[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66372-66375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18271]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Applications for New Awards; Special Education Dissertation 
Research Fellowship Program

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice 
inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2025 for the 
Special Education Dissertation Research Fellowship Program.

DATES: 
    Application Package Available: August 29, 2024.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 14, 2024.

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 December 7, 2022 (87 FR 75045) and available at 
www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/07/2022-26554/common-instructions-for-applicants-to-department-of-education-discretionary-grant-programs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Courtney Pollack. Telephone: 202-987-
0999. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: In awarding research training grant programs, 
the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) aims to prepare individuals 
to conduct rigorous and relevant education and special education 
research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues 
important to education policymakers and practitioners.
    Assistance Listing Number: 84.324G.
    OMB Control Number: 4040-0001.
    Competition in This Notice: The IES National Center for Special 
Education Research (NCSER) is announcing one competition: Special 
Education Dissertation Research Fellowship Program (ALN 84.324G). Under 
the Dissertation program, doctoral students will receive support for 
conducting their dissertation and participating in related training 
with guidance from a sponsor at their institution. NCSER will consider 
only applications that address one or more of the following topics:

 Education Systems
 Education Technologies
 Low-Incidence Disabilities
 Postsecondary Education

    Multiple Submissions: You may submit applications to more than one 
of the FY 2025 research and research training grant programs offered 
through the Department, including those offered through IES as well as 
those offered through other offices and programs within the Department. 
You may submit multiple applications to the grant program announced 
here as long as they specify different doctoral students and 
dissertation research. However, you may submit a given application only 
once for the IES FY 2025 grant competitions, meaning you may not submit 
the same application or similar applications to multiple grant programs 
within IES, to multiple topics within a grant competition, or multiple 
times within the same topic. If you submit multiple similar 
applications, IES will determine whether and which applications will be 
accepted for review and/or will be eligible for funding. In addition, 
if you submit the same or similar application to IES and to another 
funding entity within or external to the Department and receive funding 
for the non-IES application prior to IES scientific peer review of 
applications, you must withdraw the same or similar application 
submitted to IES, or IES may otherwise determine you are ineligible to 
receive an award. If reviews are happening concurrently, IES staff will 
consult with the other potential funder to determine the degree of 
overlap and which entity will provide funding if both applications are 
being considered for funding.
    Exemption from Proposed Rulemaking: Under section 191 of the

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Education Sciences Reform Act, 20 U.S.C. 9581, IES is not subject to 
section 437(d) of the General Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 
1232(d), and is therefore not required to offer interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on matters relating to grants.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.
    Note: Projects will be awarded and must be operated in a manner 
consistent with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in Federal 
civil rights laws.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, 
and 99. In addition, the regulations in 34 CFR part 75 are applicable, 
except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 
75.105, 75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217(a)-
(c), 75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 75.222, 75.230, 75.250(a), and 75.708. (b) 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 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 Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance in 2 CFR 
part 200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 
CFR part 3474.
    Note: The open licensing requirement in 2 CFR 3474.20 does not 
apply to this competition.
    Note: The Department will implement the provisions in the OMB final 
rule OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance, which amends 2 CFR 
parts 25, 170, 175, 176, 180, 182, 183, 184, and 200, on October 1, 
2024. Grant applicants that anticipate a performance period start date 
on or after October 1, 2024 should follow the provisions in the OMB 
Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance (89 FR 30046) when preparing 
an application. For more information about these updated regulations 
please visit: www.cfo.gov/resources/uniform-guidance/.

II. Award Information

    Type of Awards: Discretionary grants.
    Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not yet enacted an 
appropriation for FY 2025, IES is inviting applications for this 
competition now so that applicants can have adequate time to prepare 
their applications. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on 
final congressional action. IES may announce additional competitions 
later in 2024.
    Estimated Range of Awards: Up to $50,000 for the entire project 
period of 1 year.
    Estimated Number of Awards: The number of awards will depend on the 
quality of the applications received and the availability of funds.
    IES may waive any of the following limits on awards in the special 
case that the peer review process results in a tie between two or more 
grant applications, making it impossible to adhere to the limits 
without funding only some of the equally ranked applications. In that 
case, IES may make a larger number of awards to include all 
applications of the same rank.
    IES intends to fund up to eight grants. However, should funding be 
available, IES may consider making additional awards to high-quality 
applications that remain unfunded after eight awards are made.
    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.
    Project Period: Up to 1 year.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are institutions of 
higher education in the United States and its territories that confer 
doctoral degrees.
    2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: The competition in this notice does 
not require cost sharing or matching.
    b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: Under 34 CFR 75.562(c)(2), 
indirect cost reimbursement on a training grant is limited to the 
recipient's actual indirect costs, as determined by its negotiated 
indirect cost rate agreement, or 8 percent of a modified total direct 
cost base, whichever amount is less. For more information regarding 
indirect costs, or to obtain a negotiated indirect cost rate, please 
see www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/intro.html.
    3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this competition may not award 
subgrants to entities to directly carry out project activities 
described in its application.

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 December 7, 2022 (87 FR 75045) and available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/07/2022-26554/common-instructions-for-applicants-to-department-of-education-discretionary-grant-programs, which contain requirements and information on how to 
submit an application.
    2. Other Information: Information regarding program and application 
requirements can be found in the currently available IES Application 
Submission Guide and in the Request for Applications (RFA), which will 
be available on or before August 29, 2024, on the IES website at: 
https://ies.ed.gov/funding/. The application package will also be 
available on or before August 29, 2024.
    3. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application are contained in the RFA. The 
forms that must be submitted are in the application package.
    4. Submission Dates and Times: The deadline date for transmittal of 
applications is November 14, 2024.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    5. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    6. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: For all of its grant competitions, IES uses 
selection criteria based on a peer review process that has been 
approved by the National Board for Education Sciences. The Peer Review 
Procedures for Grant Applications can be found on the IES website at 
https://ies.ed.gov/director/sro/application_review.asp.
    Peer reviewers will be asked to evaluate the significance of the 
application, quality of the research plan, quality of the career plan, 
and quality of the management plan. These criteria will be described in 
greater detail in the RFA.
    Applications must include budgets no higher than the maximum award 
as set out in the RFA. IES will not make an award exceeding the maximum 
award amount as set out in the RFA.
    2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants 
that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, 
IES 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, compliance with the 
IES policy regarding public access to research, and compliance with 
grant conditions. IES 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, IES requires 
various

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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 
200.206, before awarding grants under this competition, the Department 
conducts a review of the risks posed by applicants. Under 2 CFR 
200.208, IES may impose specific conditions and, under 2 CFR 3474.10, 
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 
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 200.206(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.
    5. In General: In accordance with the OMB's guidance located at 2 
CFR part 200, all applicable Federal laws, and relevant Executive 
guidance, the Department will review and consider applications for 
funding pursuant to this notice inviting applications in accordance 
with:
    (a) Selecting recipients most likely to be successful in delivering 
results based on the program objectives through an objective process of 
evaluating Federal award applications (2 CFR 200.205);
    (b) Prohibiting the purchase of certain telecommunication and video 
surveillance services or equipment in alignment with section 889 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) (2 CFR 
200.216);
    (c) Providing a preference, to the extent permitted by law, to 
maximize use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United 
States (2 CFR 200.322); and
    (d) Terminating agreements in whole or in part to the greatest 
extent authorized by law if an award no longer effectuates the program 
goals or agency priorities (2 CFR 200.340).

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 also may notify you 
informally.
    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. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for an annual 
meeting of four days for project directors to be held in Washington, 
DC.
    4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a grant under the competition 
announced in this notice, 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 
IES. 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 IES under 34 CFR 
75.118. IES 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: To evaluate the overall success of its 
special education research grant programs, IES annually assesses the 
percentage of projects that result in peer-reviewed publications, the 
number of newly developed or modified interventions with evidence of 
promise for improving learner education outcomes, and the number of 
IES-supported interventions with evidence of efficacy in improving 
learner education outcomes. School readiness outcomes include pre-
reading, reading, pre-writing, early mathematics, early science, and 
social-emotional skills that prepare young children for school. 
Developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers (birth to age three) 
include cognitive, communicative, linguistic, social, emotional, 
adaptive, functional, or physical development. Student academic 
outcomes include learning and achievement in academic content areas, 
such as reading, writing, math, and science, as well as outcomes that 
reflect students' successful progression through the education system, 
such as course and grade completion; high school graduation; and 
postsecondary enrollment, progress, and completion. Social and 
behavioral competencies include social and emotional skills, attitudes, 
and behaviors that are important to academic and post-academic success. 
Functional outcomes include behaviors and skills that learners need to 
participate in developmentally appropriate routines and activities. 
Transition outcomes include transition to employment, independent 
living, and postsecondary education. Employment and earnings outcomes 
include hours of employment, job stability, and wages and benefits, and 
may be measured in addition to student academic outcomes.
    6. Continuation Awards: There is no option for a continuation award 
under this competition.

VII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, as well as in the RFA and 
application package, individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the RFA in an accessible format. The Department 
will provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include 
Rich Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 
file, braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other 
accessible format.

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    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 Department documents published in the 
Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
site.
    You may also access Department documents 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.

Matthew Soldner,
Acting Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 2024-18271 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P