FR Doc 05-4106 [Federal Register: March 3, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 41)] [Notices] [Page 10366-10370] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr03mr05-35] Download:----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview Information; Alaska Native Education Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.356A. DATES: Applications Available: March 3, 2005. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 18, 2005. Eligible Applicants: (a) Alaska Native organizations; (b) Educational entities with experience in developing or operating Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska Native languages; (c) Cultural and community-based organizations with experience in developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives; and (d) Consortia of organizations and entities described in this paragraph. Note: A State educational agency or local educational agency may apply for an award under this program only as part of a consortium involving an Alaska Native organization. The consortium may include other eligible applicants. Estimated Available Funds: $7,300,000. Contingent upon the availability of funds and quality of applications, the Secretary may make additional awards in FY 2006 from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition. Estimated Range of Awards: $315,000-$630,000. Estimated Average Size of Awards: $400,000. Estimated Number of Awards: 12-22. 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: The purpose of this program is to develop and support supplemental educational programs to benefit Alaska Natives. Permissible activities under this program include the following: (1) Development and implementation of plans, methods, and strategies to improve the education of Alaska Natives; (2) development of curricula and educational programs that address the educational needs of Alaska Native students; (3) professional development activities for educators; (4) development and operation of home instruction programs for Alaska Native preschool children, to ensure the active involvement of parents in their [[Page 10367]] children's education from the earliest ages; (5) family literacy services; (6) development and operation of student enrichment programs in science and mathematics; (7) research and data collection activities to determine the educational status and needs of Alaska Native children and adults; (8) other research and evaluation activities related to programs carried out under Alaska Native education programs; (9) remedial and enrichment programs to assist Alaska Native students in performing at a high level on standardized tests; (10) education and training of Alaska Native students enrolled in a degree program that will lead to certification or licensing as teachers; (11) parenting education for parents and caregivers of Alaska Native children to improve parenting and caregiving skills (including skills relating to discipline and cognitive development and parenting education provided through in-home visitation of new mothers); (12) activities carried out through Even Start programs under subpart 3 of part B of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) and Head Start programs under the Head Start Act, including the training of teachers for Even Start and Head Start programs; (13) other early learning and preschool programs; (14) dropout prevention programs; (15) career preparation activities to enable Alaska Native children and adults to prepare for meaningful employment, including programs providing ``tech-prep,'' mentoring, training, and apprenticeship activities; (16) provision of operational support and purchasing of equipment to develop regional vocational schools in rural areas of Alaska, including boarding schools, for Alaska Native students in grades 9 through 12, or at higher levels of education, to provide the students with necessary resources to prepare for skilled employment opportunities; (17) construction of facilities that support the operation of Alaska Native education programs; and (18) other activities, consistent with the purposes of this program, to meet the educational needs of Alaska Native children and adults. Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority is from section 7304(c) of ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7544(c)). Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2005 this priority is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award an additional 5 points to an application that meets this priority. This priority is: The Secretary shall give priority to applications from Alaska Native regional nonprofit organizations, or consortia that include at least one Alaska Native regional nonprofit organization. In order to receive a competitive preference under this priority, an application must provide documentation supporting its claim that it meets this priority. Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7541, et seq.; Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub. L. 108-447). Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of higher education only. II. Award Information Type of Award: Discretionary grants. Estimated Available Funds: $7,300,000. Contingent upon the availability of funds and quality of applications, the Secretary may make additional awards in FY 2006 from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition. Estimated Range of Awards: $315,000--$630,000. Estimated Average Size of Awards: $400,000. Estimated Number of Awards: 12-22. Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice. Project Period: Up to 36 months. III. Eligibility Information 1. Eligible Applicants: (a) Alaska Native organizations; (b) Educational entities with experience in developing or operating Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska Native languages; (c) Cultural and community-based organizations with experience in developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives; and (d) Consortia of organizations and entities described in this paragraph to carry out programs that meet the purposes of this program. Note: A State educational agency or local educational agency may apply for an award under this program only as part of a consortium involving an Alaska Native organization. The consortium may include other eligible applicants. 2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost sharing or matching. IV. Application and Submission Information 1. Address To Request Application Package: Alexis Fisher, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W217, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 401-0281 or by e-mail: alexis.fisher@ed.gov. You may also obtain the application electronically by downloading it from the following Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/alaskanative/applicant.html . 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 a copy of the application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed in this section. 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. Applicants are strongly encouraged to limit the application narrative (text plus all figures, charts, tables, and diagrams) to the equivalent of no more than 25 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 recommended 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; or the one- page abstract, one-page proof of eligibility, the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III. 3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: March 3, 2005. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 18, 2005. Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted [[Page 10368]] electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e- Application) available through the Department's e-Grants system. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, 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. 4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 5. Funding Restrictions: Under section 7304(b) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7544(b)), not more than five percent of funds provided to a grantee under this competition for any fiscal year may be used for administrative purposes. We reference additional regulations outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice. 6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in this section. We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement. a. Electronic Submission of Applications. Applications for grants under the Alaska Native Education Program-- CFDA Number 84.356A--must be submitted electronically using e- Application available through the Department's e-Grants system, accessible through the e-Grants portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov. While completing your electronic application, you will be entering data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us. Please note the following: You must complete the electronic submission of your grant application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application for this competition after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application process. 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 midnight Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site. You will not receive additional point value because you submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format. 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. Any narrative sections of your application should be attached as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. Your electronic application must comply with any page limit requirements described in this notice. Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may wish to print a copy of it for your records. After you electronically submit your application, you will receive an automatic acknowledgement that 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 ED 424 to the Application Control Center after following these steps: (1) Print ED 424 from e-Application. (2) The applicant'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 attention of the Alaska Native Education Program at (202) 742-5418. We may request that you provide us original signatures on other forms at a later date. Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically 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 electronic 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 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. If the system is down and therefore the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all registered users who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the Department's e-Application system. Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application through the e-Application system because-- You do not have access to the Internet; or You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Department's e-Application system; and No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the [[Page 10369]] Internet to submit your application. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. Address and mail or fax your statement to: Alexis Fisher, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W217, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Fax: (202) 260-8969. Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice. b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail. If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) your application to the Department. 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 84.356A), 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 84.356A), 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 qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper application to the Department by hand. You 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 84.356A), 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 the 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 1. Selection Criteria: We will use the following selection criteria from 34 CFR 75.210 to evaluate applications for new grants under this competition. The maximum score for all criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses. The selection criteria for this competition are as follows: (a) Need for Project (20 points). In determining the need for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or the activities to be carried out by the proposed project. (b) Quality of Project Design (30 Points). In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the Secretary considers the extent to which the design of the proposed project is appropriate to and will successfully address the needs of the target population or other identified needs. (c) Quality of Project Personnel (15 Points). In determining the quality of project personnel who will carry out the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors: (i) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability. (ii) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of key project personnel. (d) Adequacy of Resources (15 Points). In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the extent to which the budget is adequate to support the proposed project. (e) Quality of Project Evaluation (20 Points). In determining the quality of the evaluation for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors: (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the proposed project. (ii) 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. 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 [[Page 10370]] expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. 4. Performance Measures: The Alaska Native Education program seeks to support supplemental education programs to benefit Alaska Native populations. The Department uses the following performance targets to measure the program's success: (1) An increased percentage of Alaska Native students will meet or exceed proficiency standards in mathematics, science, or reading; (2) an increased percentage of Alaska Native children will improve on measures of school readiness; and (3) the dropout rate of Alaska Native middle and high school students will decrease. Each grantee is expected to submit an annual performance report documenting its contributions in assisting the Department in meeting these performance measures. VII. Agency Contact FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis Fisher, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W217, Washington, DC 20202- 6200. Telephone: (202) 401-0281 or by e-mail: alexis.fisher@ed.gov. 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 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: February 25, 2005. Raymond J. Simon, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education. [FR Doc. 05-4106 Filed 3-2-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P