2019-04519. Application Deadline for Fiscal Year 2019; Small, Rural School Achievement Program

AGENCY:

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

Under the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) number 84.358A, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) awards grants on a formula basis to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to address the unique needs of rural school districts. In this notice, we establish the deadline and describe the submission requirements and procedures for fiscal year (FY) 2019 SRSA grant applications.

All LEAs eligible for FY 2019 SRSA funds must submit an application electronically via Grants.gov by the deadline in this notice.

DATES:

Applications Available: February 20, 2019.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 26, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Robert Hitchcock, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 3E-218, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf or a text telephone, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Award Information

Type of Award: Formula grant.

Available Funds: $90,420,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: $0-$60,000.

Note:

Depending on the number of eligible LEAs identified in a given year and the amount appropriated by Congress for the program, some eligible LEAs may receive an SRSA allocation of $0 under the statutory funding formula.

Estimated Number of Awards: 3,900.

II. Program Authority and Eligibility Information

Under what statutory authority will FY 2019 SRSA grant awards be made?

The FY 2019 SRSA grant awards will be made under title V, part B, subpart 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA).

Which LEAs are eligible for an award under the SRSA program?

For FY 2019, an LEA (including a public charter school that meets the definition of LEA in section 8101(30) of the ESEA) is eligible for an award under the SRSA program if it meets one of the following criteria:

(a)(1) The total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is fewer than 600; or each county in which a school served by the LEA is located has a total population density of fewer than 10 persons per square mile; and

(2) All of the schools served by the LEA are designated with a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43 by the Department's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); or the Secretary has determined, based on a demonstration by the LEA and concurrence of the State educational agency, that the LEA is located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State;

(b) The LEA is a member of an educational service agency (ESA) that does not receive SRSA funds, and the LEA meets the eligibility requirements described in (a)(1) and (2) above; or

(c) The LEA meets the requirements for a hold harmless award as described in section 5212(b)(4) of the ESEA. These are LEAs that are no longer eligible for the SRSA program because of amendments made under the Every Student Succeeds Act to the locale code methodology and designations referenced in section 5211(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the ESEA. However, these LEAs may receive an FY 2019 award of 25 percent of the amount such agency received for FY 2015, as provided in section 5212(b)(4) of the ESEA.

Note:

The “Choice of Participation” provision under section 5225 of the ESEA gives LEAs eligible for both SRSA and the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program authorized under title V, part B, subpart 2 of the ESEA the option to participate in either the SRSA program or the RLIS program. LEAs eligible for both SRSA and RLIS are henceforth referred to as “dual-eligible LEAs.”

Which eligible LEAs must submit an application to receive an FY 2019 SRSA grant award?

Under 34 CFR 75.104(a), the Secretary makes a grant only to an eligible entity that submits an application.

In FY 2019, all LEAs eligible to receive an SRSA award are required to submit an SRSA application in order to receive SRSA funds, regardless of whether the LEA received an award or submitted an application in any previous year. This includes LEAs eligible to receive an FY 2019 award under the hold harmless provision, dual-eligible LEAs that choose to participate in the SRSA program instead of the RLIS program, and SRSA-eligible LEAs that are members of ESAs that do not receive SRSA funds. In the case of SRSA-eligible LEAs that are members of SRSA-eligible ESAs, the respective LEAs and ESAs must coordinate directly with each other to determine which entity will submit an SRSA application, as both entities may not apply for or receive SRSA funds. Additionally, we note that dual-eligible LEAs that apply for SRSA funds in accordance with these application submission procedures will not be considered for an RLIS award.

We also note that a separate application must be submitted for each eligible LEA. For example, if a rural community has two distinct LEAs—one composed of its elementary school(s) and one composed of its high school(s)—each distinct LEA would have to submit its own SRSA application.

A list of LEAs eligible for FY 2019 SRSA grant funds is available on the Department's website at: http://www2.ed.gov/​programs/​reapsrsa/​eligibility.html. All LEAs on this list must submit an electronic application via Grants.gov in order to receive an FY 2019 SRSA grant award. The list identifies those LEAs that meet the eligibility requirements for the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) SRSA program, those LEAs that meet the eligibility requirements for the REAP RLIS program, those LEAs that are dual-eligible, and those LEAs that are eligible to receive an SRSA award pursuant to the hold harmless provision.

If an LEA on the Department's list of LEAs eligible to receive an FY 2019 SRSA award is no longer in existence as of the 2018-19 school year or will close prior to the 2019-2020 school year, the LEA is no longer eligible to receive an FY 2019 SRSA award and should not apply.

An LEA eligible to receive FY 2019 SRSA funds that fails to submit an FY 2019 SRSA application or fails to submit an application in accordance with the application submission procedures is at risk of not receiving an FY 2019 SRSA award. Such LEAs may receive an award only to the extent funds become available after awards are made to all eligible LEAs that complied with the application procedures.

How must LEAs eligible for an FY 2019 SRSA grant award submit an application?

LEAs must use the Grants.gov site for submitting SRSA applications. LEAs should review closely the next section titled Application and Submission Information for specific information about how to apply for SRSA FY 2019 funds.

III. Application and Submission Information

Electronic Submission of Applications Using Grants.gov

All LEAs eligible for FY 2019 SRSA grant funds are required to submit an electronic application using the Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov by 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019. SRSA applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement, in accordance with the instructions in this section. You may not email an electronic copy of a grant application to us.

A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different webforms within an application. An applicant can create an individual Workspace for each application notice and, thus, establish for that application a collaborative application package that allows more than one person in the applicant's organization to work concurrently on an application. The applicant can, thus, assign other users to participate in the Workspace. The system also enables the applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions; check them in and out and complete them; and submit its application package. For access to complete instructions on how to apply, refer to: www.grants.gov/​web/​grants/​applicants/​apply-for-grants.html.

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.

Please note the following:

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find information about submitting an application 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 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019. 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 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019. 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 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on April 26, 2019.
• The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the application and the speed of your internet connection. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
• You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for this program to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department's G5 system home page at www.G5.gov. In addition, for specific guidance and procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov, please refer to the Grants.gov website at: www.grants.gov/​web/​grants/​applicants/​apply-for-grants.html.
• You must submit all documents electronically, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: the Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
• When you submit your application electronically, you must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in either Portable Document Format (PDF) or Microsoft Word. Although applicants have the option of uploading any narrative sections and all other attachments to their application in either PDF or Microsoft Word, we recommend applicants submit all documents as read-only flattened PDFs, meaning any fillable PDF files must be saved and submitted as nonfillable PDF files and not as interactive or fillable PDF files, to better ensure applications are processed in a more timely, accurate, and efficient manner. If you choose to submit your application in Microsoft Word, you may do so using any version of Microsoft Word (i.e., a document ending in a .doc or .docx extension). If you upload a file type other than PDF or Microsoft Word or if you submit a password-protected file, we will be unable to review that material. Please note that this will likely result in your application not being considered for funding. The Department will not convert material from other formats to PDF or Microsoft Word.
• 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. Grants.gov will also notify you automatically by email if your application met all the Grants.gov validation requirements or if there were any errors (such as submission of your application by someone other than a registered Authorized Organization Representative, or inclusion of an attachment with a file name that contains special characters). You will be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you must still meet the deadline for submission of applications.
• Once your application is successfully validated by Grants.gov, the Department will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send you an email with a unique PR/Award number for your application.
• These emails do not mean that your application is without any disqualifying errors. While your application may have been successfully validated by Grants.gov, it must also meet the Department's application requirements as specified in this notice and in the application instructions. Disqualifying errors could include, for instance, failure to submit a required part of the application; or failure to meet applicant eligibility requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure that your submitted application has met all of the Department's requirements.
• 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 by the application deadline date because of technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically. You also may mail your application by following the mailing instructions described elsewhere in this notice.

If you submit an application after 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed 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. 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 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. We will contact you after we determine whether your application will be accepted.

Note:

The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement

You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application through the Grants.gov system because--

• You do not have access to the internet; or
• You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.gov system; and
• No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you send a letter or email with a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevents 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. Address and mail your statement to: Mr. Robert Hitchcock, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E-218, Washington, DC 20202. Or email your statement to [e-mail].

Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail instructions described in this notice.

Submission of Paper Applications by Mail

We discourage paper applications, but if electronic submission is not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the internet), you must provide a written statement that you intend to submit a paper application. Send this written statement 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). Please send this statement to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail the original and two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.358A), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-4260.

You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

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.

We will not consider applications postmarked after the application deadline date.

Note for Mail of Paper Applications: If you mail 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 (84.358A) of the program under which you are submitting your application; and

(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should call the Application Control Center at [phone].

IV. Other Submission Requirements

Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification Number, and System for Award Management

To do business with the Department of Education, you must:

a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the System for Award Management (SAM), the Government's primary registrant database;

c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and

d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information while your application is under review by the Department and, if you are awarded a grant, throughout the grant performance period.

You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet at the following website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/​webform. A DUNS number can be created within one to two business days.

If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service. If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a new TIN, please allow two to five weeks for your TIN to become active.

The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the completeness and accuracy of the data you enter into the SAM.gov database. Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal financial assistance under a program administered by the Department, please allow sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number and TIN. We strongly recommend that you register early. If you are unable to submit an application on Grants.gov by the application deadline because you do not have an active SAM registration, you may not be considered for funding.

Note:

Once your SAM.gov registration is active, it may be 24 to 48 hours before you can access the information in, and submit an application through, Grants.gov

.

If you are currently registered with SAM.gov, you may not need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will need to update your registration annually. This may take three or more business days.

Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM or updating your existing SAM account, we have prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet, which you can find at: http://www2.ed.gov/​fund/​grant/​apply/​sam-faqs.html.

In addition, if you are submitting your SRSA application via Grants.gov, you must (1) be designated by your organization as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself with Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the following Grants.gov web page: www.grants.gov/​web/​grants/​register.html.

V. Acessibility Information and Program Authority

Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations via the Federal Digital System at www.gpo.gov/​fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or PDF. To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.

You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.

Program Authority: Sections 5211-5212 of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 7345-7345a.

Dated: March 7, 2019.

Frank Brogan,

Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education.