[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 27, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40583-40584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19118]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.264]


Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs; Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

    Purpose of Program: To support training centers that serve either a 
Federal region or another geographical area and provide for a broad, 
integrated sequence of training activities that focus on meeting 
recurrent and common training needs of employed rehabilitation 
personnel throughout a multi-State geographical area.
    Eligible Applicants: States and public or nonprofit agencies and 
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher 
education.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 17, 1999.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: November 16, 1999.
    Applications Available: July 27, 1999.
    Estimated Available Funds: $400,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $90,000-$100,000.

    Note: Applicants should apply for level funding for each project 
year. Also, applicants are subject to a 10 percent cost-share 
requirement on awards.

    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards:

84.264C (Independent living)--2
84.264D (Upgrading skills of State agency personnel)--2

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

    Maximum Award: In no case does the Secretary make an initial award 
greater than $100,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The 
Secretary rejects and does not consider an application that proposes a 
budget exceeding this maximum amount.
    Project Period: Up to 60 months.
    Page Limit: Part III of the application, the application narrative, 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria used by 
reviewers in evaluating the application. You must limit Part III to the 
equivalent of no more than 45 pages, using the following standards:
    (1) A page is 8.5 inches by 11 inches, on one side only with 1 inch 
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 
smaller than a 12-point font or an average character density greater 
than 18 characters per inch. If you use a nonproportional font or a 
typewriter, you may not use more than 12 characters per inch.
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, 
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part 
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the 
resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, you must 
include all of the application narrative in Part III.
    If, in order to meet the page limit, you use print size, spacing, 
or margins smaller than the standards specified in this notice, we will 
not consider your application for funding.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, and 86; and (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR 
parts 385 and 389.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

Priorities

Absolute Priority 1 (84.264C)

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and 34 CFR 389.10(c) the Secretary gives 
an absolute preference to applications that meet the following 
priority. The Secretary funds under this competition only applications 
that meet this absolute priority:
    Projects that would develop and conduct training programs for staff 
of centers for independent living.

Absolute Priority 2 (84.264D)

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and 34 CFR 389.10(b) the Secretary gives 
an absolute preference to applications that meet the following 
priority. The Secretary funds under this competition only applications 
that meet this absolute priority:
    Projects that would provide training opportunities for experienced 
State agency personnel at all levels of State agency practice to 
upgrade their skills and to develop mastery of new program developments 
dealing with significant issues and priorities and legislative thrusts 
of the public vocational rehabilitation program.

Invitational Priority--Rehabilitation Technology

    Within Absolute Priority 2, the Secretary is particularly 
interested in applications that meet the following invitational 
priority. However, under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) an application that meets 
this invitational priority does not receive competitive or absolute 
preference over other applications:
    Projects that would offer certificate training to State vocational 
rehabilitation (VR) agency staff on matters regarding rehabilitation 
technology as it applies to the needs of customers of the public VR 
program.
    Rehabilitation technology, as defined in section 7(30) of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, means, ``* * * the systematic 
application of technologies, engineering methodologies, or scientific 
principles to meet the needs of and address the barriers confronted by 
individuals with disabilities in areas which include education, 
rehabilitation, employment, transportation, independent living, and 
recreation. The term includes rehabilitation engineering, assistive 
technology devices, and assistive technology services.''
    Selection Criteria: In evaluating an application for a new grant 
under these competitions, the Secretary uses selection criteria chosen 
from the general selection criteria in 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. The 
selection criteria to be used for these competitions will be provided 
in the application package for these competitions.
    For Applications Contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), 
P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-
7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734. You may also 
contact ED Pubs via its web site (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html) 
or its E-mail address ([email protected]).

[[Page 40584]]

    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternate format by contacting the Grants and Contracts 
Service Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW. 
room 3317, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: 
(202) 205-9817. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternate format the standard forms included in the application 
package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Beverly Brightly, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW. (room 3318, Switzer Building), 
Washington, DC 20202-2649. Telephone (202) 205-9561. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) 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 in the preceding 
paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 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 previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, 
area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of a document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 774.

    Dated: July 22, 1999.
Curtis L. Richards,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. 99-19118 Filed 7-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U