[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 14 (Friday, January 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4147-4151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1527]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Overview 
Information; Alaska Native Education (ANE); Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.356A.
    Dates:
    Applications Available: January 23, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 24, 2009.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Alaska Native Education 
program is to support innovative projects that enhance the educational 
services provided to Alaska Native children and adults. These projects 
may include those activities authorized under section 7304(a)(2) and 
(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended 
(ESEA).

    Note: The construction of facilities that support the operation 
of Alaska Native education programs will be a permissible activity 
only if Congress specifically authorizes the use of FY 2009 funds 
for that purpose.

    Priorities: This competition includes a competitive preference 
priority and an invitational priority. In accordance with 34 CFR 
75.105(b)(2)(iv), the competitive preference priority is from section 
7304(c) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7544(c)). The invitational priority is 
from the notice of final discretionary grant priorities for FY 2009, 
published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2008 (73 FR 70627).
    Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2009 and any subsequent 
year in which we make awards based on the list of unfunded applicants 
from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award an additional five 
points to an application that meets this priority.
    This priority is:
    The Secretary gives priority to applications from Alaska Native 
regional nonprofit organizations or consortia that include at least one 
Alaska Native regional nonprofit organization. In order to receive a 
competitive preference under this priority, an application must provide 
documentation supporting its claim that it meets this priority.
    Invitational Priority: For FY 2009 and any subsequent year in which 
we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, this priority is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets this invitational 
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
    This priority is:
    Secondary Schools. Projects that support activities and 
interventions aimed at improving the academic achievement of secondary 
school students who are at greatest risk of not meeting challenging 
State academic standards and not completing high school.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7541 et seq.
    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 discretionary 
grant priorities for FY 2009, published in the Federal Register on 
November 21, 2008 (73 FR 70627).

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

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration's budget request for 
FY 2009 does not include funds for this program. However, we are 
inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant 
process before the end of the current fiscal year if Congress 
appropriates funds for this program.
    Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of 
applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2010 from the list of 
unfunded applicants from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000-$700,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10 for novice applicants; 20 for non-
novice applicants, including previous grantees under the ANE program. 
The Department will rank and fund two groups of applicants separately: 
Novice applicants will comprise one group, and non-novice applicants 
will comprise the second group. If we do not receive a sufficient 
number of high quality applications from novice applicants, funds set 
aside for novice applicants may be used to fund non-novice applicants, 
including previous grantees under the ANE program. Further information 
regarding our review of these two groups of applications, including the 
definition of novice applicant, is in section V. 2. of this notice.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: (a) Alaska Native organizations;
    (b) Educational entities with experience in developing or operating 
Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska 
Native languages;
    (c) Cultural and community-based organizations with experience in

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developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives; and
    (d) Consortia of organizations and entities described in this 
paragraph to carry out activities that meet the purposes of this 
program.

    Note: A State educational agency or local educational agency may 
apply for an award under this program only as part of a consortium 
involving an Alaska Native organization. The consortium may include 
other eligible applicants.

    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not require cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: You can obtain an 
application package via the Internet or from the program office. To 
obtain a copy via the Internet, use either of the following addresses: 
http://www.grants.gov or http://www.ed.gov/programs/alaskanative/applicant.html. To obtain a copy from the program office, contact: 
Alexis Fisher, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
room 3E242, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 401-0281 or by 
e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can 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 is where you, the applicant, address 
the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. 
You must limit the application narrative to the equivalent of no more 
than 25 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, references, 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).
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
    The page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the budget 
section, including the narrative budget justification; the assurances 
and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the resumes, the 
bibliography, or the letters of support. However, the page limit does 
apply to all of the application narrative section.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that 
exceed the page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: January 23, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 24, 2009.
    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 in paper format 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 of this notice.
    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 in section VII 
of this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the 
application process, the individual's application remains subject to 
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    5. Funding Restrictions: Under section 7304(b) of the ESEA (20 
U.S.C. 7544(b)), not more than five percent of the funds provided to a 
grantee under this competition for any fiscal year may be used for 
administrative purposes. We reference additional 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 ANE program, CFDA Number 84.356A, 
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 ANE program 
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 
84.356, not 84.356A).
    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 dated and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. 
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your 
application if it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the 
Grants.gov system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. We do not consider an application that does 
not comply with the deadline requirements. 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 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date.

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     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.
     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, toll free, 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 4:30:00 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 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person 
listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this 
notice 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 4:30:00 
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: Alexis Fisher, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E242, 
Washington, DC 20202-6200. FAX: (202) 260-8969.
    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 following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.356A), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

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    (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 84.356A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 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

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition 
are from 34 CFR 75.210. The maximum score for all criteria is 100 
points. The maximum possible score for each criterion is indicated in 
parentheses. The selection criteria for this competition are as 
follows:
    (a) Need for project (15 points). In determining the need for the 
proposed project, the Secretary considers the extent to which specific 
gaps or weaknesses in services, infrastructure, or opportunities have 
been identified and will be addressed by the proposed project, 
including the nature and magnitude of those gaps and weaknesses.
    (b) Quality of the project design (40 points). In determining the 
quality of the design of the proposed project, the Secretary considers 
the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.
    (ii) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target 
population or other identified needs.
    (c) Quality of the management plan (30 points). In determining the 
quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing 
project tasks.
    (ii) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and 
continuous improvement in the operation of the proposed project.
    (d) Quality of the project evaluation (15 points). In determining 
the quality of the evaluation for the proposed project, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
proposed project.
    (ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use 
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the 
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and 
qualitative data to the extent possible.
    2. Review of Applications--Novice and Non-Novice Applicants. The 
Department will rank and fund two groups of applicants separately: 
Novice applicants will comprise one group; and non-novice applicants, 
including previous grantees under the ANE program, will comprise the 
second group. If we do not receive a sufficient number of high quality 
applications from novice applicants, funds set aside for novice 
applicants may be used to fund applications submitted by non-novice 
applicants.
    An applicant is considered a ``novice applicant'' if it meets the 
following criteria in 34 CFR 75.225(a)(1) and (b):
    The applicant must--
    (i) Have never received a grant or subgrant under the ANE program;
    (ii) Have never been a member of a group application, submitted in 
accordance with 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129, that received a grant 
under the ANE program; and
    (iii) Have not had an active discretionary grant from the Federal 
Government in the five years before the deadline date for applications 
in this competition. For the purposes of this requirement, a grant is 
active until the end of the grant's project or funding period, 
including any extensions of those periods that extend the grantee's 
authority to obligate funds.
    34 CFR 75.225(a)(2) addresses the requirements for group 
applications submitted by novice applicants. In the case of a group 
application submitted in accordance with 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129, 
each group member must meet the requirements in 34 CFR 75.225(a)(1) and 
(b), previously described in this section of the notice, in order to 
qualify as a novice applicant.
    All applicants should follow the instructions in the application 
package to ensure that they properly indicate in their application 
their status as a novice or non-novice applicant.

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 notify you informally, also.
    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 in this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in 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

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award, you must submit an annual performance report that provides the 
most current performance and financial expenditure information as 
directed by the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also 
require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For 
specific requirements on reporting, please go to http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has developed the following 
performance measures for measuring the overall effectiveness of the ANE 
program: (1) The percentage of Alaska Native students in schools served 
by the program who meet or exceed proficiency standards in reading, 
mathematics, and science on the State assessments; (2) the percentage 
of Alaska Native children participating in early learning and preschool 
programs who consistently demonstrate school readiness in language and 
literacy as measured by the Revised Alaska Development Profile (RADP); 
and (3) the percentage of students in schools served by the program who 
graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma in four 
years.
    All grantees will be expected to submit an annual performance 
report that includes data addressing these performance measures, to the 
extent that they apply to the grantee's project.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Alexis Fisher, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E242, Washington, DC 20202-
6200. Telephone: (202) 401-0281 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package 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 in section VII in this notice.
    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.


    Dated: January 16, 2009.
Kerri L. Briggs,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E9-1527 Filed 1-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P