Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview Information: Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children With Disabilities; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, CFDA Number: 84.327A (OSERS)

FR Doc E8-16632[Federal Register: July 21, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 140)]
[Notices]
[Page 42333-42338]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy08-33]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information: Technology and Media Services for Individuals With
Disabilities--Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children With
Disabilities; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2009

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327A.

Note: This notice includes one absolute priority with two
phases, and funding information for each phase of the competition.

Dates:
Applications Available: July 21, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: See the chart in the
Award Information section of this notice (Chart).
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: See Chart.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purposes of the Technology and Media
Services for Individuals with Disabilities program are to: (1) Improve
results for children with disabilities by promoting the development,
demonstration, and use of technology; (2) support educational media
services activities designed to be of educational value in the
classroom setting to children with disabilities; and (3) provide
support for captioning and video description that are appropriate for
use in the classroom setting.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority
is from allowable activities specified in the statute, or otherwise
authorized in the statute (see sections 674 and 681(d) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2009 and any subsequent year in which we
make awards based on the list of unfunded applications from this
competition, this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR
75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet this priority.
This priority is:
Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--
Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children With Disabilities

Background

The Department has made Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for
Children with Disabilities awards for several years under the
Technology and Media Services for Individuals with Disabilities
program. Awards are made in two phases: (1) Development and (2)
research on effectiveness. Abstracts of projects funded under these two
phases can be found at http://www.nichcy.org/directories/FY07-Vol%203-
R_I_T_M.pdf (see projects funded under CFDA 84.327A with Beginning
Dates of June 1, 2007, or later).
Priority: The Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children
with Disabilities absolute priority requires grantees to develop,
implement, and evaluate innovative technology approaches designed to
improve results for children with disabilities. Phase 1 projects must
develop, refine, and test the feasibility of technology-based
approaches. Phase 2 projects must subject technology-based approaches
to rigorous field-based research to determine their effectiveness.
To be considered for funding under the Steppingstones of Technology
Innovation for Children with Disabilities absolute priority, applicants
must meet the application requirements contained in the priority. All
projects funded under the absolute priority also must meet the
programmatic and administrative requirements specified in the priority.
The application, programmatic, and administrative requirements are as
follows:
(a) In the application, an applicant must--
(1) Describe a technology-based approach for improving the results
of (a) early intervention programs, (b) response-to-intervention (RTI)
assessment techniques, or (c) preschool, elementary school, middle
school, or high school educational programs for children with
disabilities. The

[[Page 42334]]

technology-based approach must be an innovative combination of new
technology and additional materials and methodologies that enable the
technology to improve early intervention programs, RTI assessment
techniques, or educational results for children with disabilities;
(2) Present a justification, based on scientifically rigorous
research or theory, that supports the potential effectiveness of the
technology-based approach described pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of
this priority for improving results for children with disabilities. The
approach must have the potential to improve child outcomes, not just
parent or provider outcomes. Child outcomes may include improved
academic or pre-academic skills, improved behavioral or social
functioning, and improved functional performance, provided that valid
and reliable measurement instruments are employed to assess the
outcomes. Technology-based approaches intended for use by providers or
parents may not be funded under this priority unless child-level
benefits are clearly demonstrated. Technology-based approaches for
professional development will not be funded under this priority;
(3) Provide a detailed plan for conducting work in one of the
following two phases:
(i) Phase 1--Development: Projects funded under Phase 1 must
develop and refine a technology-based approach, and test its
feasibility for use with children with disabilities. Activities under
Phase 1 of the priority may include development, adaptation, and
refinement of technology, materials, or methodologies. Activities under
Phase 1 of the priority must include a formative evaluation of the
technology-based approach's usability and feasibility for use with
children with disabilities. Each project funded under Phase 1 must be
designed to develop, as its primary product, a promising technology-
based approach that is suitable for field-based evaluation of its
effectiveness in improving results for children with disabilities.
(ii) Phase 2--Research on Effectiveness: Projects funded under
Phase 2 must select a promising technology-based approach that has been
developed and tested in a manner consistent with the criteria for
activities funded under Phase 1, and subject the approach to rigorous
field-based research to determine its effectiveness in educational or
early intervention settings. Approaches studied under Phase 2 may have
been developed with previous funding under Phase 1 of this priority or
with funding from other sources. Phase 2 of this priority is primarily
intended to produce sound research-based evidence demonstrating that
the technology-based approach can improve educational or early
intervention results for children with disabilities in a defined range
of real world contexts.
Projects funded under Phase 2 of this priority must conduct
research that poses a causal question and must employ randomized
assignment to treatment and comparison conditions, unless a strong
justification is made for why a randomized trial is not possible. If a
randomized trial is not possible, the applicant must employ
alternatives that substantially minimize selection bias or allow the
selection bias to be modeled. These alternatives include appropriately
structured regression-discontinuity designs and natural experiments in
which naturally occurring circumstances or institutions (perhaps
unintentionally) divide people into treatment and comparison groups in
a manner akin to purposeful random assignment. In their applications,
applicants proposing to use an alternative system must (1) make a
compelling case that randomization is not possible, and (2) describe in
detail how the procedures will result in substantially minimizing the
effects of selection bias on estimates of effect size. Choice of
randomizing unit or units (e.g., students, classrooms, schools) must be
grounded in a theoretical framework. Observational, survey, or
qualitative methodologies may complement experimental methodologies to
assist in the identification of factors that may explain the
effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the technology-based approach being
evaluated. Applications must provide research designs that permit the
identification and assessment of factors that may have an impact on the
fidelity of implementation. Mediating and moderating variables that are
both measured in the practice or model condition and are likely to
affect outcomes in the comparison condition must be measured in the
comparison condition (e.g., student time-on-task, teacher experience,
or time in position).
Projects funded under Phase 2 of this priority must conduct
comprehensive research in order to provide convincing evidence of the
effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the technology-based approach under
study, at least within a defined range of settings. Applicants must
provide documentation that available sample sizes, methodologies, and
treatment effects are likely to result in conclusive findings regarding
the effectiveness of the technology-based approach;
(4) Provide a plan for forming collaborative relationships with
vendors, other dissemination or marketing resources, or both to ensure
that the technology-based approach can be made widely available if
sufficient evidence of effectiveness is obtained. Applicants should
document the availability and willingness of dissemination or marketing
resources to participate. Applicants are encouraged to plan these
collaborative relationships early in their projects, even in Phase 1
(if applicable), but should refrain from widespread dissemination of
the technology-based approach to practitioners until evidence of its
effectiveness is obtained in Phase 2; and
(5) Budget for the project director to attend an annual three-day
Project Directors' meeting in Washington, DC, and another annual two-
day trip to Washington, DC to collaborate with the Federal project
officer and the other projects funded under this priority to share
information, and to discuss findings and methods of dissemination.
(b) The project also must conduct the following activities:
(1) If the project maintains a Web site, include relevant
information and documents in a format that meets a government or
industry-recognized standard for accessibility.
(2) If the project produces instructional materials for
dissemination, produce them in accessible formats, including complying
with the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
(NIMAS) for textual materials.
Within this absolute priority, we are particularly interested in
applications that address the following invitational priorities.
Invitational Priorities: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give
an application that meets one of these invitational priorities a
competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
These priorities are:
(1) Projects led by a project director or principal investigator
who is in the initial phase of his or her career. For purposes of this
invitational priority, the initial phase of an individual's career is
considered to be the first three years after the individual completes
and graduates from a doctoral program (i.e., for FY 2009 awards,
projects may support individuals who completed and graduated from a
doctoral program no earlier than the 2005-2006 academic year). To
qualify for this invitational priority, the applicant must explicitly
state and document, in its application,

[[Page 42335]]

that the project director or principal investigator is in the initial
phase of his or her career. At least 50 percent of that individual's
time must be devoted to the project.
(2) Projects focusing on technology-based approaches for children
with disabilities, ages birth to age three.
(3) Projects focusing on technology-based approaches to response-
to-intervention assessment techniques.
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 proposed priorities and
requirements. Section 681(d) of IDEA, however, makes the public comment
requirements of the APA inapplicable to the priority in this notice.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and 1481.

Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.

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

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$30,949,000 for the Technology and Media Services for Individuals with
Disabilities program for FY 2009, of which we intend to use an
estimated $2,400,000 for the Steppingstones of Technology Innovation
for Children with Disabilities competition. Please refer to the
``Estimated Range of Awards'' column in the Chart for the estimated
dollar amounts for the two phases of this 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. Contingent
upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may
make additional awards in FY 2009 from the lists of unfunded applicants
from the competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: See Chart.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: See Chart.
Maximum Award: Phase 1: $200,000, per year and Phase 2: $300,000,
per year. We will reject any application that proposes a budget
exceeding the maximum award for a single budget period of 12 months.
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services may change the maximum amount through a notice published in
the Federal Register .
Estimated Number of Awards: See Chart.
Project Period: Projects funded under Phase 1 will be funded for up
to 24 months. Projects funded under Phase 2 will be funded for up to 24
months unless a compelling rationale is provided for funding up to 36
months.

Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children With Disabilities Application Notice for Fiscal Year 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deadline for Deadline for Estimated Estimated Estimated
CFDA No. and name transmittal of Intergovernmental available Estimated range of average size number of
applications review funds awards of awards awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.327A--Steppingstones of
Technology Innovation for Children
with Disabilities:
Phase 1--Development........... September 4, 2008.... November 3, 2008....... $1,200,000 $100,000-$200,000 $200,000 6
September 4, 2008.... November 3, 2008....... .............. ................... .............. ..............
Phase 2--Research on ..................... ....................... 1,200,000 200,000-300,000 300,000 4
Effectiveness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The Department of Education is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local
educational agencies (LEAs); public charter schools that are LEAs under
State law; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit
organizations; outlying areas; freely associated States; Indian tribes
or tribal organizations; and for-profit organizations.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not require 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), call, toll free: 1-877-
576-7734.
You can contact ED Pubs at its Web site, also:
www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html or at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application package from ED Pubs, be sure to
identify this competition as follows: CFDA Number 84.327A.
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 person or team
listed under Alternative Format in section VIII 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

[[Page 42336]]

your application. You must limit Part III to the equivalent of no more
than 50 pages, using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger, or no
smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II,
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part
IV, the assurances and certifications; the two-page abstract, the
resumes, the bibliography, the references, or the letters of support.
The page limit, however, does apply to the application narrative in
Part III.
We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit; or if
you use other standards and exceed the equivalent of the page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: July 21, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: See Chart.
Applications for grants under this program 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 in
paper format 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.
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: See Chart.
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 in this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program may be submitted electronically or in paper format by mail
or hand delivery.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
To comply with the President's Management Agenda, we are
participating as a partner in the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site.
The Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children with
Disabilities competition, CFDA Number 84.327A, is included in this
project. We request your participation in Grants.gov.
If you choose to submit your application electronically, you must
use 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.
You may access the electronic grant application for the
Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Children with Disabilities
competition, CFDA Number 84.327A, at http://www.Grants.gov. You must
search for the downloadable application package for this competition by
the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your
search (e.g., search for 84.327, not 84.327A).
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 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 accept 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 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 steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include
(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 submit your application in paper format.
If you submit your application electronically, 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

[[Page 42337]]

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 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 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.

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 84.327A), 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
84.327A), 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.
(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.
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
84.327A), 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 competition 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

1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition
are from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
2. Peer Review: In the past, the Department has had difficulty
finding peer reviewers for certain competitions, because so many
individuals who are eligible to serve as peer reviewers have conflicts
of interest. 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
grant competitions, applications may be separated into two or more
groups and ranked and selected for funding within specific groups. This
procedure will make it easier for the Department to find peer
reviewers, by ensuring that greater numbers of individuals who are
eligible to serve as reviewers for any particular group of applicants
will not have conflicts of interest. It also will increase the quality,
independence, and fairness of the review process while permitting panel
members to review applications under discretionary grant competitions
for

[[Page 42338]]

which they also have submitted applications. However, if the Department
decides to select an equal number of applications in each group for
funding, 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 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. 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 directed by the Secretary
under 34 CFR 75.118. 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 established a set of
performance measures, including long-term measures, that are designed
to yield information on various aspects of the effectiveness and
quality of the Technology and Media Services for Individuals with
Disabilities program. These measures focus on the extent to which
projects are of high quality, are relevant to improving outcomes of
children with disabilities, and contribute to improving outcomes for
children with disabilities. We will collect data on these measures from
the projects funded under this competition.
Grantees also will 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: Tom V. Hanley, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4066, Potomac Center Plaza
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7369.
If you use a TDD, call the Federal Relay Service (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) by
contacting the Grants and Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC
20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7363. If you use a TDD, call the FRS,
toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
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: 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:
www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

Dated: July 15, 2008.
Tracy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E8-16632 Filed 7-18-08; 8:45 am]

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