[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2387-2413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-777]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.293C]


Foreign Language Assistance Grants (State educational agencies) 
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1999

    Note to Applicants: This notice is a complete application package. 
Together with the statute authorizing the program and applicable 
regulations governing the program, including the Education Department 
General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), this notice contains all of 
the information, application forms, and instructions needed to apply 
for an award under this competition.
    Purpose of Program: This program provides grants to pay for the 
Federal share of the cost of innovative model programs providing for 
the establishment, improvement, or expansion of foreign language study 
for elementary and secondary school students.
    In awarding grants under this program, the Secretary supports 
projects that promote systemic approaches to improving foreign language 
learning in the State.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 26, 1999.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 26, 1999.
    Available Funds: $660,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $30,000-$70,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $50,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 14.

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

    Project Period: 36 months.

Applicable Regulations

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

Description of Program

    Part B of Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965, as amended (the Act), authorizes the Foreign Language 
Assistance Grants program. Appropriations for this program are 
authorized by section 7206 of the Act. Applicants should note that 
section 7203(c)(1) provides that the Federal share of the cost of 
activities assisted under this part for each fiscal year is 50 percent. 
Section 7203(c)(3) of the Act provides that at least 75 percent of the 
funds appropriated under section 7206 must be used for the expansion of 
foreign language learning in elementary grades. The Secretary does not 
fund projects that propose Native American languages.

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv) and (c)(2)(i) and section 7204(b) of 
the Act (20 U.S.C. 7514(b)), the Secretary gives preference to 
applications that meet the following competitive priority. The 
Secretary awards three points depending on how well an application 
meets this competitive priority. These points would be in addition to 
any points the application earns under the selection criteria for the 
program.

Competitive Preference Priority--Special Considerations (3 Points)

    Projects that propose to carry out one or more of the following 
activities: (1) intensive summer foreign language programs for 
professional development; (2) linking non-native English speakers in 
the community with the schools in order to promote two-way language 
learning; or (3) promoting the sequential study of a foreign language, 
beginning in elementary schools.

Selection Criteria

    (a)(1) The Secretary uses the following selection criteria under 34 
CFR 75.209 and 75.210 and section 7203 of the Act to evaluate 
applications for the new grants under this competition.
    (2) The maximum score for all of these criteria is 100 points.
    (3) The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in 
parentheses.
    (b)(1) Need for the project. (10 points).
    The Secretary considers the need for the project. In determining 
the need for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the 
following factors:
    (i) The magnitude of the need for services to be provided or the 
activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
    (ii) 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.
    (2) Significance. (20 points).
    The Secretary reviews each application to determine how well the 
proposed project will implement foreign language instructional programs 
that promote systemic approaches to improving foreign language learning 
in the State.
    (3) Quality of project design. (25 points).
    The Secretary considers the quality of the design of the proposed 
project. In determining the quality of the design of the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.
    (ii) The extent to which the design of the proposed project 
reflects up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.
    (iii) The extent to which the proposed project is part of a 
comprehensive effort to improve teaching and learning and support 
rigorous academic standards for students.
    (4) Quality of project services. (20 points).
    (i) The Secretary considers the quality of services to be provided 
by the proposed project.
    (ii) In determining the quality of the services to be provided by 
the proposed project, the Secretary considers the quality and 
sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and treatment for 
eligible project participants who are members of groups that have 
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national 
origin, gender, age, or disability.
    (iii) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (A) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed 
project are appropriate to the needs of the intended recipients or the 
beneficiaries of those services.
    (B) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed 
project reflect up-to-date knowledge from research and effective 
practice.
    (C) The likelihood that the services to be provided by the proposed 
project will lead to improvements in the achievement of students as 
measured against rigorous academic standards.
    (5) Quality of project personnel. (10 points).
    (i) The Secretary considers the quality of the key personnel who 
will carry out the proposed project.
    (ii) In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary 
considers 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.
    (iii) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (A) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of the project director or principal investigator.

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    (B) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of key project personnel.
    (6) Adequacy of resources. (4 points).
    The Secretary considers the adequacy of resources for the project. 
In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed project, the 
Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the 
proposed project.
    (ii) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to 
the objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed 
project.
    (7) Quality of the management plan. (5 points).
    The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for the 
proposed project. In determining the quality of the management plan for 
the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) 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.
    (ii) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are 
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed 
project.
    (8) Quality of project evaluation plan. (6 points).
    The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be 
conducted of the proposed project. In determining the quality of the 
evaluation, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
proposed project.
    (ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide 
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward 
achieving intended outcomes.
    (iii) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance 
about effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings.

Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs

    This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order 
12372 (Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs) and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    The objective of the Executive order is to foster an 
intergovernmental partnership and to strengthen federalism by relying 
on State and local processes for State and local government 
coordination and review of proposed Federal financial assistance.
    Applicants must contact the appropriate State Single Point of 
Contact to find out about, and to comply with, the State's process 
under Executive order 12372. Applicants proposing to perform activities 
in more than one State should immediately contact the Single Point of 
Contact for each of those States and follow the procedure established 
in each State under the Executive order. If you want to know the name 
and address of any State Single Point of Contact, see the list 
published in the Federal Register on November 3, 1998 (63 FR 59452 
through 59455).
    In States that have not established a process or chosen a program 
for review, State, areawide, regional, and local entities may submit 
comments directly to the Department.
    Any State Process Recommendation and other comments submitted by a 
State Single Point of Contact and any comments from State, areawide, 
regional, and local entities must be mailed or hand-delivered by the 
date indicated in this notice to the following address: The Secretary, 
E.O. 12372--CFDA# 84.293C, U.S. Department of Education, Room 6213, 600 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-0124.
    Proof of mailing will be determined on the same basis as 
applications (see 34 CFR 75.102). Recommendations or comments may be 
hand-delivered until 4:30 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date indicated in 
this notice.
    Please note that the above address is not the same address as the 
one to which the applicants submits its completed application. Do not 
send applications to the above address.

Instructions for Transmittal of Applications

    (a) If an applicant wants to apply for a grant, the applicant 
must--
    (1) Mail the original and two copies of the application on or 
before the deadline date to: U.S. Department of Education, Application 
Control Center, Attention: (CFDA# 84.293C), Washington, D.C. 20202-
4725.
    or
    (2) Hand deliver the original and two copies of the application by 
4:30 p.m. (Eastern time) on or before the deadline date to: U.S. 
Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA# 
84.293C), Room #3633, Regional Office Building #3, 7th and D Streets, 
SW, Washington, D.C.
    (b) An applicant must show one of the following as proof of 
mailing:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier.
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary.
    (c) If an application is mailed through the U.S. Postal Service, 
the Secretary does not accept either of the following as proof of 
mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark.
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

    Notes: (1) The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a 
dated postmark. Before relying on this method, an applicant should 
check with its local post office.

    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a Grant Application 
Receipt Acknowledgment to each applicant. If an applicant fails to 
receive the notification of application receipt within 15 days from the 
date of mailing the application, the applicant should call the U.S. 
Department of Education Application Control Center at (202) 708-9494.
    (3) The applicant must indicate on the envelope and--if not 
provided by the Department--in Item 10 of the Application for Federal 
Assistance (Standard Form 424) the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if 
any--of the competition under which the application is being submitted.

Application Instructions and Forms

    The appendix to this application is divided into three parts plus a 
statement regarding estimated public reporting burden, guidance on 
addressing the EDGAR selection criteria, and various assurances, 
certifications, and required documentation. These parts and additional 
materials are organized in the same manner that the submitted 
application should be organized. The parts and additional materials are 
as follows:
    Part I: Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424) and 
instructions.
    Part II: Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED Form No. 
524) and instructions.
    Part III: Application Narrative.

Additional Materials

    a. Estimated Public Reporting Burden.
    b. Part B of Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965, as amended (the Act).
    c. Program Questions and Answers.
    d. Group Application Certification.
    e. State Educational Agency Data Form.

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    f. Assurances--Non-Construction Programs (Standard Form 424B) and 
instructions.
    g. Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension, and 
Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (ED 
80-0013) and instructions.
    h. Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and 
Voluntary Exclusion: Lower Tier Covered Transactions (ED 80-0014, 9/90) 
and instructions. (NOTE: ED 80-0014 is intended for the use of grantees 
and should not be transmitted to the Department.)
    i. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (Standard Form LLL) (if 
applicable) and instructions. This document has been marked to reflect 
statutory changes. See the notice published by the Federal Register at 
61 FR 1413 by the Office of Management and Budget on (January 19, 
1996).
    j. Notice to All Applicants concerning a new provision in the 
Department of Education's General Education Provisions Act (GEPA).
    An applicant may submit information on a photostatic copy of the 
application and budget forms, the assurances, and the certifications. 
However, the application form, the assurances, and the certifications 
must each have an original signature. All applicants must submit ONE 
original signed application, including ink signatures on all forms and 
assurances, and TWO copies of the application. Please mark each 
application as ``original'' or ``copy''. No grant may be awarded unless 
a completed application form has been received.
    For Further Information Contact: Harpreet Sandhu or Franklin Reid, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 5090, 
Switzer Building, Washington, D.C. 20202-6510. Harpreet Sandhu, 
Telephone: (202) 205-9808, Franklin Reid, Telephone (202) 205-9803. 
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.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this notice in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph. Please note, however, that the Department is not able to 
reproduce in an alternate format the standard forms included in the 
notice.

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, which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If 
you have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government 
Printing Office toll free at 1-800-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7511-7514.

    Dated: January 8, 1999.
Delia Pompa,
Director, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.
    Editor's Note: An excerpt of Public Law 103-382 is published for 
the convenience of the reader. The official text is published at 108 
Stat. 3737.

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APPENDIX

Part I
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Part II
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Part III--Application Narrative

Application Narrative Instructions

Mandatory Page Limit for the Application Narrative

    The narrative is the section of the application where you address 
the selection criteria used by reviewers in evaluating the application. 
You must limit the narrative to the equivalent of no more than 35 
pages, using the following standards:
    (1) A page is 8.5''  x  11'', on one side only with 1'' margins at 
the top, bottom and both sides.
    (2) You must double space (no more than three lines per vertical 
inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, 
headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as 
all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
    If you use a proportional computer font, you may not use a font 
small than a 12-point font. If you use a non-proportional font or a 
typewriter, you may not use more than 12 characters per inch.
    The page limit does not apply to the Application for Federal 
Education Assistance Form (ED 424); the Budget Information Form (ED 
524) and attached itemization of costs; the other application forms and 
attachments to those forms; the assurances and certifications; or the 
one-page abstract and table of contents described below.
    IF, IN ORDER TO MEET THE PAGE LIMIT, YOU USE PRINT SIZE, SPACING, 
OR MARGINS SMALLER THAN STANDARDS SPECIFIED IN THIS NOTICE, YOUR 
APPLICATION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING.

Additional Guidance

Abstract

    The narrative section should be preceded by a one-page abstract 
that includes a short description of the population to be served by the 
project, project objectives, and planned project activities.

Table of Contents

    The application should include a table of contents listing the 
parts of the narrative in the order of the selection criteria. Be sure 
that the table includes the page numbers where the parts of the 
narrative are found.

Budget

    Budget line items must support the goals and objectives of the 
proposed project and must be directly related to the instructional 
design and all the project components.

Selection Criteria

    The narrative should address fully all aspects of the selection 
criteria in the order listed and should give detailed information 
regarding each criterion. Do not simply paraphrase the criteria. Do not 
include resumes or curriculum vitae for project personnel; provide 
position descriptions instead. Do not include bibliographies, letters 
of support, or appendices in your application.

Final Application Preparation

    Submit three copies of the application, including an original copy 
containing an original signature for each form requiring the signature 
of the authorized representative. Do not use elaborate bindings or 
covers. The application package must be mailed or hand-delivered to the 
Application Control Center (ACC) and postmarked by the deadline date.

Additional Materials

Estimated Burden Statement

    According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are 
required to respond to a collection of information unless such 
collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control 
number for this information collection is 1885-0544 (Exp. 12/31/2001). 
The time required to complete this information collection is estimated 
to average 80 hours per response, including the time to review 
instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, 
and complete and review the information collection. If you have any 
comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions 
for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, 
Washington, DC 20202-4651.
    If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your 
individual submission of this form, write directly to: Office of 
Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 5603, Switzer Building, 
Washington, DC 20202-6510.

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[FR Doc. 99-777 Filed 1-12-99; 8:45 am]
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