Roybal
                                          Auditorium, Third Floor
                                        Oakland Federal Building
                                        1301 Clay Street
                                        Contact
                                        Loni Hancock
                                        415-556-4920

o    August 23, 1994 - Denver, CO       U.S. Forest Service
                                          Auditorium
                                        740 Simms Street
                                        Contact
                                        Lynn Simons
                                        303-844-3544

o    August 25, 1994 - Boston, MA       The Walsh Theater of
                                          Suffolk University
                                        Suffolk University
                                        55 Temple Street
                                        Contact
                                        Ed O'Connell
                                        617-223-9317

DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENT:  Written comments must be received
on or before September 30, 1994.

ADDRESSES:  All comments and questions concerning this notice, as
well as requests for a supplementary reference package which
includes the legislation {Part D, Section 941(h) of the
Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement
Act of 1994}; a list of names and addresses of the regional
educational laboratories, and a Discussion Paper on regional
educational laboratory issues should be forwarded by:

o    mail to Adria White, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New
     Jersey Avenue, NW, Room 500-m, Washington, DC 20208-5644
o    fax to 202-219-2106
o    Internet electronic mail
     --   send comments only to:  Lab_Comments@inet.ed.gov
     --   send questions only to:  Lab_Questions@inet.ed.gov
     --   to request the supplementary reference package, and
          from the e-mail address where you wish to receive the
          material, send e-mail to almanac@inet.ed.gov and in the
          body of the message type "send LabPackage" (without the
          quotes); leave the Subject line blank and avoid the use
          of any signature block.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Individual coordinators for
meetings, whose telephone numbers are listed in the DATE, TIME,
AND LOCATION section, or U.S. Department of Education staff at
Lab_Questions@inet.ed.gov via Internet electronic mail.
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 Standard Time,
Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On March 31, 1994, President Clinton
signed Public Law 103-227.  Title IX of that legislation, known
as the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination, and
Improvement Act of 1994, includes new authorizing legislation for
the Regional Educational Laboratory Program {Part D, Section
941(h)}.  The U.S. Department of Education is seeking public
comment on aspects of this recently enacted legislation for the
Regional Educational Laboratory Program which will be implemented
through the recompetition of the regional educational
laboratories.  The competitions will be announced in the fall of
1994 and carried out during the winter, spring and summer of
1995, with new five-year awards effective December 1, 1995.   To
help prepare for this competition, the U.S. Department of
Education is holding a series of 3 public meetings from August 22
through August 25, 1994.

     The agenda for each meeting will be as follows:

     9:00-9:30                Registration
     9:30-10:00               Briefing on Background of Meeting
     10:00-12:00, 1:00-4:00   Presentations/Comments

Purposes of the Public Meetings and Opportunity for Written
Comment

     The regional educational laboratories are intended to
complement the work of other educational agencies (including
State departments of education, school districts, colleges and
universities, private firms, and other organizations) to improve
the quality of educational policy and practice.  Laboratories
apply the best available knowledge from research, development and
effective practice to identify and help meet educational needs in
specified geographical areas of the country.  Each laboratory
operates under the guidance of a regionally representative
governing board.
     The funding cycle for the ten regional educational
laboratories is scheduled to end November 30, 1995, and the
Congress has instructed OERI to conduct an open competition for
future laboratory support.  The Assistant Secretary wishes to
hear from as many people as possible regarding OERI's efforts to
improve education through the work of the regional educational
laboratories.  Following the meetings, OERI will review written
comments, and this information will be taken into consideration
as final guidelines for the competition are developed.
     The following are specific issues on which comment is
sought:

Laboratory Regions.  There are now 10 regions served by regional
educational laboratories.  The laboratory regions and the States
or insular areas assigned to each region are listed below.
o    Appalachian Region (KY, TN, VA, WV)
o    Central Region (CO, KS, MO, NE, ND, SD, WY)
o    Mid-Atlantic Region (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA)
o    Midwestern Region (IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
o    Northeastern Region (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PR, RI, VI, VT)
o    Northwestern Region (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA)
o    Pacific Region (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern
     Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam,
     Hawaii, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau)
o    Southeastern Region (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC)
o    Southwestern Region (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
o    Western Region (AZ, CA, NV, UT)

     Current laboratory regions vary in the number of assigned
States, with regions having as few as four and up to as many as
nine States or insular areas.  Existing laboratory regions also
vary in the number of elementary and secondary school-age
students in the region.
     The new authorizing legislation permits the Secretary of
Education to establish up to two additional laboratory regions
with a minimum of four contiguous States if approved by key
educators in the States that would be included in a new region.

     1.   How adequate are the current laboratory regions?
     2.   What is the advisability of creating one or two new
          laboratory regions?
     3.   Based on the requirements of the new legislation, are
          there specific adjustments in regional boundaries that
          you would suggest?

Laboratory Mission and Functions.  The new legislation requires
that each regional educational laboratory promote the
implementation of broad-based systemic school improvement
strategies.  The legislation also specifies numerous functions
such as needs assessment, applied research, development,
dissemination, technical assistance services, and training.  An
extensive list of required laboratory duties is specified in
OERI's reauthorization legislation, {Part D, Sec. 941(h)(3), (4)
and (5)}.

     4.   What are the most important needs, issues, activities,
          and client groups on which the laboratory in your
          region should focus its resources over the next several
          years?
     5.   What is an appropriate distribution of laboratory
          effort among these functions based on the needs in your
          region and what should be emphasized the most?

Regional Educational Laboratories as a National Resource.  The
new legislation requires the governing boards of the regional
educational laboratories to establish and maintain a network to
work on joint activities to meet the needs of multiple regions
and to serve national as well as regional needs.

     6.   What crosscutting themes are most important for the
          laboratories to address as a network?
     7.   What portion of the laboratory work should address
          national needs?

Additional Issues.  Comments also are invited on the following
questions:

     8.   In what specific ways should the laboratories and the
          Department work together to address national priorities
          such as systemic, standards-based reform?
     9.   What should be the relationship between the
          laboratories and other agencies within the region that
          are involved in research, development, dissemination,
          or technical assistance?

INVITATION TO COMMENT:
     OERI invites interested persons to make an oral presentation
on the meeting dates scheduled.  To make an oral presentation,
contact, in advance, the coordinator for the meeting you wish to
attend.  Interested persons wishing to make an oral presentation
who do not contact the appropriate coordinator in advance, may
schedule an oral presentation in person on the day of the
meeting, if slots are available--speakers will be scheduled on a
first-come, first-served basis.  Presentations may not exceed ten
minutes.  Oral testimony should be accompanied by a written
statement to be included in the meeting record.

     The Assistant Secretary encourages persons unable to
participate in a meeting to send their comments to the Office of
Educational Research and Improvement at the addresses listed in
the ADDRESSES section.  Written comments will become part of the
official record of these meetings if they are submitted no later
than September 30, 1994.

Dated: July 26, 1994

                              __________________
                              Sharon P. Robinson,
                              Assistant Secretary for Educational
                                Research and Improvement.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith M. Stubbs                                      (voice) 202-219-1803
Director, Education Info. Resources Div.               (fax) 202-219-1817
US Dept of Education/OERI                  Internet:  kstubbs@inet.ed.gov
555 New Jersey Avenue, NW  Rm 214c
Washington, DC  20208-5725

-------**********======================================**********--------
Gene V Glass                                         glass@asu.edu
College of Education                                 atgvg@asuacad.bitnet
Arizona State University                             602-965-2692
Box 872411                                           Tempe, AZ 85287-2411