[Federal Register: January 9, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 6)]
[Notices]
[Page 894-896]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09ja09-31]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Homeless Education Disaster Assistance Program (CFDA No. 84.383A)
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting applications.
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SUMMARY: The Homeless Education Disaster Assistance program is a new,
one-year program authorized under the Consolidated Security, Disaster
Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009. This program
provides assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) or consortia
of LEAs located within the same State whose enrollment of homeless
students has increased as a result of a natural disaster that occurred
in calendar year 2008 (2008).
DATES: Application Deadline: February 9, 2009, 4:30:00 p.m. Eastern
time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under this program, the Department will
award funds directly to eligible LEAs based on demonstrated need.
(Except where specifically noted, the term LEA as used in this notice
refers to a single LEA or a consortium of LEAs located in the same
State.) In determining an LEA's need for assistance, the Department
will consider the number of students enrolled in the LEA in
kindergarten through grade twelve who became homeless as a result of a
natural disaster (as defined elsewhere in this notice) that occurred in
2008. To be eligible for funding under this program, an LEA
(individually or in consortium) must have at least fifty of these
homeless students enrolled.
The LEA must use program funds to support activities that are
allowable under section 723(d) of the McKinney-
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Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11433(d)). The services
provided must comply with paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 723(a) of
that law, and the LEA must comply with paragraphs (3) through (7) of
section 722(g) of the law. The LEA may use program funds to assist any
homeless individual, of school or pre-school age in the LEA, and not
just those students who became homeless as a result of a natural
disaster. The LEA may use the funds to support future activities, as
well as to reimburse itself for costs incurred in carrying out
activities during 2008 or 2009, designed to help homeless students
enroll in, attend, or succeed in school. The funds will remain
available for obligation by an LEA through September 30, 2010.
Eligible Applicants: Under this program, eligible applicants are
LEAs that have a total of at least fifty students enrolled in one or
more grades, kindergarten through grade twelve, who became homeless as
a result of a natural disaster that occurred during 2008. Due to the
limited amount of funding available under this program, only LEAs or
consortia that meet this minimum threshold are eligible for a grant.
Required submission of eligibility information: As part of its
application, the LEA must submit data, for which it has verifiable and
auditable documentation, on the number of students enrolled in
kindergarten through grade twelve in the LEA who became homeless as a
result of a natural disaster that occurred during 2008. If a group of
LEAs applies for these funds as a consortium, the LEA members of the
group must designate one member to submit with the application data on
the number of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade twelve in
all of the consortium member LEAs and who became homeless as a result
of a natural disaster that occurred in 2008. For purposes of this
program, the count of enrolled students who became homeless as a result
of a natural disaster that occurred in 2008 can include: Students
already enrolled in the LEA who became homeless due to a natural
disaster, or students made homeless by a natural disaster who are
identified as such at the time of enrollment in the LEA.
Determination of award amount: Congress has appropriated $15
million for this program. The Department will award these funds, based
on demonstrated need, to eligible LEAs that submit applications that
meet the requirements of this notice and of the application package.
Each LEA will receive a proportionate share of funds based on the
number of students enrolled in the LEA in kindergarten through grade
twelve who became homeless as a result of a natural disaster that
occurred in 2008. Specifically, the Department will calculate each
LEA's award amount based on the quotient obtained by dividing the
number of its students enrolled in kindergarten through grade twelve
who became homeless as a result of a natural disaster that occurred in
2008 by the total number of such students for all eligible LEAs
submitting an application.
For consortia of LEAs that apply for funds, the Department will
treat each consortium as a single LEA when determining grant award
amounts. The designated LEA that submits an application to the
Department on behalf of the consortium members must (a) distribute any
funds received by the consortium to each member LEA based on its
proportionate share of the total number of children made homeless as a
result of a natural disaster in 2008 for the consortium as a whole, or
(b) distribute the funds based on an alternative need-based method
agreed upon in writing by all member LEAs.
Definition of natural disaster: For purposes of this program, a
natural disaster is defined as a disaster for which the President
declared a major disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974. Those disasters
are listed on the Web site of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) at http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters.fema?year=2008.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 84, 85, 98, and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed program requirements.
Section 437(d)(2) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.
1232(d)(2)), however, allows the Secretary of Education to exempt from
rulemaking requirements regulations where the Secretary determines that
conducting rulemaking would cause extreme hardship to the intended
beneficiaries of the program or programs affected by the regulations.
The Secretary has determined that conducting rulemaking for the
Homeless Education Disaster Assistance program, including rulemaking on
an LEA's eligibility for assistance and the process for allocating
funds, would cause extreme hardship to the beneficiaries of the
program. LEAs throughout the country have needs and expenses related to
educating students who became homeless as a result of natural disasters
that occurred in 2008. It is essential, therefore, that the Department
award funding under the program at the earliest possible date.
Furthermore, the legislation authorizing the program recognizes the
need for timely awards and directs the Department to make grants to
LEAs on the basis of demonstrated need within 120 days of the date of
enactment of that legislation. LEAs need sufficient time to collect and
submit data that demonstrate their need for assistance. In order to
avoid harm and hardship to applicants under the program, and to the
students they are serving, the Secretary is waiving rulemaking for this
program.
Application and Submission Information: To receive funding, an
eligible LEA must submit an application electronically by the deadline
established in this notice. Submission of an electronic application
involves the use of the Department's Electronic Grant Application
System (e-Application) accessible through the Department's e-Grants
system.
You can access the electronic application for the Homeless
Education Disaster Assistance program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
Once you access this site, you will receive specific instructions
regarding the information to include in your application.
The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site are 6 a.m.
Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until 8 p.m., Sunday
(Washington, DC time). Any modifications to these hours are posted on
the e-grants Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John McLaughlin, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3C130, Washington, DC
20202. Telephone: (202) 260-0826 or via e-mail at
john.mclaughlin@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain this notice in an
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in this section.
Electronic Access To This Document: You may view this document, as
well as other Department of Education documents published in the
Federal
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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 version of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/index.html.
Program Authority: Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance,
and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 at Div. B, Title I, Chapter
7, Pub. L. 110-329, 122 Stat. 3595 (Sept. 30, 2008).
Dated: January 6, 2009.
Kerri L. Briggs,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. E9-237 Filed 1-8-09; 8:45 am]
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