[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 83 (Friday, April 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25152-25153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10645]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.299B]


Indian Education Discretionary Grant Programs--Professional 
Development

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 2000.

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Purpose of the Program

    The purposes of this program are to: (1) Increase the number of 
qualified Indian individuals in professions that serve Indian people; 
(2) provide training to qualified Indian individuals to become 
teachers, administrators, teacher aides, social workers, and ancillary 
educational personnel; and (3) improve the skills of qualified Indian 
individuals who serve in the capacities described in (2). Activities 
may include, but are not limited to, continuing programs, symposia, 
workshops, conferences, and direct financial support.
    Grants for training educational personnel may be for preservice or 
inservice training. For individuals who are being trained to enter any 
field other than education, the training received must be in a program 
resulting in a graduate degree.
    For FY 2000 the competition for new awards focuses on projects 
designed to meet the priority described in the PRIORITY section of this 
application notice.

Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants for this program are institutions of higher 
education, including Indian institutions of higher education; State or 
local educational agencies, in consortium with institutions of higher 
education; and Indian tribes or organizations, in consortium with 
institutions of higher education. An application from a consortium of 
eligible entities must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 
75.129. The consortium agreement must be submitted with the 
application. Letters of support do not meet the consortium 
requirements.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 31, 2000.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 31, 2000.
    Applications Available:April 28, 2000.
    Available Funds: $10,000,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $175,000 to $500,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $300,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 30.

Project Period

    Up to 24 months for projects that provide only in-service training, 
and up to 36 months for projects that provide pre-service training.

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

Budget Requirement

    All projects funded under this competition must budget for a two-
day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, DC during each year of 
the project.

Maximum Annual Award Amount

    In no case does the Secretary make an award greater than $500,000 
for a single budget period of 12 months for the first 24 months of the 
award period. The last 12 months of a 36-month award will be limited to 
induction services only at a cost not to exceed $75,000 for the third 
12-month budget period. The Secretary rejects and does not consider an 
application that proposes a budget exceeding these maximum amounts.

Page Limit

    The application narrative Part III of the application) is where 
you, the applicant, addresses the selection criteria reviewers use to 
evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to the equivalent of 
no more than 75 pages, using the following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5" x 11", one side only, with 1" margins 
at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     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.
     Use a font that is either 12-point font 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, or the letters of support. However, you must 
include all of the application narrative in Part III.
    We will reject your application if--
     You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
     You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.

Applicable Regulations

    (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations 
(EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 
99; and (b) for the Professional Development Program, the payback 
provisions of 34 CFR 263.1(b), 263.3, and 263.35 through 263.37.

Absolute Priority

    Under section 34 CFR 75.105 of EDGAR, the Secretary gives an 
absolute preference to applications that meet the priority selected. 
The Secretary reserves all of the funds available for new awards under 
the Professional Development program to fund only those applications 
that meet this absolute priority:

Pre-Service Training for Teachers --

    Provide support and training to Indian individuals to complete a 
pre-service education program that:
    (a) Enables individuals to meet the requirements for full state 
certification or licensure as a teacher through --
    (i) Training that leads to a bachelor's degree in education within 
a two-year period; or
    (ii) Training in a current or new specialized teaching assignment, 
that requires at least a bachelor's degree, in which a teacher shortage 
exists.
    (b) Provides graduates of the pre-service program with one year of 
induction services while they are

[[Page 25153]]

working in schools with significant Indian student populations.

Selection Criteria

    The selection criteria are included in full in the application 
package for this competition. These selection criteria were established 
based on the regulations for evaluating discretionary grants found in 
34 CFR 75.200 through 75.210.

Fiscal Information

    Stipends may be paid only to full-time students. For the payment of 
stipends to project participants being trained, the Secretary expects 
to set the stipend maximum at $1250 per month for full-time students 
and $200 allowance per month per dependent during the academic year. 
The terms ``stipend,'' ``full-time student,'' and ``dependent 
allowance'' are defined in 34 CFR 263.3.

Competitive Preference

    (1) The Secretary will award a total of five additional points to 
applications for programs that include only Indian individuals as 
training participants.

    Authority: Section 9122(e)(2); 20 U.S.C. 7832(e)(2).

    (2) The Secretary will award a total of five additional points to 
applications submitted by Indian tribes, Indian organizations, and 
Indian institutions of higher education. A consortium application of 
eligible entities that meets the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 
75.129 and includes an Indian tribe, Indian organization or Indian 
institution of higher education shall be considered eligible to receive 
the five additional priority points. Letters of support do not meet the 
consortium requirements.

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7873.

    (3) The Secretary will award a total of five additional points to 
applications submitted by a consortium of eligible applicants that 
include a tribal college or university and which designate that tribal 
college or university as the fiscal agent for the application. The 
consortium application of eligible entities must meet the requirements 
of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129 of EDGAR to be considered eligible to 
receive the five priority points. Letters of support do not meet the 
consortium requirements. These competitive preference points are in 
addition to the five competitive preference points that may be given 
under Competitive Priority 2--Preference for Indian Applicants.
    Tribal colleges and universities are those institutions cited in 
section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 
(7 U.S.C. 301 note), any other institution that qualifies for funding 
under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 
1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and Navajo Community College, authorized 
in the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95-
471, title II (25 U.S.C. 640a note).

    Authority: Section 9153; 20 U.S.C. 7873; and 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3.

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]). If you request an application from ED Pubs, be 
sure to identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.299B.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathie Martin, Office of Indian 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 
3W111, Washington, DC 20202-6335. Telephone: (202) 260-1683. Internet 
address: [email protected]
    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person 
listed in the preceding paragraph.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format, also, by contacting that person. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 
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 you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program, 
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, 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 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: 20 U.S.C. 7832.

    Dated: April 24, 2000.
Michael Cohen,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-10645 Filed 4-27-00; 8:45 am]
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