[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76524-76543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31034]



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Part VII





Department of Education





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Career Clusters--Cooperative Agreements; Notice Inviting Applications 
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65 , No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No: 84.051B]


Career Clusters--Cooperative Agreements; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001

    Note to Applicants: This notice is a complete application package. 
Together with the statute authorizing the program and the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), the notice 
contains all of the information, application forms, and instructions 
needed to apply for a grant under this competition.
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Career Clusters Initiative, 
formerly known as the Building Linkages Initiative, is to enable States 
to establish linkages among State educational agencies, secondary and 
postsecondary educational institutions, employers, industry groups, 
other stake holders and Federal agencies. Through these linkages, 
States will be able to develop curricular frameworks designed to 
prepare students for a successful transition from high school to 
postsecondary education, employment in a career area, or both. For each 
Career Cluster project, representatives from these partner entities, 
agencies, or groups, will form a Career Cluster Advisory Consortium 
that represents all aspects of each Career Cluster area. (See Appendix 
A) From each Advisory Consortium an Executive Committee will be 
selected to provide leadership and direction for project activities. 
Through cooperative agreements funded under the Career Clusters 
Initiative, recognized academic and skill standards will be identified 
and/or established by each consortium, along with assessments that are 
organized around each Career Cluster area, with the goal of providing 
secondary schools of States participating in each consortium with the 
information needed to establish curriculum guidelines that meet the 
education and training needs of their students.
    Eligible Applicants: ``Eligible agencies'' as defined in Section 
3(9) of the Perkins Act are eligible to apply for funds under this 
program.
    An eligible applicant may apply for more than one Career Cluster 
cooperative agreement award.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 5, 2001.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: January 5, 2001.
    Available Funds: $2,200,000 for the first 12 months of the 24-month 
project period. Funding for the second 12-month period of the 24-month 
project period is subject to the availability of funds and to a grantee 
meeting the EDGAR requirements of (34 CFR 75.253).
    Estimated Amount of Awards: The estimated amount of each award made 
under this competition is $200,000 for each Career Cluster project.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $200,000 for the first 12 months.
    Estimated Number of Awards: The Secretary hopes to fund 11 Career 
Cluster projects. Each eligible applicant may apply to carry out more 
than one project, as stated in the ``Estimated Range of Awards'' 
section.

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

    Project Period: 24 months.
    Applicable Statute and Regulations: 
    (a) The relevant provisions of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and 
Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III), 20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq., 
in particular, section 114(c)(6)(A) of Perkins III (20 U.S.C. 
2324(c)(6)(A)).
    (b) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations 
(EDGAR), as follows:
    (1) 34 CFR Part 75 (Direct Grant Programs).
    (2) 34 CFR Part 77 (Definitions that Apply to Department 
Regulations).
    (3) 34 CFR Part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Department of 
Education Programs and Activities).
    (4) 34 CFR Part 80 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants 
and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments).
    (5) 34 CFR Part 81 (General Education Provisions Act--Enforcement).
    (6) 34 CFR Part 82 (New Restrictions on Lobbying).
    (7) 34 CFR Part 85 (Government-wide Debarment and Suspension 
(Nonprocurement) and Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free 
Workplace (Grants)).
    (8) 34 CFR Part 86 (Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention).
    (9) 34 CFR Part 97 (Protection of Human Subjects).
    (10) 34 CFR Part 98 (Student Rights In Research, Experimental 
Programs and Testing).
    (11) 34 CFR Part 99 (Family Educational Rights and Privacy).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Career Clusters Initiative began in 1996 as the Building 
Linkages Initiative and was a collaborative effort between the U.S. 
Department of Education, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education 
(OVAE), the National School-to-Work Office (NSTWO) and the National 
Skill Standards Board (NSSB). The purpose of the Initiative was to 
establish linkages among State educational agencies, secondary and 
postsecondary educational institutions, employers, industry groups, 
other stakeholders and Federal agencies. The goal was to create 
curricular frameworks in broad career clusters, designed to prepare 
students to transition successfully from high school to postsecondary 
education and employment in a career area, or both. Two Career Cluster 
projects (Health Science and Manufacturing) have completed their final 
year of development. Arts/Audio Video Technology and Communications, 
Information Technology and the Transportation/Distribution, and 
Logistics projects were funded by contract and began in the fall of 
1999, under authority of the Carl D. Perkins Act of 1990 (Perkins II).
    The Career Clusters Initiative continues to evolve and expand based 
on lessons learned from these earlier efforts. The creation of 
curricular models within the context of broad career clusters ensures 
the alignment of academic and technical instructional strategies with 
the requirements of postsecondary education and the expectations of 
employers in increasingly academic and technologically demanding 
careers.
    Education officials across the country are continuously being 
challenged to demonstrate that their students are achieving high levels 
of academic and technical competency. Curriculum strategies, developed 
through the Career Clusters Initiative, can increase student 
achievement by providing a context in which challenging math, science, 
language arts and other academic subjects can be made relevant to 
students and to their postsecondary education and career choices. 
Students who, in addition to meeting State academic requirements, can 
also meet standards related to their Career Cluster will be well 
prepared to transition to postsecondary education, employment in their 
career of choice, or both.
    The vocational education field has historically responded to the 
needs of the national economy by preparing individuals to enter jobs in 
demand. Vocational education played a vital role helping our nation 
transition from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy 
through education and training. Today, schools are faced with the new 
challenge of helping our nation and its people transition from an 
industrial economy to a ``new knowledge'' economy. In response to this 
challenge, OVAE recently adopted

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16 Career Clusters that redefine the role of vocational education. 
Organizing schools around Career Clusters provides an ideal mechanism 
for high school reform efforts and establishes a structure that 
promotes and sustains the components of school-to-work.
    Through the cooperative agreements awarded under this Career 
Clusters competition, the U.S. Department of Education, in cooperation 
with the National School-to-Work Office, will facilitate the completion 
of the remaining 11 Career Clusters. The Secretary will fund these 
cooperative agreements under authority of section 114(c)(6)(A) of 
Perkins III. Under this provision, the Secretary is authorized to carry 
out demonstration vocational and technical education programs, to 
replicate model vocational and technical education programs, to 
disseminate best practices information, and to provide technical 
assistance upon the request of a State, for the purposes of developing, 
improving, and identifying the most successful methods and techniques 
for providing vocational and technical education programs assisted 
under Perkins III.
    By awarding cooperative agreements under section 114(c)(6)(A) of 
Perkins III, the Secretary hopes to work more closely with State 
consortia to assist them in their development of vocational education 
curricular frameworks. It is the Secretary's intent that the curricular 
frameworks developed by States for the eleven career areas listed in 
Appendix A to this notice will serve to better meet the academic and 
training needs of students seeking postsecondary education, or 
employment in one of these career areas, or both.
    The projects funded through these cooperative agreements will be 
required to use the established standards-based Career Cluster 
framework (see ``Required Activities'') for Career Clusters previously 
funded, as the blueprint for development activities.

Required Activities

    (a) Under this competition, for each Career Cluster project, 
grantees must carry out thirteen tasks which, when completed, form the 
Career Cluster Framework:
    (1) Establish an Advisory Consortium and an Executive Committee. 
The appropriate selection of these partners is crucial to ensure an end 
product that is recognized by all stakeholders and of value for States.
    (2) Identify the education and industry certificates, as well as 
postsecondary degree options (including entry-level through management/
professional career opportunities) available to students and recognized 
by employers.
    (3) Organize or subdivide the occupations, within each cluster, 
into pathways or concentrations that group the cluster occupations 
based on commonalities.
    (4) Identify existing and/or establish broad career-cluster-related 
standards with specific content standards for the cluster, as well as 
for the pathways that are State-recognized.
    (5) Establish suggested curriculum guidelines for cluster and 
pathway content standards.
    (6) Select a minimum of ten high schools to pilot the established 
cluster and pathway content standards.
    (7) Conduct pilot testing of the cluster and pathway content 
standards.
    (8) Connect existing and/or develop State assessment instruments 
agreed upon by the States for cluster and pathway content standards 
that are recognized by both employers and postsecondary education 
institutions.
    (9) Establish a portable skill certification program agreed upon by 
the States that documents student mastery of cluster and pathway 
content standards that are recognized by employers and postsecondary 
education institutions.
    (10) Conduct pilot testing of the assessment instruments and 
portable skill certificate processes at the selected pilot sites.
    (11) Develop rollout strategies for implementing the completed 
cluster project to other States and to territories.
    (12) Establish a structure and strategies for ensuring 
sustainability of the Advisory Consortium and Executive Committee after 
completion of the Career Cluster project.
    (13) Develop strategies for professional development and teacher 
preparation within the Career Cluster.

Priorities

Invitational Priorities

    The Secretary is especially interested in applications that meet 
the following priorities:
Invitational Priority 1
    Applications that propose to align products and services to be 
provided with the 11 industry-based career areas identified in this 
notice and required as the reporting framework for the new student 
enrollment form which is part of the Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) 
required for basic grants under Perkins III. (These career areas are 
discussed in the supplementary information section of this notice and 
are defined in Appendix A to this notice.)
Invitational Priority 2
    Applications that propose to develop products and services that 
assist State and local users to achieve student outcomes established by 
performance measurement and accountability systems under development by 
Federal and State educational agencies, vocational education agencies, 
and in workforce development programs.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), the Secretary does not give an 
application that meets these invitational priorities a competitive or 
absolute preference over other applications.

Selection Criteria

    The Secretary uses the following selection criteria to evaluate 
applications for new cooperative agreements under this competition. The 
Secretary awards a total possible score of 100 points. The maximum 
possible score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses.
    (1) Advisory Consortium and Executive Committee Experience and 
Commitment (Maximum Total of 40 points).
    (a) The application includes evidence of commitment and support 
from the proposed members of the Advisory Consortium and Executive 
Committee for the utilization of Career Clusters in both education and 
employer settings. (10 points)
    (b) The application demonstrates broad representation of consortium 
partners from all levels of postsecondary education, as well as 
employers and industry groups and other relevant stakeholders 
representing local, state and national perspectives. (10 points)
    (c) The application includes evidence of consortium support from 
consortium partners in the form of funding from non-Federal sources 
and/or ``in kind''contributions. (10 points)
    (d) The application includes strategies for sustainability of the 
Career Cluster project after the initial development. (10 points)
    (2) Technical Approach (Maximum 35 points).
    (a) The applicant demonstrates a clear understanding of the Career 
Clusters Framework purpose and scope of the project. (15 points)
    (b) The applicant comprehensively addresses all specified required 
activities in the application, clearly defining the activities to be 
undertaken to accomplish each activity. (15 points)
    (c) The proposed project is described in a clear and comprehensive 
manner that is appropriate to the required program activities. The 
applicant identifies design improvements and

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additional activities that may enhance the proposed project and 
describes any anticipated problems and recommends solutions. (5 points)
    (3) Management Plan (Maximum 15 points).
    (a) The application includes a description, in a clear and 
sequential fashion, of the plan for managing the project. The plan 
provides credible evidence that the management of personnel, physical 
resources, activities, and work production will result in orderly and 
timely completion of work within the project performance period. (10 
points)
    (b) The time commitments of the Project Director and Executive 
Committee are appropriate to the tasks assigned. (5 points)
    (4) Executive Committee (Maximum 10 points).
    The Project Director and Executive Committee possess clearly 
identified and documented qualifications, competencies, and experiences 
that are appropriate for the tasks to be carried out under this 
cooperative agreement.

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.
    One of the objectives of the Executive order is to foster an 
intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened federalism. The 
Executive order relies on processes developed by State and local 
governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal financial 
assistance.
    If you are an applicant, you must contact the appropriate State 
Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to find out about, and to comply with, 
the State's process under Executive Order 12372. If you propose to 
perform activities in more than one State, you should immediately 
contact the SPOC for each of those States and follow the procedures 
established in each State under the Executive order. If you want to 
know the name and address of any State Single Point of Contact (SPOC), 
see the list published in the Federal Register on April 28, 1999 (64 FR 
22963), or you may view the latest SPOC list on the web site of the 
Office of Management and Budget at the following address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants
    In States that have not established a process or chosen a program 
for review, State, area-wide, regional, and local entities may submit 
comments directly to the Department.
    Any State Process Recommendation and other comments submitted by a 
SPOC and any comments from State, area-wide, regional, and local 
entities must be mailed or hand-delivered by the date indicated in this 
application notice to the following address: The Secretary, E.O. 12372-
CFDA No: 84.051B, U.S. Department of Education, Room 7E200, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-0125.
    We will determine proof of mailing under 34 CFR 75.102 (Deadline 
date for applications). Recommendations or comments may be hand-
delivered until 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC 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 APPLICANT SUBMITS ITS COMPLETED APPLICATION. DO NOT 
SEND APPLICATIONS TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

Waiver of Rulemaking

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed regulations. However, in order to make timely 
cooperative agreement awards in FY 2001, the Secretary has decided to 
issue this application notice with program requirements and selection 
criteria without first publishing the notice for public comment. These 
requirements and criteria will apply to the FY 2001 cooperative 
agreement competition. The Secretary takes this action under authority 
of section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). 
Section 437(d)(1) of GEPA exempts from formal rulemaking requirements, 
regulations governing the first grant competition under a new or 
substantially revised program authority (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1)). The 
program authority for Vocational Education National Activities was 
substantially revised on October 31, 1998 by Public Law 105-332. Any 
requirements or criteria that the Department establishes in future 
years, will be published in proposed form in the Federal Register with 
an opportunity for interested parties to comment.

Instructions for Transmitting Applications

    If you want to apply for a cooperative agreement and be considered 
for funding, you must meet the following deadline requirements:
    (a) If You Send Your Application by Mail--
    You must 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 No: 84.051B), Washington, D.C. 20202-
4725.
    You 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.
    If you mail an application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
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.
    (b) If You Deliver Your Application by Hand--
    You must hand deliver the original and two copies of the 
application by 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time) on or before the 
deadline to: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, 
Attention: (CFDA No: 84.051B), Room #3633, Regional Office Building 3, 
7th and D Streets, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4725.
    The Application Control Center accepts application deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time), except Saturdays, 
Sundays, and Federal holidays. The Center accepts application 
deliveries through the D Street entrance only. A person delivering an 
application must show identification to enter the building.
    (c) If You Submit Your Application by Courier--You must deliver the 
original and two copies of your application to the courier service on 
or before the deadline date. You must show as proof of delivery to the 
courier service a dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from the 
courier service.
    The courier service must deliver your application to: U.S. 
Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA 
No: 84.051B), Room #3633, Regional Office Building 3, 7th & D Streets, 
S.W, Washington, DC 20202-4725.
    The Application Control Center accepts application deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time), except Saturdays, 
Sundays and Federal holidays. The Center accepts application deliveries 
through the D Street entrance only. A courier delivering an application 
must show identification to enter the building.


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    Notes: (1) The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a 
dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with 
your local post office.
    (2) If you send your application by mail or deliver it by hand 
or by a courier service, the Application Control Center will mail a 
Cooperative Agreement Application Receipt Acknowledgment to you. If 
you do not receive the notification of application receipt within 15 
days from the date of mailing the application, you should call the 
U.S. Department of Education Application Control Center at (202) 
708-9494.
    You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the 
Department--in Item 3 of the Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (ED Form 424; revised January 12, 1999) the CFDA number--
and suffix letter, if any--of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application.

Application Instructions and Forms

    The Appendix to this notice contains forms and instructions, a 
statement regarding estimated public reporting burden, a notice to 
applicants regarding compliance with section 427 of the General 
Education Provisions Act, and various assurances and certifications. 
Please organize the parts and additional materials in the following 
order:
    Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424 (Rev. 1/12/
99)) and instructions.
    Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED Form 524 and 
instructions.
    Application Narrative.
    Assurances--Non-Construction Programs (Standard Form 424B) (Rev. 7-
97)
    Certifications regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension, and Other 
Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (ED 80-
0013, 12/98) and instructions.
    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.)
    Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (Standard Form LLL (Rev. 7/97)) 
(if applicable) and instructions.
    You may submit information on a photocopy 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. We will not award a cooperative agreement unless 
we have received a completed application form.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Scott Hess, Division of 
Vocational-Technical Education, Office of Vocational and Adult 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW. (Room 
4329, Mary E. Switzer Building), Washington, DC 20202-7241. Telephone 
(202) 205-9422. If you are using a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) 
at 1-800-877-8339.

Electronic Access to This Department

    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 PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using 
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
    Additionally, this notice, as well as other documents concerning 
the implementation of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical 
Education Act of 1998, is available on the World Wide Web at the 
following site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/VocEd/InfoBoard/legis.html


    Dated: November 30, 2000.
Robert Muller,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

Appendix A--Eleven Career Areas

    Definitions
    (a) Agriculture and Natural Resources, comprised of courses and/
or programs related to planning, managing and performing 
agricultural production and horticulture and landscaping services 
and related professional and technical services, mining and 
extraction operations, and managing and conserving natural resources 
and related environmental services;
    (b) Architecture and Construction, comprised of courses and/or 
programs relating to designing, planning, managing, building, and 
maintaining physical structures and the larger building environment 
including roadways and bridges and industrial, commercial and 
residential facilities and buildings;
    (c) Wholesale/Retail Sales and Services, comprised of courses 
and/or programs related to planning, managing and performing 
wholesaling and retailing services and related marketing and 
distribution support services including merchandise/product 
management and promotion;
    (d) Finance, comprised of courses and/or programs related to 
planning, managing and providing banking, investment, financial 
planning, and insurance services;
    (e) Hospitality and Tourism, comprised of courses and/or 
programs related to hospitality and tourism and to planning, 
managing and providing lodging, food, recreation, convention and 
tourism, and related planning and support services such as travel-
related services;
    (f) Business and Administration, comprised of courses and/or 
programs related to planning, managing, and providing administrative 
support, information processing, accounting, and human resource 
management services and related management support services;
    (g) Human Services, comprised of courses and/or programs related 
to planning, managing, and providing human services including social 
and related community services;
    (h) Law and Public Safety, comprised of courses and/or programs 
related to planning, managing and providing judicial, legal, and 
protective services, including professional and technical support 
services in the fire protection and criminal justice systems;
    (i) Scientific Research and Engineering, comprised of courses 
and/or programs related to planning, managing, and providing 
scientific research and professional and technical services (e.g., 
physical science, social science, engineering), including laboratory 
and testing services, and research and development services;
    (j) Education and Training, comprised of courses and/or programs 
related to planning, managing and providing education and training 
services, and related learning support services, including 
assessment and library and information services; and
    (k) Government and Public Administration, comprised of courses 
and/or programs related to planning, managing and providing 
government, legislative, administrative and regulatory services and 
related general purpose government services at the Federal, State 
and local levels.

Instructions for Part II--Budget Information Sections A and B--
Budget Summary by Categories

    1. Personnel: Show salaries to be paid to personnel for each 
budget year.
    2. Fringe Benefits: Indicate the rate and amount of fringe 
benefits for each budget year.
    3. Travel: Indicate the amount requested for both local and out 
of State travel of Project Staff for each budget year. Include funds 
for at least two trips per year for two people to attend the Project 
Directors' Workshop.
    4. Equipment: Indicate the cost of non-expendable personal 
property that has a cost of $5,000 or more per unit for each budget 
year.
    5. Supplies: Include the cost of consumable supplies and 
materials to be used during the project period for each budget year.
    6. Contractual: Show the amount to be used for: (1) Procurement 
contracts (except those which belong on other lines such as supplies 
and equipment); and (2) subcontracts for each budget year.

[[Page 76528]]

    7. Construction: Not Applicable
    8. Other: Indicate all direct costs not clearly covered by lines 
1 through 6 above, including consultants and capital expenditures 
for each budget year.
    9. Total Direct Cost: Show the total for Lines 1 through 8 for 
each budget year.
    10. Indirect Costs: Indicate the rate and amount of indirect 
costs for each budget year.
    11. Training/stipend Cost: Not applicable. This item pertains 
only to student and institutional allowances.
    12. Total Costs: Show total for lines 9 through 11 for each 
budget year.

Part III: Budget Narrative

Instructions for Part III--Budget Narrative

    The budget narrative should explain, justify, and, if needed, 
clarify your budget summary. For each line item (personnel, fringe 
benefits, travel, etc.) in your budget, explain why it is there and 
how you computed the costs.
    Please limit this section to no more than five pages. Be sure 
that each page of your application is numbered consecutively.

Part IV: Program Narrative

Instructions for Part IV--Program Narrative

    The program narrative will comprise the largest portion of your 
application. This part is where you spell out the who, what, when, 
why, and how, of your proposed project.
    Although you will not have a form to fill out for your 
narrative, there is a format. This format is based on the selection 
criteria. Because your application will be reviewed and rated by a 
review panel on the basis of the selection criteria, your narrative 
should follow the order and format of the criteria.
    Before preparing your application, you should carefully read the 
legislation and EDGAR regulations governing this program, 
eligibility requirements, priorities, and the selection criteria for 
this process.
    Your program narrative should be clear, concise, and to the 
point. Begin the narrative with a one page abstract or summary of 
your project. Then describe the project in detail, addressing each 
selection criterion in order.
    The Secretary strongly suggests that you limit the program 
narrative to no more than 30 double-spaced, typed pages (on one side 
only), although the Secretary will consider your application if it 
is longer. Be sure to number consecutively ALL pages in your 
application.
    You may include supporting documentation as appendices to the 
program narrative. Be sure that this material is concise and 
pertinent to this program.
    You are advised that--
    (a) The Secretary considers only information contained in the 
application in ranking applications for funding consideration. 
Letters of support sent separately from the formal application 
package are not considered in the review by the technical review 
panels. (34 CFR 75.217)
    (b) The technical review panel evaluates each application solely 
on the basis of the selection criteria contained in this notice.
    (c) Letters of support included as appendices to an application, 
that are of direct relevance to or contain commitments that pertain 
to the established selection criteria, such as commitment of 
resources, will be reviewed by the panel. As noted above in 
paragraph (a), letters of support sent separately from the formal 
application package are not considered in the review by the 
technical review panel. (34 CFR 75.217)
    (2) An applicant that proposes to develop instructional 
materials for classroom use might describe how it will make the 
materials available on audio tape or in Braille for students who are 
blind.
    (3) An applicant that proposes to carry out a model science 
program for secondary students and is concerned that girls may be 
less likely than boys to enroll in the course, might indicate how it 
tends to conduct ``outreach'' efforts to girls, to encourage their 
enrollment.
    We recognize that many applicants may already be implementing 
effective steps to ensure equity of access and participation in 
their grant programs, and we appreciate your cooperation in 
responding to the requirements of this provision.

Estimated Burden Statement

    According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it 
displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number 
for this information collection is 1830-0546. (Expiration date: 11-
30-2003). The time required to complete this information collection 
is estimated to average 40 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 grant application, 
please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 
20202-4651.
    If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your 
individual submission of this grant application, write directly to: 
Mr. Scott Hess, Division of Vocational and Technical Education, 
Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W. (Room 4329, Mary E. Switzer 
Building), Washington D.C. 20202-7242.
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[FR Doc. 00-31034 Filed 12-5-00; 8:45 am]
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