Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; Charter Schools Program (CSP): State Educational Agencies; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, 13735-13740 [2010-6370]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices
Comments regarding burden and/or
the collection activity requirements
should be directed to
ICDocketMgr@ed.,gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339.
[FR Doc. 2010–6357 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Fund for the Improvement of
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)—
Special Focus Competition: Program
for North American Mobility in Higher
Education
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
ACTION: Extension; Notice extending
deadline dates.
SUMMARY: On January 27, 2010, we
published a notice in the Federal
Register (75 FR 4356) inviting
applications for new awards for fiscal
year (FY) 2010 for the Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary
Education (FIPSE)—Special Focus
Competition: Program for North
American Mobility in Higher Education
(Application Notice). Through this
notice, we extend the Deadline for
Transmittal of Applications and the
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review
dates announced in the Application
Notice.
DATES: The Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications date, as published on
pages 4356 and 4357 of the Application
Notice, has been extended to April 16,
2010.
The Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review date, as published on pages 4356
and 4357 of the Application Notice, has
been extended to June 15, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Frank Frankfort, Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary
Education, Program for North American
Mobility in Higher Education, 1990 K
Street, NW., room 6152, Washington,
DC 20006–8544. Telephone: (202) 502–
7513.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll
free, at 1–800–877–8339.
Individuals with disabilities can
obtain this document 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.
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
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:31 Mar 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
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/
index.html.
Delegation of Authority: The Secretary
of Education has delegated authority to
Daniel T. Madzelan, Director,
Forecasting and Policy Analysis for the
Office of Postsecondary Education, to
perform the functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary
Education.
Dated: March 18, 2010.
Daniel T. Madzelan,
Director, Forecasting and Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2010–6365 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Innovation and Improvement;
Overview Information; Charter Schools
Program (CSP): State Educational
Agencies; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY)
2010
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.282A.
Dates:
Applications Available: March 23,
2010.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: May 7, 2010.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: June 30, 2010.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of
the CSP is to increase national
understanding of the charter school
model and to expand the number of
high-quality charter schools available to
students across the Nation by providing
financial assistance for the planning,
program design, and initial
implementation of charter schools, and
to evaluate the effects of charter schools,
including their effects on students,
student academic achievement, staff,
and parents. The Secretary awards
grants to State educational agencies
(SEAs) to enable them to conduct
charter school programs in their States.
SEAs use their CSP funds to award
subgrants to non-SEA eligible applicants
for planning, program design, and initial
implementation of a charter school, and
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
13735
to support the dissemination of
information about charter schools,
including successful practices in charter
schools.
Priorities: This competition includes
four competitive preference priorities
and one invitational priority. In
accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(1)
and 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), competitive
preference priorities 1 through 4 are
from section 5202(e) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
as amended (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 7221a(e).
Competitive Preference 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
competitive preference priorities. Under
34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to
an additional forty (40) points to an
application, depending on how well the
application meets one or more of these
priorities.
Note: In order to receive preference under
these priorities, an applicant must identify
the priority or priorities that it believes it
meets and provide documentation, including
citations and examples from their State’s
charter school law, supporting its claims. In
order to receive points for priority 1 or to
receive points for priorities 2 through 4, an
application must meet priority 1 and must
meet one or more of priorities 2 through 4.
An SEA that meets priority 1 but does
not meet one or more of priorities 2
through 4 will not receive any points for
priorities 1 through 4.
An SEA that does not meet priority 1
but meets one or more of priorities 2
through 4 will not receive any points for
priorities 2 through 4.
These priorities are:
Priority 1—Periodic Review and
Evaluation (10 points). The State
provides for periodic review and
evaluation by the authorized public
chartering agency of each charter school
at least once every five years, unless
required more frequently by State law,
to determine whether the charter school
is meeting the terms of the school’s
charter, and is meeting or exceeding the
student academic achievement
requirements and goals for charter
schools as set forth under State law or
the school’s charter.
Priority 2—Number of High-Quality
Charter Schools (10 points). The State
has demonstrated progress in increasing
the number of high-quality charter
schools that are held accountable in the
terms of the schools’ charters for
meeting clear and measurable objectives
for the educational progress of the
students attending the schools, in the
period prior to the period for which an
SEA applies for a grant under this
competition.
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
13736
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices
Priority 3—One Authorized Public
Chartering Agency Other than a Local
Educational Agency (LEA), or an
Appeals Process (10 points). The State—
(a) Provides for one authorized public
chartering agency that is not an LEA,
such as a State chartering board, for
each individual or entity seeking to
operate a charter school pursuant to
State law; or
(b) In the case of a State in which
LEAs are the only authorized public
chartering agencies, allows for an
appeals process for the denial of an
application for a charter school.
Priority 4—High Degree of Autonomy
(10 points). The State ensures that each
charter school has a high degree of
autonomy over the charter school’s
budgets and expenditures.
Under this competition we are
particularly interested in applications
that address the following priority.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2010, 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:
High-Quality Charter Schools in
Urban or Rural Areas.
The Secretary is particularly
interested in projects designed to
enhance and expand a State’s capacity
to support high-quality charter schools
in one or more geographic areas,
particularly urban and rural areas, in
which a large proportion or number of
public schools have been identified for
improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring under Title I, Part A of the
ESEA. The proposed project should be
based on research evidence and
demonstrate effective practices in
building charter school capacity through
one or more of the following types of
activities: (1) The dissemination of
information on the implementation of
the school turnaround and restart
models (as described in the Notice of
Final Requirements for the School
Improvement Grants published in the
Federal Register on December 10, 2009
(74 FR 65618)) in charter schools and
information on best practices for turning
around the public schools identified as
the persistently-lowest achieving
schools under Title I, Part A of the
ESEA; (2) the creation of new charter
schools in the vicinity of public schools
closed as a consequence of a LEA
implementing a restructuring plan
under section 1116(b)(8) of the ESEA,
provided that this is done in
coordination with the LEA; or (3) the
identification and replication of highperforming charter schools in ‘‘high-
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:31 Mar 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
need communities’’, as this term is
defined in section 2151(e)(9)(B) of the
(ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 6651(e)(9)(B).
Requirements:
Applicants approved for funding
under this competition must attend a
two-day meeting for project directors in
the Washington, DC area during each
year of the project. Applicants are
encouraged to include the cost of
attending this meeting in their proposed
budgets.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7221–7221j.
Applicable Regulations: The
Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in
34 CFR parts 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81,
82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds:
The FY 2010 appropriation for the
Charter Schools Program is
$256,031,000, of which an estimated
$124,237,000 will be used for this
competition. Contingent upon the
availability of funds, and the quality of
the applications, we may make
additional awards later in FY 2010 and
FY 2011 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards:
$1,000,000-$15,000,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards:
$8,000,000 per year.
Estimated Number of Awards: 6–10.
Note: The Department is not bound by any
estimates in this notice. The estimated range,
size, and number of awards are based on a
single 12-month budget period. However, the
Department may choose to fund more than 12
months of a project using the FY 2010 funds.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Note: Planning and implementation
subgrants awarded by an SEA to non-SEA
eligible applicants will be awarded for a
period of up to three years, no more than 18
months of which may be used for planning
and program design and no more than two
years of which may be used for the initial
implementation of a charter school.
Dissemination subgrants are awarded for a
period of up to two years.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs in States
with a State statute specifically
authorizing the establishment of charter
schools.
Note: Non-SEA eligible applicants in States
in which the SEA elects not to participate in
or does not have an application approved
under the CSP may apply for funding directly
from the Department. The Department plans
to hold a separate competition for non-SEA
eligible applicants under CFDA numbers
84.282B and 84.282C.
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This
competition does not require cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
1. Address to Request Application
Package: Leslie Hankerson or Richard
Payton, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room
4W249, Washington, DC 20202–5970.
Telephone: (202) 205–8524, or (202)
453–7698 or by e-mail:
Leslie.Hankerson@ed.gov or
Richard.Payton@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. The Secretary strongly
encourages applicants to limit Part III to
the equivalent of no more than 60 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.
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, you must
include all of the application narrative
in Part III.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 23,
2010.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: May 7, 2010.
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices
Applications for grants under this
competition must be submitted
electronically using the Electronic Grant
Application System (e-Application)
accessible through the Department’s eGrants 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 in 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: June 30, 2010.
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: The following
funding restrictions apply to this
competition:
Use of Funds for Post-Award Planning
and Design of the Educational Program
and Initial Implementation of the
Charter School. A non-SEA eligible
applicant receiving a subgrant under
this program may use the subgrant
funds only for—
(a) Post-award planning and design of
the educational program, which may
include (i) refinement of the desired
educational results and of the methods
for measuring progress toward achieving
those results; and (ii) professional
development of teachers and other staff
who will work in the charter school;
and
(b) Initial implementation of the
charter school, which may include (i)
Informing the community about the
school; (ii) acquiring necessary
equipment and educational materials
and supplies; (iii) acquiring or
developing curriculum materials; and
(iv) other initial operational costs that
cannot be met from State or local
sources. (20 U.S.C. 7221c(f)(3))
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:31 Mar 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
Use of Funds for Dissemination
Activities. An SEA may reserve not
more than 10 percent of its grant funds
to support dissemination activities (20
U.S.C. 7221c(f)(1)). A charter school
may use those funds to assist other
schools in adapting the charter school’s
program (or certain aspects of the
charter school’s program) or to
disseminate information about the
charter school through such activities
as—
(a) Assisting other individuals with
the planning and start-up of one or more
new public schools, including charter
schools, that are independent of the
assisting charter school and the assisting
charter school’s developers and that
agree to be held to at least as high a level
of accountability as the assisting charter
school;
(b) Developing partnerships with
other public schools, including charter
schools, designed to improve student
academic achievement in each of the
schools participating in the partnership;
(c) Developing curriculum materials,
assessments, and other materials that
promote increased student achievement
and are based on successful practices
within the assisting charter school; and
(d) Conducting evaluations and
developing materials that document the
successful practices of the assisting
charter school and that are designed to
improve student achievement (20 U.S.C.
7221c(f)(6)(B)(i) through (iv)).
Award Basis. In determining whether
to approve a grant award and the
amount of such award, the Department
will consider, among other things, the
amount of any carryover funds the
applicant has under an existing CSP
grant and the applicant’s performance
and use of funds under a previous or
existing award under any Department
program (34 CFR 75.233(b) and
75.217(d)(ii)).
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
CSP, CFDA number 84.282A, must be
submitted electronically using eApplication, 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
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
13737
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
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on
the application deadline date. EApplication 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 eGrants 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 modification to these
hours are posted in 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—NonConstruction 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
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
13738
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices
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 acknowledgement 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 hardcopy 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 eApplication 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 eApplication 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
acknowledgement of any system
unavailability, you may contact either
(1) the person listed elsewhere in this
notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contacts) 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-
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:31 Mar 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
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 eApplication.
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 eApplication; 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: Leslie Hankerson or
Richard Payton, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Room 4W249, Washington, DC 20202–
5970. 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 84.282A), 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.
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(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.
(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.
V. Application Review Information
Application Requirements:
Applicants applying for CSP grant funds
must address both the following
application requirements, which are
based on the statute, and the selection
criteria described in this notice. An
applicant may choose to respond to the
application requirements in the context
of its responses to the selection criteria.
(i) Describe the objectives of the SEA’s
charter school grant program and how
these objectives will be fulfilled,
including steps taken by the SEA to
inform teachers, parents, and
communities of the SEA’s charter school
grant program;
(ii) Describe how the SEA will inform
each charter school in the State about
Federal funds the charter school is
eligible to receive and Federal programs
in which the charter school may
participate;
(iii) Describe how the SEA will ensure
that each charter school in the State
receives the school’s commensurate
share of Federal education funds that
are allocated by formula each year,
including during the first year of
operation of the school and a year in
which the school’s enrollment expands
significantly;
(iv) Describe how the SEA will
disseminate best or promising practices
of charter schools to each LEA in the
State;
(v) If an SEA elects to reserve part of
its grant funds (no more than 10
percent) for the establishment of a
revolving loan fund, describe how the
revolving loan fund would operate;
(vi) If an SEA desires the Secretary to
consider waivers under the authority of
the CSP, include a request and
justification for any waiver of statutory
or regulatory provisions that the SEA
believes is necessary for the successful
operation of charter schools in the State;
and
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices
(vii) Describe how charter schools that
are considered to be LEAs under State
law and LEAs in which charter schools
are located will comply with sections
613(a)(5) and 613(e)(1)(B) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act.
Selection Criteria: The selection
criteria for this competition are from the
authorizing statute for this program and
34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are as
follows:
SEAs that propose to use a portion of
their grant funds for dissemination
activities must address each selection
criterion (i) through (vii) individually
and title each accordingly. SEAs that do
not propose to use a portion of their
grant funds for dissemination activities
must address selection criteria (i)
through (v) and (vii) only. SEAs that do
not address criterion (vi) because they
are not proposing to use a portion of
their grant funds for dissemination
activities will not be penalized. The
maximum possible score is 180 points
for SEAs that do not propose to use
grant funds to support dissemination
activities and 210 points for SEAs that
propose to use grant funds to support
dissemination activities. The maximum
possible score for each criterion is
indicated in parentheses following the
criterion.
(i) The contribution the charter
schools grant program will make in
assisting educationally disadvantaged
and other students to achieve State
academic content standards and State
student academic achievement
standards (30 points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the
applicant to provide a description of the
objectives for the SEA’s charter school grant
program and to explain how these objectives
will be fulfilled, including steps taken by the
SEA to inform teachers, parents, and
communities of the SEA’s charter school
grant program and how the SEA will
disseminate best or promising practices of
charter schools to each LEA in the State.
(ii) The degree of flexibility afforded
by the SEA to charter schools under the
State’s charter school law (30 points).
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Note: The Secretary encourages the
applicant to include a description of how the
State’s law establishes an administrative
relationship between the charter school and
the authorized public chartering agency and
exempts charter schools from significant
State or local rules that inhibit the flexible
operation and management of public schools.
The Secretary also encourages the
applicant to include a description of the
degree of autonomy charter schools
have achieved over such matters as the
charter school’s budget, expenditures,
daily operation, and personnel in
accordance with their State’s law.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:31 Mar 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
(iii) The number of high-quality
charter schools to be created in the State
(30 points).
Note: The Secretary considers the SEA’s
reasonable estimate of the number of new
charter schools to be authorized and opened
in the State during the three-year period of
this grant.
The Secretary also considers how the
SEA will inform each charter school in
the State about Federal funds the charter
school is eligible to receive and ensure
that each charter school in the State
receives the school’s commensurate
share of Federal education funds that
are allocated by formula each year,
including during the first year of
operation of the school and during a
year in which the school’s enrollment
expands significantly.
(iv) 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
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 (30 points).
Note: In addition to describing the
proposed objectives of the SEA charter
school grant program and how these
objectives will be fulfilled, the Secretary
encourages applicants to provide
descriptions of the steps to be taken by the
SEA to award subgrant funds to eligible
applicants desiring to receive these funds,
including descriptions of the peer review
process the SEA will use to review
applications for assistance, the timelines for
awarding such funds, and how the SEA will
assess the quality of the applications.
(v) The SEA’s plan to monitor and
hold accountable authorized public
chartering agencies through such
activities as providing technical
assistance or establishing a professional
development program, which may
include providing authorized public
chartering agency staff with training and
assistance on planning and systems
development, so as to improve the
capacity of those agencies to authorize,
monitor, and hold accountable charter
schools (30 points).
(vi) In the case of SEAs that propose
to use grant funds to support
dissemination activities under section
5204(f)(6) of the ESEA, the quality of the
dissemination activities (15 points) and
the likelihood that those activities will
improve student academic achievement
(15 points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the
applicant to describe the steps to be taken by
the SEA to award these funds to eligible
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
13739
applicants, including a description of the
peer review process the SEA will use to
review applications for dissemination, the
timelines for awarding such funds, and how
the SEA will assess the quality of the
applications.
(vii) 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
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 (30 points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the
applicant to include a strong evaluation plan
in the application narrative and to use that
plan, as appropriate, to shape the
development of the project from the
beginning of the grant period. The Secretary
encourages the applicant to design the plan
so that it includes (a) benchmarks to monitor
progress toward specific project objectives
and (b) outcome measures to assess the
impact on teaching and learning or other
important outcomes for project participants.
In its plan, we encourage the applicant to
identify the individual and/or organization
that will serve as the evaluator and to
describe the qualifications of the evaluator.
We also encourage the applicant to describe,
in its application, the evaluation design,
indicating: (1) The types of data that will be
collected; (2) when various types of data will
be collected; (3) the methods that will be
used; (4) the instruments that will be
developed and when; (5) how the data will
be analyzed; (6) when reports of results and
outcomes will be available; and (7) how the
applicant will use the information collected
through the evaluation to monitor progress of
the funded project and to provide
accountability information both about
success at the initial site and about 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
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
13740
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices
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. 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: The goal of
the CSP is to support the creation and
development of a large number of highquality charter schools that are free from
State or local rules that inhibit flexible
operation, are held accountable for
enabling students to reach challenging
State performance standards, and are
open to all students. The Secretary has
set two performance indicators to
measure progress toward this goal: (1)
The number of charter schools in
operation around the Nation, and (2) the
percentage of fourth- and eighth-grade
charter school students who are
achieving at or above the proficient
level on State examinations in
mathematics and reading/language arts.
Additionally, the Secretary has
established the following measure to
examine the efficiency of the CSP:
Federal cost per student in
implementing a successful school
(defined as a school in operation for
three or more years).
All grantees will be expected to
submit an annual performance report
documenting their contribution in
assisting the Department in meeting
these performance measures.
print, audiotape, or computer diskette)
on request to the program contact
person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT of section VII in
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.
VII. Agency Contacts
Full Text of Announcement
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leslie Hankerson or Richard Payton,
U.S. Department of Education, 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4W249,
Washington, DC 20202–5970.
Telephone: (202) 205–8524 or (202)
453–7698 or by e-mail:
Leslie.Hankerson@ed.gov or
Richard.Payton@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
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:31 Mar 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
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/
index.html.
Dated: March 17, 2010.
James H. Shelton, III,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and
Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2010–6370 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Innovation and Improvement;
Overview Information; Charter Schools
Program (CSP) Grants for National
Leadership Activities; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal
Year (FY) 2010
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) Number: 84.282N
Dates:
Applications Available: March 23,
2010.
Date of Pre-Application Meeting:
April 8, 2010.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: May 14, 2010.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: July 12, 2010.
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of
the CSP is to increase national
understanding of the charter school
model and to expand the number of
high-quality charter schools available to
students across the Nation by providing
financial assistance for the planning,
program design, and initial
implementation of charter schools, and
to evaluate the effects of charter schools,
including their effects on students,
student academic achievement, staff,
and parents. Section 5205 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7221d),
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
authorizes the Secretary to award grants
under the CSP to carry out national
activities.
For FY 2010, the Department is
holding a grant competition for national
activities projects listed in section
5205(a) of the ESEA. Grants for national
activities projects under the CSP are
highly competitive. Applicants should
make a well-reasoned and compelling
case for the national significance of the
problems or issues that will be the
subject of the proposed project and of
the approach the project would take to
addressing those problems or issues.
Priority: This notice includes one
invitational priority. Under this
competition we are particularly
interested in applications that address
the following priority.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2010 this
priority is an invitational priority.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), we do not
give an application that meets an
invitational priority a competitive or
absolute preference over other
applications.
This priority is:
High-Quality Charter Schools in
Urban or Rural Areas.
The Secretary is particularly
interested in projects designed to
enhance and expand a State’s capacity
to support high-quality charter schools
in one or more geographic areas,
particularly urban and rural areas, in
which a large proportion or number of
public schools have been identified for
improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring under Title I, Part A of the
ESEA. A project meeting this priority
should be based on research evidence
and demonstrate effective practices
through one or more of the following
types of activities: (1) The dissemination
of information on the implementation of
school turnaround and restart models
(as described in the Notice of Final
Requirements for the School
Improvement Grants published in the
Federal Register on December 10, 2009
(74 FR 65618) (SIG Notice)) in charter
schools and information on best
practices for turning around a State’s
persistently lowest-achieving schools
under Title I (also as identified by the
State under the SIG notice); (2) opening
new charter schools in the vicinity of
schools closed as a consequence of a
local educational agency (LEA)
implementing a restructuring plan
under section 1116(b)(8) of the ESEA, or
schools identified as persistently
lowest-achieving, provided this is done
in coordination with the local
educational agency (LEA); (3) the
identification and replication of highperforming charter schools in ‘‘highneed communities’’, as this term is
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13735-13740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6370]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information;
Charter Schools Program (CSP): State Educational Agencies; Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.282A.
Dates:
Applications Available: March 23, 2010.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 7, 2010.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 30, 2010.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the CSP is to increase national
understanding of the charter school model and to expand the number of
high-quality charter schools available to students across the Nation by
providing financial assistance for the planning, program design, and
initial implementation of charter schools, and to evaluate the effects
of charter schools, including their effects on students, student
academic achievement, staff, and parents. The Secretary awards grants
to State educational agencies (SEAs) to enable them to conduct charter
school programs in their States. SEAs use their CSP funds to award
subgrants to non-SEA eligible applicants for planning, program design,
and initial implementation of a charter school, and to support the
dissemination of information about charter schools, including
successful practices in charter schools.
Priorities: This competition includes four competitive preference
priorities and one invitational priority. In accordance with 34 CFR
75.105(b)(1) and 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), competitive preference
priorities 1 through 4 are from section 5202(e) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 7221a(e).
Competitive Preference 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 competitive preference
priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to an additional
forty (40) points to an application, depending on how well the
application meets one or more of these priorities.
Note: In order to receive preference under these priorities, an
applicant must identify the priority or priorities that it believes
it meets and provide documentation, including citations and examples
from their State's charter school law, supporting its claims. In
order to receive points for priority 1 or to receive points for
priorities 2 through 4, an application must meet priority 1 and must
meet one or more of priorities 2 through 4.
An SEA that meets priority 1 but does not meet one or more of
priorities 2 through 4 will not receive any points for priorities 1
through 4.
An SEA that does not meet priority 1 but meets one or more of
priorities 2 through 4 will not receive any points for priorities 2
through 4.
These priorities are:
Priority 1--Periodic Review and Evaluation (10 points). The State
provides for periodic review and evaluation by the authorized public
chartering agency of each charter school at least once every five
years, unless required more frequently by State law, to determine
whether the charter school is meeting the terms of the school's
charter, and is meeting or exceeding the student academic achievement
requirements and goals for charter schools as set forth under State law
or the school's charter.
Priority 2--Number of High-Quality Charter Schools (10 points). The
State has demonstrated progress in increasing the number of high-
quality charter schools that are held accountable in the terms of the
schools' charters for meeting clear and measurable objectives for the
educational progress of the students attending the schools, in the
period prior to the period for which an SEA applies for a grant under
this competition.
[[Page 13736]]
Priority 3--One Authorized Public Chartering Agency Other than a
Local Educational Agency (LEA), or an Appeals Process (10 points). The
State--
(a) Provides for one authorized public chartering agency that is
not an LEA, such as a State chartering board, for each individual or
entity seeking to operate a charter school pursuant to State law; or
(b) In the case of a State in which LEAs are the only authorized
public chartering agencies, allows for an appeals process for the
denial of an application for a charter school.
Priority 4--High Degree of Autonomy (10 points). The State ensures
that each charter school has a high degree of autonomy over the charter
school's budgets and expenditures.
Under this competition we are particularly interested in
applications that address the following priority.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2010, 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:
High-Quality Charter Schools in Urban or Rural Areas.
The Secretary is particularly interested in projects designed to
enhance and expand a State's capacity to support high-quality charter
schools in one or more geographic areas, particularly urban and rural
areas, in which a large proportion or number of public schools have
been identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring
under Title I, Part A of the ESEA. The proposed project should be based
on research evidence and demonstrate effective practices in building
charter school capacity through one or more of the following types of
activities: (1) The dissemination of information on the implementation
of the school turnaround and restart models (as described in the Notice
of Final Requirements for the School Improvement Grants published in
the Federal Register on December 10, 2009 (74 FR 65618)) in charter
schools and information on best practices for turning around the public
schools identified as the persistently-lowest achieving schools under
Title I, Part A of the ESEA; (2) the creation of new charter schools in
the vicinity of public schools closed as a consequence of a LEA
implementing a restructuring plan under section 1116(b)(8) of the ESEA,
provided that this is done in coordination with the LEA; or (3) the
identification and replication of high-performing charter schools in
``high-need communities'', as this term is defined in section
2151(e)(9)(B) of the (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 6651(e)(9)(B).
Requirements:
Applicants approved for funding under this competition must attend
a two-day meeting for project directors in the Washington, DC area
during each year of the project. Applicants are encouraged to include
the cost of attending this meeting in their proposed budgets.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7221-7221j.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 76, 77, 79,
80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds:
The FY 2010 appropriation for the Charter Schools Program is
$256,031,000, of which an estimated $124,237,000 will be used for this
competition. Contingent upon the availability of funds, and the quality
of the applications, we may make additional awards later in FY 2010 and
FY 2011 from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $1,000,000-$15,000,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $8,000,000 per year.
Estimated Number of Awards: 6-10.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice. The estimated range, size, and number of awards are based on
a single 12-month budget period. However, the Department may choose
to fund more than 12 months of a project using the FY 2010 funds.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Note: Planning and implementation subgrants awarded by an SEA to
non-SEA eligible applicants will be awarded for a period of up to
three years, no more than 18 months of which may be used for
planning and program design and no more than two years of which may
be used for the initial implementation of a charter school.
Dissemination subgrants are awarded for a period of up to two years.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs in States with a State statute
specifically authorizing the establishment of charter schools.
Note: Non-SEA eligible applicants in States in which the SEA
elects not to participate in or does not have an application
approved under the CSP may apply for funding directly from the
Department. The Department plans to hold a separate competition for
non-SEA eligible applicants under CFDA numbers 84.282B and 84.282C.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not require cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Leslie Hankerson or
Richard Payton, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Room 4W249, Washington, DC 20202-5970. Telephone: (202) 205-8524, or
(202) 453-7698 or by e-mail: Leslie.Hankerson@ed.gov or
Richard.Payton@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. The Secretary strongly
encourages applicants to limit Part III to the equivalent of no more
than 60 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.
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, you must
include all of the application narrative in Part III.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 23, 2010.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 7, 2010.
[[Page 13737]]
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
in 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: June 30, 2010.
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: The following funding restrictions apply
to this competition:
Use of Funds for Post-Award Planning and Design of the Educational
Program and Initial Implementation of the Charter School. A non-SEA
eligible applicant receiving a subgrant under this program may use the
subgrant funds only for--
(a) Post-award planning and design of the educational program,
which may include (i) refinement of the desired educational results and
of the methods for measuring progress toward achieving those results;
and (ii) professional development of teachers and other staff who will
work in the charter school; and
(b) Initial implementation of the charter school, which may include
(i) Informing the community about the school; (ii) acquiring necessary
equipment and educational materials and supplies; (iii) acquiring or
developing curriculum materials; and (iv) other initial operational
costs that cannot be met from State or local sources. (20 U.S.C.
7221c(f)(3))
Use of Funds for Dissemination Activities. An SEA may reserve not
more than 10 percent of its grant funds to support dissemination
activities (20 U.S.C. 7221c(f)(1)). A charter school may use those
funds to assist other schools in adapting the charter school's program
(or certain aspects of the charter school's program) or to disseminate
information about the charter school through such activities as--
(a) Assisting other individuals with the planning and start-up of
one or more new public schools, including charter schools, that are
independent of the assisting charter school and the assisting charter
school's developers and that agree to be held to at least as high a
level of accountability as the assisting charter school;
(b) Developing partnerships with other public schools, including
charter schools, designed to improve student academic achievement in
each of the schools participating in the partnership;
(c) Developing curriculum materials, assessments, and other
materials that promote increased student achievement and are based on
successful practices within the assisting charter school; and
(d) Conducting evaluations and developing materials that document
the successful practices of the assisting charter school and that are
designed to improve student achievement (20 U.S.C. 7221c(f)(6)(B)(i)
through (iv)).
Award Basis. In determining whether to approve a grant award and
the amount of such award, the Department will consider, among other
things, the amount of any carryover funds the applicant has under an
existing CSP grant and the applicant's performance and use of funds
under a previous or existing award under any Department program (34 CFR
75.233(b) and 75.217(d)(ii)).
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 CSP, CFDA number 84.282A, 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 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 modification to these hours are
posted in 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
[[Page 13738]]
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 acknowledgement 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 acknowledgement of any system
unavailability, you may contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere
in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see VII. Agency
Contacts) 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
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: Leslie Hankerson or
Richard Payton, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Room 4W249, Washington, DC 20202-5970. 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 84.282A), 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.
(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.
V. Application Review Information
Application Requirements: Applicants applying for CSP grant funds
must address both the following application requirements, which are
based on the statute, and the selection criteria described in this
notice. An applicant may choose to respond to the application
requirements in the context of its responses to the selection criteria.
(i) Describe the objectives of the SEA's charter school grant
program and how these objectives will be fulfilled, including steps
taken by the SEA to inform teachers, parents, and communities of the
SEA's charter school grant program;
(ii) Describe how the SEA will inform each charter school in the
State about Federal funds the charter school is eligible to receive and
Federal programs in which the charter school may participate;
(iii) Describe how the SEA will ensure that each charter school in
the State receives the school's commensurate share of Federal education
funds that are allocated by formula each year, including during the
first year of operation of the school and a year in which the school's
enrollment expands significantly;
(iv) Describe how the SEA will disseminate best or promising
practices of charter schools to each LEA in the State;
(v) If an SEA elects to reserve part of its grant funds (no more
than 10 percent) for the establishment of a revolving loan fund,
describe how the revolving loan fund would operate;
(vi) If an SEA desires the Secretary to consider waivers under the
authority of the CSP, include a request and justification for any
waiver of statutory or regulatory provisions that the SEA believes is
necessary for the successful operation of charter schools in the State;
and
[[Page 13739]]
(vii) Describe how charter schools that are considered to be LEAs
under State law and LEAs in which charter schools are located will
comply with sections 613(a)(5) and 613(e)(1)(B) of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from the authorizing statute for this program and 34 CFR 75.210 of
EDGAR and are as follows:
SEAs that propose to use a portion of their grant funds for
dissemination activities must address each selection criterion (i)
through (vii) individually and title each accordingly. SEAs that do not
propose to use a portion of their grant funds for dissemination
activities must address selection criteria (i) through (v) and (vii)
only. SEAs that do not address criterion (vi) because they are not
proposing to use a portion of their grant funds for dissemination
activities will not be penalized. The maximum possible score is 180
points for SEAs that do not propose to use grant funds to support
dissemination activities and 210 points for SEAs that propose to use
grant funds to support dissemination activities. The maximum possible
score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses following the
criterion.
(i) The contribution the charter schools grant program will make in
assisting educationally disadvantaged and other students to achieve
State academic content standards and State student academic achievement
standards (30 points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to provide a
description of the objectives for the SEA's charter school grant
program and to explain how these objectives will be fulfilled,
including steps taken by the SEA to inform teachers, parents, and
communities of the SEA's charter school grant program and how the
SEA will disseminate best or promising practices of charter schools
to each LEA in the State.
(ii) The degree of flexibility afforded by the SEA to charter
schools under the State's charter school law (30 points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to include a
description of how the State's law establishes an administrative
relationship between the charter school and the authorized public
chartering agency and exempts charter schools from significant State
or local rules that inhibit the flexible operation and management of
public schools.
The Secretary also encourages the applicant to include a
description of the degree of autonomy charter schools have achieved
over such matters as the charter school's budget, expenditures, daily
operation, and personnel in accordance with their State's law.
(iii) The number of high-quality charter schools to be created in
the State (30 points).
Note: The Secretary considers the SEA's reasonable estimate of
the number of new charter schools to be authorized and opened in the
State during the three-year period of this grant.
The Secretary also considers how the SEA will inform each charter
school in the State about Federal funds the charter school is eligible
to receive and ensure that each charter school in the State receives
the school's commensurate share of Federal education funds that are
allocated by formula each year, including during the first year of
operation of the school and during a year in which the school's
enrollment expands significantly.
(iv) 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 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 (30 points).
Note: In addition to describing the proposed objectives of the
SEA charter school grant program and how these objectives will be
fulfilled, the Secretary encourages applicants to provide
descriptions of the steps to be taken by the SEA to award subgrant
funds to eligible applicants desiring to receive these funds,
including descriptions of the peer review process the SEA will use
to review applications for assistance, the timelines for awarding
such funds, and how the SEA will assess the quality of the
applications.
(v) The SEA's plan to monitor and hold accountable authorized
public chartering agencies through such activities as providing
technical assistance or establishing a professional development
program, which may include providing authorized public chartering
agency staff with training and assistance on planning and systems
development, so as to improve the capacity of those agencies to
authorize, monitor, and hold accountable charter schools (30 points).
(vi) In the case of SEAs that propose to use grant funds to support
dissemination activities under section 5204(f)(6) of the ESEA, the
quality of the dissemination activities (15 points) and the likelihood
that those activities will improve student academic achievement (15
points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to describe the
steps to be taken by the SEA to award these funds to eligible
applicants, including a description of the peer review process the
SEA will use to review applications for dissemination, the timelines
for awarding such funds, and how the SEA will assess the quality of
the applications.
(vii) 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 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 (30 points).
Note: The Secretary encourages the applicant to include a strong
evaluation plan in the application narrative and to use that plan,
as appropriate, to shape the development of the project from the
beginning of the grant period. The Secretary encourages the
applicant to design the plan so that it includes (a) benchmarks to
monitor progress toward specific project objectives and (b) outcome
measures to assess the impact on teaching and learning or other
important outcomes for project participants. In its plan, we
encourage the applicant to identify the individual and/or
organization that will serve as the evaluator and to describe the
qualifications of the evaluator. We also encourage the applicant to
describe, in its application, the evaluation design, indicating: (1)
The types of data that will be collected; (2) when various types of
data will be collected; (3) the methods that will be used; (4) the
instruments that will be developed and when; (5) how the data will
be analyzed; (6) when reports of results and outcomes will be
available; and (7) how the applicant will use the information
collected through the evaluation to monitor progress of the funded
project and to provide accountability information both about success
at the initial site and about 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
[[Page 13740]]
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. 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: The goal of the CSP is to support the
creation and development of a large number of high-quality charter
schools that are free from State or local rules that inhibit flexible
operation, are held accountable for enabling students to reach
challenging State performance standards, and are open to all students.
The Secretary has set two performance indicators to measure progress
toward this goal: (1) The number of charter schools in operation around
the Nation, and (2) the percentage of fourth- and eighth-grade charter
school students who are achieving at or above the proficient level on
State examinations in mathematics and reading/language arts.
Additionally, the Secretary has established the following measure to
examine the efficiency of the CSP: Federal cost per student in
implementing a successful school (defined as a school in operation for
three or more years).
All grantees will be expected to submit an annual performance
report documenting their contribution in assisting the Department in
meeting these performance measures.
VII. Agency Contacts
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leslie Hankerson or Richard Payton,
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4W249,
Washington, DC 20202-5970. Telephone: (202) 205-8524 or (202) 453-7698
or by e-mail: Leslie.Hankerson@ed.gov or Richard.Payton@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 of section VII in 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: March 17, 2010.
James H. Shelton, III,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2010-6370 Filed 3-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P