| Page Range | 58235-58239 | |
| FR Document | 2015-24511 |
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 187 (Monday, September 28, 2015)] [Notices] [Pages 58235-58239] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2015-24511] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Applications for New Awards; Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions and Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview Information Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions and Low- Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2016. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.305L and 84.324L. DATES: Request for Applications Available: September 30, 2015. Applications Available: November 12, 2015. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 12, 2016. SUMMARY: The Deputy Director for Policy and Research, delegated the duties of the Director, of the Institute of Education Sciences (Institute) announces the Institute's FY 2016 grant competition for Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions and Low- Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions. The Deputy Director for Policy and Research takes this action under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. The Institute's purpose in awarding these grants is to support rigorous evaluations of education interventions that State educational agencies (SEAs) or local educational agencies (LEAs) believe will produce meaningful improvements in student outcomes within a short period (for example, within a single semester or academic year), that can be conducted at low cost, and that will provide policymakers with valid and useful results more rapidly than is typically achieved in education research. Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions and Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions grant programs is to support rigorous evaluations of education interventions implemented by SEAs and LEAs that have important implications for improving student education outcomes. The evaluations are low cost because they rely on administrative records or other available data and are completed within a two-year period. The evaluations are rigorous because they use randomized controlled trials or regression discontinuity designs that, if well implemented, would meet What Works Clearinghouse evidence standards without reservations for determining the effectiveness of interventions. The evaluations are to be carried out by partnerships between research institutions and SEAs or LEAs. Implementation of the intervention to be evaluated is to be supported by the SEA and/or LEA and not by the grant. The education intervention to be evaluated should be implemented and the key outcomes collected within the first year of the project, and the analysis and dissemination should be completed by the end of the second year of the project. In order to meet this schedule, projects should focus on interventions that are expected to produce meaningful results quickly (for example, within one semester or school year) and that rely on outcome measures that are readily available to researchers. Competitions in This Notice: The Institute's National Center for Education Research (NCER) will hold one competition for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions Grant Program (84.305L). The Institute's National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) will hold one competition for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions Grant Program (84.324L). Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq. Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. In addition, the regulations in 34 CFR part 75 are applicable, except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 75.109(a), [[Page 58236]] 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217(a)-(c), 75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230. (b) The Office of Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended in 2 CFR part 3474. Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of higher education only. II. Award Information Types of Awards: Discretionary grants. Estimated Available Funds: $1 million for each of the two competitions. Estimated Number of Awards: The maximum number of awards made for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions Grant Program will be four. The maximum number of awards made for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions Grant Program will be four. These maximums will depend on the quality of the applications received and the availability of funds. The Institute's Director or Deputy Director for Policy and Research (Delegated Duties of the Director) may change the maximum number of grants per competition awarded through a notice in the Federal Register. Contingent on the availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2017 from the list of unfunded applications from the FY 2016 competitions. Maximum Award: The maximum total award is $250,000 for the entire project period of up to 24 months. We will reject any application that proposes a budget of more than $250,000. Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice. Project Period: Up to 24 months based on performance. III. Eligibility Information 1. Eligible Applicants: Research partnerships involving at least one research institution and at least one SEA or LEA. The partnership must choose one principal investigator from either the research institution or the SEA or LEA to have overall responsibility for the administration of the award. Applicants that have the ability and capacity to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply as the research institution partner. These include, but are not limited to, nonprofit and for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and institutions, such as colleges and universities. SEAs and LEAs (public agencies whose primary responsibility is the education of students in prekindergarten, K-12, postsecondary, and/or adult education) are eligible to apply as the education agency partner. 2. Cost Sharing or Matching: These programs do not require cost sharing or matching. IV. Application and Submission Information 1. Requests for Applications and Other Information: Information regarding program and application requirements for the two competitions will be contained in the NCER and NCSER Requests for Applications (RFAs), which will be available on the Institute's Web site at: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/. Separate application packages for the two competitions will be available on November 12, 2015. The selection criteria, requirements concerning the content of an application, and review procedures for the competitions are contained in the RFAs. 2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements concerning the content of an application are contained in the RFA for the specific competition. The forms that must be submitted are in the application package for the specific competition. 3. Submission Dates and Times: Request for Applications Available: September 30, 2015. Applications Available: November 12, 2015. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 12, 2016. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. Applications for grants under these competitions must be obtained from and submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (www.Grants.gov). For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application package 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. 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. 4. Intergovernmental Review: These competitions are not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 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 two to five 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. [[Page 58237]] 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: 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 these competitions 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 Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions, CFDA number 84.305L, and Low-Cost, Short- Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions, CFDA number 84.324L, 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 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 applications for the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions competition and the Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Special Education Interventions competition at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application packages for these competitions by the CFDA number, 84.305L or 84.324L. 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 the 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. Your electronic application must comply with any page- limit requirements described in the relevant RFA for your application. 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 [[Page 58238]] 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 prevents you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. Address and mail or fax your statement to: Ellie Pelaez, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW., Room 600e, Washington, DC 20208. FAX: (202) 219-1466. 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: 84.305L or 84.324L), 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: 84.305L or 84.324L), 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 each competition are provided in the applicable RFA. 2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, the Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the applicant in carrying out a previous award, such as the applicant's use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and compliance with grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or submitted a report of unacceptable quality. In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 3. Special Conditions: Under 2 CFR 3474.10, the Secretary may impose special conditions and, in appropriate circumstances, high-risk 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 2 CFR part 200, subpart D; 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 [[Page 58239]] specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant. 3. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for an annual two-day meeting for project directors to be held in Washington, DC. 4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a grant under these competitions, you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b). (b) At the end of your project period, you must submit a final performance report, including financial information, as directed by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an annual performance report that provides the most current performance and financial expenditure information as directed by the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html. 5. Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of its education research and special education research grant programs, the Institute annually assesses the percentage of projects that result in peer-reviewed publications, the number of newly developed or modified interventions with evidence of promise for improving student education outcomes, and the number of Institute-supported interventions with evidence of efficacy in improving student outcomes, including school readiness outcomes for young children and student academic outcomes and social and behavioral competencies for school-age students. School readiness outcomes include pre-reading, reading, pre-writing, early mathematics, early science, and social-emotional skills that prepare young children for school. Student academic outcomes include learning and achievement in core academic content areas (reading, writing, math, and science) and outcomes that reflect students' successful progression through the education system (e.g., course and grade completion; high school graduation; postsecondary enrollment, progress, and completion). Social and behavioral competencies include social skills, attitudes, and behaviors that may be important to student's academic and post- academic success. Additional education outcomes for students with or at risk of disability include developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers (birth to age three) with or at risk for a disability pertaining to cognitive, communicative, linguistic, social, emotional, adaptive, functional, or physical development; and developmental and functional outcomes that improve education outcomes, transition to employment, independent living, and postsecondary education for students with disabilities. 6. Continuation Awards: In making a continuation award under 34 CFR 75.253, the Secretary considers, among other things: Whether a grantee has made substantial progress in meeting the goals and objectives of the project; whether the grantee has expended funds in a manner that is consistent with its approved application and budget; and, if the Secretary has established performance measurement requirements, whether the grantee has met the performance targets in the grantee's approved application. 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: Regarding CFDA number 84.305L--Dr. Phill Gagne at [email protected], or Dr. Allen Ruby at [email protected]. Regarding CFDA number 84.324L--Dr. Robert Ochsendorf at [email protected]. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800- 877-8339. VIII. Other Information Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the RFA in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the appropriate program contact person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this notice. 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.thefederalregister.org/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 this 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: September 22, 2015. Ruth Neild, Deputy Director for Policy and Research, Delegated Duties of the Director, Institute of Education Sciences. [FR Doc. 2015-24511 Filed 9-25-15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Notices | |
| Action | Notice. | |
| Dates | Request for Applications Available: September 30, 2015. | |
| Contact | Regarding CFDA number 84.305L--Dr. Phill Gagne at [email protected], or Dr. Allen Ruby at [email protected] Regarding CFDA number 84.324L--Dr. Robert Ochsendorf at [email protected] | |
| FR Citation | 80 FR 58235 |