20 U.S.C. 2441(b), unless otherwise noted.
The Bilingual Vocational Instructor Training Program provides financial assistance for preservice and inservice training for personnel participating in or preparing to participate in bilingual vocational education and training programs for limited English proficient individuals.
(a) The following entities are eligible for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under this program:
(1) State agencies.
(2) Public and private nonprofit educational institutions.
(b) Private for-profit educational institutions are eligible only for contracts under this program.
(a) The Secretary provides assistance through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for—
(1) Preservice and inservice training for instructors, aides, counselors, or other ancillary personnel participating in or preparing to participate in bilingual vocational training programs; and
(2) Fellowships and traineeships for individuals participating in preservice or inservice training.
(b) The Secretary does not make an award under this program unless the Secretary determines that the applicant has an ongoing vocational education program in the field in which participants will be trained, and can provide instructors with adequate language capabilities in the language other than English to be used in the bilingual vocational training project.
The following regulations apply to the Bilingual Vocational Training Program:
(a) The regulations in 34 CFR part 400.
(b) The regulations in this part 428.
The definitions in 34 CFR 400.4 apply to this program.
An application must—
(a) Provide an assurance that the activities and services for which assistance is sought will be administered by or under the supervision of the applicant;
(b) Propose a project of a size, scope and design that will make a substantial contribution toward carrying out the purpose of the Bilingual Vocational Instructor Training Program;
(c) Describe the capabilities of the applicant, including vocational training or education courses offered by the applicant, accreditation, and any certification of courses by appropriate State agencies;
(d) Describe the qualifications of principal staff to be used in the bilingual vocational instructor training project;
(e) Describe the number of participants to be served, the minimum qualifications for project participants, and the selection process for project participants;
(f) Include the projected amount of the fellowships or traineeships, if any;
(g) Contain sufficient information for the Secretary to make the determination required by § 428.3(b); and
(h) Provide an assurance that preservice training will be provided to individuals who have indicated their intent to engage as personnel in a vocational education program that serves limited English proficient individuals.
(a) The Secretary evaluates an application for a grant or cooperative agreement on the basis of the criteria in § 428.21.
(b) The Secretary may award up to 100 points, including a reserved 15 points to be distributed in accordance with paragraph (d) or this section, based on the criteria in § 428.21.
(c) Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, the maximum possible points for each criterion is indicated in parentheses after the heading for each criterion.
(d) For each competition, in a notice published in the
The Secretary uses the following selection criteria in evaluating each application:
(a)
(i) The need for the project in the specific geographic area or areas to be served by the proposed project;
(ii) The training needs of program participants to be served by the proposed project;
(iii) How these needs will be met through the proposed project; and
(iv) The relationship of the proposed project to other ongoing personnel development programs in the geographic area or areas to be served by the proposed project.
(2) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which, upon completion of their training, program participants will work with programs that provide vocational education to limited English proficient individuals.
(b)
(1) Potential to increase the skill level of program participants, with particular regard to the following areas:
(i) Knowledge of the needs of limited English proficient individuals enrolled in vocational education programs, and how those needs should influence teaching strategies and program design.
(ii) Understanding of bilingual vocational training methodologies.
(iii) Techniques for preparing limited English proficient individuals for employment; and
(2) Potential to increase access to vocational education for limited English proficient individuals.
(c)
(1) Clearly defined project objectives that relate to the purpose of the Bilingual Vocational Instructor Training Program;
(2) For each objective, the specific tasks to be performed in order to achieve the specified project objective; and
(3) How the applicant plans to use its resources and personnel to achieve each objective.
(d)
(i) The qualifications of the director and other key personnel to be used in the project;
(ii) The appropriateness of the time that each person referred to in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section will commit to the project; and
(iii) How the applicant, as part of its nondiscriminatory employment practices, will ensure that personnel will be selected without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.
(2) To determine personnel qualifications under paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section, the Secretary considers—
(i) Experience and training in fields related to the objectives of the project;
(ii) Experience and training in project management; and
(iii) Any other qualifications that pertain to the quality of the project.
(e)
(1) The budget is sufficient to support the proposed project, and that it represents a cost effective use of Bilingual Vocational Instructor Training Program funds;
(2) Costs are necessary and reasonable in relation to the objectives of the proposed project; and
(3) The facilities that the applicant plans to use are adequate for the proposed project;
(f)
(1) Is clearly explained and appropriate for the bilingual vocational instructor training project;
(2) To the extent possible, is objective and will produce data that are quantifiable;
(3) Identifies outcomes of the project in terms of enrollment, completion and after-training work commitments of participants by sex, racial or ethnic group, and by level and kinds of language proficiency;
(4) Identifies expected learning and skills outcomes for participants and how those outcomes will be measured; and
(5) Includes activities during the formative stages of the project to help guide and improve the project, as well as a summative evaluation that includes recommendations for replicating project activities and results.
(g)
(1) High quality in its design and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of the dissemination plan; and
(2) A description of the types of materials the applicant plans to develop
(a) After evaluating the applications according to the criteria in § 428.21, and consulting with the appropriate State board established under section 111 of the Act, the Secretary determines whether the most highly rated applications are equitably distributed among populations of individuals with limited English proficiency within the affected State.
(b) The Secretary may select other applications for funding if doing so would improve the—
(1) Equitable distribution of assistance among populations of individuals with limited English proficiency within the affected State; or
(2) Geographical distribution of projects funded under this program.