FR Doc E8-26069[Federal Register: October 31, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 212)]
[Notices]
[Page 64928-64931]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc08-55]
Download: 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview
Information; Advanced Placement (AP) Test Fee Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.330B.
DATES:
Applications Available: October 31, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 15, 2008.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: February 13, 2009.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The AP Test Fee program awards grants to
eligible State educational agencies (SEAs) to enable them to pay all or
a portion of advanced placement test fees on behalf of eligible low-
income students who (1) are enrolled in an advanced placement course
and (2) plan to take an advanced placement exam. The program is
designed to increase the number of low-income students who take
advanced placement tests and receive scores for which college academic
credit is awarded.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6531-6537.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administration Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$70,000,000 for the new Advanced Placement and International
Baccalaureate (AP/IB) program authorized under Title VI, Subtitle A,
Part II of the America COMPETES Act, and the AP Test Fee and Advanced
Placement Incentive (API) programs authorized under Title I, Part G of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (ESEA) for FY 2009, of which we expect
to use an estimated $12,000,000 for this program. The remaining funds
would support new grants under the AP/IB program and continuation
grants under the API program. 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.
Estimated Range of Awards: $2,164--$3,507,966.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $285,714.
Estimated Number of Awards: 42.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 12 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs in any State, including the District
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and the freely associated states of the Republic of the
Marshall Islands,
[[Page 64929]]
the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau (subject
to continued eligibility).
Note: For purposes of this program, the Bureau of Indian
Education in the U.S. Department of the Interior is treated as an
SEA.
2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost
sharing or matching.
b. Supplement-Not-Supplant: This program involves supplement-not-
supplant funding requirements. Section 1706 of ESEA requires that grant
funds provided under the AP Test Fee program supplement, and not
supplant, other non-Federal funds that are available to assist low-
income individuals in paying for the cost of advanced placement test
fees.
3. Other: Current grantees under this program that expect to have
sufficient carryover funds to cover school year 2008-2009 advanced
placement exam fees for eligible low-income students should not apply
for a new award under this program.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: To obtain an application
package via the Internet use the following address:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/apfee/applicant.html.
To obtain an application package from the Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education use the following address: Francisco Ramirez, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E224,
Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 260-1541 or by e-mail:
Francisco.Ramirez@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program 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 program.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: October 31, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 15, 2008.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically, or in paper format 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.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII
in this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the
application process, the individual's application remains subject to
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: February 13, 2009.
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 program.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an
exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in
this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications
Applications for grants under the Advanced Placement Test Fee
Program, CFDA Number 84.330B, must be submitted electronically using
the Governmentwide 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.
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.
You may access the electronic grant application for the AP Test Fee
Program 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 (e.g., search for 84.330,
not 84.330B).
Please note the following:
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 date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00
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 received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC, time, on the application
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply
with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from
Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application
because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after
4:30:00 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 submission 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 program 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 steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps
include
[[Page 64930]]
(1) Registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (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 submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
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
all information you typically provide 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).
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 in this paragraph 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 from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application 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 Technical Issues
With the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
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 4:30:00 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 described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in this
notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you
experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk
Case Number. 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 4:30:00
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: The extensions to which we refer 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 application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov 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 Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov 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 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: Francisco Ramirez, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E224,
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 following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.330B), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
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.
(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.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
[[Page 64931]]
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 84.330B), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily between
8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 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 the SF 424 the CFDA number, including
suffix letter, if any, of the program under which you are submitting
your application; and
(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not
receive this notification 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
The Department intends to fund, at some level, all applications
that meet the minimum Requirements for Approval of Application as
described in the application package for this program and that
demonstrate need for new or additional funds to pay advanced placement
exam fees on behalf of low-income students for school year 2008-2009.
Also, in determining whether to approve an application for a new
award (including the amount of the award) from an applicant with a
current grant under this program, the Department will consider the
amount of any carryover funds under the existing grant.
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 notify you informally, also.
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 in this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in 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. The Secretary may also require more frequent
performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements
on reporting, please go to
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has developed five
performance measures to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the AP
Test Fee and API programs: (1) The number of advanced placement tests
taken by low-income public school students nationally; (2) The number
of advanced placement tests taken by minority (Hispanic, Black, Native
American) public school students nationally; (3) The percentage of
advanced placement tests passed (for AP exams, receiving scores of 3-5)
by low-income public school students nationally; (4) The number of
advanced placement tests passed (for AP exams, receiving scores of 3-5)
by low-income public school students nationally; and (5) The cost per
passage of an advanced placement test taken by a low-income public
school student. The information provided by grantees in their final
performance reports will be one of the sources of data for this
measure. Other sources of data include the College Board and
International Baccalaureate North America.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Francisco Ramirez, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E224, Washington, DC 20202-
6200. Telephone: (202) 260-1541 or by e-mail: Francisco.Ramirez@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document and 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 in this notice.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can 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: October 28, 2008.
Kerri L. Briggs,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. E8-26069 Filed 10-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P