Applications for New Awards; Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals With Disabilities-National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning, 26726-26735 [2014-10646]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 90 / Friday, May 9, 2014 / Notices
Defense; the point of contact is Amy
Williams at 571–372–6106.
Amy G. Williams
Deputy Director, Defense Acquisition
Regulations System.
[FR Doc. 2014–10680 Filed 5–8–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards;
Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals With
Disabilities—National Center on
Accessible Educational Materials for
Learning
Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Overview Information:
Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities—National Center on
Accessible Educational Materials for
Learning.
Notice inviting applications for a new
award for fiscal year (FY) 2014.
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327Z.
DATES:
Applications Available: May 9, 2014.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 23, 2014.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: August 22, 2014.
Full Text of Announcement
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I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purposes of
the Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities Program 1 are to improve
results for children with disabilities by:
(1) Promoting the development,
demonstration, and use of technology;
(2) supporting educational media
activities designed to be of educational
value in the classroom for students with
disabilities; (3) providing support for
captioning and video description that is
appropriate for use in the classroom;
and (4) providing accessible educational
materials to students with disabilities in
a timely manner.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR
75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority is from
1 This program was formerly called ‘‘Technology
and Media Services for Individuals with
Disabilities.’’ The Department has changed the
name to Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals with Disabilities and
updated the purposes of the program to more
clearly convey that the program includes accessible
educational materials. The program’s activities and
statutory authorization (20 U.S.C. 1474) remain
unchanged.
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allowable activities specified in the
statute (see sections 674 and 681(d) of
the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1400 et
seq.)).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2014 and
any subsequent year in which we make
awards from the list of unfunded
applicants 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:
Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities—National Center on
Accessible Educational Materials for
Learning.
Background:
The purpose of this priority is to fund
a cooperative agreement to establish and
operate a National Center on Accessible
Educational Materials for Learning
(Center). The Center will work with
State educational agencies (SEAs), local
educational agencies (LEAs), and other
stakeholders to improve the quality,
availability, and timely delivery of
accessible educational materials and
technologies for use by infants, toddlers,
children, and youth with disabilities
(hereafter referred to as ‘‘children with
disabilities’’ and includes children who
are blind or other persons with print
disabilities). The Center’s efforts will
help support equitable opportunities for
children with disabilities to: (1)
Participate in high-quality early learning
programs, (2) be involved in and
progress in the general education
curriculum, (3) prepare to meet collegeand career-ready standards, (4)
participate in assessments, and (5)
transition to postsecondary education
and the workforce.
The Center will achieve these results
by: (1) Providing information to OSEP
on how the technical specifications of
the National Instructional Materials
Accessibility Standards (NIMAS) can be
improved to ensure digital files meet the
same standard and can be easily
converted into whatever accessible
format meets the unique needs of
children who are blind or other persons
with print disabilities; (2) providing
technical assistance (TA) to build the
capacity of stakeholders to design,
develop, procure, and maintain
technologies for use in schools and
workplaces that conform to robust
accessibility standards and, as
appropriate, NIMAS; (3) providing TA
to SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders
to ensure the adoption and
implementation of efficient, effective,
and unified distribution systems or to
ensure the improvement of existing
systems for the timely delivery of
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accessible educational materials and
technologies to children with
disabilities, including those children
with disabilities who may be
underserved; 2 and (4) providing TA to
postsecondary education and workforce
development agencies or offices to
ensure the availability and use of
accessible educational materials and
technologies by children with
disabilities transitioning to
postsecondary education and the
workforce.
Under section 612(a)(1) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), States must ensure that a
free appropriate public education
(FAPE) be made available to all children
with disabilities.3 IDEA also requires
that all children with disabilities are
included in all general State and
districtwide assessment programs (see
section 612(a)(16)). Accessible
educational materials and technologies
enable children with disabilities to have
access to, and be involved in and make
progress in, the general education
curriculum (or for a preschool child, to
participate in appropriate activities) and
assessments. The 2004 amendments to
IDEA required the Secretary to establish,
and States to adopt, the NIMAS to
improve the timely production and
dissemination of educational materials
in accessible formats for students who
are blind or other persons with print
disabilities (see sections 612(a)(23) and
674(e) of IDEA). The NIMAS ensures
that digital files meet a consistent
standard and can be easily converted
into whatever accessible format meets
the unique needs of these students. In
addition, SEAs and LEAs are
responsible for ensuring that children
with disabilities who need instructional
materials in accessible formats but are
not included under the definition of
blind or other persons with print
disabilities, or who need materials that
cannot be produced from NIMAS files,
also receive those instructional
materials in a timely manner (34 CFR
300.172(b)(3) and 300.210(b)(3)).
To support SEAs’ and LEAs’ efficient
and timely distribution of accessible
materials, OSEP established the
National Instructional Materials Access
2 As used in this priority and in a manner
consistent with 20 U.S.C. 7255(a) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended,
‘‘underserved populations’’ include disadvantaged,
illiterate, limited English proficient populations,
and individuals with disabilities.
3 FAPE involves providing special education,
related services, and supplementary aides and
services, including educational materials in
accessible formats for children with disabilities
who are blind or other persons with print
disabilities who are eligible for services under Part
B of IDEA.
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Center (NIMAC) to serve as a national
repository to receive and store NIMAS
source files and make them available to
States. Currently, SEAs and LEAs obtain
NIMAS files directly from publishers or
from the NIMAC and convert those files
into specialized formats for use
exclusively by children who are blind or
other persons with print disabilities.
OSEP currently funds cooperative
agreements to support the NIMAS
Center and the National Center on
Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM
Center). The NIMAS Center provides
information on improving 4 the
technical specifications of the NIMAS to
ensure children who are blind or other
persons with print disabilities have
access to as broad a range of print
educational materials as possible
through the use of electronic file
formatting technology. To support the
implementation of NIMAS, the AIM
Center provides a continuum of TA and
resources to SEAs, LEAs, and other
stakeholders to develop and implement
efficient, unified distribution systems to
support and improve the timely delivery
of high quality accessible educational
materials to all children with
disabilities who need educational
materials in accessible formats. Both
grants are scheduled to end in FY 2014.
However, SEAs, LEAs, and other
stakeholders will continue to need
support to ensure the timely delivery of
accessible educational materials and
technologies to children with
disabilities, including a national
repository to receive and store NIMAS
source files.
Current reform initiatives are
transforming the learning environment
and may provide opportunities for
SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders to
leverage the potential educational
benefits of emerging and innovative
technologies. These reform initiatives
call for high-quality early learning
programs and development
opportunities for infants and toddlers
(Preschool Curriculum Evaluation
Research Consortium, 2008; U.S.
Department of Education, 2013) and
they also include ambitious academic
content and performance expectations
that call for teaching methods and
learning strategies that promote student
mastery of those expectations and the
ability to apply what has been learned
to real-world situations and problems
(Darling-Hammond & Pecheone, 2010;
Herman & Linn, 2013; National
Research Council, 2000, 2012a, 2012b;
Sato, Lagunoff, & Worth, 2011; and U.S.
Department of Education, 2010). The
efficient delivery of accessible
educational materials and technologies
to children with disabilities helps to
support their ability to participate in
high-quality early learning programs, be
involved in, and make progress in, the
general education curriculum, meet
college- and career-ready standards, and
participate in assessments.
Today’s learning tasks increasingly
leverage the power of technology to
transform early learning programs, the
way teachers teach, how children learn,
and how assessments are used (Bailey,
Henry, McBride, & Puckett, 2011; Duffey
& Fox, 2012; Fletcher, Schaffhauser, &
Levi, 2012; Johnson, Adams, &
Cummins, 2012; National Center for
Education Statistics, 2012; Project
Tomorrow, 2011; U.S. Department of
Education, 2010, 2013). As recipients of
Federal financial assistance, SEAs and
LEAs that choose to incorporate
technology into their instruction or
other developmental activities for all
students will need support to ensure
those technologies conform to
nationally accepted accessibility
standards in order to meet the needs of
students with disabilities (U.S.
Department of Justice, 2012). Accessible
formats of electronic textbooks and
other emerging technologies may
require NIMAS convergence with
nationally accepted accessibility
standards for electronic and information
technologies. To ensure accessibility,
the Center, working closely with the
electronic publishing industry, will
facilitate the alignment of the NIMAS
standard with electronic publishing
standards.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of
Education’s Office for Civil Rights
issued a Dear Colleague Letter 5
informing colleges and universities that
‘‘[e]nsuring equal access to emerging
technology in university and college
classrooms is a means to the goal of full
integration and equal educational
opportunity for this nation’s students
with disabilities.’’ Similarly, the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Office of
Disability Employment Policy 6 (ODEP)
4 In June 2012, after reviewing information
provided by the NIMAS Center, OSEP issued a Dear
Colleague Letter encouraging publishers to use the
most current version of MathML, currently
MathML3, for the markup of mathematics and
scientific content in NIMAS filesets. The OSEP Dear
Colleague Letter, dated June 22, 2012, is available
at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/
memosdcltrs/osers-nimas.pdf.
5 U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil
Rights, 2010. The Dear Colleague Letter is available
at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/
colleague-20100629.pdf.
6 U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability
Employment Policy. Framework for Designing and
Implementing Accessible Information and
Communication Technology Strategic Plans:
Accessible Technology in the Workplace Initiative
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has a long history of exploring the law,
policies, practices, and procedures to
advance the development and adoption
of accessible, interoperable, and usable
workplace technologies. Addressing the
availability, use, and updating of
accessible educational materials and
technologies to support students with
disabilities who transition to
postsecondary education settings and
the workplace remains a critically
important task.
Priority:
The purpose of this priority is to fund
a cooperative agreement to establish and
operate a National Center on Accessible
Educational Materials for Learning
(Center) that, at a minimum—
(a) Provides information to OSEP on
how the NIMAS technical specifications
can be improved to ensure children who
are blind or other persons with print
disabilities, have access to as broad a
range of print educational materials as
possible through the use of electronic
file formatting technology; 7
(b) Increases the capacity of
stakeholders 8 to design, develop,
maintain, and distribute technologies
that conform to robust accessibility
standards 9 and, as appropriate, NIMAS;
is available at www.dol.gov/odep/pdf/
20120224FDIA-ICT-StrategicPlans.pdf.
7 As used in this priority, ‘‘technology’’ means
any equipment or interconnected system or
subsystem for which the principal function is the
creation, conversion, duplication, movement,
control, display, switching, interchange,
transmission, reception, or broadcast of data or
information. It includes, but is not limited to,
electronic content; telecommunication products;
computers and ancillary equipment; software;
information kiosks; transaction machines; videos;
information technology services; and multifunction
office machines that copy, scan, and fax documents.
8 As used in this priority, the term ‘‘stakeholders’’
includes, but is not limited to, children with
disabilities; parents; educational materials
designers, developers, and distributors; educational
publishers; authorized users; accessible media
producers; agencies or organizations responsible for
establishing accessibility standards for commercial
electronic publications and instructional materials;
institutions of higher education; workforce
development agencies or offices; and other OSEPfunded projects.
9 As used in this priority, ‘‘accessibility
standards’’ means current or revised electronic and
information technology accessibility standards
(EITAS) developed and implemented under the
authority of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
(29 U.S.C. 794d(2)(A)) as well as interstate and
international communication access guidelines
authorized under the Telecommunication Act
Accessibility Guidelines (47 U.S.C. 255). The use of
designs or technologies as alternatives to the EITAS
is permitted provided they result in substantially
equivalent or greater access to and use of a product
for individuals with disabilities (36 CFR part
1194.5). The annual Section 508 Report to the
President and Congress indicated the most common
accessibility standards used by recipients of Federal
financial assistance are Section 508 EITAS and the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (see
www.ada.gov/508/508_Report.htm).
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(c) Achieves the adoption and
implementation of efficient, effective,
and unified distribution systems or the
improvement of existing systems by
SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders to
ensure the timely delivery of accessible
educational materials 10 and
technologies to children with
disabilities; 11 and
(d) Improves the capacity of
postsecondary education and workforce
development agencies or offices to
ensure the availability and use of
accessible educational materials and
technologies by children with
disabilities who are transitioning to
postsecondary education settings and
workplaces.
In addition to these programmatic
requirements, to be considered for
funding under this priority, applicants
must meet the application and
administrative requirements in this
priority. OSEP encourages innovative
approaches to meet these requirements,
which are to:
(a) Demonstrate, in the narrative
section of the application under
‘‘Significance of the Project,’’ how the
proposed project will—
(1) Address the need for accessible
educational materials and technologies
to support equitable opportunities in
early learning programs, schools, and
workplaces. To meet this requirement
the applicant must—
(i) Present applicable national, State,
regional, or local data demonstrating the
need for accessible educational
materials and technologies in schools
and workplaces for children with
disabilities, including children with
disabilities who may be underserved;
and
(ii) Demonstrate knowledge of the
following:
(A) Benefits, services, or opportunities
that are available through the use of
educational materials and technologies
in schools and workplaces that are fully
accessible to children with disabilities,
10 As used in this priority, ‘‘accessible
educational materials’’ means print- and
technology-based educational materials, including
printed and electronic textbooks and related core
materials that are required by SEAs and LEAs for
use by all students, produced or rendered in
accessible media, written and published primarily
for use in early learning programs, elementary, or
secondary schools to support teaching and learning.
11 As used in this priority, ‘‘children with
disabilities’’ includes children who are blind or
other persons with print disabilities. As used in this
priority, the term ‘‘blind or other persons with print
disabilities’’ means children served under IDEA and
who may qualify under the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to
Provide Books for the Adult Blind,’’ approved
March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 46 Stat. 1487), to
receive books and other publications produced in
specialized formats. (see Section 20 U.S.C.
1474(e)(3)(A)).
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including children with disabilities who
may be underserved;
(B) Standards and technical
specifications used to support the
preparation of electronic files and used
solely for efficient conversion into
specialized formats to provide access to
printed and electronic textbooks and
related core materials;
(C) Accepted accessibility standards
and industry-developed specifications
for technologies used in schools and
workplaces; and
(D) TA resources available to
stakeholders and personnel in early
learning programs, schools and
workplaces, to support the design,
development, maintenance,
distribution, timely delivery, and use of
accessible educational materials and
technologies;
(2) Increase the capacity of
stakeholders to design, develop,
maintain, and distribute technologies
that conform to robust accessibility
standards and, as appropriate, NIMAS.
To address this requirement the
applicant must—
(i) Identify current policies,
procedures, and practices used by early
learning programs, schools, workplaces,
and other stakeholders to ensure the
availability and use of accessible
educational materials and technologies;
and
(ii) Identify strategies to address gaps
or challenges faced by early intervention
programs, schools, workplaces, and
other stakeholders to ensure the
availability and use of accessible
educational materials and technologies;
and
(3) Increase knowledge and identify
dissemination strategies to enable SEAs,
LEAs, and other stakeholders to
develop, implement, and sustain
efficient, unified distribution systems
and improve existing systems to ensure
the availability and use of accessible
educational materials and technologies
in early learning programs, schools, and
workplaces.
(b) Demonstrate, in the narrative
section of the application under
‘‘Quality of Project Services,’’ how the
project will—
(1) Ensure equal access and treatment
for members of groups that have
traditionally been underrepresented
based on race, color, national origin,
gender, age, or disability. To meet this
requirement, the applicant must
describe how it will—
(i) Identify the needs of the intended
recipients for TA and information; and
(ii) Ensure that products and
services 12 meet the needs of the
12 As used in this priority, a ‘‘product’’ means a
piece of work, in tangible or electronic form
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intended recipients (e.g., by creating
materials in formats and languages
accessible to the stakeholders served by
the intended recipients);
(2) Achieve its goals, objectives, and
intended outcomes. To meet this
requirement, the applicant must
provide—
(i) Measurable intended project
outcomes; and
(ii) The logic model on how the
proposed project will achieve its
intended outcomes;
(3) Use a conceptual framework to
develop project plans and activities
describing any underlying concepts,
assumptions, expectations, beliefs, or
theories, as well as the presumed
relationships or linkages among these
variables, and any empirical support for
this framework.
(4) Be based on current research and
make use of evidence-based practices.
To meet this requirement, the applicant
must describe—
(i) The current research and evidencebased practices related to the benefits,
services, or opportunities that are
available through the use of educational
materials and technologies in schools
and workplaces;
(ii) The accessibility standards and
industry-developed guidelines used in
the design, development, maintenance,
and distribution of accessible
educational materials and technologies;
(iii) The current state of SEA
distribution systems to ensure the
quality, availability, and timely delivery
of accessible educational materials and
technologies to children with
disabilities, including children with
disabilities who may be underserved;
(iv) Workplace policies, procedures,
and practices for the adoption and
implementation of accessible workplace
technologies; and
(v) The process the proposed project
will use to incorporate current research
and evidence-based practices to guide
the development and delivery of its
products and services;
(5) Develop new products and
services that are of high quality and
sufficient intensity and duration to
achieve the intended outcomes of the
proposed project. To address this
requirement, the applicant must
describe—
(i) Its proposed activities to identify,
develop, or expand the knowledge base
of SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders
developed and disseminated by an OSEP-funded
project to contribute to improved outcomes for
children with disabilities. As used in this priority,
‘‘service’’ means work performed by an OSEPfunded project to provide information or assistance
to a specific audience to contribute to improved
outcomes for children with disabilities.
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on accessible educational materials and
technologies in early learning programs,
schools, and workplaces;
(ii) Its proposed plan to identify
educational benefits, services, and
opportunities for using accessible
educational materials and technologies
in early learning programs, schools, and
workplaces;
(iii) Its proposed plan to identify
systemic barriers to and critical
components of efficient, unified, and
effective State distribution systems;
(iv) Its proposed plan to identify
policies, procedures, and practices
addressing accessible workplace
technologies;
(v) Its proposed plan to identify
technology design criteria that conform
to accepted accessibility standards,
NIMAS, and when appropriate, widely
used electronic publishing industry
standards;
(vi) Its proposed approach to
universal, general TA,13 including the
intended recipients of the products and
services under this approach. To
address this requirement, the applicant
must, at a minimum, describe—
(A) The proposed project’s plan to
disseminate information gained from
the knowledge development activities;
(B) The proposed plan to meet the
needs of multiple audiences using
information collected in paragraph
(b)(4) of this priority so that the data and
information are easily accessible by
multiple audiences (e.g., Web sites,
newsletters, guidebooks, research
syntheses, conference presentations,
and published articles); and
(C) The proposed project’s plan to
increase access to comprehensive and
accurate information on implementing
relevant legal requirements 14 and on the
use of effective strategies by early
learning programs, schools, and
workplaces, and, as appropriate, by
other stakeholders to support the
design, development, maintenance,
distribution, procurement, timely
13 As used in this priority, ‘‘universal, general
TA’’ means passive technical assistance (TA) and
information provided to independent users through
their own initiative resulting in minimal interaction
with TA Center staff and includes one-time, invited
or offered conference presentations by TA Center
staff. This category of TA also includes information
or products, such as newsletters, guidebooks, or
research syntheses, downloaded from the TA
Center’s Web site by independent users. Brief
communications by TA Center staff with recipients,
either by telephone or email, are also considered
‘‘universal, general TA.’’
14 As used in this priority, the term ‘‘legal
requirements’’ includes, but is not limited to: IDEA,
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Higher
Education Improvement Act, Workforce
Improvement Act, Rehabilitation Act,
Telecommunication Act, Assistive Technology Act,
and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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delivery, and use of accessible
educational materials and technologies;
(vii) Its proposed approach to
targeted, specialized TA,15 including
the recipients of the products and
services under this approach. To
address this requirement, the applicant
must describe—
(A) The proposed project’s plan to
provide support and coordinate with
federally funded projects and national
professional organizations and their
State and local affiliates to increase their
efficiency and effectiveness in
disseminating their products and
delivering their services within State
systems for the development,
maintenance, distribution, and
procurement of accessible educational
technologies and technologies in early
learning programs, schools, and
workplaces; and
(B) The proposed project’s plan to
facilitate communication and increased
collaboration among multiple
stakeholders to problem-solve together,
share information and materials, and
deliver a consistent message on the
importance of supporting the
implementation of this priority (see
paragraph (b)(5)(vi)(C)) to ensure full
benefits, services, and supports to
intended audiences, as appropriate, in
early learning programs, schools, and
workplaces.
(viii) Its approach to intensive,
sustained TA,16 including the intended
recipients of the products and services
under this approach. To address this
requirement, the applicant must
describe—
(A) The proposed project’s plan for
selecting SEAs with whom they will
work; and
(B) The proposed project’s plan for
assisting the selected SEAs to develop,
implement, and sustain efficient,
15 As used in this priority, ‘‘targeted, specialized
TA’’ means technical assistance (TA) service
developed based on needs common to multiple
recipients and not extensively individualized. A
relationship is established between the TA recipient
and one or more TA Center staff. This category of
TA can be one-time, labor-intensive events, such as
facilitating strategic planning or hosting regional or
national meetings. They can also be episodic, less
labor-intensive events that extend over a period of
time, such as facilitating a series of conference calls
on single or multiple topics that are designed
around the needs of the recipients. Facilitating
communities of practice can also be considered
‘‘targeted, specialized TA.’’
16 As used in this priority, ‘‘intensive, sustained
TA’’ means TA services often provided onsite and
requires a stable, ongoing relationship between the
TA center staff and the TA recipient. ‘‘TA services’’
are defined as negotiated series of activities
designed to reach a valued outcome. This category
of TA should result in a change to policy, program,
practice, or operations that support increased
recipient capacity or improved outcomes at one or
more systems levels.
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effective, and unified distribution
systems to ensure the timely delivery of
accessible educational materials and
technologies to children with
disabilities, including children with
disabilities who may be
underrepresented;
(6) Develop products and implement
services that maximize the project’s
efficiency. To address this requirement,
the applicant must describe—
(i) How the proposed project will use
accessible, existing, emerging, and
innovative technology to achieve the
intended project outcomes;
(ii) The collaboration of appropriate
partners for maximizing the
effectiveness of the project’s products
and services. The Center must identify
the members of this group to OSEP
within eight weeks after receipt of the
award;
(iii) How the proposed project will
use non-project resources to achieve the
intended project outcomes; and
(iv) How the proposed project will
improve the likelihood that the products
and services will be used effectively in
a variety of other settings.
(c) Demonstrate, in the narrative
section of the application under
‘‘Adequacy of Project Resources,’’
how—
(1) The proposed key personnel,
consultants, and contractors have the
qualifications, experience, and
commitment to carry out the proposed
activities and achieve the project’s
intended outcomes;
(2) The proposed project will
encourage applications for employment
from persons who are members of
groups that have traditionally been
underrepresented based on race, color,
national origin, linguistic diversity,
gender, age, or disability, as appropriate;
(3) The applicant and key partners
have adequate resources to carry out
proposed project activities; and
(4) The proposed costs are reasonable
in relation to the anticipated results and
benefits.
(d) Demonstrate, in the narrative
section of the application under
‘‘Quality of the Management Plan,’’
how—
(1) The proposed management plan
will ensure that the project’s intended
outcomes will be achieved on time and
within budget. To address this
requirement, the applicant must
describe—
(i) Clearly defined responsibilities for
key project personnel, consultants, and
subcontractors, as applicable; and
(ii) Timelines and milestones for
accomplishing the project tasks;
(2) Key personnel, consultants, and
contractors will be sufficiently allocated
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to the project and how these allocations
are appropriate and adequate to achieve
the project’s intended outcomes;
(3) The proposed management plan
will ensure that the products and
services provided are of high quality;
and
(4) The proposed project will benefit
from a diversity of perspectives,
including, but not limited to, families;
early intervention service providers;
educators; publishers; designers;
developers; vendors; researchers; parent
training and information centers; policy
makers; the business community; SEAs
and lead agencies; and other OSEPfunded projects.
(e) In the narrative section of the
application under ‘‘Quality of the
Evaluation Plan,’’ include an evaluation
plan as described in the following
paragraphs. The evaluation plan must
describe: Measures of progress in
implementation, including the extent to
which the project’s products and
services have reached its target
population; and measures of intended
outcomes or results of the project’s
activities in order to assess the
effectiveness of those activities.
In designing the evaluation plan, the
project must—
(1) Designate, with the approval of the
OSEP project officer, a project liaison
staff person with sufficient dedicated
time, experience in evaluation, and
knowledge of the project to work in
collaboration with the Center to
Improve Project Performance (CIPP),17
the project director, and the OSEP
project officer on the following tasks:
(i) Revise, as needed, the logic model
submitted in the grant application to
provide for a more comprehensive
measurement of implementation and
outcomes and to reflect any changes or
clarifications to the model discussed at
the kick-off meeting;
(ii) Refine the evaluation design and
instrumentation proposed in the grant
application consistent with the logic
model (e.g., preparing evaluation
questions about significant program
processes and outcomes, developing
quantitative or qualitative data
collections that permit both the
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17 The
major tasks of CIPP are to guide,
coordinate, and oversee the design of formative
evaluations for every large discretionary investment
(i.e., those awarded $500,000 or more per year and
required to participate in the 3+2 process) in
OSEP’s Technical Assistance and Dissemination;
Personnel Development; Parent Training and
Information Centers; and Educational Technology,
Media, and Materials programs. The efforts of CIPP
are expected to enhance individual project
evaluation plans by providing expert and unbiased
technical assistance in designing the evaluations
with due consideration of the project’s budget. CIPP
does not function as a third-party evaluator.
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collection of progress data, including
fidelity of implementation, as
appropriate, and the assessment of
effectiveness, selecting respondent
samples if appropriate, designing
instruments or identifying data sources,
and identifying analytic strategies); and
(iii) Revise, as needed, the evaluation
plan submitted in the grant application
such that it clearly—
(A) Specifies the measures and
associated instruments or sources for
data appropriate to the evaluation
questions, suggests analytic strategies
for those data, provides a timeline for
conducting the evaluation, and includes
staff assignments for completion of the
plan;
(B) Delineates the data expected to be
available by the end of the second
project year for use during the project’s
intensive review for continued funding
described under the heading Fourth and
Fifth Years of the Project; and
(C) Can be used to assist the project
director and the OSEP project officer,
with the assistance of CIPP, as needed,
to specify the performance measures to
be addressed in the project’s Annual
Performance Report;
(2) Cooperate with CIPP staff in order
to accomplish the tasks described in
paragraph (e)(1) of this priority; and
(3) Dedicate sufficient funds in each
budget year to cover the costs of
carrying out the tasks described in
paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) of this
priority and implementing the
evaluation plan.
(f) In the narrative under ‘‘Required
Project Assurances’’ or appendices as
directed, the applicant must—
(1) Include in Appendix A a logic
model that depicts, at a minimum, the
goals, activities, outputs, and intended
outcomes of the proposed project. A
logic model communicates how a
project will achieve its intended
outcomes and provides a framework for
both the formative and summative
evaluations of the project.
Note: The following Web sites provide
more information on logic models:
www.researchutilization.org/matrix/
logicmodel_resource3c.html and
www.tadnet.org/pages/589;
(2) Include in Appendix A a conceptual
framework for the project;
(3) Include in Appendix A person-loading
charts and timelines to illustrate the
management plan described in the narrative;
(4) Include in the budget attendance at the
following:
(i) A one and one-half day kick-off meeting
to be held in Washington, DC, after receipt
of the award, and an annual planning
meeting held in Washington, DC, with the
OSEP project officer and other relevant staff
during each subsequent year of the project
period.
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Note: Within 30 days of receipt of the
award, a post-award teleconference must be
held between the OSEP project officer and
the grantee’s project director or other
authorized representative;
(ii) A three-day project directors’
conference in Washington, DC, during each
year of the project period;
(iii) One trip annually to attend
Department briefings, Department-sponsored
conferences, and other meetings, as requested
by OSEP; and
(iv) A one-day intensive review meeting in
Washington, DC, during the last half of the
second year of the project period;
(5) Ensure that the budget includes—
(i) A line item for an annual set-aside of
five percent of the grant amount to support
emerging needs that are consistent with the
proposed project’s activities, as those needs
are identified in consultation with OSEP.
Note: With approval from the OSEP project
officer, the Center should reallocate any
remaining funds from this annual set-aside
no later than the end of the third quarter of
each budget period; and
(ii) A line item for a summative evaluation
to be conducted by an independent third
party; and
(6) Ensure that the project maintains a Web
site that meets government or industryrecognized standards for accessibility.
Fourth and Fifth Years of the Project:
In deciding whether to continue
funding the project for the fourth and
fifth years, the Secretary will consider
the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a), as
well as—
(a) The recommendation of a review
team consisting of experts selected by
the Secretary. This review will be
conducted during a one-day intensive
meeting that will be held during the last
half of the second year of the project
period.
(b) The timeliness and effectiveness
with which all requirements of the
negotiated cooperative agreement have
been or are being met by the project; and
(c) The quality, relevance, and
usefulness of the project’s activities and
products and the degree to which the
project’s activities and products are
aligned with the project’s objectives and
likely to result in the project achieving
its proposed outcomes.
References
Bailey, A., Henry, T., McBride, L., & Puckett,
J. (2011). Unleashing the potential of
technology in education. Boston, MA:
The Boston Consulting Group. Retrieved
from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/
pdf/CSD6149.pdf.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Pecheone, R. (2010).
Developing an internationally
comparable balanced assessment system
that supports high-quality learning.
Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing
Services. Retrieved from
www.K12center.org/rsc/pdf/DarlingHammondPechoneSystemModel.pdf.
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Duffey, D., & Fox, C. (2012). National
Educational Technology Trends 2012:
State Leadership Empower Educators,
Transforming Teaching and Learning.
Washington, DC: State Educational
Technology Directors Association
(SEDTA). Retrieved from
www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED536746.pdf.
Fletcher, G., Schaffhauser, D., & Levi, D.
(2012). Out of print: Reimaging the K–12
textbook in a digital age. Washington,
DC: State Educational Technology
Directors Association (SEDTA).
Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/
ED536747.pdf.
Herman, J.L., & Linn, R.L. (2013). On the road
to assessing deeper teaching: The status
of Smarter Balanced and PARCC
Assessment Consortia (CRESST Report
823). Los Angeles, CA: University of
California, National Center for Research
on Evaluation, Standards, and Student
Testing (CRESST). Retrieved from
www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/
R823.pdf.
Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Cummins, N.
(2012). NMC Horizon Report: 2012 K–12
Edition. Austin, TX: The New Media
Consortium. Retrieved from
www.iste.org/docs/documents/2012horizon-report_k12.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
National Center for Education Statistics.
(2012). NAEP: Looking ahead—Leading
assessment into the future. Washington,
DC: Author. Retrieved from https://
nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/
Future_of_NAEP_Panel_White_
Paper.pdf.
National Research Council. (2000). How
people learn: Brain, mind, experience,
and school: Expanded Edition.
Washington, DC: National Academies
Press. Retrieved from www.nap.edu/
catalog.php?record_id=9853.
National Research Council. (2012a).
Education for life and work: Developing
transferable knowledge and skills in the
21st century. Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press. Retrieved
from https://nap.edu/catalog.php?record_
id=13398.
National Research Council. (2012b). A
framework for K–12 science education:
Practices, cross-cutting concepts, and
core ideas. Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press. Retrieved
from www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_
id=13165.
Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research
Consortium. (2008). Effects of Preschool
Curriculum Programs on School
Readiness (NCER 2008–2009). National
Center for Education Research, Institute
of Education Sciences, U.S. Department
of Education. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office. Retrieved
from https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/pubs/
20082009/pdf/20082009_rev.pdf.
Project Tomorrow. (2011). The new 3E’s of
education: Enabled, engaged,
empowered—How today’s students are
leveraging emerging technologies for
learning. Retrieved from https://
tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU10_
3EofEducation(Students).pdf.
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Sato, E., Lagunoff, R., & Worth, P. (2011).
Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium Common Core State
Standards analysis: Eligible content for
the summative assessment. San
Francisco, CA: WestEd. Retrieved from
www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/
wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SmarterBalanced-CCSS-Eligible-Content-FinalReport.pdf.
U.S. Department of Education. (2010). A
Blueprint for Reform: The
Reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act. Washington,
DC: Author. Retrieved from https://
www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/
blueprint.pdf.
U.S. Department of Education. (2013). Early
Learning: America’s Middle Class
Promise Begins Early. Washington, DC:
Author. Retrieved from www.ed.gov/
early-learning.
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights
Division. (2012). Section 508 Report to
the President and Congress: Accessibility
of Federal Electronic and Information
Technology. Washington, DC: Author.
Retrieved from www.ada.gov/508/508_
Report.htm.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking:
Under the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department
generally offers interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed
priorities and requirements. Section
681(d) of IDEA, however, makes the
public comment requirements of the
APA inapplicable to the priorities in
this notice.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and
1481.
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 debarment and suspension
regulations in 2 CFR part 3485.
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
(IHEs) only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Cooperative
Agreement.
Estimated Available Funds:
$1,200,000.
Contingent upon the availability of
funds and the quality of applications,
we may make additional awards in FY
2015 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Maximum Award: We will reject any
application that proposes a budget
exceeding $1,200,000 for a single budget
period of 12 months. The Assistant
Secretary for Special Education and
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26731
Rehabilitative Services may change the
maximum amount through a notice
published in the Federal Register.
Estimated Number of Awards: 1.
Note: The Department is not bound by any
estimates in this notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months with
an optional additional 24 months based
on performance. Applications must
include plans for both the 36 month
award and the 24 month extension.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs,
including public charter schools that are
considered LEAs under State law; IHEs;
other public agencies; private nonprofit
organizations; outlying areas; freely
associated States; Indian tribes or tribal
organizations; and for-profit
organizations.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This
program does not require cost sharing or
matching.
3. Other General Requirements:
(a) Recipients of funding under this
program must make positive efforts to
employ and advance in employment
qualified individuals with disabilities
(see section 606 of IDEA).
(b) Each applicant for, and recipient
of, funding under this competition must
involve individuals with disabilities, or
parents of individuals with disabilities
ages birth through 26, in planning,
implementing, and evaluating the
project (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of
IDEA).
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: www.ed.gov/
fund/grant/apply/grantapps/.
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,
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
competition as follows: CFDA number
84.327Z.
Individuals with disabilities can
obtain a copy of the application package
in an accessible format (e.g., braille,
large print, audiotape, or compact disc)
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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.
Page Limit: The application narrative
(Part III of the application) is where you,
the applicant, address the selection
criteria that reviewers use to evaluate
your application. You must limit Part III
to no more than 50 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,
reference citations, and captions, as well
as all text in charts, tables, figures,
graphs, and screen shots.
• Use a font that is 12 point or larger.
• 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 and double-spacing
requirement 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 abstract (follow the
guidance provided in the application
package for completing the abstract), the
table of contents, the list of priority
requirements, the resumes, the reference
list, the letters of support, or the
appendices. However, the page limit
and double-spacing requirement does
apply to all of Part III, the application
narrative, including all text in charts,
tables, figures, graphs, and screen shots.
We will reject your application if you
exceed the page limit in the application
narrative section; or if you apply
standards other than those specified in
the application package.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: May 9, 2014.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 23, 2014.
Applications for grants under this
competition 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
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section IV. 7. 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: August 22, 2014.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This
competition is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34
CFR part 79. Information about
Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs under Executive Order 12372
is in the application package for this
competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference
regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
6. Data Universal Numbering System
Number, Taxpayer Identification
Number, and System for Award
Management: 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
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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: 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
National Center on Accessible
Educational Materials for Learning
competition, CFDA number 84.327Z,
must be submitted electronically using
the Governmentwide 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
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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 National Center on
Accessible Educational Materials for
Learning competition at
www.Grants.gov. You must search for
the downloadable application package
for this competition by the CFDA
number. Do not include the CFDA
number’s alpha suffix in your search
(e.g., search for 84.327, not 84.327Z).
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
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 competition
to ensure that you submit your
application in a timely manner to the
Grants.gov system. You can also find the
Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov under News
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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. Additional,
detailed information on how to attach
files is in the application instructions.
• 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 EDspecified 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
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26733
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: Carmen Sanchez, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland
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Avenue SW., room 4057, Potomac
Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC
20202–2600. FAX: (202) 245–7617.
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 84.327Z), 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 84.327Z), 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.
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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 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 program are from 34 CFR
75.210 and are listed in the application
package.
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. Additional Review and Selection
Process Factors: In the past, the
Department has had difficulty finding
peer reviewers for certain competitions
because so many individuals who are
eligible to serve as peer reviewers have
conflicts of interest. The standing panel
requirements under section 682(b) of
IDEA also have placed additional
constraints on the availability of
reviewers. Therefore, the Department
has determined that for some
discretionary grant competitions,
applications may be separated into two
or more groups and ranked and selected
for funding within specific groups. This
procedure will make it easier for the
Department to find peer reviewers by
ensuring that greater numbers of
individuals who are eligible to serve as
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reviewers for any particular group of
applicants will not have conflicts of
interest. It also will increase the quality,
independence, and fairness of the
review process, while permitting panel
members to review applications under
discretionary grant competitions for
which they also have submitted
applications. However, if the
Department decides to select an equal
number of applications in each group
for funding, this may result in different
cut-off points for fundable applications
in each group.
4. 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
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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: Under the
Government Performance and Results
Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has
established a set of performance
measures, including long-term
measures, that are designed to yield
information on various aspects of the
effectiveness and quality of the
Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities program. These measures
are included in the application package
and focus on the extent to which
projects are of high quality, are relevant
to improving outcomes of children with
disabilities, contribute to improving
outcomes for children with disabilities,
and generate evidence of validity and
availability to appropriate populations.
Projects funded under this competition
are required to submit data on these
measures as directed by OSEP:
Program Performance Measure #1:
The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials
projects judged to be of high quality.
Program Performance Measure #2:
The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials
projects judged to be of high relevance
to improving outcomes of infants,
toddlers, children, and youth with
disabilities.
Program Performance Measure #3:
The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials
projects that are judged to be of high
usefulness in improving results for
infants, toddlers, children, and youth
with disabilities.
Program Performance Measure #4:
The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials
projects that validate their products and
services.
Program Performance Measure #5:
The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials
projects that make validated
technologies available for widespread
use.
Grantees will be required to report
information on their project’s
performance in annual performance
reports and additional performance data
to the Department (34 CFR 75.590 and
75.591).
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
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Jkt 232001
‘‘substantial progress toward meeting
the objectives in its approved
application.’’ 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:
Carmen Sanchez, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
Room 4057, PCP, Washington, DC
20202–2600. Telephone: (202) 245–
6595.
If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the
Federal Relay Service (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.
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26735
Dated: May 5, 2014.
Michael K. Yudin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2014–10646 Filed 5–8–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
President’s Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology Meeting
Office of Science, Department
of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Open Teleconference.
AGENCY:
This notice sets forth the
schedule and summary agenda for a
conference call of the President’s
Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology (PCAST) and describes the
functions of the Council. Notice of this
meeting is required under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5
U.S.C., App. 2. The purpose of this
conference call is to discuss PCAST’s
antimicrobial resistance report and
advanced manufacturing reports.
DATES: The public conference call will
be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2014
from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern
Time (ET). To receive the call-in
information, attendees should register
for the conference call on the PCAST
Web site, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
ostp/pcast no later than 12:00 p.m. ET
on Friday, May 23, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Information regarding the call agenda,
time, and how to register for the call is
available on the PCAST Web site at:
https://whitehouse.gov/ostp/pcast.
Questions about the conference call
should be directed to Dr. Ashley
Predith, PCAST Assistant Executive
Director, by email at: apredith@
ostp.eop.gov, or telephone: (202) 456–
4444.
SUMMARY:
The
President’s Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology (PCAST) is an
advisory group of the nation’s leading
scientists and engineers, appointed by
the President to augment the science
and technology advice available to him
from inside the White House and from
cabinet departments and other Federal
agencies. See the Executive Order at the
following Web site: https://
www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/pcast.
PCAST is consulted about and provides
analyses and recommendations
concerning a wide range of issues where
understandings from the domains of
science, technology, and innovation
may bear on the policy choices before
the President. PCAST is co-chaired by
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\09MYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 90 (Friday, May 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26726-26735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10646]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials for Individuals With Disabilities--National Center on
Accessible Educational Materials for Learning
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overview Information:
Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities--National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for
Learning.
Notice inviting applications for a new award for fiscal year (FY)
2014.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327Z.
DATES:
Applications Available: May 9, 2014.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 23, 2014.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 22, 2014.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purposes of the Educational Technology,
Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program \1\ are
to improve results for children with disabilities by: (1) Promoting the
development, demonstration, and use of technology; (2) supporting
educational media activities designed to be of educational value in the
classroom for students with disabilities; (3) providing support for
captioning and video description that is appropriate for use in the
classroom; and (4) providing accessible educational materials to
students with disabilities in a timely manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This program was formerly called ``Technology and Media
Services for Individuals with Disabilities.'' The Department has
changed the name to Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for
Individuals with Disabilities and updated the purposes of the
program to more clearly convey that the program includes accessible
educational materials. The program's activities and statutory
authorization (20 U.S.C. 1474) remain unchanged.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections 674
and 681(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
(20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2014 and any subsequent year in which we
make awards from the list of unfunded applicants 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:
Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities--National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for
Learning.
Background:
The purpose of this priority is to fund a cooperative agreement to
establish and operate a National Center on Accessible Educational
Materials for Learning (Center). The Center will work with State
educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and
other stakeholders to improve the quality, availability, and timely
delivery of accessible educational materials and technologies for use
by infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities (hereafter
referred to as ``children with disabilities'' and includes children who
are blind or other persons with print disabilities). The Center's
efforts will help support equitable opportunities for children with
disabilities to: (1) Participate in high-quality early learning
programs, (2) be involved in and progress in the general education
curriculum, (3) prepare to meet college- and career-ready standards,
(4) participate in assessments, and (5) transition to postsecondary
education and the workforce.
The Center will achieve these results by: (1) Providing information
to OSEP on how the technical specifications of the National
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS) can be improved
to ensure digital files meet the same standard and can be easily
converted into whatever accessible format meets the unique needs of
children who are blind or other persons with print disabilities; (2)
providing technical assistance (TA) to build the capacity of
stakeholders to design, develop, procure, and maintain technologies for
use in schools and workplaces that conform to robust accessibility
standards and, as appropriate, NIMAS; (3) providing TA to SEAs, LEAs,
and other stakeholders to ensure the adoption and implementation of
efficient, effective, and unified distribution systems or to ensure the
improvement of existing systems for the timely delivery of accessible
educational materials and technologies to children with disabilities,
including those children with disabilities who may be underserved; \2\
and (4) providing TA to postsecondary education and workforce
development agencies or offices to ensure the availability and use of
accessible educational materials and technologies by children with
disabilities transitioning to postsecondary education and the
workforce.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ As used in this priority and in a manner consistent with 20
U.S.C. 7255(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, as amended, ``underserved populations'' include disadvantaged,
illiterate, limited English proficient populations, and individuals
with disabilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under section 612(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), States must ensure that a free appropriate public
education (FAPE) be made available to all children with
disabilities.\3\ IDEA also requires that all children with disabilities
are included in all general State and districtwide assessment programs
(see section 612(a)(16)). Accessible educational materials and
technologies enable children with disabilities to have access to, and
be involved in and make progress in, the general education curriculum
(or for a preschool child, to participate in appropriate activities)
and assessments. The 2004 amendments to IDEA required the Secretary to
establish, and States to adopt, the NIMAS to improve the timely
production and dissemination of educational materials in accessible
formats for students who are blind or other persons with print
disabilities (see sections 612(a)(23) and 674(e) of IDEA). The NIMAS
ensures that digital files meet a consistent standard and can be easily
converted into whatever accessible format meets the unique needs of
these students. In addition, SEAs and LEAs are responsible for ensuring
that children with disabilities who need instructional materials in
accessible formats but are not included under the definition of blind
or other persons with print disabilities, or who need materials that
cannot be produced from NIMAS files, also receive those instructional
materials in a timely manner (34 CFR 300.172(b)(3) and 300.210(b)(3)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ FAPE involves providing special education, related services,
and supplementary aides and services, including educational
materials in accessible formats for children with disabilities who
are blind or other persons with print disabilities who are eligible
for services under Part B of IDEA.
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To support SEAs' and LEAs' efficient and timely distribution of
accessible materials, OSEP established the National Instructional
Materials Access
[[Page 26727]]
Center (NIMAC) to serve as a national repository to receive and store
NIMAS source files and make them available to States. Currently, SEAs
and LEAs obtain NIMAS files directly from publishers or from the NIMAC
and convert those files into specialized formats for use exclusively by
children who are blind or other persons with print disabilities.
OSEP currently funds cooperative agreements to support the NIMAS
Center and the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials
(AIM Center). The NIMAS Center provides information on improving \4\
the technical specifications of the NIMAS to ensure children who are
blind or other persons with print disabilities have access to as broad
a range of print educational materials as possible through the use of
electronic file formatting technology. To support the implementation of
NIMAS, the AIM Center provides a continuum of TA and resources to SEAs,
LEAs, and other stakeholders to develop and implement efficient,
unified distribution systems to support and improve the timely delivery
of high quality accessible educational materials to all children with
disabilities who need educational materials in accessible formats. Both
grants are scheduled to end in FY 2014. However, SEAs, LEAs, and other
stakeholders will continue to need support to ensure the timely
delivery of accessible educational materials and technologies to
children with disabilities, including a national repository to receive
and store NIMAS source files.
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\4\ In June 2012, after reviewing information provided by the
NIMAS Center, OSEP issued a Dear Colleague Letter encouraging
publishers to use the most current version of MathML, currently
MathML3, for the markup of mathematics and scientific content in
NIMAS filesets. The OSEP Dear Colleague Letter, dated June 22, 2012,
is available at https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/osers-nimas.pdf.
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Current reform initiatives are transforming the learning
environment and may provide opportunities for SEAs, LEAs, and other
stakeholders to leverage the potential educational benefits of emerging
and innovative technologies. These reform initiatives call for high-
quality early learning programs and development opportunities for
infants and toddlers (Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research
Consortium, 2008; U.S. Department of Education, 2013) and they also
include ambitious academic content and performance expectations that
call for teaching methods and learning strategies that promote student
mastery of those expectations and the ability to apply what has been
learned to real-world situations and problems (Darling-Hammond &
Pecheone, 2010; Herman & Linn, 2013; National Research Council, 2000,
2012a, 2012b; Sato, Lagunoff, & Worth, 2011; and U.S. Department of
Education, 2010). The efficient delivery of accessible educational
materials and technologies to children with disabilities helps to
support their ability to participate in high-quality early learning
programs, be involved in, and make progress in, the general education
curriculum, meet college- and career-ready standards, and participate
in assessments.
Today's learning tasks increasingly leverage the power of
technology to transform early learning programs, the way teachers
teach, how children learn, and how assessments are used (Bailey, Henry,
McBride, & Puckett, 2011; Duffey & Fox, 2012; Fletcher, Schaffhauser, &
Levi, 2012; Johnson, Adams, & Cummins, 2012; National Center for
Education Statistics, 2012; Project Tomorrow, 2011; U.S. Department of
Education, 2010, 2013). As recipients of Federal financial assistance,
SEAs and LEAs that choose to incorporate technology into their
instruction or other developmental activities for all students will
need support to ensure those technologies conform to nationally
accepted accessibility standards in order to meet the needs of students
with disabilities (U.S. Department of Justice, 2012). Accessible
formats of electronic textbooks and other emerging technologies may
require NIMAS convergence with nationally accepted accessibility
standards for electronic and information technologies. To ensure
accessibility, the Center, working closely with the electronic
publishing industry, will facilitate the alignment of the NIMAS
standard with electronic publishing standards.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
issued a Dear Colleague Letter \5\ informing colleges and universities
that ``[e]nsuring equal access to emerging technology in university and
college classrooms is a means to the goal of full integration and equal
educational opportunity for this nation's students with disabilities.''
Similarly, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability
Employment Policy \6\ (ODEP) has a long history of exploring the law,
policies, practices, and procedures to advance the development and
adoption of accessible, interoperable, and usable workplace
technologies. Addressing the availability, use, and updating of
accessible educational materials and technologies to support students
with disabilities who transition to postsecondary education settings
and the workplace remains a critically important task.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights,
2010. The Dear Colleague Letter is available at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.pdf.
\6\ U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment
Policy. Framework for Designing and Implementing Accessible
Information and Communication Technology Strategic Plans: Accessible
Technology in the Workplace Initiative is available at www.dol.gov/odep/pdf/20120224FDIA-ICT-StrategicPlans.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority:
The purpose of this priority is to fund a cooperative agreement to
establish and operate a National Center on Accessible Educational
Materials for Learning (Center) that, at a minimum--
(a) Provides information to OSEP on how the NIMAS technical
specifications can be improved to ensure children who are blind or
other persons with print disabilities, have access to as broad a range
of print educational materials as possible through the use of
electronic file formatting technology; \7\
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\7\ As used in this priority, ``technology'' means any equipment
or interconnected system or subsystem for which the principal
function is the creation, conversion, duplication, movement,
control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, reception,
or broadcast of data or information. It includes, but is not limited
to, electronic content; telecommunication products; computers and
ancillary equipment; software; information kiosks; transaction
machines; videos; information technology services; and multifunction
office machines that copy, scan, and fax documents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Increases the capacity of stakeholders \8\ to design, develop,
maintain, and distribute technologies that conform to robust
accessibility standards \9\ and, as appropriate, NIMAS;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ As used in this priority, the term ``stakeholders''
includes, but is not limited to, children with disabilities;
parents; educational materials designers, developers, and
distributors; educational publishers; authorized users; accessible
media producers; agencies or organizations responsible for
establishing accessibility standards for commercial electronic
publications and instructional materials; institutions of higher
education; workforce development agencies or offices; and other
OSEP-funded projects.
\9\ As used in this priority, ``accessibility standards'' means
current or revised electronic and information technology
accessibility standards (EITAS) developed and implemented under the
authority of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C.
794d(2)(A)) as well as interstate and international communication
access guidelines authorized under the Telecommunication Act
Accessibility Guidelines (47 U.S.C. 255). The use of designs or
technologies as alternatives to the EITAS is permitted provided they
result in substantially equivalent or greater access to and use of a
product for individuals with disabilities (36 CFR part 1194.5). The
annual Section 508 Report to the President and Congress indicated
the most common accessibility standards used by recipients of
Federal financial assistance are Section 508 EITAS and the Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines (see www.ada.gov/508/508_Report.htm).
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[[Page 26728]]
(c) Achieves the adoption and implementation of efficient,
effective, and unified distribution systems or the improvement of
existing systems by SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders to ensure the
timely delivery of accessible educational materials \10\ and
technologies to children with disabilities; \11\ and
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\10\ As used in this priority, ``accessible educational
materials'' means print- and technology-based educational materials,
including printed and electronic textbooks and related core
materials that are required by SEAs and LEAs for use by all
students, produced or rendered in accessible media, written and
published primarily for use in early learning programs, elementary,
or secondary schools to support teaching and learning.
\11\ As used in this priority, ``children with disabilities''
includes children who are blind or other persons with print
disabilities. As used in this priority, the term ``blind or other
persons with print disabilities'' means children served under IDEA
and who may qualify under the Act entitled ``An Act to Provide Books
for the Adult Blind,'' approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 46
Stat. 1487), to receive books and other publications produced in
specialized formats. (see Section 20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(3)(A)).
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(d) Improves the capacity of postsecondary education and workforce
development agencies or offices to ensure the availability and use of
accessible educational materials and technologies by children with
disabilities who are transitioning to postsecondary education settings
and workplaces.
In addition to these programmatic requirements, to be considered
for funding under this priority, applicants must meet the application
and administrative requirements in this priority. OSEP encourages
innovative approaches to meet these requirements, which are to:
(a) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under
``Significance of the Project,'' how the proposed project will--
(1) Address the need for accessible educational materials and
technologies to support equitable opportunities in early learning
programs, schools, and workplaces. To meet this requirement the
applicant must--
(i) Present applicable national, State, regional, or local data
demonstrating the need for accessible educational materials and
technologies in schools and workplaces for children with disabilities,
including children with disabilities who may be underserved; and
(ii) Demonstrate knowledge of the following:
(A) Benefits, services, or opportunities that are available through
the use of educational materials and technologies in schools and
workplaces that are fully accessible to children with disabilities,
including children with disabilities who may be underserved;
(B) Standards and technical specifications used to support the
preparation of electronic files and used solely for efficient
conversion into specialized formats to provide access to printed and
electronic textbooks and related core materials;
(C) Accepted accessibility standards and industry-developed
specifications for technologies used in schools and workplaces; and
(D) TA resources available to stakeholders and personnel in early
learning programs, schools and workplaces, to support the design,
development, maintenance, distribution, timely delivery, and use of
accessible educational materials and technologies;
(2) Increase the capacity of stakeholders to design, develop,
maintain, and distribute technologies that conform to robust
accessibility standards and, as appropriate, NIMAS. To address this
requirement the applicant must--
(i) Identify current policies, procedures, and practices used by
early learning programs, schools, workplaces, and other stakeholders to
ensure the availability and use of accessible educational materials and
technologies; and
(ii) Identify strategies to address gaps or challenges faced by
early intervention programs, schools, workplaces, and other
stakeholders to ensure the availability and use of accessible
educational materials and technologies; and
(3) Increase knowledge and identify dissemination strategies to
enable SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders to develop, implement, and
sustain efficient, unified distribution systems and improve existing
systems to ensure the availability and use of accessible educational
materials and technologies in early learning programs, schools, and
workplaces.
(b) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under
``Quality of Project Services,'' how the project will--
(1) Ensure equal access and treatment for members of groups that
have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability. To meet this requirement, the
applicant must describe how it will--
(i) Identify the needs of the intended recipients for TA and
information; and
(ii) Ensure that products and services \12\ meet the needs of the
intended recipients (e.g., by creating materials in formats and
languages accessible to the stakeholders served by the intended
recipients);
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ As used in this priority, a ``product'' means a piece of
work, in tangible or electronic form developed and disseminated by
an OSEP-funded project to contribute to improved outcomes for
children with disabilities. As used in this priority, ``service''
means work performed by an OSEP-funded project to provide
information or assistance to a specific audience to contribute to
improved outcomes for children with disabilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Achieve its goals, objectives, and intended outcomes. To meet
this requirement, the applicant must provide--
(i) Measurable intended project outcomes; and
(ii) The logic model on how the proposed project will achieve its
intended outcomes;
(3) Use a conceptual framework to develop project plans and
activities describing any underlying concepts, assumptions,
expectations, beliefs, or theories, as well as the presumed
relationships or linkages among these variables, and any empirical
support for this framework.
(4) Be based on current research and make use of evidence-based
practices. To meet this requirement, the applicant must describe--
(i) The current research and evidence-based practices related to
the benefits, services, or opportunities that are available through the
use of educational materials and technologies in schools and
workplaces;
(ii) The accessibility standards and industry-developed guidelines
used in the design, development, maintenance, and distribution of
accessible educational materials and technologies;
(iii) The current state of SEA distribution systems to ensure the
quality, availability, and timely delivery of accessible educational
materials and technologies to children with disabilities, including
children with disabilities who may be underserved;
(iv) Workplace policies, procedures, and practices for the adoption
and implementation of accessible workplace technologies; and
(v) The process the proposed project will use to incorporate
current research and evidence-based practices to guide the development
and delivery of its products and services;
(5) Develop new products and services that are of high quality and
sufficient intensity and duration to achieve the intended outcomes of
the proposed project. To address this requirement, the applicant must
describe--
(i) Its proposed activities to identify, develop, or expand the
knowledge base of SEAs, LEAs, and other stakeholders
[[Page 26729]]
on accessible educational materials and technologies in early learning
programs, schools, and workplaces;
(ii) Its proposed plan to identify educational benefits, services,
and opportunities for using accessible educational materials and
technologies in early learning programs, schools, and workplaces;
(iii) Its proposed plan to identify systemic barriers to and
critical components of efficient, unified, and effective State
distribution systems;
(iv) Its proposed plan to identify policies, procedures, and
practices addressing accessible workplace technologies;
(v) Its proposed plan to identify technology design criteria that
conform to accepted accessibility standards, NIMAS, and when
appropriate, widely used electronic publishing industry standards;
(vi) Its proposed approach to universal, general TA,\13\ including
the intended recipients of the products and services under this
approach. To address this requirement, the applicant must, at a
minimum, describe--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ As used in this priority, ``universal, general TA'' means
passive technical assistance (TA) and information provided to
independent users through their own initiative resulting in minimal
interaction with TA Center staff and includes one-time, invited or
offered conference presentations by TA Center staff. This category
of TA also includes information or products, such as newsletters,
guidebooks, or research syntheses, downloaded from the TA Center's
Web site by independent users. Brief communications by TA Center
staff with recipients, either by telephone or email, are also
considered ``universal, general TA.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) The proposed project's plan to disseminate information gained
from the knowledge development activities;
(B) The proposed plan to meet the needs of multiple audiences using
information collected in paragraph (b)(4) of this priority so that the
data and information are easily accessible by multiple audiences (e.g.,
Web sites, newsletters, guidebooks, research syntheses, conference
presentations, and published articles); and
(C) The proposed project's plan to increase access to comprehensive
and accurate information on implementing relevant legal requirements
\14\ and on the use of effective strategies by early learning programs,
schools, and workplaces, and, as appropriate, by other stakeholders to
support the design, development, maintenance, distribution,
procurement, timely delivery, and use of accessible educational
materials and technologies;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ As used in this priority, the term ``legal requirements''
includes, but is not limited to: IDEA, Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, Higher Education Improvement Act, Workforce
Improvement Act, Rehabilitation Act, Telecommunication Act,
Assistive Technology Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(vii) Its proposed approach to targeted, specialized TA,\15\
including the recipients of the products and services under this
approach. To address this requirement, the applicant must describe--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ As used in this priority, ``targeted, specialized TA''
means technical assistance (TA) service developed based on needs
common to multiple recipients and not extensively individualized. A
relationship is established between the TA recipient and one or more
TA Center staff. This category of TA can be one-time, labor-
intensive events, such as facilitating strategic planning or hosting
regional or national meetings. They can also be episodic, less
labor-intensive events that extend over a period of time, such as
facilitating a series of conference calls on single or multiple
topics that are designed around the needs of the recipients.
Facilitating communities of practice can also be considered
``targeted, specialized TA.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) The proposed project's plan to provide support and coordinate
with federally funded projects and national professional organizations
and their State and local affiliates to increase their efficiency and
effectiveness in disseminating their products and delivering their
services within State systems for the development, maintenance,
distribution, and procurement of accessible educational technologies
and technologies in early learning programs, schools, and workplaces;
and
(B) The proposed project's plan to facilitate communication and
increased collaboration among multiple stakeholders to problem-solve
together, share information and materials, and deliver a consistent
message on the importance of supporting the implementation of this
priority (see paragraph (b)(5)(vi)(C)) to ensure full benefits,
services, and supports to intended audiences, as appropriate, in early
learning programs, schools, and workplaces.
(viii) Its approach to intensive, sustained TA,\16\ including the
intended recipients of the products and services under this approach.
To address this requirement, the applicant must describe--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ As used in this priority, ``intensive, sustained TA'' means
TA services often provided onsite and requires a stable, ongoing
relationship between the TA center staff and the TA recipient. ``TA
services'' are defined as negotiated series of activities designed
to reach a valued outcome. This category of TA should result in a
change to policy, program, practice, or operations that support
increased recipient capacity or improved outcomes at one or more
systems levels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) The proposed project's plan for selecting SEAs with whom they
will work; and
(B) The proposed project's plan for assisting the selected SEAs to
develop, implement, and sustain efficient, effective, and unified
distribution systems to ensure the timely delivery of accessible
educational materials and technologies to children with disabilities,
including children with disabilities who may be underrepresented;
(6) Develop products and implement services that maximize the
project's efficiency. To address this requirement, the applicant must
describe--
(i) How the proposed project will use accessible, existing,
emerging, and innovative technology to achieve the intended project
outcomes;
(ii) The collaboration of appropriate partners for maximizing the
effectiveness of the project's products and services. The Center must
identify the members of this group to OSEP within eight weeks after
receipt of the award;
(iii) How the proposed project will use non-project resources to
achieve the intended project outcomes; and
(iv) How the proposed project will improve the likelihood that the
products and services will be used effectively in a variety of other
settings.
(c) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under
``Adequacy of Project Resources,'' how--
(1) The proposed key personnel, consultants, and contractors have
the qualifications, experience, and commitment to carry out the
proposed activities and achieve the project's intended outcomes;
(2) The proposed project will encourage applications for employment
from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been
underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, linguistic
diversity, gender, age, or disability, as appropriate;
(3) The applicant and key partners have adequate resources to carry
out proposed project activities; and
(4) The proposed costs are reasonable in relation to the
anticipated results and benefits.
(d) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under
``Quality of the Management Plan,'' how--
(1) The proposed management plan will ensure that the project's
intended outcomes will be achieved on time and within budget. To
address this requirement, the applicant must describe--
(i) Clearly defined responsibilities for key project personnel,
consultants, and subcontractors, as applicable; and
(ii) Timelines and milestones for accomplishing the project tasks;
(2) Key personnel, consultants, and contractors will be
sufficiently allocated
[[Page 26730]]
to the project and how these allocations are appropriate and adequate
to achieve the project's intended outcomes;
(3) The proposed management plan will ensure that the products and
services provided are of high quality; and
(4) The proposed project will benefit from a diversity of
perspectives, including, but not limited to, families; early
intervention service providers; educators; publishers; designers;
developers; vendors; researchers; parent training and information
centers; policy makers; the business community; SEAs and lead agencies;
and other OSEP-funded projects.
(e) In the narrative section of the application under ``Quality of
the Evaluation Plan,'' include an evaluation plan as described in the
following paragraphs. The evaluation plan must describe: Measures of
progress in implementation, including the extent to which the project's
products and services have reached its target population; and measures
of intended outcomes or results of the project's activities in order to
assess the effectiveness of those activities.
In designing the evaluation plan, the project must--
(1) Designate, with the approval of the OSEP project officer, a
project liaison staff person with sufficient dedicated time, experience
in evaluation, and knowledge of the project to work in collaboration
with the Center to Improve Project Performance (CIPP),\17\ the project
director, and the OSEP project officer on the following tasks:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ The major tasks of CIPP are to guide, coordinate, and
oversee the design of formative evaluations for every large
discretionary investment (i.e., those awarded $500,000 or more per
year and required to participate in the 3+2 process) in OSEP's
Technical Assistance and Dissemination; Personnel Development;
Parent Training and Information Centers; and Educational Technology,
Media, and Materials programs. The efforts of CIPP are expected to
enhance individual project evaluation plans by providing expert and
unbiased technical assistance in designing the evaluations with due
consideration of the project's budget. CIPP does not function as a
third-party evaluator.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Revise, as needed, the logic model submitted in the grant
application to provide for a more comprehensive measurement of
implementation and outcomes and to reflect any changes or
clarifications to the model discussed at the kick-off meeting;
(ii) Refine the evaluation design and instrumentation proposed in
the grant application consistent with the logic model (e.g., preparing
evaluation questions about significant program processes and outcomes,
developing quantitative or qualitative data collections that permit
both the collection of progress data, including fidelity of
implementation, as appropriate, and the assessment of effectiveness,
selecting respondent samples if appropriate, designing instruments or
identifying data sources, and identifying analytic strategies); and
(iii) Revise, as needed, the evaluation plan submitted in the grant
application such that it clearly--
(A) Specifies the measures and associated instruments or sources
for data appropriate to the evaluation questions, suggests analytic
strategies for those data, provides a timeline for conducting the
evaluation, and includes staff assignments for completion of the plan;
(B) Delineates the data expected to be available by the end of the
second project year for use during the project's intensive review for
continued funding described under the heading Fourth and Fifth Years of
the Project; and
(C) Can be used to assist the project director and the OSEP project
officer, with the assistance of CIPP, as needed, to specify the
performance measures to be addressed in the project's Annual
Performance Report;
(2) Cooperate with CIPP staff in order to accomplish the tasks
described in paragraph (e)(1) of this priority; and
(3) Dedicate sufficient funds in each budget year to cover the
costs of carrying out the tasks described in paragraphs (e)(1) and
(e)(2) of this priority and implementing the evaluation plan.
(f) In the narrative under ``Required Project Assurances'' or
appendices as directed, the applicant must--
(1) Include in Appendix A a logic model that depicts, at a minimum,
the goals, activities, outputs, and intended outcomes of the proposed
project. A logic model communicates how a project will achieve its
intended outcomes and provides a framework for both the formative and
summative evaluations of the project.
Note: The following Web sites provide more information on logic
models: www.researchutilization.org/matrix/logicmodel_resource3c.html and www.tadnet.org/pages/589;
(2) Include in Appendix A a conceptual framework for the
project;
(3) Include in Appendix A person-loading charts and timelines to
illustrate the management plan described in the narrative;
(4) Include in the budget attendance at the following:
(i) A one and one-half day kick-off meeting to be held in
Washington, DC, after receipt of the award, and an annual planning
meeting held in Washington, DC, with the OSEP project officer and
other relevant staff during each subsequent year of the project
period.
Note: Within 30 days of receipt of the award, a post-award
teleconference must be held between the OSEP project officer and the
grantee's project director or other authorized representative;
(ii) A three-day project directors' conference in Washington,
DC, during each year of the project period;
(iii) One trip annually to attend Department briefings,
Department-sponsored conferences, and other meetings, as requested
by OSEP; and
(iv) A one-day intensive review meeting in Washington, DC,
during the last half of the second year of the project period;
(5) Ensure that the budget includes--
(i) A line item for an annual set-aside of five percent of the
grant amount to support emerging needs that are consistent with the
proposed project's activities, as those needs are identified in
consultation with OSEP.
Note: With approval from the OSEP project officer, the Center
should reallocate any remaining funds from this annual set-aside no
later than the end of the third quarter of each budget period; and
(ii) A line item for a summative evaluation to be conducted by
an independent third party; and
(6) Ensure that the project maintains a Web site that meets
government or industry-recognized standards for accessibility.
Fourth and Fifth Years of the Project:
In deciding whether to continue funding the project for the fourth
and fifth years, the Secretary will consider the requirements of 34 CFR
75.253(a), as well as--
(a) The recommendation of a review team consisting of experts
selected by the Secretary. This review will be conducted during a one-
day intensive meeting that will be held during the last half of the
second year of the project period.
(b) The timeliness and effectiveness with which all requirements of
the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or are being met by the
project; and
(c) The quality, relevance, and usefulness of the project's
activities and products and the degree to which the project's
activities and products are aligned with the project's objectives and
likely to result in the project achieving its proposed outcomes.
References
Bailey, A., Henry, T., McBride, L., & Puckett, J. (2011). Unleashing
the potential of technology in education. Boston, MA: The Boston
Consulting Group. Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/CSD6149.pdf.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Pecheone, R. (2010). Developing an
internationally comparable balanced assessment system that supports
high-quality learning. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Services.
Retrieved from www.K12center.org/rsc/pdf/Darling-HammondPechoneSystemModel.pdf.
[[Page 26731]]
Duffey, D., & Fox, C. (2012). National Educational Technology Trends
2012: State Leadership Empower Educators, Transforming Teaching and
Learning. Washington, DC: State Educational Technology Directors
Association (SEDTA). Retrieved from www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED536746.pdf.
Fletcher, G., Schaffhauser, D., & Levi, D. (2012). Out of print:
Reimaging the K-12 textbook in a digital age. Washington, DC: State
Educational Technology Directors Association (SEDTA). Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED536747.pdf.
Herman, J.L., & Linn, R.L. (2013). On the road to assessing deeper
teaching: The status of Smarter Balanced and PARCC Assessment
Consortia (CRESST Report 823). Los Angeles, CA: University of
California, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards,
and Student Testing (CRESST). Retrieved from www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R823.pdf.
Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Cummins, N. (2012). NMC Horizon Report:
2012 K-12 Edition. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved
from www.iste.org/docs/documents/2012-horizon-report_k12.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). NAEP: Looking
ahead--Leading assessment into the future. Washington, DC: Author.
Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/Future_of_NAEP_Panel_White_Paper.pdf.
National Research Council. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind,
experience, and school: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: National
Academies Press. Retrieved from www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853.
National Research Council. (2012a). Education for life and work:
Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13398.
National Research Council. (2012b). A framework for K-12 science
education: Practices, cross-cutting concepts, and core ideas.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Retrieved from
www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165.
Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Consortium. (2008). Effects
of Preschool Curriculum Programs on School Readiness (NCER 2008-
2009). National Center for Education Research, Institute of
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/pubs/20082009/pdf/20082009_rev.pdf.
Project Tomorrow. (2011). The new 3E's of education: Enabled,
engaged, empowered--How today's students are leveraging emerging
technologies for learning. Retrieved from https://tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU10_3EofEducation(Students).pdf.
Sato, E., Lagunoff, R., & Worth, P. (2011). Smarter Balanced
Assessment Consortium Common Core State Standards analysis: Eligible
content for the summative assessment. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
Retrieved from www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Smarter-Balanced-CCSS-Eligible-Content-Final-Report.pdf.
U.S. Department of Education. (2010). A Blueprint for Reform: The
Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/blueprint.pdf.
U.S. Department of Education. (2013). Early Learning: America's
Middle Class Promise Begins Early. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved
from www.ed.gov/early-learning.
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2012). Section
508 Report to the President and Congress: Accessibility of Federal
Electronic and Information Technology. Washington, DC: Author.
Retrieved from www.ada.gov/508/508_Report.htm.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities and
requirements. Section 681(d) of IDEA, however, makes the public comment
requirements of the APA inapplicable to the priorities in this notice.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and 1481.
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 debarment
and suspension regulations in 2 CFR part 3485.
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 (IHEs) only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement.
Estimated Available Funds: $1,200,000.
Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of
applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2015 from the list of
unfunded applicants from this competition.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $1,200,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services may change the maximum amount through a notice published in
the Federal Register.
Estimated Number of Awards: 1.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months with an optional additional 24
months based on performance. Applications must include plans for both
the 36 month award and the 24 month extension.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs, including public charter
schools that are considered LEAs under State law; IHEs; other public
agencies; private nonprofit organizations; outlying areas; freely
associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-
profit organizations.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost
sharing or matching.
3. Other General Requirements:
(a) Recipients of funding under this program must make positive
efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with
disabilities (see section 606 of IDEA).
(b) Each applicant for, and recipient of, funding under this
competition must involve individuals with disabilities, or parents of
individuals with disabilities ages birth through 26, in planning,
implementing, and evaluating the project (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of
IDEA).
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: www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/. 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, 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 competition as follows: CFDA number 84.327Z.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape,
or compact disc)
[[Page 26732]]
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.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application)
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that
reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to
no more than 50 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, reference citations, and captions, as well as
all text in charts, tables, figures, graphs, and screen shots.
Use a font that is 12 point or larger.
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 and double-spacing requirement 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 abstract (follow the guidance provided in the
application package for completing the abstract), the table of
contents, the list of priority requirements, the resumes, the reference
list, the letters of support, or the appendices. However, the page
limit and double-spacing requirement does apply to all of Part III, the
application narrative, including all text in charts, tables, figures,
graphs, and screen shots.
We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit in the
application narrative section; or if you apply standards other than
those specified in the application package.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: May 9, 2014.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 23, 2014.
Applications for grants under this competition 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. 7. 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: August 22, 2014.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under
Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this
competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification
Number, and System for Award Management: 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: 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 National Center on Accessible
Educational Materials for Learning competition, CFDA number 84.327Z,
must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide 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
[[Page 26733]]
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 National
Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning competition at
www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application
package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the
CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.327, not
84.327Z).
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 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 competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov 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. Additional, detailed information on how to attach
files is in the application instructions.
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: Carmen Sanchez, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland
[[Page 26734]]
Avenue SW., room 4057, Potomac Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC
20202-2600. FAX: (202) 245-7617.
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 84.327Z), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service.
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a
dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with
your local post office.
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 84.327Z), 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
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 program are
from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
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. Additional Review and Selection Process Factors: In the past,
the Department has had difficulty finding peer reviewers for certain
competitions because so many individuals who are eligible to serve as
peer reviewers have conflicts of interest. The standing panel
requirements under section 682(b) of IDEA also have placed additional
constraints on the availability of reviewers. Therefore, the Department
has determined that for some discretionary grant competitions,
applications may be separated into two or more groups and ranked and
selected for funding within specific groups. This procedure will make
it easier for the Department to find peer reviewers by ensuring that
greater numbers of individuals who are eligible to serve as reviewers
for any particular group of applicants will not have conflicts of
interest. It also will increase the quality, independence, and fairness
of the review process, while permitting panel members to review
applications under discretionary grant competitions for which they also
have submitted applications. However, if the Department decides to
select an equal number of applications in each group for funding, this
may result in different cut-off points for fundable applications in
each group.
4. 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
[[Page 26735]]
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: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has established a set of
performance measures, including long-term measures, that are designed
to yield information on various aspects of the effectiveness and
quality of the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for
Individuals with Disabilities program. These measures are included in
the application package and focus on the extent to which projects are
of high quality, are relevant to improving outcomes of children with
disabilities, contribute to improving outcomes for children with
disabilities, and generate evidence of validity and availability to
appropriate populations. Projects funded under this competition are
required to submit data on these measures as directed by OSEP:
Program Performance Measure #1: The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials projects judged to be of high quality.
Program Performance Measure #2: The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials projects judged to be of high
relevance to improving outcomes of infants, toddlers, children, and
youth with disabilities.
Program Performance Measure #3: The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials projects that are judged to be of high
usefulness in improving results for infants, toddlers, children, and
youth with disabilities.
Program Performance Measure #4: The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials projects that validate their products
and services.
Program Performance Measure #5: The percentage of educational
technology, media, and materials projects that make validated
technologies available for widespread use.
Grantees will be required to report information on their project's
performance in annual performance reports and additional performance
data to the Department (34 CFR 75.590 and 75.591).
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.'' 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: Carmen Sanchez, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 4057, PCP, Washington, DC
20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-6595.
If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the Federal Relay Service (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 5, 2014.
Michael K. Yudin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-10646 Filed 5-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
