[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 108 (Friday, June 4, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31595-31599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12713]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview 
Information; Research and Innovation To Improve Services and Results 
for Children With Disabilities--Research and Innovation: Notice 
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.324C.

    Dates:
    Applications Available: June 7, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 9, 2004.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local 
educational agencies (LEAs); institutions of higher education (IHEs); 
other public agencies; nonprofit private organizations; outlying areas; 
freely associated States; and Indian tribes or tribal organizations.
    Estimated Available Funds: $7,800,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Innovation research and model 
development: $180,000; Replication and scale-up: $360,000.
    Maximum Award: Innovation research and model development: $180,000; 
Replication and scale-up: $360,000. We will reject any application that 
proposes a budget exceeding the maximum award for a single budget 
period of 12 months. The Assistant

[[Page 31596]]

Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services may change the maximum amount through a notice published in 
the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Information is provided elsewhere in 
this notice in Section II Award Information,
    Estimated Number of Awards.
    Project Period: Up to 60 months. Typical awards will be for 36 
months. Projects requesting funding beyond 36 months must provide 
compelling evidence for up to a maximum of 60 months of funding.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: To produce, and advance the use of, knowledge 
to improve the results of education and early intervention for infants, 
toddlers, and children, with disabilities.
    Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority 
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections 
661(e)(2) and 672 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(IDEA)).
    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:

Research and Innovation To Improve Services and Results for Children 
With Disabilities--Research and Innovation

    Background: This priority supports research to improve results for 
infants, toddlers, children, or youth with disabilities through early 
intervention, educational, transitional, post secondary, or related 
services. Proposals for three types of research will be accepted for 
this competition: (1) Innovation Research, (2) Model Development, and 
(3) Replication and Scale-up. Innovation Research projects assess the 
effectiveness of innovative practices including interventions, 
strategies, and policies. Model Development projects develop, 
implement, and evaluate models (including models for professional 
development). Projects supported as models must gather evidence of 
efficacy or usefulness of models for service providers. A successful 
Model Development project would be one that develops guidelines, 
procedures, or materials needed for implementation of the model and 
provides evidence that the model has the potential to improve the 
results. One goal of Model Development projects is to determine if the 
model is effective when implemented at a distance from the developers 
of the program and with no more support from the developers of the 
program than would be available under typical conditions. To do this, 
applicants should propose studies to determine the degree to which 
these models are effective when implemented by typical service 
providers in typical settings.
    Replication and Scale-up projects assess the effectiveness of a 
proven model or practice when systematically replicated across a 
variety of settings by typical service providers. Applicants should 
provide a strong rationale, including empirical evidence, to support 
the efficacy of the model or practice.
    An applicant must address only one of these types of research in 
its application.
    Priority: Applicants must--
    (a) Target intended beneficiaries of Part B and Part C of IDEA.
    (b) Provide a strong rationale for the practical importance of the 
practice or model. The critical question is whether the focus of the 
research is likely to produce meaningful effects.
    (c) Provide a detailed research design and describe how potential 
threats to internal and external validity will be addressed.
    (d) Provide detailed descriptions of data analysis procedures.
    (e) Provide documentation of the resources required to implement 
the program and a cost analysis.
    (f) If applicable to the study, design research to account for 
sources of variation in outcomes across settings (i.e., to account for 
what might otherwise be part of the error variance). Applicants should 
provide a theoretical rationale to justify the inclusion (or exclusion) 
of factors/variables in the design of the research that have been found 
to affect the success of a practice or model (e.g., teacher experience, 
fidelity of implementation, characteristics of the student population). 
The research should demonstrate the conditions and critical variables 
that affect the success of a given practice or model.
    (g) Specify how procedures, findings and conclusions will be 
prepared in a manner that advances the knowledge base and, if 
appropriate, professional practice. Publication through a peer review 
process is one expected method of dissemination.
    (h) Define, as completely as possible, the sample to be selected 
and sampling procedures to be employed for the proposed study.
    (i) Show how the long-term participation of those sampled would be 
assured.
    (j) Supply information on the reliability, validity, and 
appropriateness of proposed measures, or if the reliability and 
validity of the measurement, assessment, or observational procedures 
are initially unknown, the applicant must include specific plans for 
establishing these measurement properties.
    (k) Include standardized measures of learning and achievement when 
measuring student achievement.
    (l) Specify how the implementation of the practice or model will be 
documented and measured. Either indicate how the practice or model will 
be maintained consistently across multiple environments (e.g., 
classrooms or schools) over time or describe the parameters under which 
variations may be described.
    (m) For quantitative data, cite specific statistical procedures. 
For qualitative data, delineate the specific methods used to index, 
summarize, and interpret data.
    (n) If proposing to evaluate the effectiveness of a practice or 
model that is already widely used (i.e., has already been scaled-up), 
provide a strong justification for evaluating the practice or model 
based on the implications for education that would result from 
conducting a rigorous evaluation of the practice or model. This 
justification must include documentation of the widespread use of the 
practice or model.
    (o) If proposing to study the scale-up of a practice or model that 
has not yet been implemented widely, provide evidence of the efficacy 
of the practice or model as implemented on a small scale. That evidence 
should be based on the results of randomized field trials, or well-
designed quasi-experimental evaluations.
    (p) If posing a causal question, employ a randomized assignment to 
treatment and comparison conditions, unless a strong justification is 
made for why a randomized trial is not possible. In this case, employ 
alternatives that substantially minimize selection bias or allow it to 
be modeled. Such alternatives include appropriately structured 
regression-discontinuity designs and natural experiments in which 
naturally occurring circumstances or institutions (perhaps 
unintentionally) divide people into treatment and comparison groups in 
a manner akin to purposeful random assignment. Applicants proposing to 
use other than a randomized design must, first, make a compelling case 
that randomization is not possible and,

[[Page 31597]]

second, describe in detail the procedures to be used that will result 
in substantially minimizing the effects of selection bias on estimates 
of effect size. Choice of randomizing unit or units (e.g., students, 
classrooms, schools) must be grounded in a theoretical framework. 
Observational, survey, or qualitative methodologies are encouraged as a 
complement to experimental methodologies to assist in the 
identification of factors that may explain the effectiveness or 
ineffectiveness of the practice. Proposals should provide research 
designs that permit the identification and assessment of factors 
impacting the fidelity of implementation. Mediating and moderating 
variables that are measured in the practice or model condition that are 
also likely to affect outcomes in the comparison condition should be 
measured in the comparison condition (e.g., student time-on-task, 
teacher experience and time in position).
    (q) Budget for a two-day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, 
DC during each year of the project.
    (r) If the applicant plans to use a Web site during the funded 
period, relevant information and documents must conform to Department 
accessibility guidelines.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed priorities. However, section 661(e)(2) of IDEA 
makes the public comment requirements inapplicable to the priorities in 
this notice.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1461, 1472.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $7,800,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Innovation research and model 
development: $180,000; Replication and scale-up: $360,000.
    Maximum Award: Innovation research and model development: $180,000; 
Replication and scale-up: $360,000. We will reject any application that 
proposes a budget exceeding the maximum award for a single budget 
period of 12 months. The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special 
Education and Rehabilitative Services may change the maximum amount 
through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 38. Contingent upon the availability of 
funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious 
applications, we intend to fund at least 38 awards in the areas of 
innovation research, model development, and replication and scale-up. 
Given a sufficient number of approved high quality applications, we 
intend to fund at least two Model Development projects that would 
develop effective models for ensuring the full and effective 
participation of parents in systemic efforts to improve outcomes for 
children with disabilities under IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act 
of 2001 (NCLB). These models, in addition to the previous requirements, 
must: (1) Prepare parents to assume collaborative leadership roles as 
members of local and State education policy forums such as NCLB school 
improvement teams, local and State level advisory groups, special 
education advisory councils, and other coalitions designed to improve 
educational results; (2) include opportunities for parents to learn and 
apply collaborative leadership skills in real settings; and (3) include 
parent membership organizations and other organizations in the 
development, implementation, and evaluation of the models.
    In addition, given a sufficient number of approved high quality 
applications, we intend to fund at least four Model Development 
projects for supporting students with disabilities in two postsecondary 
education settings, such as two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and 
universities. Within these models, supports and services for students 
with disabilities must be integrated, to the greatest extent possible, 
with the postsecondary institutions' supports and services for all 
students. At least two of these four models must include supporting 
students with intellectual disabilities (i.e., mental retardation and 
related disabilities) and may be designed for students who did not 
graduate from high school with a regular diploma or students who are 
still IDEA-eligible (such as those in dual enrollment programs).


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


    Project Period: Up to 60 months. Typical awards will be for 36 
months. Projects requesting funding beyond 36 months must provide 
compelling evidence for up to a maximum of 60 months of funding.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs; IHEs; other public agencies; 
nonprofit private organizations; outlying areas; freely associated 
States; and Indian tribes or tribal organizations.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.
    3. Other: General Requirements--(a) The projects funded under this 
notice must make positive efforts to employ and advance in employment 
qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of IDEA).
    (b) Applicants and grant recipients funded under this notice must 
involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals with 
disabilities in planning, implementing, and evaluating the projects 
(see section 661(f)(1)(A) of IDEA).

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 84.324C.
    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 listed under For Further Information Contact in section 
VII of this notice.
    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 competition. 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 Part III to the equivalent 
of no more than 50 pages, using the following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the

[[Page 31598]]

application narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, 
quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, 
tables, figures, and graphs.
     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, the references, or the letters of support. 
However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III.
    We will reject your application if--
     You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
     You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: June 7, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 9, 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 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.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    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:

    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.

Government-Wide Grants.gov Project for Electronic Submission of 
Applications

    We have been accepting applications electronically through the 
Department's e-Application system since FY 2000. In order to expand on 
those efforts and comply with the President's Management Agenda, we are 
participating as a partner in the new government-wide Grants.gov Apply 
site in FY 2004. The Special Education--Research and Innovation to 
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities--Research 
and Innovation competition--CFDA Number 84.324C is one of the 
competitions included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant 
under the Research and Innovation to Improve Services and Results for 
Children with Disabilities--Research and Innovation competition--CFDA 
Number 84.324C, you may submit your application to us in either 
electronic or paper format.
    The project involves the use of the Grants.gov Apply site 
(Grants.gov). If you use Grants.gov, you will be able to download a 
copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload 
and submit the application via the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail 
an electronic copy of a grant application to us. We request your 
participation in Grants.gov.
    If you participate in Grants.gov, please note the following:
     Your participation is voluntary.
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation. We strongly recommend that you 
do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the 
application process through Grants.gov.
     To use Grants.gov, you, as the applicant, must have a DUNS 
Number and register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). You 
should allow a minimum of five days to complete the CCR registration.
     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 all 
information typically included on the Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 
524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
     Your application must comply with any page limit 
requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a 
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your 
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation, which 
will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number) 
unique to your application.
     We may request that you give us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
     If you experience technical difficulties on the 
application deadline date and are unable to meet the 4:30 p.m. 
(Washington, DC time) deadline, print out your application and follow 
the instructions included in the application package for the 
transmittal of paper applications.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Research 
and Innovation to Improve Services and Results for Children with 
Disabilities--Research and Innovation competition--CFDA Number 84.324C 
at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.


    Note: Please note that you must search for the downloadable 
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not 
include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search.

V. Application Review Information

    Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are 
listed in 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. The specific selection criteria to be 
used for this competition 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

[[Page 31599]]

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: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the Department is currently developing indicators 
and measures that will yield information on various aspects of the 
quality of the Research and Innovation to Improve Services and Results 
for Children with Disabilities program. Included in these indicators 
and measures will be those that assess the quality and relevance of 
newly funded research projects. Two indicators will address the quality 
of new projects. First, an external panel of eminent senior scientists 
will review the quality of a randomly selected sample of newly funded 
research applications, and the percentage of new projects that are 
deemed to be of high quality will be determined. Second, because much 
of the Department's work focuses on questions of effectiveness, newly 
funded applications will be evaluated to identify those that address 
causal questions and then to determine what percentage of those 
projects use randomized field trials to answer the causal questions. To 
evaluate the relevance of newly funded research projects, a panel of 
experienced education practitioners and administrators will review 
descriptions of a randomly selected sample of newly funded projects and 
rate the degree to which the projects are relevant to practice.
    Other indicators and measures are still under development in areas 
such as the quality of project products and long-term impact. Data on 
these measures will be collected from the projects funded under this 
notice. Grantees will also be required to report information on their 
projects' performance in annual reports to the Department (EDGAR, 34 
CFR 75.590).

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Tom V. Hanley, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4066, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 205-8110.
    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 by contacting the following office: the Grants and 
Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. 
Telephone: (202) 205-8207.

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.


    Dated: June 1, 2004.
Troy R. Justesen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 04-12713 Filed 6-3-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P