07-1713. Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for Grants To Support Education and Special Education Research and Research Training for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008

SUMMARY:

The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (Institute) announces the Institute's FY 2008 competitions for grants to support education and special education research and research training. The Director takes this action under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, title I of Public Law 107-279. The intent of these grants is to provide national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early childhood education through postsecondary and adult education.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Mission of Institute: A central purpose of the Institute is to provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and the general public with reliable and valid information about education practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its mission, the Institute provides support for programs of research in areas of demonstrated national need.

Competitions in this notice: The Institute will conduct nine research or research training competitions in FY 2008 through two of its National Education Centers.

The National Center for Education Research (NCER) will hold five competitions: two competitions for education research; two competitions for education research training; and one competition for education research and development centers.

Education Research

Under the two education research competitions, NCER will consider only applications that address one of the following education research topics:

• Reading and Writing.
• Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult Readers and Writers.
• Mathematics and Science Education.
• Teacher Quality in Reading and Writing.
• Teacher Quality in Mathematics and Science.
• Cognition and Student Learning.
• Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning.
• Education Technology.
• Early Childhood Programs and Policies.
• Education Leadership.
• Education Policy, Finance, and Systems.
• High School Reform.
• Postsecondary Education.

Education Research Training

Under the first education research training competition, NCER will consider only applications for Postdoctoral Research Training; under the second competition, NCER will consider only applications for Predoctoral Research Training.

Education Research and Development Centers

Under the education research and development centers competition, NCER will consider only applications that address one of the following education research topics:

• Cognition and Science Instruction.
• Instructional Technology.

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) will hold four competitions: two competitions for special education research; one competition for special education research training; and one competition for special education research and development centers.

Special Education Research

Under the first special education research competition, NCSER will consider only applications that address one of the following special education research topics:

• Early Intervention, Early Childhood Special Education, and Assessment for Young Children with Disabilities.
• Mathematics and Science Special Education.
• Reading, Writing, and Language Development.
• Serious Behavior Disorders.
• Individualized Education Programs and Individualized Family Service Plans.

Under the second special education research competition, NCSER will consider only applications that address one of the following special education research topics:

• Secondary and Transition Services.
• Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• Response to Intervention.
• Related Services.

Special Education Research Training

Under the special education research training competition, NCSER will consider only applications for Postdoctoral Research Training.

Special Education Research and Development Centers

Under the special education research and development centers competition, NCSER will consider only applications that address one of the following special education research topics:

• Serious Behavior Disorders at the Secondary Level.
• Response to Intervention in Early Childhood Special Education.

Eligible Applicants: Applicants that have the ability and capacity to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply. Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit and for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and institutions, such as colleges and universities.

Request for Applications and Other Information: Information regarding program and application requirements for the competitions will be contained in the NCER and NCSER Request for Applications packages (RFA), which will be available at the following Web sites:

http://ies.ed.gov/​funding/​

http://www.ed.gov/​about/​offices/​list/​ies/​programs.html

• The RFAs for the education research and special education research competitions will be available at these Web sites no later than April 6, 2007.
• The RFAs for the education research training and the special education research training competitions will be available at these Web sites no later than April 6, 2007.
• The RFAs for the education research and development centers and special education research and development centers competitions will be available at these Web sites no later than May 15, 2007.

Interested potential applicants should periodically check the Institute's Web site.

Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures for the competitions will be provided in the RFA packages.

Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not enacted a final appropriation for FY 2008, the Institute is inviting applications for these competitions now so that it may be prepared to make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations bill. The President's FY 2008 Budget for the Institute includes sufficient funding for all of the competitions included in this notice. The actual award of grants will depend on the availability of funds. The number of awards made under each competition will depend upon the quality of the applications received for that competition. The size of the awards will depend upon the scope of the projects proposed.

Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 77, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86 (part 86 applies only to institutions of higher education), 97, 98, and 99. In addition 34 CFR part 75 is applicable, except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230.

Performance Measures

To evaluate the overall success of its education research program, the Institute annually assesses the quality and relevance of newly funded research projects, as well as the quality of research publications that result from its funded research projects. External panels of qualified scientists review the quality of new research applications, and the percentage of newly funded projects that receive an average panel score of excellent or higher is determined. A panel of experienced education practitioners and administrators reviews descriptions of a randomly selected sample of newly funded projects and rates the degree to which the projects are relevant to educational practice. An external panel of eminent scientists reviews the quality of a randomly selected sample of new publications, and the percentage of new publications that are deemed to be of high quality is determined.

Submission Requirements

Applications for grants under these competitions must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in this section.

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.

a. Electronic Submission of Applications.

Applications for grants under the Education Research, Education Research Training, and Education Research and Development Centers competitions, CFDA Number 84.305A, 84.305B, and 84.305C and for grants under the Special Education Research, Special Education Research Training, and Special Education Research and Development Centers competitions, CFDA Number 84.324A, 84.324B, and 84.324C, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.

We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.

You may access the electronic grant applications for the Education Research, Education Research Training, Education Research and Development Centers, Special Education Research, Special Education Research Training, and Special Education Research and Development Centers competitions at http://www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application package for each competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.324, not 84.324A).

Please note the following:

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site, as well as the hours of operation.
• Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 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 and 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 and 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 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 the 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 qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format.
• You must submit all documents electronically, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424 (R&R) and the other R&R forms including, Project Performance Site Locations, Other Project Information, Senior/Key Person Profile, Research and Related Budget (Total Federal + Non-federal) and all necessary assurances and certifications.
• You must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in a .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the file type 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 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 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 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 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. 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 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

Note:

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

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

• You do not have access to the Internet; or
• You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.gov system;

  and

• No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.

If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.

Address and mail or fax your statement to: Elizabeth Payer, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 602c, Washington, DC 20208. Fax: [phone].

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: [Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which you are submitting an application.]), 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: [Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which you are submitting an application.]), 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 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: [Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which you are submitting an application.]), 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—if not provided by the Department—in Item 10 of the SF 424 (R&R) 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 [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

The contact person associated with a particular research competition is listed in the chart at the end of this notice and in the RFA. The date on which applications will be available, the deadline for transmittal of applications, the estimated range of awards, and the project period are also listed in the chart and in the RFA that will be posted at the following Web sites:

http://ies.ed.gov/​funding/​

http://www.ed.gov/​about/​offices/​list/​ies/​programs.html

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 under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the RFA in an alternative format by contacting that person.

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 [phone].

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.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.

Dated: April 3, 2007.

Grover J. Whitehurst,

Director, Institute of Education Sciences.