[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26082-26088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11677]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; Project Prevent Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice
inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2019 for the Project Prevent
grant program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number
84.184M. This notice relates to the approved information collection
under OMB control number 1894-0006.
DATES:
Applications Available: June 5, 2019.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 15, 2019.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 13, 2019.
ADDRESSES: For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an
application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to
Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the
Federal Register on February 13, 2019 (84 FR 3768), and available at
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-02-13/pdf/2019-02206.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole A. White, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E326, Washington, DC 20202-
6450. Telephone: (202) 453-6729. Email: [email protected].
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Project Prevent grant program provides
grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to increase their capacity
to help schools in communities with pervasive violence to better
address the needs of affected students and to break the cycle of
violence in those communities.
Background: Children's exposure to violence, whether as victims or
witnesses, is often associated with long-term physical, psychological,
and emotional harms. These harms include, among others, depression,
anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders; failing or having difficulty in
school; and delinquency or criminal behavior, including violent
acts.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227744.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In December 2018, the Federal Commission on School Safety (FCSS)
released its final report.\2\ The report offers several recommendations
for States, local communities, and the Federal government to improve
school safety. The Project Prevent grant program supports activities
directly linked with recommendations identified in the FCSS. Under this
program, grantees may use funds to address some of those FCSS
recommendations in their local districts as they develop approaches to
improving school engagement, school safety, and the school environment
for all students.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ https://www2.ed.gov/documents/school-safety/school-safety-report.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Prevent grants will enable LEAs to increase their capacity
to identify, assess, and serve students exposed to pervasive violence,
helping LEAS to offer affected students mental health services for
trauma or anxiety; support conflict resolution programs; and implement
other school-based violence prevention strategies in order to reduce
the likelihood that these students will later commit violent acts.
Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and two
competitive preference priorities. We are establishing the absolute
priority and Competitive Preference Priority 1 for the FY 2019 grant
competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the
list of unfunded
[[Page 26083]]
applications from this competition, in accordance with section
437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C.
1232(d)(1). In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), Competitive
Preference Priority 2 is from the Department's Notice of Final
Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grant
Programs (Supplemental Priorities), published in the Federal Register
on March 2, 2018 (83 FR 9096).
Absolute Priority: This priority is an absolute priority. Under 34
CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet this priority.
This priority is:
Expanding the Capacity of LEAs to Assist Schools in Communities
With Pervasive Violence to Break the Cycle of Violence by Better
Meeting the Needs of Affected Students.
Under this priority, we provide funding for projects to expand the
capacity of LEAs to more effectively assist impacted schools in
communities with pervasive violence to better meet the needs of
students directly or indirectly exposed to pervasive violence.
Applicants must address each of the following four subparts of this
absolute priority. Projects must offer students: (1) Access to school-
based counseling services, or referrals to community-based counseling
services, for assistance in coping with trauma or anxiety; (2) school-
based social emotional and behavioral supports for students to help
address the effects of violence; (3) conflict resolution and other
school-based strategies to prevent future violence; and (4) activities
designed to promote a safer and improved school environment, which may
include activities designed to decrease the incidence of harassment,
bullying, fighting, gang participation, sexual assault, and substance
abuse.
Projects funded under this priority may use up to 12 months during
the first year of the project period for program planning. Applicants
that propose to use this option must provide sufficient justification
for why this program planning time is necessary, provide the intended
outcomes of program planning in Year 1, and include a description of
the proposed strategies and activities to be supported, such as
developing baseline Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 data
as described in the Performance Measures section of this notice.
Competitive Preference Priorities: These priorities are competitive
preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(1), we award an
additional eight points to an application that meets Competitive
Preference Priority 1, and we award up to an additional two points to
an application, depending on how well the application meets Competitive
Preference Priority 2, for a maximum of ten possible additional points
under the competitive preference priorities. An applicant must clearly
indicate in the abstract section of its application that it is
addressing a competitive preference priority or priorities, including
which of the priorities its application addresses.
These priorities are:
Competitive Preference Priority 1--Collaboration With a Local
Mental Health Agency (up to 8 points).
An application that includes a memorandum of agreement (MOA) or
memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the authorized
representative of a local mental health agency that agrees to
collaborate with the applicant on the proposed project and provide
resources and/or administer services that are likely to substantially
contribute to positive outcomes for the proposed project.
Competitive Preference Priority 2--Fostering Knowledge and
Promoting the Development of Skills That Prepare Students To Be
Informed, Thoughtful, and Productive Individuals and Citizens (up to 2
points).
Supporting projects likely to improve student academic performance
and better prepare students for employment, responsible citizenship,
and fulfilling lives, including by preparing children or students to do
one or more of the following:
(i) Develop positive personal relationships with others.
(ii) Develop determination, perseverance, and the ability to
overcome obstacles.
(iii) Develop self-esteem through perseverance and earned success.
(iv) Develop problem-solving skills.
(v) Develop self-regulation in order to work toward long-term
goals.
Requirements: We are establishing these application requirements
for the FY 2019 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we
make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this
competition, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C.
1232(d)(1).
Application Requirements: Applicants must describe the following in
their applications:
(a) The severity and magnitude of the problem and identification of
schools to be served by the proposed project.
Applicants must identify the schools to be served by project
activities and describe how pervasive violence in the community is
specifically affecting students in those schools. Applicants must
describe the nature of the problem for the LEA, based on information
such as, but not limited to, incidents of community domestic violence
or violent crime; rates of child abuse and neglect; school crime and
safety data; student mental health screenings or assessments; surveys
of school climate; surveys of student engagement; or other relevant
data and information. The description may also include demographic data
provided by U.S. Census surveys. In order to assess the magnitude of
the problem and ensure the schools selected have the greatest need,
school data cited must be compared to similar data at the State or
local level, and on a per capita basis (such as homicides per 100,000
persons) when available.
(b) Collaboration and coordination with related Federal, State, and
local initiatives.
Applicants must describe how they intend to work collaboratively
with Federal, State, and local juvenile justice, mental health, public
health, child welfare, or other community agencies to achieve project
goals and objectives. Applicants must also describe proposed
coordination with existing federally funded efforts related to youth
violence prevention and mental health promotion (such as other violence
prevention-related grants administered by the U.S. Department of
Justice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \3\), if applicable.
Evidence of collaboration and coordination must be provided through
letters of support or MOAs/MOUs from local or State agencies and other
federally funded projects, if applicable. Finally, applicants must
describe how they will use Project Prevent grant program funds to
supplement, rather than supplant, existing, ongoing, or new efforts to
reduce youth violence and mitigate the effects of pervasive violence on
students.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See, for example, https://www.justice.gov/ovw, https://www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence, https://www.ovc.gov/, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants, and https://www.cdc.gov/grants/index.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) Building greater and more effective family engagement in the
education of their children or students.
Applicants must describe how the proposed project will encourage or
improve family engagement.
(d) Creating or expanding partnerships with community-based
organizations to provide supports and services to students and
families.
Applicants must describe how they will partner with community-based
[[Page 26084]]
organizations (e.g., local civic or community service organizations,
local faith-based organizations, or local foundations or non-profit
organizations) to provide support to students and families.
(e) Activities that will expand and improve LEA capacity to serve
students exposed to pervasive violence and ensure affected students
receive mental health services.
Applicants must describe the specific activities they will conduct
to expand and improve LEA capacity to serve students exposed to
pervasive violence and to ensure that affected students receive
appropriate mental health services. To meet this requirement, the
applicant must propose to conduct three or more of the following:
(1) Professional development opportunities for LEA and school
mental health staff (e.g., counselors, psychologists, and social
workers) on how to screen for and respond to violence-related trauma
and implement appropriate school-based mitigation strategies or trauma-
informed care.
(2) Activities designed to improve the range, availability, and
quality of school-based mental health services by hiring school and
clinical psychologists, school counselors, or school social workers
with expertise or training in violence prevention and trauma-informed
care and qualified to respond to the mental health needs of students
who have experienced trauma as a result of exposure to violence.
(3) Training for school staff (e.g., teachers, administrators, and
support staff), community partners, youth, and parents on the problem
of student exposure to pervasive violence, as well as the importance of
screening students and providing interventions to help students cope
with traumatic events.
(4) Activities that address the needs of students in affected
schools by developing or improving processes to better target services
to these students and developing or improving processes to assess
students who are exposed to pervasive violence and who may be
experiencing resulting mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
(5) Activities designed to enhance linkages between LEA mental
health services and community mental health systems to ensure affected
students receive referrals to treatment as appropriate.
(f) The delivery of a tiered continuum of evidence-based programs
and practices in selected schools to promote conflict resolution,
improve school climate and safety, and implement other school-based
strategies to break the cycle of violence.
Applicants must describe the continuum of evidence-based programs
and practices that will be implemented at the school level and how
these programs and practices will be organized to provide
differentiated support based on student need and to break the cycle of
violence. These programs and practices must include all of the
following:
(1) Interventions and activities that are available to all students
in a school, regardless of risk level, with the goal of preventing
negative or violent behavior (such as harassment, bullying, fighting,
gang participation, sexual assault, and substance abuse) and enhancing
student knowledge and skills regarding positive behavior (such as
expected school behavior and conflict resolution).
(2) Interventions and activities (such as those related to anger
management, conflict resolution, promotion of positive behavior, and
development of protective factors) that target individual students or a
sub-group of students whose risk of developing mental or behavioral
disorders is significantly higher than average.
(3) Interventions and services that target individual students who
are at risk for, and have shown signs of, mental, emotional, or
behavioral disorders; exhibit aggressive, violent, or disruptive
behavior; or participate in gangs.
To meet this requirement, applicants must discuss the research and
evidence supporting the proposed programs and practices and the
expected effects on the target population. Applicants may use the
Federal registries listed in the application package for identifying
such programs and practices.
(g) The framework for planning, implementation, and sustainability.
Applicants must describe how the proposed project is integrated and
aligned with the mission and vision of the LEA, including a description
of the relationship of the project to the LEA's existing school safety
or related plan. Applicants must include a description of anticipated
challenges to success of the project and how they will be addressed,
such as mitigating turnover at the LEA leadership, school leadership,
and staff levels. Applicants must also include a timeline of activities
for--
(1) Planning, which includes: Conducting a needs assessment that is
comprehensive and examines areas for improvement related to learning
conditions that create a safe and healthy environment for students,
creating a logic model, completing resource mapping, selecting
evidence-based programs, developing evaluation plans, and engaging
partners and stakeholders;
(2) Implementation, which includes: Training on evidence-based
programs, executing evidence-based programs, continuing engagement with
stakeholders, communicating and collaborating strategically with
community partners, and evaluating program implementation; and
(3) Sustainability, which includes: Further developing and
expanding on the project's successes beyond the end of the grant, at
the school and community levels, in alignment with other related
efforts.
Definitions: We are establishing the definition of ``school
engagement'' in this notice for the FY 2019 grant competition and any
subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded
applications from this competition, in accordance with section
437(d)(1) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1). The definition of ``local
educational agency'' is from 20 U.S.C. 7801(30). The definitions of
``ambitious,'' ``baseline,'' ``evidence-based,'' ``experimental
study,'' ``logic model,'' ``project component,'' ``promising
evidence,'' ``quasi-experimental design study,'' ``relevant outcome,''
and ``What Works Clearinghouse Handbook'' are from 34 CFR 77.1.
These definitions are:
Ambitious means promoting continued, meaningful improvement for
program participants or for other individuals or entities affected by
the grant, or representing a significant advancement in the field of
education research, practices, or methodologies. When used to describe
a performance target, whether a performance target is ambitious depends
upon the context of the relevant performance measure and the baseline
for that measure.
Baseline means the starting point from which performance is
measured and targets are set.
Evidence-based means the proposed project component is supported by
promising evidence.
Experimental study means a study that is designed to compare
outcomes between two groups of individuals (such as students) that are
otherwise equivalent except for their assignment to either a treatment
group receiving a project component or a control group that does not.
Randomized controlled trials, regression discontinuity design studies,
and single-case design studies are the specific types of experimental
studies that, depending on their design and implementation (e.g.,
sample attrition in randomized controlled trials and regression
discontinuity design studies), can meet What Works
[[Page 26085]]
Clearinghouse (WWC) standards without reservations as described in the
WWC Handbook:
(a) A randomized controlled trial employs random assignment of, for
example, students, teachers, classrooms, or schools to receive the
project component being evaluated (the treatment group) or not to
receive the project component (the control group).
(b) A regression discontinuity design study assigns the project
component being evaluated using a measured variable (e.g., assigning
students reading below a cutoff score to tutoring or developmental
education classes) and controls for that variable in the analysis of
outcomes.
(c) A single-case design study uses observations of a single case
(e.g., a student eligible for a behavioral intervention) over time in
the absence and presence of a controlled treatment manipulation to
determine whether the outcome is systematically related to the
treatment.
Local educational agency (LEA) means:
(a) A public board of education or other public authority legally
constituted within a State for either administrative control or
direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary
schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school
district, or other political subdivision of a State, or of or for a
combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a
State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or
secondary schools.
(b) The term includes any other public institution or agency having
administrative control and direction of a public elementary school or
secondary school.
(c) The term includes an elementary school or secondary school
funded by the Bureau of Indian Education but only to the extent that
including the school makes the school eligible for programs for which
specific eligibility is not provided to the school in another provision
of law and the school does not have a student population that is
smaller than the student population of the local educational agency
receiving assistance under the ESEA with the smallest student
population, except that the school shall not be subject to the
jurisdiction of any State educational agency other than the Bureau of
Indian Education.
(d) The term includes educational service agencies and consortia of
those agencies.
(e) The term includes the State educational agency in a State in
which the State educational agency is the sole educational agency for
all public schools.
Logic model (also referred to as a theory of action) means a
framework that identifies key project components of the proposed
project (i.e., the active ``ingredients'' that are hypothesized to be
critical to achieving the relevant outcomes) and describes the
theoretical and operational relationships among the key project
components and relevant outcomes.
Project component means an activity, strategy, intervention,
process, product, practice, or policy included in a project. Evidence
may pertain to an individual project component or to a combination of
project components (e.g., training teachers on instructional practices
for English learners and follow-on coaching for these teachers).
Promising evidence means that there is evidence of the
effectiveness of a key project component in improving a relevant
outcome, based on a relevant finding from one of the following:
(a) A practice guide prepared by WWC reporting a ``strong evidence
base'' or ``moderate evidence base'' for the corresponding practice
guide recommendation;
(b) An intervention report prepared by the WWC reporting a
``positive effect'' or ``potentially positive effect'' on a relevant
outcome with no reporting of a ``negative effect'' or ``potentially
negative effect'' on a relevant outcome; or
(c) A single study assessed by the Department, as appropriate,
that--
(1) Is an experimental study, a quasi-experimental design study, or
a well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with
statistical controls for selection bias (e.g., a study using regression
methods to account for differences between a treatment group and a
comparison group); and
(2) Includes at least one statistically significant and positive
(i.e., favorable) effect on a relevant outcome.
Quasi-experimental design study means a study using a design that
attempts to approximate an experimental study by identifying a
comparison group that is similar to the treatment group in important
respects. This type of study, depending on design and implementation
(e.g., establishment of baseline equivalence of the groups being
compared), can meet WWC standards with reservations, but cannot meet
WWC standards without reservations, as described in the WWC Handbook.
Relevant outcome means the student outcome(s) or other outcome(s)
the key project component is designed to improve, consistent with the
specific goals of the program.
School engagement means participation in school-related activities,
and the quality of school relationships, which may include
relationships between and among administrators, teachers, parents, and
students.
What Works Clearinghouse Handbook (WWC Handbook) means the
standards and procedures set forth in the WWC Procedures and Standards
Handbook, Version 3.0 or Version 2.1 (incorporated by reference, see 34
CFR 77.2). Study findings eligible for review under WWC standards can
meet WWC standards without reservations, meet WWC standards with
reservations, or not meet WWC standards. WWC practice guides and
intervention reports include findings from systematic reviews of
evidence as described in the Handbook documentation.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested parties
the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities, definitions, and
requirements. Section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, however, allows the Secretary
to exempt from rulemaking requirements regulations governing the first
grant competition under a new or substantially revised program
authority. This is the first grant competition for this program under
section 4631(a)(1)(B) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7281) and therefore
qualifies for this exemption. In order to ensure timely grant awards,
the Secretary has decided to forgo public comment on the priorities,
definitions, and requirements under section 437(d)(1) of GEPA. These
priorities, definitions, and requirements will apply to the FY 2019
grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from
the list of unfunded applications from this competition.
Program Authority: Section 4631(a)(1)(B) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C.
7281).
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 97,
98, and 99. (b) The Office of Management and Budget Guidelines to
Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in
2 CFR part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department
in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part
200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR
part 3474. (d) The Supplemental Priorities.
[[Page 26086]]
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $10,000,000.
Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of
applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2020 and subsequent
years from the list of unfunded applications from the competition
announced in this notice.
Estimated Range of Awards: $250,000 to $1,000,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 20.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs, including charter schools that are
considered LEAs under State law.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost
sharing or matching.
3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this competition may not award
subgrants to entities to directly carry out project activities
described in its application.
4. Limitation on Awards: The Department will award only one grant
per LEA.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Application Submission Instructions: Applicants are required to
follow the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of
Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal
Register on February 13, 2019 (84 FR 3768), and available at
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-02-13/pdf/2019-02206.pdf, which
contain requirements and information on how to submit an application.
2. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
3. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are
from 34 CFR 75.210. The maximum score for all selection criteria is 100
points. The points or weights assigned to each criterion are indicated
in parentheses. Non-Federal peer reviewers will evaluate and score each
application program narrative against the following selection criteria:
(a) Need for project (15 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the need for the project.
(2) In determining the need for the project, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(i) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project. (10 points)
(ii) 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 or weaknesses. (5 points)
(b) Significance (15 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the significance of the proposed
project.
(2) In determining the significance of the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the extent to which the proposed project is likely
to build local capacity to provide, improve, or expand services that
address the needs of the target population.
(c) Quality of the project design (15 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the design of the
proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the design of the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
(i) 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. (5 points)
(ii) The extent to which the proposed project will integrate with
or build on similar or related efforts to improve relevant outcomes (as
defined in this notice), using existing funding streams from other
programs or policies supported by community, State, and Federal
resources. (5 points)
(iii) The extent to which the proposed project is supported by
promising evidence (as defined in this notice). (5 points)
(d) Quality of the project services (25 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the services to be
provided by the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the services to be provided by
the proposed project, the Secretary considers the quality and
sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and treatment for
eligible project participants who are members of groups that have
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability.
(3) In addition, the Secretary considers the extent to which the
training or professional development services to be provided by the
proposed project are of sufficient quality, intensity, and duration to
lead to improvements in practice among the recipients of those
services.
(e) Quality of the management plan (15 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for
the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the management plan for the
proposed project, the Secretary considers 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.
(f) Quality of the project evaluation (15 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be
conducted of the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers the extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project.
2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants
that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition,
the Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3), the past
performance of the applicant in carrying out a previous award, such as
the applicant's use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and
compliance with grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider
whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or
submitted a report of unacceptable quality.
In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary
also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal
civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or
activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department
(34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
3. Risk Assessment and Specific Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR
200.205, before awarding grants under this program the Department
conducts a review of the risks posed by applicants. Under 2 CFR
3474.10, the Secretary may impose specific conditions and, in
appropriate circumstances, high-risk conditions on a grant if the
applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of
unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or other management system
that does not meet the standards in 2 CFR part 200 subpart D; has not
[[Page 26087]]
fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not
responsible.
4. Integrity and Performance System: If you are selected under this
competition to receive an award that over the course of the project
period may exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently
$250,000), under 2 CFR 200.205(a)(2) we must make a judgment about your
integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal
awards--that is, the risk posed by you as an applicant--before we make
an award. In doing so, we must consider any information about you that
is in the integrity and performance system (currently referred to as
the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System
(FAPIIS)), accessible through the System for Award Management. You may
review and comment on any information about yourself that a Federal
agency previously entered and that is currently in FAPIIS.
Please note that, if the total value of your currently active
grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from the
Federal Government exceeds $10,000,000, the reporting requirements in 2
CFR part 200, Appendix XII, require you to report certain integrity
information to FAPIIS semiannually. Please review the requirements in 2
CFR part 200, Appendix XII, if this grant plus all the other Federal
funds you receive exceed $10,000,000.
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); or we may send you an email containing a link to
access an electronic version of your 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 of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of 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. Open Licensing Requirements: Unless an exception applies, if you
are awarded a grant under this competition, you will be required to
openly license to the public grant deliverables created in whole, or in
part, with Department grant funds. When the deliverable consists of
modifications to pre-existing works, the license extends only to those
modifications that can be separately identified and only to the extent
that open licensing is permitted under the terms of any licenses or
other legal restrictions on the use of pre-existing works.
Additionally, a grantee or subgrantee that is awarded competitive grant
funds must have a plan to disseminate these public grant deliverables.
This dissemination plan can be developed and submitted after your
application has been reviewed and selected for funding. For additional
information on the open licensing requirements please refer to 2 CFR
3474.20.
4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a grant under this competition,
you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and
systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170
should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply
if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b).
(b) 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 multiyear 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 www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
5. Performance Measures: The Department has established the
following Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 performance
measures for the Project Prevent grant program:
(a) Annual decrease in violent, aggressive, and disruptive behavior
in schools served by the grant.
(b) Annual increase in the number of students in schools served by
the grant receiving school-based and community-based mental health
services to address student needs resulting from exposure to violence.
(c) Annual increase in the school engagement (as defined in this
notice) of students served by the grant.
(d) Quality of family engagement and grantee engagement with
community-based organization(s), as defined and measured by the
grantee.
These measures constitute the Department's indicators of success
for this program. Consequently, we advise an applicant for a grant
under this program to give careful consideration to these measures in
conceptualizing the approach and evaluation for its proposed project.
Each grantee will be required to provide, in its annual performance and
final reports, data about its progress in meeting these measures. This
data will be considered by the Department in making continuation
awards.
Consistent with 34 CFR 75.591, grantees funded under this program
must comply with the requirements of any evaluation of the program
conducted by the Department or an evaluator selected by the Department.
Baseline data: Applicants must provide baseline data (as defined in
this notice) for each of the performance measures listed above and
explain why each baseline is valid; or, if the applicant has determined
that there are no established baseline data for a particular
performance measure, explain why there is no established baseline and
explain how and when, during the project period, the applicant will
establish a valid baseline for the performance measure.
Performance measure targets: In addition, applicants must propose
annual targets for the measures listed above in their application.
Applicants must also provide the following information as directed
under 34 CFR 75.110(b) and (c):
(1) Why each proposed performance target is ambitious (as defined
in this notice) yet achievable compared to the baseline for the
performance measure.
(2) (a) The data collection and reporting methods the applicant
would use and why those methods are likely to yield reliable, valid,
and meaningful performance data; and (b) the applicant's capacity to
collect and report reliable, valid, and meaningful performance data, as
evidenced by high-quality data collection, analysis, and reporting in
other projects or research.
Note: If the applicant does not have experience with collection
and reporting of performance data through other projects or
research, the applicant should provide other evidence of capacity to
successfully carry out data collection and reporting for its
proposed project, which may include contracting with providers who
have relevant expertise.
The reviewers of each application will score related selection
criteria on the basis of how well an applicant has considered these
measures in conceptualizing the approach and evaluation of the project.
All grantees must submit an annual performance report and final
performance report with information
[[Page 26088]]
that is responsive to these performance measures.
6. Continuation Awards: In making a continuation award under 34 CFR
75.253, the Secretary considers, among other things: Whether a grantee
has made substantial progress in achieving the goals and objectives of
the project; whether the grantee has expended funds in a manner that is
consistent with its approved application and budget; and, if the
Secretary has established performance measurement requirements, the
performance targets in the grantee's approved application.
In making a continuation award, the Secretary also considers
whether the grantee is operating in compliance with the assurances in
its approved application, including those applicable to Federal civil
rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities
receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department (34 CFR
100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
VII. Other Information
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 at: www.govinfo.gov. 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 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.
Frank T. Brogan,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2019-11677 Filed 6-4-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P