[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 32 (Thursday, February 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7676-7677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-3535]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Impact Aid Program; Notice Reopening the Application Deadline 
Date for Certain Impact Aid Fiscal Year 2010 Section 8002 and Section 
8003 Grants

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.041.

SUMMARY: The Secretary reopens the application deadline date for the 
submission of e-Applications for certain Impact Aid fiscal year (FY) 
2010 section 8002 and section 8003 grants until February 20, 2009. 
Impact Aid regulations at 34 CFR 222.3 specify that the annual 
application deadline is January 31. The Secretary takes this action to 
allow more time for the preparation and submission of applications only 
by potential applicants that were adversely affected by severe 
inclement weather conditions in their areas during the week before the 
original deadline.

DATES: The new deadline date for affected applicants to submit 
applications is:
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 20, 2009.
    State educational agencies (SEAs) wishing to comment on section 
8002 or section 8003 applications filed by affected local educational 
agencies (LEAs) must do so by March 9, 2009.
    Late Applications: The Secretary will accept and approve for 
payment any otherwise approvable application that is received on or 
before the 60th calendar day after February 20, which is April 21, 
2009; however, any affected applicant submitting an otherwise 
approvable late application will have its payment reduced in accordance 
with section 8005(d)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965, as amended (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 7705(d)(2), by 10 percent of the 
amount it would have received had its application been filed by 
February 20, 2009.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under this reopened deadline, we will not 
accept applications from eligible applicants that submitted their FY 
2010 section 8002 and section 8003 applications to the Department 
before the original deadline date of February 2 (first business day 
after January 31, 2009), 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time.
    If you are an affected section 8002 and section 8003 applicant 
submitting an application under the reopened deadline announced in this 
notice, you must provide a brief explanation with your application 
regarding how weather conditions limited your ability to submit your 
application by the initial deadline. You should also be prepared

[[Page 7677]]

to provide appropriate supporting documentation, if requested.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Hall, Impact Aid Program, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20202-6244. Telephone: (202) 260-3858. If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll 
free, at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday 
through Friday.

Submission of Applications Through the e-Grants System

    Applications for section 8002 and section 8003 grants must be 
submitted electronically through the Department's e-Grants system, 
accessible through the e-Grants portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov. 
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format.
    While completing your electronic application, you will be entering 
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    Please note the following:
     You must complete the electronic submission of your grant 
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the 
application deadline date to begin the application process.
     The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site 
are 6 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until 8 
p.m. Sunday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is 
unavailable Sundays after 8 p.m., and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 
6 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any 
modifications to these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
     You must submit all documents, including all necessary 
assurances and certifications, electronically.
     You must e-mail or fax to the Impact Aid Program office 
all pages of the application requiring a signature, on or before the 
third business day following the deadline specified earlier in this 
section. You must also include your explanation related to weather 
conditions specified earlier with this same e-mail or fax transmission. 
An application is timely filed if the Impact Aid Program receives the 
electronic application on or before 4:30 p.m. on the application 
deadline date, and the signature pages are received by fax or e-mail on 
or before the third business day following the application deadline 
date. The third business day following February 20 is February 25, 
2009. If you choose to fax the signature pages, the Impact Aid Program 
fax number is 1-866-799-1272. Keep your fax receipt as proof of 
successful submission. If you choose to scan your signature pages to a 
PDF document, attach the PDF file to an e-mail message and send it to 
[email protected]. Request a receipt for the e-mail as confirmation of 
timely submission.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment that will include a PR/Award number 
(an identifying number unique to your application). The Department will 
send a second notification to you by e-mail after the application is 
logged into the Impact Aid System. This second notification indicates 
that the Department has received your e-application and the required 
signature pages by fax or e-mail.
    In addition, you must forward a complete copy of the application to 
your SEA at the same time you submit it to the U.S. Department of 
Education. An ``SEA Transmittal Form'' is included with the application 
package for this purpose.
    Application Deadline Date and Late Payment Deadline Date Extensions 
in Case of Technical Issues with the e-Grants.ed.gov System:
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date (February 20, 2009) or the 
late payment deadline date (April 21, 2009), because the e-Application 
system is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of one business 
day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, by mail, 
or by hand delivery. We will grant this extension if--
    (1) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have 
initiated an electronic application for this grant; and
    (2)(a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or 
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date or the late payment deadline date; or
    (b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time 
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date or the late payment deadline date.
    We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability 
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to 
confirm our acknowledgment of any system unavailability, you may 
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or (2) the e-Grants help desk at 1-888-336-
8930. If the e-Application system is unavailable due to technical 
problems with the system and therefore the application deadline is 
extended, an e-mail will be sent to all registered users who have 
initiated an e-Application. Extensions referred to in this section 
apply only to the unavailability of the Department's e-Application 
system.

Waiver of Rulemaking

    34 CFR 222.3, which establishes the annual January 31 Impact Aid 
application deadline, is currently in effect. However, applicants may 
not have had sufficient time to gather data and comply with the annual 
deadline because they were adversely affected by severe weather 
conditions. Because this amendment makes a procedural change for this 
year's affected applications only as a result of unique circumstances, 
proposed rulemaking is not required under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). In 
addition, the Secretary has determined under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that 
proposed rulemaking on this one-time suspension of the regulatory 
deadline date is impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public 
interest.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7702, 7703, 7705.
    Delegation of Authority: The Secretary of Education has delegated 
authority to Joseph Conaty, Director, Academic Improvement and Teacher 
Quality Programs for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education 
to perform the functions of the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 
Secondary Education.

    Dated: February 13, 2009.
Joseph C. Conaty,
Director, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-3535 Filed 2-18-09; 8:45 am]
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