[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 48 (Monday, March 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12686-12687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3507]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.358A]


Small, Rural School Achievement Program

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

ACTION: Notice announcing application deadline.

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SUMMARY: Under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) Program, the 
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education awards 
grants on a formula basis to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) 
to address the unique needs of rural school districts. In this notice, 
we establish the deadline for submission of fiscal year (FY) 2006 SRSA 
grant applications.
    If an eligible LEA submitted an application for SRSA grant funds in 
a prior year, it is considered to have met the application requirement 
based on its previously submitted application and does not have to 
submit a new application to the Department to receive its FY 2006 SRSA 
grant award.
    An eligible LEA that is required to submit an application (in other 
words, an LEA that did not submit an application in a prior year) must 
do so by the deadline in this notice in order to receive its grant 
award by September 30, 2006. An eligible LEA that is required to submit 
an application and does not do so by the deadline in this notice might 
not receive its grant award until after September 30, 2006.
    Application Deadline: June 2, 2006, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Which LEAs Are Eligible for an Award Under the SRSA Program?

    An LEA is eligible for an award under the SRSA program if--
    (a) The total number of students in average daily attendance at all 
of the schools served by the LEA is fewer than 600, or each county in 
which a school served by the LEA is located has a total population 
density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; and
    (b) All of the schools served by the LEA are designated with a 
school locale code of 7 or 8 by the Department's National Center for 
Education Statistics, or the Secretary has determined, based on a 
demonstration by the LEA and concurrence of the SEA, that the LEA is 
located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the 
State.

Which Eligible LEAs Need Not Submit an Additional Application To 
Receive a FY 2006 SRSA Grant Award?

    Under the regulations in 34 CFR 75.104(a), the Secretary makes 
grants only to an eligible party that submits an application. Given the 
limited purpose served by an application under this program, the 
Secretary considers this requirement to be met if the LEA submitted an 
SRSA application for a prior year. In this circumstance, unless the LEA 
advises the Secretary by the application deadline that it is 
withdrawing its application, the Secretary deems the application that 
the LEA previously submitted to remain in effect for FY 2006 funding, 
and the LEA does not have to submit an additional application. All 
other eligible LEAs must submit a new application to receive a FY 2006 
grant award.
    We intend to provide, by May 1, 2006, a list of LEAs eligible for 
FY 2006 funds on the Department's Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/reapsrsa/index.html . The Web site will also indicate which of 
these eligible LEAs must submit a new application to the

[[Page 12687]]

Department to receive their FY 2006 SRSA grant award, and which 
eligible LEAs are considered already to have met the application 
requirement.
    Eligible LEAs that must submit a new application in order to 
receive FY 2006 SRSA funding must do so electronically by the deadline 
established in this notice in order to receive their grant by September 
30, 2006.
    Electronic Submission of Applications: Unless it is listed on the 
Department's Web site as not required to submit a new application, an 
eligible LEA that seeks FY 2006 SRSA funding must submit an electronic 
application by June 2, 2006, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time in order to receive 
its grant award by September 30, 2006. Submission of an electronic 
application involves the use of the Department's Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-Application) available through the Department's 
e-GRANTS system.
    You can access the electronic application for the SRSA Program at: 
http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    Once you access this site, you will receive specific instructions 
regarding the information to include in your application.
    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, Federal holidays, and after 7 p.m. on 
Wednesdays for maintenance (Washington, DC time).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Hitchcock, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E243, Washington, DC 
20202. Telephone: (202) 401-0039 or via Internet: [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 notice in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as other Department of Education documents 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 version 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. 7345-7345b.

    Dated: February 28, 2006.
Henry L. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E6-3507 Filed 3-10-06; 8:45 am]
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