Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 54 / Monday, March 22, 2010 / Notices 13515 

1National Research Council. 1998. Preventing 

Reading Difficulties in Young Children. 

2Penuel, W. R., Pasnik, S., Bates, L., Townsend, 

E., Gallagher, L. P., Llorente, C., & Hupert, N. 

(2009). Preschool teachers can use a media-rich 

curriculum to prepare low-income children for 

school success: Results of a randomized controlled 

trial. New York and Menlo Park, CA: Education 

Development Center, Inc., and SRI International. 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Innovation and Improvement 

(OII); Overview Information; Ready-toLearn Television Program; Notice 

Inviting Applications for New Awards 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.295A. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: March 22, 

2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

April 21, 2010. 

Date of Meeting for Prospective 

Applicants: April 8, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 21, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 20, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: 

The Ready-to-Learn Television 

Program is designed to: (1) Facilitate 

student academic achievement by 

supporting the development and 

distribution of educational video 

programming for preschool and 

elementary school children and their 

parents; and (2) develop and 

disseminate educational outreach 

materials and programs that are 

designed to promote school readiness, 

are interactive, and use multiple 

innovative technologies and digital 

media platforms. 

Background: 

Research shows that building and 

fostering numeracy and spatial thinking 

skills in young children are critical to 

eliminating differences in student 

achievement or student growth that tend 

to develop between children from lowincome families and children from 

middle-income families during their 

school years.1

Authorized under section 2431 of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), the 

Ready-to-Learn Television Program has 

in the past focused primarily on 

supporting the development and 

distribution of educational television 

content. Through this competition, the 

Secretary is encouraging applicants to 

use transmedia storytelling, as defined 

in this notice, to deliver early learning 

content. Individual studies show that 

low-income preschool children, in 

particular, can benefit substantially 

from participating in a media-rich 

curriculum that exposes them to 

educational content, and engages them 

in learning activities through a variety 

of educational media platforms, 

including television, video, and online 

games.2 To ensure that the transmedia 

content benefits the widest audience 

possible, we encourage applicants to 

provide access to the early learning 

content through open educational 

resources. 

Section 2431 of the ESEA requires 

that projects funded under this program 

provide educational outreach at the 

local level. To ensure that low-income 

children benefit from the early learning 

content developed under this program, 

the Ready-to-Learn Television Program 

seeks to support a variety of contentrelated activities where programming 

and outreach are blended and reach 

high-need communities. To carry out 

these activities, applicants may wish to 

consider partnering with persistently 

lowest achieving schools (as defined in 

the final requirements for the School 

Improvement Grants program, 74 FR 

65618; 75 FR 3375), a media production 

program within an accredited 

postsecondary institution, and a teacher 

preparation program within an 

accredited postsecondary institution 

that focuses on early childhood 

education. 

The Secretary also encourages 

applicants to consider developing 

rigorous research and evaluation 

strategies to increase the body of 

knowledge about the impact of 

educational technology on improving 

school readiness and success for lowincome children. 

Statutory Requirements: 

As set forth in section 2431 of the 

ESEA, to be eligible to receive a 

cooperative agreement under the Readyto-Learn Television Program, an 

applicant must: 

(1) Develop, produce, and distribute 

educational and instructional video 

programming for preschool and 

elementary school children and their 

parents in order to facilitate student 

academic achievement; 

(2) Facilitate the development, 

directly or through contracts with 

producers of children and family 

educational television programming, of 

educational programming for preschool 

and elementary school children, and the 

accompanying support materials and 

services that promote the effective use 

of such programming; 

(3) Facilitate the development of 

programming and digital content 

containing Ready-to-Learn-based 

children’s programming and resources 

for parents and caregivers that is 

specially designed for nationwide 

distribution over public television 

stations’ digital broadcasting channels 

and the Internet; 

(4) Contract with entities (such as 

public telecommunications entities) so 

that programs developed under this 

section are disseminated and distributed 

to the widest possible audience 

appropriate to be served by the 

programming, and through the use of 

the most appropriate distribution 

technologies; and 

(5) Develop and disseminate 

education and training materials, 

including interactive programs and 

programs adaptable to distance learning 

technologies, that are designed— 

(i) To promote school readiness; and 

(ii) To promote the effective use of 

materials developed under paragraphs 

(2) and (3) among parents, teachers, 

Head Start providers, Even Start 

providers, providers of family literacy 

services, child care providers, early 

childhood development personnel, 

elementary school teachers, public 

libraries, and after-school program 

personnel caring for preschool and 

elementary school children. 

Priorities: This competition contains 

two invitational priorities and one 

competitive preference priority. 

Invitational Priorities: Under this 

competition we are particularly 

interested in applications that address 

the following priorities. For FY 2010 

and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, these 

priorities are invitational priorities. 

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not 

give an application that meets these 

invitational priorities a competitive or 

absolute preference over other 

applications. 

These priorities are: 

Invitational Priority 1. Applications 

that provide for the development of 

high-quality, age-appropriate 

educational content in reading and/or 

mathematics that is designed to increase 

the literacy and/or numeracy skills of 

low-income children ages two to eight 

years old. This invitational priority 

encourages applicants to deliver early 

learning content through the wellplanned and coordinated use of 

multiple media platforms, commonly 

known as transmedia storytelling, as 

defined in this notice. Applicants are 

also encouraged to develop effective 

outreach strategies, activities, and 

materials that are designed to 


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supplement and enhance early learning 

content and improve the reading 

literacy and/or mathematics skills and 

early learning outcomes of low-income 

children. 

Invitational Priority 2. Applications 

that provide for the development and 

dissemination of products and results 

through open educational resources 

(OER). OER are teaching, learning, and 

research resources that reside in the 

public domain or have been released 

under an intellectual property license 

that permits their free use or 

repurposing by others. This invitational 

priority encourages applications that 

describe how the applicants will make 

their Ready-to-Learn products and 

resources freely available through 

various media platforms in an effort to 

share content, proven teaching 

strategies, and lessons learned in 

implementing Ready-to-Learn properties 

and resources with other early 

childhood and early elementary school 

educators. 

Note: Each applicant addressing this 

priority is encouraged to include plans for 

how the applicant will disseminate 

resources, for example through a Web site 

that is freely available to all users. Each 

applicant is also encouraged to include plans 

specifying how the project will identify 

quality resources, including content and/or 

outreach activities, for presentation to other 

educators and parents. 

Competitive Preference Priority: This 

priority is from the notice of final 

priority for Scientifically Based 

Evaluation Methods, published in the 

Federal Register on January 25, 2005 

(70 FR 3586). For FY 2010 and any 

subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) 

we award up to an additional 20 points 

to an application, depending on how 

well an application meets this priority. 

These points are in addition to any 

points the application earns under the 

selection criteria. 

When using the priority to give 

competitive preference to an 

application, we will review the 

applications using a two-stage review 

process. In the first stage, we will 

review the applications based on the 

selection criteria without taking the 

competitive priority into account. In the 

second stage of the process, we will 

review the applications rated highest in 

the first stage of the process to 

determine whether they will receive the 

competitive preference points. We will 

consider awarding competitive 

preference points only to those 

applicants with top-ranked scores based 

on the selection criteria. 

This priority is: 

The Secretary establishes a priority 

for projects proposing an evaluation 

plan that is based on rigorous 

scientifically based research methods to 

assess the effectiveness of a particular 

intervention. The Secretary intends that 

this priority will allow program 

participants and the Department to 

determine whether the project produces 

meaningful effects on student 

achievement or teacher performance. 

Evaluation methods using an 

experimental design are best for 

determining project effectiveness. Thus, 

when feasible, the project must use an 

experimental design under which 

participants—e.g., students, teachers, 

classrooms, or schools—are randomly 

assigned to participate in the project 

activities being evaluated or to a control 

group that does not participate in the 

project activities being evaluated. 

If random assignment is not feasible, 

the project may use a quasiexperimental design with carefully 

matched comparison conditions. This 

alternative design attempts to 

approximate a randomly assigned 

control group by matching 

participants—e.g., students, teachers, 

classrooms, or schools—with nonparticipants having similar pre-program 

characteristics. 

In cases where random assignment is 

not possible and participation in the 

intervention is determined by a 

specified cut-off point on a quantified 

continuum of scores, regression 

discontinuity designs may be employed. 

For projects that are focused on 

special populations in which sufficient 

numbers of participants are not 

available to support random assignment 

or matched comparison group designs, 

single-subject designs such as multiple 

baseline or treatment-reversal or 

interrupted time series that are capable 

of demonstrating causal relationships 

can be employed. 

Proposed evaluation strategies that 

use neither experimental designs with 

random assignment nor quasiexperimental designs using a matched 

comparison group nor regression 

discontinuity designs will not be 

considered responsive to the priority 

when sufficient numbers of participants 

are available to support these designs. 

Evaluation strategies that involve too 

small a number of participants to 

support group designs must be capable 

of demonstrating the causal effects of an 

intervention or program on those 

participants. 

The proposed evaluation plan must 

describe how the project evaluator will 

collect—before the project intervention 

commences and after it ends—valid and 

reliable data that measure the impact of 

participation in the program or in the 

comparison group. 

Points awarded under this priority 

will be determined by the quality of the 

proposed evaluation method. In 

determining the quality of the 

evaluation method, we will consider the 

extent to which the applicant presents 

a feasible, credible plan that includes 

the following: 

(1) The type of design to be used (that 

is, random assignment or matched 

comparison). If matched comparison, 

include in the plan a discussion of why 

random assignment is not feasible. 

(2) Outcomes to be measured. 

(3) A discussion of how the applicant 

plans to assign students, teachers, 

classrooms, or schools to the project and 

control group or match them for 

comparison with other students, 

teachers, classrooms, or schools. 

(4) A proposed evaluator, preferably 

independent, with the necessary 

background and technical expertise to 

carry out the proposed evaluation. An 

independent evaluator does not have 

any authority over the project and is not 

involved in its implementation. 

In general, depending on the 

implemented program or project, under 

a competitive preference priority, 

random assignment evaluation methods 

will receive more points than matched 

comparison evaluation methods. 

While we will not score applicants 

based on the invitational priorities, we 

encourage applicants to take advantage 

of the competitive preference priority if 

their model allows them to do so. 

Definitions: 

As used in invitational priority 1 in 

this notice: 

Transmedia storytelling means 

conveying content and themes to 

audiences through the well-planned, 

connected use of multiple media 

platforms (examples include but may 

not be limited to: television, Web sites, 

cell phones, e-books, electronic games, 

handheld devices, and other yet to be 

developed technologies). 

As used in the competitive preference 

priority in this notice— 

Scientifically based research (section 

9101(37) of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 

7801(37)): 

(A) Means research that involves the 

application of rigorous, systematic, and 

objective procedures to obtain reliable 

and valid knowledge relevant to 

education activities and programs; and 

(B) Includes research that— 

(i) Employs systematic, empirical 

methods that draw on observation or 

experiment; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 54 / Monday, March 22, 2010 / Notices 13517 

(ii) Involves rigorous data analyses 

that are adequate to test the stated 

hypotheses and justify the general 

conclusions drawn; 

(iii) Relies on measurements or 

observational methods that provide 

reliable and valid data across evaluators 

and observers, across multiple 

measurements and observations, and 

across studies by the same or different 

investigators; 

(iv) Is evaluated using experimental or 

quasi-experimental designs in which 

individuals, entities, programs, or 

activities are assigned to different 

conditions and with appropriate 

controls to evaluate the effects of the 

condition of interest, with a preference 

for random-assignment experiments, or 

other designs to the extent that those 

designs contain within-condition or 

across-condition controls; 

(v) Ensures that experimental studies 

are presented in sufficient detail and 

clarity to allow for replication or, at a 

minimum, offer the opportunity to build 

systematically on their findings; and 

(vi) Has been accepted by a peerreviewed journal or approved by a panel 

of independent experts through a 

comparably rigorous, objective, and 

scientific review. 

Random assignment or experimental 

design means random assignment of 

students, teachers, classrooms, or 

schools to participate in a project being 

evaluated (treatment group) or not 

participate in the project (control 

group). The effect of the project is the 

difference in outcomes between the 

treatment and control groups. 

Quasi-experimental designs include 

several designs that attempt to 

approximate a random assignment 

design. 

Carefully matched comparison groups 

design means a quasi-experimental 

design in which project participants are 

matched with non-participants based on 

key characteristics that are thought to be 

related to the outcome. 

Regression discontinuity design 

means a quasi-experimental design that 

closely approximates an experimental 

design. In a regression discontinuity 

design, participants are assigned to a 

treatment or control group based on a 

numerical rating or score of a variable 

unrelated to the treatment such as the 

rating of an application for funding. 

Eligible students, teachers, classrooms, 

or schools above a certain score (‘‘cut 

score’’) are assigned to the treatment 

group and those below the score are 

assigned to the control group. In the 

case of the scores of applicants’ 

proposals for funding, the ‘‘cut score’’ is 

established at the point where the 

program funds available are exhausted. 

Single subject design means a design 

that relies on the comparison of 

treatment effects on a single subject or 

group of single subjects. There is little 

confidence that findings based on this 

design would be the same for other 

members of the population. 

Treatment reversal design means a 

single subject design in which a pretreatment or baseline outcome 

measurement is compared with a posttreatment measure. Treatment would 

then be stopped for a period of time, a 

second baseline measure of the outcome 

would be taken, followed by a second 

application of the treatment or a 

different treatment. For example, this 

design might be used to evaluate a 

behavior modification program for 

disabled students with behavior 

disorders. 

Multiple baseline design means a 

single subject design to address 

concerns about the effects of normal 

development, timing of the treatment, 

and amount of the treatment with 

treatment-reversal designs by using a 

varying time schedule for introduction 

of the treatment and/or treatments of 

different lengths or intensity. 

Interrupted time series design means 

a quasi-experimental design in which 

the outcome of interest is measured 

multiple times before and after the 

treatment for program participants only. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6775. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 

85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of 

final priority for Scientifically Based 

Evaluation Methods, published in the 

Federal Register on January 25, 2005 

(70 FR 3586). 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 

apply to all applicants except federally 

recognized Indian tribes. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Cooperative 

agreements. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$26,884,000. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$3,500,000–$5,000,000 for the first year 

of the project. Funding for the second, 

third, fourth, and fifth years is subject 

to availability of funds and the approval 

of continuation awards (see 34 CFR 

75.253). 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$4,250,000. 

Estimated Maximum Size of Awards: 

$5,000,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 5–7. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $5,000,000 for a single budget 

period of 12 months. The Assistant 

Deputy Secretary for the Office of 

Innovation and Improvement may 

change the maximum amount through a 

notice published in the Federal 

Register. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: To receive a 

cooperative agreement under this 

competition, an entity must be a public 

telecommunications entity that is able 

to demonstrate each of the following: 

(A) A capacity to develop and 

nationally distribute educational and 

instructional television programming of 

high quality that is accessible by a large 

majority of disadvantaged preschool and 

elementary school children. 

(B) A capacity to contract with the 

producers of children’s television 

programming for the purpose of 

developing educational television 

programming of high quality. 

(C) A capacity, consistent with the 

entity’s mission and nonprofit nature, to 

negotiate such contracts in a manner 

that returns to the entity an appropriate 

share of any ancillary income from sales 

of any program-related products. 

(D) A capacity to localize 

programming and materials to meet 

specific State and local needs and to 

provide educational outreach at the 

local level. 

Note: The term public telecommunications 

entity means any enterprise which (a) is a 

public broadcast station or a noncommercial 

telecommunications entity; and (b) 

disseminates public telecommunications 

services to the public. (20 U.S.C. 6775) 

Note: If more than one public 

telecommunications entity wishes to form a 

consortium and jointly submit a single 

application, they must follow the procedures 

for group applications described in 34 CFR 

75.127 through 75.129 of EDGAR. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

competition does not require cost 

sharing or matching. 

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: http:// 

www.ed.gov/fundgrant/apply/ 

grantapps/index. To obtain a copy from 


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ED Pubs, write, fax, or call the 

following: U.S. Department of 

Education—ED Pubs-NTIS, PO Box 

22207, Alexandria, VA 22304. 

Telephone (toll free): 1–877–433–7827. 

FAX: (703) 605–6791. If you use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD), call, toll free: 1–877–576–7734. 

You can contact ED Pubs at its Web 

site, also: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/ 

edpubs.html or at its e-mail address: 

edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application from ED 

Pubs, be sure to identify this 

competition as follows: CFDA number 

84.295A. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible 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: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

program. 

Notice of Intent to Apply: The 

Department will be able to develop a 

more efficient process for reviewing 

grant applications if it has a better 

understanding of the number of entities 

that intend to apply for funding under 

this program. Therefore, the Secretary 

strongly encourages each potential 

applicant to notify the Department by 

sending a short e-mail message 

indicating the applicant’s intent to 

submit an application for funding. The 

e-mail need not include information 

regarding the content of the proposed 

application, only the applicant’s intent 

to submit. The e-mail notification 

should be sent to Joe Caliguro at 

readytolearn@ed.gov. 

Applicants that fail to provide this email notification may still apply for 

funding. Meeting for Prospective 

Applicants: The Ready-to-Learn 

program will hold a webinar for 

prospective applicants on April 8, 2010 

from 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Washington, 

DC time. The conference will offer 

information about how to apply for a 

Ready-to-Learn cooperative agreement. 

For information and to register, please 

send an e-mail to 

joseph.caliguro@ed.gov. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

is where you, the applicant, address the 

selection criteria that reviewers use to 

evaluate your application. Applications 

are strongly encouraged to limit the 

application narrative (Part III) to the 

equivalent of no more than 50 singlesided 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 

program narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12-point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

Use one of the following fonts: Times 

New Roman, Courier, Courier New, or 

Arial. An application submitted in any 

other font (including Times Roman or 

Arial Narrow) will not be accepted. 

The page limit does not apply to Part 

I, the cover sheet; Part II, the budget 

section, including the narrative budget 

justification; Part IV, the assurances and 

certifications; or the one-page abstract, 

the resumes, the bibliography, or the 

letters of support. However, the page 

limit does apply to all of the application 

narrative section (Part III). 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: March 22, 

2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

April 21, 2010. 

Date of Meeting for Prospective 

Applicants: April 8, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 21, 2010. 

Applications for grants under this 

program under this competition must be 

submitted electronically using the 

Electronic Grant Application System (eApplication) accessible through the 

Department’s e-grant site. For 

information (including dates and times) 

about how to submit your application 

electronically or by mail or hand 

delivery if you qualify for an exception 

to the electronic submission 

requirement, please refer to section IV. 

6. Other Submission Requirements of 

this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under For Further Information Contact 

in section VII of this notice. If the 

Department provides an accommodation 

or auxiliary aid to an individual with a 

disability in connection with the 

application process, the individual’s 

application remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 20, 2010. 

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: An entity that 

receives a Ready-to-Learn grant, 

contract, or cooperative agreement may 

not use more than five percent of the 

amount received under the grant for 

administrative purposes. We reference 

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 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 

Ready-to-Learn Television Program— 

CFDA Number 84.295A must be 

submitted electronically using eApplication, accessible through the 

Department’s e-Grants Web site at: 

http://e-grants.ed.gov. 

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. 

While 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: 

• You must complete the electronic 

submission of your grant application by 

4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. EApplication will not accept an 

application for this program after 

4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

the application deadline date. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend that 

you do not wait until the application 

deadline date to begin the application 

process. 

• The hours of operation of the eGrants Web site are 6:00 a.m. Monday 


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until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 

a.m. Thursday until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 

Washington, DC time. Please note that, 

because of maintenance, the system is 

unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on 

Sundays and 6:00 a.m. on Mondays, and 

between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 

6:00 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, 

DC time. Any modifications to these 

hours are posted on the e-Grants Web 

site. 

• 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 attach any narrative sections 

of your application as files in a .DOC 

(document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF 

(Portable Document) format. If you 

upload a file type other than the three 

file types specified in this paragraph or 

submit a password protected file, we 

will not review that material. 

• Your electronic application must 

comply with any page limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• 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 acknowledgment that will 

include a PR/Award number (an 

identifying number unique to your 

application). 

• Within three working days after 

submitting your electronic application, 

fax a signed copy of the SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

(1) Print SF 424 from e-Application. 

(2) The applicant’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

(3) Place the PR/Award number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hardcopy signature page of the SF 424. 

(4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6272. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on other forms at a 

later date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of e-Application Unavailability: 

If you are prevented from electronically 

submitting your application on the 

application deadline date because eApplication is unavailable, we will 

grant you an extension of one business 

day to enable you to transmit your 

application electronically, by mail, or by 

hand delivery. We will grant this 

extension if— 

(1) You are a registered user of eApplication and you have initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

(2)(a) E-Application 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) E-Application is unavailable for 

any period of time between 3:30 p.m. 

and 4:30:00 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 

acknowledgment 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 e-Application is unavailable 

due to technical problems with the 

system 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 e-Application. 

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 

e-Application because— 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to eApplication; 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: Joe Caliguro, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Room 4W214, 

Washington, DC 20202–5980. FAX: 

(202) 205–5720. 

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 84.295A), 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 84.295A), 550 12th 

Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 

Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center accepts 

hand deliveries daily between 8:00 a.m. 


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13520 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 54 / Monday, March 22, 2010 / Notices 

and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, 

except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal 

holidays. 

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper 

Applications: If you mail or hand deliver 

your application to the Department— 

(1) You must indicate on the envelope 

and—if not provided by the Department—in 

Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, 

including suffix letter, if any, of the 

competition under which you are submitting 

your application; and 

(2) The Application Control Center will 

mail to you a notification of receipt of your 

grant application. If you do not receive this 

grant notification within 15 business days 

from the application deadline date, you 

should call the U.S. Department of Education 

Application Control Center at (202) 245– 

6288. 

V. Application Review Information 

Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from 

section 34 CFR 75.210. The maximum 

score for all the selection criteria is 100 

points. The maximum score for each 

criterion is indicated in parentheses. 

Each criterion also includes the factors 

that the reviewers will consider in 

determining how well an application 

meets the criterion. The Note following 

selection criterion (6) is guidance to 

help applicants in preparing their 

applications and is not required by 

statute or regulations. The selection 

criteria are as follows: 

(1) Need for project (15 points). The 

Secretary considers the need for the 

proposed project by considering the 

following factors: 

(a) The extent to which the proposed 

project will provide services or 

otherwise address the needs of students 

at risk of educational failure. 

(b) The extent to which specific gaps 

or weaknesses in services, 

infrastructure, or opportunities have 

been identified and will be addressed by 

the proposed project, including the 

nature and magnitude of those gaps or 

weaknesses. 

(2) Significance (10 points). The 

Secretary considers the significance of 

the proposed project by considering the 

following factor: 

The likely utility of the products 

(such as information, materials, 

processes, or techniques) that will result 

from the proposed project, including the 

potential for their being used effectively 

in a variety of other settings. 

(3) Quality of the project design (25 

points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the design of the proposed 

project by considering the following 

factors: 

(a) The extent to which the design of 

the proposed project reflects up-to-date 

knowledge from research and effective 

practices. 

(b) The extent to which the proposed 

project is part of a comprehensive effort 

to improve teaching and learning and 

support rigorous academic standards for 

students. 

(c) The extent to which the proposed 

project is designed to build capacity and 

yield results that will extend beyond the 

period of Federal financial assistance. 

(4) Quality of project personnel (10 

points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the personnel who will carry 

out the proposed project. In determining 

the quality of project personnel, the 

Secretary considers the extent to which 

the applicant encourages applications 

for employment from persons who are 

members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented 

based on race, color, national origin, 

gender, age, or disability. 

In addition, the Secretary considers 

the following factor. 

The qualifications, including relevant 

training and experience, of key project 

personnel. 

(5) Quality of the management plan 

(20 points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project by considering the 

following factors: 

(a) The adequacy of the management 

plan to achieve the objectives of the 

proposed project on time and within 

budget, including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and 

milestones for accomplishing project 

tasks. 

(b) The extent to which the time 

commitments of the project director and 

principal investigator and other key 

project personnel are appropriate and 

adequate to meet the objectives of the 

proposed project. 

(c) The adequacy of procedures for 

ensuring feedback and continuous 

improvement in the operation of the 

proposed project. 

(6) Quality of the project evaluation 

(20 points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the evaluation to be 

conducted of the proposed project by 

considering the following factors: 

(a) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation include the use of 

objective performance measures that are 

clearly related to the intended outcomes 

of the project and will produce 

quantitative and qualitative data to the 

extent possible. 

(b) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation will provide performance 

feedback and permit periodic 

assessment of progress toward achieving 

intended outcomes. 

Note on Factors Applicants May Wish To 

Consider in Developing an Evaluation Plan: 

The quality of the evaluation plan is one of 

the selection criteria by which applications 

in this competition will be judged. A strong 

evaluation plan should be used, as 

appropriate, to shape the development of the 

project from the beginning of the grant 

period. The evaluation plan should include 

benchmarks to monitor progress toward 

specific project objectives and also outcome 

measures to assess the impact on teaching 

and learning, or other important outcomes for 

project participants. More specifically, the 

plan should identify the individual or 

organization that has agreed to serve as 

evaluator for the project and describe the 

qualifications of that evaluator. The plan 

should describe the evaluation design, 

indicating: (1) What types of data will be 

collected; (2) when various types of data will 

be collected; (3) what methods will be used; 

(4) what instruments will be developed and 

when these instruments will be developed; 

(5) how the data will be analyzed; (6) when 

reports of results and outcomes will be 

available; and (7) how the applicant will use 

the information collected through the 

evaluation to monitor progress of the funded 

project and to provide accountability 

information both about success at the initial 

site and about effective strategies for 

replication in other settings. Applicants are 

encouraged to devote an appropriate level of 

resources to project evaluation. 

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 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. Grant Administration: Applicants 

should budget for a three-day meeting 

for project directors to be held in 

Washington, DC. 

4. 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 directed by 

the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 54 / Monday, March 22, 2010 / Notices 13521 

Secretary may also require more 

frequent performance reports under 34 

CFR 75.720(c). For specific 

requirements on reporting, please go to 

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/ 

appforms/appforms.html. 

5. Performance Measures: The 

Department has established the 

following Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) performance 

measures for the Ready-to-Learn 

Television Grant Program: (1) the 

percentage of Ready-to-Learn 

programming and educational content 

deemed to be of high quality and (2) the 

percentage of Ready-to-Learn outreach 

products deemed to be of high quality. 

These measures constitute the 

Department’s indicators of success for 

this program. Consequently, we advise 

an applicant for a grant under this 

program to give careful consideration to 

these measures in conceptualizing the 

approach and evaluation for its 

proposed project. Each grantee will be 

required to provide, in its annual 

performance and final reports, data 

about its progress in meeting these 

measures. 

VII. Agency Contact 

For Further Information Contact: Joe 

Caliguro, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 

4W214, Washington, DC 20202–5980. 

Telephone: (202) 205–5449 or by e-mail: 

readytolearn@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under For Further 

Information Contact in section VII of 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

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) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

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. 

Dated: March 17, 2010. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2010–6289 Filed 3–19–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Centers for Independent Living 

Program—Training and Technical 

Assistance 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.400B. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services proposes a priority under the 

Centers for Independent Living 

Program—Training and Technical 

Assistance (CIL–TA program). The 

Assistant Secretary may use this priority 

for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 

2010, using American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds 

appropriated for the Centers for 

Independent Living program (CIL 

program) authorized under title VII, 

chapter 1, part C of the Rehabilitation 

Act of 1973, as amended (the Act), and 

competitions in later years. We take this 

action to improve outcomes for 

individuals with significant disabilities 

by enhancing the quality of independent 

living (IL) services provided to those 

individuals and the efficiency of the 

delivery of those services by CILs 

funded through the CIL program. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before April 21, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about 

this notice to Sue Rankin-White, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Potomac Center Plaza 

(PCP), Room 5013, Washington, DC 

20202–2800. 

If you prefer to send your comments 

by e-mail, use the following address: 

sue.rankin-white@ed.gov. You must 

include the term ‘‘CIL–TA program’’ in 

the subject line of your electronic 

message. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue 

Rankin-White. Telephone: (202) 245– 

7312 or e-mail: sue.rankinwhite@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call, toll free, 

(866) 889–6737. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation To Comment: We invite 

you to submit comments regarding this 

notice. 

We invite you to assist us in 

complying with the specific 

requirements of Executive Order 12866 

and its overall requirement of reducing 

regulatory burden that might result from 

this proposed priority. Please let us 

know of any further ways we could 

reduce potential costs or increase 

potential benefits while preserving the 

effective and efficient administration of 

the program. 

During and after the comment period, 

you may inspect all public comments 

about this notice in room 5013, PCP, 

550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC, 

between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 

4:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, 

Monday through Friday of each week 

except Federal holidays. 

Assistance to Individuals with 

Disabilities in Reviewing the 

Rulemaking Record: On request, we will 

provide an appropriate accommodation 

or auxiliary aid to an individual with a 

disability who needs assistance to 

review the comments or other 

documents in the public rulemaking 

record for this notice. If you want to 

schedule an appointment for this type of 

accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 

contact the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the CIL program is to maximize 

independence, productivity, 

empowerment, and leadership of 

individuals with disabilities and 

integrate these individuals into the 

mainstream of society. 

CILs are consumer-controlled, 

community-based, cross-disability, 

nonresidential, private nonprofit 

agencies that are designed and operated 

within a local community by 

individuals with disabilities and 

provide an array of IL services to 

individuals with significant disabilities, 

including the core services of 

information and referral, IL skills 

training, peer counseling, and 

individual and systems advocacy. 

Each State has established a Statewide 

Independent Living Council (SILC) that 

jointly develops and signs the State Plan 

for Independent Living with the 

designated State unit, monitors, 

reviews, and evaluates the 

implementation of the State plan, and 

coordinates activities with the State 

Rehabilitation Council and other 

organizations related to issues that affect 

individuals with disabilities. A majority 

of a SILC’s members are individuals 

with disabilities. Other members 

include CIL representatives and State 

agency representatives, as well as other 

appropriate individuals. 

Through the ARRA, Congress has 

appropriated $87,500,000 for the CIL 


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