[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 236 (Friday, December 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63526-63527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30356]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Talent Search Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

[[Page 63527]]


ACTION: Notice reopening competition and establishing a new application 
deadline date for fiscal year (FY) 2002.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (we) announces the reopening of 
the competition for new awards under the Talent Search Program for FY 
2002. We also establish a new deadline date for the transmittal of 
applications. We are taking these actions because recent disruptions in 
the U.S. Postal Service may have interfered with our receipt of many 
applications. The reopening is intended to help potential applicants 
compete fairly under this competition.

DATES: The new deadline date for transmitting applications is December 
17, 2001. The previous date was October 19, 2001. The new deadline date 
for the transmittal of State process recommendations by State Single 
Points of Contact (SPOCs) and comments by other interested parties 
under Executive Order 12372 is February 15, 2002. The previous date was 
December 19, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The addresses and telephone numbers for obtaining 
applications for, or information about, this competition were in the 
original application notice published in the Federal Register on June 
11, 2001 (66 FR 31338-31339).
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the TDD number, if any, listed in the individual application 
notice. If we have not listed a TDD number, you may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    If you want to transmit a recommendation or comment under Executive 
Order 12372, you can find the latest list and addresses of individual 
SPOCs on the Web site of the Office of Management and Budget at the 
following address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 11, 2001, we published in the 
Federal Register a notice inviting applications for new awards under 
this program for FY 2002 and establishing a deadline date for the 
transmittal of applications.
    In the application package, which hundreds of potential applicants 
requested, we stated that if you send your application by mail or if 
you or your courier deliver it by hand, our Application Control Center 
will mail a Grant Application Receipt Acknowledgment to you.
    We further stated that 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) 708-9493.
    In recent weeks numerous applicants have called to say that they 
did not get a notification that we had received their respective 
applications even though they had proof of having mailed the 
applications. Through a search of our records, we determined that we 
had not received those applications. In addition, we determined that we 
had received far fewer applications for new awards under this program 
than we had received in previous years and far fewer than we had 
expected for the FY 2002 competition.
    We have concluded that many applications may be delayed because of 
the recent disruptions of normal mail service, particularly in the 
Washington, DC area. Because we do not know when delayed applications 
may be delivered, we have decided to reopen this competition to give 
all applicants a chance to transmit their applications to us. This 
reopening and new deadline date for transmittal of applications apply 
to the entire country, as well as to eligible Territories.
    Please note that there are alternative methods of transmittal 
besides the U.S. Postal Service. These include commercial carriers and 
courier services, as well as hand delivery. If you use a commercial 
carrier, please make sure to get a dated shipping label, invoice, or 
receipt from the carrier. If you use one of these alternative means of 
transmittal, we will mail a Grant Application Receipt Acknowledgment to 
you.

    Note: If you have already submitted an application by mail and 
have not received a notification of application receipt from us by 
now, we urge you to resubmit your application and to indicate on the 
application that this is a resubmission. You may also wish to 
consider an alternative means of transmittal. Otherwise, we may not 
receive your application in time to consider it.

Assistance for Individuals With Disabilities

    If you are an individual with a disability, you may obtain a copy 
of this notice in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in the application notice.

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 the following site: 
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this 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.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: December 3, 2001.
Maureen A. McLaughlin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning, and Innovation, Office 
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-30356 Filed 12-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U