Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities--Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, CFDA Number 84.326X [OSERS]

FR Doc E6-9967
[Federal Register: June 23, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 121)]
[Notices]
[Page 36069-36073]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23jn06-40]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services
and Results for Children With Disabilities--General Supervision
Enhancement Grants; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.326X.

Dates: Applications Available: June 23, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 7, 2006.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 6, 2006.
Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs), and if
endorsed by the SEA to apply and carry out the project on behalf of the
SEA, local educational agencies (LEAs), public charter schools that are
LEAs under State law, institutions of higher education (IHEs), other
public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, and for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Available Funds: $3,690,000.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $307,500 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal
Register.
Number of Awards: 12.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

Project Period: Up to 12 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: This program promotes academic achievement and
improves results for children with disabilities by supporting technical
assistance, model demonstration projects, dissemination of useful
information, and implementation activities that are supported by
scientifically-based research.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections 663
and 681(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2006 this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
This priority is: General Supervision Enhancement Grants (GSEG).

Background

Section 616 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) requires the Department and States to establish and implement
systems for monitoring implementation of and enforcing obligations
under Parts B and C of IDEA. The Department monitors States, and
requires each State to monitor its LEAs, using indicators that the
Secretary established for certain priority areas under section 616 of
IDEA. Under Part B of the IDEA (Part B) each State must develop a State
Performance Plan (SPP) that, among other things, evaluates its efforts
to implement the requirements and purposes of Part B. As part of its
SPP, a State must establish targets for the indicators established by
the Secretary, and use those targets and indicators in annually
reporting to the Secretary on its performance in the priority areas.
Each State also must use its targets and the Secretary's indicators to
report annually to the public on the performance of each LEA in the
State.
One of the indicators established by the Secretary under section
616 of IDEA (for the priority area concerning the provision of a free
appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment) is
the participation and performance of children with disabilities on the
State assessments required under title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). States are expected
to report on student performance on State assessments in their SPPs and
Annual Performance Reports (APRs) using the same assessment data
required under title I of ESEA.
Title I of ESEA requires accountability for the academic
achievement of all students. Under that law, every school is expected
to be working to ensure that every one of its students and group of
students meet State achievement

[[Page 36070]]

standards as documented by their performance on State assessments.
Under title I of ESEA, a State's academic assessment system must be
valid and reliable for the purposes for which the assessment system is
used and it must be consistent with relevant, nationally recognized
professional and technical standards for assessment. In addition, a
State's academic assessment system must be accessible for use by the
widest possible range of students, including students with
disabilities, students covered under section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended, and students with limited English proficiency.
Under both title I of ESEA and IDEA, State academic assessments
must provide for reasonable testing accommodations for students with
disabilities where necessary. Many students with disabilities require
test accommodations in order to ensure that the State's academic
assessment accurately measures their knowledge and skills.
Accommodations are changes in testing materials or procedures that
ensure that an assessment measures a student's knowledge and skills
rather than the student's disabilities or English proficiency.
Accommodations generally are grouped into the categories of: (1)
Presentation; (2) Response; (3) Setting; and (4) Timing and Scheduling.
Section 612(a)(16)(B) of IDEA requires that all States have guidelines
for the provision of appropriate accommodations.
In addition, the Department's regulations under title I of ESEA
allow States to develop alternate achievement standards that are
aligned with the State's academic content standards and reflect
professional judgment of the highest learning standards possible for
that very limited group of students with the most significant cognitive
disabilities. The Department's regulations under title I of ESEA permit
the proficient and advanced scores of students assessed based on
alternate achievement standards to be included in adequate yearly
progress (AYP) calculations in the same manner as scores based on grade
level achievement, subject to a cap of one percent of all students in
the grades assessed, at the district and State level. See http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/2003-4/120903a.pdf
for more

information. Under section 612(a)(16)(C) and (D) of IDEA, States must
report on the number and performance of students taking alternate
assessments based on alternate achievement standards.
All alternate assessments that are used for title I ESEA purposes
must be designed to generate valid data that can be used for AYP
purposes under ESEA. All alternate assessments must also meet the
requirements in 34 CFR 200.2 (State Responsibilities for Assessment)
and 34 CFR 200.3 (Designing State Academic Assessment Systems),
including the requirements relating to validity, reliability, and high
technical quality; and fit coherently in the State's overall assessment
system under 34 CFR 200.2. The alternate assessment must, among other
things: (1) Be valid and reliable for the purposes for which the
assessment system is used; (2) be consistent with relevant, nationally
recognized professional and technical standards; and (3) be supported
by evidence from test publishers or other relevant sources that the
assessment system is of adequate technical quality for each purpose
required under ESEA. States must include alternate assessment data in
their SPPs and APRs relative to performance and participation of
children with disabilities on State assessments under IDEA.
The Department is announcing the following priority to assist
States in: (1) Developing alternate achievement standards aligned with
the State's academic content standards; (2) developing high-quality
alternate assessments that measure the achievement of students with the
most significant cognitive disabilities based on those standards; (3)
reporting on the participation and performance of students with
disabilities on alternate assessments; and (4) developing appropriate
assessment accommodations that do not alter the established reliability
and validity of the assessment instrument.

Priority

This priority supports projects that assist States in improving
their capacity to accurately report on the performance and
participation of children with disabilities on the State's assessments.
In order to meet this priority an applicant must demonstrate that
the project for which it seeks funding will do one or more of the
following: (1) Develop alternate achievement standards aligned with the
State's academic content standards; (2) develop high-quality alternate
assessments that measure the achievement of students with the most
significant cognitive disabilities based on those standards; (3) report
on the participation and performance of students with disabilities on
alternate assessments; and (4) develop appropriate assessment
accommodations that do not alter the established reliability and
validity of the assessment instrument.
Projects funded under this priority also must--
(a) Budget to attend a two-day Project Directors' meeting;
(b) If the project maintains a Web site, include relevant
information and documents in a format that meets a government or
industry-recognized standard for accessibility; and
(c) Provide a written assurance that the State's Assessment Office
(e.g., the office that addresses ESEA accountability) was given the
opportunity to contribute to the formulation of the application.
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 a proposed priority. However,
section 681(d) of IDEA makes the public comment requirements under the
APA inapplicable to the priority in this notice.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1463 and 1481(d).

Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.
Estimated Available Funds: $3,690,000.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $307,500 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal
Register.
Number of Awards: 12.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

Project Period: Up to 12 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs, and if endorsed by the SEA to apply
and carry out the project on behalf of the SEA, LEAs, public charter
schools that are LEAs under State law, IHEs, other public agencies,
private nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations.

[[Page 36071]]

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost
sharing or matching.
3. Other: General Requirements--(a) The projects funded under this
competition must make positive efforts to employ and advance in
employment qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of
IDEA).
(b) Applicants and grant recipients funded under this competition
must involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals
with disabilities ages birth through 26 in planning, implementing, and
evaluating the project (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of IDEA).

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 84.326X.
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 the Grants and Contracts
Services Team listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section
VII of 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 competition. 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 Part III to the equivalent
of no more than 30 pages, using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II,
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part
IV, the assurances and certifications; the one-page abstract, the
resumes, the bibliography, the references, or the letters of support.
However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III.
We will reject your application if--
You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: June 23, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 7, 2006.
Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov), or in
paper format by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates
and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by
mail or hand delivery, please refer to section IV. 6. Other Submission
Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 6, 2006.
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 competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition may be submitted electronically or in paper format by
mail or hand delivery.

a. Electronic Submission of Applications

We have been accepting applications electronically through the
Department's e-Application system since FY 2000. In order to expand on
those efforts and comply with the President's Management Agenda, we are
continuing to participate as a partner in the new government wide
Grants.gov Apply site in FY 2006. The General Supervision Enhancement
Grants-CFDA Number 84.326X is one of the programs included in this
project. We request your participation in Grants.gov.
If you choose to submit your application electronically, you must
use the Grants.gov Apply site at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this

site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package,
complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You
may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
You may access the electronic grant application for the General
Supervision Enhancement Grants at: http://www.grants.gov. You must

search for the downloadable application package for this program by the
CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your
search.
Please note the following:
Your participation in Grants.gov is voluntary.
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the application process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
.

[[Page 36072]]

To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.Grants.gov/GetStarted). These steps include (1) registering

your organization, (2) registering yourself as an Authorized
Organization Representative (AOR), and (3) getting authorized as an AOR
by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the
Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/assets/GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8X11.pdf).
You also must provide on your application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration.
Please note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you submit your application in paper format.
You may submit all documents electronically, including all
information typically included on the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED
524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. If you choose to
submit your application electronically, you must attach any narrative
sections of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich
text) or .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type
other than the three file types specified above or submit a password
protected file, we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying
number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.

Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability

If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions as described elsewhere in this notice. If you submit an
application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the deadline date,
please contact the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an explanation of the
technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). We will accept your
application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with
the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to
submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a
determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

Note: Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the
unavailability of or technical problems with the Grants.gov system.
We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register
to submit your application to Grants.gov before the deadline date
and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to
the Grants.gov system.

b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail

If you submit your application in paper format by mail (through the
U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), you must mail the
original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.326X), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260, or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.326X), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.

c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery

If you submit your application in paper format by hand delivery,
you (or a courier service) must deliver the original and two copies of
your application by hand, on or before the application deadline date,
to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.326X), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-4260. The Application Control Center accepts hand
deliveries daily between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
except Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail
or hand deliver your application to the Department:
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the
Department--in Item 4 of ED 424 the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if
any--of the competition under which you are submitting your
application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.

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

[[Page 36073]]

(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: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has developed measures that
will yield information on various aspects of the Technical Assistance
and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with
Disabilities program. These measures focus on: the extent to which
projects provide high quality products and services, the relevance of
project products and services to educational and early intervention
policy and practice, and the use of products and services to improve
educational and early intervention policy and practice.
We will notify grantees if they will be required to provide any
information related to these measures.
Grantees also will be required to report information on their
projects' performance in annual reports to the Department (34 CFR
75.590).

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Wexler, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4019, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7571.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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 by contacting the following office: The Grants and
Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550.
Telephone: (202) 245-7363.

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: June 14, 2006.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E6-9967 Filed 6-22-06; 8:45 am]

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