[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8846-8849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04519]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Application Deadline for Fiscal Year 2019; Small, Rural School 
Achievement Program

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program, 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) number 84.358A, 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 and describe the submission requirements and procedures for 
fiscal year (FY) 2019 SRSA grant applications.
    All LEAs eligible for FY 2019 SRSA funds must submit an application 
electronically via Grants.gov by the deadline in this notice.

DATES: 
    Applications Available: February 20, 2019.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 26, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Hitchcock, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 3E-218, Washington, DC 
20202. Telephone: (202) 260-1472. Email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf or a text 
telephone, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Award Information

    Type of Award: Formula grant.
    Available Funds: $90,420,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $0-$60,000.

    Note:  Depending on the number of eligible LEAs identified in a 
given year and the amount appropriated by Congress for the program, 
some eligible LEAs may receive an SRSA allocation of $0 under the 
statutory funding formula.

    Estimated Number of Awards: 3,900.

II. Program Authority and Eligibility Information

Under what statutory authority will FY 2019 SRSA grant awards be made?

    The FY 2019 SRSA grant awards will be made under title V, part B, 
subpart 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 
amended (ESEA).

Which LEAs are eligible for an award under the SRSA program?

    For FY 2019, an LEA (including a public charter school that meets 
the definition of LEA in section 8101(30) of the ESEA) is eligible for 
an award under the SRSA program if it meets one of the following 
criteria:
    (a)(1) 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
    (2) All of the schools served by the LEA are designated with a 
school locale code of 41, 42, or 43 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, that the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by a 
governmental agency of the State;
    (b) The LEA is a member of an educational service agency (ESA) that 
does not receive SRSA funds, and the LEA meets the eligibility 
requirements described in (a)(1) and (2) above; or
    (c) The LEA meets the requirements for a hold harmless award as 
described in section 5212(b)(4) of the ESEA. These are LEAs that are no 
longer eligible for the SRSA program because of amendments made under 
the Every Student Succeeds Act to the locale code methodology and 
designations referenced in section 5211(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the ESEA. 
However, these LEAs may receive an FY 2019 award of 25 percent of the 
amount such agency received for FY 2015, as provided in section 
5212(b)(4) of the ESEA.

    Note:  The ``Choice of Participation'' provision under section 
5225 of the ESEA gives LEAs eligible for both SRSA and the Rural and 
Low-Income School (RLIS) program authorized under title V, part B, 
subpart 2 of the ESEA the option to participate in either the SRSA 
program or the RLIS program. LEAs eligible for both SRSA and RLIS 
are henceforth referred to as ``dual-eligible LEAs.''

Which eligible LEAs must submit an application to receive an FY 2019 
SRSA grant award?

    Under 34 CFR 75.104(a), the Secretary makes a grant only to an 
eligible entity that submits an application.
    In FY 2019, all LEAs eligible to receive an SRSA award are required 
to submit an SRSA application in order to receive SRSA funds, 
regardless of whether the LEA received an award or submitted an 
application in any previous year. This includes LEAs eligible to 
receive an FY 2019 award under the hold harmless provision, dual-
eligible LEAs that choose to participate in the SRSA program instead of 
the RLIS program, and SRSA-eligible LEAs that are members of ESAs that 
do not receive SRSA funds. In the case of SRSA-eligible LEAs that are 
members of SRSA-eligible ESAs, the respective LEAs and ESAs must 
coordinate directly with each other to determine which entity will 
submit an SRSA application, as both entities may not apply for or 
receive SRSA funds. Additionally, we note that dual-eligible LEAs that 
apply for SRSA funds in accordance with these application

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submission procedures will not be considered for an RLIS award.
    We also note that a separate application must be submitted for each 
eligible LEA. For example, if a rural community has two distinct LEAs--
one composed of its elementary school(s) and one composed of its high 
school(s)--each distinct LEA would have to submit its own SRSA 
application.
    A list of LEAs eligible for FY 2019 SRSA grant funds is available 
on the Department's website at: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/reapsrsa/eligibility.html. All LEAs on this list must submit an electronic 
application via Grants.gov in order to receive an FY 2019 SRSA grant 
award. The list identifies those LEAs that meet the eligibility 
requirements for the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) SRSA 
program, those LEAs that meet the eligibility requirements for the REAP 
RLIS program, those LEAs that are dual-eligible, and those LEAs that 
are eligible to receive an SRSA award pursuant to the hold harmless 
provision.
    If an LEA on the Department's list of LEAs eligible to receive an 
FY 2019 SRSA award is no longer in existence as of the 2018-19 school 
year or will close prior to the 2019-2020 school year, the LEA is no 
longer eligible to receive an FY 2019 SRSA award and should not apply.
    An LEA eligible to receive FY 2019 SRSA funds that fails to submit 
an FY 2019 SRSA application or fails to submit an application in 
accordance with the application submission procedures is at risk of not 
receiving an FY 2019 SRSA award. Such LEAs may receive an award only to 
the extent funds become available after awards are made to all eligible 
LEAs that complied with the application procedures.

How must LEAs eligible for an FY 2019 SRSA grant award submit an 
application?

    LEAs must use the Grants.gov site for submitting SRSA applications. 
LEAs should review closely the next section titled Application and 
Submission Information for specific information about how to apply for 
SRSA FY 2019 funds.

III. Application and Submission Information

Electronic Submission of Applications Using Grants.gov

    All LEAs eligible for FY 2019 SRSA grant funds are required to 
submit an electronic application using the Grants.gov Apply site at 
www.Grants.gov by 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019. SRSA 
applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov unless 
you qualify for an exception to this requirement, in accordance with 
the instructions in this section. You may not email an electronic copy 
of a grant application to us.
    A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared 
environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and 
edit different webforms within an application. An applicant can create 
an individual Workspace for each application notice and, thus, 
establish for that application a collaborative application package that 
allows more than one person in the applicant's organization to work 
concurrently on an application. The applicant can, thus, assign other 
users to participate in the Workspace. The system also enables the 
applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions; check them in and 
out and complete them; and submit its application package. For access 
to complete instructions on how to apply, refer to: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.
    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.
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application 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 date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 
11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019. 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 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019. 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 11:59:59 p.m., 
Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019.
     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 program 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 under News and Events on the Department's G5 system home 
page at www.G5.gov. In addition, for specific guidance and procedures 
for submitting an application through Grants.gov, please refer to the 
Grants.gov website at: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: the 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
     When you submit your application electronically, you must 
upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your 
application as files in either Portable Document Format (PDF) or 
Microsoft Word. Although applicants have the option of uploading any 
narrative sections and all other attachments to their application in 
either PDF or Microsoft Word, we recommend applicants submit all 
documents as read-only flattened PDFs, meaning any fillable PDF files 
must be saved and submitted as nonfillable PDF files and not as 
interactive or fillable PDF files, to better ensure applications are 
processed in a more timely, accurate, and efficient manner. If you 
choose to submit your application in Microsoft Word, you may do so 
using any version of Microsoft Word (i.e., a document ending in a .doc 
or .docx extension). If you upload a file type other than PDF or 
Microsoft Word or if you submit a password-protected file, we will be 
unable to review that material. Please note that this will likely 
result in your application not being considered for funding. The 
Department will not convert material from other formats to PDF or 
Microsoft Word.

[[Page 8848]]

     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. Grants.gov 
will also notify you automatically by email if your application met all 
the Grants.gov validation requirements or if there were any errors 
(such as submission of your application by someone other than a 
registered Authorized Organization Representative, or inclusion of an 
attachment with a file name that contains special characters). You will 
be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you 
must still meet the deadline for submission of applications.
     Once your application is successfully validated by 
Grants.gov, the Department will retrieve your application from 
Grants.gov and send you an email with a unique PR/Award number for your 
application.
     These emails do not mean that your application is without 
any disqualifying errors. While your application may have been 
successfully validated by Grants.gov, it must also meet the 
Department's application requirements as specified in this notice and 
in the application instructions. Disqualifying errors could include, 
for instance, failure to submit a required part of the application; or 
failure to meet applicant eligibility requirements. It is your 
responsibility to ensure that your submitted application has met all of 
the Department's requirements.
     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 by the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, the following business day to enable 
you to transmit your application electronically. You also may mail your 
application by following the mailing instructions described elsewhere 
in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on 
the application deadline date, please contact the person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 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 the problem affected your ability to submit your 
application by 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline 
date. We will contact you after we determine 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 send a letter or email with a 
written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two 
grounds for an exception prevents 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. Address and mail your statement to: Mr. Robert Hitchcock, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E-218, 
Washington, DC 20202. Or email your statement to [email protected].
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail instructions described in this notice.

Submission of Paper Applications by Mail

    We discourage paper applications, but if electronic submission is 
not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the internet), you must 
provide a written statement that you intend to submit a paper 
application. Send this written statement 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). Please 
send this statement to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    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 84.358A), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    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.

    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.

    We will not consider applications postmarked after the application 
deadline date.
    Note for Mail of Paper Applications: If you mail 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 (84.358A) of the 
program under which you are submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification 
of receipt

[[Page 8849]]

of your grant application. If you do not receive this notification 
within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should 
call the Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

IV. Other Submission Requirements

Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification Number, 
and System for Award Management

    To do business with the Department of Education, you must:
    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 System for Award 
Management (SAM), the Government's primary registrant database;
    c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and
    d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information 
while your application is under review by the Department and, if you 
are awarded a grant, throughout the grant performance period.
    You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet at the 
following website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. A DUNS number can be 
created within one to two business days.
    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 two to five weeks for your TIN to become active.
    The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business 
days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the 
completeness and accuracy of the data you enter into the SAM.gov 
database. Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal 
financial assistance under a program administered by the Department, 
please allow sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number 
and TIN. We strongly recommend that you register early. If you are 
unable to submit an application on Grants.gov by the application 
deadline because you do not have an active SAM registration, you may 
not be considered for funding.

    Note: Once your SAM.gov registration is active, it may be 24 to 
48 hours before you can access the information in, and submit an 
application through, Grants.gov

    .If you are currently registered with SAM.gov, 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 registration annually. This may take three or more business 
days.
    Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further 
assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in 
SAM or updating your existing SAM account, we have prepared a SAM.gov 
Tip Sheet, which you can find at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html.
    In addition, if you are submitting your SRSA application via 
Grants.gov, you must (1) be designated by your organization as an 
Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself 
with Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the 
following Grants.gov web page: www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html.

V. Acessibility Information and Program Authority

    Accessible Format: 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 compact disc) on request to 
the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations via the Federal Digital System at www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other 
documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text 
or 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.

    Program Authority:  Sections 5211-5212 of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 
7345-7345a.

    Dated: March 7, 2019.
Frank Brogan,
Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2019-04519 Filed 3-11-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P