[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33309-33312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12923]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.326J]


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Grant 
Applications under the Special Education--Technical Assistance and 
Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with 
Disabilities Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

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

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    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to provide 
technical assistance and information through programs that support 
States and local entities in building capacity to improve early 
intervention, educational, and transitional services and results for 
children with disabilities and their families, and address systemic-
change goals and priorities.
    Eligible Applicants: State and local educational agencies, 
institutions of higher education, other public agencies, private 
nonprofit organizations, outlying areas, freely associated States, and 
Indian tribes or tribal organizations.
    Applications Available: May 31, 2000
    Deadline for Transmittal of Application: July 17, 2000
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 17, 2000
    Estimated Number of Awards: 1
    Maximum Award: We will reject and will not consider an application 
that proposes a budget exceeding $1,900,000 for any single budget 
period of 12 months. The Assistant Secretary may change the maximum 
amounts through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Project Period: Under this priority, the Assistant Secretary will 
make one award for a cooperative agreement with a project period of up 
to 60 months subject to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a) for 
continuation awards. During the second year of the project, the 
Assistant Secretary will determine whether to continue the Center for 
the fourth and fifth years of the project period and will consider in 
addition to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a):
    (a) The recommendation of a review team consisting of three experts 
selected by the Assistant Secretary. The services of the review team, 
including a two-day site visit to the project, are to be performed 
during the last half of the project's second year and may be included 
in that year's evaluation required under 34 CFR 75.590. Costs 
associated with the services to be performed by the review team must 
also be included in the project's budget for year two. These costs are 
estimated to be approximately $6,000;
    (b) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of 
the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or are being met by the 
project; and
    (c) The degree to which the project's design and technical 
strategies demonstrate the dissemination of significant new knowledge.
    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; (b) The selection criteria for the 
priority under this program are drawn from the EDGAR general selection 
criteria menu. The specific selection criteria for this priority are 
included in the funding application packet for the applicable 
competition.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

    General Requirements: (a) The Project funded under this notice must 
make positive efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified 
individuals with disabilities in project activities (see Section 606 of 
IDEA).
    (b) Applicants and the grant recipient funded under this notice 
must involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals 
with disabilities in planning, implementing, and evaluating the 
projects (see Section 661(f)(1)(A) of IDEA).
    (c) The Project funded under this competition must (1) use current 
research-validated practices and materials, and (2) communicate 
appropriately with target audiences, including young people, families, 
State and local agencies, and employers.
    (d) The Project funded under this priority must budget for a two-
day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, D.C. during each year of 
the project.
    (e) Part III of the application submitted under the priority in 
this notice, the application narrative, is where an applicant addresses 
the selection criteria that are used by reviewers in evaluating the 
application. You must limit Part III to the equivalent of no more than 
70 pages using the following standards:


[[Page 33310]]


     A ``page'' is 8.5" x 11" (on one side only) with one-
inch margins (top, bottom, and sides).
     Double-space (no more than three lines per vertical 
inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, 
headings, footnotes, quotations, and captions, as well as all text 
in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
     If using a proportional computer font, use no smaller 
than a 12-point font, and an average character density no greater 
than 18 characters per inch. If using a nonproportional font or a 
typewriter, do 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 references, 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.

Waiver of Rulemaking

    In most instances the Assistant Secretary is required to offer 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. 
However, section 661(e)(2) of IDEA makes the Administrative Procedure 
Act (5 U.S.C. 553) inapplicable to the priority in this notice.
    Priority: Under section 685 of IDEA and 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we 
consider only applications that meet the following priority: Absolute 
Priority--Secondary Education and Transition Technical Assistance 
Center (84.326J)
    Background: Federal activities in support of transition have 
shifted in focus from a historical emphasis on the needs of students 
with significant disabilities to a more recent emphasis on students 
with high-incidence disabilities. Yet, based on the results of the 
National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students 
(NLTS) and data from the Monitoring and State Improvement Program 
Division of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), it has 
become apparent that the transition needs of all students with 
disabilities are not being adequately met.
    The transition needs of students with disabilities are reflected in 
many factors. First, school completion rates for students with 
disabilities are low, while at the same time, national studies report 
that students with disabilities who complete high school are more 
likely to be employed, to earn higher wages, and to enroll in 
postsecondary education and training. Second, the labor market demands 
higher levels of education and skills, and the completion of high 
school and further education become even more critical. Third, 
practitioners lack knowledge about integrating academic and career 
preparation into a seamless, individualized education program for youth 
with disabilities. Finally, general education initiatives have 
increased public accountability through more rigorous curriculum 
standards, large-scale assessment of student performance in relation to 
those standards, and increased graduation requirements.
    To help meet demands for improved results, the IDEA Amendments of 
1997 put forth a broader vision of secondary education with greater 
emphasis on participation and involvement in the general curriculum as 
a means to improve educational results for students with disabilities 
and to increase their rates of high school completion. Moreover, 
earlier transition planning is expected to result in improved 
postsecondary education participation and employment rates. To achieve 
this vision of improved postschool outcomes, collaborative partnerships 
must be developed among multiple systems, such as education, vocational 
rehabilitation, workforce development, health, social security, 
housing, and transportation.
    To ensure full implementation of IDEA and to achieve quality 
education and transition results for students with disabilities and 
their families, Congress found that National technical assistance, 
support, and dissemination activities were necessary. For that reason, 
the Secondary Education and Transition Technical Assistance Center 
(SETAC) will be established to carry out activities that are national 
in scope, coordinated with other technical assistance and dissemination 
efforts, and aligned with other Federally-funded synthesis and research 
centers and institutes in order to avoid duplication. The goals of this 
Center are to:
    (a) Promote secondary education and transition models that 
integrate academic, career, work-based, and community-based learning;
    (b) Support State and local capacity building to improve education 
and transition results for youth with disabilities;
    (c) Promote systemic change by facilitating school and community-
based linkages in the provision of transition services to youth with 
disabilities; and
    (d) Translate research into practice by using technical assistance 
and dissemination mechanisms.
    The Center will be responsible for a wide range of work, including 
developing products and materials, conducting technical assistance 
activities that are topic-specific, and disseminating information about 
research-based models and practices. The Assistant Secretary is 
particularly interested in projects that engage the active 
participation of multiple partners.
    Priority: The Assistant Secretary establishes an absolute priority 
to support a Center that will identify and promote effective policy and 
practice to improve secondary education and transition results for 
children with disabilities. At a minimum, this project must--
    (a) Provide technical assistance and information by:
    (1) Developing a network of researchers, technical assistance 
providers, and disseminators of research-based and promising practices 
to facilitate transition from post-secondary education, work, and 
independent living. This network must:
    (i) Work collaboratively with other researchers, technical 
assistance providers, and disseminators to:
    (A) Coordinate technical assistance and dissemination activities;
    (B) Develop communication and dissemination strategies; and
    (C) Develop products that include research findings and promising 
practices, including findings from OSEP-supported research and lessons 
from the School-to-Work program and other Federal youth transition 
programs, and are designed to broaden the capacity of technical 
assistance and information providers, particularly regular and special 
education technical assistance and information providers;
    (ii) Include, at a minimum, Federally-funded national research 
institutes, technical assistance providers, and disseminators that 
address secondary education and transition issues. These entities may 
include, for example, the Research Institute for Secondary Education 
Reform; the Institute for Academic Access; the Center for Promoting 
What Works; the National Center for Education Outcomes; Regional 
Resource Centers (RRCs); the National Information Center on Children 
and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY); the National Center on the Study 
of Postsecondary Education Supports; the National Clearinghouse on 
Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Disabilities (HEATH); the 
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; and 
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, as well as researchers, 
technical

[[Page 33311]]

assistance providers, and disseminators from regular education, such as 
the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education 
and other related projects.
    (2) Targeting, through proactive strategies and coordination with 
the IDEA Partnerships, organizations of policymakers, service 
providers, local-level administrators, and families. Targeted technical 
assistance must:
    (i) Include policy and practice briefs explaining comprehensive 
secondary education and transition service requirements, and other 
emerging issues, trends, and legislation;
    (ii) Include tools based on (i) above to assist in implementing 
research-based best practices; and
    (iii) Be designed to use research-based and promising practices to:
    (A) Improve academic results in secondary education;
    (B) Improve transition practice;
    (C) Increase postsecondary education participation rates and 
employment rates; and
    (D) Prevent dropouts and increase high school completion rates.
    (3) Conducting, in consultation with OSERS, a dynamic and 
innovative national summit in years two and four of the project. The 
summit must:
    (i) Be designed to:
    (A) Identify research-based and promising practices and initiate 
discussion on emerging issues and trends that affect postsecondary 
results for youth with disabilities, particularly through secondary 
education and transition services; and
    (B) Sustain development and implementation of systems linkages and 
systems collaboration for effective transition; and
    (ii) Include participants who are national experts in the field or 
key representatives of Federal agencies, and national organizations, 
and participants who represent local level leadership, families, 
employers, and persons with disabilities; and
    (iii) Support systemic collaboration among SEAs, LEAs, and Federal 
education and workforce development programs including Healthy and 
Ready to Work, Youth Opportunity Grants, Youth Councils established 
under the Workforce Investment Act, relevant Social Security 
Administration programs, related Rehabilitation Services Administration 
and National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research 
programs, relevant mental health programs, and other related programs 
and projects.
    (4) Designing and implementing capacity-building training 
institutes on improving results for youth with disabilities, 
participation and involvement in the general curriculum, self-
determination, interagency collaboration, implementation of the 
transition requirements of IDEA, and strategies for addressing other 
identified needs. The purpose of the training institutes is to assist 
technical assistance providers and disseminators to reach front-line 
service providers. The institutes must:
    (i) Help develop, implement, and sustain systemic changes in 
secondary special education and transition services, that will improve 
results for all youth with disabilities and their families, including 
youth from minority backgrounds and youth with limited English 
proficiency;
    (ii) Provide training for RRCs, HEATH, NICHCY, IDEA Partnership 
Projects, Parent Training Centers, and national technical assistance 
providers and disseminators; and
    (iii) Provide targeted assistance to State technical assistance and 
information systems, including systems change projects. Targeted 
assistance includes training and technical assistance activities for 
implementing research-based practices, increasing participation in the 
general education curriculum and in large-scale assessments, developing 
effective interagency collaborations, and sustaining systemic change.
    (b) Use state of the art technologies, such as accessible and 
interactive web sites, list servs, chat rooms, and video-conferencing, 
in providing technical assistance and disseminating information, 
including technical assistance and information on research-based and 
promising practices.
    (c) Design and carryout a strategic management plan, including 
project evaluation. This plan must be designed to provide information 
to guide necessary, ongoing refinements to the structure, activities, 
and products that will improve the impact and effectiveness of the 
Center and will be collaboratively developed with the OSEP project 
officer and other Federal officials, customers, and network members 
during the first three months of the project. This plan must include:
    (1) Annual data collection activities for needs assessments if 
extant data are not available;
    (2) A clear description of effective strategies for meeting and 
evaluating project goals and activities;
    (3) Goals, objectives, and activities that support the IDEA 
Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) Performance Plan; and
    (4) Procedures for measuring the impact of the Center on its 
primary purpose--to identify and promote effective policy and practice 
for secondary education and transition services for youth with 
disabilities.
    (d) Support, through internships or other collaborative 
arrangements, graduate students who will concentrate their studies in 
secondary special education or transition services and who show promise 
for continued service in leadership positions. These graduate students 
must be involved with all aspects of project activity.
    (e) Meet with the OSEP project officer in the first four months of 
the project to review the needs assessment, evaluation plan, technical 
assistance, and dissemination approaches and the plan for collaboration 
with various network members.
    (f) Budget three trips annually to Washington, DC (two trips to 
meet and collaborate with U.S. Department of Education officials and 
one trip, as specified in the general requirements, to attend the two-
day Office of Special Education Programs Technical Assistance Project 
Directors' Conference).
    Competitive Preferences: Within this absolute priority, we will 
give the following competitive preference under section 606 of IDEA and 
34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), to applications that are otherwise eligible for 
funding under this priority:
    Up to ten (10) points based on the effectiveness of the applicant's 
strategies for employing and advancing in employment qualified 
individuals with disabilities in project activities as required under 
paragraph (a) of the ``General Requirements'' section of this notice. 
In determining the effectiveness of those strategies, the Assistant 
Secretary can consider the applicant's past success in pursuit of this 
goal.
    For purposes of this competitive preference, applicants can be 
awarded up to a total of 10 points in addition to those awarded under 
the published selection criteria for this priority. That is, an 
applicant meeting this competitive preference could earn a maximum 
total of 110 points.

FOR APPLICATIONS CONTACT: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. 
Box 1398, Jessup, Maryland 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-
4ED-Pubs (1-877-433-7827). FAX: 301-470-1244. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 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 33312]]

    If you request an application from Ed Pubs be sure to identify the 
competition as follows: CFDA 84.326J.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Grants and Contracts Services Team, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., room 3317, 
Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 260-9182.
    If you use a 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 persons listed in the preceding 
paragraph.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternate format by contacting the Department at the 
address listed. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternate format the standard forms included in the application 
package.

Intergovernmental Review

    The program in this notice is subject to the requirements of 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. The 
objective of the Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental 
partnership and a strengthened federalism by relying on processes 
developed by State and local governments for coordination and review of 
proposed Federal financial assistance.
    In accordance with the order, we intend this document to provide 
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for 
those programs.

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, 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 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://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

    Dated: May 17, 2000.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 00-12923 Filed 5-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U