[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14626-14628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2781]



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Part IV





Department of Education





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Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 22, 2006 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Nos. 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.324A, 84.324B, and 84.902B]


Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

SUMMARY: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 
(Institute) announces the Institute's FY 2007 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 will conduct five research competitions in FY 2007 
through three of its National Education Centers.
    The National Center for Education Research (NCER) will hold two 
competitions. Under the first competition, NCER will consider only 
applications that address one of the following education research or 
research training topics:
     Reading and Writing.
     Mathematics and Science Education.
     Teacher Quality--Reading and Writing.
     Teacher Quality--Mathematics and Science Education.
     Education Leadership.
     Education Policy, Finance, and Systems.
     Postdoctoral Research Training.

    Under the second competition, NCER will consider only applications 
that address one of the following education research topics:
     Reading and Writing.
     Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult Readers.
     Mathematics and Science Education.
     Teacher Quality--Reading and Writing.
     Teacher Quality--Mathematics and Science Education.
     Cognition and Student Learning.
     High School Reform.
     Postsecondary Education.
    The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) will 
also hold two competitions. Under the first competition, NCSER will 
consider only applications that address one of the following special 
education research topics:
     Early Intervention, Early Childhood Special Education, and 
Assessment for Young Children with Disabilities.
     Mathematics and Science Education.
     Reading, Writing, and Language Development.
     Serious Behavior Disorders.
     Assessment for Accountability.
    Under the second competition, NCSER will consider only applications 
that address one of the following special education research topics:
     Response to Intervention.
     Autism Spectrum Disorders.
     Teacher Quality and Quality of Other Service Providers for 
Students with Disabilities.
     Secondary and Transition Services.
     Individualized Education Programs and Individualized 
Family Service Plans.
    The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) will conduct 
one competition. Under this competition, NCES will consider only 
applications that address the following topic:
     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 the 
competitions is contained in the NCER, NCSER, and NCES Request for 
Applications packages (RFA), which will be available at the following 
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html no 
later than April 7, 2006. Interested potential applicants should 
periodically check the Institute's Web site.
    Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures will 
be provided in the RFA package. Information regarding the new 
Government-wide SF-424 application form for research and research-
related activities, which will be used for these competitions, will 
also be available at the above Web site.

Fiscal Information

    Although Congress has not enacted a final appropriation for FY 
2007, 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 2007 Budget for 
the Institute includes sufficient funding for all of the competitions 
included in this notice. The actual award of grants will depend on 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

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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.
    To evaluate impact, the Institute surveys kindergarten through 
college level 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 laws. 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 2007 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 research competition is listed in the chart at the end of 
this notice and in the 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 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.

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22MR06.002


    Dated: March 17, 2006.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 06-2781 Filed 3-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-C