FR Doc 04-2175
[Federal Register: February 3, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 22)]
[Notices]
[Page 5135-5137]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03fe04-51]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Overview Information: Elementary and Secondary School Counseling
Programs Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2004.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215E.
DATES: Applications Available: February 3, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 19, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 18, 2004.
Eligible applicants: Local educational agencies.
Estimated available funds: $11,500,000. Contingent upon the
availability of funds, the Secretary may make additional awards in FY
2005 from the rank-ordered list of unfunded applicants from this
competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $250,000-$400,000.
Maximum Award: Section 5421(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001, 20 U.S.C. 7245 (ESEA) limits the amount of a grant under this
program in any one year to a maximum of $400,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 35.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
I. Full Text of Announcement
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Elementary and Secondary
School Counseling program is to award grants to local educational
agencies for the purpose of establishing or expanding elementary and
secondary school counseling programs.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority
is from Section 5421 of the ESEA.
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: the establishment or expansion of elementary
school counseling programs. Under 34 CFR part 77, an elementary school
is a day or residential school that provides elementary education, as
determined under State law. Applicants must also address the
requirements in section 5421(c)(2) of the ESEA. A copy of the statute
authorizing this competition is included in the application package.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7245.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 84, 85, 97, 98, 99, and 299.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $11,500,000. Contingent upon the
availability of funds, the Secretary may make additional awards in FY
2005 from the rank-ordered list of unfunded applicants from this
competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $250,000-$400,000.
Maximum Award: Section 5421(a)(5) of the ESEA limits the amount of
a grant under this program in any one year to a maximum of $400,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 35.
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.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost
sharing or matching, but does involve supplement-not-supplant funding
provisions. Section 5421(b)(2)(G) of the
[[Page 5136]]
ESEA requires applicants under the program to assure that program funds
will be used to supplement, and not supplant, any other Federal, State,
or local funds used for providing school-based counseling and mental
health services to students.
3. Other: Section 5421(g)(2) of the ESEA requires that for any
fiscal year in which the amount available for this program is less than
$40,000,000 the Secretary makes grants to local educational agencies
only to establish or expand counseling programs in elementary schools.
The FY 2004 appropriation for this program is $33,799,400. Therefore,
under this notice applicants must propose projects that establish or
expand counseling programs only in elementary schools.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Paper copies of
applications for this program are available from the Education
Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, Maryland 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.edpubs.org/webstore/Content/search.asp
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address,
edpubs@inet.ed.gov, in order to request a paper copy of the application
for this program.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.215E.
The application package for this program is also available to be
downloaded from the Department's Web site at:
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html.
The application package is available
in both PDF and WORD formats.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package for this program in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the program
contact person listed under For Further Information Contact elsewhere
in this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: February 3,
2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 19, 2004. The dates
and times for the transmittal of applications by mail or by hand
(including a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the
application package for this program. 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 18, 2004.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program 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 program.
5. Funding Restrictions: Section 5421(d) of the ESEA requires that
no more than four percent of a grant award may be used for
administrative costs to carry out the project.
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
program.
Application Procedures
Note: 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
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.
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. Elementary and
Secondary School Counseling Programs--CFDA 84.215E is one of the
programs included in the pilot project. If you have an applicant under
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs, you may submit
your application to us in either electronic or paper format.
The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant
Application System (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. If you
participate in this voluntary pilot project by submitting an
application electronically, the data you enter online will be saved
into a database. We request your participation in e-Application. We
will continue to evaluate its success and solicit suggestions for its
improvement.
If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
Your participation is voluntary.
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.
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.
You may 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.
Your e-Application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
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).
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.
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 elect to participate in the e-Application pilot for
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs and you are
prevented from submitting your application on the application deadline
date because the e-Application
[[Page 5137]]
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 have initiated
an e-Application for this competition; and
2. (a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or
more between the house 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) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under For
Further Information Contact (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
You may access the electronic grant application for Elementary and
Secondary School Counseling Programs at:
http://e-grants.ed.gov.
V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are
in the application package.
2. Review and Selection Process: Applicants also must address the
requirements in section 5421(c)(2) of the ESEA.
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 Notice
(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. If you receive a multi-year award, you must
submit an annual report that provides the most current performance and
financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 34
CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established the
following performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of the
Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs: (1) The percentage
of grantees closing the gap between their student/mental health
professional ratios and student/mental health professional ratios
recommended by the American School Health Association will increase;
and (2) the number of referrals/suspensions for disciplinary reasons
for students receiving counseling under the program will decrease.
These two measures constitute the Department's indicators of success
for this program. Consequently, applicants for a grant under this
program are advised to give careful consideration to these two outcomes
in conceptualizing the design, implementation, and evaluation of their
proposed project. If funded, applicants will be asked to collect and
report data in their annual performance reports about progress toward
these goals. The Secretary will also use this information to respond to
reporting requirements concerning this program established in Section
5421(f) of the ESEA.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta McDaniel, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E220, Washington, DC 20202-
6450. Telephone: (202) 260-2661, or by e-mail:
loretta.mcdaniel@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 the program contact person 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
.
Dated: January 29, 2004.
William Modzeleski,
Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
[FR Doc. 04-2175 Filed 2-2-04; 8:45 am]
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