Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; Excellence in Economic Education Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, 67862-67866 [E9-30290]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 243 (Monday, December 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67862-67866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30290]



[[Page 67862]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; 
Excellence in Economic Education Program; Notice Inviting Applications 
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215B.
    Dates:
    Applications Available: December 21, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 16, 2010.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 15, 2010.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: This program promotes economic and financial 
literacy among all students in kindergarten through grade 12 through 
the award of one grant to a national nonprofit educational organization 
that has as its primary purpose the improvement of the quality of 
student understanding of personal finance and economics.
    Priorities: This competition includes two absolute priorities and 
four invitational priorities that are explained in the following 
paragraphs.
    In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), these priorities are 
from sections 5533(b) and 5535(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7267b-7267e).
    Absolute Priorities: For FY 2010 and any subsequent year in which 
we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, these priorities are absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet both of these 
priorities.
    These priorities are:

Absolute Priority 1--Direct Activities

    A project must indicate how it would use 25 percent of the funds 
available each year to do all of the following activities:
    (a) Strengthen and expand the grantee's relationships with State 
and local personal finance, entrepreneurial, and economic education 
organizations.
    (b) Support and promote training of teachers who teach a grade from 
kindergarten through grade 12 regarding economics, including the 
dissemination of information on effective practices and research 
findings regarding the teaching of economics.
    (c) Support research on effective teaching practices and the 
development of assessment instruments to document student understanding 
of personal finance and economics.
    (d) Develop and disseminate appropriate materials to foster 
economic literacy.

Absolute Priority 2--Subgrant Activities

    A project must indicate how it would use 75 percent of the funds 
available each year to award subgrants both to (a) State educational 
agencies (SEAs) or local educational agencies (LEAs), and (b) State or 
local economic, personal finance, or entrepreneurial education 
organizations. (Definitions of SEAs and LEAs are found in section 
9101(26) and (41) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7801(26) and (41)).
    (a) Allowable Subgrantee Activities. A project must indicate that 
these subgrants are to be used to pay for the Federal share of the cost 
of enabling the subgrantees to work in partnership with one or more 
eligible partners as described elsewhere in this notice, for one or 
more of the following purposes:
    (1) Collaboratively establishing and conducting teacher training 
programs that use effective and innovative approaches to the teaching 
of economics, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. The teacher 
training programs must--
    (i) Train teachers who teach a grade from kindergarten through 
grade 12; and (ii) encourage teachers from disciplines other than 
economics and financial literacy to participate in such teacher 
training programs, if the training will promote the economic and 
financial literacy of those teachers' students.
    (2) Providing resources to school districts that desire to 
incorporate economics and personal finance into the curricula of the 
schools in those districts.
    (3) Conducting evaluations of the impact of economic and financial 
literacy education on students.
    (4) Conducting economic and financial literacy education research.
    (5) Creating and conducting school-based student activities to 
promote consumer, economic, and personal finance education (such as 
saving, investing, and entrepreneurial education) and to encourage 
awareness and student academic achievement in economics.
    (6) Encouraging replication of best practices to promote economic 
and financial literacy.
    (b) Eligible partners for subgrantees under Absolute Priority 2. 
Applications must indicate that subgrants will be made to an eligible 
subgrantee to work in partnership with one or more of the following 
entities:
    (1) A private-sector entity.
    (2) An SEA.
    (3) An LEA.
    (4) An institution of higher education.
    (5) An organization promoting economic development.
    (6) An organization promoting educational excellence.
    (7) An organization promoting personal finance or entrepreneurial 
education.
    (c) Subgrant application process under Absolute Priority 2. (1) 
Applications must describe the subgrant process the grantee will 
conduct prior to awarding subgrants.
    (2) Applications must provide that the grantee will invite the 
following types of individuals to review all applications for subgrants 
and to make recommendations to the grantee on the approval of the 
applications:
    (A) Leaders in the fields of economics and education.
    (B) Other individuals as the grantee determines to be necessary, 
especially members of the State and local business, banking, and 
finance communities.
    In addition to the two absolute priorities, we are particularly 
interested in applications that address the following invitational 
priorities.
    Invitational Priorities: For FY 2010 and any subsequent year in 
which we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, 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 1--Involvement of Business Community

    Projects that propose partnerships and linkages with the local 
business community to advance financial literacy.

Invitational Priority 2--Underrepresented Populations

    Projects that propose a plan for addressing the unique needs of 
low-income or geographically-isolated students, or both, and their 
teachers.

Invitational Priority 3--Teacher Professional Development

    Projects that use technology to provide teachers of K-12 students 
greater access to professional development opportunities in financial 
literacy.

Invitational Priority 4--Dissemination of Information

    Projects that provide for the dissemination of information on

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activities and programs conducted by subgrantees.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7267.

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grant.
    Estimated Available Funds $1,447,000.
    Number of Awards: 1.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.
    Budget Period: 12 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Any national nonprofit educational 
organization that has as its primary purpose the improvement of the 
quality of student understanding of personal finance and economics 
through effective teaching of economics in grades kindergarten through 
grade 12 in the Nation's classrooms.
    Applicants are required to submit evidence of their organization's 
eligibility.
    2.a. Cost Sharing or Matching: Subgrant Activities. Recipients of 
each subgrant under this program are required to match the Federal 
grant funds with an equal amount of non-Federal funding. The Federal 
share of each subgrant will be fifty (50) percent of the cost of the 
funded activities. The recipient of the subgrant must pay the other 
fifty percent in cash or in-kind. In-kind payment, including plant, 
equipment, or services, must be fairly evaluated. (20 U.S.C. 7267e(a) 
and (b)).
    b. Supplement-Not-Supplant. This competition involves supplement-
not-supplant funding requirements. Funds provided through this grant 
must be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, and 
local funds expended to support activities that fulfill the purpose of 
this program. (20 U.S.C. 7267f).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Carolyn Warren, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4W209, 
Washington, DC 20202-5900. Telephone: (202) 205-5443 or by e-mail: 
carolyn.warren@ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, 
or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed 
in this section.
    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 competition.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that 
reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit the 
application narrative [Part III] to no more than 25 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 or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, 
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part 
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the 
resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, the page 
limit does apply to all of the application narrative section [Part 
III].
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: December 21, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 16, 2010.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) accessible through the Department's e-Grants site. For 
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically, or in paper format 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 of this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII 
of this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the 
application process, the individual's application remains subject to 
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: April 15, 2010.
    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: Twenty-five (25) percent of the grant 
funds must be used for Direct Activities as described in Absolute 
Priority 1. (20 U.S.C. 7267b(b)(1)).
    Seventy-five (75) percent of the grant funds must be used for 
Subgrant Activities as described in Absolute Priority 2. (20 U.S.C. 
7267b(b)(2)).
    The grantee and each subgrantee may use not more than five (5) 
percent of their grant funds for administrative costs. (20 U.S.C. 
7267d(a)).
    We reference additional 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 EEE Program--CFDA Number 84.215B 
must be submitted electronically using e-Application, accessible 
through the Department's e-Grants Web site 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

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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 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. E-Application will not accept an application for this 
competition after 4:30:00 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 hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site are 6:00 
a.m. Monday until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 a.m. Thursday until 
8:00 p.m. Sunday, Washington, DC time. Please note that, because of 
maintenance, the system is unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on Sundays and 
6:00 a.m. on Mondays, and between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6:00 a.m. 
on Thursdays, Washington, DC time. 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 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: the 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 
Education Supplemental Information for SF 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 in this paragraph 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 SF 424 to the Application Control 
Center after following these steps:
    (1) Print SF 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 SF 424.
    (4) Fax the signed SF 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 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting 
your application on the application deadline date because e-Application 
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) E-Application 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) E-Application is unavailable for any period of time between 
3:30 p.m. and 4:30:00 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 e-Application is unavailable due 
to technical problems with the system and, therefore, the application 
deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all registered users 
who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions referred to in this 
section apply only to the unavailability of e-Application.
    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 e-Application because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
e-Application; 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 
prevents 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: Carolyn Warren, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4W209, 
Washington, DC 20202-5900. FAX: (202) 205-5630.
    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 following address:

    U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, 
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.215B), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260.

    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.
    (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.

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    (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 84.215B), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, 
Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.

    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 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 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a 
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not 
receive this grant notification 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 each criterion is indicated 
in parentheses. Each criterion also includes the factors that the 
reviewers will consider in determining how well an application meets 
the criterion. The selection criteria are as follows:
    (1) 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:
    (a) The extent to which the proposed project represents an 
exceptional approach to the priority or priorities established for the 
competition.
    (b) The extent to which the proposed project will establish 
linkages with other appropriate agencies and organizations providing 
services to the target population.
    (2) Quality of Project Services (30 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, national 
origin, gender, age, or disability. In addition, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (a) 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.
    (b) The likelihood that the services to be provided by the proposed 
project will lead to improvements in the achievement of students as 
measured against rigorous academic standards.
    3. Quality of the Management Plan (20 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) How the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives 
are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project, including 
those of parents, teachers, the business community, a variety of 
disciplinary and professional fields, recipients or beneficiaries of 
services, or others, as appropriate.
    4. Quality of Project Personnel (10 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:
    (a) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of the project director.
    (b) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of key project personnel.
    5. Quality of 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 factors:
    (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) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about 
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings.

    Note: The Department notes that the grantee can, as authorized 
by section 5533(b)(2)(C) of the ESEA, award subgrants to conduct 
evaluations and to collect the information needed for implementation 
of the performance measures discussed elsewhere in this notice.

    Factors Applicants May Wish to Consider in Developing an Evaluation 
Plan. The quality of the evaluation plan is one of the selection 
criteria by which applications in this competition will be judged. A 
strong evaluation plan 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, where possible, 
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.
    (7) How the applicant will use the information collected through 
the evaluation to monitor progress of the funded project and to provide

[[Page 67866]]

accountability information both about success at the initial site and 
effective strategies for replication in other settings. Applicants are 
encouraged to 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 notify you informally, also.
    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. 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 directed by the Secretary 
under 34 CFR 75.118. In addition, the annual report should, but is not 
required to, include:
     A summary of activities conducted by subgrantees.
     The number of teachers served through the program, 
including the number of teachers from schools serving a high 
concentration of low-income students.
     The number of students served, including those attending 
schools serving a high concentration of low-income students.

The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 
34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to: 
https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Secretary has established one 
performance objective and three performance measures to assess the 
effectiveness of this program. Projects funded under this competition 
will be expected to collect and report to the Department data related 
to these measures. Applications should, but are not required to, 
discuss in the application narrative how they propose to collect these 
data. The GPRA performance objective is: To increase students' 
knowledge of, and achievement in, personal finance and economics to 
enable the students to become more productive and informed citizens. 
The three GPRA performance measures are: (1) The percentage of students 
participating in projects funded through the Excellence in Economic 
Education program who score proficient on standardized tests of 
economics and/or personal finance; (2) the percentage of teachers 
participating in projects funded by the Excellence in Economic 
Education program who show a significant increase in their pre-post 
scores on a standardized measure of economic content knowledge; and (3) 
the percentage of students participating in entrepreneurial projects 
funded by the Excellence in Economic Education program who show a 
significant increase in their pre-post scores on a standardized 
measure.
    Applicants should provide in the application a baseline for each 
performance measure and the target number of students they anticipate 
will be either proficient on the measure or demonstrate a significant 
increase in their pre-post scores on a standardized measure.
    The grantee under this program will be expected to collect and 
report these data to the Department in the annual performance report, 
and applicants are strongly encouraged to design their proposed project 
evaluations around these performance measures.
    Applicants are encouraged to propose ambitious but realistic 
targets. The Department will use this information to closely monitor 
the implementation of project activities, student and teacher outcomes.

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Warren, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W209, Washington, DC 20202-
5900. Telephone: (202) 205-5443 or by e-mail: carolyn.warren@ed.gov.
    If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format 
(e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of this notice.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You can 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.

    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: December 16, 2009.
James H. Shelton, III,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. E9-30290 Filed 12-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P