[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80351-80354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33004]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Application for New Awards; Indian Education Formula Grants to 
Local Educational Agencies

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

ACTION: Notice.

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Overview Information

    Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies.
    Notice inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2012.
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.060A.
    Dates:
    Part I of the Formula Grant Electronic Application System for 
Indian Education (EASIE) Applications Available: January 9, 2012.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Part I Applications: February 10, 2012, 
11:59:59 p.m., Washington, DC time.
    Part II of the Formula Grant EASIE Applications Available: April 2, 
2012.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Part II Applications: May 4, 2012, 
11:59:59 p.m., Washington, DC time.

    Note:  Applicants must meet the deadlines for both Part I and 
Part II to receive funds as part of the initial grant awards, which 
we expect to issue around July 1, 2012. If there are funds remaining 
after the initial grant awards are made, the Department will give 
priority to applicants that filed a timely application for Part I, 
but missed the deadline for Part II. Applicants that missed the Part 
I deadline will only be funded if there are funds remaining after 
awards are made to all applicants that met the Part I deadline 
(including those applicants that met the Part I deadline, but missed 
the Part II deadline).

    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 3, 2012.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Indian Education Formula Grants to Local 
Educational Agencies program provides grants to support local 
educational agencies (LEAs) and other eligible entities described in 
this notice in their efforts to reform and improve elementary and 
secondary school programs that serve Indian students. The Department 
funds comprehensive programs that address the language and

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cultural needs of Indian students, including professional development 
for teachers of Indian students, and that are designed to help Indian 
students meet the same State academic content and student academic 
achievement standards used for all students.
    In addition, under section 7116 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), the Secretary will, upon 
receipt of an acceptable plan for the integration of education and 
related services, and in cooperation with other relevant Federal 
agencies, authorize the entity receiving the funds under this program 
to consolidate all Federal formula funds that are to be used 
exclusively for Indian students. Instructions for submitting an 
integration of education and related services plan are included in the 
EASIE, which is described elsewhere in this notice under Application 
Process and Submission Information.

    Note:  Under the Indian Education Formula Grants to Local 
Educational Agencies program, applicants are required to develop the 
project for which an application is made (a) in open consultation 
with parents of Indian children and teachers and, if appropriate, 
Indian students from secondary schools, including through public 
hearings held to provide a full opportunity to understand the 
program and to offer recommendations regarding the program (section 
7114(c)(3)(C) of the ESEA); (b) with the participation of a parent 
committee selected in accordance with section 7114(c)(4) of the ESEA 
and with the written approval of that parent committee (section 
7114(c)(4) of the ESEA).


    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 7421 et seq.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99.

    Note:  The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized Indian tribes.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational 
Agencies.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$104,331,000 for this program for FY 2012. The actual level of funding, 
if any, depends on final Congressional action. However, we are inviting 
applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if 
Congress appropriates funds for this program.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $4,000-$2,738,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $82,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 1,276.

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

    Project Period: 12 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Certain LEAs, including charter schools 
authorized as LEAs under State law, as prescribed by section 7112(b) of 
the ESEA, certain schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education of 
the U.S. Department of the Interior, as prescribed by section 7113(d) 
of the ESEA, and Indian tribes under certain conditions, as prescribed 
by section 7112(c) of the ESEA.
    2.a. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.
    b. Supplement-Not-Supplant: This program involves supplement-not-
supplant funding requirements. Section 7114(c)(1) of ESEA states that 
the local educational agency will use these grant funds only to 
supplement the funds that, in the absence of these Federal funds, such 
agency would make available for the education of Indian children, and 
not to supplant such funds.

IV. Application Process and Submission Information

    1. How to Request an Application: Applications for grants under 
this program must be submitted electronically using the Formula Grant 
EASIE. 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 
requirements, please refer to section IV.7. Other Submission 
Requirements of this notice.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, 
or computer diskette) by contacting the person or team listed under For 
Further Information Contact in section VI of this notice.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the online application package for this program. 
The online application requires the submission of data related to the 
Performance Measures, which are listed in this notice in section V. 
Grant Administration Information.
    The application submission under this program is entirely 
electronic except for the submission of an Indian Parent Committee 
Approval form. After the Formula Grant EASIE Part II application is 
certified, the applicant must submit a signed Indian Parent Committee 
Approval form within three business days of certification. The form is 
available through the Formula Grant EASIE. This requirement applies 
only to applications from LEAs and does not apply to applications from 
Bureau of Indian Education schools or Indian tribes.
    3. Submission Dates and Times: Part I of the Formula Grant 
Electronic Application System for Indian Education (EASIE) Applications 
Available: January 9, 2012.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Part I Applications: February 10, 2012, 
11:59:59 p.m., Washington, DC time.
    Part II of the Formula Grant EASIE Applications Available: April 2, 
2012.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Part II Applications: May 4, 2012, 
11:59:59 p.m., Washington, DC time.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted 
electronically using the Formula Grant EASIE. 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 requirements, 
please refer to section IV.7. Other Submission Requirements of this 
notice.
    For initial grant awards, we do not consider an application that 
does not comply with the deadline requirements of Part I of EASIE.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation process 
should contact the person listed under For Further Information Contact 
in section VI 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.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 3, 2012.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive 
Order 12372 and the regulations on 34 CFR part 79. Information about 
Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order 
12372 is in the application package for this program.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference additional regulations 
outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of 
this notice.
    6. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification 
Number, and Central Contractor Registry: To do business with the 
Department of Education, you must--

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    a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a 
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
    b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the Central 
Contractor Registry (CCR), the Government's primary registrant 
database;
    c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and
    d. Maintain an active CCR registration with current information 
while your application is under review by the Department and, if you 
are awarded a grant, during the project period.
    You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number 
can be created within one business day.
    If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or 
organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service. 
If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal 
Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a 
new TIN, please allow 2-5 weeks for your TIN to become active.
    The CCR registration process may take five or more business days to 
complete. If you are currently registered with the CCR, you may not 
need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN 
associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will 
need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take 
three or more business days to complete.
    7. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program 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 Indian Education Formula Grants 
to Local Educational Agencies--84.060A must be submitted electronically 
using the Formula Grant EASIE.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic 
submission requirement described later in this section under Exception 
to Electronic Submission Requirement, and follow the submission rules 
outlined therein.
    Formula Grant EASIE Electronic Application System: Formula Grant 
EASIE is an easy-to-use, electronic application system. It imports data 
from State submissions to EDFacts, the Department's data collection 
system that contains performance information from State educational 
agencies about schools and Federal education programs. To the extent 
that your State has provided the necessary EDFacts data files, Formula 
Grant EASIE will be able to interface with EDFacts and pull those LEA-
specific data into the application. Additionally, this system allows 
the Department to review applications and interact online with 
applicants during the application review and approval process.
    The Formula Grant EASIE application is divided into two parts--Part 
I and Part II.
    Part I, Student Count, provides the appropriate data-entry screens 
to submit your Indian student count totals.
    Part II, Program and Budget Information, provides your award amount 
based on the Indian student count total submitted under Part I. Part II 
also enables you to enter student performance data, identify your 
project's services and activities, and build a realistic program budget 
based on an estimated grant amount. Based on student assessment data, 
you will select your program objectives and services from a variety of 
menu options that were designed with grantee input.
    Registration for Formula Grant EASIE: Entities are encouraged to 
register as soon as possible at the registration Web site: 
www.easie.org to ensure that any potential registration issues are 
resolved prior to the deadline for the submission of an application. 
The purpose of the initial registration is to re-activate entities' 
access to EASIE and to ensure that the correct entity information 
(e.g., NCES or DUNS numbers) is pre-populated into the first part of 
Formula Grant EASIE. The registration Web site does not serve as the 
entity's grant application. The registration must be completed by 
current, former, and new applicants interested in submitting an Indian 
Formula Grant EASIE application. For information on how to register, 
contact the EDFacts Partner Support Center listed elsewhere in this 
notice under For Further Information Contact.
    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 EASIE system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the EASIE system;

and

     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date for Part I (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: Bernard Garcia, U.S. 
Department of Education, Office of Indian Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue SW., Room 3E307, Washington, DC 20202-6335. Fax: (202) 205-0606.
    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 U.S Department of 
Education, Office of Indian Education. You must mail the original and 
two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline 
dates for both Part I and Part II, to the Office of Indian Education at 
the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian 
Education, Attention: CFDA Number 84.060A, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 
Room 3E307, Washington, DC 20202-6335.
    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.
    For initial grant awards, if your application is postmarked after 
the application deadline date for Part I, we will not consider your 
application.

    Note:  The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a 
dated postmark. Before

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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 dates for both Part I and Part II, to the 
Department at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, 
Office of Indian Education, Attention: CFDA Number 84.060A, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E307, Washington, DC 20202-6335.
    The Program Office 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 Program Office 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 Office of 
Indian Education at (202) 260-3774.

V. Grant Administration Information

    1. 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 a grant in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    2. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established the 
following key performance measures for assessing the effectiveness and 
efficiency of the Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational 
Agencies program: (1) The percentage of American Indian and Alaska 
Native students in grades four and eight who score at or above the 
basic level in reading on the National Assessment of Educational 
Progress (NAEP); (2) the percentage of American Indian and Alaska 
Native students in grades four and eight who score at or above the 
basic level in mathematics on the NAEP; (3) the percentage of American 
Indian and Alaska Native students in grades three through eight meeting 
State performance standards by scoring at the proficient or the 
advanced levels in reading and mathematics on State assessments; (4) 
the difference between the percentage of American Indian and Alaska 
Native students in grades 3 through 8 at the proficient or advanced 
levels in reading and mathematics on State assessments and the 
percentage of all students scoring at those levels; (5) the percentage 
of American Indian and Alaska Native students who graduate from high 
school; and (6) the percentage of funds used by grantees prior to award 
close-out.

VI. Agency Contacts

    For Further Information Contact: For questions about the Formula 
Grant Program, contact Bernard Garcia, U.S. Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E307, Washington, DC 20202-6335. 
Telephone: (202) 260-1454 or by email: [email protected]. For 
questions about the EASIE application, contact the EDFacts Partner 
Support Center, telephone: (877) 457-3336 (877) HLP-EDEN or by email 
at: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
EDFacts Partner Support Center, toll free, at 1-(888) 403-3336 (888) 
403-EDEN.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy 
of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 
large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the EDFacts 
Partner Support Center. Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via 
the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can 
view this document, as well as other documents of this Department 
published in the Federal Register in text or Adobe Portable Document 
Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 
available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: December 20, 2011.
Michael Yudin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2011-33004 Filed 12-22-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P