[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12899-12901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6378]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.264A]


Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs (RCEP); Notice 
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

    Purpose of Program: To support training centers that serve either a 
Federal region or another geographical area and provide for a broad, 
integrated sequence of training activities that focus on meeting 
recurrent and common training needs of employed rehabilitation 
personnel throughout a multi-State geographical area.
    Eligible Applicants: States and public or nonprofit agencies and 
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher 
education. Applications under this notice are invited for the provision 
of training for Department of Education Regions II, III, VI, VII, VIII, 
IX, and X only.
    Applications Available: March 17, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 16, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 15, 2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: $3,194,025.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $325,000-$578,490.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $375,000.
    Maximum Awards by Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) 
Region: We will reject any application that proposes a budget exceeding 
the following stated maximum award amount for a single budget period of 
12 months.

Maximum Level of Awards by RSA Region:

    Region II-$483,700.
    Region III-$578,490.
    Region VI-$555,830.
    Region VII-$383,350.
    Region VIII-$350,473.
    Region IX-$471,350.
    Region X-$370,832.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 7. We expect to make one award per 
eligible region.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
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 45 pages, using the following standards:
    (1) A page is 8.5'' by 11'', on one side only, with 1'' margins at 
the top, bottom, and both sides.
    (2) 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.
    (3) 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, and 86. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR 
parts 385 and 389.

    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

[[Page 12900]]

competition, we use the selection criteria in 34 CFR 385.31 and 389.30. 
The selection criteria to be used for this competition will be provided 
in the application package for this competition.
    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 Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs, 
CFDA No. 84.264A, is one of the programs included in the pilot project. 
If you are an applicant under the Rehabilitation Continuing Education 
Programs, 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 
Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs 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 
Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs 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 84.264A.
    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: Christine Marschall, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3325 Switzer Building, 
Washington, DC 20202-2649. Telephone: (202) 205-8926 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.
    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

[[Page 12901]]

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. 772.

    Dated: March 12, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-6378 Filed 3-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P