### 69397 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 19, 2013 / Notices

is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the
burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note
that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Application for
Grants under the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program.

OMB Control Number: 1855–0007. Type of Review: Extension without change of an existing collection of
information.

Respondents/Affected Public: Private
Sector: Not-for-Profit Institutions.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 20.

Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 1600.

Abstract: ED will use the application to award grants under the Credit
Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program (formerly known as the Charter School Facilities Financing Demonstration Program) grants. These grants are made to private, non-profits; public entities; governmental entities; and consortia of these organizations. The funds are to be deposited into a
reserve account that will be used to leverage private funds on behalf of charter schools to acquire, construct,
and renovate school facilities.

Dated: November 14, 2013. Tomakie Washington, Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.

[FR Doc. 2013–27670 Filed 11–18–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4000–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION**

**[Docket No. ED–2013–ICCD–0142]**

**Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request;**  **Implementation Study of the Ramp Up to Readiness Program** 

**AGENCY :**  Institute of Education Sciences/
National Center for Education Statistics (IES), Department of Education (ED).

**ACTION :**  Notice. **SUMMARY :**  In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq. ), ED is proposing a new information collection.

**DATES :**  Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January

21, 2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// www.regulations.gov by selecting
Docket ID number ED–2013–ICCD–0142 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery
should be addressed to the Director of
the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E107, Washington, DC 20202–4537.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  For questions related to collection activities or burden, please call Katrina Ingalls, 703–620–3655 or electronically mail ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please do not
send comments here.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department’s information collection requirements and provide the requested
data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the
burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note
that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records. Title of Collection: Implementation Study of the Ramp Up to Readiness Program

OMB Control Number: 1850—NEW Type of Review: A new information
collection.

Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals or households

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 6,534

Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 1,338

Abstract: This study will examine the implementation of Ramp-Up to Readiness, a school wide guidance intervention aimed at increasing the college readiness of students. The intervention is at present being implemented in 34 high schools in Minnesota, and the developers intend to
make the intervention available to a much larger set of Minnesota schools. No independently gathered high-quality evidence exists, however, on whether schools are able to implement this comprehensive intervention as intended or how its core components compare to the college-readiness supports in other high schools. The project for which OMB clearance is requested will attempt to gather such evidence from 22 public Minnesota high schools through the
least burdensome means. The schoollevel implementation study will focus on assessing whether Ramp-Up school staff implement the program as intended, on identifying the extent to which the Ramp-Up program differs from the college-readiness supports offered in schools without Ramp-Up, and on the validity of a measure of personal college readiness, which the developers hypothesize is a key mechanism through which the program impacts later outcomes. The study will
collect data from school staff in the following activities: Administrative data collection, focus groups in January and June, extant document collection, instructional logs, student and staff surveys, and student personal readiness assessment. The findings produced through analysis of these data will help (1) State education agencies seeking strategies and programs to endorse as a potential means of improving students college readiness and college enrollment, (2) local education agencies that are considering the challenges of implementing Ramp-Up, (3) the developer of this intervention (the College Readiness Consortium at the University of Minnesota) and developers of other college readiness interventions who continually seek to improve their programs by using information from studies like this, and (4) a group of education stakeholders in the Midwest interested in considering


### 69398 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 19, 2013 / Notices

whether to conduct a study of the impacts of the Ramp-Up intervention on
student outcomes.

Dated: November 14, 2013. Tomakie Washington, Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.

[FR Doc. 2013–27671 Filed 11–18–13; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4000–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION**

**Applications for New Awards; National Institute on Disability and**  **Rehabilitation Research—Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects** **and Centers Program—Minority Serving Institution Field-Initiated**  **Projects Program**

**AGENCY :**  Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of
Education.

**ACTION :**  Notice.

Overview Information: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)— Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program— Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Field-Initiated Projects Program.

Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2014.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.133G–4 (Research) and 84.133G–5 (Development).

DATES: Applications Available: November 19,

2013.

Date of Pre-Application Meeting: December 10, 2013.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 18, 2014.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Field-Initiated (FI) Projects program is to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities, especially individuals
with the most severe disabilities. Another purpose of the FI Projects program is to improve the effectiveness
of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Act).

The purpose of this competition is to improve the capacity of minority entities to conduct high-quality disability and rehabilitation research by limiting eligibility for FI Projects grants to minority entities and Indian tribes. Section 21(b)(2)(A) of the Act authorizes NIDRR to make awards to minority entities and Indian tribes to carry out
activities authorized under Title II of the

Act.

NIDRR makes two types of awards under the FI Projects program: Research grants and development grants. The MSI FI Projects research grants will be awarded under CFDA 84.133G–4, and the development grants will be awarded
under CFDA 84.133G–5.

Note: Different selection criteria are used for FI Projects research grants and development grants. An applicant must clearly indicate in the application whether it is applying for a research grant (84.133G–4) or a development grant (84.133G–5) and must
address the selection criteria relevant for its grant type. Without exception, NIDRR will review each application based on the grant designation made by the applicant. Applications will be determined ineligible and will not be reviewed if they do not include a clear designation as a research grant or a development grant.

In carrying out a research activity under an FI Projects research grant, a grantee must identify one or more hypotheses or research questions and, based on the hypotheses or research questions identified, perform an intensive, systematic study directed toward producing (1) new or full scientific knowledge, or (2) better understanding of the subject, problem studied, or body of knowledge.

In carrying out a development activity under an FI Projects development grant, a grantee must use knowledge and understanding gained from research to create materials, devices, systems, or methods beneficial to the target population, including design and development of prototypes and processes. ‘‘Target population’’ means the group of individuals, organizations, or other entities expected to be affected by the project. More than one group may be involved since a project may affect those who receive services, provide services, or administer services.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 764 and 29

U.S.C. 718.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 84, 86, and 97. (b) The Education Department debarment and suspension regulations in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR part 350.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of higher education (IHEs) only. II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants. Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $110,000,000 for the NIDRR program for FY 2014, of which we intend to use an estimated $200,000 for the MSI FI Projects competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this

program.

Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2014 or subsequent years from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.

Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a budget exceeding $200,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal Register

.

Note: The maximum amount includes
direct and indirect costs.

Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

Note: The Department is not bound by any
estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months. We will reject any application that proposes a project period exceeding 36 months. The Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services may change the project period through a notice published in the Federal Register

. III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: Parties eligible to apply for MSI FI Projects grants are limited to minority entities and Indian tribes as authorized by section 21(b)(2)(A) of the Act. A minority entity is defined as a historically black college or university (a part B institution, as defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended), a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education, an American Indian tribal college or university, or another IHE whose minority student enrollment is at least 50 percent.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing is required by 34 CFR 350.62 and will be negotiated at the time of the grant award.

IV. Application and Submission
Information

1. Address to Request Application Package: You can obtain an application package via the Internet or from the