[Federal Register: August 10, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 153)]
[Notices]
[Page 48472-48475]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10au04-53]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Overview
Information; Technology and Media Services for Individuals With
Disabilities--Television Access; Notice Inviting Applications for New
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327C.
DATES: Applications Available: August 10, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 9, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 14, 2004.
Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local
educational agencies (LEAs); institutions of higher education (IHEs);
other public agencies; nonprofit private organizations; outlying areas;
freely associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and
for-profit organizations.
Estimated Available Funds: $2,825,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Local News and Public Information
Programs: $125,000; Accessible Children's Television Programs:
$300,000.
Maximum Award: Local News and Public Information Programs:
$125,000; Accessible Children's Television Programs: $300,000. We will
reject any application that proposes a budget exceeding the maximum
award 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.
Estimated Number of Awards: 14.
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 the Technology and Media
Services for Individuals With Disabilities--Television Access
competition is to: (1) Improve results for children with disabilities
by promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology; (2)
support educational media activities designed to be of educational
value to children with disabilities; (3) provide support for some
captioning and video description; and (4) provide cultural experiences
through appropriate nonprofit organizations.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections
661(e)(2) and 687 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
as amended (IDEA)).
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:
Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--
Television Access
Background: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is
primarily responsible for implementing and monitoring the closed
captioning requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In this
Act, Congress generally requires that programming be captioned,
regardless of distribution technology, to ensure access to persons with
hearing disabilities.
In this Act, Congress recognized that, in some situations,
requiring programming to be captioned might prove economically
burdensome to video programming providers and owners. For this reason,
Congress also authorized the FCC to adopt exemptions from the general
captioning requirements for programs, and classes of programs, for
which the FCC determines that the provision of captioning would be
economically burdensome to the provider or owner of such programming.
In addition, the FCC has promulgated rules for real-time captioning,
which typically uses stenography but includes any methodology, to
convert the entire audio portion of a live program to captions. For a
fuller explanation of the FCC's requirements on captioning, please
refer to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html.
On July 21, 2000, the FCC also adopted rules to make television
more accessible to people with visual disabilities by mandating that a
certain amount of programming contain video description. However, in
November 2002, a Federal court struck down these rules. Thus, FCC
accessibility rules do not currently require video description.
Priority: Under this priority, which supports cooperative
agreements, an applicant may address one or both of the following:
(a) Real-time captioning of locally produced news and public
information television programming that, under the FCC's captioning
requirements, is not required to be real-time captioned.
(b) Describing, or captioning and describing, widely available
children's educational programs. Only children's educational
programming that would not otherwise be captioned to meet the FCC's
captioning requirements, or is specifically exempt from the FCC's
captioning requirements, is eligible to be captioned.
A project must do the following:
(a) For children's educational programs, include criteria for
selecting programs that have high educational
[[Page 48473]]
merit and take into account the preference of educators, students, and
parents, and the diversity of the type of programming available.
(b) Identify and support a consumer advisory group, including
parents and educators, which must meet at least annually.
(c) Use the expertise of this consumer advisory group to certify
that each program captioned or described with project funds is
educational, news, or informational programming. Following are examples
of programming that is educational, news or informational:
(1) Children's programming that furthers the educational and
informational needs of children, including the child's intellectual/
cognitive or social/emotional needs (exception: Programs that contain
adult content);
(2) News and news magazines (exception: entertainment news
magazines); and
(3) Adult informational or documentary programs (exceptions: non-
documentary feature films and television movies unless they are
appropriate for use in the classroom; documentaries that profile
entertainment personalities, or criminals).
(d) Identify the extent to which the programming is widely
available.
(e) Identify the total number of program hours the project will
make accessible and the cost per hour for description and for
captioning.
(f) For each video program, identify the source of any private or
other public support, and the projected dollar amount of that support,
if any.
(g) Demonstrate the willingness of program providers or owners of
programs to permit and facilitate the description or captioning of
their programs.
(h) Provide assurances from program providers or owners of programs
stating that programs made accessible under this project will air, and
will continue to air, with descriptions and captions.
(i) Provide assurances from program providers or owners of programs
stating that programs captioned under this project would not otherwise
be captioned to meet the FCC's captioning requirements, or are
specifically exempt from the FCC's captioning requirements.
(j) Implement procedures for monitoring the extent to which full
accessibility is provided, and use this information to make refinements
in project operations.
(k) Identify the anticipated shelf-life and range of distribution
of the video programs that is possible without further costs to the
project.
In addition, projects funded under this priority must--
(a) Budget for a two-day Project Directors' meeting in Washington,
DC during each year of the project.
(b) If a project maintains a Web site, include relevant information
and documents in an accessible form.
Competitive Preference Priority: Within this absolute priority, we
give competitive preference to applications that address the following
priority.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to an additional 20 points
to an application, depending on the extent to which the application
meets this priority.
This priority is:
Local News and Public Information Programs--In meeting this
priority, the applicant:
(a) Must not have been a grantee or a subcontractor of a grantee
under the Technology and Media Services for Individuals with
Disabilities program during the prior fiscal year; and
(b) Will not use a subcontractor who was a grantee or a
subcontractor of a grantee under this program during the current fiscal
year.
Thus, an applicant meeting this competitive preference could
receive a maximum possible score of 120 points.
Waiver Of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested parties
the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. However, section
661(e)(2) of the IDEA makes the public comment requirements
inapplicable to the priorities in this notice.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1487.
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 institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Cooperative agreements.
Estimated Available Funds: $2,825,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Local News and Public Information
Programs: $125,000; Accessible Children's Television Programs:
$300,000.
Maximum Award: Local News and Public Information Programs:
$125,000; Accessible Children's Television Programs: $300,000. We will
reject any application that proposes a budget exceeding the maximum
award 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.
Estimated Number of Awards: 14.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs; IHEs; other public agencies;
nonprofit private organizations; outlying areas; freely associated
States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-profit
organizations.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost
sharing or matching.
3. Other: General Requirements--(a) The projects funded under this
notice must make positive efforts to employ and advance in employment
qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of the IDEA).
(b) Applicants and grant recipients funded under this notice must
involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals with
disabilities in planning, implementing, and evaluating the projects
(see section 661(f)(1)(A) of the 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 84.327C.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package 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 in section VII of
this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together
[[Page 48474]]
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 50 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; or the one-page abstract, the
resumes, the bibliography, the references, the letters of support, or
the appendix. 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: August 10, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 9, 2004.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted by
mail or hand delivery (including a commercial carrier or courier
service), or 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 by mail or hand delivery, or electronically, please
refer to Section IV. 6. Procedures for Submitting Applications in this
notice.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 14, 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 competition. However, in
order to ensure that these FY 2004 grants are made before September 30,
2004, the 60-day intergovernmental review period has been waived to 5
days.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Procedures for Submitting Applications: Applications for grants
under this competition may be submitted electronically or in paper
format by mail or hand delivery.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
If you submit your application to us electronically, you must use
e-Application available through the Department's e-GRANTS system. The
e-GRANTS system is accessible through its portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov
.
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. The data you enter online will be saved into a
database.
If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
Your participation is voluntary.
You must submit your grant application electronically
through the Internet using the software provided on the e-Grants Web
site (http://e-grants.ed.gov) by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. 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 after 7 p.m. on Wednesdays
for maintenance, Washington, DC time. Any modifications to these hours
are posted on the e-Grants Web site. 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 your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you 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.
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 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 Application Control Center at (202)
245-6272.
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 are prevented from 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 e-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
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 the Special
Education--Technology and Media Services for Individuals With
Disabilities--Television Access competition at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
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 send the
original and two
[[Page 48475]]
copies of your application on or before the application deadline date
to the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application
Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.327C), 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20202.
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 U.S. Secretary 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 post marked after the application deadline
date, we will notify you that we will not consider the application.
Note: Applicants should note that 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 on or before the application deadline date to the
following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control
Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.327C), 550 12th Street, SW., Room
7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts deliveries daily between 8
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays and
Federal holidays. A person delivering an application must show
identification to enter the building.
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 Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424 (exp. 11/30/2004)) 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 notification
of application receipt within 15 days from the mailing of your
application, 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
listed in 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. The specific selection criteria to be
used for this competition are 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 (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 (GPRA), the Department is currently developing measures
that will yield information on various aspects of the quality of the
Technology and Media Services to Improve Services and Results for
Children with Disabilities program (e.g., the extent to which projects
are of high quality, are relevant to the needs of children with
disabilities, and contribute to improving results for children with
disabilities). Data on these measures will be collected from the
projects funded under this notice.
Grantees will also be required to report information on their
projects' performance in annual reports to the Department (EDGAR, 34
CFR 75.590).
We will notify grantees of the performance measures once they are
developed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo Ann McCann, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4067, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7434.
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 by contacting the following office: The Grants and
Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., room 5075, 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: August 5, 2004.
Troy R. Justesen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 04-18308 Filed 8-9-04; 8:45 am]
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