Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview Information; Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, 7382-7385 [E6-1906]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7382-7385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1906]



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Part V





Department of Education





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 Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview Information; 
Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2006 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Overview 
Information; Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program; 
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.364A.
    Dates: Applications Available: February 10, 2006. Deadline for 
Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2006. Deadline for 
Intergovernmental Review: June 12, 2006.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs) in which at 
least 20 percent of the students served by the LEA are from families 
with incomes below the poverty line based on the most recent 
satisfactory data available from the U.S. Census Bureau at the time 
this notice is published. These data are Small Area Income and Poverty 
Estimates for school districts for income year 2003. A list of LEAs 
with their family poverty rates (based on these Census Bureau data) is 
posted on our Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/lsl/
eligibility.html.
    Estimated Available Funds: $18,901,586. Contingent upon the 
availability of funds and quality of applications, the Secretary may 
make additional awards in FY 2007 from the list of unfunded applicants 
from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $30,000-$300,000.

    Note: Actual award amounts will be based on the number of 
schools and students served by the project.

    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $190,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 100.

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

    Project Period: Up to 12 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to improve 
student reading skills and academic achievement by providing students 
with increased access to up-to-date school library materials; well-
equipped, technologically advanced school library media centers; and 
well-trained, professionally certified school library media 
specialists.
    Priority: Under this competition we are particularly interested in 
applications that address the following priority.
    Invitational Priority: For FY 2006 and any subsequent year in which 
we make awards based on the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, this priority is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets this invitational 
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
    This priority is: Under this priority the Secretary strongly 
encourages applicants to focus their efforts on elementary schools in 
order to maximize the impact of the project on improving reading 
achievement.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6383.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final clarification of 
eligible local activities, published in the Federal Register on April 
5, 2004 (69 FR 17894).

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $18,901,586. Contingent upon the 
availability of funds and quality of applications, the Secretary may 
make additional awards in FY 2007 from the list of unfunded applicants 
from this competition.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $30,000-$300,000.

    Note: Actual award amounts will be based on the number of 
schools and students served by the project.

    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $190,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 100.

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


    Project Period: Up to 12 months.
III. Eligibility Information
    1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs in which at least 20 percent of the 
students served by the LEA are from families with incomes below the 
poverty line based on the most recent satisfactory data available from 
the U.S. Census Bureau at the time this notice is published. These data 
are Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for school districts for 
income year 2003. A list of LEAs with their family poverty rates (based 
on these Census Bureau data) is posted on our Web site at: http://
www.ed.gov/programs/lsl/eligibility.html.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching, but does involve supplement-not-supplant funding 
provisions. Funds made available under this program must be used to 
supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds 
expended to carry out activities relating to library, technology, or 
professional development activities (20 U.S.C. 6383(i)).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain an 
application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via the Internet use the following 
addresses: http://www.grants.gov or http://www.ed.gov/programs/lsl/
applicant.html. To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write or call the 
following: 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: http://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 84.364A.
    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 under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 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. An 
Eligibility Form is included in the application package. You must fill 
out the Eligibility Form, following the instructions provided in the 
application package.
    Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, 
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your 
application. You must limit the narrative to the equivalent of no more 
than 15 pages, 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 application 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.

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    The page limit does not apply to the forms, budget section, budget 
justification, assurances and certifications, one-page abstract, 
endnotes, or resumes. However, you must include all of the application 
narrative in the narrative section. Charter Schools and State 
Administered Schools must include some form of documentation from their 
State Educational Agency (SEA) confirming eligibility for this program. 
This documentation is not counted toward the page limit.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that:
     Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
     Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other 
standards.
    Appendices to the narrative are not permitted, with the exception 
of resumes and endnotes. None of the material sent as appendices to the 
narrative, with the exception of resumes and endnotes, will be sent to 
the reviewers.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: February 10, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2006.
    Applications for grants under this program 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 12, 2006.
    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 program.
    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 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 Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program-CFDA 
Number 84.364A must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov 
Apply site at: http://www.grants.gov. Through this site, you will be 
able to download a copy of the application package, complete it 
offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-
mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for Improving 
Literacy Through School Libraries program at: http://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, and 
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application 
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we 
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the 
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that 
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures 
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/
GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
http://www.Grants.gov/GetStarted). These steps include (1) registering 
your organization, (2) registering yourself as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR), and (3) getting authorized as an AOR 
by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the 
Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/assets/
GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8x11.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov.
     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. 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.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a 
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your 
application from

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Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-mail that will 
include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number unique to 
your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are prevented from electronically 
submitting your application on the application deadline date because of 
technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an 
extension until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business 
day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by 
hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the 
mailing instructions as described elsewhere in this notice. If you 
submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in this 
notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an 
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, 
along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). We 
will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your 
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after 
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

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

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because:
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system;

and

     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax 
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed 
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Irene Harwarth, U.S. 
Department of Education, room 3W227, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20202-6200. Fax: (202) 260-8969.
    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 84.364A), 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 
84.364A), 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 
84.364A), 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

    1. Selection Criteria: We use the following statutory selection 
criteria to evaluate applications for new grants under this 
competition. The maximum score for all of these criteria is 100 points. 
The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses.
    We evaluate an application by determining how well the proposed 
project meets the following criteria:
    (a) Meeting the purpose of the statute (10 points). How well the 
proposed project addresses the intended outcome of the statute: To 
improve student reading skills and academic achievement by providing 
students with increased access to up-to-date school library materials; 
a well-equipped,

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technologically advanced school library media center; and well-trained, 
professionally certified school library media specialists.
    (b) Need for school library resources (10 points). How well the 
applicant demonstrates the need for school library media improvement, 
based on the age and condition of school library media resources, 
including book collections; access of school library media centers to 
advanced technology; and the availability of well-trained, 
professionally certified school library media specialists, in schools 
served by the applicant.
    (c) Use of funds (50 points). How well the applicant will use the 
funds made available through the grant to carry out one or more of the 
following activities that meet its demonstrated needs:
    (1) Acquiring up-to-date school library media resources, including 
books.
    (2) Acquiring and using advanced technology, incorporated into the 
curricula of the school, to develop and enhance students' skills in 
retrieving and making use of information and in critical thinking.
    (3) Facilitating Internet links and other resource-sharing networks 
among schools and school library media centers, and public and academic 
libraries.
    (4) Providing professional development (as described in the notice 
of final clarification of eligible local activities published in the 
Federal Register on April 5, 2004 (69 FR 17894)) for school library 
media specialists that is designed to improve literacy in grades K-3, 
and for school library media specialists as described in section 
1222(d)(2) of the ESEA and providing activities that foster increased 
collaboration between school library media specialists, teachers, and 
administrators.
    (5) Providing students with access to school libraries during non-
school hours, including the hours before and after school, during 
weekends, and during summer vacation periods.
    (d) Use of scientifically based research (10 points). How well the 
applicant will use programs and materials that are grounded in 
scientifically based research, as defined in section 9101(37) of the 
ESEA, in carrying out one or more of the activities described under 
criterion (c).
    (e) Broad-based involvement and coordination (10 points). How well 
the applicant will extensively involve school library media 
specialists, teachers, administrators, and parents in the proposed 
project activities and effectively coordinate the funds and activities 
provided under this program with other literacy, library, technology, 
and professional development funds and activities.
    (f) Evaluation of quality and impact (10 points). How well the 
applicant will collect and analyze data on the quality and impact of 
the proposed project activities, including the extent to which the 
availability of, the access to, and the use of up-to-date school 
library media resources in the elementary schools and secondary schools 
served by the applicant increase; and the impact of the project on the 
reading skills of students.
    2. Review and Selection Process: An additional factor we consider 
in selecting an application for an award is the equitable distribution 
of grants across geographic regions and among LEAs serving urban and 
rural areas.

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. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a 
final performance report, including financial information, as directed 
by the Secretary.
    4. Performance Measures: In response to the Government Performance 
and Results Act (GPRA), the Department developed two measures for 
evaluating the overall effectiveness of the Improving Literacy Through 
School Libraries program. These measures gauge improvement in student 
achievement and resources in the schools and districts served by the 
Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program by assessing 
increases in: (1) The percentage of participating schools and districts 
that exceed State adequate yearly progress targets under ESEA Title I 
for reading achievement for all students; and (2) The school library 
media collections at participating schools, compared to schools not 
participating in the program.
    The Department will collect data for these measures from grantees' 
annual performance reports and other data sources.

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Harwarth, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3W227, Washington, DC 20202-
6200. Telephone: (202) 401-3751 or by e-mail: Irene.Harwarth@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 person 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: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (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: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/index.html.


    Dated: February 7, 2006.
Henry L. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. E6-1906 Filed 2-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P