[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8971-8973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4550]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.263A]


Experimental and Innovative Training; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

    Purpose of Program: The Experimental and Innovative Training 
program provides financial assistance for projects designed--
    (1) To develop new types of training programs for rehabilitation 
personnel and demonstrate the effectiveness of these new types of 
training programs for rehabilitation personnel in providing 
rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities; and
    (2) To develop new and improved methods of training rehabilitation 
personnel so that there may be a more effective delivery of 
rehabilitation services by State and other rehabilitation agencies.
    Eligible Applicants: States and public or nonprofit agencies and 
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher 
education, are eligible for assistance under this program.
    Applications Available: February 27, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 15, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 14, 2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$42,629,000 for the Rehabilitation Training program for FY 2003, of 
which an estimated $400,000 would be allocated for this competition. 
The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional 
action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to 
complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this 
program.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $75,000 to $100,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 4.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Page Limit: Part III of the application, the application narrative, 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that 
reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to 
the equivalent of no more than 50 pages, using the following standards:
    [sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
    [sbull] Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
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.
    [sbull] Use a font that is either 12-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, or the letters of support. However, you must 
include all of the application narrative in Part III.
    We will reject your application if--
    [sbull] You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
    [sbull] You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, 86, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR 
parts 385 and 387.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized Indian tribes.


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

    Selection Criteria: In evaluating an application for a new grant 
under this competition, we use the selection criteria in 34 CFR 385.31 
and 387.30. The selection criteria to be used for this competition will 
be provided in the application package for this competition.

[[Page 8972]]

    Priority: This competition focuses on projects 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 the priority.

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 FY 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 Experimental and Innovative Training program, 
CFDA No. 84.263A, is one of the programs included in the pilot project. 
If you are an applicant under the Experimental and Innovative Training 
program, 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 3 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 late.
    [sbull] Closing Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability: If 
you elect to participate in the e-Application pilot for the 
Experimental and Innovative Training program 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 1 
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 a.m. 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 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 
Experimental and Innovative Training program 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), 
PO 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 84.263A.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package 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) 205-8207. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternative format the standard forms included in the application 
package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward R. Smith, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., (room 3318, Switzer Building), 
Washington, DC 20202-2649. Telephone: (202) 205-0136 or via Internet: 
[email protected].
    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 to the program contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.

[[Page 8973]]

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    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
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    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 772.

    Dated: February 20, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-4550 Filed 2-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U