5434 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Innovation and Improvement; 

Overview Information; DC School 

Choice Incentive Program; Notice 

Inviting Applications for New Awards 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.370A.

DATES: Applications Available: February 

4, 2004. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: March 5, 2004. 

Eligible Applicants: (a) An 

educational entity of the District of 

Columbia Government. 

(b) A nonprofit organization. 

(c) A consortium of nonprofit 

organizations.

Note: To receive an award under this 

program, an applicant must ensure that a 

majority of the members of its voting board 

or governing organization are residents of the 

District of Columbia.

Estimated Available Funds:

$12,505,778. 

Estimated Range of Awards:

$5,000,000–$12,505,778. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$6,252,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 1–2.

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The DC School 

Choice Incentive Program provides lowincome parents residing in the District 

of Columbia (District) with expanded 

options for the education of their 

children. This program is part of a 

broader school improvement effort in 

the District that is founded on the belief 

that all education sectors—public 

schools, public charter schools and nonpublic schools—can offer quality 

education experiences for the District’s 

students, and that those students who 

are the most economically 

disadvantaged have the least access to 

such experiences. 

One or more grants will be awarded 

on a competitive basis to eligible 

applicants to establish a scholarship 

program to provide eligible students 

with expanded school choice options. 

Students who are residents of the 

District and who come from households 

whose income does not exceed 185 

percent of the poverty line are eligible 

to apply for scholarships from a grantee 

under this program. These scholarships 

may be used to pay the tuition and fees 

and transportation expenses, if any, to 

enable students to attend the 

participating District non-public 

elementary or secondary school of their 

choice. 

Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(iv), these priorities are from 

section 306 of the DC School Choice 

Incentive Act of 2003. 

Competitive Preference Priorities: For 

FY 2004 these priorities are competitive 

preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to an 

additional 35 points to an application, 

depending on how well the application 

meets these priorities. 

These priorities are: 

Competitive Preference Priority 1—

Eligible Students (up to 15 points). The 

Secretary will give priority to 

applications from eligible entities that 

will most effectively give priority to 

eligible students who, in the school year 

preceding the school year in which the 

student would use the scholarship, 

attend an elementary or secondary 

school identified for improvement, 

corrective action, or restructuring under 

section 1116 of the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 6316).

Competitive Preference Priority 2—

Financial Resources (up to 10 points). 

The Secretary will give priority to 

applications from eligible entities that 

will most effectively target resources to 

students and families who lack the 

financial resources to take advantage of 

available educational options. 

Competitive Preference Priority 3—

Range of Options (up to 10 points). The 

Secretary will give priority to 

applications from eligible entities that 

will most effectively provide students 

and families with the widest range of 

educational options. 

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking:

Under the Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department 

generally offers interested parties the 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

selection criteria and other nonstatutory requirements. Section 

437(d)(1) of the General Education 

Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 

1232(d)(1)), however, allows the 

Secretary to exempt from rulemaking 

requirements rules governing the first 

grant competition under a new or 

substantially revised program authority. 

This is the first competition for this 

program under the DC School Choice 

Incentive Act of 2003 (Act). The 

Secretary and the Mayor of the District 

of Columbia also have informally 

solicited public comments on this 

program within the District of 

Columbia. Additionally, initiating a 

formal notice and comment process 

would preclude timely implementation 

of this program for the 2004–05 school 

year. In order to ensure timely grant 

awards, the Secretary has decided to 

forego public comment on the selection 

criteria and other non-statutory 

requirements under section 437(d)(1) of 

GEPA. These selection criteria and other 

non-statutory requirements will apply to 

the FY 2004 grant competition only. 

Program Authority: DC School Choice 

Incentive Act of 2003 (Title III of 

Division C of the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2004). 

Applicable Regulations: The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

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

85, 86, 97, 98 and 99. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants 

or cooperative agreements. 

Estimated Available Funds:

$12,505,778. 

Estimated Range of Awards:

$5,000,000–$12,505,778. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$6,252,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 1–2.

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants:

(a) An educational entity of the 

District of Columbia Government. 

(b) A nonprofit organization. 

(c) A consortium of nonprofit 

organizations.

Note: To receive an award under this 

program, an applicant must ensure that a 

majority of the members of its voting board 

or governing organization are residents of the 

District of Columbia.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not involve cost sharing 

or matching. 

3. Other: Application Contents. The 

Secretary may not approve an 

application for a grant under this 

program unless the application includes 

a detailed description of— 

(a) How the entity will address the 

priorities described in this notice; 

(b) How the entity will ensure that, if 

more eligible students seek admission in 

the scholarship program than the 

program can accommodate, eligible 

students will be selected for admission 

through a lottery that gives weight to 

students and families described in 

competitive preference priorities (1) and 

(2) elsewhere in this notice. This lottery 

should be designed in such a way as to 

maximize the number of students 

receiving scholarships by matching 

accepted students with available slots at 

participating schools and allow parents 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 5435

of eligible students and participating 

schools to participate in determining the 

appropriate school and grade-level 

placements for eligible students; 

(c) How the entity will ensure that if 

more participating eligible students seek 

admission to a participating school than 

the school can accommodate, 

participating eligible students will be 

selected for admission through a lottery. 

Scholarship recipients may be admitted 

to a participating school without regard 

to the lottery if they are siblings of 

students already admitted to, or 

attending, that school; 

(d) How the entity will notify parents 

of eligible students of the expanded 

choice opportunities provided under the 

program and how the entity will ensure 

that parents receive sufficient 

information about their options to allow 

them to make informed decisions, 

including, but not limited to, 

information—for each participating 

school—about the qualifications of its 

teachers; the educational philosophy 

and available courses and programs of 

the school; the achievement of the 

school’s students; student expectations 

(such as uniforms, discipline policy, 

honor code, and required classes); and 

the safety and school environment of 

the school; 

(e) The activities that the entity will 

carry out to provide parents of eligible 

students with expanded choice 

opportunities through the awarding of 

scholarships; 

(f) How the entity will determine the 

amount that will be provided to parents 

for the tuition and fees and for 

transportation expenses, if any, 

including how the entity will ensure 

compliance with the requirement that 

the amount of any tuition or fees 

charged by the school to an eligible 

student participating in the program 

does not exceed the amount of tuition 

and fees the school customarily charges 

to students who do not participate in 

the program; 

(g) How the entity will seek out nonpublic elementary and secondary 

schools in the District to participate in 

the program, and will ensure that 

participating schools will meet the 

applicable requirements of the Act and 

provide the information needed for the 

entity to meet the reporting 

requirements of this program; 

(h) How the entity will ensure that 

participating schools are financially 

responsible and will use the funds 

received under this program effectively;

(i) How the entity will address the 

renewal of scholarships to participating 

eligible students, including their 

continued eligibility; and 

(j) How the entity will consult with 

private schools initially and throughout 

the planning and implementation, 

including consultation on how 

participating schools may require 

eligible students to abide by any rules 

of conduct and other requirements 

applicable to all other students in a 

school, in order to facilitate an effective 

and successful scholarship program for 

both participating students and private 

schools.

Note: An eligible entity receiving a grant 

under this program may award a scholarship, 

for the second or any succeeding years of a 

student’s participation in the scholarship 

program, to a student who was eligible for 

the first year of the scholarship and comes 

from a household whose income has 

subsequently increased but does not exceed 

200 percent of the poverty line.

Additionally, an eligible entity must assure 

that it will comply with all requests 

regarding the evaluation carried out under 

section 309 of the Act. Additional 

information regarding this evaluation can be 

found in the application package for this 

program. 

An eligible entity must be willing and able 

to work with other entities affiliated with the 

Federal and District governments, as well as 

other organizations that might conduct 

activities integral to the success of the 

program, including, as appropriate, 

incorporating and building on any 

preparatory work conducted by other 

interested organizations, such as outreach 

activities to families of students eligible to 

participate in the program and non-public 

schools.

Definitions. As used in this program: 

(a) Elementary School means an 

institutional day or residential school 

that provides elementary education, as 

determined under District of Columbia 

law. 

(b) Eligible Student means a student 

who—

(1) Is a resident of the District of 

Columbia; and 

(2) Comes from a household whose 

income does not exceed 185 percent of 

the poverty line applicable to a family 

of the size involved. 

(c) Parent includes a legal guardian or 

other person standing in loco parentis

(such as a grandparent or stepparent 

with whom the child lives, or a person 

who is legally responsible for the child’s 

welfare). 

(d) Poverty Line means the poverty 

line (as defined by the Office of 

Management and Budget and revised 

annually in accordance with section 

673(2) of the Community Services Block 

Grant Act) applicable to a family of the 

size involved. 

(e) Secondary School means an 

institutional day or residential school 

that provides secondary education, as 

determined under District of Columbia 

law, except that the term does not 

include any education beyond grade 12. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Iris Lane, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 3C156 FB6, Washington, DC 

20202–5961. Telephone: (202) 260–1999 

or by e-mail: iris.lane@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 a copy of the application package 

in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the program 

contact person listed in this section. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

program. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

(Part III of the application) is where you, 

the applicant, address the selection 

criteria and priorities that reviewers use 

to evaluate your application. You must 

limit Part III to the equivalent of no 

more than 50 pages, using the following 

standards: 

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ x 11′′, on one side 

only, with 1′′3 margins at the top, 

bottom, and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application 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). 

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, or letters of support. 

However, you must include all of the 

application narrative in Part III. 

Our reviewers will not read any pages 

of your application that—

• Exceed the page limit if you apply 

these standards; or 

• Exceed the equivalent of the page 

limit if you apply other standards. 

3. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: February 4, 

2004. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: March 5, 2004.

5436 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 

Note: We are requiring that applications for 

grants under this program be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) available 

through the Department’s e-GRANTS system. 

For information about how to access the eGRANTS system or to request a waiver of the 

electronic submission requirement, please 

refer to Section IV, Other Submission 

Requirements, in this notice.

The application package for this program 

specifies the hours of operation of the eApplication Web site. If you are requesting a 

waiver of the electronic submission 

requirement, the dates and times for the 

transmittal of applications by mail or by 

hand (including a courier service or 

commercial carrier) are also in the 

application package. 

We do not consider an application that 

does not comply with the deadline 

requirements.

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

program. 

5. Funding Restrictions: Use of Funds.

(a) Scholarships.

(1) A grantee must use grant funds to 

provide eligible students with 

scholarships to pay the tuition, fees, and 

transportation expenses, if any, to 

enable them to attend a participating 

District non-public elementary or 

secondary school of their choice. A 

grantee must ensure that the amount of 

any tuition or fees charged by a school 

to an eligible student participating in 

the program does not exceed the amount 

of tuition or fees that the school 

customarily charges to students who do 

not participate in the program. An entity 

that receives an award under this 

program will be responsible for ensuring 

compliance with this requirement by 

each participating school. 

(2) A grantee may award scholarships 

in varying amounts (subject to 

paragraph (b) of this section), with 

larger amounts going to eligible students 

with the greatest need. 

(b) Annual Limit on Amount of 

Scholarship: The amount of assistance 

provided to any eligible student by a 

grantee with funds received under this 

program may not exceed $7,500 for any 

academic year. 

(c) Administrative Expenses: A 

grantee may not use more than 3 percent 

of the amount provided under the grant 

each year for the administrative 

expenses of carrying out its program. 

We reference additional regulations 

outlining funding restrictions in the 

Applicable Regulations section of this 

notice. 

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: The 

Government Paperwork Elimination Act 

(GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105–277) and 

the Federal Financial Assistance 

Management Improvement Act of 1999 

(Pub. L. 106–107) encourage us to 

undertake initiatives to improve our 

grant processes. Enhancing the ability of 

individuals and entities to conduct 

business with us electronically is a 

major part of our response to these Acts. 

Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt 

the Internet as our chief means of 

conducting transactions in order to 

improve services to our customers and 

to simplify and expedite our business 

processes. 

We are requiring that applications for 

grants under the DC School Choice 

Incentive Program—CFDA Number 

84.370A be submitted electronically 

using the e-Application available 

through the Department’s e-GRANTS 

system. The e-GRANTS system is 

accessible through its portal page at: 

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

If you are unable to submit an 

application through the e-GRANTS 

system, you may submit a written 

request for a waiver of the electronic 

submission requirement. In your 

request, you should explain the reason 

or reasons that prevent you from using 

the Internet to submit your application. 

Address your request to: Iris Lane, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., room 3C156, Washington, 

DC 20202–5961. Please submit your 

request no later than two weeks before 

the application deadline date. 

If, within two weeks of the 

application deadline date, you are 

unable to submit an application 

electronically, you must submit a paper 

application by the application deadline 

date in accordance with the transmittal 

instructions in the application package. 

The paper application must include a 

written request for a waiver 

documenting the reasons that prevented 

you from using the Internet to submit 

your application. 

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. The DC School Choice 

Incentive Program—CFDA Number 

84.370A is one of the programs included 

in the pilot project. If you are an 

applicant under the DC School Choice 

Incentive Program, you must submit 

your application to us in electronic 

format or receive a waiver. 

The pilot project involves the use of 

e-Application. If you use e-Application, 

you will be entering data online while 

completing your application. You may 

not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant 

application to us. The data you enter 

online will be saved into a database. We 

shall continue to evaluate the success of 

e-Application and solicit suggestions for 

its improvement. 

If you participate in e-Application, 

please note the following:

• 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 

are prevented from submitting your 

application on the application deadline 

date because the e-Application system is 

unavailable, we will grant you an 

extension of one business day in order 

to transmit your application 

electronically, by mail, or by hand 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 5437

delivery. We will grant this extension 

if—

1. You are a registered user of eApplication, and you have initiated an 

e-Application for this competition; and 

2. (a) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for 60 minutes or more 

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

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

application deadline date; or 

(b) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for any period of time 

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 The DC School Choice 

Incentive Program at: http://egrants.ed.gov.

V. Application Review Information 

Selection Criteria: Points awarded 

under these selection criteria are in 

addition to any points an applicant 

earns under the competitive preference 

priorities in this notice. The maximum 

score an application may receive based 

on the priority points and the selection 

criteria is 165 points. The selection 

criteria for this program are as follows: 

(a) Selection of students (up to 15 

points). In determining the quality of 

the applicant’s plan for the selection of 

students to receive scholarships, the 

Secretary considers the extent to 

which—

(i) The application provides a 

description of the lottery that would be 

used to make selections of scholarship 

applicants in the event that the 

scholarship program is oversubscribed 

and for selecting students to attend a 

participating school if more students 

apply to, and are accepted for 

enrollment by, that school than it can 

accommodate; 

(ii) The application provides 

assurances and appropriate 

documentation that the applicant, if 

funded, will cooperate with the 

evaluation contractor selected by the 

Department and the District of Columbia 

Government in planning and 

implementing the lottery for selecting 

program participants; 

(iii) The selection process gives 

priority to applicants who attend a 

District elementary or secondary school 

identified for school improvement, 

corrective action, or restructuring under 

section 1116 of the ESEA; and 

(iv) The selection process gives 

priority to applicants whose families 

lack the financial resources to take 

advantage of available educational 

options. 

(b) Notification of parents (up to 20 

points). In determining the quality of 

the applicant’s plan to notify parents 

about the scholarships, the Secretary 

considers the extent to which the 

application—

(i) Describes a plan for outreach such 

as direct mailings, forums, radio, 

television and print advertising to 

inform eligible students and their 

parents about the availability of 

scholarships and the procedures for 

applying to the scholarship program; 

and 

(ii) Provides evidence that parents 

will receive sufficient information about 

their options to allow them to make 

informed decisions, including, but not 

limited to, information on each 

participating school about the 

qualifications of its teachers; the 

educational philosophy and available 

courses and programs of the school; the 

achievement of the school’s students; 

student expectations (such as uniforms, 

discipline policy, honor code, and 

required classes); and the safety and 

school environment of the school. 

(c) Amount of scholarship (up to 10 

points). In determining the quality of 

the applicant’s plan for establishing the 

amount of a scholarship to an eligible 

student, the Secretary considers the 

extent to which the applicant’s 

methods—

(i) Provides a mechanism to award 

scholarships for tuition and fees, and 

transportation expenses, if any, in larger 

amounts to those eligible students with 

the greatest need, provided they do not 

exceed the maximum annual 

scholarship amount; and

(ii) Ensure that the amount of tuition 

and fees charged by a participating 

school to a scholarship student under 

the program will not exceed the amount 

of tuition and fees that the school 

customarily charges to students who do 

not participate in the program. 

(d) Participating schools (up to 20 

points). In determining the quality of 

the applicant’s plan for identifying 

participating non-public schools, the 

Secretary considers the extent to which 

the application—

(i) Describes the applicant’s plan to 

seek out non-public elementary and 

secondary schools that operate lawfully 

in the District, to participate in the 

program during its initial year and 

subsequent years; 

(ii) Describes how the applicant will 

ensure that participating schools will 

comply with the requirements of the Act 

and will provide the information 

needed for the applicant to meet the 

reporting requirements of the Act; and 

(iii) Describes how the applicant will 

ensure that participating schools are 

financially responsible and will use the 

funds received under this title 

effectively. 

(e) Renewal of scholarships (up to 10 

points). In determining the quality of 

the applicant’s plan for the renewal of 

scholarships, the Secretary considers 

the applicant’s methods for determining 

the eligibility of participating student to 

continue in the program. 

(f) Quality of project personnel (up to 

15 points). In determining the quality of 

the personnel of the proposed project, 

the Secretary considers the 

qualifications, including relevant 

training and experience, of the project 

director, other key personnel, and any 

project consultants in such areas as—

(i) Working with schools, parents, and 

government officials; 

(ii) Operating a scholarship program; 

and 

(iii) Establishing and maintaining 

record-keeping requirements. 

(g) Organizational capability (up to 20 

points). In determining the applicant’s 

organizational capability, the Secretary 

considers—

(i) The amount and quality of 

experience the applicant has with the 

types of activities it proposes to 

undertake in its application, such as 

conducting outreach, administering 

funds, tracking scholarships, and 

ensuring that scholarship funds are used 

for the payment of tuition and fees and 

transportation expenses, if any, in 

accordance with the Act; and 

(ii) The applicant’s financial 

soundness. 

(h) Reports (up to 10 points). In 

determining the quality of the 

applicant’s reporting plan, the Secretary 

considers the extent to which the 

applicant’s plan for assembling the 

information and submitting activities 

reports, achievement reports, and 

reports to parents complies with the 

requirements under section 310 of the 

Act. 

(i) Collection of baseline data (up to 

10 points). In determining the quality of 

the applicant’s plan to collect baseline 

data, the Secretary considers the extent 

to which the applicant documents how 

it will cooperate with the evaluation 

contractor to collect baseline data, 

including, but not limited to, student 

and parent demographics and income, 

5438 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 

parent perception of a student’s current 

school (including safety), parent 

awareness of their choice options, 

contact information for parents, and 

consent forms for ongoing data 

collection. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and send you a Grant 

Award Notification (GAN). We may also 

notify you informally. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you.

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Reporting: (a) Requirements under 

EDGAR. At the end of your project 

period, you must submit a final 

performance report, including financial 

information, as directed by the 

Secretary. If you receive a multi-year 

award, you must submit an annual 

performance report that provides the 

most current performance and financial 

expenditure information as specified by 

the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. 

(b) Requirements under the Statute.

(1) Activities Reports. Each grantee 

receiving funds under this program 

during a year shall submit a report to 

the Secretary not later than July 30 of 

the following year regarding the 

activities carried out with the funds 

during the preceding year. 

(2) Achievement Reports. (i) In 

general. In addition to the reports 

required under paragraph (1), each 

grantee shall, not later than September 

1 of the year during which the second 

academic year of the grantee’s program 

is completed and each of the next 2 

years thereafter, submit a report to the 

Secretary regarding the data collected in 

the previous 2 academic years 

concerning—

(A) The academic achievement of 

students participating in the program; 

(B) The graduation and college 

admission rates of students who 

participate in the program, where 

appropriate; and 

(C) Parental satisfaction with the 

program. 

(ii) Prohibiting disclosure of personal 

information. No report under this 

subsection may contain any personally 

identifiable information. 

(3) Reports to Parent. (i) In general.

Each grantee shall ensure that each 

school participating in the grantee’s 

program under this program during a 

year reports at least once during the year 

to the parents of each of the school’s 

students who are participating in the 

program on—

(A) The student’s academic 

achievement, as measured by a 

comparison with the aggregate academic 

achievement of other participating 

students at the student’s school in the 

same grade or level, as appropriate, and 

the aggregate academic achievement of 

the student’s peers at the student’s 

school in the same grade or level, as 

appropriate; and 

(B) The safety of the school, including 

the incidence of school violence, 

student suspensions, and student 

expulsions. 

(ii) Prohibiting disclosure of personal 

information. No report under this 

subsection may contain any personally 

identifiable information, except as to the 

student who is the subject of the report 

to that student’s parent. 

4. Performance Measures: The longterm performance indicator for this 

program is whether, at the end of the 

program, the student achievement gains 

of participants are greater than that of 

students in control or comparison 

groups. Data for the performance 

measure will be collected through the 

program evaluation. 

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Iris 

Lane, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 

3C156, Washington, DC 20202–5961. 

Telephone: (202) 260–1999 or by e-mail: 

iris.lane@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 30, 2004. 

Nina Shokraii Rees, 

Deputy Under Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement.

[FR Doc. 04–2286 Filed 2–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P