Office of Innovation and Improvement Program (OII); Overview Information; Ready To Teach Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005, 9053-9059 [E5-764]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 36 (Thursday, February 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9053-9059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-764]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Innovation and Improvement Program (OII); Overview 
Information; Ready To Teach Program; Notice Inviting Applications for 
New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.286A and 
84.286B

    Dates: Applications Available: February 25, 2005.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: March 24, 2005.
    Date of Pre-Application Meeting: March 11, 2005 (webcast).
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 20, 2005.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 20, 2005.
    Eligible Applicants: For General Programming Grants (84.286A)--A 
nonprofit telecommunications entity or partnership of 
telecommunications entities.
    For Digital Educational Programming Grants (84.286B)--A local 
public telecommunications entity, as defined in section 397(12) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, that is able to demonstrate a 
capacity for the development and distribution of educational and 
instructional television programming of high quality. Under section 
397(12) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, the term public 
telecommunications entity means any enterprise which--
    (A) Is a public broadcast station or a noncommercial 
telecommunications entity; and
    (B) Disseminates public telecommunications services to the public.
    Estimated Available Funds: $14,290,752.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $1,500,000-$5,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $2,500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 3-6.


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


    Project Period: Up to 60 months for 84.286A and up to 36 months for 
84.286B.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Ready to Teach program awards two types of 
competitive grants: (a) Grants to carry out a national 
telecommunications-based program to improve teaching in core curriculum 
areas (General Programming Grants); and (b) digital educational 
programming grants to develop, produce, and distribute innovative 
educational and instructional video programming (Digital Educational 
Programming Grants). The Ready to Teach program is designed to assist 
elementary school and secondary school teachers in preparing all 
students to achieve challenging State academic content and student 
academic achievement standards in core curriculum areas.
    Statutory Requirements: As set forth in the program statute, to be 
eligible to receive a General Programming Grant (84.286A), an applicant 
must--
    (1) Demonstrate, in its application, that it will use the public 
broadcasting

[[Page 9054]]

infrastructure, the Internet, and school digital networks, where 
available, to deliver video and data in an integrated service to train 
teachers in the use of materials and learning technologies for 
achieving challenging State academic content and student academic 
achievement standards;
    (2) Make an assurance in its application that its project will be 
conducted in cooperation with appropriate State educational agencies, 
local educational agencies, and State or local nonprofit public 
telecommunications entities; and
    (3) Make an assurance in its application that a significant portion 
of the benefits available for elementary schools and secondary schools 
from its project will be available to schools of local educational 
agencies that have a high percentage of children eligible under title I 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as 
amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
    In addition, as required by the program statute, in order to be 
eligible to receive a Digital Educational Programming Grant (84.286B), 
an applicant must propose activities to facilitate the development of 
educational programming that shall--
    (1) Include student assessment tools to provide feedback on student 
academic achievement;
    (2) Include built-in teacher utilization and support components to 
ensure that teachers understand and can easily use the content of the 
programming with group instruction or for individual student use;
    (3) Be created for, or adaptable to, challenging State academic 
content standards and student academic achievement standards; and
    (4) Be capable of distribution through digital broadcasting and 
school digital networks.
    Priority: This priority is from the notice of final priority for 
Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods, published in the Federal 
Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 3586).
    Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2005 this priority is a 
competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award 
up to an additional 25 points to an application, depending on the 
extent to which the application meets this priority.


    Note: In awarding additional points to applications that address 
this competitive preference priority, we will consider only those 
applications that have top-ranked scores on the basis of the 
Selection Criteria in section V. of this notice.


    The priority is: The Secretary establishes a priority for projects 
proposing an evaluation plan that is based on rigorous scientifically 
based research methods to assess the effectiveness of a particular 
intervention. The Secretary intends that this priority will allow 
program participants and the Department to determine whether the 
project produces meaningful effects on student achievement or teacher 
performance.
    Evaluation methods using an experimental design are best for 
determining project effectiveness. Thus, when feasible, the project 
must use an experimental design under which participants--e.g., 
students, teachers, classrooms, or schools--are randomly assigned to 
participate in the project activities being evaluated or to a control 
group that does not participate in the project activities being 
evaluated.
    If random assignment is not feasible, the project may use a quasi-
experimental design with carefully matched comparison conditions. This 
alternative design attempts to approximate a randomly assigned control 
group by matching participants--e.g., students, teachers, classrooms, 
or schools--with non-participants having similar pre-program 
characteristics.
    In cases where random assignment is not possible and participation 
in the intervention is determined by a specified cutting point on a 
quantified continuum of scores, regression discontinuity designs may be 
employed.
    For projects that are focused on special populations in which 
sufficient numbers of participants are not available to support random 
assignment or matched comparison group designs, single-subject designs 
such as multiple baseline or treatment-reversal or interrupted time 
series that are capable of demonstrating causal relationships can be 
employed.
    Proposed evaluation strategies that use neither experimental 
designs with random assignment nor quasi-experimental designs using a 
matched comparison group nor regression discontinuity designs will not 
be considered responsive to the priority when sufficient numbers of 
participants are available to support these designs. Evaluation 
strategies that involve too small a number of participants to support 
group designs must be capable of demonstrating the causal effects of an 
intervention or program on those participants.
    The proposed evaluation plan must describe how the project 
evaluator will collect--before the project intervention commences and 
after it ends--valid and reliable data that measure the impact of 
participation in the program or in the comparison group.
    If the priority is used as a competitive preference priority, 
points awarded under this priority will be determined by the quality of 
the proposed evaluation method. In determining the quality of the 
evaluation method, we will consider the extent to which the applicant 
presents a feasible, credible plan that includes the following:
    (1) The type of design to be used (that is, random assignment or 
matched comparison). If matched comparison, include in the plan a 
discussion of why random assignment is not feasible.
    (2) Outcomes to be measured.
    (3) A discussion of how the applicant plans to assign students, 
teachers, classrooms, or schools to the project and control group or 
match them for comparison with other students, teachers, classrooms, or 
schools.
    (4) A proposed evaluator, preferably independent, with the 
necessary background and technical expertise to carry out the proposed 
evaluation. An independent evaluator does not have any authority over 
the project and is not involved in its implementation.
    In general, depending on the implemented program or project, under 
a competitive preference priority, random assignment evaluation methods 
will receive more points than matched comparison evaluation methods.

Definitions

    As used in this notice--
    Scientifically based research (section 9101(37) of the ESEA as 
amended by NCLB, 20 U.S.C. 7801(37)):
    (A) Means research that involves the application of rigorous, 
systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid 
knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and
    (B) Includes research that--
    (i) Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation 
or experiment;
    (ii) Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the 
stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
    (iii) Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide 
reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across 
multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same 
or different investigators;
    (iv) Is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs 
in which individuals entities, programs, or activities are assigned to 
different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the 
effects of the condition of interest, with a preference

[[Page 9055]]

for random-assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that 
those designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls;
    (v) Ensures that experimental studies are presented in sufficient 
detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the 
opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and
    (vi) Has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a 
panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, 
and scientific review.
    Random assignment or experimental design means random assignment of 
students, teachers, classrooms, or schools to participate in a project 
being evaluated (treatment group) or not participate in the project 
(control group). The effect of the project is the difference in 
outcomes between the treatment and control groups.
    Quasi experimental designs include several designs that attempt to 
approximate a random assignment design.
    Carefully matched comparison groups design means a quasi-
experimental design in which project participants are matched with non-
participants based on key characteristics that are thought to be 
related to the outcome.
    Regression discontinuity design means a quasi-experimental design 
that closely approximates an experimental design. In a regression 
discontinuity design, participants are assigned to a treatment or 
control group based on a numerical rating or score of a variable 
unrelated to the treatment such as the rating of an application for 
funding. Eligible students, teachers, classrooms, or schools above a 
certain score (``cut score'') are assigned to the treatment group and 
those below the score are assigned to the control group. In the case of 
the scores of applicants' proposals for funding, the ``cut score'' is 
established at the point where the program funds available are 
exhausted.
    Single subject design means a design that relies on the comparison 
of treatment effects on a single subject or group of single subjects. 
There is little confidence that findings based on this design would be 
the same for other members of the population.
    Treatment reversal design means a single subject design in which a 
pre-treatment or baseline outcome measurement is compared with a post-
treatment measure. Treatment would then be stopped for a period of 
time, a second baseline measure of the outcome would be taken, followed 
by a second application of the treatment or a different treatment. For 
example, this design might be used to evaluate a behavior modification 
program for disabled students with behavior disorders.
    Multiple baseline design means a single subject design to address 
concerns about the effects of normal development, timing of the 
treatment, and amount of the treatment with treatment-reversal designs 
by using a varying time schedule for introduction of the treatment and/
or treatments of different lengths or intensity.
    Interrupted time series design means a quasi-experimental design in 
which the outcome of interest is measured multiple times before and 
after the treatment for program participants only.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7257--7257d.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final priority for 
Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods, published in the Federal 
Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 3586).


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized Indian tribes.


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

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $14,290,752.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $1,500,000-$5,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $2,500,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 3-6.


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


    Project Period: Up to 60 months for 84.286A and up to 36 months for 
84.286B.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants:
    For General Programming Grants (84.286A)--A nonprofit 
telecommunications entity or partnership of nonprofit 
telecommunications entities.
    For Digital Educational Programming Grants (84.286B)--A local 
public telecommunications entity, as defined in section 397(12) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, that is able to demonstrate a 
capacity for the development and distribution of educational and 
instructional television programming of high quality. Under section 
397(12) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, the term public 
telecommunications entity means any enterprise which--
    (A) Is a public broadcast station or a noncommercial 
telecommunications entity; and
    (B) Disseminates public telecommunications services to the public.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: An applicant submitting an application 
under the competition for General Programming Grants (84.286A) is not 
required to provide matching funds. However, to be eligible to receive 
a Digital Educational Programming Grant (84.286B), an applicant must 
contribute non-Federal matching funds in an amount equal to not less 
than 100 percent of the amount of the grant. Such matching funds may 
include funds provided for the transition to digital broadcasting, as 
well as in-kind contributions.
    An entity that receives a General Programming Grant or a Digital 
Educational Programming Grant, may not use more than 5 percent of the 
amount received under the grant for administrative purposes.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain an 
application package via Internet or from the Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via Internet use the following 
address: https://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html. To obtain a copy from ED 
Pubs, write or call the following: Education Publications Center (ED 
Pubs), 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: https://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 from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.286A or 84.286B, as 
appropriate.
    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 elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contacts).

[[Page 9056]]

    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.
    Notice of Intent to Apply: Applicants that plan to apply for 
funding under this program are encouraged to indicate an intent to 
apply via e-mail notification sent to readytoteachintent@ed.gov no 
later than March 24, 2005. Applicants that fail to supply this e-mail 
notification may still apply for funding under this program. Page Limit 
for Program Narrative: The program narrative is where you, the 
applicant, address the selection criteria 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 program 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).
    Although no page limit is required, applicants are encouraged to 
confine the program narrative to no more than 50 pages.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: February 25, 2005.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: March 24, 2005.
    Date of Pre-Application Meeting: March 11, 2005, at 3 p.m., 
Washington, DC time. The Department intends to hold a live webcast to 
permit potential applicants to pose questions about this grant 
competition and other technology grant competitions being held by OII. 
Following the live presentation, the webcast will be archived and 
remain online until the application deadline date. Interested 
applicants should link to the following site to participate in or 
access the Web cast: https://www.kidzonline.org/tepwebcast. You may 
submit your intent to participate in the Web cast to tepwebcast@ed.gov.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 20, 2005.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). 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 20, 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 competition.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference the 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.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the Ready To Teach program-CFDA 
Numbers 84.286A and 84.286B must be submitted electronically using the 
Grants.gov Apply site. 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 application for Ready To Teach 
at: https://www.grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable 
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include 
the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search.
    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 time and date 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted with a 
date/time received by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 p.m., 
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. We will not 
consider your application if it was received by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m. 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 submitted after 4:30 p.m. 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 application 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 
your application is submitted timely to the Grants.gov system.
     To use Grants.gov, you, as the applicant, must have a D-U-
N-S Number and register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). You 
should allow a minimum of five business days to complete the CCR 
registration.
     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 typically included on 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.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a 
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your 
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified

[[Page 9057]]

identifying number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    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: Sharon Harris Morgan, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W250, 
Washington, DC 20202-5980. FAX: (202) 205-5720.
    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 Numbers 84.286A 
or 84.286B), 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 Numbers 84.286A 
or 84.286B), 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 Numbers 84.286A or 84.286B), 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 Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (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

    Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are 
from 34 CFR 75.210. The maximum score for all of the selection criteria 
is 100 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in 
parentheses with the criterion. The maximum number of points an 
application may earn based on the competitive preference priorities and 
the selection criteria is 125 points. The criteria are as follows:
    (a) Need for project (15 Points). The Secretary considers the need 
for the proposed project. In determining the need for the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    1. The extent to which the proposed project will focus on serving 
or otherwise addressing the needs of disadvantaged individuals.
    2. The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services, 
infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be 
addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude 
of those gaps or weaknesses.
    (b) Quality of the project design (20 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 proposed project is part of a 
comprehensive effort to improve teaching and learning and support 
rigorous academic standards for students.
    2. The extent to which goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.
    3. The extent to which the design for implementing and evaluating 
the proposed project will result in information to guide possible 
replication of project activities or strategies, including information 
about the effectiveness of the approach or strategies employed by the 
project.
    (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,

[[Page 9058]]

national origin, gender, age, or disability. In addition, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    1. The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed 
project reflect up-to-date knowledge from research and effective 
practice.
    2. 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.
    (d) Quality of project personnel (5 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 key project personnel.
    2. The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of project consultants or subcontractors.
    (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 extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the 
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.
    2. The potential for continued support of the project after Federal 
funding ends, including as appropriate, the demonstrated commitment of 
appropriate entities to such support.
    (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 adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous 
improvement in the operation of the proposed project.
    (g) Quality of the project evaluation (20 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 factor:
    1. 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.

    Note: A strong evaluation plan should be included in the 
application narrative and should be used, as appropriate, to shape 
the development of the project from the beginning of the grant 
period. The plan should include benchmarks to monitor progress 
toward specific project objectives and also outcome measures to 
assess the impact on teaching and learning or other important 
outcomes for project participants. More specifically, the plan 
should identify the individual and/or organization that has agreed 
to serve as evaluator for the project and describe the 
qualifications of that evaluator. The plan should describe the 
evaluation design, indicating: (1) What types of data will be 
collected; (2) when various types of data will be collected; (3) 
what methods will be used; (4) what instruments will be developed 
and when; (5) how the data will be analyzed; (6) when reports of 
results and outcomes will be available; and (7) how the applicant 
will use the information collected through the evaluation to monitor 
progress of the funded project and to provide accountability 
information both about success at the initial site and effective 
strategies for replication in other settings. Applicants are 
encouraged to devote 25-30% of the grant funds to project 
evaluations under each competition.

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 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. Grant Administration: Applicants approved for funding under this 
competition may be required to attend a two- or three-day Grants 
Administration meeting in Washington, DC during the first year of the 
grant. In addition, applicants should budget for one Project Directors 
meeting to be held in Washington, DC in each subsequent year of the 
grant. The cost of attending these meetings may be paid from Ready To 
Teach program grant funds or other resources.
    4. 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 meets the reporting requirements in 
section 5483 of the ESEA, as amended by the NCLB (if you receive a 
General Programming Grant) and provides the most current performance 
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 
34 CFR 75.118. For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please 
go to https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    5. Performance Measures: The Department is currently developing 
measures that will be designed to yield information on the 
effectiveness of grant-supported activities. If funded, applicants will 
be expected to participate in collecting and reporting data for these 
measures. We will notify grantees of the performance measures once they 
are developed.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Harris Morgan or Carmelita 
Coleman, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20202-5980. Telephone: (202) 205-5880 (Sharon Harris 
Morgan) or (202) 205-5450 (Carmelita Coleman), or by e-mail: 
Sharon.Morgan@ed.gov or Carmelita.Coleman@ed.gov.
    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 persons 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: https://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

[[Page 9059]]

    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: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/.


    Dated: February 17, 2005.
Michael J. Petrilli,
Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. E5-764 Filed 2-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P