[Federal Register: March 1, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 39)]
[Notices]
[Page 9932-9936]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01mr05-52]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview
Information; Training and Advisory Services (Equity Assistance Center
Program); Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2005
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.004D.
DATES:
Applications Available: March 1, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 29, 2005.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 29, 2005.
Eligible Applicants: A public agency (other than a State
educational agency or a school board) or a private, non-profit
organization.
Estimated Available Funds: $7,185,056.
Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000--$900,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $718,500.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
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 Training and Advisory program is authorized
under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000c-2000c-
2, 2000c-5 and regulations at 34 CFR parts 270 and 272. This program
awards grants through cooperative agreements to operate regional equity
assistance centers to enable them to provide technical assistance and
training, at the request of school boards and other responsible
governmental agencies, on the preparation, adoption, and implementation
of plans for the desegregation of public schools--which in this context
means plans for equity (including desegregation based on race, sex, and
national origin)--and in the development of effective methods of coping
with special educational problems occasioned by desegregation. The
Equity Assistance Centers (formerly the Desegregation Assistance
Centers) assist States, districts, and public schools to provide
effective instruction to all students and specifically to those
students for whom disparities in achievement persist.
Program Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2000c-2000c-2, 2000c-5, unless
otherwise noted.
Applicable Regulations: (a) 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, except that 34 CFR part 75.232 does
not apply to grants under 34 CFR part 272; and (b) the regulations for
this program in 34 CFR parts 270 and 272.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 99 apply only to an
educational agency or institution.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.
Estimated Available Funds: $7,185,056.
Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000-$900,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $718,500.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
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 public agency (other than a State
educational agency or a school board) or a private, non-profit
organization.
2. Geographical Regions: Ten regional Equity Assistance Centers
will be established under this grant competition. The proposals will be
read according to the region they represent, and one award will be made
in each region, to the highest-scoring proposal from that region.
The geographic regions served by the EACs are:
Region I: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, Vermont.
Region II: New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands.
Region III: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia.
Region IV: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee.
Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin.
Region VI: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.
Region VII: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska.
Region VIII: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming.
Region IX: Arizona, California, Nevada.
Region X: Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Northern
Mariana
[[Page 9933]]
Islands, Oregon, Republic of Palau, Washington.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain an
application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs). To obtain an application via the Internet, use the
following Web address: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html
.
To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write or call the following
Education Publications Center, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398.
Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. Fax: (301) 470-1244. If you use
a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll
free): 1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application package from ED Pubs, be sure to
identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.004D.
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 section VII of this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application)
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that the
reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to
the equivalent of no more than 75 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 one page abstract; Part IV, the budget section, including the
narrative budget justification; or Part V, the assurances and
certifications, the resumes, the 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: March 1, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 29, 2005.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) available through the Department's e-Grants system. 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.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 29, 2005.
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 of 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.
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.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Equity Assistance Center
Program--CFDA Number 84.004D, must be submitted electronically using e-
Application available through the Department's e-Grants system,
accessible through the e-Grants portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
While completing your electronic application, you will be entering
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
Please note the following:
You must complete the electronic submission of your grant
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application
for this program after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application
process.
The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site
are 6 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until
midnight Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is
unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
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
the Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary
assurances and certifications.
Any narrative sections of your application should be
attached as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF
(Portable Document) format.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement that will include a PR/Award
number (an
[[Page 9934]]
identifying number unique to your application).
Within three working days after submitting your electronic
application, fax a signed copy of the ED 424 to the Application Control
Center after following these steps:
(1) Print ED 424 from e-Application.
(2) The applicant'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.
(4) Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at
(202) 245-6272.
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically 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 e-Application and you have
initiated an electronic 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
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 desk at 1-888-336-8930. If the system is down and therefore
the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all
registered users who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions
referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the
Department's e-Application 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 e-Application system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Department's e-Application 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: Sandra H. Brown, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E116, FB-6,
Washington, DC 20202-6400. Fax: (202) 205-5870.
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 84.004D,
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 84.004D,
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 84.004D, 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 the CFDA number--and suffix letter,
if any--of the competition under which you are submitting your
application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition
are selection criteria from EDGAR 34 CFR part 75.210. Further
information on these selection criteria is in the application package.
The maximum score for all of the selection criteria is 100 points. The
maximum score for
[[Page 9935]]
each criterion is indicated in parentheses with the criterion. The
maximum number of points an application may earn based on the selection
criteria is 100 points. The criteria are as follows:
(a) Significance (20 Points).
The Secretary considers the significance of the proposed project.
In determining the significance of the proposed project, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(1) The national significance of the proposed project.
(2) The potential contribution of the proposed project to increased
knowledge or understanding of educational problems, issues, or
effective strategies.
(3) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system
change or improvement.
(4) The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build
local capacity to provide, improve, or expand services that address the
needs of the target population.
(5) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in
teaching and student achievement.
(b) Quality of the Project Design (15 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 following factors:
(1) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.
(2) 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.
(3) The extent to which the proposed activities constitute a
coherent, sustained program of training in the field.
(4) The extent to which the design of the proposed project includes
a thorough, high-quality review of the relevant literature, a high-
quality plan for project implementation, and the use of appropriate
methodological tools to ensure successful achievement of project
objectives.
(5) The extent to which the proposed project encourages parental
involvement.
(c) Quality of Project Services (20 Points).
The Secretary considers the quality of the services to be provided
by the proposed project. In determining the quality of the services to
be provided by the proposed project, the Secretary considers the
quality and sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and
treatment for eligible project participants who are members of groups
that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color,
national origin, gender, age, or disability. In addition, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the training or professional development
services to be provided by the proposed project are of sufficient
quality, intensity, and duration to lead to improvements in practice
among the recipients of those services.
(2) The likelihood that the services to be provided by the proposed
project will lead to improvements in the achievement of students as
measured against rigorous academic standards.
(3) The extent to which the technical assistance services to be
provided by the proposed project involve the use of efficient
strategies, including the use of technology, as appropriate, and the
leveraging of non-project resources.
(4) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed
project are focused on those with greatest needs.
(d) Quality of Project Personnel (10 Points).
The Secretary considers the quality of the personnel who will carry
out the proposed project. In determining the quality of project
personnel, the Secretary considers the extent to which the applicant
encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of
groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race,
color, national origin, gender, age, or disability. In addition, the
Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of the project director.
(2) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of key project personnel.
(3) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of project consultants.
(e) Adequacy of Resources (5 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 following factors:
(1) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment,
supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization or the
lead applicant organization.
(2) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the
proposed project.
(3) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.
(f) Quality of the Management Plan (15 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 following factors:
(1) 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.
(2) The extent to which the time commitments of the project
director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate
to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
(g) 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:
(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project.
(2) 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.
(3) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward
achieving intended outcomes.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in
[[Page 9936]]
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
accordance with 34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: In response to the Government Performance
and Results Act (GPRA), the Department has established two overall
performance indicators for assessing the effectiveness of the Equity
Assistance Centers program. We will collect the data for these
indicators from the grantees using the following measures:
Performance Indicator 1: Training and technical assistance services
result in the promotion of policies and practices to ensure that all
children regardless of race, sex, or national origin have equal access
to quality education and equitable opportunity for high-quality
instruction.
Measure One: As a result of products and services provided by the
Equity Assistance Centers, an increasing percentage of customers will
develop, implement, or improve their policies and practices in
eliminating, reducing, or preventing harassment, conflict, and school
violence.
Measure Two: As a result of products and services provided by the
Equity Assistance Centers, an increasing percentage of customers will
develop, implement, or improve their policies and practices ensuring
that students of different race, national origin, and sex have
equitable opportunity for high-quality instruction.
Performance Indicator Two: Training and technical assistance
services result in products and services that are deemed to be of high
usefulness to education policy or practice.
Measure: An increasing percentage of customers will report that the
products and services they received from the Equity Assistance Centers
are of high usefulness to their policies and practices.
We will expect all grantees to report data addressing these
performance measures in the annual performance report referred to in
section VI.3. of this notice.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandra H. Brown, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3E116, FB-6, Washington, DC
20202-6400. Telephone: (202) 260-2638 or by e-mail:
sandra.brown@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 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/index.html
.
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 24, 2005.
Raymond Simon,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 05-3954 Filed 2-28-05; 8:45 am]
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