[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19209-19210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9668]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Small, Rural School Achievement Program

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice announcing application deadline.

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    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number 84.358A.

SUMMARY: Under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) Program, the 
U.S. Department of Education (Department) awards grants on a formula 
basis to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to address the 
unique needs of rural school districts. In this notice, we establish 
the deadline for submission of fiscal year (FY) 2009 SRSA grant 
applications.
    Application Deadline: June 30, 2009, 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, DC 
time.
    An eligible LEA that is required to submit an application must do 
so electronically by the application deadline specified in this notice. 
If it submits its application after this deadline, the LEA will receive 
a grant award only to the extent that funds are available after the 
Department awards grants to other eligible LEAs under the program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Which LEAs Are Eligible for an Award Under the SRSA program?

    An LEA (which includes public charter schools that are considered 
LEAs under State law) is eligible for an award under the SRSA program 
if--
    (a) The total number of students in average daily attendance at all 
of the schools served by the LEA is fewer than 600, or each county in 
which a school served by the LEA is located has a total population 
density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; and
    (b) All of the schools served by the LEA are designated with a 
school locale code of 7 or 8 by the Department's National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES), or the Secretary has determined, based on 
a demonstration by the LEA and concurrence of the State educational 
agency (SEA), that the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by a 
governmental agency of the State.
    The school locale codes are the locale codes determined on the 
basis of the NCES school code methodology in place on the date of 
enactment of section 6211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965, as amended.

Which Eligible LEAs Must Submit an Application To Receive a FY 2009 
SRSA Grant Award?

    An eligible LEA must submit an application to receive a FY 2009 
SRSA grant award if it falls under any of the following categories:
    1. The LEA never submitted an application for SRSA funds in any 
prior year;
    2. The LEA received an SRSA grant award for FY 2006 and, as of 
December 31, 2008, had not drawn down from the Department's Grant 
Administration and Payment System any of its FY 2006 SRSA funds;
    3. The LEA was identified in a prior year as needing to re-apply 
for SRSA funds because of the absence of drawdown activity, but did not 
do so.
    Under the regulations in 34 CFR 75.104(a), the Secretary makes 
grants only to an eligible party that submits an application. Given the 
limited purpose served by the application under the SRSA program, the 
Secretary considers the application requirement to be met if the LEA 
submitted an SRSA application for any prior year and does not fall 
under any of the categories listed above requiring the submission of a 
new application. In this circumstance, unless the LEA advises the 
Secretary by the application deadline that it is withdrawing its 
application, the Secretary deems the application that the LEA 
previously submitted to remain in effect for FY 2009 funding, and the 
LEA does not have to submit an additional application.
    The Department intends to provide, by April 30, 2009, a list of 
LEAs eligible for FY 2009 funds on the SRSA Web site at http://www.ed.gov/programs/reapsrsa/index.html under the ``Eligibility'' 
hyperlink. The Web site will indicate which eligible LEAs must submit a 
new application to the Department to receive an FY 2009 SRSA

[[Page 19210]]

grant award, and which eligible LEAs are considered already to have met 
the application requirement.
    Eligible LEAs that must submit a new application in order to 
receive FY 2009 SRSA funds must do so electronically by the deadline 
established in this notice.
    Electronic Submission of Applications:
    An eligible LEA that is required to submit an application to 
receive FY 2009 SRSA funds must submit an electronic application by 
June 30, 2009, 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time. Submission of an 
electronic application involves the use of the Department's Electronic 
Grant Application System (e-Application) available through the 
Department's e-Grants system.
    You can access the electronic application for the SRSA Program at: 
http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    Once you access this site, you will receive specific instructions 
regarding the information to include in your application.
    The 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, because of maintenance, the 
system is unavailable between 8 p.m. on Sundays and 6 a.m. on Mondays, 
and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, 
DC time. Any modifications to these hours are posted on the e-Grants 
Web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eric Schulz, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W107, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 401-0039 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 may obtain this notice in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as 
well as other Department of Education documents 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 version of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7345-7345b.
    Delegation of Authority: The Secretary of Education has delegated 
to Joseph C. Conaty, Director, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality 
Programs for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the 
authority to perform the functions of the Assistant Secretary for 
Elementary and Secondary Education.

    Dated: April 23, 2009.
Joseph C. Conaty,
Director, Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-9668 Filed 4-27-09; 8:45 am]
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