[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 163 (Friday, August 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50960-50962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21583]


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

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No: 84.047A]


Office of Postsecondary Education, Upward Bound Program 
Participant Expansion Initiative; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Supplemental Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this initiative is to help the 
Upward Bound Program achieve one of its key performance goals: 
increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income, first generation 
college students.
    Eligible Applicants: All currently funded Upward Bound projects 
successful in the FY 2003 grant competition. Veterans Upward Bound 
projects and Upward Bound Math-Science projects are not eligible to 
participate.
    Applications Available: August 21, 2003.

[[Page 50961]]

    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 8, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: Completed on February 11, 
2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: $18,000,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$100,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 180.

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

    Project Period: Up to 4 years.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 
86, 97, 98, and 99; and (b) the regulations for this program in 34 CFR 
part 645.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Eligible applicants that meet all the 
criteria for the absolute priority, except for having received 
supplemental funding under the FY 2000 participant expansion 
initiative, are invited to apply and will be funded, subject to the 
availability of funds, as described in the Notice of Final Priority.
    Applicants for supplemental awards must submit an application that 
contains:
    [sbull] A list, certified by the Upward Bound project director, of 
the target schools in which at least 50 percent of the students were 
eligible for the Free Lunch program during the 2001-02 or 2002-03 
school year;
    [sbull] The number of additional students, at least 10 (if 
requesting $50,000), at least 15 (if requesting $75,000), or at least 
20 (if requesting $100,000), that the project plans to serve;
    [sbull] Agreement to select participants from the identified 
eligible target schools that have one or more of the greatest need 
criteria described in the Notice of Final Priority;
    [sbull] A brief description of the activities that will be 
supported with the supplemental funding;
    [sbull] A budget summary; and
    [sbull] A budget narrative describing how the supplemental funds 
will be used.

Priority

Absolute Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary will give an absolute 
preference to applications that meet the following absolute priority.
    The Secretary will provide supplemental funds of up to $100,000 to 
regular Upward Bound Program projects that:
    1. Were selected for funding under the FY 2003 Upward Bound Program 
grant competition;
    2. Serve a target high school in which at least 50 percent of the 
students were eligible to receive free lunch under the National School 
Lunch Act during the 2001-2002 or 2002-2003 school year;
    3. Received supplemental funds in FY 2000 under the Notice of Final 
Priority dated July 24, 2000, 65 FR 45698-45699; and
    4. (a) Agree to select and serve at least 20 students who are 
eligible for Upward Bound services, attend a target high school in 
which at least 50 percent of the students were eligible to receive free 
lunch under the National School Lunch Act during the 2001-2002 or 2002-
2003 school year and have the greatest need for project services, if 
requesting $100,000.
    (b) Agree to select and serve at least 15 students who are eligible 
for Upward Bound services, attend a target high school in which at 
least 50 percent of the students were eligible to receive free lunch 
under the National School Lunch Act during the 2001-2002 or 2002-2003 
school year and have the greatest need for project services, if 
requesting $75,000.
    (c) Agree to select and serve at least 10 students who are eligible 
for Upward Bound services, attend a target high school in which at 
least 50 percent of the students were eligible to receive free lunch 
under the National School Lunch Act during the 2001-2002 or 2002-2003 
school year and have the greatest need for project services, if 
requesting $50,000.
    Students who have the greatest need for project services are those 
students who:
    a. Have not met the state academic achievement standard for grade 
eight in reading/language arts;
    b. Have not met the state academic achievement standard for grade 
eight in math; or
    c. Have a grade point average of 2.5 or less (on a 4.0 scale) for 
the most recent school year for which grade point averages are 
available.
    Veterans Upward Bound projects and Upward Bound Math-Science 
projects are not eligible to participate in this initiative.
    The Secretary will fund applications in the following order:
    1. Applications that meet the absolute priority.
    2. All other applications that meet criteria 1, 2, and 4 above.
    If funds are available after funding all applications that meet the 
absolute priority, the Secretary will select from among the remaining 
applicants based upon the highest scores received (including prior 
experience points) in the FY 2003 Upward Bound grant competition. If 
there are insufficient funds for all applications with the same score, 
the Secretary will select for funding those applicants with the lowest 
average cost per Upward Bound participant (Federal funds only) for the 
2001-2002 program year.

FOR APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Margarita 
Benitez, Sheryl Wilson, or Gaby Watts, U.S. Department of Education, 
1990 K Street, NW., Room 7020, Washington, DC 20006-8510. Telephone 
(202) 502-7600. The e-mail address for the Office of Federal TRIO 
Programs is: [email protected].
    The e-mail addresses for Dr. Benitez, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Watts are: 
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-888-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact persons listed in the preceding 
paragraph. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternative format the standard forms included in the application 
package.

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 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
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 the 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.
    You may also view this document in PDF at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/news.html.

    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: 20 U.S.C. 1070.


[[Page 50962]]


    Dated: August 18, 2003.
Sally Stroup,
Assistant Secretary Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 03-21583 Filed 8-19-03; 3:49 pm]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P