03-18872. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Indian Education; Professional Development Program, Notice Inviting Applications for New Discretionary Grant Program Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

Purpose of Program: The purposes of the Professional Development program are to (1) increase the number of qualified Indian individuals in professions that serve Indian people; (2) provide training to qualified Indian individuals to become teachers, administrators, teacher aides, social workers, and ancillary educational personnel; and (3) improve the skills of qualified Indian individuals who serve in the capacities described in (2). Activities may include, but are not limited to, continuing programs, symposia, workshops, conferences, and direct financial support. For FY 2003 the competition for new awards focuses on projects designed to meet the priority described in the Priority section of this application notice.

Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants for this program are institutions of higher education, including Indian institutions of higher education; State or local educational agencies, in consortium with institutions of higher education; Indian tribes or organizations, in consortium with institutions of higher education; and Bureau-funded schools. An application from a consortium of eligible entities must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129. The consortium agreement, signed by all parties, must be submitted with the application in order to be considered as a consortium application.

Note:

Letters of support do not meet the consortium requirements. The Secretary rejects any application that does not meet these requirements.

Note:

In order to be considered an eligible entity, applicants, including institutions of higher education, must be eligible to provide the level and type of degree proposed in the application or must apply in consortium with an institution of higher education that is eligible to grant the target degree. The Secretary rejects any application that fails to meet the consortium requirements described in this notice.

Applications Available: July 24, 2003.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 25, 2003.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 9, 2003.

Estimated Available Funds: $2,484,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: $300,000 to $500,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $310,500.

Estimated Number of Awards: 8.

Project Period: 36 months.

Note:

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

Budget Requirement: Projects funded under this competition must budget for a two-day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, DC during each year of the project.

Maximum Annual Award Amount: in no case does the Secretary make an award greater than $500,000 for a single budget period of 12 months for the first 24 months of the award period. The last 12-month budget period of a 36-month award will be limited to induction services only at a cost not to exceed $75,000. The Secretary rejects any application that proposes a budget exceeding these maximum amounts.

Page Limit: The application narrative is where an applicant addresses the selection criteria that are used by reviewers in evaluating the application. An applicant must limit the narrative to the equivalent of no more than 50 double-spaced pages, using the following standards:

(1) A “page” is 81/2″ x 11″ (one side only) with one-inch margins (top, bottom and sides).

(2) 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, must be double-spaced (no more than three lines per vertical inch).

(3) For all text (including charts, tables, 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 the cover sheet; the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, appendices, resumes, bibliography, and letters of support. However, all of the application narrative addressing the selection criteria must be included in the narrative section.

Reviewers will not read any pages of applications that—

• Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
• Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other standards.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99; and (b) 34 CFR part 263.

Note:

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

Priorities

Absolute Priority

Under Section 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary gives an absolute preference to applications that meet the priority selected. The program regulations at 34 CFR 263.5(c) identify the absolute priorities for the Professional Development program that may be selected by the Secretary. For the FY 2003 grant competition, the Secretary reserves all of the funds available for new awards under the Professional Development program to fund only those applications that meet the following absolute priority found at 34 CFR 263.5(c)(1):

Pre-Service Training for Teachers—

Provides support and training to Indian individuals to complete a pre-service education program that enables these individuals to meet the requirements for full State certification or licensure as a teacher through:

(i) Training that leads to a bachelor's degree in education before the end of the award period; or

(ii) For States allowing a degree in a specific subject area, training that leads to a bachelor's degree in the subject area as long as the training meets the requirements for full State teacher certification or licensure; or

(iii) Training in a current or new specialized teaching assignment that requires at least a bachelor's degree and in which a documented teacher shortage exists; and

(iv) One-year induction services after graduation, certification, or licensure provided during the award period to graduates of the pre-service program while they are completing their first year of work in schools with significant Indian student populations.

Note:

In working with various institutions of higher education and State certification/licensure requirements, we found that States requiring a degree in a specific subject area (e.g., specialty areas or teaching at the secondary level) generally require a Master's degree or fifth-year requirement before an individual can be certified or licensed as a teacher. These students would be eligible to participate so long as their training meets the requirements for full State certification or licensure as a teacher.

Competitive Preference

(1) The Secretary will award five (5) additional points to an application submitted by an Indian tribe, organization, or institution of higher education. A consortium application of eligible entities that meets the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129 and includes an Indian tribe, organization or institution of higher education will be considered eligible to receive the five (5) additional priority points. The consortium agreement, signed by all parties, must be submitted with the application in order to be considered a consortium application.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7473.)

(2) The Secretary will award a total of five additional points to an application submitted by a consortium of eligible applicants that includes a tribal college or university and that designates that tribal college or university as the fiscal agent for the application. The consortium application of eligible entities must meet the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129 of EDGAR to be considered eligible to receive the five priority points. The consortium agreement, signed by all parties, must be submitted with the application in order to be considered a consortium application.

Note:

Letters of support do not meet the consortium requirements. The Secretary rejects any application that does not meet these requirements.

These competitive preference points are in addition to the five competitive preference points that may be given under Competitive Preference 1.

Tribal colleges and universities are those institutions cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note), any other institution that qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and Dine College, authorized in the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95-471, Title II (25 U.S.C. 640a note).

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria are included in full in the application package for this competition. These selection criteria are established in 34 CFR 263.6. Under the selection criteria “Quality of project services” and “Quality of the project evaluation,” the Secretary considers the extent to which the applicant demonstrates a strong capacity to provide reliable data on these indicators and to help achieve the program target.

Performance Measure: The Secretary has established the following key performance measure for assessing the effectiveness of the Professional Development program: To increase the percentages of the teacher and principal workforces serving American Indian and Alaska Native students who are themselves American Indian and Alaska Native. The program target is to increase the percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native principals and teachers in public schools with 25 percent or more American Indian and Alaska Native students.

Fiscal Information: Stipends may be paid only to full-time students. For the payment of stipends to project participants being trained, the Secretary expects to set the stipend maximum at $1,775 per month for full-time students and $275 allowance per month per dependent during an academic term. The terms “stipend,” “full-time student,” and “dependent allowance” are defined in 34 CFR 263.3.

Application Procedures:

Note:

Some of the procedures in these instructions for transmitting applications differ from those in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that proposed rulemaking is not required.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

In FY 2003, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing to expand its pilot project of electronic submission of applications to include additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary grant competitions. The Professional Development program, CFDA 84.299B, is one of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant under the Professional Development program, you may submit your application to us in either electronic or paper format.

The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant Application System (e-Application) portion of the Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). Users of e-Application will be entering data on-line while completing their applications. You may not e-mail a soft copy of a grant application to us. If you participate in this voluntary pilot project by submitting an application electronically, the data you enter on-line will be saved into a database. We request your participation in e-Application. We shall continue to evaluate its success and solicit suggestions for improvement.

If you participate in e-APPLICATION, please note the following:

• Your participation is voluntary.
• You will not receive any additional point value or penalty because you submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you if you submit an application in paper format. When you enter the e-Application system, you will find information about its hours of operation.
• You may submit all documents electronically, including the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
• After you electronically submit your application, you will receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying number unique to your application).
• Within three working days after submitting your electronic application, fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following these steps:

(1) Print the ED 424 form from the e-Application system.

(2) The institution'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 [phone].

• We may request that you give us original signatures on all other forms at a later date.
• Closing Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability:

If you elect to participate in the e-Application pilot for the Professional Development program and you are prevented from submitting your application on the closing 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. For us to grant this extension—

(1) You must be a registered user of e-Application, and have initiated an e-Application for this competition; and

(2)(a) The e-Application system must be unavailable for 60 minutes or more between the hours of 8:30 and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the deadline date; or

(b) The e-Application system must be unavailable for any period of time during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the deadline date.

The Department must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability before granting you an extension. To request an extension you must contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or (2) the e-GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.

You may access the electronic grant application for the Professional Development program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

We have included additional information about the e-Application pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic Applications) in the application package.

For Applications Contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: [phone]. 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 via its Web site (http://www.ed.gov/​pubs/​edpubs.html) or its E-mail address ([e-mail]). If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.299B.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format by contacting the Grants and Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3317, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: [phone]. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format the standard forms included in the application package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathie Martin, Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W115, Washington, DC 20202-6335. Telephone: [phone]. Internet address: [e-mail].

Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/​legislation/​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].

You may also view this document at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/​offices/​OESE/​oie/​index.html.

Note:

The official version of this document is 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.access.gpo.gov/​nara/​index.html.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7442.

Dated: July 21, 2003.

Eugene Hickok,

Under Secretary of Education.