DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Overview

Information, Impact Aid Discretionary Construction Program; Notice

Inviting Applications for New Emergency Repair Awards for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2008

Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.041C.

Applications Available: September 1, 2008.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 30, 2008.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: March 30, 2009.

Eligible Applicants: To be eligible for an emergency repair grant, a
local educational agency (LEA) must enroll a high percentage (at least
40 percent) of federally connected children in average daily attendance
(ADA) who reside on Indian lands or who have a parent on active duty in
the U.S. uniformed services, have a school that enrolls a high
percentage of one of these types of students, or be eligible for funding
for heavily impacted LEAs under section 8003(b)(2) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Act), as amended by the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). In making emergency grant awards, the
Secretary must also consider the LEA\'s total assessed value of real
property that may be taxed for school purposes, its use of available
bonding capacity, and the nature and severity of the school facility
emergency.

In this notice, the Secretary is only soliciting applications for
emergency repair grants. We will not accept applications for
modernization grants at this time. There are two funding categories
under the emergency repair grants provisions. Detailed information about
the eligibility requirements for these two priorities is in 34 CFR
222.177 through 222.179.

Except as provided in 34 CFR 222.190, all eligible applications in the
first priority emergency category must be funded before applications in
the next priority can be funded. As prescribed in section
8007(b)(5)(A)(vi) of the Act and the implementing regulations in 34 CFR
222.189(b)(4), unfunded applications in any of the four priorities are
retained for one year and considered along with the following fiscal
year\'s pool of applicants. For each of the FYs 2002, 2003, 2004, and
2005 competitions, the number of fundable first priority emergency
repair applications exceeded the funds available.

The Secretary will not subject second priority emergency repair
applications to the panel review process if the need for funds by
eligible applicants in the first priority greatly exceeds the available
appropriation. Should funds remain available for modernization awards
following this competition, the Secretary will announce a separate
competition for modernization grant applications.

Estimated Available Funds: \$17,800,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: \$50,000-\$5,000,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: \$1,500,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 11.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Project periods will be determined based on the grant
proposals and the nature of the proposed projects. Full Text of
Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The Impact Aid Discretionary Construction Program
provides grants to eligible Impact Aid school districts to assist in
addressing their school facility emergency and modernization needs. The
eligible Impact Aid school districts have a limited ability to raise
revenues for capital improvements because they have large areas of
Federal land within their boundaries. As a result, these districts find
it difficult to respond when their school facilities are in need of
emergency repairs or modernization.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7707(b).

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75 (except for 34
CFR 75.600 through 75.617), 77, 79, 80, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
(b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR part 222.

II\. Award Information

Type of Award: Discretionary grants.

Estimated Available Funds: \$17,800,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: \$50,000-\$5,000,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: \$1,500,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 11.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: We will determine each project period based on the
project proposed and will specify this period in the grant award
document.

III\. Eligibility Information

1\. Eligible Emergency Repair Applicants: To be eligible for an
emergency repair grant, an LEA must enroll a high percentage (at least
40 percent) of federally connected children in ADA who reside on Indian
lands or who have a parent on active duty in the U.S. uniformed
services, have a school that enrolls a high percentage of one of these
types of students, or be eligible for funding for heavily impacted LEAs
under section 8003(b)(2) of the Act. In making emergency grant awards,
the Secretary must also consider the LEA\'s total assessed value of real
property that may be taxed for school purposes, its use of available
bonding capacity, and the nature and severity of the school facility
emergency.

In this notice, the Secretary is soliciting only applications for
emergency repair grants. We will not accept applications for
modernization grants at this time. Applications for emergency repair
grants are considered in two priority categories. Detailed information
about the eligibility requirements for these two priorities is in 34 CFR
222.177 through 222.179.

Except as provided in 34 CFR 222.190, all eligible applications in the
first priority emergency category must be funded before applications in
the next priority can be funded. As prescribed in section
8007(b)(5)(A)(vi) of the Act and the implementing regulations in 34 CFR
222.189(b)(4), unfunded applications in any of the four priorities are
retained for one year and considered along with the following fiscal
year\'s pool of applicants. For each of the FYs 2002, 2003, 2004, and
2005 competitions, the number of fundable first priority emergency
repair applications exceeded the funds available.

The Secretary will not subject second priority emergency repair
applications to the panel review process if the need for funds by
eligible applicants in the first priority greatly exceeds the available
appropriation. Should funds remain available for modernization awards
following this competition, the Secretary will announce a separate
competition for modernization grant applications.

2\. Cost Sharing or Matching: See 20 U.S.C. 7707(b) and 34 CFR 222.174
and 222.191 through 222.193. In reviewing proposed awards, the Secretary
considers the funds available to the grantee from other sources,
including local, State, and other Federal funds. Consistent with 34 CFR
222.192, applicants will be required to submit financial reports for FYs
2006, 2007, and 2008 showing closing balances for all school funds. If
significant amounts are available at the close of FY 2008 that are not
obligated for other purposes, those funds will be considered as
available for the proposed emergency repair project, which may reduce or
eliminate the award for an emergency grant.

Except for applicants with no practical capacity to issue bonds, as
defined in 34 CFR 222.176, an eligible applicant\'s award amount may not
be more than 50 percent of the total cost of an approved project and it
may not exceed four million dollars during any four-year period. As
outlined in 34 CFR 222.174, this program also involves supplement, not
supplant funding provisions.

IV\. Application and Submission Information

1.  An electronic application is available at:
    [http://e-grants.ed.gov](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://e-grants.ed.gov).

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at

1-800-877-8339.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape,
or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed in
this section.

2\. Content and Form of Application Submission:

a\. Content Restrictions: The application narrative should provide
concise information on the nature of the emergency condition, including
details of the facilities system(s) that require emergency repair and
how they adversely affect the health, safety, and well-being of
occupants, the scale of the project in relation to the size of the
school facility, and cost estimates to address the conditions. This
information should be succinct and well organized. Applications should
not include drawings, designs, or other extraneous documents regarding
proposed projects, because reviewers will not consider them.

b\. Page Limit: We have found that reviewers are able to conduct the
highest-quality review when applications are concise and easy to read.
We strongly recommend that applicants limit their response in each
applicable narrative section to two pages.

c\. Other: Other requirements concerning the content of an application,
together with the forms you must submit, are in the application package
for this program.

3\. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: September 1, 2008.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 30, 2008.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: March 30, 2009.

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System
(e-Application) accessible through the Department\'s e-Grants website
([http://e-grants.ed.gov](http://e-grants.ed.gov/) ). For information
(including dates and times) about how to submit your application
electronically please refer to section IV. The Impact Aid Program will
not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline
requirements.

4\. Intergovernmental Review: This program 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 packages for this program.

5\. Funding Restrictions: We specify unallowable costs in 34 CFR
222.173. Grant recipients must, in accordance with Federal, State and
local laws, use emergency grants for permissible construction activities
at public elementary and secondary school facilities. The scope of a
selected facilities project will be identified as part of the final
grant award conditions. A grantee must also ensure that its construction
expenditures under this program meet the requirements of 34 CFR 222.172
(allowable program activities) and 34 CFR 222.173 (prohibited
activities). We reference additional regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

6\. Other Submission Requirements:

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted
electronically. You must use e-Application available through the
Department\'s e-Grants website, accessible through the e-Grants portal
page at:
[http://e-grants.ed.gov](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://e-grants.ed.gov).
In completing your electronic application, you will be entering data
online that will be saved into a database.

You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
Please note the following:

Your participation in e-Application is mandatory.

You must complete the electronic submission of your grant application by
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The
e-Application system will not accept an application for this competition
after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application
deadline date to begin the application process.

The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site are 6 a.m.
Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until midnight
Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is
unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.

You must submit all documents electronically, including the Application
for Discretionary Construction Program under Section 8007(b), including
all necessary assurances and certifications. All additional narrative
documents must be attached to the application as files in a .DOC
(document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format.

Your electronic application must comply with any page limit requirements
described in this notice. Prior to submitting your electronic
application, you may wish to print a copy of it for your records.

After you electronically submit your application, you will receive an
automatic acknowledgement that will include a PR/Award number (an
identifying number unique to your application).

Within three business days after submitting your electronic application,
fax a signed copy of the cover pages, assurances and the emergency
certification form for the Application for Discretionary Construction
Program under Section 8007(b) to the Impact Aid Program after following
these steps:

\(1\) Print the Application for Discretionary Construction Program under
Section 8007(b) from e-Application.

\(2\) The LEA\'s Authorized Representative must sign and date the cover
page and all of the assurances pages. The local certifying official must
sign the certification for an emergency application.

\(3\) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the
hard copy cover page of the Application for Discretionary Construction
Program under Section 8007(b).

\(4\) Fax the signed cover page, certification, and assurances for the
Discretionary Construction Program under Section 8007(b) to the Impact
Aid Program at 866-799-1272.

We may request that you provide us original signatures on other forms at
a later date.

Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability: If
you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the
application deadline date because the e-Application system is
unavailable, we will grant you an extension of one business day in order
to transmit your application electronically, by mail, or by hand
delivery. We will grant this extension if\--

\(1\) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have initiated
an electronic application for this competition; and

(2)(a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or more
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on
the application deadline date; or

\(b\) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date.

We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability before
granting you an extension. To request this extension or to confirm our
acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may contact either (1)
the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-Grants help desk at
1-888-336-8930. If the system is down and therefore the application
deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all registered users who
have initiated an e-Application.

Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability
of the Department\'s e-Application system.

V. Application Review Information

1\. Selection Criteria: Consistent with 34 CFR 75.209, the selection
criteria for this program are based on the specific statutory program
elements identified in 34 CFR 222.183 through 222.187 and are described
in the following paragraphs.

The Secretary gives distinct weight to the listed selection criteria.
The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses. Within
each criterion, the Secretary evaluates each factor equally, unless
otherwise specified. The maximum score that an application may receive
is 100 points.

\(1\) Need for project/severity of the school facility problem to be
addressed by the proposed project. (up to 30 points)

\(a\) Justification that the proposed project will address a valid
emergency; and consistency of the emergency description and the proposed
project with the certifying local official\'s statement.

\(b\) Impact of the emergency condition on the health and safety of the
building occupants or on program delivery (examples: the systems or
areas of the facility involved, e.g., HVAC, roof, floor, windows); the
type of space affected, such as instructional, resource, food service,
recreational, general support, or other areas; the percentage of
building occupants affected by the emergency; and the importance of the
facility or affected area to the instructional program.

\(2\) Project Urgency. (up to 28 points)

\(a\) Risk to occupants if the facility condition is not addressed;
projected increased future costs; effect of the proposed project on the
useful life of the facility or the need for major construction; and age
and condition of the facility and date of last renovation of affected
areas.

\(b\) The justification for rebuilding, if proposed.

\(3\) Effects of Federal Presence. (up to 30 points total)

\(a\) Amount of non-taxable Federal property in the applicant district
(percentage of Federal property divided by 10); (up to 10 points)

\(b\) The number of federally connected children identified in sections
8003(a)(1)(A), (B), (C), and (D) of the Act in the LEA (percentage of
identified children in LEA divided by 10); (up to 10 points)

\(c\) The number of federally connected children identified in sections
8003(a)(1)(A), (B), (C), and (D) of the Act in the school facility
(percentage of identified children in school facility divided by 10);
(up to 10 points)

\(4\) Ability to respond or pay. (up to 12 points total)

\(a\) The percentage an LEA has used of its bonding capacity. Four
points will be distributed based on quartile ranking of all LEAs in the
State so that an LEA that has used 100 percent of its bonding capacity
receives all four points and an LEA that has used less than 25 percent
of its bond limit receives only one point. LEAs that do not have limits
on bonded indebtedness established by their States will be evaluated by
assuming that their bond limit is 10 percent of the assessed value of
real property in the LEA. LEAs deemed to have no practical capacity to
issue bonds will receive all four points. (up to 4 points)

\(b\) Assessed value of real property per student. Applicant LEA\'s
total assessed valuation of real property per pupil as a percentile
ranking of all LEAs in the State. Four points will be distributed by
providing all four points to LEAs in the poorest quartile and only one
point to LEAs in the wealthiest quartile. (up to 4 points)

\(c\) Total tax rate for capital or school purposes. Applicant LEA\'s
tax rate for capital or school purposes as a percentile ranking of all
LEAs in the State. If the State authorizes a tax rate for capital
expenditures, then these data must be used; otherwise, data on the total
tax rate for school purposes are used. Four points will be distributed
by providing all four points to LEAs in the highest taxing quartile and
only one point to LEAs in the lowest quartile. (up to 4 points)

\(5\) The Department will consider the applicant's past performance and
use of funds under a previous award under any Department program when
selecting an applicant for funding (EDGAR 75.217).

2\. Review and Selection Process: Upon receipt, Impact Aid program staff
will screen all applications to identify any that should not be included
in the panel review process. Applications that do not meet the
eligibility standards or are incomplete or late will be rejected.
Program staff will also calculate the objective scores for each
application under criteria (3), (4) and (5). Panel reviewers will assess
the applications under criteria (1) and (2).

VI\. Award Administration Information

1\. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.

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: 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 specified by the Secretary in 34
CFR 75.118 and 34 CFR 222.195. In general, grantees must comply with
applicable reporting requirements in 34 CFR parts 75 and 80. In
addition, grantees will be required to provide periodic performance and
financial reports, as specified in individual grant award conditions and
34 CFR 222.195.

4\. Performance Measures: The Department has established the following
performance measure for this program: an increasing percentage of LEAs
receiving Impact Aid Construction funds will report that the overall
condition of their school buildings is adequate. Data for this measure
will be reported to the Department on Table 10 of the application for
Impact Aid Section 8003 Basic Support Payments.

VII\. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Walls-Rivas, Impact Aid
Program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room
3C153, Washington, DC 20202-6244. Telephone: (202) 260-3858 or by
e-mail: <Impact.Aid@ed.gov> .

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call
the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with
disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format (e.g.,
Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the
program contact person listed in this section.

Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as well
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site:
[http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister).

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free
at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

Note: The official version of this document is the document published in
the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of
the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on
GPO Access at:
[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html).