[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16192-16193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7291]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.299A]


Indian Education Discretionary Grant Programs--Demonstration 
Grants for Indian Children

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 2001.

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SUMMARY: Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to provide 
financial assistance to projects to develop, test, and demonstrate the 
effectiveness of services and programs to improve the educational 
opportunities and achievement of preschool, elementary, and secondary 
students, through activities such as:
    (a) Innovative programs related to the educational needs of 
educationally deprived children;
    (b) Educational services that are not available to such children in 
sufficient quantity or quality, including remedial instruction, to 
raise the achievement of Indian children in one or more of the core 
academic subjects of English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, 
art, history, and geography;
    (c) Bilingual and bicultural programs and projects;
    (d) Special health and nutrition services, and other related 
activities, that address the special health, social, and psychological 
problems of Indian children;
    (e) Special compensatory and other programs and projects to assist 
and encourage Indian children to enter, remain in, or reenter school, 
and to increase the rate of secondary school graduation;
    (f) Comprehensive guidance, counseling, and testing services;
    (g) Early childhood and kindergarten programs, including family-
based preschool programs that emphasize school readiness and parental 
skills, and the provision of services to Indian children with 
disabilities;
    (h) Partnership projects between local educational agencies (LEAs) 
and institutions of higher education that allow secondary school 
students to enroll in courses at the postsecondary level to aid these 
students in the transition from secondary school to postsecondary 
education;
    (i) Partnership projects between schools and local businesses for 
school-to-work transition programs designed to provide Indian youth 
with the knowledge and skills they need to make an effective transition 
from school to a first job in a high-skill, high-wage career;
    (j) Programs designed to encourage and assist Indian students to 
work toward, and gain entrance into, an institution of higher 
education; or
    (k) Other services that meet the purpose of this program.
    Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants for this program include a 
State educational agency; LEA; Indian tribe; Indian organization; 
federally supported elementary and secondary school for Indian 
students; Indian institution, including an Indian institution of higher 
education; or a consortium of such institutions that meet the 
requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129.
    An application from a consortium of eligible entities must meet the 
requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129. The written agreement 
must be submitted with the application. The agreement must be signed or 
the applicant must submit other evidence that all the members of the 
consortium agree to the contents of the agreement. Letters of support 
do not meet the consortium requirements. The Secretary rejects and does 
not consider an application that does not meet these requirements.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 25, 2001.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 27, 2001.
    Applications Available: April 4, 2001.
    Available Funds: $4,350,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $150,000 to $400,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $310,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 14.


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


    Project Period: Up to 36 months. It is the expectation of the 
Department that all project periods will begin August 1, 2001 with 
program services beginning with the Fall 2001 academic term.
    Budget Requirement: Projects funded under this competition must 
budget for a one and one-half day Project Directors' meeting in 
Washington, DC during each year of the budget.
    Maximum Annual Award Amount: In no case does the Secretary make an 
award greater than $400,000 for a single budget period. The Secretary 
rejects and does not consider an application that proposes a budget 
exceeding these maximum amounts.
    Page Limit: The application narrative is where an applicant 
addresses the selection criteria that are used by reviewers in 
evaluating the application. An applicant must limit the narrative to 
the equivalent of no more than 75 double-spaced pages, using the

[[Page 16193]]

following standards: (1) A ``page'' is 8 \1/2\" x 11" (one side only) 
with one-inch margins (top, bottom and sides).
    (2) 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, must be double-spaced 
(no more than three lines per vertical inch).
    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 to the inch.
    The page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the budget 
section (including the narrative budget justification); the assurances 
and certifications; or the one-page abstract, appendices, resumes, 
bibliography, and letters of support. However, all of the application 
narrative addressing the selection criteria must be included in the 
narrative section. If, in order to meet the page limit, you use print 
size, spacing, or margins smaller than the standards specified in this 
notice, your application will not be reviewed or considered for 
funding.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, 97, 98, and 99.

Priorities

Invitational Priorities

    While applicants may propose any project within the scope of 
section 9121 of Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965, 
as amended (the Act), the Secretary is particularly interested in 
applications that meet the following invitational priorities. However, 
an application that meets one or more of the invitational priorities 
does not receive competitive or absolute preference over other 
applications.
    Invitational Priority 1--School readiness projects that provide age 
appropriate educational programs and language skills to three- and 
four-year old Indian students to prepare them for successful entry into 
school at the kindergarten school level.
    Invitational Priority 2--Early childhood and kindergarten programs, 
including family-based preschool programs, that emphasize school 
readiness and parental skills.

Competitive Preference

    (1) In making multiyear grants under this program, the Secretary 
will award five (5) additional points to applications that present a 
plan for combining two or more of the activities described in Section 
9121(c) of the Act over a period of more than one year.

    Authority: Section 9121 of the Act; 20 U.S.C. 7831(d)(1)(B).

    (2) In making grants under this program, the Secretary will award 
five (5) additional points to applications submitted by Indian tribes, 
Indian organizations, and Indian institutions of higher education, 
including a consortium of any of these entities with other eligible 
entities. An application from a consortium of eligible entities that 
meet 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 (5) 
additional priority points. The written consortium agreement must be 
submitted with the application. The agreement must be signed or the 
applicant must submit other evidence that all the members of the 
consortium agree to the contents of the agreement. Letters of support 
do not meet the consortium requirements. The Secretary rejects and does 
not consider an application that does not meet these requirements.

    Authority: Section 9153 of the Act; 20 U.S.C. 7873.

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.
    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 telecommunication 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/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 
84.299A.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format by contacting the Grants and Contracts Services 
Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 
3317, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 
205-8351. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), may call the Federal Information Relay Services (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 
Friday. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternative format the standards forms included in the application 
package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathie Martin, Office of Indian 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 
3W115, Washington, DC 20202-6335. Telephone: (202) 260-1683. Internet 
address: [email protected].
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative 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 World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites: http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm; or 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 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. 7831.

    Dated: March 19, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-7291 Filed 3-2-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U