[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11210-11214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4440]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview 
Information; Technology and Media Services for Individuals with 
Disabilities-Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Students with 
Disabilities; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2005


Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327A.

    Note: This notice includes one priority with two phases, and 
funding information for each phase of the competition.


DATES: Applications Available: March 9, 2005.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: See chart in the Award 
Information section in this notice.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: See chart in the Award 
Information section in this notice.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local 
educational agencies (LEAs); public charter schools that are LEAs under 
State law; institutions of higher education (IHEs); other public 
agencies; private nonprofit organizations; outlying areas; freely 
associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-
profit organizations.
    Estimated Available Funds: $3,000,000.
    Funding information regarding each phase of the priority is listed 
in the chart (chart) in Section II. Award Information in this notice.
    Maximum Award: The Secretary does not intend to fund a Phase 1 
application that proposes a budget exceeding $200,000 for a single 
budget period of 12 months or a Phase 2 application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $300,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.
    Estimated Range of Awards: See chart.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: See chart.
    Estimated Number of Awards: See chart.
    Project Period: See chart.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the program is to: (1) Improve 
results for children with disabilities by promoting the development, 
demonstration, and use of technology, (2) support educational media 
services activities designed to be of educational value in the 
classroom setting to children with disabilities, and (3) provide 
support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for 
use in the classroom setting.
    Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority 
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections 674 
and 681(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)).
    Absolute Priority: For FY 2005 this priority is an absolute 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that 
meet this priority.
    This priority is:

Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--
Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Students With Disabilities

    Applicants must--
    (a) Describe a technology-based approach for improving the results 
of early intervention, or preschool, elementary, middle school, or high 
school education for children with disabilities. The technology-based 
approach must be an innovative combination of a new technology and 
additional materials and methodologies that enable the technology to 
improve educational or early intervention results for children with 
disabilities;
    (b) Present a justification, based on scientifically rigorous 
research or theory that supports the potential effectiveness of the 
technology-based approach for improving the results of education or 
early intervention for children with disabilities. Results studied 
under this priority must focus on child outcomes, rather than on parent 
or professional outcomes. Child outcomes can include improved academic 
or pre-academic

[[Page 11211]]

skills, improved behavioral or social functioning, improved functional 
performance, etc., provided that valid and reliable measurement 
instruments are employed. Technology-based approaches intended for use 
by professionals or parents are not appropriate for funding under this 
priority unless child-level benefits are clearly demonstrated. 
Technology-based approaches for professional development will not be 
funded under this priority;
    (c) Provide a detailed plan for conducting work in one of the 
following two phases:
    (1) Phase 1--Development: Projects funded under Phase 1 must 
develop and refine a technology-based approach, and test its 
feasibility for use with children with disabilities. Activities may 
include development, adaptation, and refinement of technology, 
materials, or methodologies. Activities must include formative 
evaluation of usability and feasibility. The primary product of Phase 1 
should be a promising technology-based approach that is suitable for 
field-based evaluation of effectiveness in improving results for 
children with disabilities.
    (2) Phase 2--Research on Effectiveness: Projects funded under Phase 
2 must select a promising technology-based approach that has been 
developed and tested in a manner consistent with Phase 1, and subject 
the approach to rigorous field-based research to determine 
effectiveness in educational or early intervention settings. Approaches 
studied in Phase 2 may have been developed with previous funding under 
this priority or with funding from other sources. Phase 2 is primarily 
intended to produce sound research-based evidence that the approach can 
improve educational or early intervention results for children with 
disabilities in a defined range of real world contexts.
    Phase 2 research is intended to pose a causal question and should 
employ randomized assignment to treatment and comparison conditions, 
unless a strong justification is made for why a randomized trial is not 
possible. In this case, the applicant must employ alternatives that 
substantially minimize selection bias or allow it to be modeled. These 
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 an alternative system 
must, first, make a compelling case that randomization is not possible 
and, second, describe in detail how the procedures 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 may complement 
experimental methodologies to assist in the identification of factors 
that may explain the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the approach. 
Applications should provide research designs that permit the 
identification and assessment of factors impacting the fidelity of 
implementation. Mediating and moderating variables that are both 
measured in the practice or model condition and are 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).
    Phase 2 research must be of sufficient power to provide convincing 
evidence of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the technology-
based approach under study, at least within a defined range of 
settings. Applicants should provide documentation that available sample 
sizes, methodologies, and treatment effects are likely to result in 
conclusive findings regarding effectiveness of the technology based 
approach.
    (d) Provide a plan for forming collaborative relationships with 
vendors and/or other dissemination or marketing resources to ensure 
that the technology-based approach is widely available if sufficient 
evidence of effectiveness has been obtained. Applicants should document 
the availability and/or participation of dissemination or marketing 
resources. Applicants are encouraged to plan these collaborative 
relationships early in their projects, even in Phase 1, but should 
refrain from widespread dissemination to practitioners until evidence 
of effectiveness has been obtained.
    (e) Budget for an annual two-day Project Directors' meeting in 
Washington, DC, and another annual two-day trip to Washington, DC to 
collaborate with the Federal project officer and the other projects 
funded under this priority to share information, and discuss findings 
and methods of dissemination.
    (f) If the project maintains a Web site, include relevant 
information and documents in a form that meets a government or 
industry-recognized standard for accessibility. If the project produces 
instructional materials for dissemination, it must produce them in 
accessible formats, including complying with the National Instructional 
Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) standards for textual 
materials.
    Within this absolute priority, we intend to fund at least two 
projects led by a project director or principal investigator in the 
initial phase of his or her career. For purposes of this priority, the 
initial phase of an individual's career is considered to be the first 
three years after completing and graduating from a doctoral program 
(i.e., for FY 2005 awards, projects may support individuals who 
completed a doctoral program and graduated no earlier than the 2001-
2002 academic year). To qualify for this consideration, the applicant 
must explicitly state and document that the project director or 
principal investigator is in the initial phase of his or her career. At 
least 50 percent of the initial career researcher's time must be 
devoted to the project.
    Within this absolute priority, we also intend to fund at least two 
projects focusing on technology-based approaches for children with 
disabilities, ages birth to age 3.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. However, 
section 681(d) of the IDEA makes the public comment requirements of the 
APA inapplicable to the priority in this notice.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and 1481.
    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 IHEs only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $3,000,000.
    Maximum Award: The Secretary does not intend to fund a Phase 1 
application that proposes a budget exceeding $200,000 for a single 
budget period of 12 months or a Phase 2 application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $300,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.

[[Page 11212]]



                     Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Students With Disabilities Application Notice for Fiscal Year 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                 Estimated
                                             Deadline for              Deadline for           Estimated     Estimated range of    average     Estimated
         CFDA number and name               transmittal of       intergovernmental review     available           awards          size of     number of
                                             applications                                       funds                              awards       awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.327A--Steppingstones of Technology
 Innovation for Students With
 Disabilities:
    Phase 1--Development.............  May 6, 2005............  July 5, 2005.............      $1,200,000    $100,000-$200,000     $200,000            6
    Phase 2--Research on               May 6, 2005............  July 5, 2005.............       1,800,000      200,000-300,000      300,000            6
     Effectiveness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Period: Projects funded under Phase 1 will be funded for up to 24 months. Projects funded under Phase 2 will be funded for up to 24 months
  unless a compelling rationale is provided for funding up to 36 months.
Note: The Department of Education is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs; public charter schools that are 
LEAs under State law; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit 
organizations; outlying areas; freely associated States; Indian tribes 
or tribal organizations; and for-profit 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 competition 
must involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals 
with disabilities ages birth through 26 in planning, implementing, and 
evaluating the projects (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of the 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 84.327A.
    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 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: March 9, 
2005.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: See chart.
    Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov), or in 
paper format by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates 
and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by 
mail or hand delivery, please refer to section IV. 6. Other Submission 
Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: See chart.
    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.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this competition may be submitted electronically or in paper format by 
mail or hand delivery.
    a. 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 
continuing to participate as a partner in the new government wide 
Grants.gov Apply site in FY 2005. Steppingstones of Technology 
Innovation for Students with Disabilities--CFDA Number 84.327A is one 
of the competitions included in this project.
    If you choose to submit your application electronically, you must 
use the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). Through this site, you will 
be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it 
offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-
mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us. We request your 
participation in Grants.gov. You may access the electronic grant 
application for the Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for 
Students with Disabilities--CFDA Number 84.327A competition at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application 
package

[[Page 11213]]

for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's 
alpha suffix in your search.
    Please note the following:
     Your participation in Grants.gov 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.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted with a 
date/time received by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 p.m., 
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. We will not 
consider your application if it was received by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m. on the application deadline date. When we retrieve 
your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was submitted after 4:30 p.m. on 
the application deadline 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 in this notice for the submission of paper 
applications by mail or hand delivery.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the application process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that 
your application is submitted timely to the Grants.gov system.
     To use Grants.gov, you, as the applicant, must have a D-U-
N-S Number and register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). You 
should allow a minimum of five business days to complete the CCR 
registration.
     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 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. Any narrative 
sections of your application should be attached as files in a .DOC 
(document), .RTF (rich text) or .PDF (Portable Document) format.
     Your electronic 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 by e-
mail that will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying 
number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    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 mail the 
original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable 
following address:
    By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of 
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.327A), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
    By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.327A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
    Regardless of which address you use, 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 Secretary of the 
U.S. Department 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 postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.

    Note: 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 
by hand, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department 
at the following address:
    U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, 
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.327A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, 
Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays and Federal holidays.
    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) 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 grant 
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, 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 
from 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are listed 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

[[Page 11214]]

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: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the Department is currently developing measures 
that will yield information on various aspects of the Technology and 
Media Services to Improve Services and Results for Children with 
Disabilities program (e.g., the extent to which projects are of high 
quality and are relevant to the needs of 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 (34 CFR 
75.590).
    We will notify grantees of the performance measures once they are 
developed.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Dave Malouf, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4078, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7427.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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: March 2, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-4440 Filed 3-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P