Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 5327

(2) The extent to which the time 

commitments of the project director and 

principal investigator and other key 

project personnel are appropriate and 

adequate to meet the objectives of the 

proposed project. 

(3) How the applicant will ensure that 

a diversity of perspectives are brought to 

bear in the operation of the proposed 

project, including those of parents, 

teachers, the business community, a 

variety of disciplinary and professional 

fields, recipients or beneficiaries of 

services, or others, as appropriate. 

(f) Quality of the project evaluation.

(20 points) 

The Secretary considers the quality of 

the evaluation to be conducted of the 

proposed project. In determining the 

quality of the evaluation, the Secretary 

considers one or more of the following 

factors: 

(1) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and 

appropriate to the goals, objectives, and 

outcomes of the proposed project. 

(2) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation provide for examining the 

effectiveness of project implementation 

strategies. 

(3) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation include the use of 

objective performance measures that are 

clearly related to the intended outcomes 

of the project and will produce 

quantitative and qualitative data to the 

extent possible. 

(4) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation will provide performance 

feedback and permit periodic 

assessment of progress toward achieving 

intended outcomes. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN). We may also notify you 

informally. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant.

3. Reporting: At the end of your 

project period, you must submit a final 

performance report, including financial 

information, as directed by the 

Secretary. If you receive a multi-year 

award, you must submit an annual 

performance report that provides the 

most current performance and financial 

expenditure information as specified by 

the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. 

4. Performance Measures:

Performance measures for the National 

Professional Development Program are: 

1. Program improvement related to K–

12 state standards, scientifically based 

research practices, or development of 

subject area competence. 

2. Effectiveness of graduates/

completers in the instructional setting. 

3. The rate of placement of graduates 

in an instructional setting serving LEP 

students, within one year of graduation. 

4. The percentage of program 

completers who are highly qualified 

teachers as defined in the NCLB’s 

Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements. 

Grantees will be expected to report on 

progress in meeting the performance 

measures for the National Professional 

Development Program in their Annual 

Performance Report and in their Final 

Performance Report. 

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Samuel Lopez, 400 Maryland Avenue, 

SW., Switzer Building, room 5605, 

Washington, DC 20202–6510. 

Telephone: (202) 401–1427, or by email: Samuel.Lopez@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. 

Maria H. Ferrier, 

Deputy Under Secretary and Director for 

English Language Acquisition, Language 

Enhancement, and Academic Achievement 

for Limited English Proficient Students.

[FR Doc. 04–2285 Filed 2–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1820 ZA26 

National Institute on Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services proposes priorities under the 

Rehabilitation Research and Training 

Centers (RRTC) Program for the National 

Institute on Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The 

Assistant Secretary may use one or more 

of these priorities for competitions in 

fiscal year (FY) 2004 and later years. We 

take this action to focus research 

attention on areas of national need. We 

intend these priorities to improve 

employment-related rehabilitation 

services and outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities.

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before March 5, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about 

these proposed priorities to Donna 

Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3412, 

Switzer Building, Washington, DC 

20202–2645. If you prefer to send your 

comments through the Internet, use the 

following address: 

donna.nangle@ed.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 205–

5880. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call 

the TDD number at (202) 205–4475 or 

via the Internet: donna.nangle@ed.gov.

Individuals with disabilities may 

obtain this document in an alternative 

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

audiotape, or computer diskette) on 

request to the contact person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

5328 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 

Invitation to Comment 

We invite you to submit comments 

regarding these proposed priorities. To 

ensure that your comments have 

maximum effect in developing the 

notice of final priorities, we urge you to 

identify clearly the specific proposed 

priority that each comment addresses. 

We invite you to assist us in 

complying with the specific 

requirements of Executive Order 12866 

and its overall requirement of reducing 

regulatory burden that might result from 

these proposed priorities. Please let us 

know of any further opportunities we 

should take to reduce potential costs or 

increase potential benefits while 

preserving the effective and efficient 

administration of the program. 

During and after the comment period, 

you may inspect all public comments 

about these proposed priorities in room 

3412, Switzer Building, 330 C Street, 

SW., Washington, DC, between the 

hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., eastern 

time, Monday through Friday of each 

week except Federal holidays. 

Assistance to Individuals With 

Disabilities in Reviewing the 

Rulemaking Record 

On request, we will supply an 

appropriate aid, such as a reader or 

print magnifier, to an individual with a 

disability who needs assistance to 

review the comments or other 

documents in the public rulemaking 

record for these proposed priorities. If 

you want to schedule an appointment 

for this type of aid, please contact the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.

We will announce the final priorities 

in a notice in the Federal Register. We 

will determine the final priorities after 

considering responses to this notice and 

other information available to the 

Department. This notice does not 

preclude us from proposing or funding 

additional priorities, subject to meeting 

applicable rulemaking requirements.

Note: This notice does not solicit 

applications. In any year in which we choose 

to use these proposed priorities, we invite 

applications through a notice published in 

the Federal Register. When inviting 

applications, we designate each priority as 

absolute, competitive preference, or 

invitational. The effect of each type of 

priority follows:

Absolute priority: Under an absolute 

priority, we consider only applications 

that meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3)). 

Competitive preference priority:

Under a competitive preference priority, 

we give competitive preference to an 

application by either (1) awarding 

additional points, depending on how 

well or the extent to which the 

application meets the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an 

application that meets the competitive 

priority over an application of 

comparable merit that does not meet the 

competitive priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(ii)). 

Invitational priority: Under an 

invitational priority, we are particularly 

interested in applications that meet the 

invitational priority. However, we do 

not give an application that meets the 

invitational priority a competitive or 

absolute preference over other 

applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Note: NIDRR supports the goals of 

President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative 

(NFI). The NFI can be accessed on the 

Internet at the following site: http://

www.whitehouse.gov/news/

freedominitiative/freedominitiative.html.

These proposed priorities are in 

concert with NIDRR’s Long-Range Plan 

(Plan). The Plan is comprehensive and 

integrates many issues relating to 

disability and rehabilitation research 

topics. While applicants will find many 

sections throughout the Plan that 

support potential research to be 

conducted under these proposed 

priorities, a specific reference is 

included for each priority presented in 

this notice. The Plan can be accessed on 

the Internet at the following site: http:/

/www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/

index.html.

Through the implementation of the 

NFI and the Plan, NIDRR seeks to: (1) 

Improve the quality and utility of 

disability and rehabilitation research; 

(2) foster an exchange of expertise, 

information, and training to facilitate 

the advancement of knowledge and 

understanding of the unique needs of 

traditionally underserved populations; 

(3) determine best strategies and 

programs to improve rehabilitation 

outcomes for underserved populations; 

(4) identify research gaps; (5) identify 

mechanisms of integrating research and 

practice; and (6) disseminate findings. 

Rehabilitation Research and Training 

Centers 

RRTCs conduct coordinated and 

integrated advanced programs of 

research targeted toward the production 

of new knowledge to improve 

rehabilitation methodology and service 

delivery systems, alleviate or stabilize 

disability conditions, or promote 

maximum social and economic 

independence for persons with 

disabilities. Additional information on 

the RRTC program can be found at http:/

/www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/

res-program.html#RRTC.

General Requirements of Rehabilitation 

Research and Training Centers 

RRTCs must: 

• Carry out coordinated advanced 

programs of rehabilitation research; 

• Provide training, including 

graduate, pre-service, and in-service 

training, to help rehabilitation 

personnel more effectively provide 

rehabilitation services to individuals 

with disabilities; 

• Provide technical assistance to 

individuals with disabilities, their 

representatives, providers, and other 

interested parties; 

• Disseminate informational materials 

to individuals with disabilities, their 

representatives, providers, and other 

interested parties; and 

• Serve as centers for national 

excellence in rehabilitation research for 

individuals with disabilities, their 

representatives, providers, and other 

interested parties. 

The Department is particularly 

interested in ensuring that the 

expenditure of public funds is justified 

by the execution of intended activities 

and the advancement of knowledge and, 

thus, has built this accountability into 

the selection criteria. Not later than 

three years after the establishment of 

any RRTC, NIDRR will conduct one or 

more reviews of the activities and 

achievements of the RRTC. In 

accordance with the provisions of 34 

CFR 75.253(a), continued funding 

depends at all times on satisfactory 

performance and accomplishment of 

approved grant objectives. 

The Secretary is interested in 

hypothesis-driven research activities. To 

address this interest it is expected that 

applicants will articulate goals, 

objectives, and expected outcomes for 

the proposed research activities. It is 

critical that proposals describe expected 

public benefits, especially benefits for 

individuals with disabilities, and 

propose projects that are optimally 

designed to demonstrate outcomes that 

are consistent with the proposed goals. 

Applicants are encouraged to include 

information describing how they will 

measure outcomes, including the 

indicators that will represent the endresult, the mechanisms that will be used 

to evaluate outcomes associated with 

specific problems or issues, and how the 

proposed activities will support new 

intervention approaches and strategies, 

including a discussion of measures of 

effectiveness. Submission of this 

information is voluntary except where 

required by the selection criteria.

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 5329

Priorities 

Background 

National data indicate that 

employment rates of individuals with 

disabilities continue to lag well behind 

those of individuals without disabilities. 

Analyses of the National Health 

Interview Survey, the Survey of Income 

and Program Participation, and the 

Current Population Survey provide 

evidence that substantial differentials in 

employment exist among all 

sociodemographic groups and in 

periods of economic expansion as well 

as decline. (How Working Age People 

With Disabilities Fared Over the 1990s 

Business Cycle. Burkhauser, RV, Daly, 

MC, and Houtenville, AJ. Cornell 

University, Ithaca, NY. 2000; Improved 

Employment Prospects for People With 

Disabilities. Kaye, HS. Department of 

Education, Washington, DC. In press, 

2003; Employment, Earnings, and 

Disability. McNeil, JM. Census Bureau, 

Washington, DC. 2000. http://

www.census.gov/hhes/www/disable/

emperndis.pdf). Even when employed, 

individuals with disabilities have 

substantially lower earnings than those 

without disabilities (McNeil, 2000).

However, some analyses suggest that 

there has been some progress in closing 

the employment gap. In expanding 

industries, the employment gap shrank 

during the decade of the 1990’s. Also, 

during that time frame, the employment 

rate increased among the group of 

individuals with disabilities who 

consider themselves able to work (Kaye, 

2003). 

These priorities are designed to 

encourage studies that address gaps in 

understanding of the complex issues 

and factors affecting employment of 

individuals with disabilities. The focus 

of this research may be on the numerous 

factors affecting employment outcomes, 

facilitators and barriers for workforce 

participation, and employment policies. 

The goal of this research is to ultimately 

provide guidance to employers, 

policymakers, trainers and educators, 

and stakeholders to assist them in 

selecting optimal strategies that promote 

improved employment outcomes for 

individuals with disabilities. 

Proposed Priorities 

The Assistant Secretary proposes to 

fund RRTCs that will conduct research 

on improving employment outcomes of 

individuals with disabilities. Applicants 

must select one of the following 

priorities: Economic Research on 

Employment Policy and Individuals 

with Disabilities; Employment Service 

Systems; Workplace Supports and Job 

Retention; and Substance Abuse and 

Employment Outcomes. 

Under each of these priorities, the 

RRTC must: 

(1) Develop, implement, and evaluate 

a comprehensive plan for training 

critical stakeholders, e.g., individuals 

with disabilities and their family 

members, practitioners, service 

providers, researchers, and 

policymakers; 

(2) Provide technical assistance to 

critical stakeholders to facilitate 

utilization of research findings; and 

(3) Develop a systematic plan for 

widespread dissemination of 

informational materials based on 

knowledge gained from the RRTC’s 

research activities, for individuals with 

disabilities, their representatives, 

service providers, and other interested 

parties. 

In addition to the specific activities 

proposed by the applicant, each RRTC 

must: 

• Conduct a state-of-the-science 

conference on its respective area of 

research in the third year of the grant 

cycle, including research from other 

sources, and publish a comprehensive 

report on the final outcomes of the 

conference in the fourth year of the 

grant cycle; 

• Coordinate on research projects of 

mutual interest with relevant NIDRRfunded projects as identified through 

consultation with the NIDRR project 

officer; 

• Involve persons with disabilities in 

planning and implementing the RRTC’s 

research, training, and dissemination 

activities, and in evaluating the 

research; 

• Demonstrate in its application how 

it will address, in whole or in part, the 

needs of individuals with minority 

backgrounds; and 

• Demonstrate how the RRTC project 

will yield measurable results for 

individuals with disabilities; 

• Identify specific performance 

targets and propose outcome indicators, 

along with time lines to reach these 

targets; and 

• Demonstrate how the RRTC project 

can transfer research findings to 

practical applications in planning, 

policy-making, program administration, 

and delivery of services to individuals 

with disabilities. 

• Consider the effect of demographics 

factors such as race/ethnicity, and 

educational level and disability factors 

such as and disability severity when 

conducting the research.

Each RRTC must focus research on 

one of the following priorities: 

Priority 1—Economic Research on 

Employment Policy and Individuals 

with Disabilities: The purpose of the 

priority on economic research on 

employment policy and individuals 

with disabilities is to improve 

information on the employment status 

of individuals with disabilities and the 

effects of legislative and policy 

initiatives on employment outcomes for 

such individuals. The research funded 

under this priority must be designed to 

contribute to the following outcomes: 

• Improved understanding of 

employment trends for individuals with 

disabilities in relation to 

macroeconomic, legislative, and policy 

changes; 

• Strategies for evaluating legislative 

and policy efforts to improve 

employment outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities; and 

• Identification of policies that 

contribute to improved employment 

outcomes for individuals with 

disabilities. 

The research resulting from this 

RRTC’s program will provide guidance 

to policy-makers and others involved in 

efforts to improve employment 

outcomes for individuals with 

disabilities. The reference for this topic 

can be found in the Plan, chapter 3, 

Employment Outcomes: Economic 

Policy and Labor Market Trends. 

Priority 2—Employment Service 

Systems: The purpose of the priority on 

employment service systems is to 

identify effective strategies that could be 

used by public and private employment 

service providers to improve 

employment outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities. Among public 

systems, the RRTC may include State 

vocational rehabilitation services and 

services provided under the Workforce 

Investment Act (WIA). Among private 

systems, the RRTC may include forprofit and non-profit employment 

service providers. The RRTC may 

propose research related to other public 

and private employment systems. The 

reference for this topic can be found in 

the Plan, chapter 3, Employment 

Outcomes: Community-Based 

Employment Service Programs and State 

Service Systems. The research funded 

under this priority must be designed to 

contribute to the following outcomes: 

• Cost-effective strategies that 

enhance consumer access to, and 

satisfaction with, services that improve 

employment outcomes; 

• Effective simplified strategies for 

eligibility determination that promote 

access to services and improved 

customer satisfaction; 

• Effective service system strategies 

for the provision of individualized 

services, and enhanced coordination of 

services at the individual level; and

5330 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Notices 

• Effective strategies to improve 

employment outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities. 

Priority 3—Workplace Supports and 

Job Retention: The purpose of the 

priority on workplace supports and job 

retention is to improve employment 

outcomes through the use of effective 

workplace supports and job retention 

strategies. The reference for this topic 

can be found in the Plan, chapter 3, 

Employment Outcomes: Employer Roles 

and Workplace Supports. The research 

funded under this priority must be 

designed to contribute to the following 

outcomes: 

• Improved understanding of the use 

of workplace supports, 

accommodations, and strategies across a 

variety of work settings and with 

specific disability groups; 

• Improved understanding of factors 

that impede the use of effective 

workplace supports and job retention 

strategies; and

• Identification of effective employerbased or workplace strategies or 

accommodations that improve 

employment outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities. 

Priority 4—Substance Abuse and 

Employment Outcomes: The purpose of 

the priority on substance abuse and 

employment outcomes is to improve 

employment outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities who also have 

substance abuse problems. The research 

funded under this priority must be 

designed to contribute to the following 

outcomes: 

• Effective techniques for individuals 

and agencies providing employmentrelated services to individuals with 

disabilities to screen and identify those 

who have substance abuse problems; 

and 

• Effective strategies to improve 

employment outcomes for individuals 

with disabilities who have substance 

abuse problems. 

When conducting this work, the 

RRTC must examine strategies that are 

effective in both community and work 

settings (including community-based 

partnerships) and must examine the 

effects of workplace support and 

clinical treatment services. The 

reference to this topic can be found in 

the Plan, chapter 2, Dimensions of 

Disability: Emerging Universe of 

Disability. 

Executive Order 12866 

This notice of proposed priorities has 

been reviewed in accordance with 

Executive Order 12866. Under the terms 

of the order, we have assessed the 

potential costs and benefits of this 

regulatory action. 

The potential costs associated with 

the notice of proposed priorities are 

those resulting from statutory 

requirements and those we have 

determined as necessary for 

administering this program effectively 

and efficiently. 

In assessing the potential costs and 

benefits—both quantitative and 

qualitative—of this notice of proposed 

priorities, we have determined that the 

benefits of the proposed priorities 

justify the costs. 

Summary of potential costs and benefits 

The potential costs associated with 

these proposed priorities is minimal 

while the benefits are significant. 

Grantees may anticipate costs associated 

with completing the application process 

in terms of staff time, copying, and 

mailing or delivery. The use of eApplication technology reduces mailing 

and copying costs significantly. 

The benefits of the RRTC Program 

have been well established over the 

years in that similar projects have been 

completed successfully. These proposed 

priorities will generate new knowledge 

through research, dissemination, 

utilization, training, and technical 

assistance projects. 

The benefit of these proposed 

priorities and project requirements also 

will be the establishment of new RRTCs 

that generate, disseminate, and promote 

the use of new information to improve 

options and participation in the 

community for individuals with 

disabilities. 

Applicable Program Regulations: 34 

CFR part 350. 

Electronic Access to This Document 

You may review this document, as 

well as all other Department of 

Education documents published in the 

Federal Register, in text or Adobe 

Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 

Internet at the following site: 

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 www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/

index.html.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number: 84.133B, Rehabilitation Research 

and Training Center Program)

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 

764(b)(2).

Dated: January 29, 2004. 

Troy R. Justesen, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 04–2287 Filed 2–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

U.S.-Canada Power System Outage 

Task Force: Interim Report: Causes of 

the August 14th Blackout in the United 

States and Canada

AGENCY: Office of Electric Transmission 

and Distribution, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

opportunity for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

announces the availability of proposed 

recommendations that have been 

submitted to the U.S.-Canada Power 

System Outage Task Force, and 

announces the deadline for submission 

of public comments on those 

recommendations.

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before 5 p.m. eastern standard time, 

February 11, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The document entitled 

‘‘Interim Report: Causes of the August 

14th Blackout in the United States and 

Canada,’’ public comments on the 

Report, and proposed recommendations 

submitted by the public may be 

reviewed, and recommendations and 

comments may be submitted, at http://

www.electricity.doe. gov/news/

blackout.cfm?section=news& 

level2=blackout. Comments also may be 

submitted by any of the following 

means: by e-mail to 

blackout.report@hq.doe.gov; by mail to 

James W. Glotfelty, Director, Office of 

Electric Transmission and Distribution, 

TD–1, Room 6H–050, U.S. Department 

of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20585; or by 

facsimile to (202) 586–1472. This notice 

is available on the Web at 

www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Meyer, Office of Electric 

Transmission and Distribution, U.S. 

Department of Energy, TD–1, Room 6H–

050, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–1411.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 

14, 2003, large portions of the Midwest 

and Northeast United States and 

Ontario, Canada, experienced an electric 

power blackout. The outage affected an 

area with an estimated 50 million 

people and 61,800 megawatts (MW) of