FR Doc 03-31567
[Federal Register: December 23, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 246)]
[Notices]
[Page 74224-74229]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23de03-52]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information;
Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215X.
DATES:
Applications Available: December 23, 2003.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 5, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 2, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)--including
charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and
regulations--working in partnership with one or more of the following
entities:
[sbull] Institutions of higher education (IHE).
[sbull] Non-profit history or humanities organizations.
[sbull] Libraries and museums.
Estimated Available Funds: Although the Congress has not enacted a
final appropriation for FY 2004, the Department is inviting
applications for this competition now so that it may be prepared to
make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations
bill. Based on the congressional action to date, we estimate that
$100,000,000 will be available for new awards under this competition.
The actual level of funding depends on final congressional action.
Estimated Range of Awards: Total funding for a three-year project
period is $350,000-1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than
300,000
[[Page 74225]]
students; and $500,000-2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above
300,000 students.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Total for all three years is
$750,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 100-135.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: Teaching American History grants support
projects to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge,
understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Grant
awards assist local educational agencies (LEAs), in partnership with
entities that have extensive content expertise, to develop, document,
evaluate, and disseminate innovative, cohesive models of professional
development. By helping teachers to develop a deeper understanding and
appreciation of traditional American history as a separate subject
matter within the core curriculum, these programs improve instruction
and raise student achievement.
Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and two
invitational priorities that are explained in the following paragraphs.
To be considered for funding, each applicant must address the absolute
priority regarding Partnerships with Other Agencies or Institutions.
These priorities are as follows.
In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority is from
section 2351(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107-110).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2004, this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
This priority is:
Partnerships With Other Agencies or Institutions
Each applicant must propose to work in collaboration with one or
more of the following:
[sbull] IHE.
[sbull] Non-profit history or humanities organizations.
[sbull] Libraries or museums.
Note: Each applicant is encouraged to include in its application
an assurance from appropriate officials of the agency or
institution(s) with which it will work in partnership. This
assurance may include information about how the partnering agency or
institution(s) will help the applicant implement the proposed
project.
Under this competition we are particularly interested in
applications that address the following priorities. Invitational
Priorities: For FY 2004 these priorities are invitational priorities.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets
these invitational priorities a competitive or absolute preference over
other applications.
These priorities are:
Invitational Priority 1--Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evaluation
Designs
The Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications
that propose evaluation plans that are based on rigorous scientifically
based research methods to assess the effectiveness of a particular
intervention. The Secretary intends that this priority will allow
program participants and the Department to determine whether the
project produces meaningful effects on student achievement or teacher
performance.
Evaluation methods using an experimental design are best for
determining project effectiveness. Thus, the project should use an
experimental design under which participants--e.g., students, teachers,
classrooms, or schools--are randomly assigned to participate in the
project activities being evaluated or to a control group that does not
participate in the project activities being evaluated.
If random assignment is not feasible, the project may use a quasi-
experimental design with carefully matched comparison conditions. This
alternative design attempts to approximate a randomly assigned control
group by matching participants--e.g., students, teachers, classrooms,
or schools--with non-participants having similar pre-program
characteristics.
In cases where random assignment is not possible and an extended
series of observations of the outcome of interest precedes and follows
the introduction of a new program or practice, regression discontinuity
designs may be employed.
For projects that are focused on special populations in which
sufficient numbers of participants are not available to support random
assignment or matched comparison group designs, single-subject designs
such as multiple baseline or treatment-reversal or interrupted time
series that are capable of demonstrating causal relationships can be
employed.
Proposed evaluation strategies that use neither experimental
designs with random assignment nor quasi-experimental designs using a
matched comparison group nor regression discontinuity designs will not
be considered responsive to the priority when sufficient numbers of
participants are available to support these designs. Evaluation
strategies that involve too small a number of participants to support
group designs must be capable of demonstrating the causal effects of an
intervention or program on those participants.
The proposed evaluation plan must describe how the project
evaluator will collect--before the project intervention commences and
after it ends--valid and reliable data that measure the impact of
participation in the program or in the comparison group.
In determining the quality of the evaluation method, we will
consider the extent to which the applicant presents a feasible,
credible plan that includes the following:
(1) The type of design to be used (that is, random assignment or
matched comparison). If it will be matched comparison, the applicant
should include in the plan a discussion of why random assignment is not
feasible.
(2) Outcomes to be measured.
(3) A discussion of how the applicant plans to assign students,
teachers, classrooms, or schools to the project and control group or
match them for comparison with other students, teachers, classrooms, or
schools.
(4) A proposed evaluator, preferably independent, with the
necessary background and technical expertise to carry out the proposed
evaluation. (An independent evaluator does not have any authority over
the project and is not involved in its implementation.)
Invitational Priority 2--Traditional American History
The Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications
that propose projects that address traditional American history,
meaning, for example, projects that teach the significant issues,
episodes, and turning points in the history of the United States, and
how the words and deeds of individual Americans have determined the
course of our Nation. This history teaches how the principles of
freedom and democracy, articulated in our founding documents, have
shaped--and continue to shape--America's struggles and achievements, as
well as its social, political, and legal institutions and relations.
Applicants are invited to propose projects that enable students to gain
an understanding of these principles and of the historical events and
people that best illustrate them.
[[Page 74226]]
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6721 et seq., Part C, subpart 4, of
Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as
reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: Although the Congress has not enacted a
final appropriation for FY 2004, the Department is inviting
applications for this competition now so that it may be prepared to
make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations
bill. Based on the congressional action to date, we estimate that
$100,000,000 will be available for new awards under this competition.
The actual level of funding depends on final congressional action.
Estimated Range of Awards: Total funding for a three-year project
period is $350,000-1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than
300,000 students; and $500,000-2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments
above 300,000 students.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Total for all three years is
$750,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 100-135.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)--
including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and
regulations--working in partnership with one or more of the following
entities:
[sbull] Institutions of higher education (IHE).
[sbull] Non-profit history or humanities organizations.
[sbull] Libraries and museums.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll
free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free):
1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address:
edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.215X.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting one of the program
contact persons listed under For Further Information Contact elsewhere
in this notice. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an
alternative format the standard forms included in the application
package.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
Notice of Intent to Apply: The Department will be able to develop a
more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a
better understanding of the number of LEAs that intend to apply for
funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly
encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department with a
short e-mail indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application
for funding. The e-mail need not include information regarding the
content of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to
submit it. The Secretary requests that this e-mail notification be sent
no later than February 5, 2004, to Christine Miller at:
TeachingAmericanHistory@ed.gov.
Applicants that fail to provide this e-mail notification may still
apply for funding. Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of
the application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection
criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must
limit the application narrative to the equivalent of no more than 25
single-sided, double-spaced pages printed in 12 point font or larger.
If the applicant is addressing the invitational priority for
evaluation, the narrative must be limited to 30 single-sided, double-
spaced pages printed in 12 point font or larger. The page limit does
not apply to the title page, the Application for Federal Assistance (ED
424), the one-page abstract, the budget summary form (ED 524) and the
narrative budget justification, any curriculum vitae, the bibliography
of literature cited, or the assurances and certifications.
Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that--
[sbull] Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
[sbull] Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other
standards.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: December 23, 2003.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 5, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 2, 2004.
The dates and times for the transmittal of applications by mail or
hand (including a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the
application package for this competition. The application package also
specifies the hours of operation of the e-Application Web site.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under
Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this
competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Instructions and requirements for
the transmittal of applications by mail or by hand (including a courier
service or commercial carrier) are in the application package for this
competition.
Application Procedures: The Government Paperwork Elimination Act
(GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-277) and the Federal Financial Assistance
Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to
undertake initiatives to improve our grant processes. Enhancing the
ability of individuals and entities to conduct business with us
electronically is a major part of our response to these Acts.
Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the Internet as our chief means
of conducting transactions in order to improve services to our
customers and to simplify and expedite our business processes.
Some of the procedures in these instructions for transmitting
applications differ from those in the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally
offers interested parties the opportunity to
[[Page 74227]]
comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make
procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy.
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that
proposed rulemaking is not required.
We are requiring that applications for grants under Teaching
American History--CFDA Number 84.215X be submitted electronically using
the Electronic Grant Application System (e-Application) available
through the Department's e-GRANTS system. The e-GRANTS system is
accessible through its portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov
If you are unable to submit an application through the e-GRANTS
system, you may submit a written request for a waiver of the electronic
submission requirement. In your request, you should explain the reason
or reasons that prevent you from using the Internet to submit your
application. Address your request to: Christine Miller, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5C126, FB-6, Washington,
DC 20202-6200. Please submit your request no later than two weeks
before the application deadline date.
If, within two weeks of the application deadline date, you are
unable to submit an application electronically, you must submit a paper
application by the application deadline date in accordance with the
transmittal instructions in the application package. The paper
application must include a written request for a waiver documenting the
reasons that prevented you from using the Internet to submit your
application.
Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications: We are
continuing to expand our pilot project for electronic submission of
applications to include additional formula grant programs and
additional discretionary grant competitions. Teaching American
History--CFDA Number 84.215X is one of the programs included in the
pilot project. If you are an applicant under Teaching American History,
you must submit your application to us in electronic format or receive
a waiver.
The pilot project involves the use of e-Application. If you use e-
Application, you will be entering data online while completing your
application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant
application to us. The data you enter online will be saved into a
database. We shall continue to evaluate the success of e-Application
and solicit suggestions for its improvement.
If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
[sbull] When you enter the e-Application system, you will find
information about its hours of operation. We strongly recommend that
you do not wait until the application deadline date to initiate an e-
Application package.
[sbull] You will not receive additional point value because you
submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize
you if you submit an application in paper format.
[sbull] You must submit all documents electronically, including the
Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary
assurances and certifications.
[sbull] Your e-Application must comply with any page limit
requirements described in this notice.
[sbull] After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award
number (an identifying number unique to your application).
[sbull] Within three working days after submitting your electronic
application, fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following
these steps:
1. Print ED 424 from e-Application.
2. The institution's Authorizing Representative must sign this
form.
3. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the
hard copy signature page of the ED 424.
4. Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202)
260-1349.
[sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on
other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System
Unavailability: If you are prevented from submitting your application
on the application deadline date because the e-Application system is
unavailable, we will grant you an extension of one business day in
order to transmit your application electronically, by mail, or by hand
delivery. We will grant this extension if--
1. You are a registered user of e-Application and you have
initiated an e-Application for this competition; and
2. (a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date; or
(b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time
during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the
application deadline date.
We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may
contact either (1) one of the persons listed elsewhere in this notice
under For Further Information Contact (see VII. Agency Contacts) or (2)
the e-GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
You may access the electronic grant application for Teaching
American History at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The following selection criteria for this
program are in 34 CFR 75.210 and 20 U.S.C. 6721:
1. Meeting the statutory requirements. (Total of 50 points)
(a) Project quality (40 points). The Secretary considers the
quality of the proposed project by considering how well the applicant
describes a plan for development, implementation, and strengthening of
programs to teach traditional American history as a separate academic
subject (not as a component of social studies) within elementary school
and secondary school curricula, including the implementation of
activities--
(i) To provide professional development and teacher education
activities with respect to American history; and
(ii) To improve the quality of instruction.
Note. The Secretary encourages the applicant to include a
discussion of the specific history content to be covered by the
grant; the format in which the applicant will deliver the history
content; and the quality of the staff and consultants responsible
for delivering these content-based professional development
activities. The applicant may also attach curriculum vitae for
individuals who will provide the content training to the teachers.
The Secretary also encourages applicants to provide a
description of plans to demonstrate how teachers are using the
knowledge acquired from project activities to improve the quality of
instruction. This description may include plans for reviewing how
teachers' lessons planning and classroom teaching are affected by
their participation in project activities.
(b) Partnership(s) (10 points). The Secretary considers how well
the applicant describes a plan that meets the statutory requirement to
carry out activities under the grant in partnership with one or more of
the following:
(i) An institution of higher education.
(ii) A nonprofit history or humanities organization.
[[Page 74228]]
(iii) A library or museum.
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to provide the
rationale for selecting the partners and explain the specific
activities that the partner(s) will contribute to the grant during
each year of the project. The Secretary also encourages the
applicant to include a memorandum of understanding or detailed
letters of commitment from the partner(s) in an appendix to the
application narrative.
2. Significance (20 points). The Secretary considers the
significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance
of the proposed project, the Secretary considers--
(a) The national significance of the proposed project; and
(b) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in
teaching and student achievement.
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to discuss the
significance of the proposed project, including national
significance. For example, the applicant could include information
on: the extent to which teachers in the LEA are not certified in
history or social studies; student achievement data in American
history; and rates of student participation in courses such as
Advanced Placement American History.
3. Quality of the management plan (10 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project.
In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
(a) 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.
(b) The extent to which the time commitments of the project
director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate
to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
4. Quality of the project evaluation (20 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers the extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and
qualitative data to the extent possible.
Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to align evaluation
plans with the project design explained under the Project Quality
criterion.
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to include
benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific project objectives
and also outcome measures to assess the impact on teaching and
learning or other important outcomes for project participants. The
Secretary also encourages applicants to identify the individual and/
or organization that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the
project and describe the qualifications of that evaluator.
Applicants are encouraged to indicate (1) what types of data will be
collected; (2) when various types of data will be collected; (3)
what methods will be used to collect data; (4) what data collection
instruments will be developed and when; (5) how the data will be
analyzed; (6) when reports of results and outcomes will be
available; and (7) how the applicant will use the information
collected through the evaluation to monitor the progress of the
funded project and to provide accountability information about both
success at the initial site and effective strategies for replication
in other settings. Applicants are encouraged to devote an
appropriate level of resources to project evaluation.
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). We may also 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. Reporting: 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 multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: We have established one performance
indicator for Teaching American History. The indicator is: Students in
experimental and quasi-experimental studies of educational
effectiveness of Teaching American History projects will demonstrate
higher achievement on course content measures and/or statewide U.S.
history assessments than students in control and comparison groups.
We will track this indicator through the use of two measures. We
will gather data for these measures through those grantees who are
using experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs.
Measure One: Percentage of students in studies of educational
effectiveness who demonstrate higher achievement than those in control
and comparison groups.
Measure Two: Percentage of school districts that demonstrate higher
educational achievement for students than those in control or
comparison groups.
VII. Agency Contacts
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Miller, Alex Stein, Harry
Kessler, or Claire Geddes, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., room 5C126, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202)
260-8766 (Christine Miller); (202) 205-9085 (Alex Stein); (202) 708-
9943 (Harry Kessler); or (202) 260-8757 (Claire Geddes) or by e-mail:
teachingamericanhistory@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to one of the program contact persons listed in
this section.
VIII. Other Information
Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
[[Page 74229]]
Dated: December 18, 2003.
Nina S. Rees,
Deputy Under Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 03-31567 Filed 12-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P