[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 10, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48464-48468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18306]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview 
Information, Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services 
and Results for Children With Disabilities--Improving Achievement of 
Children With Disabilities Under the No Child Left Behind Act; Notice 
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.326A.

DATES: Applications Available:
    August 10, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 9, 2004.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 14, 2004.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs), local 
educational agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher education (IHEs), 
other public agencies, nonprofit private organizations, for-profit 
organizations, outlying areas, freely associated States, and Indian 
tribes or tribal organizations.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,000,000.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $2,000,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. 
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services may change the maximum amount through a notice published in 
the Federal Register.
    Number of Awards: 1.

    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 provides technical assistance and 
information that (1) Support States and local entities in building 
capacity to improve early intervention, educational, and transitional 
services and results for children with disabilities and their families; 
and (2) address goals and priorities for improving State systems that 
provide early intervention, educational, and transitional services for 
children with disabilities and their families.
    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 685 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 
as amended (IDEA)).
    Absolute Priority: For FY 2004, this priority is an absolute 
priority. Under 34

[[Page 48465]]

CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet this 
priority.
    This priority is:
    Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and 
Results for Children with Disabilities--Improving Achievement of 
Children With Disabilities under the No Child Left Behind Act.
    Background: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) ensures 
greater accountability for all students, including students with 
disabilities. Initial reports from States and school districts indicate 
that some schools may be struggling to achieve adequate yearly progress 
(AYP) based on the performance of students with disabilities on State 
assessments. This inadequate performance may be due to a variety of 
factors. In some cases, it may be because schools and classrooms are 
not organized to promote optimal learning, or curricula and instruction 
are not designed to include research-based interventions that support 
the academic achievement of students with disabilities. In other cases, 
appropriate classroom and assessment accommodations, including 
assistive technologies, are not being used. And, in other cases, 
appropriate assessment participation decisions are not being made for 
students with disabilities. Furthermore, for students with the most 
significant disabilities, their instructional program may not be 
aligned with the grade level standards that exist for typically 
developing children. For all of these reasons, the Office of Special 
Education Programs (OSEP) is proposing to fund the establishment of a 
technical assistance center to support States and ultimately school 
districts and school personnel to ensure that all students with 
disabilities progress toward proficiency.
    Priority: This priority will support a National Center (Center) To 
Improve Achievement of Children With Disabilities Under No Child Left 
Behind Act (NCLB). The primary target for this technical assistance 
will be State educational agencies (SEAs).
    The Center must--
    (a) Establish and provide ongoing support to a community of 
practice for improved achievement of children with disabilities under 
NCLB. The membership of this community of practice must be determined 
with input from the Department of Education, and must include 
researchers and technical assistance providers, parents, state and 
local policy makers, and distinguished teachers and principals. The 
Center will support the ongoing communication of this community of 
practice through e-mail, teleconferences, web-based discussions, and 
face-to-face meetings. The community of practice will serve as an 
advisory group to the Center.
    (b) Identify and synthesize information on effective methods/
strategies that SEAs and local educational agencies (LEAs) are using to 
systematically analyze AYP and other data to help identify schools and 
classrooms in which students with disabilities are not achieving 
proficiency.
    (c) Develop methods for States to use to assist LEAs and schools in 
using assessment and other information to conduct needs assessments, 
identify options, and target particular areas for intervention to 
improve the performance of students with disabilities. For example, in 
addition to looking at information on academic performance, schools may 
want to examine such factors as teacher qualifications, the quality of 
curricula and instruction, the technology and accommodations provided, 
the settings in which the instruction occurs, and school behavior 
management strategies. The Center must focus on helping States work 
with schools designated to be in ``school improvement'' status under 
NCLB.
    (d) Help SEAs and LEAs identify effective and promising practices 
for improving the performance and assessment of children with 
disabilities by consulting sources such as the What Works Clearinghouse 
(WWC), by commissioning the WWC to conduct reviews of relevant research 
if such reviews have not already been done, and, if necessary, by 
conducting its own reviews of research studies using standards 
consistent with those of WWC. In addition, the Center will work with 
other technical assistance providers such as the Access Center: 
Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8, the National Center on Student 
Progress Monitoring, the National Center on Positive Behavioral 
Interventions and Supports, the National Center for Educational 
Outcomes, the comprehensive regional technical assistance centers and 
the regional educational laboratories as resources for incorporating 
effective strategies for improving the performance of students with 
disabilities in broader improvement efforts. The Center will also work 
to ensure that these efforts are coordinated with other reform/school 
improvement initiatives at the district and local school level.
    (e) Provide technical assistance, in project years two through 
five, to a cadre of States and their stakeholders including members of 
state support systems, school support teams, teachers, principals, 
parents, pupil services personnel, institutions of higher education and 
outside consultant groups, on how to work with districts to use the 
results of this process to:
    (1) Design and implement evidence-based and promising instructional 
practices or individual or school-wide interventions to help students 
with disabilities reach proficiency including developing criteria that 
would ensure that appropriate, aligned curriculum is selected;
    (2) Design learning environments that support the achievement of 
grade level academic content standards by students with disabilities 
and also the attainment of alternate achievement standards aligned to 
academic content standards for students with the most significant 
cognitive disabilities;
    (3) Select appropriate classroom and assessment accommodations for 
students with disabilities, including assistive technologies; and
    (4) Make appropriate assessment participation decisions for 
students with disabilities.
    (f) Link SEA personnel and their stakeholders to other major 
technical assistance providers, such as the Access Center: Improving 
Outcomes for All Students K-8, the National Center on Student Progress 
Monitoring, the National Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions 
and Supports, the National Center for Educational Outcomes, the 
comprehensive regional technical assistance centers and the regional 
educational laboratories, to ensure that evidence-based and promising 
practices to improve performance of children with disabilities are 
promoted and implemented with fidelity.
    (g) Work with States to develop an infrastructure to support school 
and district improvement and to scale up effective school-based models.
    (h) The projects funded under this priority must budget for a two-
day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, DC during each year of 
the project.
    (i) The projects Web site must include relevant information and 
documents in an accessible form.
    In deciding whether to continue this project for the fourth and 
fifth years, the Secretary will consider the requirements of 34 CFR 
75.253(a), and in addition--
    (1) The recommendation of a review team consisting of experts 
selected by the Secretary. The review will be conducted in Washington, 
DC during the last half of the project's second year. Projects must 
budget for the travel associated with this one-day intensive review; 
and

[[Page 48466]]

    (2) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of 
the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or are being met by the 
Center.
    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 a proposed priority. However, section 
661(e)(2) of IDEA makes the public comment requirements inapplicable to 
the priority in this notice.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1461 and 1485.

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, 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: Cooperative agreement.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,000,000.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $2,000,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. 
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services may change the maximum amount through a notice published in 
the Federal Register.
    Number of Awards: 1.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, other public agencies, 
nonprofit private organizations, for-profit 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 
competition must make positive efforts to employ and advance in 
employment qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of 
the 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 the IDEA).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs), PO 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 84.326A.
    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 70 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 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: August 10, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 9, 2004.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted by 
mail or hand delivery (including a commercial carrier or courier 
service), or electronically using the Electronic Grant Application 
System (e-Application) available through the Department's e-GRANTS 
system. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit 
your application by mail or hand delivery, or electronically, please 
refer to Section IV. 6. Procedures for Submitting Applications in this 
notice.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 14, 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 competition. However, in 
order to ensure that this FY 2004 grant is made before September 30, 
2004, the 60-day intergovernmental review period has been waived to 5 
days.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Procedures for Submitting Applications: Applications for grants 
under this competition may be submitted electronically or in paper 
format by mail or hand delivery.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    If you submit your application to us electronically, you must use 
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 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.
    If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
     Your participation is voluntary.
     You must submit your grant application electronically 
through the Internet using the software provided on the e-Grants Web 
site (http://e-grants.ed.gov) by 4:30 p.m., Washington,

[[Page 48467]]

DC time, on the application deadline date. The regular hours of 
operation of the e-Grants Web site are 6 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. 
Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until midnight Saturday, Washington, DC 
time. Please note that the system is unavailable on Sundays, and after 
7 p.m. on Wednesdays for maintenance, Washington, DC time. Any 
modifications to these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site. 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 your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you submit your application in paper format.
     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.
     Your e-Application must comply with any page limit 
requirements described in this notice.
     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).
     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 applicant'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) 
245-6272.
     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) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Technical 
Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services and Results for 
Children With Disabilities--Improving Achievement of Children With 
Disabilities under the No Child Left Behind Act competition at: http://e-grants.ed.gov. [FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/NO][DATE]*[/
DATE][NOTICES][NOTICE][PREAMB][AGENCY]*[/AGENCY][SUBJECT]*[/SUBJECT]
    b. Submission of Paper Applications By Mail.
    If you submit your application in paper format by mail (through the 
U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), you must send the 
original and two copies of your application on or before the 
application deadline date to the following address: U.S. Department of 
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.326A), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202.
    You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:
    1. A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service Postmark;
    2. A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service;
    3. A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier; or
    4. Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the U.S. Secretary of 
Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    1. A private metered postmark, or
    2. A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is post marked after the application deadline 
date, we will notify you that we will not consider the application.

    Note: Applicants should note that the U.S. Postal Service does 
not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this 
method, you should check with your local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you submit your application in paper format by hand delivery, 
you (or a courier service) must deliver the original and two copies of 
your application on or before the application deadline date to the 
following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control 
Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.326A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 
7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts deliveries daily between 8 
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, except Saturdays, Sundays 
and Federal holidays. A person delivering an application must show 
identification to enter the building.

    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
    1. You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the 
Department--in Item 4 of the Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (ED 424 (exp. 11/30/2004)) the CFDA number--and suffix 
letter, if any--of the competition under which you are submitting 
your application.
    2. The Application Control Center will mail a Grant Application 
Receipt Acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the 
notification of application receipt within 15 days from the mailing 
of your application, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

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.

[[Page 48468]]

    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: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the Department is currently developing measures 
that will yield information on various aspects of the quality of the 
Technical Assistance to Improve Services and Results for Children with 
Disabilities program (e.g., the extent to which projects use high 
quality methods and materials, provide useful products and services, 
and contribute to improving results for children with disabilities). 
Data on these measures will be collected from the projects funded under 
this competition.
    Grantees will also be required to report information on their 
projects' performance in annual reports to the Department (EDGAR, 34 
CFR 75.590).
    We will notify grantees of the performance measures once they are 
developed.

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Price-Ellingstad, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4157, Potomac 
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-7481.
    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) 245-7363.

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: August 5, 2004.
Troy R. Justesen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 04-18306 Filed 8-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P