[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20884-20885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9640]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.338]


Reading Excellence Program

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2000.

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    Purpose of Program: The Reading Excellence Program provides 
competitive grants to eligible State educational agencies to award 
competitive subgrants to local educational agencies to fund local 
reading improvement programs and tutorial assistance programs.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs) that were 
not funded in FY 1999; the District of Columbia; Puerto Rico; the 
Virgin Islands; Guam; American Samoa; and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands.
    Applications Available: April 14, 2000.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 22, 2000.

    Note: An application for an award may be submitted by electronic 
mail (email), regular mail, or hand delivery.

Special Instructions for Applications Submitted by Email

    Applications submitted by email should include an electronic return 
receipt and should be emailed to:

[email protected]

Applications submitted by email may be submitted in one of the 
following formats: (1) Microsoft Word (Version Word 95 or Word 97) or 
(2) portable document format (PDF). The preferred version is Word 97; 
however, all versions must have text search capability. The electronic 
version will be the official file copy. To ensure the integrity of the 
program, the Department will return a printed version to the applicant. 
The returned receipt and copy will be considered proof of receipt. All 
forms requiring original signatures (ED-424, Application for Federal 
Education Assistance; SF 424B, Assurances: Non-Construction Programs; 
ED 80-0013, Certifications Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension 
and other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements; 
ED 80-0014, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, 
Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier Covered Transactions; 
and Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) must be mailed to the 
Department by the deadline date, as set out above under the Deadline 
for Transmittal section. Please send a hard copy of your application in 
addition to

[[Page 20885]]

the electronic copy to ensure that your application is formatted 
properly when printed.

    Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for 
transmitting applications differ from those in 34 CFR 75.102 
(EDGAR). Under 5 U.S.C. 553, the Department generally offers 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed 
regulations. However, these exceptions to EDGAR make procedural 
changes only and do not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that proposed 
rulemaking is not required.


    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 21, 2000.
    Estimated Available Funds: $241,100,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000-$60,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $20,092,000.
    Estimate Number of Awards: 12.
    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Minimum Grant Award for SEAs: $500,000 for SEAs, $100,000 minimum 
for territories.

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


    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria reviewers 
use to evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to the 
equivalent of no more than 100 pages, using the following standards:
     A page'' is 8.5" x 11", on one side only, with 1" margins 
at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     Single space (no more than six lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative.
     Use a font that is either 11-point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (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, the letters of support or the two 
permissible appendices. However, you must include all of the 
application narrative in Part III.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that:
     Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
     Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other 
standards.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; (b) 34 CFR part 299; and (c) the notice of 
final priorities, application requirements, and selection criteria as 
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
    For Applications and Further Information: Send an email message 
requesting an application to:
[email protected]
    You may also receive an application by downloading it from the 
reading excellence website:

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/index.html
or by contacting Nancy Rhett, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 5C141, Washington, DC 20202-6200; Telephone: 
(202) 260-8228. 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 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request by contacting Katie Mincey, Director, Alternate 
Format Center, 330 C St. SW, Room 1000, Washington, DC 20202-4560; by 
calling (202) 260-9895 or 205-8113; or by emailing:

[email protected]

Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternate format by contacting Ms. Mincey. However, the 
Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format the standard 
forms included in the application package.

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 file you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program, 
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 
(GPO), toll free at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at 
(202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this 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://access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6661 et seq.


    Dated: April 12, 2000.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary, Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-9640 Filed 4-13-00; 1:32 pm]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P