[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39902-39905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16940]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.326C]


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services 
and Results for Children With Disabilities--Projects for Children and 
Young Adults Who Are Deaf-Blind (84.326C)

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 39903]]

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services invites applications for FY 2003 under the 
Special Education--Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve 
Services and Results for Children with Disabilities Program. This 
program is authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (IDEA), as amended. This notice provides closing dates, priorities, 
and other information regarding the transmittal of applications.
    Purpose of Program: This program provides technical assistance and 
information that (1) support States and local entities in building 
capacity to improve early intervention, educational, and transitional 
services and results for children with disabilities and their families; 
and (2) address goals and priorities for changing State systems that 
provide early intervention, educational, and transitional services for 
children with disabilities and their families.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies, local educational 
agencies, institutions of higher education, other public agencies, 
nonprofit private organizations, for-profit organizations, outlying 
areas, freely associated States, and Indian tribes or tribal 
organizations.
    Applications Available: July 7, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 6, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: October 6, 2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: $9.5 million.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $30,000--$575,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $179,000.
    Maximum Awards: The chart shown in the Project Award section of 
this notice lists the maximum amount of funds for individual States for 
FY 2003. The Secretary may make awards under the priority described in 
the Priorities section to support single or multi-State projects. A 
State may be served by only one supported project. In determining the 
maximum funding levels for each State the Secretary considered, among 
other things, the following factors:
    (1) The total number of children from birth through age 21 in the 
State;
    (2) Number of people in poverty in the State;
    (3) Previous funding levels; and
    (4) Maximum and minimum funding amounts.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 48.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.
    Page Limit: Part III of the application submitted under this 
notice, the application narrative, is where you, the applicant, address 
the selection criteria that reviewers use in evaluating your 
application. You must limit Part III to the equivalent of no more than 
70 pages, using the following standards:
    [sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'' (on one side only) with one-inch 
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, 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 references, 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: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

    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 will use selection criteria chosen from the general 
selection criteria in 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. The specific selection 
criteria to be used for this competition will be provided in the 
application package for this competition.

General Requirements

    (a) The projects funded under this competition must make positive 
efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with 
disabilities (see section 606 of IDEA).
    (b) Applicants and grant recipients under this competition must 
involve qualified individuals with disabilities or parents of 
individuals with disabilities in planning, implementing, and evaluating 
the projects (see section 661(f)(1)(A) of IDEA).
    (c) If a project maintains a Web site, it must include relevant 
information and documents in an accessible form on the Web site.

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet 
the following absolute priority:

Background

    IDEA includes provisions designed to ensure that each child with a 
disability is provided a high-quality individual program of services to 
meet his or her developmental and educational needs. For children who 
are deaf and blind to receive such services, intensive technical 
assistance must be afforded State and local educational agencies, 
parents, and professionals regarding appropriate educational 
placements, accommodations, environmental adaptations, support 
services, and other matters. In addition, given the severity of deaf-
blindness and the low-incidence nature of this population, many early 
intervention programs or local school districts lack personnel with the 
training or experience to serve children who are deaf-blind.

Priority

    This priority supports projects to build the capacity of State and 
local agencies, parents, and professionals to improve outcomes for 
children and young adults who are deaf-blind, and their families, by 
providing technical assistance, information, and training on early 
intervention, special education, related services, and transitional 
services. Projects must:
    (a) Identify and support specific activities to, at a minimum:
    (1) Enhance State capacity to improve services and results for 
children who are deaf-blind;
    (2) Facilitate the achievement of systemic-change goals by 
improving education opportunities for children who are deaf-blind;
    (3) Focus on implementation of research-based best practices;
    (4) Ensure that service providers have the necessary skills to 
address the unique needs of children who are deaf-blind; and
    (5) Address the needs of families of children who are deaf-blind.
    (b) Maintain needs assessment information to develop statewide 
priorities for technical assistance, information, and training across 
all age ranges by:
    (1) Collecting basic demographic information on children with deaf-
blindness;
    (2) Assessing the critical needs of these children; and

[[Page 39904]]

    (3) Assessing current needs of the State.
    (c) Develop and implement procedures to evaluate the impact of 
program activities on services and outcomes for children and young 
adults with deaf-blindness and their families by:
    (1) Evaluating the effectiveness of strategies in achieving program 
goals and objectives;
    (2) Including measures of change in outcomes for children; and
    (3) Consulting with the project's advisory committee regarding the 
development of the evaluation procedures.
    (d) Coordinate, and collaborate with State educational agencies, 
and other relevant agencies and organizations, including other projects 
serving children who are deaf-blind under IDEA. This includes specific 
collaboration activities with the National Clearinghouse on Deaf-
Blindness (DB-LINK) and the Technical Assistance Consortium with 
Children and Young Adults with Deaf-Blindness (NTAC).
    (e) Disseminate effective practices and relevant information to 
families, service providers, LEAs, and agencies.
    (f) Prior to developing any new product, whether paper or 
electronic, submit for approval a proposal describing the content and 
purpose of the product to the document review board of OSEP's 
Dissemination Center, which OSEP plans to fund this year.
    (g) Provide OSEP-specified technical assistance to States. This 
effort may include: (1) Participation in collaborative Web-based 
technical assistance activities, or (2) coordination of and 
participation in State-to-State communities of practice.
    (h) Establish and maintain an advisory committee to assist in 
promoting project activities. Each committee must include at least one 
adult with deaf-blindness and one student with deaf-blindness, a parent 
of a child with deaf-blindness, a representative of each State 
educational agency and each State lead agency under Part C of IDEA in 
the State (or States) served by the project, and a limited number of 
professionals with training and experience in serving children with 
deaf-blindness.
    (i) Budget for a three-day Project Directors' meeting in 
Washington, DC during each year of the project.
    In making awards under this priority, the Secretary shall consider 
the proposed availability of services for children with deaf-blindness 
in all areas of the country. Funds awarded under this priority may not 
be used for direct early intervention, special education, or related 
services provided under Parts B and C of IDEA.
    During year two, each project must conduct a comprehensive self-
evaluation. The self-evaluation must include a review of the degree to 
which the project is meeting the proposed objectives and goals and an 
evaluation of the outcome data. Costs associated with this on site 
evaluation are estimated to be $6,500 and should be included in the 
project's second year budget. In addition, the Department of Education 
intends to conduct a limited number of on-site evaluations based on a 
stratified randomized sample of sites.

Project Awards

    The following award amounts are for a single budget period of 12 
months:

                2003 Funding Levels for CFDA No. 84.326C
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Funding
                           State                                Level
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AK.........................................................     $106,971
AL.........................................................      185,095
AR.........................................................      118,534
AZ.........................................................      175,338
CA.........................................................      575,000
CO.........................................................      154,079
CT.........................................................      104,751
MA.........................................................      126,661
ME.........................................................       65,000
NH.........................................................       65,807
DE.........................................................       83,362
FL.........................................................      362,027
GA.........................................................      305,978
HI.........................................................       77,491
IA.........................................................       97,054
ID.........................................................       85,303
IL.........................................................      335,444
IN.........................................................      210,093
KS.........................................................      128,122
KY.........................................................      165,145
LA.........................................................      145,840
MD.........................................................      164,366
MI.........................................................      256,289
MN.........................................................      171,335
MO.........................................................      197,129
MS.........................................................      133,605
MT.........................................................      106,123
NC.........................................................      313,649
ND.........................................................       65,000
NE.........................................................       78,471
NJ.........................................................      268,086
NM.........................................................      100,912
NY.........................................................      575,000
NV.........................................................      112,563
OH.........................................................      259,320
WI.........................................................      173,484
OK.........................................................      131,374
OR.........................................................      121,286
PA.........................................................      371,952
PR.........................................................       65,000
RI.........................................................       79,368
SC.........................................................      154,204
SD.........................................................      101,746
TN.........................................................      238,451
TX.........................................................      575,000
UT.........................................................       92,039
VA.........................................................      234,082
VT.........................................................      114,301
WA.........................................................      195,750
WV.........................................................      125,020
WY.........................................................       65,000
DC.........................................................       65,000
Pacific **.................................................       92,000
VI.........................................................      30,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Entities include outlying areas and the Freely Associated States
  (FAS).

    We will reject an application for a State project that proposes a 
budget exceeding the funding level for any single budget period of 12 
months. In the event an applicant proposes a Multi-State project, the 
budget may not exceed the sum for individual participating States.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    It is generally our practice to offer interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. However, section 
661(e)(2) of IDEA makes the public comment requirements in the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) inapplicable to the 
priority in this notice.

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. Special Education--Technical 
Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for 
Children with Disabilities Program ``--CFDA 84.326C is one of 
the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant 
under the Special Education--Technical Assistance and Dissemination to 
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities

[[Page 39905]]

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). 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 three 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 e-Application.
    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 Special 
Education-Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services 
and Results for Children with Disabilities 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 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 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 Special 
Education--Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services 
and Results for Children with Disabilities 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), 
P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, Maryland 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 84.326C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  The Grants and Contracts Services 
Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 
3317, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: 1-202-
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.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document or a copy of 
the application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large 
print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the Grants and 
Contracts Services Team listed in this section. However, the Department 
is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the standard forms 
included in the application package.

Intergovernmental Review

    The program in this notice is subject to the requirements of 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the 
objectives of the Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental 
partnership and a strengthened federalism. The Executive order relies 
on processes developed by State and local governments for coordination 
and review of proposed Federal financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

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/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1485.

    Dated: June 30, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-16940 Filed 7-2-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P