Applications for New Awards; Full-Service Community Schools Program, 25846-25853 [2014-10361]
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www.regulations.gov by selecting
Docket ID number ED–2014–ICCD–0069
or via postal mail, commercial delivery,
or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov
site is not available to the public for any
reason, ED will temporarily accept
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Please note that comments submitted by
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the comment period will not be
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comments during the comment period
in this mailbox when the regulations.gov
site is not available. Written requests for
information or comments submitted by
postal mail or delivery should be
addressed to the Director of the
Information Collection Clearance
Division, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ,
Mailstop L–OM–2–2E319, Room2E105,
Washington, DC 20202.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
specific questions related to collection
activities, please contact Regina Miles,
202–260–3887.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Department of Education (ED), in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general
public and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed,
revised, and continuing collections of
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assess the impact of its information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand the
Department’s information collection
requirements and provide the requested
data in the desired format. ED is
soliciting comments on the proposed
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is described below. The Department of
Education is especially interested in
public comment addressing the
following issues: (1) Is this collection
necessary to the proper functions of the
Department; (2) will this information be
processed and used in a timely manner;
(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Department enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (5) how
might the Department minimize the
burden of this collection on the
respondents, including through the use
of information technology. Please note
that written comments received in
response to this notice will be
considered public records.
Title of Collection: E-Complaint Form.
OMB Control Number: 1880–NEW.
Type of Review: A new information
collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals or households.
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Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 500.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 500.
Abstract: The Family Policy
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department will use the information to
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improve their understanding of and
ensure their compliance with
requirements concerning student
education records.
Dated: April 30, 2014.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection
Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and
Records Management Services, Office of
Management.
[FR Doc. 2014–10276 Filed 5–5–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; FullService Community Schools Program
Office of Innovation and
Improvement, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Overview Information:
Full-Service Community Schools
Program.
Notice inviting applications for new
awards for fiscal year (FY) 2014.
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215J.
DATES:
Applications Available: May 6, 2014.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to
Apply: May 21, 2014.
Date of Pre-Application Webinar:
Wednesday, May 21, 2014.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 20, 2014.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: July 7, 2014.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Fund for the
Improvement of Education (FIE), which
is authorized by section 5411 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA),
supports nationally significant programs
to improve the quality of elementary
and secondary education at the State
and local levels and to help all children
meet challenging academic content and
academic achievement standards. The
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Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS)
program, which is funded under FIE,
encourages coordination of academic,
social, and health services through
partnerships between (1) public
elementary and secondary schools; (2)
the schools’ local educational agencies
(LEAs); and (3) community-based
organizations, nonprofit organizations,
and other public or private entities. The
purpose of this collaboration is to
provide comprehensive academic,
social, and health services for students,
students’ family members, and
community members that will result in
improved educational outcomes for
children. The FSCS program is a ‘‘placebased’’ program (see https://
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/
omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m0928.pdf) that can leverage investments by
focusing resources and drawing on the
compounding effects of wellcoordinated actions. Place-based
approaches can also streamline
otherwise redundant and disconnected
programs.
Priorities: This notice contains one
absolute priority and one competitive
preference priority. The absolute
priority is from the notice of final
priorities, requirements, definitions, and
selection criteria for this program (FSCS
NFP), published in the Federal Register
on June 8, 2010 (75 FR 32440). The
competitive preference priority is from
the notice of final priority for Promise
Zones (Promise Zones NFP), published
in the Federal Register on March 27,
2014 (79 FR 17035).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2014 and
any subsequent year in which we make
awards from the list of unfunded
applications from this competition, this
priority is an absolute priority. Under 34
CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only
applications that meet this priority.
This priority is:
Projects that Establish or Expand FullService Community Schools.
Background:
In order for children to be ready and
able to learn, they need academic,
social, and health supports. The
Harvard Family Research Project has
cited compelling evidence that, when
schools partner with families and
community-based organizations, these
partnerships improve children’s
development and school success.1
Community schools provide a base of
support for students and their families
by attending to their academic, social,
1 Harris, E & Wilkes, S (2013). Partnerships for
Learning: Community Support for Youth Success.
Cambridge: Harvard Family Research Project.
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and health needs through a school
setting.
A full-service community school (as
defined in this notice) is a public
elementary or secondary school that
works with its LEA and communitybased organizations, nonprofit
organizations, and other public or
private entities to provide a coordinated
and integrated set of comprehensive
academic, social, and health services
that respond to the needs of its students,
students’ family members, and
community members. This coordination
leads to results-focused partnerships (as
defined in this notice) that are based on
identified student needs and organized
around a set of mutually defined results
and outcomes.
Full-service community schools
recognize that schools do not operate in
isolation from the communities in
which they are located. Community
challenges such as poverty, violence,
poor physical health, and family
instability can have consequences for
education when left unaddressed. When
schools and community partners
collaborate to address these issues and
align their resources to achieve common
results, children are more likely to
succeed academically, socially, and
physically. Full-service community
schools seek to address the myriad
challenges that affect students by
connecting students, students’ family
members, and community members
with available services and
opportunities, creating the conditions
for students to achieve in school and
beyond.
Children, particularly those living in
poverty, need a variety of family and
community resources, including
intellectual, social, physical, and
emotional supports, to have the
opportunity to attain academic success.
Many children live in communities that
lack not only high-performing schools,
but also the supports needed to be ready
and able to learn when they start school.
School-community partnerships can be
key strategies for providing resources to
these individual students. A variety of
organizations can help provide the
missing resources for children living in
poverty and, therefore, begin to
transform struggling schools and
communities. These organizations can
be public or private, community-based
or faith-based, governmental or nongovernmental, or a combination thereof,
but they must work together with
clearly articulated and mutually agreed
upon goals, target populations, roles,
and desired results and outcomes.
Partnerships between schools and
organizations may take many forms and
should be based on overlapping vital
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interests and student needs. For
example, a telecommunications firm
might provide internships to high
school students to foster real-world
connections to the school’s science
curriculum. Or, a local police
department might provide mentors for
troubled youth in order to keep students
in school. Such results-focused
partnerships (as defined in this notice)
can transform the capacity of both the
school and its partners to better serve
students’ and families’ diverse needs
and improve their outcomes.
A full-service community school
coordinator (as defined in this notice) is
often central to the effective facilitation
of these partnerships, as well as the
coordination and integration of services,
programs, supports, and available
opportunities. The full-service
community school coordinator’s main
responsibility is to work closely and
plan jointly with the school’s principal
to drive, develop, and implement the
community school effort. The fullservice community school coordinator
by, for example, convening a crosssection of school staff, parents, and
community organizations, can facilitate
the development of systems with which
to coordinate new and existing
programs that respond to the needs of
the school and community through
ongoing needs assessments. The fullservice community school coordinator
adds capacity to the principal’s
leadership of the school and is essential
to ensuring that all programs, supports,
services, opportunities, and the
mutually defined results and outcomes
are fully aligned.
The Department of Education (the
Department) recognizes that in order for
students and the members of the
communities in which they reside to
thrive, their schools must be effective.
Effective schools create learning
environments that support student
academic success and foster student
engagement. When characterized by
stable leadership and a strong
instructional program, full-service
community schools have been
associated with improved attendance
and student achievement,2 increased
family and community engagement,3
and improved student behavior and
youth development.4 In addition,
2 Krenichyn, K., Clark, H. & Benitez, L. (2008).
Children’s Aid Society 21st Century Community
Learning Centers After-School Programs at Six
Middle Schools: Final Report of a Three-Year
Evaluation, 2004–2007. New York: ActKnowledge.
3 Quinn, J., & Dryfoos, J. (2009). Freeing teachers
to teach: Students in full-service community
schools are ready to learn. American Educator,
Summer 2009:16–21.
4 Whalen, S. (2007). Three Years Into Chicago’s
Community Schools Initiative (CSI): Progress,
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system-wide support should be present
for developing, implementing, and
sustaining effective full-service
community schools. There is greater
potential impact when full-service
community schools have strong
infrastructures in place to support
sustaining the overall effort and
expanding the number of FSCS sites
throughout an LEA.
Priority:
This absolute priority supports
projects that propose to establish or
expand (through collaborative efforts
among LEAs, community-based
organizations, nonprofit organizations,
and other public and private entities)
full-service community schools, as
defined in this notice, offering a range
of services. To meet this priority, an
applicant must propose a project that is
based on scientifically based research—
as defined in section 9101(37) of the
ESEA—and that establishes or expands
a full-service community school. Each
applicant must propose to provide at
least three of the following eligible
services at each participating fullservice community school included in
its proposed project:
1. High-quality early learning
programs or services.
2. Remedial education, aligned with
academic supports and other
enrichment activities, providing
students with a comprehensive
academic program.
3. Family engagement, including
parental involvement, parent
leadership, family literacy, and parent
education programs.
4. Mentoring and other youth
development programs.
5. Community service and service
learning opportunities.
6. Programs that provide assistance to
students who have been chronically
absent, truant, suspended, or expelled.
7. Job training and career counseling
services.
8. Nutrition services and physical
activities.
9. Primary health and dental care.
10. Activities that improve access to
and use of social service programs and
programs that promote family financial
stability.
11. Mental health services.
12. Adult education and literacy
services including instruction of adults
in English as a second language.
Competitive Preference Priority: For
FY 2014 and any subsequent year in
which we make awards from the list of
Challenges, and Emerging Lessons. Chicago:
University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved April 9,
2010. from https://www.aypf.org/documents/CSI_
ThreeYearStudy.pdf.
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unfunded applicants from this
competition, this priority is a
competitive preference priority. Under
34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award an
additional three points to an
application, depending on whether the
application meets this priority.
This priority is:
Promise Zones (0 or 3 points).
Background:
We give competitive preference to
applicants working with communities
that have been awarded a Promise Zone
designation. Promise Zone designees
have committed to establishing
comprehensive, coordinated approaches
in order to ensure that America’s most
vulnerable children succeed from cradle
to career. In January 2014, President
Obama announced the first five Promise
Zones: The Choctaw Nation of
Oklahoma, Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
San Antonio, and Kentucky Highlands.
This designation is designed to assist
local leaders in creating jobs, increasing
economic activity, improving
educational opportunities, leveraging
private investment, and reducing
violent crime in high-poverty urban,
rural, and tribal communities. By
partnering with Promise Zone
designees, the Federal government will
help communities access the resources
and expertise they need—including the
resources from various neighborhood
revitalization initiatives—to ensure that
Federal programs and resources support
the efforts to transform these
communities.
Priority:
Projects that are designed to serve and
coordinate with a federally designated
Promise Zone.
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Note: Applicants should submit a letter of
support from the lead organization of a
designated Promise Zone attesting to the
contribution of the applicant’s proposed
activities. A list of designated Promise Zones
and lead organizations can be found at
https://hud.gov/promisezones.
Definitions: The following definitions
are from the FSCS NFP and from 34 CFR
77.1(c).
Community member means an
individual who is not a student or a
student’s family member, as defined in
this notice, but who lives in the
community served by the FSCS grant.
Full-service community school means
a public elementary or secondary school
that works with its local educational
agency and community-based
organizations, nonprofit organizations,
and other public or private entities to
provide a coordinated and integrated set
of comprehensive academic, social, and
health services that respond to the
needs of its students, students’ family
members, and community members. In
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addition, a full-service community
school promotes family engagement by
bringing together many partners in order
to offer a range of supports and
opportunities for students, students’
family members, and community
members.
Full-service community school
coordinator means an individual who
works closely and plans jointly with the
school’s principal to drive the
development and implementation of the
FSCS effort and who, in that capacity,
facilitates the partnerships and
coordination and integration of service
delivery.
Relevant outcome means the student
outcome(s) (or the ultimate outcome if
not related to students) the proposed
process, product, strategy, or practice is
designed to improve; consistent with
the specific goals of a program.
Results-focused partnership means a
partnership between a full-service
community school and one or more
nonprofit organizations (including
community-based organizations) that is
based on identified needs and organized
around a set of mutually defined results
and outcomes for increasing student
success and improving access to family
and community services.
Student means a child enrolled in a
public elementary or secondary school
served by the FSCS grant.
Student’s family member means the
student’s parents/guardians, siblings,
and any other related individuals living
in the same household as the student
and not enrolled in the school served by
the FSCS grant.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7243–
7243b.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The
Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in
34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82,
84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Education
Department suspension and debarment
regulations in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The
notice of final priorities, requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria (NFP)
for this program, published in the
Federal Register on June 8, 2010 (75 FR
32440). (d) The notice of final priority
for Promise Zones, published in the
Federal Register on March 27, 2014 (79
FR 17035).
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79
apply to all applicants except federally
recognized Indian tribes.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86
apply to institutions of higher education
only.
Application Requirements:
The following requirements are from
the FSCS NFP.
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In order to receive funding, an
applicant must include the following in
its application:
1. A description of the needs of the
students, students’ family members, and
community members to be served,
including information about (a) the
basic demographic characteristics of the
students, students’ family members, and
community members; (b) the magnitude
or severity of the needs to be addressed
by the project; and (c) the extent to
which specific gaps or weaknesses in
services, infrastructures, or
opportunities have been identified and
will be addressed by the proposed
project.
2. A list of entities that will partner
with the applicant to coordinate existing
services or to provide additional
services that promote successful
student, family, and community results
and outcomes. The applicant must
describe how existing resources and
services will be coordinated and
integrated with new resources and
services.
3. A memorandum of understanding
between the applicant and all partner
entities, describing the role each partner
will assume, the services or resources
each one will provide, and the desired
results and outcomes.
4. A description of the organizational
capacity of the applicant to provide and
coordinate eligible services at a fullservice community school that will
support increased student achievement.
The description must include the
applicant’s experience partnering with
the target school(s) and other partner
entities; examples of how the applicant
has responded to challenges working
with these schools and entities; lessons
learned from similar work or previous
community-school efforts, and a
description of the existing or proposed
infrastructure to support the
implementation and sustainability of
the full-service community school.
Applicants must also describe their past
experience (a) building relationships
and community support to achieve
results; and (b) collecting and using data
for decision-making and continuous
improvement.
5. A comprehensive plan based on
results-focused partnerships (as defined
in this notice) that includes a
description of well-aligned goals,
services, activities, objectives,
performance measures, and project
results and outcomes. In addition, the
plan must include the estimated total
number of individuals to be served,
disaggregated by the number of
students, students’ family members, and
community members, and the type and
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frequency of services to be provided to
each group.
Note: Applicants are also encouraged to
articulate in the comprehensive plan how the
proposed FSCS strategy is aligned with other
school improvement strategies and Federal
funding streams.
6. A list and description of the eligible
services to be provided or coordinated
by the applicant and the partner
entities; a description of the applicant’s
approach to integrating new and
existing programs and services with the
school’s (or schools’) core instructional
program; and identification of the
intended results and outcomes.
7. A description of how the applicant
will use data to drive decision-making
and measure success. This includes a
description of the applicant’s plans to
monitor and assess outcomes of the
eligible services provided and
coordinated by the FSCS project, as well
as the number of individuals served,
while complying with Federal, State,
and other privacy laws and
requirements.
8. A description of the roles and
responsibilities of a full-time fullservice community school coordinator
and the proposed approach to ensuring
that the full-service community school
coordinator engages in joint planning
with the principal and key community
stakeholders to guide the proposed fullservice community school.
Applications that do not meet these
requirements will not be read and will
not be considered for funding.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds:
$4,570,250.
Estimated Range of Awards:
$275,000—$500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards:
$457,025.
Maximum Award: $500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
Note: The Department is not bound by any
estimates in this notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
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III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: To be eligible
for a grant under this competition, an
applicant must be a consortium
consisting of an LEA and one or more
community-based organizations,
nonprofit organizations, or other public
or private entities. Consortia must
comply with the provisions governing
group applications in 34 CFR 75.127
through 75.129 of EDGAR.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: To be
eligible for an award, a portion of the
services provided by the applicant must
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be supported through non-Federal
contributions, either in cash or in-kind
donations. The applicant must propose
the amount of cash or in-kind resources
to be contributed for each year of the
grant.
Note: An applicant is encouraged to
provide a minimum match of 20 percent
through non-Federal contributions, either in
cash or in-kind donations.
3. Planning: Interagency collaborative
efforts are highly complex undertakings
that require extensive planning and
communication among partners and key
stakeholders. Partnerships should be
based on identified needs and organized
around a set of mutually-defined results
and outcomes. Applicants under this
program may devote funds received
during the first year of the project
period to comprehensive program
planning, establishing results-focused
partnerships, and capacity building.
Funding received by grantees during the
remainder of the project period must be
devoted to program implementation.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
1. Address To Request Application
Package:
You can obtain an application
package via the Internet or from the
Education Publications Center (ED
Pubs). To obtain a copy via the Internet,
use the following address: https://
www2.ed.gov/programs/
communityschools/applicant.html.
To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write,
fax, or call the following: ED Pubs, U.S.
Department of Education, P.O. Box
22207, Alexandria, VA 22304.
Telephone, toll free: 1–877–433–7827.
FAX: (703) 605–6794. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free: 1–
877–576–7734.
You can contact ED Pubs at its Web
site, also: www.EDPubs.gov or at its
email address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED
Pubs, be sure to identify this program or
competition as follows: CFDA number
84.215J.
Individuals with disabilities can
obtain a copy of the application package
in an accessible format (e.g., braille,
large print, audiotape, or compact disc)
by contacting the person or team listed
under Accessible Format in section VIII
of this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application
Submission: Requirements concerning
the content of an application, together
with the forms you must submit, are in
the application package for this
competition.
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Notice of Intent To Apply: The
Department will be able to develop a
more efficient process for reviewing
grant applications if it has a better
understanding of the number of entities
that intend to apply for funding under
this competition. Therefore, each
potential applicant is strongly
encouraged to notify the Department by
sending a short email message
indicating the applicant’s intent to
submit an application for funding. The
email need not include information
regarding the content of the proposed
application, only the applicant’s intent
to submit it. This email notification
should be sent to FSCS@ed.gov with
‘‘INTENT TO APPLY’’ in the subject
line by May 21, 2014. Applicants that
do not notify us of their intent to apply
may still apply for funding.
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 are strongly encouraged to limit
the application narrative [Part III] to the
equivalent of no more than 35 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: May 6, 2014.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to
Apply: May 21, 2014.
Date of Pre-Application Webinar: The
Department will hold a pre-application
webinar for prospective applicants on
Wednesday, May 21, 2014, from 2:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Washington, DC time.
The webinar will discuss the purpose of
the FSCS program, absolute and
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competitive preference priorities,
application requirements, definitions,
selection criteria, application content,
submission requirements, and reporting
requirements.
Interested parties may obtain
information about this webinar from the
program Web site at https://
www2.ed.gov/programs/
communityschools/. A
recording of this webinar will be
available on this Web site following the
session.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 20, 2014.
Applications for grants under this
program must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov
Apply site (Grants.gov). For information
(including dates and times) about how
to submit your application
electronically, or in paper format by
mail or hand delivery if you qualify for
an exception to the electronic
submission requirement, please refer to
section IV.
4. 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: July 7, 2014.
5. 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.
6. Funding Restrictions: We reference
regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable
Regulations section in this notice.
7. Data Universal Numbering System
Number, Taxpayer Identification
Number, and Central Contractor
Registry: To do business with the
Department of Education, you must—
a. Have a Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer
Identification Number (TIN);
b. Register both your DUNS number
and TIN with the System for Award
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Management (SAM) (formerly the
Central Contractor Registry (CCR)), the
Government’s primary registrant
database;
c. Provide your DUNS number and
TIN on your application; and
d. Maintain an active SAM
registration with current information
while your application is under review
by the Department and, if you are
awarded a grant, during the project
period.
You can obtain a DUNS number from
Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number
can be created within one-to-two
business days.
If you are a corporate entity, agency,
institution, or organization, you can
obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue
Service. If you are an individual, you
can obtain a TIN from the Internal
Revenue Service or the Social Security
Administration. If you need a new TIN,
please allow 2–5 weeks for your TIN to
become active.
The SAM registration process can take
approximately seven business days, but
may take upwards of several weeks,
depending on the completeness and
accuracy of the data entered into the
SAM database by an entity. Thus, if you
think you might want to apply for
Federal financial assistance under a
program administered by the
Department, please allow sufficient time
to obtain and register your DUNS
number and TIN. We strongly
recommend that you register early.
Note: Once your SAM registration is active,
you will need to allow 24 to 48 hours for the
information to be available in Grants.gov and
before you can submit an application through
Grants.gov.
If you are currently registered with
SAM, you may not need to make any
changes. However, please make certain
that the TIN associated with your DUNS
number is correct. Also note that you
will need to update your registration
annually. This may take three or more
business days.
Information about SAM is available at
www.SAM.gov. To further assist you
with obtaining and registering your
DUNS number and TIN in SAM or
updating your existing SAM account,
we have prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet,
which you can find at: https://
www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/samfaqs.html.
In addition, if you are submitting your
application via Grants.gov, you must (1)
be designated by your organization as an
Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (2) register yourself with
Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these
steps are outlined at the following
Grants.gov Web page: https://
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www.grants.gov/web/grants/
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7. 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
FSCS Program, CFDA Number 84.215J,
must be submitted electronically using
the Government wide Grants.gov Apply
site at www.Grants.gov. Through this
site, you will be able to download a
copy of the application package,
complete it offline, and then upload and
submit your application. You may not
email an electronic copy of a grant
application to us.
We will reject your application if you
submit it in paper format unless, as
described elsewhere in this section, you
qualify for one of the exceptions to the
electronic submission requirement and
submit, no later than two weeks before
the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you
qualify for one of these exceptions.
Further information regarding
calculation of the date that is two weeks
before the application deadline date is
provided later in this section under
Exception to Electronic Submission
Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant
application for the FSCS Program at
www.Grants.gov. You must search for
the downloadable application package
for this program by the CFDA number.
Do not include the CFDA number’s
alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search
for 84.215, not 84.215J).
Please note the following:
• When you enter the Grants.gov site,
you will find information about
submitting an application electronically
through the site, as well as the hours of
operation.
• Applications received by Grants.gov
are date and time stamped. Your
application must be fully uploaded and
submitted and must be date and time
stamped by the Grants.gov system no
later than 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the application deadline date.
Except as otherwise noted in this
section, we will not accept your
application if it is received—that is, date
and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system—after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington,
DC time, on the application deadline
date. We do not consider an application
that does not comply with the deadline
requirements. When we retrieve your
application from Grants.gov, we will
notify you if we are rejecting your
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application because it was date and time
stamped by the Grants.gov system after
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on
the application deadline date.
• The amount of time it can take to
upload an application will vary
depending on a variety of factors,
including the size of the application and
the speed of your Internet connection.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that
you do not wait until the application
deadline date to begin the submission
process through Grants.gov.
• You should review and follow the
Education Submission Procedures for
submitting an application through
Grants.gov that are included in the
application package for this program to
ensure that you submit your application
in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education
Submission Procedures pertaining to
Grants.gov under News and Events on
the Department’s G5 system home page
at www.G5.gov.
• You will not receive additional
point value because you submit your
application in electronic format, nor
will we penalize you if you qualify for
an exception to the electronic
submission requirement, as described
elsewhere in this section, and submit
your application in paper format.
• You must submit all documents
electronically, including all information
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 upload any narrative
sections and all other attachments to
your application as files in a PDF
(Portable Document) read-only, nonmodifiable format. Do not upload an
interactive or fillable PDF file. If you
upload a file type other than a readonly, non-modifiable PDF or submit a
password-protected file, we will not
review that material.
• Your electronic application must
comply with any page-limit
requirements described in this notice.
• After you electronically submit
your application, you will receive from
Grants.gov an automatic notification of
receipt that contains a Grants.gov
tracking number. (This notification
indicates receipt by Grants.gov only, not
receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your
application from Grants.gov and send a
second notification to you by email.
This second notification indicates that
the Department has received your
application and has assigned your
application a PR/Award number (an ED-
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specified identifying number unique to
your application).
• We may request that you provide us
original signatures on forms at a later
date.
Application Deadline Date Extension
in Case of Technical Issues with the
Grants.gov System: If you are
experiencing problems submitting your
application through Grants.gov, please
contact the Grants.gov Support Desk,
toll free, at 1–800–518–4726. You must
obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case
Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from
electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline
date because of technical problems with
the Grants.gov system, we will grant you
an extension until 4:30:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, the following
business day to enable you to transmit
your application electronically or by
hand delivery. You also may mail your
application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this
notice.
If you submit an application after
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on
the application deadline date, please
contact the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in
section VII of this notice and provide an
explanation of the technical problem
you experienced with Grants.gov, along
with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case
Number. We will accept your
application if we can confirm that a
technical problem occurred with the
Grants.gov system and that that problem
affected your ability to submit your
application by 4:30:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. The
Department will contact you after a
determination is made on whether your
application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in
this section apply only to the unavailability
of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov
system. We will not grant you an extension
if you failed to fully register to submit your
application to Grants.gov before the
application deadline date and time or if the
technical problem you experienced is
unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission
Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission
requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are
unable to submit an application through
the Grants.gov system because—
• You do not have access to the
Internet; or
• You do not have the capacity to
upload large documents to the
Grants.gov system;
and
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• 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: Adrienne Hawkins, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue SW., Room 4W256,
Washington, DC 20202–5950. 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 84.215J)
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.
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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 84.215J)
550 12th Street SW.,
Room 7039, 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.
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V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria: The selection
criteria for this competition are from the
NFP for this program, published in the
Federal Register on June 8, 2010 (75 FR
13781) and from 34 CFR 75.210. These
selection criteria are listed in the
application package as well as this
notice. We may apply one or more of
these criteria in any year in which this
program is in effect. The maximum
score for each criterion is indicated in
parentheses with the criterion, and the
total maximum score for all selection
criteria is 100 points.
The selection criteria are as follows:
(a) Quality of the Project Design (up
to 25 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the
quality of the design of the proposed
project.
(2) In determining the quality of the
design of the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the extent to which
the proposed project consists of a
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comprehensive plan that includes a
description of—
(i) The students, students’ family
members, and community to be served,
including information about the
demographic characteristics and needs
of the students, students’ family
members, and other community
members and the estimated number of
individuals to be served;
(ii) The eligible services (as listed in
the Absolute Priority described
elsewhere in this notice) to be provided
or coordinated by the applicant and its
partner entities, how those services will
meet the needs of students, students’
family members, and other community
members, and the frequency with which
those services will be provided to
students, students’ family members, and
community members;
(iii) The potential and planning for
the incorporation of project purposes,
activities, or benefits into the ongoing
work of the applicant beyond the end of
the grant; and
(iv) The extent to which the proposed
project will integrate with or build on
similar or related efforts to improve
relevant outcomes (as defined in this
notice), using existing funding streams
from other programs or policies
supported by community, State, and
Federal resources.
(b) Adequacy of Resources (up to 20
points).
(1) The Secretary considers the
adequacy of resources for the proposed
project.
(2) In determining the adequacy of
resources for the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the following
factors—
(i) The adequacy of support, including
facilities, equipment, supplies, and
other resources to be provided by the
applicant and consortium partners;
(ii) The relevance and demonstrated
commitment of each partner in the
proposed project to the implementation
and success of the project; and
(iii) The extent to which costs are
reasonable in relation to the number of
persons to be served and services to be
provided.
(c) Quality of the Management Plan
(up to 25 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the
quality of the management plan for the
proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the
management plan for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the
following factors—
(i) The extent to which the proposed
project consists of a comprehensive plan
that includes a description of planning,
coordination, management, and
oversight of the eligible services (as
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listed in the Absolute Priority described
elsewhere in this notice) to be provided
at each school to be served, including
the role of the school principal, the
FSCS coordinator, partner entities,
parents, and community members; and
(ii) The qualifications, including
relevant training and experience, of the
full-service community school
coordinator and other key project
personnel including prior performance
of the applicant on similar or related
efforts.
(d) Quality of Project Services (up to
20 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the
quality of the services to be provided by
the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the
project services, the Secretary considers
the following—
(i) The extent to which the services to
be provided by the proposed project
reflect up-to-date knowledge from
research and effective practice; and
(ii) 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.
(e) Quality of the Project Evaluation
(up to 10 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the
quality of the evaluation to be
conducted of the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the
evaluation, the Secretary considers the
extent to which the proposed
evaluation—
(i) Will provide timely and valid
information on the management,
implementation, or efficiency of the
project; and
(ii) Will provide guidance on or
strategies for replicating or testing the
project intervention in multiple settings.
(3) The extent to which the methods
of evaluation will provide valid and
reliable performance data on relevant
outcomes.
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 included in the application narrative
and should be used, as appropriate, to
shape the development of the project
from the beginning of the project period.
The plan should include benchmarks to
monitor progress toward specific project
objectives and also outcome measures to
assess the impact on teaching and
learning or other important outcomes
for project participants. More
specifically, the plan should identify the
individual or organization that has
agreed to serve as evaluator for the
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project and describe the qualifications
of that evaluator. The plan should
describe the evaluation design,
indicating: (1) What types of data will
be collected; (2) when various types of
data will be collected; (3) what methods
will be used; (4) what instruments will
be developed and when; (5) how the
data will be analyzed; (6) when reports
of results and outcomes will be
available; and (7) how the applicant will
use the information collected through
the evaluation to monitor progress of the
funded project and to provide
accountability information both about
success at the initial site and about
effective strategies for replication in
other settings. Applicants are
encouraged to devote an appropriate
level of resources to project evaluation.
2. Review and Selection Process: We
remind potential applicants that in
reviewing applications in any
discretionary grant competition, the
Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR
75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the
applicant in carrying out a previous
award, such as the applicant’s use of
funds, achievement of project
objectives, and compliance with grant
conditions. The Secretary may also
consider whether the applicant failed to
submit a timely performance report or
submitted a report of unacceptable
quality.
In addition, in making a competitive
grant award, the Secretary also requires
various assurances including those
applicable to Federal civil rights laws
that prohibit discrimination in programs
or activities receiving Federal financial
assistance from the Department of
Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4,
108.8, and 110.23).
3. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR
74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary may
impose special conditions on a grant if
the applicant or grantee is not
financially stable; has a history of
unsatisfactory performance; has a
financial or other management system
that does not meet the standards in 34
CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has
not fulfilled the conditions of a prior
grant; or is otherwise not responsible.
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); or we may send you an email
containing a link to access an electronic
version of your 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
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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: (a) If you apply for a
grant under this competition, you must
ensure that you have in place the
necessary processes and systems to
comply with the reporting requirements
in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive
funding under the competition. This
does not apply if you have an exception
under 2 CFR 170.110(b).
(b) 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 www.ed.gov/
fund/grant/apply/appforms/
appforms.html.
4. Performance Measures: The
Secretary has established one
performance indicator for this program:
The percentage of individuals targeted
for services who receive services during
each year of the project period. All
grantees will be required to submit an
annual performance report documenting
their contribution in assisting the
Department in measuring the
performance of the program against this
indicator, as well as performance on
project-specific indicators.
5. Continuation Awards: In making a
continuation award, the Secretary may
consider, under 34 CFR 75.253, the
extent to which a grantee has made
‘‘substantial progress toward meeting
the objectives in its approved
application’’ and the performance
measures established for this program.
This consideration includes the review
of a grantee’s progress in meeting the
targets and projected outcomes in its
approved application, and whether the
grantee has expended funds in a manner
that is consistent with its approved
application and budget. In making a
continuation grant, the Secretary also
considers whether the grantee is
operating in compliance with the
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assurances in its approved application,
including those applicable to Federal
civil rights laws that prohibit
discrimination in programs or activities
receiving Federal financial assistance
from the Department (34 CFR 100.4,
104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adrienne Hawkins, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
Room 4W256, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 401–2091 or by email:
FSCS@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD or TTY, 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 compact disc) by
contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
Room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC
20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 245–
7363.
If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the
FRS, toll free, at 1–800–877–8339.
Electronic Access to This Document:
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 via the Federal Digital System
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site 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). To use PDF you must
have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at the site.
You may also access documents of the
Department published in the Federal
Register by using the article search
feature at: www.federalregister.gov.
Specifically, through the advanced
search feature at this site, you can limit
your search to documents published by
the Department.
Dated: May 1, 2014.
Nadya Chinoy Dabby,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and
Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2014–10361 Filed 5–5–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25846-25853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10361]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; Full-Service Community Schools
Program
AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overview Information:
Full-Service Community Schools Program.
Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY)
2014.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215J.
DATES:
Applications Available: May 6, 2014.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: May 21, 2014.
Date of Pre-Application Webinar: Wednesday, May 21, 2014.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 20, 2014.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 7, 2014.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Fund for the Improvement of Education
(FIE), which is authorized by section 5411 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), supports nationally
significant programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary
education at the State and local levels and to help all children meet
challenging academic content and academic achievement standards. The
Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program, which is funded under
FIE, encourages coordination of academic, social, and health services
through partnerships between (1) public elementary and secondary
schools; (2) the schools' local educational agencies (LEAs); and (3)
community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other
public or private entities. The purpose of this collaboration is to
provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services for
students, students' family members, and community members that will
result in improved educational outcomes for children. The FSCS program
is a ``place-based'' program (see https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-28.pdf) that can
leverage investments by focusing resources and drawing on the
compounding effects of well-coordinated actions. Place-based approaches
can also streamline otherwise redundant and disconnected programs.
Priorities: This notice contains one absolute priority and one
competitive preference priority. The absolute priority is from the
notice of final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection
criteria for this program (FSCS NFP), published in the Federal Register
on June 8, 2010 (75 FR 32440). The competitive preference priority is
from the notice of final priority for Promise Zones (Promise Zones
NFP), published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2014 (79 FR
17035).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2014 and any subsequent year in which we
make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this
competition, this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR
75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet this priority.
This priority is:
Projects that Establish or Expand Full-Service Community Schools.
Background:
In order for children to be ready and able to learn, they need
academic, social, and health supports. The Harvard Family Research
Project has cited compelling evidence that, when schools partner with
families and community-based organizations, these partnerships improve
children's development and school success.\1\ Community schools provide
a base of support for students and their families by attending to their
academic, social,
[[Page 25847]]
and health needs through a school setting.
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\1\ Harris, E & Wilkes, S (2013). Partnerships for Learning:
Community Support for Youth Success. Cambridge: Harvard Family
Research Project.
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A full-service community school (as defined in this notice) is a
public elementary or secondary school that works with its LEA and
community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other
public or private entities to provide a coordinated and integrated set
of comprehensive academic, social, and health services that respond to
the needs of its students, students' family members, and community
members. This coordination leads to results-focused partnerships (as
defined in this notice) that are based on identified student needs and
organized around a set of mutually defined results and outcomes.
Full-service community schools recognize that schools do not
operate in isolation from the communities in which they are located.
Community challenges such as poverty, violence, poor physical health,
and family instability can have consequences for education when left
unaddressed. When schools and community partners collaborate to address
these issues and align their resources to achieve common results,
children are more likely to succeed academically, socially, and
physically. Full-service community schools seek to address the myriad
challenges that affect students by connecting students, students'
family members, and community members with available services and
opportunities, creating the conditions for students to achieve in
school and beyond.
Children, particularly those living in poverty, need a variety of
family and community resources, including intellectual, social,
physical, and emotional supports, to have the opportunity to attain
academic success. Many children live in communities that lack not only
high-performing schools, but also the supports needed to be ready and
able to learn when they start school. School-community partnerships can
be key strategies for providing resources to these individual students.
A variety of organizations can help provide the missing resources for
children living in poverty and, therefore, begin to transform
struggling schools and communities. These organizations can be public
or private, community-based or faith-based, governmental or non-
governmental, or a combination thereof, but they must work together
with clearly articulated and mutually agreed upon goals, target
populations, roles, and desired results and outcomes. Partnerships
between schools and organizations may take many forms and should be
based on overlapping vital interests and student needs. For example, a
telecommunications firm might provide internships to high school
students to foster real-world connections to the school's science
curriculum. Or, a local police department might provide mentors for
troubled youth in order to keep students in school. Such results-
focused partnerships (as defined in this notice) can transform the
capacity of both the school and its partners to better serve students'
and families' diverse needs and improve their outcomes.
A full-service community school coordinator (as defined in this
notice) is often central to the effective facilitation of these
partnerships, as well as the coordination and integration of services,
programs, supports, and available opportunities. The full-service
community school coordinator's main responsibility is to work closely
and plan jointly with the school's principal to drive, develop, and
implement the community school effort. The full-service community
school coordinator by, for example, convening a cross-section of school
staff, parents, and community organizations, can facilitate the
development of systems with which to coordinate new and existing
programs that respond to the needs of the school and community through
ongoing needs assessments. The full-service community school
coordinator adds capacity to the principal's leadership of the school
and is essential to ensuring that all programs, supports, services,
opportunities, and the mutually defined results and outcomes are fully
aligned.
The Department of Education (the Department) recognizes that in
order for students and the members of the communities in which they
reside to thrive, their schools must be effective. Effective schools
create learning environments that support student academic success and
foster student engagement. When characterized by stable leadership and
a strong instructional program, full-service community schools have
been associated with improved attendance and student achievement,\2\
increased family and community engagement,\3\ and improved student
behavior and youth development.\4\ In addition, system-wide support
should be present for developing, implementing, and sustaining
effective full-service community schools. There is greater potential
impact when full-service community schools have strong infrastructures
in place to support sustaining the overall effort and expanding the
number of FSCS sites throughout an LEA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Krenichyn, K., Clark, H. & Benitez, L. (2008). Children's
Aid Society 21st Century Community Learning Centers After-School
Programs at Six Middle Schools: Final Report of a Three-Year
Evaluation, 2004-2007. New York: ActKnowledge.
\3\ Quinn, J., & Dryfoos, J. (2009). Freeing teachers to teach:
Students in full-service community schools are ready to learn.
American Educator, Summer 2009:16-21.
\4\ Whalen, S. (2007). Three Years Into Chicago's Community
Schools Initiative (CSI): Progress, Challenges, and Emerging
Lessons. Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved April
9, 2010. from https://www.aypf.org/documents/CSI_ThreeYearStudy.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority:
This absolute priority supports projects that propose to establish
or expand (through collaborative efforts among LEAs, community-based
organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other public and private
entities) full-service community schools, as defined in this notice,
offering a range of services. To meet this priority, an applicant must
propose a project that is based on scientifically based research--as
defined in section 9101(37) of the ESEA--and that establishes or
expands a full-service community school. Each applicant must propose to
provide at least three of the following eligible services at each
participating full-service community school included in its proposed
project:
1. High-quality early learning programs or services.
2. Remedial education, aligned with academic supports and other
enrichment activities, providing students with a comprehensive academic
program.
3. Family engagement, including parental involvement, parent
leadership, family literacy, and parent education programs.
4. Mentoring and other youth development programs.
5. Community service and service learning opportunities.
6. Programs that provide assistance to students who have been
chronically absent, truant, suspended, or expelled.
7. Job training and career counseling services.
8. Nutrition services and physical activities.
9. Primary health and dental care.
10. Activities that improve access to and use of social service
programs and programs that promote family financial stability.
11. Mental health services.
12. Adult education and literacy services including instruction of
adults in English as a second language.
Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2014 and any subsequent
year in which we make awards from the list of
[[Page 25848]]
unfunded applicants from this competition, this priority is a
competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award
an additional three points to an application, depending on whether the
application meets this priority.
This priority is:
Promise Zones (0 or 3 points).
Background:
We give competitive preference to applicants working with
communities that have been awarded a Promise Zone designation. Promise
Zone designees have committed to establishing comprehensive,
coordinated approaches in order to ensure that America's most
vulnerable children succeed from cradle to career. In January 2014,
President Obama announced the first five Promise Zones: The Choctaw
Nation of Oklahoma, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and
Kentucky Highlands. This designation is designed to assist local
leaders in creating jobs, increasing economic activity, improving
educational opportunities, leveraging private investment, and reducing
violent crime in high-poverty urban, rural, and tribal communities. By
partnering with Promise Zone designees, the Federal government will
help communities access the resources and expertise they need--
including the resources from various neighborhood revitalization
initiatives--to ensure that Federal programs and resources support the
efforts to transform these communities.
Priority:
Projects that are designed to serve and coordinate with a federally
designated Promise Zone.
Note:
Applicants should submit a letter of support from the lead
organization of a designated Promise Zone attesting to the
contribution of the applicant's proposed activities. A list of
designated Promise Zones and lead organizations can be found at
https://hud.gov/promisezones.
Definitions: The following definitions are from the FSCS NFP and
from 34 CFR 77.1(c).
Community member means an individual who is not a student or a
student's family member, as defined in this notice, but who lives in
the community served by the FSCS grant.
Full-service community school means a public elementary or
secondary school that works with its local educational agency and
community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other
public or private entities to provide a coordinated and integrated set
of comprehensive academic, social, and health services that respond to
the needs of its students, students' family members, and community
members. In addition, a full-service community school promotes family
engagement by bringing together many partners in order to offer a range
of supports and opportunities for students, students' family members,
and community members.
Full-service community school coordinator means an individual who
works closely and plans jointly with the school's principal to drive
the development and implementation of the FSCS effort and who, in that
capacity, facilitates the partnerships and coordination and integration
of service delivery.
Relevant outcome means the student outcome(s) (or the ultimate
outcome if not related to students) the proposed process, product,
strategy, or practice is designed to improve; consistent with the
specific goals of a program.
Results-focused partnership means a partnership between a full-
service community school and one or more nonprofit organizations
(including community-based organizations) that is based on identified
needs and organized around a set of mutually defined results and
outcomes for increasing student success and improving access to family
and community services.
Student means a child enrolled in a public elementary or secondary
school served by the FSCS grant.
Student's family member means the student's parents/guardians,
siblings, and any other related individuals living in the same
household as the student and not enrolled in the school served by the
FSCS grant.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7243-7243b.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Education Department suspension
and debarment regulations in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The notice of final
priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria (NFP) for
this program, published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2010 (75 FR
32440). (d) The notice of final priority for Promise Zones, published
in the Federal Register on March 27, 2014 (79 FR 17035).
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions
of higher education only.
Application Requirements:
The following requirements are from the FSCS NFP.
In order to receive funding, an applicant must include the
following in its application:
1. A description of the needs of the students, students' family
members, and community members to be served, including information
about (a) the basic demographic characteristics of the students,
students' family members, and community members; (b) the magnitude or
severity of the needs to be addressed by the project; and (c) the
extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services,
infrastructures, or opportunities have been identified and will be
addressed by the proposed project.
2. A list of entities that will partner with the applicant to
coordinate existing services or to provide additional services that
promote successful student, family, and community results and outcomes.
The applicant must describe how existing resources and services will be
coordinated and integrated with new resources and services.
3. A memorandum of understanding between the applicant and all
partner entities, describing the role each partner will assume, the
services or resources each one will provide, and the desired results
and outcomes.
4. A description of the organizational capacity of the applicant to
provide and coordinate eligible services at a full-service community
school that will support increased student achievement. The description
must include the applicant's experience partnering with the target
school(s) and other partner entities; examples of how the applicant has
responded to challenges working with these schools and entities;
lessons learned from similar work or previous community-school efforts,
and a description of the existing or proposed infrastructure to support
the implementation and sustainability of the full-service community
school. Applicants must also describe their past experience (a)
building relationships and community support to achieve results; and
(b) collecting and using data for decision-making and continuous
improvement.
5. A comprehensive plan based on results-focused partnerships (as
defined in this notice) that includes a description of well-aligned
goals, services, activities, objectives, performance measures, and
project results and outcomes. In addition, the plan must include the
estimated total number of individuals to be served, disaggregated by
the number of students, students' family members, and community
members, and the type and
[[Page 25849]]
frequency of services to be provided to each group.
Note: Applicants are also encouraged to articulate in the
comprehensive plan how the proposed FSCS strategy is aligned with
other school improvement strategies and Federal funding streams.
6. A list and description of the eligible services to be provided
or coordinated by the applicant and the partner entities; a description
of the applicant's approach to integrating new and existing programs
and services with the school's (or schools') core instructional
program; and identification of the intended results and outcomes.
7. A description of how the applicant will use data to drive
decision-making and measure success. This includes a description of the
applicant's plans to monitor and assess outcomes of the eligible
services provided and coordinated by the FSCS project, as well as the
number of individuals served, while complying with Federal, State, and
other privacy laws and requirements.
8. A description of the roles and responsibilities of a full-time
full-service community school coordinator and the proposed approach to
ensuring that the full-service community school coordinator engages in
joint planning with the principal and key community stakeholders to
guide the proposed full-service community school.
Applications that do not meet these requirements will not be read
and will not be considered for funding.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $4,570,250.
Estimated Range of Awards: $275,000--$500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $457,025.
Maximum Award: $500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: To be eligible for a grant under this
competition, an applicant must be a consortium consisting of an LEA and
one or more community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, or
other public or private entities. Consortia must comply with the
provisions governing group applications in 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129
of EDGAR.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: To be eligible for an award, a portion
of the services provided by the applicant must be supported through
non-Federal contributions, either in cash or in-kind donations. The
applicant must propose the amount of cash or in-kind resources to be
contributed for each year of the grant.
Note: An applicant is encouraged to provide a minimum match of
20 percent through non-Federal contributions, either in cash or in-
kind donations.
3. Planning: Interagency collaborative efforts are highly complex
undertakings that require extensive planning and communication among
partners and key stakeholders. Partnerships should be based on
identified needs and organized around a set of mutually-defined results
and outcomes. Applicants under this program may devote funds received
during the first year of the project period to comprehensive program
planning, establishing results-focused partnerships, and capacity
building. Funding received by grantees during the remainder of the
project period must be devoted to program implementation.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address To Request Application Package:
You can obtain an application package via the Internet or from the
Education Publications Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via the
Internet, use the following address: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/communityschools/applicant.html.
To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write, fax, or call the following:
ED Pubs, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, VA
22304. Telephone, toll free: 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (703) 605-6794. If
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free: 1-
877-576-7734.
You can contact ED Pubs at its Web site, also: www.EDPubs.gov or at
its email address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this program or competition as follows: CFDA number 84.215J.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape,
or compact disc) by contacting the person or team listed under
Accessible Format in section VIII of this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
Notice of Intent To Apply: The Department will be able to develop a
more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a
better understanding of the number of entities that intend to apply for
funding under this competition. Therefore, each potential applicant is
strongly encouraged to notify the Department by sending a short email
message indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application for
funding. The email need not include information regarding the content
of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to submit it.
This email notification should be sent to FSCS@ed.gov with ``INTENT TO
APPLY'' in the subject line by May 21, 2014. Applicants that do not
notify us of their intent to apply may still apply for funding.
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 are strongly encouraged to limit the application narrative
[Part III] to the equivalent of no more than 35 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: May 6, 2014.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: May 21, 2014.
Date of Pre-Application Webinar: The Department will hold a pre-
application webinar for prospective applicants on Wednesday, May 21,
2014, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Washington, DC time. The webinar will
discuss the purpose of the FSCS program, absolute and
[[Page 25850]]
competitive preference priorities, application requirements,
definitions, selection criteria, application content, submission
requirements, and reporting requirements.
Interested parties may obtain information about this webinar from
the program Web site at https://www2.ed.gov/programs/communityschools/. A recording of this webinar will be available on this Web
site following the session.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 20, 2014.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically, or in paper format by mail or hand delivery
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, please refer to section IV.
4. 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: July 7, 2014.
5. 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.
6. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
7. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification
Number, and Central Contractor Registry: To do business with the
Department of Education, you must--
a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the System for Award
Management (SAM) (formerly the Central Contractor Registry (CCR)), the
Government's primary registrant database;
c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and
d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information
while your application is under review by the Department and, if you
are awarded a grant, during the project period.
You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number
can be created within one-to-two business days.
If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or
organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service.
If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal
Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a
new TIN, please allow 2-5 weeks for your TIN to become active.
The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business
days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the
completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM database by
an entity. Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal
financial assistance under a program administered by the Department,
please allow sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number
and TIN. We strongly recommend that you register early.
Note: Once your SAM registration is active, you will need to
allow 24 to 48 hours for the information to be available in
Grants.gov and before you can submit an application through
Grants.gov.
If you are currently registered with SAM, you may not need to make
any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with
your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will need to update
your registration annually. This may take three or more business days.
Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further
assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in
SAM or updating your existing SAM account, we have prepared a SAM.gov
Tip Sheet, which you can find at: https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html.
In addition, if you are submitting your application via Grants.gov,
you must (1) be designated by your organization as an Authorized
Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself with
Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the
following Grants.gov Web page: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html.
7. 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 FSCS Program, CFDA Number
84.215J, must be submitted electronically using the Government wide
Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be
able to download a copy of the application package, complete it
offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not email
an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant application for the FSCS
Program at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include
the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.215,
not 84.215J).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply
with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from
Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your
[[Page 25851]]
application because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this program to ensure that you
submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system.
You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to
Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department's G5 system home
page at www.G5.gov.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information 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 upload any narrative sections and all other
attachments to your application as files in a PDF (Portable Document)
read-only, non-modifiable format. Do not upload an interactive or
fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only,
non-modifiable PDF or submit a password-protected file, we will not
review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by email. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of this
notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you
experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk
Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a
technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that
problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30:00
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The
Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether
your application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system;
and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Adrienne Hawkins, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 4W256,
Washington, DC 20202-5950. 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 84.215J)
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.
[[Page 25852]]
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 84.215J)
550 12th Street SW.,
Room 7039, 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
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition
are from the NFP for this program, published in the Federal Register on
June 8, 2010 (75 FR 13781) and from 34 CFR 75.210. These selection
criteria are listed in the application package as well as this notice.
We may apply one or more of these criteria in any year in which this
program is in effect. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated
in parentheses with the criterion, and the total maximum score for all
selection criteria is 100 points.
The selection criteria are as follows:
(a) Quality of the Project Design (up to 25 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the design of the
proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the design of the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the extent to which the proposed
project consists of a comprehensive plan that includes a description
of--
(i) The students, students' family members, and community to be
served, including information about the demographic characteristics and
needs of the students, students' family members, and other community
members and the estimated number of individuals to be served;
(ii) The eligible services (as listed in the Absolute Priority
described elsewhere in this notice) to be provided or coordinated by
the applicant and its partner entities, how those services will meet
the needs of students, students' family members, and other community
members, and the frequency with which those services will be provided
to students, students' family members, and community members;
(iii) The potential and planning for the incorporation of project
purposes, activities, or benefits into the ongoing work of the
applicant beyond the end of the grant; and
(iv) The extent to which the proposed project will integrate with
or build on similar or related efforts to improve relevant outcomes (as
defined in this notice), using existing funding streams from other
programs or policies supported by community, State, and Federal
resources.
(b) Adequacy of Resources (up to 20 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the adequacy of resources for the
proposed project.
(2) In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the following factors--
(i) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment,
supplies, and other resources to be provided by the applicant and
consortium partners;
(ii) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project;
and
(iii) The extent to which costs are reasonable in relation to the
number of persons to be served and services to be provided.
(c) Quality of the Management Plan (up to 25 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for
the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the management plan for the
proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors--
(i) The extent to which the proposed project consists of a
comprehensive plan that includes a description of planning,
coordination, management, and oversight of the eligible services (as
listed in the Absolute Priority described elsewhere in this notice) to
be provided at each school to be served, including the role of the
school principal, the FSCS coordinator, partner entities, parents, and
community members; and
(ii) The qualifications, including relevant training and
experience, of the full-service community school coordinator and other
key project personnel including prior performance of the applicant on
similar or related efforts.
(d) Quality of Project Services (up to 20 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the services to be
provided by the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the project services, the
Secretary considers the following--
(i) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed
project reflect up-to-date knowledge from research and effective
practice; and
(ii) 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.
(e) Quality of the Project Evaluation (up to 10 points).
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be
conducted of the proposed project.
(2) In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers the extent to which the proposed evaluation--
(i) Will provide timely and valid information on the management,
implementation, or efficiency of the project; and
(ii) Will provide guidance on or strategies for replicating or
testing the project intervention in multiple settings.
(3) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
valid and reliable performance data on relevant outcomes.
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 included in the application narrative
and should be used, as appropriate, to shape the development of the
project from the beginning of the project period. The plan should
include benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific project
objectives and also outcome measures to assess the impact on teaching
and learning or other important outcomes for project participants. More
specifically, the plan should identify the individual or organization
that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the
[[Page 25853]]
project and describe the qualifications of that evaluator. The plan
should describe the evaluation design, indicating: (1) What types of
data will be collected; (2) when various types of data will be
collected; (3) what methods will be used; (4) what instruments will be
developed and when; (5) how the data will be analyzed; (6) when reports
of results and outcomes will be available; and (7) how the applicant
will use the information collected through the evaluation to monitor
progress of the funded project and to provide accountability
information both about success at the initial site and about effective
strategies for replication in other settings. Applicants are encouraged
to devote an appropriate level of resources to project evaluation.
2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants
that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition,
the Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3), the past
performance of the applicant in carrying out a previous award, such as
the applicant's use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and
compliance with grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider
whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or
submitted a report of unacceptable quality.
In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary
also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal
civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or
activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department
of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
3. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR 74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary
may impose special conditions on a grant if the applicant or grantee is
not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance;
has a financial or other management system that does not meet the
standards in 34 CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has not fulfilled
the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible.
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); or we may send you an email containing a link to
access an electronic version of your 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: (a) If you apply for a grant under this competition,
you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and
systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170
should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply
if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b).
(b) 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 www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
4. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established one
performance indicator for this program: The percentage of individuals
targeted for services who receive services during each year of the
project period. All grantees will be required to submit an annual
performance report documenting their contribution in assisting the
Department in measuring the performance of the program against this
indicator, as well as performance on project-specific indicators.
5. Continuation Awards: In making a continuation award, the
Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.253, the extent to which a
grantee has made ``substantial progress toward meeting the objectives
in its approved application'' and the performance measures established
for this program. This consideration includes the review of a grantee's
progress in meeting the targets and projected outcomes in its approved
application, and whether the grantee has expended funds in a manner
that is consistent with its approved application and budget. In making
a continuation grant, the Secretary also considers whether the grantee
is operating in compliance with the assurances in its approved
application, including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws
that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving
Federal financial assistance from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5,
106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrienne Hawkins, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 4W256, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 401-2091 or by email: FSCS@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD or TTY, 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 compact disc) by contacting
the Grants and Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC 20202-2550.
Telephone: (202) 245-7363.
If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.
Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site 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). To use PDF
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the
site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at:
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Dated: May 1, 2014.
Nadya Chinoy Dabby,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2014-10361 Filed 5-5-14; 8:45 am]
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