[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 87 (Friday, May 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24276-24278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9131]



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Part V





Department of Education





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Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 87 / Friday, May 6, 2005 / Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Nos. 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.305E, 84.305G, 84.305H, 84.305K, 
84.305M, 84.305R, 84.305W, 84.324A, 84.324B, 84.324E, 84.324G, 84.324I, 
84.324K, 84.324L, 84.324M, 84.324S, 84.324W, and 84.902B]


Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

SUMMARY: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 
(Institute) announces 20 FY 2006 competitions for grants to support 
education research. The Director takes this action under the Education 
Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I of Public Law 107-279. The intent 
of these grants is to provide national leadership in expanding 
fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early 
childhood education through postsecondary and adult education.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Mission of Institute: A central purpose of the Institute is to 
provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and 
the general public with reliable and valid information about education 
practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and 
access to education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its 
mission, the Institute provides support for programs of research in 
areas of demonstrated national need.
    Competitions in this notice: The Institute, through its National 
Center for Education Research (NCER), plans to support the following 
research competitions in FY 2006:
     National Research and Development Centers. These centers 
will focus on Education Policy, Early Childhood Education, 
Postsecondary Education, and Gifted and Talented Education.
     Post-doctoral Research Training Fellowships.
     Reading and Writing Education Research.
     Cognition and Student Learning Research.
     Mathematics and Science Education Research.
     Teacher Quality Research with a Focus on Reading and 
Writing Education.
     Teacher Quality Research with a Focus on Mathematics and 
Science Education.
     Research on Education Finance, Leadership, and Management.
     Research on High School Reform.
    The Institute, through its National Center for Special Education 
Research (NCSER), plans to support the following special education 
research competitions in FY 2006:
     Reading and Writing Special Education Research.
     Science and Mathematics Special Education Research.
     Research on Early Intervention and Assessment for Young 
Children with Disabilities.
     Language and Vocabulary Development Special Education 
Research.
     Serious Behavior Disorders Special Education Research.
     Special Education Research on Assessment for 
Accountability.
     Individualized Education Programs Research.
     Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes Special Education 
Research.
     Special Education Teacher Quality Research with a Focus on 
Reading and Writing in Special Education.
     Special Education Teacher Quality Research with a Focus on 
Mathematics and Science in Special Education.
    In addition, the Institute, through its National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES), plans to support a competition for:
     Secondary Analysis of Data from the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress.
    Eligible Applicants: Applicants that have the ability and capacity 
to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply. 
Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit and 
for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and 
institutions, such as colleges and universities.
    Request for Applications and Other Information: Information 
regarding program and application requirements for each of the 
Institute's competitions is contained in the applicable Request for 
Applications package (RFA), which will be available at the following 
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html on the 
dates indicated in the chart printed elsewhere in this notice. 
Interested potential applicants should periodically check the 
Institute's Web site.
    Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures will 
be provided in the applicable RFA package.
    Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not enacted a final 
appropriation for FY 2006, the Institute is inviting applications for 
these competitions now so that it may be prepared to make awards 
following final action on the Department's appropriations bill. The 
President's FY 2006 Budget for the Institute includes sufficient 
funding for all of the competitions included in this notice. The actual 
award of grants is pending the availability of funds. The number of 
awards made under each competition will depend upon the quality of the 
applications received for that competition. The size of the awards will 
depend upon the scope of the projects proposed.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 77, 80, 81, 82, 
84, 85, 86 (part 86 applies only to institutions of higher education), 
97, 98, and 99. In addition 34 CFR part 75 is applicable, except for 
the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 
75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 75.219, 
75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230.
    Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of its 
education research program, the Institute annually assesses the quality 
and relevance of newly funded research projects, as well as the quality 
of research publications that result from its funded research projects. 
Two indicators address the quality of new projects. First, external 
panels of qualified scientists review the quality of new research 
applications, and the percentage of newly funded projects that receive 
an average panel score of excellent or higher is determined. Second, 
because much of the Institute's work focuses on questions of 
effectiveness, newly funded applications are 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 reviews descriptions of a randomly selected sample of 
newly funded projects and rates the degree to which the projects are 
relevant to educational practice.
    Two indicators address the quality of new research publications, 
both print and web-based, which are the products of funded research 
projects. First, an external panel of eminent scientists reviews the 
quality of a randomly selected sample of new publications, and the 
percentage of new publications that are deemed to be of high quality is 
determined. Second, publications that address causal questions are 
identified, and are then reviewed to determine the percentage that 
employ randomized experimental designs. As funded research projects are 
completed, the Institute will subject the final reports to similar 
reviews.

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    To evaluate impact, the Institute surveys K-16 policymakers and 
administrators once every three years to determine the percentage who 
report routinely considering evidence of effectiveness before adopting 
educational products and approaches.
    Application Procedures:
    The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 
105-277) and the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement 
Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to undertake initiatives to 
improve our grant processes. Enhancing the ability of individuals and 
entities to conduct business with us electronically is a major part of 
our response to these Acts. Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the 
Internet as our chief means of conducting transactions in order to 
improve services to our customers and to simplify and expedite our 
business processes.
    We are requiring that applications for the FY 2006 competitions be 
submitted electronically to the following Web site: https://ies.constellagroup.com. Information on the software to be used in 
submitting applications will be available at the same Web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The contact person associated with a 
particular program of research is listed in the chart elsewhere in this 
notice and in the particular RFA. The date on which applications will 
be available, the deadline for transmittal of applications, the 
estimated range of awards, and the project period are also listed in 
the chart and in the particular RFA that will be posted at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html.
    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 to the program contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a 
copy of the RFA in an alternative format by contacting that person.
    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.


    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.

    Dated: May 3, 2005.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.

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[FR Doc. 05-9131 Filed 5-5-05; 8:45 am]
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