Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview Information; Alaska Native Education Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, CFDA Number 84.356A [OESE]

FR Doc E6-3508
[Federal Register: March 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 12687-12691]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr06-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview
Information; Alaska Native Education Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)

Number: 84.356A
Dates: Applications Available: March 13, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 27, 2006.
Eligible Applicants: (a) Alaska Native organizations;
(b) Educational entities with experience in developing or operating
Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska
Native languages;
(c) Cultural and community-based organizations with experience in
developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives; and
(d) Consortia of organizations and entities described in this
paragraph to carry out activities that meet the purposes of this
program.

Note: A State educational agency or local educational agency may
apply for an award under this program only as part of a consortium
involving an Alaska Native organization. The consortium may include
other eligible applicants.

Estimated Available Funds: $16,300,000. Contingent upon the
availability of funds and the quality of applications, the Secretary
may make additional awards in FY 2007 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000-$700,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 20-40.

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

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to develop and
support supplemental educational programs to benefit Alaska Natives.
Permissible activities under this program include the following: (1)
Development and implementation of plans, methods, and strategies to
improve the education of Alaska Natives; (2) Development of curricula
and educational programs that address the educational needs of Alaska
Native students; (3) Professional development activities for educators;
(4) Development and operation of home instruction programs for Alaska
Native preschool children, to ensure the active involvement of parents
in their children's education from the earliest ages; (5) Family
literacy services; (6) Development and operation of student enrichment
programs in science and mathematics; (7) Research and data collection
activities to determine the educational status and needs of Alaska
Native children and adults; (8) Other research and evaluation
activities related to programs carried out under Alaska Native
education programs; (9) Remedial and enrichment programs to assist
Alaska Native students in performing at a high level on standardized
tests; (10) Education and training of Alaska Native students enrolled
in a degree program that will lead to certification or licensing as
teachers; (11) Parenting education for parents and caregivers of Alaska
Native children to improve parenting and caregiving skills (including
skills relating to discipline and cognitive development and parenting
education provided through in-home visitation of new mothers); (12)
Activities carried out through Even Start programs under subpart 3 of
part B of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, as amended (ESEA), and Head Start programs under the Head Start
Act, including the training of teachers for Even Start and Head Start
programs; (13) Other early learning and preschool programs; (14)
Dropout prevention programs; (15) Career preparation activities to
enable Alaska Native children and adults to prepare for meaningful
employment, including programs providing ``tech-prep,'' mentoring,
training, and apprenticeship activities; (16) Provision of operational
support and purchasing of equipment to

[[Page 12688]]

develop regional vocational schools in rural areas of Alaska, including
boarding schools, for Alaska Native students in grades 9 through 12, or
at higher levels of education, to provide the students with necessary
resources to prepare for skilled employment opportunities; (17)
Construction of facilities that support the operation of Alaska Native
education programs; and (18) Other activities, consistent with the
purposes of this program, to meet the educational needs of Alaska
Native children and adults.
Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), the
following competitive preference priority is from section 7304(c) of
the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7544(c)) and the invitational priority is from the
Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-149).
Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2006 and any subsequent
year in which we make awards based on the list of unfunded applications
from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award an additional five
points to an application that meets this priority.
This priority is:
The Secretary gives priority to applications from Alaska Native
regional nonprofit organizations or consortia that include at least one
Alaska Native regional nonprofit organization. In order to receive a
competitive preference under this priority, an application must provide
documentation supporting its claim that it meets this priority.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2006 and any subsequent year in which
we make awards based on the list of unfunded applications from this
competition, this priority is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR
75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets this invitational
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
This priority is:
The use of funds to address the construction needs of rural schools
serving Alaska Native students.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7541, et seq.; Department of Education
Appropriations Act, 2006 (Pub. L. 109-149).
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81,
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $16,300,000. Contingent upon the
availability of funds and the quality of applications, the Secretary
may make additional awards in FY 2007 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000-$700,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 20-40.

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

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: (a) Alaska Native organizations;
(b) Educational entities with experience in developing or operating
Alaska Native programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska
Native languages;
(c) Cultural and community-based organizations with experience in
developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives; and
(d) Consortia of organizations and entities described in this
paragraph to carry out activities that meet the purposes of this
program.

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: To obtain a copy of the
application package via the Internet use the following addresses:
http://www.grants.gov or http://www. ed.gov/programs/ alaskanative/
applicant.html. Individuals may also obtain a copy of the application
package by contacting the program contact person listed in this
section.
Address and mail your request for information to Alexis Fisher,
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W217,
Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 401-0281 or by e-mail:
alexis.fisher@ed.gov.

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed in this section.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant,
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your
application. We strongly encourage you to limit the application
narrative (text plus all figures, charts, tables, and diagrams) to the
equivalent of no more than 25 pages, using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
The recommended page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the
budget section, including the narrative budget justification; the
assurances and certifications; the abstract; the resumes; or the
appendices.
3. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: March 13, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 27, 2006.

Applications for grants under this competition 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 by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
5. Funding Restrictions: Under section 7304(b) of the ESEA (20
U.S.C. 7544(b)), not more than five percent of funds provided to a
grantee under this

[[Page 12689]]

competition for any fiscal year may be used for administrative
purposes.
We reference additional regulations outlining funding restrictions
in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the
instructions in this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Alaska Native Education Program--
CFDA Number 84.356A must be submitted electronically using 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.
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 Alaska
Native Education 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.
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 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/GetStarted). 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/assets/GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8X11.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.
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 typically included on the Application for Federal
Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction
Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. 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 Technical Issues
with Grants.gov System: If you are prevented from electronically
submitting your application on the application deadline date because of
technical problems with the Grans.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 instruction 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 the 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: Extension 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.

Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission

[[Page 12690]]

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: Alexis Fisher, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W217,
Washington, DC 20202-6200. FAX: (202) 260-8969.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier), your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.356A), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.356A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.

c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.356A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by
the Department--in Item 4 of the ED 424 form 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

Selection Criteria: We will use the following selection criteria
from 34 CFR 75.210 to evaluate applications for new grants under this
competition. The maximum score for all criteria is 100 points. The
maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses.
The selection criteria for this competition are as follows:
(a) Need for project (20 points). The Secretary considers the need
for the proposed project. In determining the need for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the magnitude of the need for the
services to be provided or the activities to be carried out by the
proposed project.
(b) Quality of the project design (30 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the design of the proposed project. In
determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the extent to which the design of the proposed
project is appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of
the target population or other identified needs.
(c) Quality of the management plan (20 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project.
In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the adequacy of the management plan to
achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within
budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and
milestones for accomplishing project tasks.
(d) Adequacy of resources (15 points) The Secretary considers the
adequacy of resources for the proposed project. In determining the
adequacy of resources for the proposed project, the Secretary considers
the extent to which the budget is adequate to support the proposed
project.
(e) Quality of the project evaluation (15 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project.
(ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and
qualitative data to the extent possible.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.

[[Page 12691]]

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: The Alaska Native Education Program seeks
to support supplemental education programs to benefit Alaska Native
populations. The Department uses the following performance targets to
measure the program's success: (1) The percentage of Alaska Native
students who meet or exceed proficiency standards in mathematics,
science, or reading; (2) The percentage of Alaska Native children who
improve on measures of school readiness; and (3) The dropout rate of
Alaska Native middle and high school students.
Each grantee is expected to submit an annual performance report
documenting its contributions in assisting the Department in meeting
these performance measures.

VII. Agency Contact

For Further Information Contact: Alexis Fisher, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W217, Washington, DC 20202-
6200. Telephone: (202) 401-0281 or by e-mail:
alexis.fisher@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.

VIII. Other Information

Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

Dated: March 8, 2006.
Henry L. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. E6-3508 Filed 3-10-06; 8:45 am]

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