[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 61 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17163-17164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7695]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

[CFDA No. 84.338]


Reading Excellence Program

ACTION: Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2001.

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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 or FY 2000; Puerto Rico; the Virgin Islands; Guam; 
American Samoa; and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE: March 28, 2001.

DEADLINE FOR TRANSMITTAL OF APPLICATIONS: May 7, 2001.


    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. 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 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: May 22, 2001.
    Estimated Available Funds: $316,495,390.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000-$60,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $21,125,693.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 15.
    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

[[Page 17164]]

    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 and Part 299 and (c) The final 
priorities, application requirements and selection criteria published 
by the Department in the Federal Register on April 18, 2000. (65 FR 
20881-20884). Upon publication of that document, the Department 
announced that the contents applied to the fiscal year 2000 competition 
and may be used for future competitions. The Department has chosen to 
apply those fiscal year 2000 final priorities, application requirements 
and selection criteria to the fiscal year 2001 competition.

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: March 23, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-7695 Filed 3-28-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U