[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2267-2271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-90]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Overview 
Information; Rehabilitation Training: Rehabilitation Long-Term Training 
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.129C and L.


DATES: Applications Available: January 18, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 20, 2007.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 18, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: States and public or nonprofit agencies and 
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher 
education.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$38,438,000 for the Rehabilitation Training program for FY 2007, of 
which we intend to use an estimated $800,000 for this competition. 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: $75,000-$100,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $87,500.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $100,000 for Rehabilitation Administration (84.129C) 
and a budget exceeding $75,000 for Undergraduate Education (84.129L) 
for a single budget period of 12 months. The Assistant Secretary for 
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services may change the maximum 
amount through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Rehabilitation Long-Term Training program 
provides financial assistance for--
    (1) Projects that provide basic or advanced training leading to an 
academic degree in areas of personnel shortages in rehabilitation as 
identified by the Assistant Secretary;
    (2) Projects that provide a specified series of courses or program 
of study leading to award of a certificate in areas of personnel 
shortages in rehabilitation as identified by the Assistant Secretary; 
and
    (3) Projects that provide support for medical residents enrolled in 
residency training programs in the specialty of physical medicine and 
rehabilitation.
    Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), these 
priorities are from the regulations for this program (34 CFR 386.1).
    Absolute Priorities: For FY 2007 these priorities are absolute 
priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications 
that propose to provide training in the priority areas of

[[Page 2268]]

personnel shortages listed in the following chart.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Priority Area (Maximum
                 CFDA No.                        number of awards in
                                                    parentheses)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.129C...................................  Rehabilitation
                                             Administration (2)
84.129L...................................  Rehabilitation Undergraduate
                                             Education (8)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 772.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 
CFR parts 385 and 386.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized Indian tribes.


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimate Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$38,438,000 for the Rehabilitation Training program for FY 2007, of 
which we intend to use an estimated $800,000 for this competition. 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: $75,000-$100,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $87,000.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $100,000 for Rehabilitation Administration (84.129C) 
and a budget exceeding $75,000 for Undergraduate Education (84.129L) 
for a single budget period of 12 months. The Assistant Secretary for 
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services may change the maximum 
amount through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: States and public or nonprofit agencies and 
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher 
education.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing of at least 10 percent of 
the total cost of the project is required of grantees under the 
Rehabilitation Training program (34 CFR 386.30).

    Note: Under 34 CFR 75.562(c), an indirect cost reimbursement on 
a training grant is limited to the recipient's actual indirect 
costs, as determined by its negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, 
or eight percent of a modified total direct cost base, whichever 
amount is less. Indirect costs in excess of the eight percent limit 
may not be charged directly, used to satisfy matching or cost-
sharing requirements, or charged to another Federal award.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: 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 from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.129C and L.
    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 Grants and Contracts 
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
room 5075, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: 
(202) 245-7363. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
    3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: January 18, 
2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 20, 2007.
    Applications 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 qualify 
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer 
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 18, 2007.
    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 competition.
    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 competition 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 Rehabilitation Training: 
Rehabilitation Long-Term Training program, CFDA Number 84.129C and 
84.129L must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide 
Grants.gov Apply 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 
Rehabilitation Training: Rehabilitation Long-Term Training 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 84.129, not 
84.129C and L).
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about

[[Page 2269]]

submitting an application electronically through the site, as well as 
the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date and 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 and 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 and time 
stamped by the 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 competition 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 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 submit successfully 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 you typically provide 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 in this paragraph 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 then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification 
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 described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application 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: The extensions to which we refer 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 application 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

[[Page 2270]]

statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Beverly Steburg, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5027, Potomac 
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. FAX: (202) 245-6824.
    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:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.129C and L), 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 84.129C 
and L), 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.
    (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.
    (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 84.129C and L), 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, including suffix 
letter, if any, of the competition under which you are submitting your 
application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification 
of receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this 
notification 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 competition are 
selected from 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. The selection criteria to be used 
in this competition will be provided in the application package for 
this competition.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we 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: The Government Performance and Results Act 
of 1993 (GPRA) directs Federal departments and agencies to improve the 
effectiveness of their programs by engaging in strategic planning, 
setting outcome-related goals for programs, and measuring program 
results against those goals. The Rehabilitation Training: 
Rehabilitation Long-Term Training program is designed to provide 
academic training in areas of personnel shortages.
    The goal of the Rehabilitation Services Administration's (RSA) 
Rehabilitation Training: Rehabilitation Long-Term Training program is 
to increase the number of qualified vocational rehabilitation personnel 
working in State vocational rehabilitation agencies or related 
agencies. At least 75 percent of all grant funds must be used for 
direct payment of student scholarships. Each grantee is required to 
track students receiving scholarships and must maintain information on 
the cumulative support granted to RSA scholars, scholar-debt in years, 
program completion data for each scholar, dates each scholar's work 
begins and is completed to meet his or her payback agreement, current 
home address, and the place of employment of individual scholars.
    Grantees are required to report annually to RSA on these data using 
the RSA Grantee Reporting Form, OMB 1820-0617, an electronic 
reporting system. The RSA Grantee Reporting Form collects specific data 
regarding the number of RSA scholars entering the rehabilitation 
workforce, in what rehabilitation field, and in what type of employment 
(e.g., State agency, nonprofit service provider, or practice group). 
This form allows RSA to measure results against the goal of increasing 
the number of qualified vocational rehabilitation personnel working in 
State vocational rehabilitation agencies or related agencies.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Beverly Steburg, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 5027, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550.

[[Page 2271]]

Telephone: (202) 245-7607 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: January 8, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 07-90 Filed 1-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P