Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2004 / Notices 5135

Dated: January 28, 2004. 

Angela C Arrington, 

Leader, Regulatory Information Management, 

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services 

Type of Review: Reinstatement, with 

change, of a previously approved 

collection for which approval has 

expired 

Title: Part C of the Individuals with 

Disabilities Education Act Annual 

Performance Report 

Abstract: States are required to submit 

a performance report to the Secretary 

under section 80.40 of the Education 

Department General Administrative 

Regulations. The State Interagency 

Coordinating Committee is required 

under section 641 of Part C of the IDEA 

to submit an annual report to the 

Secretary and the State’s Governor on 

the status of the early intervention 

program for infants and toddlers with 

disabilities and their families. This 

collection serves both of these 

functions. OSEP is implementing an 

integrated, four-part accountability 

strategy: (1) Verifying the effectiveness 

and accuracy of States’ monitoring, 

assessment, and data collection systems; 

(2) attending to States at high risk for 

compliance, financial, and/or 

management failure; (3) supporting 

States in assessing their performance 

and compliance, and in planning, 

implementing, and evaluating 

improvement strategies; and (4) focusing 

OSEPs’ intervention on States with low 

ranking performance on critical 

performance indicators. Component 3 of 

OSEPs’ accountability strategy is 

implemented through this Annual 

Performance Report. Reporting 

requirements for States’ SelfAssessments, Improvement Plans, and 

Annual Performance Reports are being 

combined in this Part C Annual 

Performance Report. 

Additional Information: We are also 

proposing that the Part C Performance 

Report shall be submitted annually for 

the purpose of updating the State’s selfassessing and improvement planning, 

including reporting on the impact of the 

State’s improvement activities on 

performance and compliance. The 

Secretary is proposing that the Annual 

Performance Report, convering grant 

year July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003, 

will be submitted no later than March 

31, 2004. 

Frequency: Annually 

Affected Public:

State, local, or tribal gov’t, SEAs or 

LEAs (primary) 

Federal Government 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour 

Burden:

Responses: 56 

Burden Hours: 1,710 

Requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov,

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on 

link number 2445. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to Vivian Reese, 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Room 4050, Regional 

Office Building 3, Washington, DC 

20202–4651 or to the e-mail address 

vivan.reese@ed.gov. Requests may also 

be electronically mailed to the Internet 

address OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov or faxed to 

202–708–9346. Please specify the 

complete title of the information 

collection when making your request. 

Comments regarding burden and/or 

the collection activity requirements, 

contact Shelia Carey at her e-mail 

address Shelia Carey @ed.gov.

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–

8339.

[FR Doc. 04–2095 Filed 2–2–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools 

Overview Information: Elementary and 

Secondary School Counseling 

Programs Notice Inviting Applications 

for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 

2004. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215E.

DATES: Applications Available: February 

3, 2004. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: March 19, 2004. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: May 18, 2004. 

Eligible applicants: Local educational 

agencies. 

Estimated available funds:

$11,500,000. Contingent upon the 

availability of funds, the Secretary may 

make additional awards in FY 2005 

from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards:

$250,000–$400,000. 

Maximum Award: Section 5421(a)(5) 

of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965, as amended by 

the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 

20 U.S.C. 7245 (ESEA) limits the 

amount of a grant under this program in 

any one year to a maximum of $400,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 35.

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 

I. Full Text of Announcement 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the Elementary and Secondary School 

Counseling program is to award grants 

to local educational agencies for the 

purpose of establishing or expanding 

elementary and secondary school 

counseling programs. 

Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority is from 

Section 5421 of the ESEA. 

Absolute Priority: For FY 2004 this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 

CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only 

applications that meet this priority. 

This priority is: the establishment or 

expansion of elementary school 

counseling programs. Under 34 CFR 

part 77, an elementary school is a day 

or residential school that provides 

elementary education, as determined 

under State law. Applicants must also 

address the requirements in section 

5421(c)(2) of the ESEA. A copy of the 

statute authorizing this competition is 

included in the application package. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7245. 

Applicable Regulations: The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 

85, 97, 98, 99, and 299. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds:

$11,500,000. Contingent upon the 

availability of funds, the Secretary may 

make additional awards in FY 2005 

from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards:

$250,000–$400,000. 

Maximum Award: Section 5421(a)(5) 

of the ESEA limits the amount of a grant 

under this program in any one year to 

a maximum of $400,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 35.

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: Local 

educational agencies. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not involve cost sharing 

or matching, but does involve 

supplement-not-supplant funding 

provisions. Section 5421(b)(2)(G) of the 

5136 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2004 / Notices 

ESEA requires applicants under the 

program to assure that program funds 

will be used to supplement, and not 

supplant, any other Federal, State, or 

local funds used for providing schoolbased counseling and mental health 

services to students. 

3. Other: Section 5421(g)(2) of the 

ESEA requires that for any fiscal year in 

which the amount available for this 

program is less than $40,000,000 the 

Secretary makes grants to local 

educational agencies only to establish or 

expand counseling programs in 

elementary schools. The FY 2004 

appropriation for this program is 

$33,799,400. Therefore, under this 

notice applicants must propose projects 

that establish or expand counseling 

programs only in elementary schools. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Paper copies of applications 

for this program are available from the 

Education Publications Center (ED 

Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, Maryland 

20794–1398. Telephone (toll free): 1–

877–433–7827. Fax: (301) 470–1244. If 

you use a telecommunications device 

for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll 

free): 1–877–576–7734.

You may also contact ED Pubs at its 

Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/

edupubs.html or you may contact ED 

Pubs at its e-mail address, 

edpubs@inet.ed.gov, in order to request 

a paper copy of the application for this 

program. 

If you request an application from ED 

Pubs, be sure to identify this 

competition as follows: CFDA number 

84.215E. 

The application package for this 

program is also available to be 

downloaded from the Department’s Web 

site at: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/

apply/grantapps/index.html. The 

application package is available in both 

PDF and WORD formats. 

Individuals with disabilities may 

obtain a copy of the application package 

for this program in an alternative format 

(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or 

computer diskette) on request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

elsewhere in 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 

program. 

3. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: February 3, 

2004. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: March 19, 2004. The dates 

and times for the transmittal of 

applications by mail or by hand 

(including a courier service or 

commercial carrier) are in the 

application package for this program. 

The application package also specifies 

the hours of operation of the eApplication Web site. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: May 18, 2004. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

program. 

5. Funding Restrictions: Section 

5421(d) of the ESEA requires that no 

more than four percent of a grant award 

may be used for administrative costs to 

carry out the project. 

6. Other Submission Requirements:

Instructions and requirements for the 

transmittal of applications by mail or by 

hand (including a courier service or 

commercial carrier) are in the 

application package for this program. 

Application Procedures

Note: Some of the procedures in these 

instructions for transmitting applications 

differ from those in the Education 

Department General Administrative 

Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under 

the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553) the Department generally offers 

interested parties the opportunity to 

comment on proposed regulations. However, 

these amendments make procedural changes 

only and do not establish new substantive 

policy. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), 

the Secretary has determined that proposed 

rulemaking is not required.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission 

of Applications 

We are continuing to expand our pilot 

project for electronic submission of 

applications to include additional 

formula grant programs and additional 

discretionary grant competitions. 

Elementary and Secondary School 

Counseling Programs—CFDA 84.215E is 

one of the programs included in the 

pilot project. If you have an applicant 

under Elementary and Secondary 

School Counseling Programs, you may 

submit your application to us in either 

electronic or paper format. 

The pilot project involves the use of 

the Electronic Grant Application System 

(e-Application). If you use eApplication, you will be entering data 

online while completing your 

application. You may not e-mail an 

electronic copy of a grant application to 

us. If you participate in this voluntary 

pilot project by submitting an 

application electronically, the data you 

enter online will be saved into a 

database. We request your participation 

in e-Application. We will continue to 

evaluate its success and solicit 

suggestions for its improvement. 

If you participate in e-Application, 

please note the following: 

• Your participation is voluntary. 

• When you enter the e-Application 

system, you will find information about 

its hours of operation. We strongly 

recommend that you do not wait until 

the application deadline date to initiate 

an e-Application package. 

• You will not receive additional 

point value because you submit a grant 

application in electronic format, nor 

will we penalize you if you submit an 

application in paper format. 

• You may submit all documents 

electronically, including the 

Application for Federal Education 

Assistance (ED 424), Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs (ED 524), and all necessary 

assurances and certifications.

• Your e-Application must comply 

with any page limit requirements 

described in this notice. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive an 

automatic acknowledgement, which 

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 Application for 

Federal Education Assistance (ED 424) 

to the Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

1. Print ED 424 from e-Application. 

2. The institution’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

3. Place the PR/Award number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hard 

copy signature page of the ED 424. 

4. Fax the signed ED 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

260–1349. 

• We may request that you give us 

original signatures on other forms at a 

later date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension in 

Case of System Unavailability 

If you elect to participate in the eApplication pilot for Elementary and 

Secondary School Counseling Programs 

and you are prevented from submitting 

your application on the application 

deadline date because the e-Application 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 22 / Tuesday, February 3, 2004 / Notices 5137

system is unavailable, we will grant you 

an extension of one business day in 

order to transmit your application 

electronically, by mail, or by hand 

delivery. We will grant this extension 

if–

1. You are a registered user of eApplication, and have initiated an eApplication for this competition; and 

2. (a) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for 60 minutes or more 

between the house of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date; or 

(b) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for any period of time 

during the last hour of operation (that is, 

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

and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on 

the application deadline date. 

We must acknowledge and confirm 

these periods of unavailability before 

granting you an extension. To request 

this extension or to confirm our 

acknowledgement of any system 

unavailability, you may contact either 

(1) the person listed elsewhere in this 

notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) 

the e-GRANTS help desk at 1–888–336–

8930. 

You may access the electronic grant 

application for Elementary and 

Secondary School Counseling Programs 

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

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are in the 

application package. 

2. Review and Selection Process:

Applicants also must address the 

requirements in section 5421(c)(2) of the 

ESEA. 

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 Notice (GAN). 

We may also notify you informally. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant.

3. Reporting: At the end of your 

project period, you must submit a final 

performance report. If you receive a 

multi-year award, you must submit an 

annual report that provides the most 

current performance and financial 

expenditure information as specified by 

the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. 

4. Performance Measures: The 

Secretary has established the following 

performance measures for assessing the 

effectiveness of the Elementary and 

Secondary School Counseling Programs: 

(1) The percentage of grantees closing 

the gap between their student/mental 

health professional ratios and student/

mental health professional ratios 

recommended by the American School 

Health Association will increase; and (2) 

the number of referrals/suspensions for 

disciplinary reasons for students 

receiving counseling under the program 

will decrease. These two measures 

constitute the Department’s indicators 

of success for this program. 

Consequently, applicants for a grant 

under this program are advised to give 

careful consideration to these two 

outcomes in conceptualizing the design, 

implementation, and evaluation of their 

proposed project. If funded, applicants 

will be asked to collect and report data 

in their annual performance reports 

about progress toward these goals. The 

Secretary will also use this information 

to respond to reporting requirements 

concerning this program established in 

Section 5421(f) of the ESEA. 

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Loretta McDaniel, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 3E220, Washington, DC 20202–

6450. Telephone: (202) 260–2661, or by 

e-mail: loretta.mcdaniel@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call 

the Federal Information Relay Service 

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339. 

Individuals with disabilities may 

obtain this document in an alternative 

format (e.g., Braille, large print, 

audiotape, or computer diskette) on 

request to the program contact person 

listed in this section. 

VIII. Other Information 

Electronic Access to This Document:

You may view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

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

fedregister. 

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. If you have questions about 

using PDF, call the U.S. Government 

Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1–

888–293–6498; or in the Washington, 

DC, area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/

index.html.

Dated: January 29, 2004. 

William Modzeleski, 

Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Safe 

and Drug-Free Schools.

[FR Doc. 04–2175 Filed 2–2–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing 

Board; Meeting

AGENCY: National Assessment 

Governing Board; Education.

ACTION: Notice of Open Meeting and 

Partially Closed Meetings. 

SUMMARY: The notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed agenda of a 

forthcoming meeting of the National 

Assessment Governing Board. This 

notice also describes the functions of 

the Board. Notice of this meeting is 

required under section 10(a)(2) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act. This 

document is intended to notify members 

of the general public of their 

opportunity to attend. Individuals who 

will need special accommodations in 

order to attend the meeting (i.e., 

interpreting services, assistive listening 

devices, materials in alternative format) 

should notify Munira Mwalimu at 202–

357–6938 or at 

Munira.Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than 

February 27, 2004. We will attempt to 

meet requests after this date, but cannot 

guarantee availability of the requested 

accommodation. The meeting site is 

accessible to individuals with 

disabilities.

DATES: March 4–March 6, 2004. 

Times:

March 4

Committee Meetings:

Assessment Development Committee:

Closed Session—12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.; 

Executive Committee: Open Session—

4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Closed Session—

5:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

March 5

Full Board: Open Session—8 a.m. to 

10:30 a.m.

Committee Meetings: