[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10113-10115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4720]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Overview 
Information, Migrant Education Program (MEP) Consortium Incentive 
Grants Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2004

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.144.

DATES: Applications Available: March 3, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 28, 2004.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs) receiving 
MEP Basic State Formula grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,500,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $45,997-$91,995.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $64,102.
    Maximum Award: By statute, the maximum amount that we may award 
under this program is $250,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 39.

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

    Project Period: Up to 24 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the MEP Consortium Incentive 
Grants program is to provide incentive grants to State educational 
agencies (SEAs) that participate in high-quality consortia with another 
SEA or other appropriate entity to improve the delivery of services to 
migrant children whose education is interrupted. Through this program, 
the Department provides financial incentives to SEAs to participate in 
high-quality consortia that improve the intrastate and interstate 
coordination of migrant education programs by addressing key needs of 
migratory children who have their education interrupted.
    Priorities: The priorities for this competition are from the notice 
of final requirements for this program, published elsewhere in this 
issue of the Federal Register.
    Absolute Priorities: For FY 2004, these priorities are absolute 
priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications 
that meet one or more of these priorities.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6398(d).
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75 (except 75.232), 76, 77, 79, 80 
(except 80.40(b)), 82, 85 and 99; and (b) the notice of final 
requirements published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Formula grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,500,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $45,997-$91,995.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $64,102.
    Maximum Award: By statute, the maximum amount that we may award 
under this program is $250,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 39.

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

    Project Period: Up to 24 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs) receiving 
MEP Basic State Formula grants.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching but does involve supplement-not-supplant funding 
provisions. The notice of final requirements published elsewhere in 
this issue of the Federal Register makes applicable the supplement-not-
supplant

[[Page 10114]]

provision of sections 1120A(b) and 1304(c)(2) of the ESEA.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package:
    Elsa Chagolla, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, 
SW., room 3E257, FOB-6, Washington, DC 20202-6135. Telephone: (202) 
260-2823, or by email: [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) by contacting the program contact person listed in this 
section.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms an 
applicant must submit, are in the application package for this program.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part IV of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, describe the proposed consortium, 
including how the consortium meets the application requirements and one 
or more of the absolute priorities, and address the selection criteria 
that reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit Part IV 
to the equivalent of no more than 30 double-spaced pages, using the 
following standards:
    [sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1'' 
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, references, and captions, as well as all text in 
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
    [sbull] Use a consistent font that is either 12-point or larger or 
no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
    [sbull] For charts, tables, and graphs, also use a font that is 
either 12-point or larger or no smaller than 10 pitch.
    The page limit applies only to Part IV of the application. It does 
not apply to Parts I to III or Parts V to VII, or to any appendices, 
resumes, bibliography, or letters of support. However, an applicant 
must include all of the application narrative in Part IV.
    Department reviewers will not read any pages of the Part IV 
narrative 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 Date and Times: Applications Available: March 3, 
2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 28,2004.
    The dates and times for the transmittal of applications by mail or 
by hand (including a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the 
application package for this program.
    The Department does not consider an application that does not 
comply with the deadline requirements. Deadline for Intergovernmental 
Review: May 3, 2004.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program 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 program.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations sections in 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 
program.

V. Application Review Information

    Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are in 
the application package.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If a consortium application is successful, the 
Department will send the applicant a Grant Award Notice (GAN). The 
Department will also notify Congress regarding these grant awards. The 
Department may also notify successful applicants informally.
    If an application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, the 
Department will notify the applicant(s).
    1. 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.
    2. Reporting: Grant recipients under this program must submit the 
annual and final performance and financial reports specified in the 
notice of final requirements for this grant program published elsewhere 
in this issue of the Federal Register.
    3. Performance Measures: Currently, the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA) indicators established by the Department for the 
Migrant Education Program, of which the Consortium Incentive Grants are 
a component, are that an increasing number of states will show:
    (1) increasing percentages of migrant students at the elementary 
school level who meet or exceed the proficient level on state 
assessments in reading.
    (2) increasing percentages of migrant students at the middle school 
level who meet or exceed the proficient level on state assessments in 
reading.
    (3) increasing percentages of migrant students at the elementary 
school level who meet or exceed the proficient level on state 
assessments in mathematics.
    (4) increasing percentages of migrant students at the middle school 
level who meet or exceed the proficient level on state assessments in 
mathematics.
    (5) decreasing percentages of migrant students who dropout from 
secondary school (grades 7-12).
    (6) increasing percentages of migrant students who graduate from 
high school.
    The Department will be collecting data from States on these 
performance measures.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elsa Chagolla, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E257, FOB-6, Washington, DC 
20202-6135. Telephone: (202) 260-2823, 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 the program contact person 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-

[[Page 10115]]

888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
    You may also view this document in text at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/ome/index.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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: February 26, 2004.
Raymond Simon,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 04-4720 Filed 3-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P