[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 70 (Thursday, April 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18462-18466]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6958]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview 
Information; Enhanced Assessment Instruments; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards Using Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Funds

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.368.
    Dates: Applications Available: April 12, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 31, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs) and 
consortia of SEAs.

[[Page 18463]]

    Estimated Available Funds: $7,500,000 in FY 2006 funds.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000 to $2,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $1,500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 5.

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

    Project period: Up to 18 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to enhance the 
quality of assessment instruments and systems used by States for 
measuring the achievement of all students.
    Priorities: This competition includes four absolute priorities and 
three competitive preference priorities. In accordance with 34 CFR 
75.105(b)(2)(iv), the absolute priorities are from section 6112 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). The 
competitive preference priorities are from Appendix E to the notice of 
final requirements for optional State consolidated applications 
submitted under section 9302 of the ESEA, published in the Federal 
Register on May 22, 2002 (67 FR 35967).
    Absolute Priorities: For FY 2006, these priorities are absolute 
priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications 
that meet one or more of these priorities.
    These priorities are:
    Absolute Priority 1. Collaborate with institutions of higher 
education, other research institutions, or other organizations to 
improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic 
assessments beyond the requirements for these assessments described in 
section 1111(b)(3) of Title I, Part A of the ESEA.
    Absolute Priority 2. Measure student academic achievement using 
multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple 
sources.
    Absolute Priority 3. Chart student progress over time.
    Absolute Priority 4. Evaluate student academic achievement through 
the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments, such 
as performance and technology-based academic assessments.
    Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2006, these priorities 
are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we 
award up to an additional 35 points to an application, depending on the 
extent to which the application meets these priorities.
    These priorities are:
    Competitive Preference Priority 1. Accommodations and alternate 
assessments (up to 20 points).
    Competitive Preference Priority 2. Collaborative efforts (up to 10 
points).
    Competitive Preference Priority 3. Dissemination (up to 5 points).

    Note: The full text of the competitive preference priorities is 
included in the notice of final requirements published in the 
Federal Register on May 22, 2002 (67 FR 35967) and in the 
application package.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7842 and 7301a.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final requirements 
published in the Federal Register on May 22, 2002 (67 FR 35967).

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $7,500,000 in FY 2006 funds.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000 to $2,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $1,500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 5.

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

    Project period: Up to 18 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs and consortia of SEAs.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.
    3. Other: An application from a consortium of SEAs must designate 
one SEA as the fiscal agent.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Valeria Ford, Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W118, Washington, DC 20202-6132. Telephone: 
(202) 205-2213 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 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 in this section.
    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.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that 
reviewers use to evaluate your application and the absolute and 
competitive preference priorities. You must limit Part III to the 
equivalent of no more than 40 pages, using the following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, and captions as well as all text in charts, 
tables, figures, and graphs.
     Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
    The page limit does not apply to the cover sheet, budget section 
(chart and narrative), assurances and certifications, response 
regarding research activities involving human subjects, GEPA 427 
response, one-page abstract, personnel resumes, and letters of support; 
however, discussion of how the application meets the absolute 
priorities, how well the application meets the competitive preference 
priorities, and how well the application addresses each of the 
selection criteria must be included within the application narrative 
and therefore is subject to the page limit.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that--
     Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
     Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other 
standards.
    3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: April 12, 
2007. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 31, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). If 
duplicate applications are submitted, the last application submitted 
will be considered and not the applications submitted earlier. 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.

[[Page 18464]]

    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    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 Enhanced Assessment Instruments, CFDA Number 84.368 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 Enhanced 
Assessment Instruments at http://www.Grants.gov. You must search for 
the downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA 
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search 
(e.g., search for 84.368, not 84.368A).
    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 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

[[Page 18465]]

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 statement no later than two weeks before the 
application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Valeria Ford, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W118, 
Washington, DC 20202-6132. FAX: (202) 260-7764.
    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 84.368), 
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 84.368), 
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 84.368), 
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 
from Appendix E to the notice of final requirements published in the 
Federal Register on May 22, 2002 (67 FR 35967) and are listed in the 
application package.

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 Notice 
(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: Grantees receiving a multi-year award 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. Grantees will be expected to include in this annual 
performance report documentation of their success in addressing the 
performance measures identified in section 4 below. At the end of the 
project period, grantees must

[[Page 18466]]

submit a final report to the Secretary, including financial information 
as directed by the Secretary. Each State educational agency receiving a 
grant must submit a final report using the U.S. Department of Education 
(ED) Grant Performance Report form describing its activities and the 
result of those activities, under the grant. ED will provide grant 
recipients with the appropriate form and related instructions for 
addressing these reporting requirements.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the ED has developed three measures for evaluating 
the effectiveness of the Enhanced Assessment Instruments grantees: (1) 
The number of States that participated in pilot activities described in 
each proposal; (2) the number of States that participated in Enhanced 
Assessment Grant projects funded by the current or prior competitions; 
and (3) the number of presentations at national conferences sponsored 
by professional education organizations and papers submitted for 
publication in refereed journals.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Valeria Ford, Office of Elementary 
and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., room 3W118, Washington, DC 20202-6132. Telephone: (202) 
205-2213, 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: April 9, 2007.
Kerri L. Briggs,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E7-6958 Filed 4-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P