[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27814-27817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12518]



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Part V





Department of Education





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Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Training and Information for Parents of Children With 
Disabilities; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Training and Information for Parents of Children With 
Disabilities

AGENCY: Department of Education.

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

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SUMMARY: This notice provides closing dates and other information 
regarding the transmittal of applications for FY 2001 competitions 
under one program authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (IDEA), as amended: Special Education-- Training and 
Information for Parents of Children with Disabilities.

National Education Goals

    The eight National Education Goals focus the Nation's education 
reform efforts and provide a framework for improving teaching and 
learning.
    This priority addresses the National Education Goals that promote 
new partnerships to strengthen schools and expand the Department's 
capacities for helping communities to exchange ideas and obtain 
information needed to achieve the goals.
    This priority would address the National Education Goals by helping 
to improve results for children with disabilities.

Waiver of Rulemaking

    It is generally our practice 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.

General Requirements

    (a) The projects 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 grant recipients 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 projects funded under these priorities must budget for a 
two-day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, D.C. during each year 
of the project.
    (d) In a single application, an applicant must address only one 
absolute priority in this notice.
    (e) Part III of each application submitted under a 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 
the number of pages listed in the table at the end of this notice for 
each applicable priority, using the following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5"x11" (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 without consideration or evaluation any application 
if --
     You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
     You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.

Special Education--Training and Information for Parents of Children 
With Disabilities [CFDA No. 84.328]

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to ensure that 
parents of children with disabilities receive training and information 
to help improve results for their children.
    Under section 682(e) of IDEA, we are required to:
    (a) Make at least one award to a parent organization in each State, 
unless we do not receive an application from such an organization in 
each State of sufficient quality to warrant approval; and
    (b) Select among applications submitted by parent organizations in 
a State in a manner that ensures the most effective assistance to 
parents, including parents in urban and rural areas, in the State.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, 97, 98, and 99; (b) The selection criteria for this 
priority are drawn from the EDGAR general selection criteria menu. The 
specific selection criteria for this priority are included in the 
funding application package for this competition.
    Eligible Applicants: Parent organizations, as defined in section 
682(g) of IDEA. A parent organization is a private nonprofit 
organization (other than an institution of higher education) that:
    (a) Has a board of directors, the parent and professional members 
of which are broadly representative of the population to be served and 
the majority of whom are parents of children with disabilities, that 
includes individuals with disabilities and individuals working in the 
fields of special education, related services, and early intervention; 
or
    (b) Has a membership that represents the interests of individuals 
with disabilities and has established a special governing committee 
meeting the requirements for a board of directors in paragraph (a) of 
this section and develops a memorandum of understanding between this 
special governing committee and the board of directors of the 
organization that clearly outlines the relationship between the board 
and the committee and the decisionmaking responsibilities and authority 
of each.

Priority

    Under section 682 of the Act and 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we will give 
an absolute preference to applications that meet the following 
priority. We will fund under this competition only those applications 
that meet this priority:

Absolute Priority--Parent Training and Information Centers (84.328M)

Background

    The IDEA Amendments of 1997 strengthen the role of parents and 
increase their involvement in decisions about their children's 
education. In order to allocate resources more equitably, create a 
unified system of service delivery, and provide the broadest coverage 
for the parents and families in every State, the Department is making 
awards in five (5)-year cycles for each State. In FY 2001, applications 
for 5-year awards will be accepted for Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, 
Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, 
Nevada, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico.
    In addition to the above State awards, we intend to fund one award 
that focuses on the needs of Native-American families who have children 
with disabilities and one award that

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focuses on the needs of military families who have children with 
disabilities.
    Until the first five (5)-year cycle is completed, there is a need 
to have an interim schedule for awards in States where there is more 
than one PTI and their current awards do not have the same end date. We 
are holding competitions for one or more awards in these States for the 
time periods needed to match the end date of the last Center funded.
    Applications will be accepted for FY 2001 interim competitions for 
the State of California and the State of Michigan. We intend to fund 
five awards for one-year each:
    (1) One Center in the State of California that will serve the 
population in the northern part of the State. This award will be for 
$399,400.
    (2) One Center in the State of California that will serve the 
population in the central part of the State. This award will be for 
$230,470.
    (3) One Center in the State of California that will serve the 
population in the southern part of the State. This award will be for 
$236,970.
    (4) One Center in the State of California that will serve the 
population in the San Francisco Bay area. This award will be for 
$236,970.
    (5) One Center in the State of Michigan that will serve the 
population in the Detroit area. This award will be for $274,440.

Priority

    A Parent Training and Information Center must --
    (a) Provide training and information that meets the training and 
information needs of parents of children with disabilities in the area 
served by the Center, particularly underserved parents and parents of 
children who may be inappropriately identified, including those who are 
not identified at all;
    (b) Assist parents to understand the availability of, and how to 
effectively use, procedural safeguards under IDEA, including 
encouraging the use, and explaining the benefits, of alternative 
methods of dispute resolution, such as the mediation process described 
in IDEA;
    (c) Serve the parents of infants, toddlers, and children with the 
full range of disabilities;
    (d) Assist parents to--
    (1) Better understand the nature of their children's disabilities 
and their educational and developmental needs;
    (2) Communicate effectively with personnel responsible for 
providing special education, early intervention, and related services;
    (3) Participate in decisionmaking processes and the development of 
individualized education programs and individualized family service 
plans;
    (4) Obtain appropriate information about the range of options, 
programs, services, and resources available to assist children with 
disabilities and their families;
    (5) Understand the provisions of the Act for the education of, and 
the provision of early intervention services to, children with 
disabilities; and
    (6) Participate in school reform activities;
    (e) Contract with the State educational agency, if the State elects 
to contract with the Parent Training and Information Center, for the 
purpose of meeting with parents who choose not to use the mediation 
process to encourage the use, and explain the benefits, of mediation 
consistent with section 615(e)(2)(B) and (D) of IDEA;
    (f) Establish cooperative relations with the Community Parent 
Resource Center or Centers in their State in accordance with section 
683(b)(3) of IDEA;
    (g) Network with appropriate clearinghouses, including 
organizations conducting national dissemination activities under 
section 685(d) of IDEA, and with other national, State, and local 
organizations and agencies, such as protection and advocacy agencies, 
that serve parents and families of children with the full range of 
disabilities;
    (h) Annually report to the Assistant Secretary on--
    (1) The number of parents to whom the Parent Training and 
Information Center provided information and training in the most 
recently concluded fiscal year, and
    (2) The effectiveness of strategies used to reach and serve 
parents, including underserved parents of children with disabilities; 
and
    (i) If there is more than one parent center in a particular State, 
coordinate its activities to ensure the most effective assistance to 
parents in that State.
    An applicant must identify the strategies it will undertake--
    (a) To ensure that the needs for training and information of 
underserved parents of children with disabilities in the areas to be 
served are effectively met, particularly in underserved areas of the 
State; and
    (b) To work with the community-based organizations, particularly in 
the underserved areas of the State.
    A Parent Training and Information Center that receives assistance 
under this absolute priority may also conduct the following activities 
--
    (a) Provide information to teachers and other professionals who 
provide special education and related services to children with 
disabilities;
    (b) Assist students with disabilities to understand their rights 
and responsibilities on reaching the age of majority, as stated in 
section 615(m) of IDEA; and
    (c) Assist parents of children with disabilities to be informed 
participants in the development and implementation of the State 
improvement plan under IDEA.
    In addition to the annual Project Directors' meeting included in 
the ``General Requirements'' section of this notice, a project's budget 
must include funds to attend a regional Project Directors' meeting to 
be held each year of the project.
    In order to demonstrate eligibility to receive a grant, an 
applicant must describe how its board or special governing committee 
meets the criteria for a parent organization in section 682(g) of IDEA. 
In addition, any parent organization that establishes a special 
governing committee under section 682(g)(2) of IDEA must demonstrate 
that the bylaws of its organization allow the governing committee to be 
responsible for operating the project (consistent with existing fiscal 
policies of its organization).
    Current funding levels and population of school age children were 
factors in determining the funding levels for these grants.

Competitive Preferences

    Within this absolute priority, we will award the following 
competitive preference points under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i): An 
additional 10 points to an application submitted by a parent 
organization or a consortia of parent organizations that qualify as 
parent organizations under section 682(g)(1) of IDEA.
    In addition, we will give the following competitive preference 
points 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, we may consider 
the applicant's past success in pursuit of this goal.
    Therefore, for purposes of these competitive preferences, 
applicants can be awarded up to a total of 20 points in addition to 
those awarded under the

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selection criteria for this priority. That is, an applicant meeting 
this competitive preference could earn a maximum total of 120 points.
    Project Period: With the exception of the following, projects will 
be funded for a period up to 60 months. Interim projects will be funded 
for a period up to 12 months.
    Estimated Project Awards: Project award amounts are for a single 
budget period of 12 months. The FY 2001 State awards, interim State 
awards, and awards focusing on Native American families and military 
families are listed below:

Alaska.....................................................     $269,820
Alabama....................................................      280,940
Colorado...................................................      277,330
Florida....................................................      585,020
Kentucky...................................................      253,760
Maine......................................................      193,350
Maryland...................................................      297,890
Nebraska...................................................      202,110
New York...................................................    1,154,270
North Dakota...............................................      210,170
Nevada.....................................................      210,280
Puerto Rico................................................      278,880
Vermont....................................................      193,870
Wisconsin..................................................      450,000
Native American Families...................................      100,000
Military Families..........................................      100,000
California (4 Interim Awards)..............................    1,103,810
Michigan (Interim Award)...................................      274,440
 

    Awards may also be made to authorized entities in Guam, Palau, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the freely associated 
States. However, maximum funding levels have not been specified.
    Consistent with EDGAR 34 CFR 75.104(b), we will reject any 
application that proposes a project funding level for any year that 
exceeds the stated maximum award amount for that year.
    Page Limits: The maximum page limit for this priority is 50 double-
spaced pages.


    Note: Applications must meet the required page limit standards 
that are described in the ``General Requirements'' section of this 
notice.


    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]).
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA 84.328M.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Grants and Contracts Services Team, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 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 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact office.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format by contacting the Department contact 
office. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternative 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 
this program.

                                   Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Application Notice for Fiscal Year 2001
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                                                       Application     Deadline for      Maximum                                              Estimated
           CFDA No. and name             Applications    deadline   intergovernmental   award (per        Project period         Page limit     No. of
                                           available       date           review         year) *                                     **         awards
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84.328M Parent Training and Information      05/25/01     07/13/01        09/13/01     ...........  Up to 60 mos..............           50           21
 Centers.
Alaska.................................  ............  ...........  .................     $269,820  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Alabama................................  ............  ...........  .................      280,940  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Colorado...............................  ............  ...........  .................      277,330  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Florida................................  ............  ...........  .................      585,020  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Kentucky...............................  ............  ...........  .................      253,760  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Maine..................................  ............  ...........  .................      193,350  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Maryland...............................  ............  ...........  .................      297,890  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Nebraska...............................  ............  ...........  .................      202,110  ..........................  ...........  ...........
New York...............................  ............  ...........  .................    1,154,270  ..........................  ...........  ...........
North Dakota...........................  ............  ...........  .................      210,170  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Nevada.................................  ............  ...........  .................      210,280  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Puerto Rico............................  ............  ...........  .................      278,880  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Vermont................................  ............  ...........  .................      193,870  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Wisconsin..............................  ............  ...........  .................      450,000  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Native American Families...............  ............  ...........  .................      100,000  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Military Families......................  ............  ...........  .................      100,000  ..........................  ...........  ...........
California (Interim)...................  ............  ...........  .................    1,103,810  ..........................  ...........  ...........
Michigan (Interim).....................  ............  ...........  .................      274,440  ..........................  ...........  ...........
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* Consistent with EDGAR 34 CFR 75.104(b), we will reject any application that proposes a project funding level for any year that exceeds the stated
  maximum award amount for that year. Awards may also be made to authorized entities in Guam, Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
  and the freely associated States. However, maximum funding levels have not been specified.
** Applicants must limit the Application Narrative, Part III of the Application, to the page limits noted above. Please refer to the ``Page Limit''
  requirements included under each priority description and the page limit standards described in the ``General Requirements'' section. We will reject
  and will not consider an application that does not adhere to this requirement.


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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 
portable document format (PDF) on the internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/Legislation/FedRegister. To use PDF you must have 
Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the previous site. 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/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1482.

    Dated: May 14, 2001.
Frank V. Corrigan,
Deputy Director for National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation 
and Research.
[FR Doc. 01-12518 Filed 5-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P