[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12898-12899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6377]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.128J]


Recreational Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards 
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

    Purpose of Program: To provide grants for recreational programs 
providing individuals with disabilities recreational activities and 
related experiences to aid in their employment, mobility, 
socialization, independence, and community integration.
    Eligible Applicants: States, public agencies, and nonprofit private 
organizations.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Funds under this competition will be used to 
support projects in FY 2003. The Assistant Secretary may consider 
funding approved applications submitted in FY 2003 in later years.
    Applications Available: March 17, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 1, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 1, 2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: $985,779.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $130,000-$140,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $130,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 8.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, and 86.

    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.

Priority

    This competition focuses on projects designed to meet the absolute 
priority and the statutory requirements in the notice of final priority 
for this program, published in the Federal Register on April 19, 2001 
(66 FR 20176). Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications 
that meet the priority.
    Projects must provide recreational services to individuals with 
disabilities. Recreational services include, but are not limited to, 
vocational skills development, leisure education, leisure networking, 
leisure resource development, physical education and sports, scouting 
and camping, 4-H activities, music, dancing, handicrafts, art, and 
homemaking. Recreational services do not include the construction of 
facilities for aquatic rehabilitation therapy.
    Projects must provide recreational services to individuals with 
disabilities in settings with peers who are not individuals with 
disabilities.

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 Recreational Program--CFDA No. 84.128J is one 
of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant 
under the Recreational 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 Education 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 Education 
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 
Recreational 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

[[Page 12899]]

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 
Recreational 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 via 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 84.128J.
    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: Mary E. Chambers, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3322, Switzer Building, 
Washington, DC 20202-2647. Telephone (202) 205-8435. 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 a copy of this document in 
an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or 
computer diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in 
the preceding paragraph.

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.
    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. 775.

    Dated: March 12, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-6377 Filed 3-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P