[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 41 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10654-10656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1993]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.359A/B]


Early Reading First; Notice Reopening the Early Reading First 
(ERF) Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Competition

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

SUMMARY: On January 18, 2006, we published in the Federal Register (71 
FR 2916) a notice inviting applications for the Early Reading First FY 
2006 competition. The deadline date for eligible applicants to transmit 
their pre-applications for funding under this competition was February 
21, 2006 (as announced in the correction notice in the Federal Register 
on January 24, 2006 (71 FR 3829)).
    We now are reopening the pre-application phase of the Early Reading 
First FY 2006 competition for two groups of eligible applicants:
    Group 1: To afford eligible applicants a further opportunity to 
complete the electronic submission of their pre-applications for 
funding under this program, including those who may have experienced 
difficulties with the registration process, we are reopening the pre-
application phase of the Early Reading First FY 2006 competition until 
March 9, 2006 for all eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) that 
were previously included on the posted Early Reading First eligible LEA 
lists and for eligible entities located in communities served by those 
eligible LEAs (Group 1).
    These Group 1 applicants must submit their pre-applications 
electronically through Grants.gov as specified in the January 18, 2006 
Federal Register notice inviting applications (Application Notice) (71 
FR 2916). Group 1 applicants that submit their pre-applications 
pursuant to this notice must download, complete and submit an entirely 
new pre-application package through Grants.gov, as described in detail 
later in this notice under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, A. Group 1 
Applicants--Electronic Submission Requirements, unless their previous 
submission was successfully submitted through Grants.gov by 4:30 p.m. 
(timely) or between 4:30 p.m. and midnight (late) on the original 
deadline of February 21, 2006.
    Group 2: We also are reopening the pre-application phase of the 
Early Reading First FY 2006 competition for eligible LEAs that were 
inadvertently omitted from the FY 2006 eligible LEA lists posted on the 
Early Reading First Web site and for eligible entities located in 
communities served by those LEAs (Group 2). These Group 2 applicants 
will have an additional 30-day period from the date of this notice to 
submit their pre-applications.
    These Group 2 applicants must submit their pre-applications in 
paper format by mail or hand delivery rather than electronically. 
Although the Department generally requires electronic submission of 
Early Reading First applications through Grants.gov, the Grants.gov 
system will not accept a limited category of pre-applications with a 
different deadline, such as these, within an overall competition. 
Therefore, the Department is requiring submission by paper format for 
this small group of eligible applicants.
    The new pre-application deadline dates for these two groups are as 
follows:

DATES: Deadline for Transmittal of Group 1 Pre-Applications (All 
Eligible LEAs Previously Included on the FY 2006 Early Reading First 
Eligible LEA Lists and Eligible Entities Located in Communities Served 
by those LEAs): March 9, 2006 (by 4:30 p.m., Washington DC, time).
    Pre-applications from Group 1 applicants for grants under this 
competition must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply 
site (Grants.gov). For information (including dates and times) about 
how to submit your application electronically (or by mail or hand 
delivery if you are an applicant that previously qualified in this 
Early Reading First FY 2006 competition for an exception to the 
electronic submission requirement), please refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section in this notice.
    We do not consider a pre-application that does not comply with the 
deadline announced in this notice and submission requirements. 
Applicants that previously successfully submitted their complete pre-
applications on or before the original deadline date of February 21, 
2006, including those that were not timely because they submitted their 
pre-applications between 4:30 p.m. and midnight on that date, are not 
required to resubmit their applications.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Group 2 Pre-Applications (Eligible LEAs 
Listed in this Notice and Other Eligible Entities Located in 
Communities Served by those LEAs): April 3, 2006.
    For Group 2 applicants, the submission requirements for pre-
applications for grants under this competition are changed from the 
originally required electronic submission. Group 2 applicants must 
submit their pre-applications in paper

[[Page 10655]]

format by mail or hand delivery. For information about how to submit 
your paper application by mail or hand delivery, please refer to the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline and submission requirements announced in this notice.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: The deadline date for 
Intergovernmental Review under Executive Order 12732 remains as 
originally published, July 7, 2006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Group 1 Applicants

Group 1 Applicants--Electronic Submission Requirements

    Pre-applications for grants under the Early Reading First program--
CFDA Number 84.359A from Group 1 applicants must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site at: http://www.grants.gov as specified in the January 18, 2006 Application Notice 
(71 FR 2916). This notice is available at the following Web site: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2006-1/011806c.html.
    You must be fully registered with Grants.gov before you can submit 
your pre-application. As described in the January 18, 2006 Application 
Notice (71 FR 2916), this registration process can take 5 or more days 
to complete.
    We will reject your pre-application if you submit it in paper 
format (unless you are an applicant that previously qualified in this 
Early Reading First FY 2006 competition for an exception to the 
electronic submission requirement as described in section IV.6.a. of 
the January 18, 2006 Application Notice (71 FR 2916)).
    To submit a pre-application under this reopened competition, you 
must download and complete an entirely new pre-application package from 
Grants.gov (unless your previous submission was successfully submitted 
by February 21, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. (timely) or between 4:30 p.m. and 
midnight (late), in which case you are not required to submit anything 
further). You will need to enter data in all of the required forms and 
attach your narrative responses to this new pre-application package 
before submission. If you try to submit a pre-application package that 
was downloaded from Grants.gov before the original pre-application 
deadline of February 21, 2006, your submission will be rejected by the 
Grants.gov system.

B. Group 2 Applicants

1. Correction of Eligible LEA Lists

    For eligible LEAs specifically identified in this notice as being 
erroneously omitted from the original Early Reading First FY 2006 
eligible LEA lists and for eligible entities located in communities 
served by those LEAs (Group 2 applicants), we are reopening the Early 
Reading First FY 2006 competition pre-application deadline for an 
additional 30 days from the date of this notice.
    As indicated in the application package for this competition, lists 
of eligible LEAs (by State) are posted on the Early Reading First Web 
site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/eligibility.html. 
However, the eligible LEA lists that the Department originally posted 
were not correct because they omitted a number of eligible LEAs and 
included other LEAs that were not eligible.
    Under this competition, eligible applicants are (a) one or more 
LEAs that are eligible to receive a subgrant under the Reading First 
program (title I, part B, subpart 3, Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA)); (b) one or more public or private 
organizations or agencies (including faith-based organizations) located 
in a community served by an eligible LEA; or (c) one or more eligible 
LEAs, applying in collaboration with one or more eligible organizations 
or agencies. To qualify under paragraph (b) of this definition, the 
organization's or agency's application must be on behalf of one or more 
programs that serve preschool-age children (such as a Head Start 
program, a child care program, or a family literacy program such as 
Even Start, or a lab school at a university).
    We have corrected the lists of eligible LEAs for this competition 
by adding the following eligible LEAs and removing the following 
ineligible LEAs:
    Eligible LEAs (Added to the Corrected Eligible LEA Lists):
     Georgia: Wilkinson County.
     New York: Alexander Central School District; Baldwinsville 
Central School; Ballston Spa Central School; Beacon City School 
District; Bridgewater-West Winfield; Brockport Central School District; 
Cairo-Durham Central School District; Canandaigua City School District; 
Central Islip Union Free School; Central Square Central School 
District; Chester Union Free School District; Coxsackie-Athens Central 
School District; Dalton-Nunda Central School District; Elmira Heights 
Central School District; Freeport Union Free School District; 
Greenburgh Central School District; Lancaster Central School District; 
Liberty Central School District; Little Flower Union Free School 
District; Long Beach City School District; Mexico Central School 
District; Minisink Valley Central School District; Mohawk Central 
School District; Mount Pleasant-Cottage Union Free School District; 
Northeastern Clinton Central School District; Oneida City School 
District; Peekskill City School District; Remsen Central School 
District; Riverhead Central School District; Roosevelt Union Free 
School District; South County Central School District; South Huntingon 
Union Free School District; Spencer-Van Etten Central School District; 
Union Endicott Central School; Valley Central School District 
(Montgomery); Westbury Union Free School.
     Massachusetts: Everett; Fitchburg.
     North Dakota: Beach Public School; Underwood Public School 
District.
     Oregon: Bend-Lapine Administrative School District 1; 
Canby School District 86; Central School District 13J; Coquille School 
District 8; Eugene School District 4J; Klamath County School District; 
Ontario School District 8C; Springfield School District 19; Yamhill-
Carlton School District 1.
    Ineligible LEAs (Removed From the Corrected Eligible LEA Lists):
     North Dakota: Sherwood 2; Spiritwood 26; St. Thomas 43; 
Stanton 22; Wishek 19; Wolford 1.
     Vermont: Windham Northwest Supervisory Union.
    The corrected eligible LEA lists are posted at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/eligibility.html.

2. Group 2 Applicants--Paper Submission Requirements

    Pre-applications from Group 2 applicants for grants under the Early 
Reading First program--CFDA Number 84.359A must be submitted in paper 
format by mail or hand delivery (rather than electronically) as 
follows.
a. Submission of Paper Pre-Applications by Mail
    If you are a Group 2 applicant as described in this notice, you may 
mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) your 
pre-application to the Department. You must mail the original and two 
copies of your pre-application, on or before the pre-application 
deadline date specified in this Federal Register notice, 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 
84.359A), 400 Maryland

[[Page 10656]]

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 
84.359A), 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 pre-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 pre-application is postmarked after the pre-application 
deadline date specified in this notice, we will not consider your pre-
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.

3. Submission of Paper Pre-Applications by Hand Delivery
    If you are a Group 2 applicant as described in this notice, you (or 
a courier service) may deliver your paper pre-application to the 
Department by hand. You must deliver the original and two copies of 
your pre-application by hand, on or before the pre-application deadline 
date specified in this Federal Register notice, to the Department at 
the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application 
Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.359A), 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 Pre-applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your pre-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 pre-application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant pre-
application receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the 
grant pre-application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days 
from the pre-application deadline date in this notice, you should call 
the U.S. Department of Education Application Control Center at (202) 
245-6288.

C. Group 1 and Group 2 Applicants--Additional Application Information

1. Address To Request Application Package

    You may obtain an application package via the Internet or from the 
Education Publications Center (ED Pubs). To obtain an application via 
the Internet, use the following Web address: http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/applicant.html.
    To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write or call the 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 package from ED Pubs, be sure to 
identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.359A/B.
    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 under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in this notice.

2. Content and Form of Pre-Application Submission

    All requirements concerning the content of the pre-application, 
including page-limit and limited appendices requirements, a competitive 
preference priority, and the selection criterion, together with the 
forms you must submit, are in the application package for this 
competition. Please also refer to the January 18, 2006 Application 
Notice (71 FR 2916) for further information governing this grant 
competition. This Federal Register notice is available at the following 
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2006-1/011806c.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Stewart, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3C136, Washington, DC 20202-
6132. Telephone: (202) 260-2533 or by e-mail: [email protected] or 
Rebecca Haynes, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
room 3C138, Washington, DC 20202-6132. Telephone: (202) 260-0968 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.
    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: February 28, 2006.
Henry L. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 06-1993 Filed 3-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P