[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 62 (Monday, April 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15374-15376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7810]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.356A]
Alaska Native Education Program
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year
(FY) 2002.
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Purpose of Program: To meet the unique educational needs of Alaska
Natives and to support the development of supplemental educational
programs to benefit Alaska Natives.
Permissible Activities: Activities may include the following: (1)
The development and implementation of plans, methods, and strategies to
improve the education of Alaska Natives; (2) the development of
curricula and educational programs that address the educational needs
of Alaska Native students; (3) professional development activities for
prospective or current educators of Alaska Native students; (4) the
development and operation of home instruction programs for Alaska
Native preschool children, to ensure the active involvement of parents
in their children's education from the earliest ages; (5) family
literacy services; (6) the development and operation of student
enrichment programs in science and mathematics; (7) research and data
collection activities to determine the educational status and needs of
Alaska Native children and adults; (8) other research and evaluation
activities related to the purposes of this program; (9) remedial and
enrichment programs to assist Alaska Native students in performing at a
high level on standardized tests; (10) education and training of Alaska
Native students enrolled in a degree program that will lead to
certification or licensing as teachers; (11) parenting education for
parents and caregivers of Alaska Native children to improve parenting
and caregiving skills (including skills relating to discipline and
cognitive development), including parenting education provided through
in-home visitation of new mothers; (12) activities carried out through
Even Start programs carried out under subpart 3 of part B of title I of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and
Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act, including the
training of teachers; (13) other early learning and preschool programs;
(14) dropout prevention programs such as the Cook Inlet Tribal
Council's Partners for Success program; (15) career preparation
activities to enable Alaska Native children and adults to prepare for
meaningful employment, including programs providing tech-prep,
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mentoring, training, and apprenticeship activities; (16) provision of
operational support and purchasing of equipment to develop regional
vocational schools in rural areas of Alaska, including boarding schools
for Alaska Native students in grades 9 through 12, or at higher levels
of education, to provide the students with necessary resources to
prepare for skilled employment opportunities; and (17) other
activities, consistent with the purposes of the Alaska Native Education
Programs, to meet the educational needs of Alaska Native children and
adults.
Eligible Applicants: Alaska Native organizations, educational
entities with experience in developing or operating Alaska Native
programs or programs of instruction conducted in Alaska Native
languages, cultural and community-based organizations with experience
in developing or operating programs to benefit Alaska Natives, and
consortia of organizations and entities described in this paragraph to
carry out programs that meet the purposes of the program. A State
educational agency or local educational agency may apply for an award
under this program only as part of a consortium involving an Alaska
Native organization. The consortium may include other eligible
applicants.
Applications Available: April 1, 2002.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 16, 2002.
Estimated Available Funds: $10.2 million, including not less than
$1 million for parenting education programs and not less than $2
million for dropout prevention programs (see PRIORITIES section in this
notice).
Estimated Range of Awards: $500,000--$2,000,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 16.
Note: These estimates are projections for the guidance of
potential applicants. The Department is not bound by any estimates
in this notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Applicable Regulations and Statute: The Education Department
General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77,
79, 80, 81, 82, 86, 97, 98, and 99. Title VII, Part C of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110.
Selection Criteria: The Secretary will use the following selection
criteria in 34 CFR 75.210 to evaluate applications under this
competition (the specific selection criteria and factors that will be
used in evaluating applications are detailed in the application
package). The maximum score for all of the selection criteria is 100
points. The maximum points for each criterion is as follows:
(a) Need for Project--5 points.
(b) Significance--5 points.
(c) Quality of Project Design--25 points.
(d) Adequacy of Project Services--25 points.
(e) Quality of Project Personnel--15 points.
(f) Adequacy of Resources--5 points.
(g) Quality of Management Plan--10 points.
(h) Quality of Project Evaluation--10 points.
Priorities
(a) Competitive Preference. Except for activities listed in section
7304(d)(2) of the authorizing statute, which have statutory minimum
funding levels, the Secretary will award up to 5 bonus points to
applications from Alaska Native regional nonprofit organizations and up
to 5 bonus points to applications from consortia that include at least
one Alaska Native regional nonprofit organization. These priorities are
specified in the authorizing statute for this program. The bonus points
are in addition to any points the applicant earns under the selection
criteria listed above. The Secretary may select an application that
meets a priority over an application of comparable merit that does not
meet the priority.
(b) Absolute Preferences. In accordance with statutory
requirements, the Secretary is establishing two separate priorities for
proposals to use grant funds to support (1) dropout prevention
programs; and (2) parenting education programs for parents and
caregivers of Alaska Native children to improve parenting and
caregiving skills (including skills relating to discipline and
cognitive development), including parenting education provided through
in-home visitation of new mothers. To implement the priority for
dropout prevention programs, the Secretary is establishing a separate
competition for applications that meet this priority and reserves $2
million solely for this competition. To implement the priority for
parenting education programs, the Secretary is establishing a separate
competition for applications that meet this priority and reserves $1
million solely for this competition. The Secretary may adjust the
amount reserved for these separate competitions after determining the
number of high-quality applications received.
Instructions for Transmittal of Applications
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 Fiscal Year 2002, 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 Alaska Native Education Program, CFDA 84.356A
is one of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an
applicant under the Alaska Native Education 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, formerly e-GAPS) portion of the
Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). We request your
participation in this pilot project. We shall continue to evaluate its
success and solicit suggestions for improvement. If you participate in
this e-APPLICATION pilot, 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 or paper format.
You can 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.
Within three working days of 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 ED 424 from the e-APPLICATION system.
2. Make sure that the institution's Authorizing Representative
signs this form.
3. Before faxing this form, submit your electronic application via
the e-APPLICATION system. You will receive an automatic
acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying
number unique to your application).
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4. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of ED
424.
5. Fax ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202) 260-1349.
We may request that you give us original signatures on all
other forms at a later date.
You may access the electronic grant application for the Alaska
Native Education 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 and Information Contact: Mrs. Lynn Thomas, (202)
260-1541, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., FOB6,
Room 3C126, Mail Stop 6140, Washington, DC 20202. The e-mail address
for Mrs. Thomas is: [email protected].
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD)
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed above.
Individuals with disabilities may also obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternate format on request to the contact
person listed above. However, the Department is not able to reproduce
in an alternate format the standard forms included in the application
package.
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as other Department of Education documents published in the
Federal Register, in text or portable document format (PDF) on the
Internet at either of the following sites: http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm; http://www/ed.gov/news.html.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at either of the preceding sites. If you have questions about
using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office, 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 are available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: Pub. L. No. 107-110.
Dated: March 26, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-7810 Filed 3-29-02; 8:45 am]
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