Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2012 / Notices 25457 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

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

print, audiotape, or compact disc) on 

request to the 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.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you 

can view this document, as well as all 

other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF). To use PDF you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Dated: April 25, 2012. 

Michael Yudin, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10377 Filed 4–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants Program—Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments (English 

Language Proficiency (ELP) 

Competition) 

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information: 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants Program—Enhanced Assessment 

Instruments (English Language 

Proficiency Competition); 

Notice inviting applications for new 

awards for fiscal year (FY) 2011 funds. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.368A–1. 

DATES:

Applications Available: April 30, 

2012. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

May 30, 2012. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: June 14, 2012. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: August 13, 2012. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grant program, also called the Enhanced 

Assessment Grants (EAG) program, is to 

enhance the quality of assessment 

instruments and systems used by States 

for measuring the academic 

achievement of elementary and 

secondary school students. 

In 2012, the Department is holding 

two separate competitions for FY 2011 

EAG funds. The competition announced 

in this notice (EAG ELP Competition) 

(CFDA No. 84.368A–1) will support the 

development of a system of English 

language proficiency assessments 

aligned with a common set of English 

language proficiency standards that 

correspond to a common set of collegeand career-ready standards in English 

language arts and mathematics, and, in 

so doing, will give priority to 

collaborative efforts among States in 

developing these assessments. 

Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register, we are publishing a notice 

inviting applications for a separate 

competition for FY 2011 EAG funds to 

be awarded in 2012 (EAG Accessibility 

Competition) (CFDA No. 84.368A–2). 

The Department may use any unused 

funds from the competition announced 

in this notice to make awards in the 

EAG Accessibility Competition. 

Conversely, the Department may use 

any unused funds from the EAG 

Accessibility Competition to make 

awards in the competition announced in 

this notice. 

Priorities: This competition includes 

five absolute priorities and one 

competitive preference priority. In 

accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(iv), absolute priorities 1 

through 4 (Statutory Priorities) are based 

on section 6112 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7301a). 

Absolute priority 5 (Regulatory Priority) 

and competitive preference priority 1 

are from the notice of final priorities, 

requirements, definitions, and selection 

criteria published in the Federal 

Register on April 19, 2011 (76 FR 

21986). 

Absolute Priorities: For awards made 

from this competition in 2012 with FY 

2011 funds, and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applicants from this 

competition, these priorities are 

absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3) we consider only 

applications that meet: (a) one or more 

of the Statutory Priorities (Absolute 

Priorities 1 through 4) and (b) the 

Regulatory Priority (Absolute Priority 5). 

These priorities are: 

Absolute Priority 1—Collaboration. 

Collaborate with institutions of higher 

education, other research institutions, or 

other organizations to improve the 

quality, validity, and reliability of State 

academic assessments beyond the 

requirements for these assessments 

described in section 1111(b)(3) of the 

ESEA. 

Absolute Priority 2—Use of Multiple 

Measures of Student Academic 

Achievement. Measure student 

academic achievement using multiple 

measures of student academic 

achievement from multiple sources. 

Absolute Priority 3—Charting Student 

Progress Over Time. Chart student 

progress over time. 

Absolute Priority 4—Comprehensive 

Academic Assessment Instruments. 

Evaluate student academic achievement 

through the development of 

comprehensive academic assessment 

instruments, such as performance- and 

technology-based academic 

assessments. 

Absolute Priority 5—English 

Language Proficiency Assessment 

System. 

To meet this priority, an applicant 

must propose a comprehensive plan to 

develop an English language proficiency 

assessment system that is valid, reliable, 

and fair for its intended purpose. Such 

a plan must include the following 

features: 

(a) Design. The assessment system 

must— 

(1) Be designed for implementation in 

multiple States; 

(2) Be based on a common definition 

of English learner adopted by the 

applicant State and, if the applicant 

applies as part of a consortium, adopted 

and held in common by all States in the 

consortium, where common with 

respect to the definition of ‘‘English 

learner’’ means identical for purposes of 

the diagnostic (e.g., screener or 

placement) assessments and associated 

achievement standards used to classify 

students as English learners as well as 

the summative assessments and 

associated achievement standards used 

to exit students from English learner 

status; 

(3) At a minimum, include diagnostic 

(e.g., screener or placement) and 

summative assessments; 

(4) Measure students’ English 

proficiency against a set of English 

language proficiency standards held by 

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25458 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2012 / Notices 

1 In selecting a proposed project management 

partner, an eligible applicant must comply with the 

requirements for procurement in 34 CFR 80.36. 

the applicant State and, if the applicant 

applies as part of a consortium, held in 

common by all States in the consortium; 

(5) Measure students’ English 

proficiency against a set of English 

language proficiency standards that 

correspond to a common set of collegeand career-ready standards (as defined 

in this notice) in English language arts 

and mathematics, are rigorous, are 

developed with broad stakeholder 

involvement, are vetted with experts 

and practitioners, and for which 

external evaluations have documented 

rigor and correspondence with a 

common set of college- and career-ready 

standards in English language arts and 

mathematics; 

(6) Cover the full range of the English 

language proficiency standards across 

the four language domains of reading, 

writing, speaking, and listening, as 

required by section 3113(b)(2) of the 

ESEA; 

(7) Ensure that the measures of 

students’ English proficiency consider 

the students’ control over the linguistic 

components of language (e.g., 

phonology, syntax, morphology); 

(8) Produce results that indicate 

whether individual students have 

attained the English proficiency 

necessary to participate fully in 

academic instruction in English and 

meet or exceed college- and career-ready 

standards; 

(9) Provide at least an annual measure 

of English proficiency and student 

progress in learning English for English 

learners in kindergarten through grade 

12 in each of the four language domains 

of reading, writing, speaking, and 

listening; 

(10) Assess all English learners, 

including English learners who are also 

students with disabilities and students 

with limited or no formal education, 

except for English learners with the 

most significant cognitive disabilities 

who are eligible to participate in 

alternate assessments based on alternate 

academic achievement standards in 

accordance with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2); and 

(11) Be accessible to all English 

learners, including by providing 

appropriate accommodations for English 

learners with disabilities, except for 

English learners with the most 

significant cognitive disabilities who are 

eligible to participate in alternate 

assessments based on alternate 

academic achievement standards in 

accordance with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2). 

(b) Technical quality. The assessment 

system must measure students’ English 

proficiency in ways that— 

(1) Are consistent with nationally 

recognized professional and technical 

standards; and 

(2) As appropriate, elicit complex 

student demonstrations of 

comprehension and production of 

academic English (e.g., performance 

tasks, selected responses, brief or 

extended constructed responses). 

(c) Data. The assessment system must 

produce data that— 

(1) Include student attainment of 

English proficiency and student 

progress in learning English (including 

data disaggregated by English learner 

subgroups such as English learners by 

years in a language instruction 

educational program; English learners 

whose formal education has been 

interrupted; students who were formerly 

English learners by years out of the 

language instruction educational 

program; English learners by level of 

English proficiency, such as those who 

initially scored proficient on the English 

language proficiency assessment; 

English learners by disability status; and 

English learners by native language); 

(2) Provide a valid and reliable 

measure of students’ abilities in each of 

the four language domains (reading, 

writing, speaking, and listening) and a 

comprehensive English proficiency 

score based on all four domains, with 

each language domain score making a 

significant contribution to the 

comprehensive ELP score, at each 

proficiency level; and 

(3) Can be used for the— 

(i) Identification of students as 

English learners; 

(ii) Decisions about whether a student 

should exit from English language 

instruction educational programs; 

(iii) Determinations of school, local 

educational agency, and State 

effectiveness for the purposes of 

accountability under Title I and Title III 

of the ESEA; 

(4) Can be used, as appropriate, as one 

of multiple measures, to inform— 

(i) Evaluations of individual 

principals and teachers in order to 

determine their effectiveness; 

(ii) Determinations of principal and 

teacher professional development and 

support needs; and 

(iii) Strategies to improve teaching, 

learning, and language instruction 

education programs. 

(d) Compatibility. The assessment 

system must use compatible approaches 

to technology, assessment 

administration, scoring, reporting, and 

other factors that facilitate the coherent 

inclusion of the assessments within 

States’ student assessment systems. 

(e) Students with the most significant 

cognitive disabilities. The 

comprehensive plan to develop an 

English language proficiency assessment 

system must include the strategies the 

applicant State and, if the applicant is 

part of a consortium, all States in the 

consortium, plans to use to assess the 

English proficiency of English learners 

with the most significant cognitive 

disabilities who are eligible to 

participate in alternate assessments 

based on alternate academic 

achievement standards in accordance 

with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2) in lieu of 

including those students in the 

operational administration of the 

assessments developed for other English 

learners under a grant from this 

competition. 

Competitive Preference Priority: For 

awards made in 2012 with FY 2011 

funds, 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 5 points to an application, 

depending on how well the application 

meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

Competitive Preference Priority 1— 

Collaborative Efforts Among States. 

To meet this priority, an applicant 

must— 

(a) Include a minimum of 15 States in 

the consortium; 

(b) Identify in its application a 

proposed project management partner 

and provide an assurance that the 

proposed project management partner is 

not partnered with any other eligible 

applicant applying for an award under 

this competition; 1

(c) Provide a description of the 

consortium’s structure and operation. 

The description must include— 

(1) The organizational structure of the 

consortium (e.g., differentiated roles 

that a member State may hold); 

(2) The consortium’s method and 

process (e.g., consensus, majority) for 

making different types of decisions (e.g., 

policy, operational); 

(3) The protocols by which the 

consortium will operate, including 

protocols for member States to change 

roles in the consortium, for member 

States to leave the consortium, and for 

new member States to join the 

consortium; 

(4) The consortium’s plan, including 

the process and timeline, for setting key 

policies and definitions for 

implementing the proposed project, 

including, for any assessments 

developed through a project funded by 

this grant, the common set of standards 

upon which to base the assessments, a 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2012 / Notices 25459 

2Eligible applicants awarded a grant under this 

program must comply with the Family Educational 

Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and 34 CFR part 

99, as well as State and local requirements 

regarding privacy. 

common set of performance-level 

descriptors, a common set of 

achievement standards, common 

assessment administration procedures, 

common item-release and test-security 

policies, and a common set of policies 

and procedures for accommodations 

and student participation; and 

(5) The consortium’s plan for 

managing grant funds received under 

this competition; and 

(d) Provide a memorandum of 

understanding or other binding 

agreement executed by each State in the 

consortium that includes an assurance 

that, to remain in the consortium, the 

State will adopt or use any instrument, 

including to the extent applicable, 

assessments, developed under the 

proposed project no later than the end 

of the project period. 

Requirements: The following 

requirements, which were published in 

the Federal Register on April 19, 2011 

(76 FR 21986), apply to this 

competition. An eligible applicant 

awarded a grant under this program 

must: 

(a) Evaluate the validity, reliability, 

and fairness of any assessments or other 

assessment-related instruments 

developed under a grant from this 

competition, and make available 

documentation of evaluations of 

technical quality through formal 

mechanisms (e.g., peer-reviewed 

journals) and informal mechanisms 

(e.g., newsletters), both in print and 

electronically; 

(b) Actively participate in any 

applicable technical assistance activities 

conducted or facilitated by the 

Department or its designees, coordinate 

with the RTTA program in the 

development of assessments under this 

program, and participate in other 

activities as determined by the 

Department; 

(c) Develop a strategy to make 

student-level data that result from any 

assessments or other assessment-related 

instruments developed under a grant 

from this competition available on an 

ongoing basis for research, including for 

prospective linking, validity, and 

program improvement studies; 2

(d) Ensure that any assessments or 

other assessment-related instruments 

developed under a grant from this 

competition will be operational (ready 

for large-scale administration) at the end 

of the project period; 

(e) Ensure that funds awarded under 

the EAG program are not used to 

support the development of standards, 

such as under the English language 

proficiency assessment system priority 

or any other priority. 

(f) Maximize the interoperability of 

any assessments and other assessmentrelated instruments developed with 

funds from this competition across 

technology platforms and the ability for 

States to move their assessments from 

one technology platform to another by 

doing the following, as applicable, for 

any assessments developed with funds 

from this competition by— 

(1) Developing all assessment items in 

accordance with an industry-recognized 

open-licensed interoperability standard 

that is approved by the Department 

during the grant period, without nonstandard extensions or additions; and 

(2) Producing all student-level data in 

a manner consistent with an industryrecognized open-licensed 

interoperability standard that is 

approved by the Department during the 

grant period; 

(g) Unless otherwise protected by law 

or agreement as proprietary information, 

make any assessment content (i.e., 

assessments and assessment items) and 

other assessment-related instruments 

developed with funds from this 

competition freely available to States, 

technology platform providers, and 

others that request it for purposes of 

administering assessments, provided 

that those parties receiving assessment 

content comply with consortium or 

State requirements for test or item 

security; and 

(h) For any assessments and other 

assessment-related instruments 

developed with funds from this 

competition, use technology to the 

maximum extent appropriate to 

develop, administer, and score the 

assessments and report results. 

Definitions: The following definitions, 

which were published in the Federal 

Register on April 19, 2011 (76 FR 

21986), apply to this competition. 

Common set of college- and careerready standards means a set of 

academic content standards for grades 

K–12 held in common by multiple 

States, that (a) define what a student 

must know and be able to do at each 

grade level; (b) if mastered, would 

ensure that the student is college- and 

career-ready by the time of high school 

graduation; and (c) for any consortium 

of States applying under the EAG 

program, are substantially identical 

across all States in the consortium. 

A State in a consortium may 

supplement the common set of collegeand career-ready standards with 

additional content standards, provided 

that the additional standards do not 

comprise more than 15 percent of the 

State’s total standards for that content 

area. 

English language proficiency 

assessment system, for purposes of the 

English language proficiency assessment 

system priority, means a system of 

assessments that includes, at a 

minimum, diagnostic (e.g., screener or 

placement) and summative assessments 

at each grade level from kindergarten 

through grade 12 that cover the four 

language domains of reading, writing, 

speaking, and listening, as required by 

section 3113(b)(2) of the ESEA, and that 

meets all other requirements of the 

priority. 

English learner means a student who 

is an English learner as defined by the 

applicant consistent with the definition 

of a student who is ‘‘limited English 

proficient’’ as that term is defined in 

section 9101(25) of the ESEA. If the 

applicant submits an application on 

behalf of a consortium, member States 

must develop and adopt a common 

definition of the term during the period 

of the grant. 

Student with a disability means a 

student who has been identified as a 

child with a disability under the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act, as amended. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7301a and 

7842. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 84, 

86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Debarment 

and Suspension regulations in 2 CFR 

part 3485. (c) The notice of final 

priorities, requirements, definitions, and 

selection criteria published in the 

Federal Register on April 19, 2011 (76 

FR 21986). (d) The notice of final 

revision to selection criteria, published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$6,000,000 in FY 2011 funds to be 

awarded in 2012. Contingent upon the 

availability of funds and the quality of 

applications, we may make additional 

awards with FY 2012 funds from the list 

of unfunded applicants from this 

competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$5,000,000 to $7,000,000. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$6,000,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 1. 

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25460 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2012 / Notices 

Note: Applicants should submit a single 

budget request for a single budget and project 

period of up to 48 months. Subject to the 

availability of future years’ funds, the 

Department may make supplemental grant 

awards to the grants awarded with FY 2011 

funds. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 48 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: State 

educational agencies (SEAs) as defined 

in section 9101(41) of the ESEA and 

consortia of such SEAs. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

competition does not require cost 

sharing or matching. 

3. Other: An application from a 

consortium of SEAs must designate one 

SEA as the fiscal agent. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: You can access the electronic 

grant application for the Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments Grants Program 

at http://www.Grants.gov. You must 

search for the downloadable application 

package for this competition by the 

CFDA number. Do not include the 

CFDA number’s alpha suffix in your 

search (e.g., search for 84.368, not 

84.368A). Your search will result in two 

grant opportunities; be sure to select the 

opportunity for the EAG ELP 

Competition application package. You 

can also obtain a copy of the application 

package by contacting the program 

contact persons listed under Agency 

Contacts in section VII of this notice. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

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

large print, audiotape, or compact disc) 

by contacting the person listed under 

Accessible Format in section VIII of this 

notice. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

competition. 

Page Limit: The project narrative (Part 

3 of the application) is where you, the 

applicant, address the selection criteria 

that reviewers use to evaluate your 

application and the absolute and 

competitive preference priorities. You 

must limit the project narrative (Part 3) 

to the equivalent of no more than 65 

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 

project narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Times New Roman font no smaller 

than 11.0 point for all text in the project 

narrative, including titles, headings, 

footnotes, quotations, references, and 

captions, as well as all text in charts, 

tables figures, and graphs. (Font sizes 

that are smaller than 11 but round up 

to 11, such as 10.7 point, will be 

considered smaller than 11.0.) 

• Any screen shots included as part 

of the narrative should follow these 

standards or, if other standards are 

applied, be sized to equal the equivalent 

amount of space if these standards were 

applied. 

The page limit applies to the project 

narrative (Part 3), including the table of 

contents, which must include a 

discussion of how the application meets 

one or more of the statutory absolute 

priorities and how well the applicant 

meets the regulatory absolute priority; if 

applicable, how the application meets 

the competitive preference priority; and 

how well the application addresses each 

of the selection criteria. The page limit 

also applies to any attachments to the 

project narrative other than the 

references/bibliography. In other words, 

the entirety of Part 3 of the application, 

including the aforementioned 

discussion and any attachments to the 

project narrative, must be limited to the 

equivalent of no more than 65 pages. 

The only allowable attachments other 

than those included in the project 

narrative are those outlined as ‘‘Other 

Attachments Forms’’ for Part 6 in the 

application package. Any attachments 

other than those included within the 

page limit of the project narrative and 

those outlined for Part 6 will not be 

reviewed. 

The 65-page limit, or its equivalent, 

does not apply to the following sections 

of an application: Part 1 (including the 

response regarding research activities 

involving human subjects); Part 2 (twopage project abstract); Part 4 (the budget 

sections, including the chart and 

narrative budget justification); Part 5 

(standard assurances and certifications); 

and Part 6 (other attachments forms, 

including, if applicable, references/ 

bibliography for the project narrative; 

individual re ́sume ́s for project 

director(s) and key personnel— 

applicants are encouraged to limit each 

re ́sume ́ to no more than five pages; 

memoranda of understanding or other 

binding agreement; assurance regarding 

management partner; copy of 

applicant’s indirect cost rate agreement; 

and letters of commitment and support 

from collaborating SEAs and 

organizations). 

Our reviewers will not read any pages 

of your project narrative that exceed the 

page limit; or exceed the equivalent of 

the page limit if you apply other 

standards. Applicants are encouraged to 

submit applications that meet the page 

limit following the standards outlined 

in this section rather than submitting 

applications that are the equivalent of 

the page limit applying other standards. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: April 30, 

2012. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

May 30, 2012. 

We will be able to develop a more 

efficient process for reviewing grant 

applications if we have a better 

understanding of the number of 

applicants that intend to apply for 

funding under this competition. 

Therefore, the Secretary strongly 

encourages each potential applicant to 

notify us of the applicant’s intent to 

submit an application for funding by 

sending a short email message. This 

short email should provide the 

applicant organization’s name and 

address. The Secretary requests that this 

email be sent to Collette.Roney@ed.gov 

with ‘‘Intent to Apply’’ in the email 

subject line. Applicants that do not 

provide this email notification may still 

apply for funding. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: June 14, 2012. 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically using the Grants.gov 

Apply site (Grants.gov). Note that 

applications for this EAG ELP 

Competition must be submitted under 

CFDA number 84.368A–1; only 

applications for the EAG Accessibility 

Competition should be submitted under 

CFDA number 84.368A–2. For 

information (including dates and times) 

about how to submit your application 

electronically, or in paper format by 

mail or hand delivery if you qualify for 

an exception to the electronic 

submission requirement, please refer to 

section IV. 7. Other Submission 

Requirements of this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in section VII of this notice. If 

the Department provides an 

accommodation or auxiliary aid to an 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2012 / Notices 25461 

individual with a disability in 

connection with the application 

process, the individual’s application 

remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: August 13, 2012. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

competition is subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

competition. 

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section in this notice. 

6. Data Universal Numbering System 

Number, Taxpayer Identification 

Number, and Central Contractor 

Registry: 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 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 CCR 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 business day. 

If you are a corporate entity, agency, 

institution, or organization, you can 

obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue 

Service. If you are an individual, you 

can obtain a TIN from the Internal 

Revenue Service or the Social Security 

Administration. If you need a new TIN, 

please allow 2–5 weeks for your TIN to 

become active. 

The CCR registration process may take 

five or more business days to complete. 

If you are currently registered with the 

CCR, 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 CCR 

registration on an annual basis. This 

may take three or more business days to 

complete. 

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 in the Grants.gov Web 

page: www.grants.gov/applicants/ 

get_registered.jsp. 

7. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically unless you qualify for an 

exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications for grants under the 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants Program ELP Competition, CFDA 

number 84.368A–1, 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. You should submit applications to 

this competition, the EAG ELP 

Competition, under CFDA number 

84.368A–1; do not submit applications 

for this competition under CFDA 

number 84.368A–2, which is the 

number for the EAG Accessibility 

Competition. 

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 

application for the Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments Grants Program 

at www.Grants.gov. You must search for 

the downloadable application package 

for this competition by the CFDA 

number. Do not include the CFDA 

number’s alpha suffix in your search 

(e.g., search for 84.368, not 84.368A). 

Please note the following: 

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, 

you will find information about 

submitting an application electronically 

through the site, as well as the hours of 

operation. 

• Applications received by Grants.gov 

are date and time stamped. Your 

application must be fully uploaded and 

submitted and must be date and time 

stamped by the Grants.gov system no 

later than 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 

time, on the application deadline date. 

Except as otherwise noted in this 

section, we will not accept your 

application if it is received—that is, date 

and time stamped by the Grants.gov 

system—after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, on the application deadline 

date. We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. When we retrieve your 

application from Grants.gov, we will 

notify you if we are rejecting your 

application because it was date and time 

stamped by the Grants.gov system after 

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

the application deadline date. 

• The amount of time it can take to 

upload an application will vary 

depending on a variety of factors, 

including the size of the application and 

the speed of your Internet connection. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend that 

you do not wait until the application 

deadline date to begin the submission 

process through Grants.gov. 

• You should review and follow the 

Education Submission Procedures for 

submitting an application through 

Grants.gov that are included in the 

application package for this competition 

to ensure that you submit your 

application in a timely manner to the 

Grants.gov system. You can also find the 

Education Submission Procedures 

pertaining to Grants.gov under News 

and Events on the Department’s G5 

system home page at www.G5.gov. 

• You will not receive additional 

point value because you submit your 

application in electronic format, nor 

will we penalize you if you qualify for 

an exception to the electronic 

submission requirement, as described 

elsewhere in this section, and submit 

your application in paper format. 

• You must submit all documents 

electronically, including all information 

you typically provide on the following 

forms: The Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

SF 424, Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED 524), and all 

necessary assurances and certifications. 

• You must upload any narrative 

sections and all other attachments to 

your application as files in a .PDF 

(Portable Document) read-only, nonmodifiable format. Do not upload an 

interactive or fillable PDF file. If you 

upload a file type other than a readonly, non-modifiable PDF or submit a 

password-protected file, we will not 

review that material. 

• Your electronic application must 

comply with any page-limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive from 

Grants.gov an automatic notification of 

receipt that contains a Grants.gov 

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25462 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2012 / Notices 

tracking number. (This notification 

indicates receipt by Grants.gov only, not 

receipt by the Department.) The 

Department then will retrieve your 

application from Grants.gov and send a 

second notification to you by email. 

This second notification indicates that 

the Department has received your 

application and has assigned your 

application a PR/Award number (an EDspecified identifying number unique to 

your application). 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of Technical Issues with the 

Grants.gov System: If you are 

experiencing problems submitting your 

application through Grants.gov, please 

contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, 

toll free, at 1–800–518–4726. You must 

obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case 

Number and must keep a record of it. 

If you are prevented from 

electronically submitting your 

application on the application deadline 

date because of technical problems with 

the Grants.gov system, we will grant you 

an extension until 4:30:00 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, the following 

business day to enable you to transmit 

your application electronically or by 

hand delivery. You also may mail your 

application by following the mailing 

instructions described elsewhere in this 

notice. 

If you submit an application after 

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

the application deadline date, please 

contact the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in 

section VII of this notice and provide an 

explanation of the technical problem 

you experienced with Grants.gov, along 

with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case 

Number. We will accept your 

application if we can confirm that a 

technical problem occurred with the 

Grants.gov system and that that problem 

affected your ability to submit your 

application by 4:30:00 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. The 

Department will contact you after a 

determination is made on whether your 

application will be accepted. 

Note: The extensions to which we refer in 

this section apply only to the unavailability 

of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov 

system. We will not grant you an extension 

if you failed to fully register to submit your 

application to Grants.gov before the 

application deadline date and time or if the 

technical problem you experienced is 

unrelated to the Grants.gov system. 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement: You qualify for an 

exception to the electronic submission 

requirement, and may submit your 

application in paper format, if you are 

unable to submit an application through 

the Grants.gov system because— 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to the 

Grants.gov system; 

and 

• No later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date (14 calendar 

days or, if the fourteenth calendar day 

before the application deadline date 

falls on a Federal holiday, the next 

business day following the Federal 

holiday), you mail or fax a written 

statement to the Department, explaining 

which of the two grounds for an 

exception prevent you from using the 

Internet to submit your application. 

If you mail your written statement to 

the Department, it must be postmarked 

no later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date. If you fax 

your written statement to the 

Department, we must receive the faxed 

statement no later than two weeks 

before the application deadline date. 

Address and mail or fax your 

statement to: Collette Roney, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue SW., room 3W210, Washington, 

DC 20202. Fax: (202) 260–7764. 

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 84.368A–1), 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 84.368A–1), 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. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, 

and Federal holidays. 

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper 

Applications: If you mail or hand deliver 

your application to the Department— 

(1) You must indicate on the envelope 

and—if not provided by the Department—in 

Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, 

including suffix letter, if any, of the 

competition under which you are submitting 

your application; and 

(2) The Application Control Center will 

mail to you a notification of receipt of your 

grant application. If you do not receive this 

notification within 15 business days from the 

application deadline date, you should call 

the U.S. Department of Education 

Application Control Center at (202) 245– 

6288. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from the 

notice of final priorities, requirements, 

definitions, and selection criteria 

published in the Federal Register on 

April 19, 2011 (76 FR 21986) and are 

listed in the application package. 

2. Review and Selection Process: We 

remind potential applicants that in 

reviewing applications in any 

discretionary grant competition, the 

Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 

75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the 

applicant in carrying out a previous 

award, such as the applicant’s use of 

funds, achievement of project 

objectives, and compliance with grant 

conditions. The Secretary may also 

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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 34 CFR 

74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary may 

impose special conditions on a grant if 

the applicant or grantee is not 

financially stable; has a history of 

unsatisfactory performance; has a 

financial or other management system 

that does not meet the standards in 34 

CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has 

not fulfilled the conditions of a prior 

grant; or is otherwise not responsible. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN). We may notify you informally, 

also. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a 

grant under this competition, you must 

ensure that you have in place the 

necessary processes and systems to 

comply with the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive 

funding under the competition. This 

does not apply if you have an exception 

under 2 CFR 170.110(b). 

(b) At the end of your project period, 

you must submit a final performance 

report, including financial information, 

as directed by the Secretary. If you 

receive a multi-year award, you must 

submit an annual performance report 

that provides the most current 

performance and financial expenditure 

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). 

4. Performance Measures: Under the 

Government Performance and Results 

Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has 

developed four measures to evaluate the 

overall effectiveness of the Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments Grants 

program: (1) The number of States that 

participate in Enhanced Assessment 

Instruments Grants projects funded by 

this competition; (2) the percentage of 

grantees that, at least twice during the 

period of their grants, make available to 

SEA staff in non-participating States 

and to assessment researchers 

information on findings resulting from 

the Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants through presentations at national 

conferences, publications in refereed 

journals, or other products disseminated 

to the assessment community; (3) for 

each grant cycle and as determined by 

an expert panel, the percentage of 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants that yield significant research, 

methodologies, products, or tools 

regarding assessment systems or 

assessments; and (4) for each grant cycle 

and as determined by an expert panel, 

the percentage of Enhanced Assessment 

Instruments Grants that yield significant 

research, methodologies, products, or 

tools specifically regarding 

accommodations and alternate 

assessments for students with 

disabilities and limited English 

proficient students. Grantees will be 

expected to include in their interim and 

final performance reports information 

about the accomplishments of their 

projects because the Department will 

need data on these measures. 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Collette Roney, Enhanced Assessment 

Grants Program, Office of Elementary 

and Secondary Education, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue SW., room 3W210, Washington, 

DC 20202–6132. Telephone: (202) 401– 

5245 or by email: 

Collette.Roney@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD or a TTY, 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 compact disc) on 

request to the program contact person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in section VII in 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.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you 

can view this document, as well as all 

other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF). To use PDF you must 

have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Dated: April 25, 2012. 

Michael Yudin, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10359 Filed 4–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants Program—Enhanced 

Assessment Instruments (Accessibility 

Competition) 

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information: 

Enhanced Assessment Instruments 

Grants Program—Enhanced Assessment 

Instruments (Accessibility Competition) 

Notice inviting applications for new 

awards for fiscal year (FY) 2011 funds. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.368A–2. 

DATES:

Applications Available: April 30, 

2012. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

May 30, 2012. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: June 14, 2012. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: August 13, 2012. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the Enhanced Assessments Instruments 

Grants program, also called the 

Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG) 

program, is to enhance the quality of 

assessment instruments and systems 

used by States for measuring the 

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