[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 231 (Monday, December 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72779-72781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28478]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice Inviting Proposals for Ownership and Operation of the 
Online English Literacy Portal, ``U.S.A. Learns Web Portal''

AGENCY: Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting proposals for ownership and operation of the 
Online English Literacy Portal, ``U.S.A. Learns Web Portal.''

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SUMMARY: The President announced, as one of his initiatives to address 
border security and immigration challenges in the United States, a plan 
to have the U.S. Department of Education (Department) develop and 
launch a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English to 
help them expand their opportunities and make effective contributions 
to American society. To implement the President's plan, the 
Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), as 
authorized by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act and through a 
contract, has developed and created the U.S.A. Learns Web Portal, an 
online learning environment designed for limited English proficient 
(LEP) adults whose level of English proficiency is at a low level. The 
portal was launched on November 7, 2008, on the Internet and is 
available for use by the public at no cost. The portal is available at 
the following Web address: http://www.usalearns.org.
    The Department plans to turn over ownership and operation of the 
portal to one or more entities outside of the Federal Government that 
would, with its or their own resources, continue the maintenance and 
upkeep of the portal, make improvements to it, and continue to make the 
portal available at no cost to the public. Through this notice, we are 
inviting proposals from entities interested in owning and operating the 
portal.

DATES: To ensure that your proposal receives consideration, it must be 
submitted to the Department no later than December 31, 2008. The 
Department would like to turn over ownership and operation of the 
portal by or about January 15, 2009.

[[Page 72780]]

    Address for Submission of Proposals: Interested entities should 
submit a proposal for owning and operating the portal, addressing the 
factors and associated criteria outlined in this notice, by an express 
carrier or by e-mail to: Daniel Miller, Deputy Director, Division of 
Adult Education & Literacy, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, 
U.S. Department of Education, 550 12th Street, SW., 11th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20202-7240, or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Miller, (202) 245-7731.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    President Bush announced, in August 2007, a series of initiatives 
to address border security and immigration challenges in the United 
States. The President's plan consisted of 26 actions designed to secure 
the borders and to address needed immigration reforms. Action 26 of the 
plan stated: ``The Department of Education Will Launch A Free, Web-
Based Portal To Help Immigrants Learn English, And Expand This Model 
Over Time. Knowledge of English is the most important component of 
assimilation. An investment in tools to help new Americans learn 
English will be repaid many times over in the contributions these 
immigrants make to our political discourse, economy, and society.'' A 
fact sheet with information about the President's plan to secure the 
borders and to address needed immigration reforms, including the plan 
for a portal is at the following Internet address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070810.html.
    To fulfill the President's plan, OVAE, through a contract, designed 
and created the U.S.A. Learns Web Portal (http://www.usalearns.org), an 
online learning environment for LEP adults. This contract and the 
ensuing project to design and implement the portal are authorized under 
the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of Public Law 
105-220, Section 243, National Leadership Activities (20 U.S.C. 9253). 
The portal was launched on November 7, 2008, on the Internet and is 
available for use by the public at no cost.
    The Department intends, through an appropriate agreement or 
agreements signed by the Department and the selected entity or 
entities, setting forth the rights and responsibilities of each party, 
to transfer ownership and operation of the portal to an entity or 
entities outside of the Federal Government, which would support the 
portal with the entity's or entities' own resources. The agreement will 
include, among other things, a privacy policy that protects the privacy 
of the users of the portal, and limits the use of data about the users 
by the entity or entities selected.
    The Department is registering the U.S.A. Learns Web Portal 
trademark, and, as part of the agreement, will also license the use of 
its trademark to the entity or entities selected. The Department will 
also license the use of the domain name for the portal to the entity or 
entities selected, or to one of the entities selected.
    The Department believes that the effectiveness of the portal will 
be enhanced by an outside entity or entities taking responsibility for 
the portal's ownership and continued operation. We expect to provide 
the entity or entities selected with information we have gathered on 
the early use of the portal, including the costs of operation, in order 
to help it or them maintain, operate, and enhance the portal 
effectively. We believe that turning over ownership and operation of 
the portal to an entity or entities outside the Federal Government will 
provide long-lasting benefits to the intended audience and to the 
Nation.

Responsibilities of the Selected Entity or Entities

    The duties of the portal owner or owners will include, at a 
minimum: maintaining the portal in at least the same condition in which 
it was received; making it readily available at all times to the public 
at no cost; solving any implementation problems to keep the portal 
running in at least the same condition in which it was received; 
enhancing the quality of the content made available through the portal; 
and making improvements to the operation of the portal, as appropriate. 
A link to additional information on the portal, on such matters as its 
functionalities, operating standards, and capacity, will be made 
available in the near future on the Department's Internet Web site at 
the following address: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html.
    Based on these general expectations, an entity interested in 
acquiring ownership of the portal should submit a proposal that 
addresses the following key factors, which should demonstrate the 
organization's commitment to, and ability to facilitate, adult 
literacy, distance learning, and effective management of the portal:

Key Factors

     A commitment to helping improve adult literacy.
     A substantive interest in the goals of the U.S.A. Learns 
Web Portal and an expertise in the interests of LEP adults, especially 
those with low levels of English proficiency, the subgroup that the 
Department has targeted as likely users of the portal.
     The technological infrastructure and other resources to 
operate and maintain the U.S.A. Learns Web Portal and make the portal 
available to the public free of charge.
     Staff expertise in Web site development, maintenance, and 
on-line instruction.
     A plan to use an advisory committee with appropriate 
expertise to help the entity administer the portal.

    Note: The offeror has significant flexibility in deciding on the 
composition of the advisory committee.

     Fiscal and management responsibility.
    The Department will use the following criteria to evaluate how well 
the proposals submitted in response to this notice address these 
factors:

    Note: The maximum total score any proposal can receive is 100 
points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in 
parentheses below.

Technical Approach (35 points)

     The extent to which the entity that submits a proposal 
(the ``offeror'') demonstrates a commitment to adult literacy through 
previous projects and thorough knowledge of the field. (15 points)
     The extent to which the offeror has a thorough 
understanding of the target population and of how to provide 
appropriate instructional resources to that target population. (10 
points)
     The extent to which the offeror describes a clear vision 
for the portal and plans for the enhancement and continued operation of 
U.S.A. Learns Web Portal. (10 points)

Organizational Capacity (30 points)

     The quality of the proposed project personnel, and the 
extent to which the personnel have the appropriate qualifications, 
competencies, and experience in the management of this type of portal 
or related distance learning mechanisms. (15 points)
     The extent to which the offeror has the technological and 
financial resources to maintain and operate U.S.A. Learns Web Portal 
and ensure that the portal is made available to the public free of 
charge. (15 points)

[[Page 72781]]

Management Plan (35 points)

     The extent to which the offeror provides a description of 
its plan for managing the project in a clear and sequential fashion, 
and the extent to which that plan provides credible evidence that the 
management of personnel, physical resources, activities, and work 
production will result in a robust portal with a 99.99 percent ``uptime 
rate.'' (20 points)
     The quality of the offeror's plans to establish and work 
with an advisory committee that has appropriate expertise to advise the 
offeror on its implementation of the project. (5 points)
     The extent to which the time commitments of the offeror's 
staff are appropriate to operating and maintaining U.S.A. Learns Web 
Portal. (5 points)
     The extent to which the offeror submitted a summary of a 
plan to evaluate the use and effectiveness of the portal, so that it 
can be improved. (5 points)

Other Requirements for the Content of Proposals

    Proposals submitted in response to this notice also must include 
the following information:
     Name, address, and contact information for the entity 
submitting the proposal.
     Mission statement of the entity.
     Capability statement (must address the key factors and 
each component of the selection criteria).
     Entity's Web site URL.
     Annual report or similar report on the condition of the 
entity.
     Description of existing programs owned and operated by the 
entity that could support the goals of the U.S.A. Learns Web Portal.
     A signed assurance by an appropriate officer of the entity 
indicating that the entity agrees to own and operate the portal 
consistent with its proposal and with the purposes and provisions of 
this notice, and understands that, if it does not do so, the ownership 
of the portal, all content therein provided by the Department, and all 
databases needed to operate the portal will revert to the Department, 
which can award it to another entity or entities in accordance with a 
notice published in the Federal Register. The signed assurance shall 
acknowledge that the Department shall transfer its specific rights and 
interest in data and content of the portal. In addition, the assurance 
shall acknowledge that in the event of any reversion of the portal to 
the Department, the Department shall possess the rights and interest in 
data and content of the portal provided by the Department, including 
all databases needed to operate the portal. In the assurance the entity 
will also agree to submit semi-annual reports on the operation and use 
of the portal in such detail as the Department specifies in the 
agreement that the parties will sign.

Availability of Funds

    There are no Federal funds available to support the portal once 
ownership and operation have been transferred from the Federal 
Government. It will be the sole responsibility of the selected entity 
or entities to bear all costs associated with ownership and operation 
of the portal.

Interests of the Federal Government

    The Department will transfer ownership of the portal and its 
content to the entity or entities selected. The Department will 
transfer the rights and interest it possesses in data and content 
transferred to the entity or entities. In addition, as noted elsewhere 
in this notice, if the entity or entities selected operates the portal 
in a manner that is not consistent with its or their proposal or 
proposals and with the purposes and provisions of this notice, or if 
the entity or entities ceases to operate the portal, the ownership of 
the portal, all content therein provided by the Department, and all 
databases needed to operate the portal will revert to the Department, 
and the entity or entities will not be authorized to operate the 
portal. Upon such a reversion, the Federal Government shall possess the 
rights and interest in data and content of the portal originally 
provided by the Department, including all databases needed to operate 
the portal. Under these circumstances, the Department may award the 
ownership of the portal to another entity or entities in accordance 
with a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You can 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.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.191X Adult 
Education--National Leadership Activities)

    Dated: November 25, 2008.
Troy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. E8-28478 Filed 11-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P