[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67346-67348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19674]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.330B]


Advanced Placement (AP) Test Fee Program

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Department 
of Education.

ACTION: Notice announcing application deadline.

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SUMMARY: Under the AP Test Fee Program, we award grants to eligible 
State educational agencies (SEAs) in order to enable them to pay all or 
a portion of advanced placement test fees on behalf of eligible low-
income students who: (1) Are enrolled in an advanced placement course; 
and (2) plan to take an advanced placement exam. The program is 
designed to increase the number of low-income students who take 
advanced placement tests and receive scores for which college academic 
credit is awarded. In this notice we establish the deadline for 
submission of the fiscal year (FY) 2007 AP Test Fee Program grant 
applications.
    Applications Available: November 21, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 5, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this program 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 qualify 
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer 
to the section on Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for intergovernmental review: March 6, 2007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Who Is Eligible for an Award Under the AP Test Fee Program?

    Eligible applicants under the AP Test Fee Program are: SEAs in any 
State, including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the freely associated 
states of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

    Note: For purposes of this program, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
is treated as an SEA.


    Note: Current grantees under this program that expect to have 
sufficient carryover funds to cover FY 2007 exam fees for eligible 
low-income students should not apply for a new award under this 
competition. Applicants requesting new awards for FY 2007 must 
submit an application to the Department of Education electronically 
by the deadline established in this notice.

Funding and Award Information

    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$122,175,000 for the AP Test Fee and Advanced Placement Incentive (API) 
programs for FY 2007. Of the requested amount, approximately $12 
million would be required to fully fund applications for the AP Test 
Fee program. The remaining funds would support API grants. The actual 
level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. 
However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete 
the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $15,000-$500,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $171,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 34.
    Project Period: 12 months.

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

    Statutory Funding Requirement: In accordance with section 1703 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), 
the Department gives priority to applications submitted under this 
competition over applications submitted under the API program 
competition (CFDA No. 84.330C).
    Award Basis: The Department intends to fund, at some level, all 
applications that meet the minimum Requirements for Approval of 
Application as described in the application package for this 
competition and that demonstrate need for new or additional funds for 
FY 2007. Also, in determining whether to approve an application for a 
new award (including the amount of the award) from an applicant with a 
current grant under the program, the Department will consider the 
amount of any carryover funds under the existing grant.
    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.

a. Electronic Submission of Applications

    Applications for grants under the Advanced Placement Test Fee 
Program--CFDA Number 84.330B must be submitted electronically using the 
Governmentwide Grants.gov appply site at: http://www.grants.gov. 
Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the 
application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit 
your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant 
application to us.
    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.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Advanced 
Placement Test Fee Program at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search 
for the downloadable application package for this program by the CFDA 
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search 
(e.g., search for 84.330, not 84.330B).
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application 
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we 
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the

[[Page 67347]]

Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this program to ensure that you 
submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. 
You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to 
Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf. 
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps 
include (1) registering your organization, a multi-part process that 
includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) 
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative 
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. 
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step 
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov. In 
addition, you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual 
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
     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 
all information typically included on the following forms: Application 
for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education 
Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have 
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
    You must attach any narrative sections of your application as files 
in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) 
format. If you upload a file type other than the three file types 
specified above or submit a password protected file, we will not review 
that material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department will then retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
to you by e-mail a second notification that indicates that the 
Department has received your application and has assigned your 
application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number 
unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date. Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of 
Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing 
problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact 
the Grants.gov Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a 
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions as described elsewhere in this notice. If you submit an 
application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the deadline date, 
please contact the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an explanation of the 
technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the 
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will accept your application if 
we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov 
system and that that problem affected your ability to submit your 
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination is 
made on whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the 
unavailability of or technical problems with the Grants.gov system. 
We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register 
to submit your application to Grants.gov before the deadline date 
and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to 
the Grants.gov 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 Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov 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: Ms. Lynyetta Johnson, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3C151, 
Washington, DC 20202-6200. FAX: (202) 205-4921.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail 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:


[[Page 67348]]


By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.330B), 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 
84.330B), 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: 
(CFDA Number 84.330B), 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 11 of the SF 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.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lynyetta Johnson, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-6200. 
Telephone: (202) 260-1990 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 edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6531-6537.

    Dated: November 16, 2006.
Henry L. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. E6-19674 Filed 11-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P