[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74224-74229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31567]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; 
Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications 
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215X.


DATES: 
    Applications Available: December 23, 2003.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 5, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 2, 2004.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)--including 
charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and 
regulations--working in partnership with one or more of the following 
entities:
    [sbull] Institutions of higher education (IHE).
    [sbull] Non-profit history or humanities organizations.
    [sbull] Libraries and museums.
    Estimated Available Funds: Although the Congress has not enacted a 
final appropriation for FY 2004, the Department is inviting 
applications for this competition now so that it may be prepared to 
make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations 
bill. Based on the congressional action to date, we estimate that 
$100,000,000 will be available for new awards under this competition. 
The actual level of funding depends on final congressional action.
    Estimated Range of Awards: Total funding for a three-year project 
period is $350,000-1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 
300,000

[[Page 74225]]

students; and $500,000-2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above 
300,000 students.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Total for all three years is 
$750,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 100-135.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: Teaching American History grants support 
projects to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, 
understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Grant 
awards assist local educational agencies (LEAs), in partnership with 
entities that have extensive content expertise, to develop, document, 
evaluate, and disseminate innovative, cohesive models of professional 
development. By helping teachers to develop a deeper understanding and 
appreciation of traditional American history as a separate subject 
matter within the core curriculum, these programs improve instruction 
and raise student achievement.
    Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and two 
invitational priorities that are explained in the following paragraphs. 
To be considered for funding, each applicant must address the absolute 
priority regarding Partnerships with Other Agencies or Institutions. 
These priorities are as follows.
    In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority is from 
section 2351(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 
as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107-110).
    Absolute Priority: For FY 2004, this priority is an absolute 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that 
meet this priority.
    This priority is:

Partnerships With Other Agencies or Institutions

    Each applicant must propose to work in collaboration with one or 
more of the following:
    [sbull] IHE.
    [sbull] Non-profit history or humanities organizations.
    [sbull] Libraries or museums.

    Note: Each applicant is encouraged to include in its application 
an assurance from appropriate officials of the agency or 
institution(s) with which it will work in partnership. This 
assurance may include information about how the partnering agency or 
institution(s) will help the applicant implement the proposed 
project.

    Under this competition we are particularly interested in 
applications that address the following priorities. Invitational 
Priorities: For FY 2004 these priorities are invitational priorities. 
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets 
these invitational priorities a competitive or absolute preference over 
other applications.
    These priorities are:

Invitational Priority 1--Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evaluation 
Designs

    The Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications 
that propose evaluation plans that are based on rigorous scientifically 
based research methods to assess the effectiveness of a particular 
intervention. The Secretary intends that this priority will allow 
program participants and the Department to determine whether the 
project produces meaningful effects on student achievement or teacher 
performance.
    Evaluation methods using an experimental design are best for 
determining project effectiveness. Thus, the project should use an 
experimental design under which participants--e.g., students, teachers, 
classrooms, or schools--are randomly assigned to participate in the 
project activities being evaluated or to a control group that does not 
participate in the project activities being evaluated.
    If random assignment is not feasible, the project may use a quasi-
experimental design with carefully matched comparison conditions. This 
alternative design attempts to approximate a randomly assigned control 
group by matching participants--e.g., students, teachers, classrooms, 
or schools--with non-participants having similar pre-program 
characteristics.
    In cases where random assignment is not possible and an extended 
series of observations of the outcome of interest precedes and follows 
the introduction of a new program or practice, regression discontinuity 
designs may be employed.
    For projects that are focused on special populations in which 
sufficient numbers of participants are not available to support random 
assignment or matched comparison group designs, single-subject designs 
such as multiple baseline or treatment-reversal or interrupted time 
series that are capable of demonstrating causal relationships can be 
employed.
    Proposed evaluation strategies that use neither experimental 
designs with random assignment nor quasi-experimental designs using a 
matched comparison group nor regression discontinuity designs will not 
be considered responsive to the priority when sufficient numbers of 
participants are available to support these designs. Evaluation 
strategies that involve too small a number of participants to support 
group designs must be capable of demonstrating the causal effects of an 
intervention or program on those participants.
    The proposed evaluation plan must describe how the project 
evaluator will collect--before the project intervention commences and 
after it ends--valid and reliable data that measure the impact of 
participation in the program or in the comparison group.
    In determining the quality of the evaluation method, we will 
consider the extent to which the applicant presents a feasible, 
credible plan that includes the following:
    (1) The type of design to be used (that is, random assignment or 
matched comparison). If it will be matched comparison, the applicant 
should include in the plan a discussion of why random assignment is not 
feasible.
    (2) Outcomes to be measured.
    (3) A discussion of how the applicant plans to assign students, 
teachers, classrooms, or schools to the project and control group or 
match them for comparison with other students, teachers, classrooms, or 
schools.
    (4) A proposed evaluator, preferably independent, with the 
necessary background and technical expertise to carry out the proposed 
evaluation. (An independent evaluator does not have any authority over 
the project and is not involved in its implementation.)

Invitational Priority 2--Traditional American History

    The Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications 
that propose projects that address traditional American history, 
meaning, for example, projects that teach the significant issues, 
episodes, and turning points in the history of the United States, and 
how the words and deeds of individual Americans have determined the 
course of our Nation. This history teaches how the principles of 
freedom and democracy, articulated in our founding documents, have 
shaped--and continue to shape--America's struggles and achievements, as 
well as its social, political, and legal institutions and relations. 
Applicants are invited to propose projects that enable students to gain 
an understanding of these principles and of the historical events and 
people that best illustrate them.

[[Page 74226]]

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6721 et seq., Part C, subpart 4, of 
Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 
reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: Although the Congress has not enacted a 
final appropriation for FY 2004, the Department is inviting 
applications for this competition now so that it may be prepared to 
make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations 
bill. Based on the congressional action to date, we estimate that 
$100,000,000 will be available for new awards under this competition. 
The actual level of funding depends on final congressional action.
    Estimated Range of Awards: Total funding for a three-year project 
period is $350,000-1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 
300,000 students; and $500,000-2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments 
above 300,000 students.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Total for all three years is 
$750,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 100-135.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)--
including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and 
regulations--working in partnership with one or more of the following 
entities:
    [sbull] Institutions of higher education (IHE).
    [sbull] Non-profit history or humanities organizations.
    [sbull] Libraries and museums.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. 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 84.215X.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting one of the program 
contact persons listed under For Further Information Contact elsewhere 
in this notice. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternative format the standard forms included in the application 
package.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
    Notice of Intent to Apply: The Department will be able to develop a 
more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a 
better understanding of the number of LEAs that intend to apply for 
funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly 
encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department with a 
short e-mail indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application 
for funding. The e-mail need not include information regarding the 
content of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to 
submit it. The Secretary requests that this e-mail notification be sent 
no later than February 5, 2004, to Christine Miller at: 
[email protected].
    Applicants that fail to provide this e-mail notification may still 
apply for funding. 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 the application narrative to the equivalent of no more than 25 
single-sided, double-spaced pages printed in 12 point font or larger. 
If the applicant is addressing the invitational priority for 
evaluation, the narrative must be limited to 30 single-sided, double-
spaced pages printed in 12 point font or larger. The page limit does 
not apply to the title page, the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 
424), the one-page abstract, the budget summary form (ED 524) and the 
narrative budget justification, any curriculum vitae, the bibliography 
of literature cited, or the assurances and certifications.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that--
    [sbull] Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
    [sbull] Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other 
standards.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: December 23, 2003.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 5, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 2, 2004.
    The dates and times for the transmittal of applications by mail or 
hand (including a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the 
application package for this competition. The application package also 
specifies the hours of operation of the e-Application Web site.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 
Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under 
Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this 
competition.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Instructions and requirements for 
the transmittal of applications by mail or by hand (including a courier 
service or commercial carrier) are in the application package for this 
competition.
    Application Procedures: The Government Paperwork Elimination Act 
(GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-277) and the Federal Financial Assistance 
Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to 
undertake initiatives to improve our grant processes. Enhancing the 
ability of individuals and entities to conduct business with us 
electronically is a major part of our response to these Acts. 
Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the Internet as our chief means 
of conducting transactions in order to improve services to our 
customers and to simplify and expedite our business processes.
    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

[[Page 74227]]

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.
    We are requiring that applications for grants under Teaching 
American History--CFDA Number 84.215X be submitted electronically using 
the Electronic Grant Application System (e-Application) available 
through the Department's e-GRANTS system. The e-GRANTS system is 
accessible through its portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov
    If you are unable to submit an application through the e-GRANTS 
system, you may submit a written request for a waiver of the electronic 
submission requirement. In your request, you should explain the reason 
or reasons that prevent you from using the Internet to submit your 
application. Address your request to: Christine Miller, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5C126, FB-6, Washington, 
DC 20202-6200. Please submit your request no later than two weeks 
before the application deadline date.
    If, within two weeks of the application deadline date, you are 
unable to submit an application electronically, you must submit a paper 
application by the application deadline date in accordance with the 
transmittal instructions in the application package. The paper 
application must include a written request for a waiver documenting the 
reasons that prevented you from using the Internet to submit your 
application.
    Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications: We are 
continuing to expand our pilot project for electronic submission of 
applications to include additional formula grant programs and 
additional discretionary grant competitions. Teaching American 
History--CFDA Number 84.215X is one of the programs included in the 
pilot project. If you are an applicant under Teaching American History, 
you must submit your application to us in electronic format or receive 
a waiver.
    The pilot project involves the use of e-Application. If you use e-
Application, you will be entering data online while completing your 
application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant 
application to us. The data you enter online will be saved into a 
database. We shall continue to evaluate the success of e-Application 
and solicit suggestions for its improvement.
    If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
    [sbull] When you enter the e-Application system, you will find 
information about its hours of operation. We strongly recommend that 
you do not wait until the application deadline date to initiate an e-
Application package.
    [sbull] You will not receive 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.
    [sbull] You must 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] Your e-Application must comply with any page limit 
requirements described in this notice.
    [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 
other forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from submitting your application 
on the application deadline 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. We will grant this extension if--
    1. You are a registered user of e-Application and you have 
initiated an e-Application for this competition; and
    2. (a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or 
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date; or
    (b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time 
during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time 
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the 
application deadline date.
    We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability 
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to 
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may 
contact either (1) one of the persons listed elsewhere in this notice 
under For Further Information Contact (see VII. Agency Contacts) or (2) 
the e-GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
    You may access the electronic grant application for Teaching 
American History at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

V. Application Review Information

    Selection Criteria: The following selection criteria for this 
program are in 34 CFR 75.210 and 20 U.S.C. 6721:
    1. Meeting the statutory requirements. (Total of 50 points)
    (a) Project quality (40 points). The Secretary considers the 
quality of the proposed project by considering how well the applicant 
describes a plan for development, implementation, and strengthening of 
programs to teach traditional American history as a separate academic 
subject (not as a component of social studies) within elementary school 
and secondary school curricula, including the implementation of 
activities--
    (i) To provide professional development and teacher education 
activities with respect to American history; and
    (ii) To improve the quality of instruction.

    Note. The Secretary encourages the applicant to include a 
discussion of the specific history content to be covered by the 
grant; the format in which the applicant will deliver the history 
content; and the quality of the staff and consultants responsible 
for delivering these content-based professional development 
activities. The applicant may also attach curriculum vitae for 
individuals who will provide the content training to the teachers.
    The Secretary also encourages applicants to provide a 
description of plans to demonstrate how teachers are using the 
knowledge acquired from project activities to improve the quality of 
instruction. This description may include plans for reviewing how 
teachers' lessons planning and classroom teaching are affected by 
their participation in project activities.

    (b) Partnership(s) (10 points). The Secretary considers how well 
the applicant describes a plan that meets the statutory requirement to 
carry out activities under the grant in partnership with one or more of 
the following:
    (i) An institution of higher education.
    (ii) A nonprofit history or humanities organization.

[[Page 74228]]

    (iii) A library or museum.

    Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to provide the 
rationale for selecting the partners and explain the specific 
activities that the partner(s) will contribute to the grant during 
each year of the project. The Secretary also encourages the 
applicant to include a memorandum of understanding or detailed 
letters of commitment from the partner(s) in an appendix to the 
application narrative.

    2. Significance (20 points). The Secretary considers the 
significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance 
of the proposed project, the Secretary considers--
    (a) The national significance of the proposed project; and
    (b) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement.

    Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to discuss the 
significance of the proposed project, including national 
significance. For example, the applicant could include information 
on: the extent to which teachers in the LEA are not certified in 
history or social studies; student achievement data in American 
history; and rates of student participation in courses such as 
Advanced Placement American History.

    3. Quality of the management plan (10 points). The Secretary 
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project. 
In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (a) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing 
project tasks.
    (b) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate 
to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
    4. Quality of the project evaluation (20 points). The Secretary 
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed 
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary 
considers the extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use 
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the 
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and 
qualitative data to the extent possible.

    Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to align evaluation 
plans with the project design explained under the Project Quality 
criterion.


    Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to include 
benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific project objectives 
and also outcome measures to assess the impact on teaching and 
learning or other important outcomes for project participants. The 
Secretary also encourages applicants to identify the individual and/
or organization that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the 
project and describe the qualifications of that evaluator. 
Applicants are encouraged to indicate (1) what types of data will be 
collected; (2) when various types of data will be collected; (3) 
what methods will be used to collect data; (4) what data collection 
instruments will be developed and when; (5) how the data will be 
analyzed; (6) when reports of results and outcomes will be 
available; and (7) how the applicant will use the information 
collected through the evaluation to monitor the progress of the 
funded project and to provide accountability information about both 
success at the initial site and effective strategies for replication 
in other settings. Applicants are encouraged to devote an 
appropriate level of resources to project evaluation.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a 
final performance report, including financial information, as directed 
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an 
annual performance report that provides the most current performance 
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 
34 CFR 75.118.
    4. Performance Measures: We have established one performance 
indicator for Teaching American History. The indicator is: Students in 
experimental and quasi-experimental studies of educational 
effectiveness of Teaching American History projects will demonstrate 
higher achievement on course content measures and/or statewide U.S. 
history assessments than students in control and comparison groups.
    We will track this indicator through the use of two measures. We 
will gather data for these measures through those grantees who are 
using experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs.
    Measure One: Percentage of students in studies of educational 
effectiveness who demonstrate higher achievement than those in control 
and comparison groups.
    Measure Two: Percentage of school districts that demonstrate higher 
educational achievement for students than those in control or 
comparison groups.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Miller, Alex Stein, Harry 
Kessler, or Claire Geddes, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., room 5C126, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 
260-8766 (Christine Miller); (202) 205-9085 (Alex Stein); (202) 708-
9943 (Harry Kessler); or (202) 260-8757 (Claire Geddes) or by e-mail: 
[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 one of the program contact persons listed in 
this section.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.



[[Page 74229]]


    Dated: December 18, 2003.
Nina S. Rees,
Deputy Under Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 03-31567 Filed 12-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P