[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 156 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47816-47821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16135]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview 
Information, Striving Readers; Notice Inviting Applications for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.371A

    Dates:
    Applications Available: August 15, 2005.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: September 14, 2005.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 14, 2005.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: December 13, 2005.
    Dates of Pre-Application Meetings: The Department will conduct a 
series of briefings on this competition via conference call to clarify 
the purposes of the program, the selection criteria, and the 
competition process. Consult the Striving Readers Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders for dates and times of the pre-
application meetings.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs) that have 
schools that--
    1. Are eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), 
pursuant to section 1113 of the ESEA, and
    2. Serve students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
    Eligible LEAs may apply individually, with other eligible LEAs, or 
in partnership with one or more of the following entities:
    [cir] State educational agencies (SEAs),
    [cir] Intermediate service agencies,
    [cir] Public or private institutions of higher education, and
    [cir] Public or private organizations with expertise in adolescent 
literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
    In any partnership, the fiscal agent must be an eligible LEA.
    Estimated Available Funds: $24,000,000. Contingent upon the 
availability of funds and quality of applications we may make 
additional awards in subsequent years from the list of unfunded 
applicants from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $1,000,000-5,000,000 per year.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $3,000,000 per year.
    Maximum Award Amount: We do not intend to make any awards exceeding 
$5,000,000 per year.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 8.


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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months. Continuation awards are contingent 
on a grantee's progress and future Congressional appropriations.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Striving Readers program is 
to raise the reading achievement levels of middle and high school-aged 
students in Title I-eligible schools with significant numbers of 
students reading below grade level. The program supports new 
comprehensive reading initiatives or expansion of existing initiatives 
that improve the quality of literacy instruction across the curriculum, 
provide intensive literacy interventions to struggling adolescent 
readers, and help to build a strong, scientific research base for 
identifying and replicating strategies that improve adolescent literacy 
skills.
    Priorities: We are establishing these priorities in accordance with 
section

[[Page 47817]]

437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act.
    Absolute Priorities: For FY 2005 and any subsequent year in which 
we make awards based on the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, these priorities are absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet these priorities.
    These priorities are: Priority One--Students in Grades 6 through 12 
in Title I-eligible schools; and Priority Two--Comprehensive Reading 
Initiative Components.

Background of Priority One

    The first absolute priority is established to ensure that the funds 
will be targeted as intended by the authorizing statute.
Statement of Priority One--Students in Grades 6 Through 12 in Title I-
Eligible Schools
    The applicant, if awarded a grant under this program, will use the 
funds to serve only students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 
12 in schools eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the 
ESEA.

Background of Priority Two

    The second absolute priority is established to ensure that Striving 
Readers projects will result in accelerated reading achievement for 
adolescents reading significantly below grade level, including limited 
English proficient students and students with disabilities. This 
absolute priority is also established to ensure that the evaluations of 
Striving Readers projects include rigorous scientifically based 
research methods and that the evaluations are of sufficient quality to 
determine the effectiveness of the interventions provided.
    The experimental evaluation design of the targeted intervention 
must include a randomized controlled trial `` an experimental design in 
which participants (e.g., schools or students) are randomly assigned 
either to participate in the project activities or to a control group 
that does not participate in the project activities to be evaluated.
    Well-designed and implemented randomized control trials are 
considered the ``gold standard'' for evaluating an intervention's 
effectiveness. They enable the evaluator to determine whether the 
intervention itself, as opposed to other factors, causes the observed 
outcomes.
    The Institute for Educational Sciences' (IES) What Works 
Clearinghouse supports a Help Desk that applicants can contact to help 
identify interventions and design evaluations that meet IES evidence 
standards. For more information see: http://www.whatworks.ed.gov.
Statement of Priority Two--Comprehensive Reading Initiative Components
    The applicant, if awarded a grant under this program, will use the 
funds to support a comprehensive reading initiative that includes the 
following components:
    1. School-level strategies designed to increase reading achievement 
for students by integrating enhanced literacy instruction throughout 
the curriculum and the entire school. These strategies must include, at 
a minimum, a needs assessment, professional development, and a process 
for monitoring student performance.
    2. An intensive, targeted intervention for struggling readers 
(i.e., students who read at least two years below grade level, 
including limited English proficient students and students with 
disabilities). The intervention must include, at a minimum, assessments 
to identify struggling readers, a supplementary literacy intervention 
designed to accelerate the development of literacy skills for these 
readers, professional development for their teachers, and a process for 
monitoring student progress that includes the administration of student 
assessments.
    3. A project evaluation that includes--
    (a) A rigorous experimental research evaluation of the intensive, 
targeted intervention for struggling readers. The evaluation of the 
intensive, targeted intervention must be conducted by an independent 
evaluator and must include a randomized control trial; and
    (b) A rigorous evaluation of the school-level strategies designed 
to increase reading achievement for students by integrating enhanced 
literacy instruction throughout the curriculum and the school. The 
evaluation of the school-level strategies must be conducted by an 
independent evaluator and may, but need not, include a randomized 
control trial.
    To meet this priority, applicants must demonstrate that they have 
allocated sufficient program and other funds to carry out a high-
quality evaluation of the proposed Striving Readers project. Applicants 
also will need to include a sufficient number of schools and students 
to support an experimental evaluation design of the targeted 
intervention.

Other Program Requirements

    1. Funding Allocation: The Secretary may fund projects out of rank 
order in order to ensure that the Striving Readers funding is balanced 
between projects serving middle and high school students.
    2. Literacy Study Participants: Applicants may not apply for 
Striving Readers funds on behalf of, or use Striving Readers funds in, 
schools participating in the current Smaller Learning Communities 
Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) Study, a U.S. Department of 
Education funded national research evaluation of supplemental 
adolescent literacy programs.
    3. Implementation Schedule: The 2006-2007 school year will be 
considered the first year for full Striving Readers project 
implementation. A grantee may use that portion of the 2005-2006 school 
year that remains after it receives its award as a planning period to 
prepare for the full implementation of its Striving Readers project 
during the following school year and to complete the design of Striving 
Readers project evaluation. The Department will provide technical 
assistance on evaluation plans during the planning period and 
throughout the project period.
    4. Project Meetings: Each applicant must budget for--
    (a) The project director, the project evaluator, and up to two 
other key staff members to attend a two-day technical assistance 
meeting with Department officials in Washington, DC at least twice a 
year for each year of the project period; and
    (b) The project director and the evaluator to attend a two-day 
post-award conference with Department officials in Washington, DC after 
the grant award date.
    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, eligibility 
requirements, and other non-statutory program requirements. Section 
437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 
1232(d)(1)), however, allows the Secretary to exempt from rulemaking 
requirements, regulations governing the first grant competition under a 
new or substantially revised program authority. This is the first grant 
competition for this program under section 1502 of the ESEA and, 
therefore, qualifies for this exemption. In order to ensure timely 
grant awards, the Secretary has decided to forego public comment on the 
absolute priorities, eligibility requirements, and non-statutory 
program requirements under section 437(d)(1). These absolute 
priorities,

[[Page 47818]]

eligibility requirements and non-statutory program requirements will 
apply to the FY 2005 grant competition and any subsequent awards we 
make based on the list of unfunded applications from this competition.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6492.
    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, as applicable.


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized 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: $24,000,000. Contingent upon the 
availability of funds and quality of applications we may make 
additional awards in subsequent years from the list of unfunded 
applicants from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $1,000,000-5,000,000 per year.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $3,000,000 per year.
    Maximum Award Amount: We do not intend to make any awards exceeding 
$5,000,000 per year.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 8.

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


    Project Period: Up to 60 months. Continuation awards are contingent 
on a grantee's progress and future Congressional appropriations.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs that have schools that--
    a. Are eligible to receive funds under Part A of Title I of the 
ESEA, pursuant to section 1113 of the ESEA, and
    b. Serve students in one or more grades in grades 6 through 12.
    Eligible LEAs may apply individually, with other eligible LEAs, or 
in partnership with one or more of the following entities:
    [cir] SEAs,
    [cir] Intermediate service agencies,
    [cir] Public or private institutions of higher education, and
    [cir] Public or private organizations with expertise in adolescent 
literacy and/or rigorous evaluation.
    In any partnership, the fiscal agent must be an eligible LEA.


    Note: For more information on determining Title I eligibility 
see: http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/wdag.doc.


    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain the 
application package electronically by downloading it from the Striving 
Readers Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders/applicant.html.
    You may also request an application package by contacting the 
Striving Readers program contact person listed in section VII of this 
notice at (202) 205-6272 or by e-mail at [email protected].
    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 program contact 
person listed in section VII of this notice.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of the application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
    Page Limits: The application narrative for this program (Part II of 
the application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection 
criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. We strongly 
encourage applicants to limit Part II of the application to the 
equivalent of no more than 60 pages. Part III of the application is 
where you, the applicant, provide a budget narrative that reviewers use 
to evaluate your application. We strongly encourage you to limit the 
budget narrative in Part III to the equivalent of no more than five 
pages. Part IV of the application is where you, the applicant, provide 
the list and a brief description of the schools included in the 
proposed Striving Readers project, up to five resumes (curriculum 
vitae), and the demonstration of stakeholder support for the project 
that reviewers use to evaluate your application. The Department 
strongly encourages applicants to limit the list and the brief 
description of the schools to the equivalent of no more than 10 pages. 
The Department also strongly encourages applicants to limit each resume 
to the equivalent of no more than three pages each and limit the 
demonstration of stakeholder support for the project to the equivalent 
of no more than 10 pages. While the Department strongly encourages 
applicants to follow page limit recommendations, applications that 
exceed these limits will not be excluded from the competition. For all 
page limit recommendations, use 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, and references included in the body of the 
narrative.
     Text in endnotes, charts, tables, figures, and graphs may 
be single-spaced.
     Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch), including text in endnotes, 
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
     The page limits do not apply to Part I, the cover sheet 
and the one-page abstract; the budget (ED Form 524); or the endnotes.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: August 15, 2005.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: September 14, 2005.
    In order to expedite the process for reviewing grant applications, 
we strongly encourage each potential applicant to send a notice of its 
intent to apply for funding to the following address: 
[email protected]. The notice of intent to apply is optional and 
should not include information regarding the proposed application.
    Dates of Pre-Application Meetings: The Department will conduct a 
series of briefings on this competition via conference call to clarify 
the purposes of the program, the selection criteria, and the 
competition process. Consult the Striving Readers Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders for dates and times of the pre-
application meetings.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 14, 2005.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted 
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 electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify 
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer 
to section IV.
    6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: December 13, 2005.

[[Page 47819]]

    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline for transmittal of applications.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive 
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about 
Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order 
12372 is in the application package for this program.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify for 
an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in 
this section.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the Striving Readers program--CFDA 
Number 84.371A must be submitted electronically using e-Application 
available through the Department's e-Grants system, accessible through 
the e-Grants portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    While completing your electronic application, you will be entering 
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    Please note the following:
     You must complete the electronic submission of your grant 
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application 
for this program after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do 
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application 
process.
     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 between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on 
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to 
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and 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.
     Any narrative sections of your application must be 
attached as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF 
(Portable Document) format.
    [ssbox] Your electronic application must comply with any page limit 
requirements described in this notice.
     Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may 
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgement that 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 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 provide us original signatures on 
other forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically 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 electronic 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 
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. If the system is down and therefore 
the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all 
registered users who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions 
referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the 
Department's e-Application system.
    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the e-Application system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Department's e-Application system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax 
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed 
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Kathryn Doherty, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W309, 
Washington, DC 20202-6132. FAX: (202) 205-0303.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail

[[Page 47820]]

or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. 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 
84.371A), 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 
84.371A), 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 qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You 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: 
(Number 84.371A), 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 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 program are from 34 CFR 75.210 of 
EDGAR and are as follows. Further information about each of these 
selection criteria is in the application package. The maximum score for 
each criterion is listed in parentheses next to the title of the 
criterion.
    (i) Need for project. (5 points) The Secretary considers the need 
for the proposed project. In determining the need for the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (a) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project. (34 CFR 
75.210(a)(2)(ii))
    (b) The extent to which the proposed project will provide services 
or otherwise address the needs of students at risk of educational 
failure. (34 CFR 75.210(a)(2)(iii))
    (ii) Quality of the project design. (40 points) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the design of the proposed project. In 
determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the 
Secretary considers the following factors:
    (a) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target 
population or other identified needs. (34 CFR 75.210(c)(2)(ii))
    (b) The extent to which the proposed project is based upon a 
specific research design, and the quality and appropriateness of that 
design, including the scientific rigor of the studies involved. (34 CFR 
75.210(c)(2)(vi))
    (c) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects 
up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice. (34 CFR 
75.210(c)(2)(xiii))
    (iii) Quality of project personnel. (10 points) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the personnel who will carry out the proposed 
project. In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary 
considers the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for 
employment from persons who are members of groups that have 
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national 
origin, gender, age, or disability. (34 CFR 75.210(e)(1), (2))
    In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (a) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of the project director. (34 CFR 75.210(e)(3)(i))
    (b) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience 
of key project personnel. (34 CFR 75.210(e)(3)(ii)).
    (c) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of project consultants or subcontractors. (34 CFR 75.210(e)(3)(iii))
    (iv) Adequacy of resources. (5 points) The Secretary considers the 
adequacy of resources for the proposed project. In determining the 
adequacy of resources for the proposed project, the Secretary considers 
the following factors:
    (a) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in 
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project. 
(34 CFR 75.210(f)(2)(ii))
    (b) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the 
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project. 
(34 CFR 75.210(f)(2)(iv))
    (v) Quality of the management plan. (5 points) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project. 
In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (a) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing 
project tasks. (34 CFR 75.210(g)(2)(i))
    (b) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate 
to meet the objectives of the proposed project. (34 CFR 
75.210(g)(2)(iv))

[[Page 47821]]

    (vi) Quality of the project evaluation. (30 points) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed 
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation of the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (a) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
proposed project. (34 CFR 75.210(h)(2)(i))
    (b) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for 
examining the effectiveness of project outcomes and implementation 
strategies. (34 CFR 75.210(h)(2)(iii))
    (c) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about 
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings. (34 CFR 75.210(h)(2)(vii))
    (vii) Significance. (5 points) The Secretary considers the 
significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance 
of the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factor:
    (a) The potential contribution of the proposed project to the 
development and advancement of theory, knowledge, and practices in the 
field of study. (34 CFR 75.210(b)(2)(vi))

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify you 
in writing and post the list of successful applicants on the Striving 
Readers Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders/applicant.html. If your application is successful, we also notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a 
final performance report, including financial information, as directed 
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an 
annual performance report that provides the most current performance 
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 
34 CFR 75.118.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Secretary has established the following 
two measures for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the Striving 
Readers program: (1) The percentage of adolescent students reading 
significantly below grade level who demonstrate a gain in their reading 
achievement, at a minimum of one grade level or its equivalent after 
participating in an intensive intervention over an academic year; and 
(2) the percentage of schools participating in the Striving Readers 
intervention that demonstrate performance gains on their State's 
assessment of reading or language arts achievement.
    We will expect all grantees to document their success in addressing 
these performance measures in the annual performance report referred to 
in section VI.3. of this notice.

VII. Agency Contact

For Further Information Contact:  Kathryn Doherty, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W309, Washington, DC 20202-
6132. Telephone: (202) 205-6272 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    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 in this 
section.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: 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 10, 2005.
Raymond Simon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-16135 Filed 8-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P