Office of Innovation and Improvement Overview Information; Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, 72624-72630 [E5-6912]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72624-72630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6912]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Innovation and Improvement Overview Information; 
Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications 
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215X.
    Dates: Applications Available: December 6, 2005.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: January 6, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 3, 2006.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 4, 2006.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs)--including 
charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and 
regulations--working in partnership with one or more of the following 
entities:
     An institution of higher education.
     A non-profit history or humanities organization.
     A library or museum.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$119,040,000 for new awards for this program for FY 2006. The actual 
level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. 
However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete 
the grant process in a timely manner, if Congress appropriates funds 
for this program.
    Maximum Awards: The following maximum award amounts are from the 
notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements 
for this program, published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2005 
(70 FR 19939). Total funding for a three-year project period is a 
maximum of: $500,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 20,000 
students; $1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of 20,000-300,000 
students; and $2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above 300,000 
students. LEAs may form consortia and combine their enrollments in 
order to receive a grant reflective of their combined enrollment. For 
districts applying jointly as a consortium, the maximum award is based 
on the combined enrollment of the individual districts in the 
consortium. If more than one LEA wishes to form a consortium, they must 
follow the procedures for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127 
through 34 CFR 75.129 of the Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 100-135.

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


    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: Teaching American History grants support 
projects to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, 
understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Grant 
awards assist local educational agencies (LEAs), in partnership with 
entities that have extensive content expertise, to

[[Page 72625]]

develop, document, evaluate, and disseminate innovative, cohesive 
models of professional development. By helping teachers to develop a 
deeper understanding and appreciation of traditional American history 
as a separate subject within the core curriculum, these programs 
improve instruction and raise student achievement.
    Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and 
four invitational priorities. To be considered for funding, each 
applicant must address the absolute priority.
    Absolute Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this 
priority is from section 2351(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 
2001 (Pub. L. 107-110). For FY 2006, this priority is an absolute 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that 
meet this priority.
    This priority is:
    Partnerships With Other Agencies or Institutions. Each applicant 
LEA must propose to work in collaboration with one or more of the 
following:
     An institution of higher education.
     A non-profit history or humanities organization.
     A library or museum.
    Invitational Priorities: For FY 2006 these priorities are 
invitational priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an 
application that meets one or more of these invitational priorities a 
competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
    These priorities are:

Invitational Priority One

    Kindergarten to Eighth Grade Teachers in Schools That Have Not Made 
Adequate Yearly Progress. Projects that support professional 
development for kindergarten to eighth grade teachers in schools that 
have not made adequate yearly progress.

Invitational Priority Two

    High School Teachers Who Have Not Met their State Requirements for 
Highly Qualified Teachers. Projects that support professional 
development for high school teachers who have not met their state 
requirements for highly qualified teachers.

Invitational Priority Three

    Annual High School Assessments. Projects that support teacher 
professional development in high schools that conduct State-provided 
annual assessments, tied to State standards, that exceed the 
requirements of section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act 
of 2001.

Invitational Priority Four

    Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evaluation Designs. 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.

Definitions

    As used in this invitational priority--
    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 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.

[[Page 72626]]

    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. 6721.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99. (b) The notice of final selection 
criteria and other application requirements published in the Federal 
Register on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 19939).


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


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

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$119,040,000 for new awards for this program for FY 2006. The actual 
level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. 
However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete 
the grant process in a timely manner, if Congress appropriates funds 
for this program.
    Maximum Awards: The following maximum award amounts are from the 
notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements 
for this program, published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2005 
(70 FR 19939). Total funding for a three-year project period is a 
maximum of: $500,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 20,000 
students; $1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of 20,000-300,000 
students; and $2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above 300,000 
students. LEAs may form consortia and combine their enrollments in 
order to receive a grant reflective of their combined enrollment. For 
districts applying jointly as a consortium, the maximum award is based 
on the combined enrollment of the individual districts in the 
consortium. If more than one LEA wishes to form a consortium, they must 
follow the procedures for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127 
through 34 CFR 75.129 of the Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 100-135.


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


    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs--including charter schools that are 
considered LEAs under State law and regulations--working in partnership 
with one or more of the following entities:
     An institution of higher education.
     A non-profit history or humanities organization.
     A library or museum.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: 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 84.215X.
    You may also obtain the application package for the program via the 
Internet at the following address: https://www.ed.gov/programs/
teachinghistory/applicant.html.
    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 one of the program 
contact persons listed in section VII of this notice.
    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: The Department will be able to develop a 
more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a 
better understanding of the number of LEAs that intend to apply for 
funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly 
encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department with a 
short e-mail indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application 
for funding. The e-mail need not include information regarding the 
content of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to 
submit it. The Secretary requests that this e-mail notification be sent 
no later than January 6, 2006, to Alex Stein at: 
TeachingAmericanHistory@ed.gov.
    Applicants that fail to provide this e-mail notification may still 
apply for funding.
    Page Limit for Application Narrative: The application narrative 
(Part III of the application) is where you, the applicant, address the 
selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. 
Applicants are strongly encouraged to limit the application narrative 
to the equivalent of no more than 25 single-sided, double spaced

[[Page 72627]]

pages printed in 12-point font or larger. If the applicant is 
addressing the invitational priority for evaluation, the narrative 
should be limited to 30 single-sided, double-spaced pages printed in 
12-point font or larger.
    The suggested page limit does not apply to the title page, the 
Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), the one-page abstract, the 
budget summary form (ED 524) and the narrative budget justification, 
any curriculum vitae, the bibliography of literature cited, or the 
assurances and certifications.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: December 6, 2005.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: January 6, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 3, 2006.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) available through the Department's e-Grants system. 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: April 4, 
2006.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition 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 regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this competition 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 Teaching American History 
Program-CFDA Number 84.215X must be submitted electronically using e-
Application available through the Department's e-Grants system, 
accessible through the e-Grants portal page at: https://e-grants.ed.gov.
    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.
    While completing your electronic application, you will be entering 
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    Please note the following:
     You must complete the electronic submission of your grant 
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application 
for this competition after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do 
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application 
process.
     The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site 
are 6 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until 
midnight Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is 
unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on 
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to 
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
     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 
the Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget 
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary 
assurances and certifications. You must attach any narrative sections 
of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or 
.PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type other than 
the three file types specified above 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.
     Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may 
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment that 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 ED 424 to the Application Control 
Center after following these steps:
    (1) Print ED 424 from e-Application.
    (2) The applicant'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 
(202) 245-6272.
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
other forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting 
your application on the application deadline date because the e-
Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of 
one business day to enable you to transmit your application 
electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. We will grant this 
extension if--
    (1) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have 
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
    (2) (a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or 
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date; or
    (b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time 
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
    We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability 
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to 
confirm our acknowledgment of any system unavailability, you may 
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If the system is down and therefore 
the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all 
registered users who have initiated an e-

[[Page 72628]]

Application. Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the 
unavailability of the Department's e-Application 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 e-Application system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Department's e-Application 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: Alex Stein, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W206, 
Washington, DC 20202-5960. FAX: (202) 401-8466 or (202) 205-5631.
    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 
84.215X), 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 
84.215X), 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 Number 84.215X), 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 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 following selection criteria for this 
program are from the notice of final selection criteria and other 
application requirements published in the Federal Register on April 15, 
2005 (70 FR 19939).
    (1) Project Quality (60 points). The Secretary considers the 
quality of the proposed project by considering--
    (a) The likelihood that the proposed project will develop, 
implement, and strengthen programs to teach traditional American 
history as a separate academic subject (not as a component of social 
studies) within elementary school and secondary school curricula.
    (b) How specific traditional American history content will be 
covered by the grant (including the significant issues, episodes, and 
turning points in the history of the United States; how the words and 
deeds of individuals have determined the course of our Nation; and how 
the principles of freedom and democracy articulated in the founding 
documents of this Nation have shaped America's struggles and 
achievements and its social, political, and legal institutions and 
relations); the format in which the project will deliver the history 
content; and the quality of the staff and consultants responsible for 
delivering these content-based professional development activities, 
emphasizing, where relevant, their postsecondary teaching experience 
and scholarship in subject areas relevant to the teaching of 
traditional American history. The applicant may also attach curriculum 
vitae for individuals who will provide the content training to the 
teachers.
    (c) How well the applicant describes a plan that meets the 
statutory requirement to carry out activities under the grant in 
partnership with one or more of the following:
    (i) An institution of higher education.
    (ii) A nonprofit history or humanities organization.
    (iii) A library or museum.
    (d) The applicant's rationale for selecting the partner(s) and its 
description of specific activities that the partner(s) will contribute 
to the grant during each year of the project. The applicant should 
include a memorandum of understanding or detailed letters of commitment 
from the partner(s) in an appendix to the application narrative.
    (2) Significance (15 points). The Secretary considers the 
significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance 
of the project, the Secretary considers--
    (a) The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build 
local capacity to improve or expand the LEA's ability to provide 
American history teachers professional development in traditional

[[Page 72629]]

American history subject content and content-related teaching 
strategies.
    (b) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement.
    (c) How teachers will use the knowledge acquired from project 
activities to improve the quality of instruction. This description may 
include plans for reviewing how teachers' lesson planning and classroom 
teaching are affected by their participation in project activities.


    Note: In meeting this criterion, the Secretary encourages the 
applicant to include a description of its commitment to build local 
capacity by primarily serving teachers in its LEA or consortium of 
LEAs. The Secretary also encourages the applicant to include 
background and statistical information to explain the project's 
significance. For example, the applicant could include information 
on: the extent to which teachers in the LEA are not certified in 
history or social studies; student achievement data in American 
history; and rates of student participation in courses such as 
Advanced Placement U.S. History.


    (3) Quality of the management plan (10 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:
    (a) 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.
    (b) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate 
to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
    (4) Quality of the project evaluation (15 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:
    (a) 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.
    (b) How well the evaluation plans are aligned with the project 
design explained under the Project Quality criterion.
    (c) Whether the evaluation includes benchmarks to monitor progress 
toward specific project objectives, and outcome measures to assess the 
impact on teaching and learning or other important outcomes for project 
participants.
    (d) Whether the applicant identifies the individual and/or 
organization that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the project and 
includes a description of the qualifications of that evaluator.
    (e) The extent to which the applicant indicates the following:
    (i) What types of data will be collected;
    (ii) When various types of data will be collected;
    (iii) What methods will be used to collect data;
    (iv) What data collection instruments will be developed;
    (v) How the data will be analyzed;
    (vi) When reports of results and outcomes will be available;
    (vii) How the applicant will use the information collected through 
the evaluation to monitor the progress of the funded project and to 
provide accountability information about both success at the initial 
site and effective strategies for replication in other settings; and
    (viii) How the applicant will devote an appropriate level of 
resources to project evaluation.

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.
    Budgets should include funds for at least two project staff members 
to attend a two-day annual meeting of the Teaching American History 
Grant program in Washington, DC, each year of the project. Applicants 
also should include in their budgets funds to cover the travel and 
lodging expenses for these training activities during each year of the 
project.
    3. 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 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.
    4. Performance Measures: We have established one performance 
measure for Teaching American History. The indicator is: Students in 
experimental and quasi-experimental studies of educational 
effectiveness of Teaching American History projects will demonstrate 
higher achievement on course content measures and/or statewide U.S. 
history assessments than students in control and comparison groups.

VII. Agency Contacts

    For Further Information Contact: Emily Fitzpatrick, Alex Stein, 
Harry Kessler, Kelly O'Donnell, Claire Geddes, or Margarita Melendez, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W218, 
Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 260-1498 (Emily 
Fitzpatrick); or (202) 205-9085 (Alex Stein); or (202) 708-9943 (Harry 
Kessler); or (202) 205-5231 (Kelly O'Donnell); or (202) 260-2487 
(Claire Geddes); or (202) 260-3548 (Margarita Melendez) or by e-mail: 
teachingamericanhistory@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 one of 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.
    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

[[Page 72630]]

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: December 1, 2005.
Nina Shokraii Rees,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. E5-6912 Filed 12-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P