Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative Grants

The Department published the FY 1999 application for Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative competitive grants in the Federal Register on February 24, 1999 (64 FR 9229). The Department also published a notice of final priority for those grants on the same date (64 FR 9228). The application established an original deadline for transmittal of applications for the second stage of applications of August 20, 1999. First, because of the need to prepare competitive grant applications for other Department programs, such as those under the Reading Excellence Act, some States have not been able to convene the consortium that is required to create the Statewide Initiative plan for the Even Start competitive grant application. In recognition of the competing demands on States, and in the interest of giving States sufficient planning time to prepare high-quality applications and to benefit from further technical assistance that the Department will provide, the Secretary extends the deadline for the second stage of applications for these grants to October 15, 1999. Second, the Department's regulations already authorize grant recipients to incur allowable pre-award costs up to 90 calendar days before the grant award (34 CFR 75.263 and 74.25(e)(1)). In addition, for this competition, the Secretary will authorize grant recipients to use grant funds to pay certain pre-award costs incurred more than 90 days before the date of the grant award but no earlier than the date of the initial notice soliciting grant applications (February 24, 1999). Those authorized pre-award costs are the necessary and reasonable costs to establish, convene, and facilitate the required consortium's work in creating the plan for the proposed Statewide family literacy initiative. All pre-award costs are incurred at the recipient's risk. That is, the Secretary is under no obligation to reimburse these costs if for any reason the applicant does not receive an award or if the award is less than anticipated and inadequate to cover these costs. Third, under this grant competition, a State that receives a grant for an Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative must contribute an amount from non-Federal sources, in cash or in kind, at least equal to the Federal funds awarded under the grant. Drawing on

non-Federal contributions is important to building successful collaborative Statewide efforts to strengthen and expand family literacy services. However, identifying sufficient resources to meet this requirement may be difficult in some instances. In those cases, if the State educational agency (SEA) is the applicant State office or agency, the SEA may request from the Secretary a waiver under section 14401 of the ESEA of the requirement that only non-Federal funds may be used to match the Federal award. Such a waiver, if approved, would allow that State to use Federal resources (such as Head Start, Title I, Adult Education Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Reading Excellence Act resources), in addition to non-Federal resources, to meet the matching requirement. Any waiver request must meet the required criteria in section 14401 by, among other things, identifying how the waiver would contribute to improvements in teaching and learning. Applicants seeking a waiver of the requirement for non-Federal matching resources should include their waiver request with their application. To receive assistance concerning a waiver request, potential waiver applicants may call the Department's Waiver Assistance Line at (202) 401-7801 or 1-800-USA-LEARN, or the program contact above. Waiver guidance, including information about preparing a request, is also available in the Department's on-line library at www.ed.gov/flexibility.

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Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6362(c).

Dated: June 22, 1999. Judith Johnson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education. [FR Doc. 99-16196 Filed 6-24-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-U