Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, CFDA#: 84.328C. [OSERS]

FR Doc E6-20024
[Federal Register: November 27, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 227)]
[Notices]
[Page 68577-68582]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27no06-63]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for
Children with Disabilities--National Outreach and Technical Assistance
Center on Discretionary Awards for Minority Institutions; Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.325R.

Dates: Applications Available: November 27, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 11, 2007.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: March 12, 2007.
Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs).
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$90,626,000 for the Personnel Development to Improve Services and

[[Page 68578]]

Results for Children with Disabilities program for FY 2007, of which we
intend to use an estimated $1,668,121 for the National Outreach and
Technical Assistance Center on Discretionary Awards for Minority
Institutions competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends
on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to
allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress
appropriates funds for this program.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $1,668,121 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: 1.

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

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purposes of this program are to (1) Help
address State-identified needs for highly qualified personnel--in
special education, related services, early intervention, and regular
education--to work with infants or toddlers with disabilities, or
children with disabilities; and (2) ensure that those personnel have
the skills and knowledge--derived from practices that have been
determined through research and experience to be successful--that are
needed to serve those children.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections
662(d) and 681(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2007 this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
This priority is:

National Outreach and Technical Assistance Center on Discretionary
Awards for Minority Institutions

Background
Section 681(c)(2) of IDEA requires the Secretary to set aside funds
to support one or both of the following activities: (1) The provision
of outreach and technical assistance to Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) and to IHEs with minority enrollments of not less
than 25 percent to promote their participation in certain activities
under IDEA; or (2) the provision of support to enable such institutions
to assist other institutions and agencies in improving educational and
transitional results for children with disabilities. Consistent with
this requirement, this priority is aimed at: (1) Promoting the
participation of HBCUs and IHEs with minority enrollments of not less
than 25 percent in discretionary grant competitions conducted by the
Department pursuant to section 662 of IDEA (the Personnel Development
to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities
program); and (2) building the capacity of such institutions to prepare
personnel to work effectively with children with disabilities from
diverse backgrounds.
The current Technical Assistance Center funded by the Office of
Special Education Programs (OSEP) under section 681(c)(2) provides
technical assistance to IHEs in grant writing and disseminates specific
information to aid HBCUs and other minority IHEs in developing
applications for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. This
priority will shift the focus of the center that will be funded from
that of grant-writing technical assistance to assistance that will help
HBCUs and minority IHEs build their capacity to prepare personnel to
work effectively with children with disabilities from linguistically
and culturally diverse backgrounds.
Priority: The purpose of the National Outreach and Technical
Assistance Center on Discretionary Awards for Minority Institutions
(Center) is to increase: (a) The participation of HBCUs and other
institutions with a minority student enrollment of at least 25 percent
in the Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for
Children with Disabilities program competitions authorized under
section 662 of IDEA; and (b) the capacity of these institutions to
prepare personnel to work with children with disabilities from diverse
backgrounds.
To meet this priority, the Center must demonstrate that it will--
(a) Maintain contacts with HBCUs and other minority institutions;
(b) Prepare and disseminate grant-writing technical assistance
materials that will enable HBCUs and other minority IHEs to become
competitive applicants in competitions authorized under Subpart 2,
section 662 of IDEA;
(c) Prepare and disseminate program development materials, such as:
modules on a variety of research-based pedagogy and practices that are
effective in preparing personnel to provide quality service to children
with disabilities; and, a State by State directory of resources that
will provide special education needs by State, disability type,
personnel supply and demand, etc. Other materials could include
information on identifying competencies that are needed to work
effectively with linguistically and culturally diverse populations and
how to infuse those competencies into personnel preparation programs;
(d) Analyze the results of each applicable discretionary grant
competition conducted by the Department under IDEA to determine which
HBCUs and minority IHEs applied and whether they were successful, and
submit this analysis to the Department;
(e) Provide support and guidance to faculty at HBCUs and other
minority IHEs to enhance the capacity of these institutions to design
and implement professional education programs that graduate highly
qualified special educators; and
(f) Ensure that all program development and professional education
program enhancements that the Center recommends to HBCUs and minority
IHEs include research-based practices, and appropriate cultural
competencies to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, and children
with disabilities.
Additionally, the Center must meet the following additional
requirements:
(a) Develop a plan in the first three months that outlines a
comprehensive technical assistance approach based on effective
strategies;
(b) Establish, maintain, and meet with an Advisory Board at least
once a year that includes individuals with disabilities, members from
underrepresented groups, technical assistance providers and university
personnel;
(c) Include a third party evaluator, approved by the Office of
Special Education Programs (OSEP), that will conduct a rigorous
evaluation of core Center activities, and determine the overall impact
of its work;
(d) Budget for a three-day Project Directors' meeting in
Washington, DC, the Technical Assistance and Dissemination Project
Directors' meeting and at least 2 one-day planning meetings with the
OSEP Project Officer and other appropriate staff in Washington, DC; and
(e) Budget five percent of the grant amount annually to support
emerging needs, as identified jointly through consultation with the
OSEP project officer.
Fourth and Fifth Years of Project: Finally, in deciding whether to
continue funding the Center for the fourth and

[[Page 68579]]

fifth years, the Secretary will consider the requirements of 34 CFR
75.253(a), in addition to the following items:
(a) The recommendation of a review team consisting of experts
selected by the Secretary. This review will be conducted in Washington,
DC during the last half of the project's second year. Projects must
budget for travel expenses associated with this one-day intensive
review;
(b) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of
the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or are being met by the
Center;
(c) Evidence of changes in capacity at HBCUs or other relevant
institutions; and
(d) Evidence of increased participation of HBCUs and IHEs with
minority enrollments of not less than 25 percent in competitions
conducted under section 662 of IDEA.
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 of the APA
inapplicable to the priority in this notice.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1462, 1481(c)(2), 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.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$90,626,000 for the Personnel Development to Improve Services and
Results for Children with Disabilities program for FY 2007, of which we
intend to use an estimated $1,668,121 for the National Outreach and
Technical Assistance Center on Discretionary Awards for Minority
Institutions competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends
on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to
allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress
appropriates funds for this program.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $1,668,121 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: 1.

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

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs.
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 projects (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 84.325R.
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 70 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, 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: November 27,
2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 11, 2007.
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: March 12, 2007.
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

[[Page 68580]]

continuing to participate as a partner in the new government wide
Grants.gov Apply site in FY 2007. The National Outreach and Technical
Assistance Center on Discretionary Awards for Minority Institutions
competition--CFDA number 84.325R is one of the competitions 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 National
Outreach and Technical Assistance Center on Discretionary Awards for
Minority Institutions competition--CFDA number 84.325R 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
.

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/applicants/get_registered.jsp). 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/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.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 following forms: Application for
Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental
Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs
(ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. Please note
that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the Department of Education
Supplemental Information for SF 424--have replaced the ED 424
(Application for Federal Education Assistance). 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
84.325R), 400 Maryland

[[Page 68581]]

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 84.325R), 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 84.325R), 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 11 of SF 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: The selection criteria for this competition
are from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
2. Treating A Priority As Two Separate Competitions: In the past,
there have been problems in finding peer reviewers without conflicts of
interest for competitions in which many entities throughout the country
submit applications. The Standing Panel requirements under IDEA also
have placed additional constraints on the availability of reviewers.
Therefore, the Department has determined that, for some discretionary
competitions, applications may be separated into two or more groups and
ranked and selected for funding within the specific group. This
procedure will ensure the availability of a much larger group of
reviewers without conflicts of interest. It also will increase the
quality, independence and fairness of the review process and permit
panel members to review applications under discretionary competitions
for which they have also submitted applications. However, if the
Department decides to select for funding an equal number of
applications in each group, this may result in different cut-off points
for fundable applications in each group.

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 of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has developed measures that
will yield information on various aspects of the technical assistance
and dissemination activities currently being supported under Part D of
IDEA. These measures will be used for the National Outreach and
Technical Assistance Center on Discretionary Awards for Minority
Institutions competition, and they 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 will also 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: Vicki Mims, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4094, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-7451.
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

[[Page 68582]]

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: November 20, 2006.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E6-20024 Filed 11-24-06; 8:45 am]

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