[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 49 (Friday, March 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11847-11849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5669]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview 
Information; Demonstration and Training Programs--Braille Training 
Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2004

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.235E
    Dates: Applications Available: March 12, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 26, 2004.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 25, 2004.
    Eligible Applicants: State agencies and other public or nonprofit 
agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher education.
    Estimated Available Funds: $200,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $75,000-$100,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000 per 12-month period.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 2.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: This program offers financial assistance to 
establish projects that will provide training in the use of braille for 
personnel providing vocational rehabilitation services or educational 
services to youth and adults who are blind.
    Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority 
is from section 303(d)(2) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 
(Act), 29 U.S.C. 773(d)(2).

[[Page 11848]]

    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:
    Grants must be used for the establishment or continuation of 
projects that may provide (1) development of braille training 
materials; (2) in-service or pre-service training in the use of 
braille, the importance of braille literacy, and methods of teaching 
Braille to youth and adults who are blind; and (3) activities to 
promote knowledge and use of braille and nonvisual access technology 
for blind youth and adults through a program of training, 
demonstration, and evaluation conducted with leadership of experienced 
blind individuals, including the use of comprehensive, state-of-the-art 
technology.
    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 773(d).
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 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.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $200,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $75,000-$100,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000 per each 12-month 
period.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 2.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: State agencies and other public or 
nonprofit agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher 
education.
    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: 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 84.235E.
    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 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.
    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.
    3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: March 12, 
2004. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 26, 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 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: June 25, 
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: Indirect cost reimbursement for grants 
under this program is limited to the recipient's actual indirect costs, 
as determined by its negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, or 10 
percent of the total direct cost base, whichever amount is less (34 CFR 
373.22(a)). We reference additional 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 
program.
    Application Procedures:

    Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for 
transmitting applications differ from those in 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

    We are continuing to expand our pilot project for electronic 
submission of applications to include additional formula grant programs 
and additional discretionary grant competitions. Demonstration and 
Training Programs--Braille Training Program--CFDA Number 84.235E is one 
of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant 
under the Demonstration and Training Programs-- Braille Training 
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). 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. If you 
participate in this voluntary pilot project by submitting an 
application electronically, the data you enter online will be saved 
into a database. We request your participation in e-Application. We 
shall continue to evaluate its success and solicit suggestions for its 
improvement.
    If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
     Your participation is voluntary.
     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.
     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.
     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.
     Your e-Application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your 
application, you will receive an

[[Page 11849]]

automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an 
identifying number unique to your application).
     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.
     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 elect to participate in the e-Application pilot 
for Demonstration and Training Programs--Braille Training Program and 
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) 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 Demonstration 
and Training Programs--Braille Training Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

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 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 74.51 and in 34 CFR 75.118.
    4. Performance Measures: All grantees will submit an annual 
performance report documenting their evaluation findings, as required 
by section 303(d)(2)(C) of the Act. This report must describe whether 
they were successful in increasing the knowledge and use of braille for 
program participants. For example, reports could include the number of 
participants who successfully completed a college-level or advanced-
level Braille course, achieved demonstrated competence in reading and 
writing Braille (i.e., certificate of completion of a program of self-
study or training module that will lead to successful completion of the 
National Literary Braille Competency Test offered by the Library of 
Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically 
Handicapped), successfully completed in-service training activities 
leading to achievement of agency or State qualifications or standards 
of competency in Braille reading, writing, and technology for 
rehabilitation or education professionals, or demonstrated increased 
knowledge of Braille through pre- and post-measures or other 
appropriate measures.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theresa DeVaughn or Alfreda Reeves, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3316, 
Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2650. Telephone: for Theresa 
DeVaughn (202) 205-5392; for Alfreda Reeves (202) 205-9361.
    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 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: 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 www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: March 8, 2004.
Troy R. Justesen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 04-5669 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P