[Federal Register: March 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 59)]
[Notices]
[Page 14889-14891]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29mr99-48]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.342]
Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of requirements and invitation for applications for new
awards for fiscal year (FY) 1999.
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Purpose of Program: The Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use
Technology program provides grants to consortia that are helping future
teachers become proficient in the use of modern learning technologies.
This program addresses looming teacher shortages by developing well-
qualified, technology-proficient teachers, who are prepared to teach in
21st century schools, particularly schools in low-income communities or
rural areas. This program provides support for three types of grants:
capacity building grants, implementation grants, and catalyst grants.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 29, 1999.
Eligible Applicants: Only consortia may receive grants under this
program. A consortium must include at least two members. Consortium
members may include institutions of higher education (IHEs), Schools of
Education, State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational
agencies (LEAs), private schools, professional associations,
foundations, museums, libraries, for profit agencies and organizations,
nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, and others.
Note: In each consortium a participating nonprofit member must
be designated as the ``applicant'' for purposes of 34 CFR 75.128 and
must act as the fiscal agent.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 4, 1999.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 3, 1999.
Applications Available: March 29, 1999.
Available Funds: $75,000,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$175,000 for capacity building
grants, $200,000-$500,000 for implementation grants, and $500,000-
$700,000 for catalyst grants.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $120,000 for capacity building
grants, $400,000 for implementation grants, and $600,000 for catalyst
grants.
Estimated Number of Awards: 200 capacity building grants, 75
implementation grants, and 35 catalyst grants.
Project Period: 12 months for capacity building grants, 36 months
for implementation grants, and 36 months for catalyst grants.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81,
82, 85, and 86.
Selection Criteria: The Secretary has selected criteria from 34 CFR
75.210 of EDGAR to evaluate applications for this competition. The
selection criteria and factors to be used for this competition will be
provided in the application package.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. The objective of the
Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a
strengthened federalism by relying on processes developed by State and
local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal
financial assistance.
In accordance with the order, this document is intended to provide
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for
this program.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553),
it is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed rulemaking documents. However, in
accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions
Act, the Secretary has determined that, because it is not possible to
offer the public an opportunity to comment on proposed rulemaking under
the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology grant program and
still make awards by September 30, 1999, as required by law, it is
desirable to waive public comment for the first-year competition of
this new discretionary grant program.
This waiver applies only to the selection criteria, procedures, and
requirements included in this notice for awarding FY 1999 grants. Any
selection criteria and procedures that the Department establishes for
the award of grants under this program in future years will be based on
experiences with this FY 1999 award process and will be published in
proposed form in the Federal Register with an opportunity for
interested parties to comment.
General Requirements
In order to best effectuate the goals and objectives of these
grants and to administer the program fairly, the Secretary defines an
eligible applicant as a consortium composed of SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, or
other public and private nonprofit or for profit agencies and
organizations.
[[Page 14890]]
Additionally, the applicant, as used in 34 CFR 75.128, must be any
nonprofit member of the consortium.
Finally, the Federal funds provided by these grants may not provide
more than 50 percent of the total cost of any project funded by a grant
under this program. The non-Federal share of the project costs may be
in cash or in-kind contributions.
Indirect Costs
For purposes of indirect costs that may be charged to the grant,
all funded projects are treated as ``educational training grants.''
Therefore, consistent with 34 CFR 75.562, except for costs that may be
incurred by SEAs or LEAs, a recipient's indirect cost rate is limited
to the maximum of eight percent or the amount permitted by its
negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, whichever is less.
Application Review Procedures
The Secretary announces the use of a multi-tier review process to
evaluate all applications submitted for new awards under the FY 1999
Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology program. The Secretary
takes this action to ensure a thorough review and assessment of the
large number of applications that are expected to be received under the
FY 1999 competition. This multi-tier review process does not affect the
contents of applications in this competition.
Technical Assistance Workshops for Prospective Applicants
The Department of Education has scheduled seven regional technical
assistance workshops between March 24 and April 9, 1999, to help
prospective applicants to better understand the Department's approach
to implementing the competitive grant process to be held this summer.
Under the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology program,
applications by consortia must be received by June 4, 1999. At these
workshops, the public will be able to learn more about the purposes and
requirements of this program, how to apply for funds, program
eligibility requirements, the application selection process, and
considerations that might help them to improve the quality of their
grant applications. Department of Education staff with expertise on
these and other issues related to the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to
Use Technology program will be available to answer any questions on
these topics.
Participants may register for technical assistance workshops online
at http://www.ed.gov/teachtech, by printing out a copy of the
registration form from the website and faxing it to (202) 260-8412, or
by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN for registration information.
The meeting sites are accessible to individuals with disabilities.
The Department will provide a sign language interpreter at each of the
scheduled workshops. An individual with a disability who will need an
auxiliary aid or service other than an interpreter to participate in
the meeting (e.g., assistive listening device or materials in an
alternative format) should notify the contact person listed in this
notice at least two weeks before the scheduled meeting date. Although
the Department will attempt to meet a request received after that date,
the requested auxiliary aid or service may not be available because of
insufficient time to arrange it.
Dates and Locations
Workshop #1: Wednesday, March 24, 1999, Baltimore, MD, Sheraton
Inner Harbour, 300 South Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; Phone:
(410) 962-8300;
Workshop #2: Tuesday, March 30, 1999, Boston, MA, Boston Marriott
Hotel, Copley Place, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02116; Phone:
(617) 236-5800;
Workshop #3: Tuesday, April 6, 1999, Milwaukee, WI, The Four Points
Hotel at Milwaukee Airport, 4747 South Howell Avenue, Milwaukee, WI
53207; Phone: (414) 481-8000;
Workshop #4: Tuesday, April 6, 1999, Portland, OR, Portland State
University, Smith Center, Ballroom SMC 355, 1825 SW Broadway, Portland,
OR 97201; Phone: (503) 725-4697;
Workshop #5: Thursday, April 8, 1999, Los Angeles, CA, Hilton Los
Angeles Airport & Towers, 5711 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
90045; Phone (310) 410-4000;
Workshop #6: Friday, April 9, 1999, Denver, CO, Adam's Mark Hotel,
1550 Court Place, Denver, CO 80202; Phone: (303) 893-3333; and
Workshop #7: Friday, April 9, 1999, Atlanta, GA, Westin Hotel at
Atlanta Airport, 4736 Best Road, Atlanta, GA 30337; Phone: (404) 762-
7676.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use
Technology program is authorized under Title III of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6832). The
statute authorizes the use of funds for activities such as the
development, demonstration, and evaluation of model strategies for
preparing teachers and other personnel to use technology effectively to
improve teaching and learning.
FOR APPLICATIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT: For applications,
telephone 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) or fax requests to (202)
208-8412. The application package is also available from the Preparing
Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology program web site at http://
www.ed.gov/teachtech. For information contact Tom Carroll, Preparing
Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology, U.S. Department of Education,
1280 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20202-5131.
Telephone: (202) 260-1365. E-mail: tom__carroll@ed.gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS)
at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday
through Friday.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternate format, also, by contacting that
person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an
alternate format the standard forms included in the application
package.
Electronic Access to This Document
Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or
portable document format (pdf) via the Internet at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free, at 1-888-293-6498.
Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases.
Note: The official version of a document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6832.
[[Page 14891]]
Dated: March 24, 1999.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-7578 Filed 3-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P