[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2406-2407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1017]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.133A-17]


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; National 
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research-Disability 
Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for Fiscal Year 2003

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2003.

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    Purpose of the Program: The purpose of the DRRP Program is to 
improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the Act), as amended. For FY 2003 the 
competition for new awards focuses on projects designed to meet the 
priority we describe in the Priority section of this application 
notice. We intend this priority to improve rehabilitation services and 
outcomes for individuals with disabilities from traditionally 
underserved racial and ethnic populations.
    Eligible Applicants: Parties eligible to apply for grants under 
this program are limited to minority entities and Indian tribes.
    Application Available: January 16, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 17, 2003.
    Maximum Award Amount: $350,000.

    Note: We will reject any application without consideration that 
proposes a budget exceeding the stated maximum award amount in any 
given year (34 CFR 75.104(b)).

    Estimated Number of Awards: 3.
    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

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

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), 34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 86 and 97, and (b) The program regulations 34 CFR part 350.

Priority

    This competition focuses on a project designed to meet the priority 
in the notice of final priority for this program, published elsewhere 
in this issue of the Federal Register.
    For FY 2003, this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet this priority.

Selection Criteria

    The selection criteria to evaluate applications under this program 
are found in the application package.

Application Procedures

    Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for 
transmitting applications differ from those in the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 
75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments 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.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    In Fiscal Year 2003, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing 
to expand its pilot project for electronic submission of applications 
to include additional formula grant programs and additional 
discretionary grant competitions. The Disability Rehabilitation 
Research Projects (DRRP) Program--CFDA 84.133A is one of the 
programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant under 
the DRRP, you may submit your application to us in either electronic or 
paper format.
    The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-Application) portion of the Grant Administration 
and Payment System (GAPS). Users of e-Application will be entering data 
on-line while completing their applications. You may not e-mail a soft 
copy of a grant application to us. If you participate in this voluntary 
pilot project by submitting an application electronically, the data you 
enter on-line will be saved into a database. We request your 
participation in e-Application. We shall continue to evaluate its 
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
    If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
    [sbull] Your participation is voluntary.
    [sbull] You will not receive any additional point value because you 
submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize 
you if you submit an application in paper format. When you enter the e-
Application system, you will find information about its hours of 
operation.
    [sbull] You may submit all documents electronically, including the 
Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
    [sbull] After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award 
number (an identifying number unique to your application).
    [sbull] Within three working days after submitting your electronic 
application, fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal 
Assistance (ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following 
these steps:
    (1) Print ED 424 from the e-Application system.
    (2) The institution's Authorizing Representative must sign this 
form.
    (3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the 
hard copy signature page of the ED 424.
    (4) Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at 
(202) 260-1349.
    [sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on all 
other forms at a later date.
    [sbull] Closing Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability: If 
you elect to participate in the e-Application pilot for the DRRP and 
you are prevented from submitting your application on the closing date 
because the e-Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an 
extension of one business day in order to transmit your application 
electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. For us to grant this 
extension--
    (1) You must be a registered user of e-Application, and have 
initiated an e-Application for this competition; and
    (2)(a) The e-Application system must be unavailable for 60 minutes 
or more between the hours of 8:30 and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the deadline date; or
    (b) The e-Application system must be unavailable for any period of 
time during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time 
between 3:30 and

[[Page 2407]]

4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the deadline date. The Department 
must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability before 
granting you an extension. To request this extension you must contact 
either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT or (2) the e-GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the DRRP at: 
http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    We have included additional information about the e-Application 
pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic 
Applications) in the application package.
    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 telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734.
    You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.
    Or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.133A-17.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3412, Switzer Building, 
Washington, DC 20202-2645. Telephone: (202) 205-5880 or via Internet: 
[email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), may call 
the TDD number at (202) 205-4475.
    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 under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may review 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: 
http://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.


    Program Authority:  29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b).

    Dated: January 13, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-1017 Filed 1-15-03; 8:45 am]
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