FR Doc 04-2519
[Federal Register: February 5, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 24)]
[Notices]
[Page 5521-5523]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05fe04-55]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview
Information; High School Equivalency Program (HEP); Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.141A.
DATES: Applications Available: February 5, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 5, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 4, 2004.
Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) or
private non-profit agencies working in cooperation with IHEs, including
faith-based organizations, provided that they meet all statutory and
regulatory requirements.
Estimated Available Funds: $5,900,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $150,000-$475,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $375,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 15.
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 purpose of the High School Equivalency
Program (HEP) is to help migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their
children obtain a general education diploma (GED) that meets the
guidelines for high school equivalency established by the State in
which the HEP project is conducted, and to gain employment or be placed
in an IHE or other postsecondary education or training.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), this priority
is from section 75.225 of the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), which apply to this program (34 CFR
75.225).
Competitive Preference Priority--Novice Applicant
For FY 2004 this priority is a competitive preference priority.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award an additional 5 points to an
application meeting this competitive priority.
This priority is:
Novice Applicant
The applicant must be a ``novice applicant'' as defined in 34 CFR
75.225.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070d-2.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82,
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) 34 CFR part 206. (c) the definitions of
a migrant agricultural worker in 34 CFR 200.81. (d) 20 CFR part
669.110, and 669.320, respectively.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants, that are awarded for a five-
year grant cycle.
Estimated Available Funds: $5,900,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $150,000--$475,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $375,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 15.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) or
private non-profit organizations, working in cooperation with IHEs,
including faith-based organizations, provided that they meet all
statutory and regulatory requirements.
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: Mary L. Suazo, U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education, room 3E227, 400
Maryland Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20202-6135. Telephone: (202) 260-
1396 or by e-mail: mary.suazo@ed.gov.
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 a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) or 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. You must limit Part III of the
application 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 (Part III),
including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and
captions. However, you may single space all text in charts, tables,
figures, and graphs. Charts, tables, figures, and graphs presented in
the application narrative count toward the page limit.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or
no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
Appendices are limited to the following:
resumes, job descriptions, letters of support, bibliography, and
additional information relevant to the support of the proposal.
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, that bibliography, or the letters of support. However, you
must include all of the application narrative in part III.
Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that--
Exceed the page limit if you apply these
standards; or
Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you
apply other standards.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: February 5, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 5, 2004. The dates
and times for transmittal of applications by mail or by hand (including
a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the application package
for this competition. The application package also specifies the hours
of operation of the e-Application Web site.
[[Page 5522]]
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 4, 2004.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 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: Instructions and requirements for
the transmittal of applications by mail or by hand (including a courier
service or commercial carrier) are in the application package for this
program.
Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for
transmitting applications differ from those in the Education
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR
75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to
comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make
procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy.
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined
that proposed rulemaking is not required.
Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications: We are
continuing to expand our pilot project for electronic submission of
applications to include additional formula grant programs and
additional discretionary grant competitions. The High School
Equivalency Program, CFDA Number 84.141A, is one of the programs
included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant under the High
School Equivalency Program you may submit your application to us in
either electronic or paper format.
The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant
Application System (e-Application). 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. If you
participate in this voluntary pilot project by submitting an
application electronically, the data you enter online will be saved
into a database. We request your participation in e-Application. We
shall continue to evaluate its success and solicit suggestions for its
improvement.
If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
Your participation is voluntary.
When you enter the e-Application system, you
will find information about its hours of operation. 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 a grant application in electronic format, nor will
we penalize you if you submit an application in paper format.
You may 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 institution'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 form.
4. Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202)
260-1349.
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 elect to participate in the e-Application pilot
for the High School Equivalency Program and 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 a 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 dest at 1-888-336-8930.
You may access the electronic grant application for the High School
Equivalency Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition
are in the application package.
2. Review and Selection Process: Additional factors we consider in
selecting an application are Prior Experience. Applicants that are
currently administering a HEP project that is in the final year of the
five-year grant cycle, are eligible to receive up to 15 points for
prior performance in accordance with Section 418A(e) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended.
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 Notice
(GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and Natural 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.
[[Page 5523]]
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA), measures have been developed for evaluating the
overall effectiveness of the Hight School Equivalency Program. These
measures are: (1) The number and percent of HEP participants who
complete the course of study and receive a GED, and (2) the number and
percent of HEP participants with a GED who enter postsecondary
education programs, career positions, or the military.
All grantees will be requried to submit an annual performance
report documenting their success in addressing these performance
measures.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary L. Suazo, U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of
Migrant Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E227, Washington, DC
20202-6135. Telephone number: (202) 260-1396, or by e-mail:
mary.suazo@ed.gov.
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 to the 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 2, 2004.
Raymond Simon,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 04-2519 Filed 2-4-04; 8:45 am]
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