Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 13735 

Comments regarding burden and/or 

the collection activity requirements 

should be directed to 

ICDocketMgr@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. 2010–6357 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Fund for the Improvement of 

Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)— 

Special Focus Competition: Program 

for North American Mobility in Higher 

Education 

ACTION: Extension; Notice extending 

deadline dates. 

SUMMARY: On January 27, 2010, we 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (75 FR 4356) inviting 

applications for new awards for fiscal 

year (FY) 2010 for the Fund for the 

Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education (FIPSE)—Special Focus 

Competition: Program for North 

American Mobility in Higher Education 

(Application Notice). Through this 

notice, we extend the Deadline for 

Transmittal of Applications and the 

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review 

dates announced in the Application 

Notice. 

DATES: The Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications date, as published on 

pages 4356 and 4357 of the Application 

Notice, has been extended to April 16, 

2010. 

The Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review date, as published on pages 4356 

and 4357 of the Application Notice, has 

been extended to June 15, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Frankfort, Fund for the 

Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education, Program for North American 

Mobility in Higher Education, 1990 K 

Street, NW., room 6152, Washington, 

DC 20006–8544. Telephone: (202) 502– 

7513. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain this document in an accessible 

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

audiotape, or computer diskette) on 

request to the program contact person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF), 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. 

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. 

Delegation of Authority: The Secretary 

of Education has delegated authority to 

Daniel T. Madzelan, Director, 

Forecasting and Policy Analysis for the 

Office of Postsecondary Education, to 

perform the functions and duties of the 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

Dated: March 18, 2010. 

Daniel T. Madzelan, 

Director, Forecasting and Policy Analysis. 

[FR Doc. 2010–6365 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Innovation and Improvement; 

Overview Information; Charter Schools 

Program (CSP): State Educational 

Agencies; Notice Inviting Applications 

for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 

2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.282A. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 7, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 30, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the CSP is to increase national 

understanding of the charter school 

model and to expand the number of 

high-quality charter schools available to 

students across the Nation by providing 

financial assistance for the planning, 

program design, and initial 

implementation of charter schools, and 

to evaluate the effects of charter schools, 

including their effects on students, 

student academic achievement, staff, 

and parents. The Secretary awards 

grants to State educational agencies 

(SEAs) to enable them to conduct 

charter school programs in their States. 

SEAs use their CSP funds to award 

subgrants to non-SEA eligible applicants 

for planning, program design, and initial 

implementation of a charter school, and 

to support the dissemination of 

information about charter schools, 

including successful practices in charter 

schools. 

Priorities: This competition includes 

four competitive preference priorities 

and one invitational priority. In 

accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(1) 

and 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), competitive 

preference priorities 1 through 4 are 

from section 5202(e) of the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 

as amended (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 7221a(e). 

Competitive Preference Priorities: For 

FY 2010 and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applicants from this 

competition, these priorities are 

competitive preference priorities. Under 

34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to 

an additional forty (40) points to an 

application, depending on how well the 

application meets one or more of these 

priorities. 

Note: In order to receive preference under 

these priorities, an applicant must identify 

the priority or priorities that it believes it 

meets and provide documentation, including 

citations and examples from their State’s 

charter school law, supporting its claims. In 

order to receive points for priority 1 or to 

receive points for priorities 2 through 4, an 

application must meet priority 1 and must 

meet one or more of priorities 2 through 4. 

An SEA that meets priority 1 but does 

not meet one or more of priorities 2 

through 4 will not receive any points for 

priorities 1 through 4. 

An SEA that does not meet priority 1 

but meets one or more of priorities 2 

through 4 will not receive any points for 

priorities 2 through 4. 

These priorities are: 

Priority 1—Periodic Review and 

Evaluation (10 points). The State 

provides for periodic review and 

evaluation by the authorized public 

chartering agency of each charter school 

at least once every five years, unless 

required more frequently by State law, 

to determine whether the charter school 

is meeting the terms of the school’s 

charter, and is meeting or exceeding the 

student academic achievement 

requirements and goals for charter 

schools as set forth under State law or 

the school’s charter. 

Priority 2—Number of High-Quality 

Charter Schools (10 points). The State 

has demonstrated progress in increasing 

the number of high-quality charter 

schools that are held accountable in the 

terms of the schools’ charters for 

meeting clear and measurable objectives 

for the educational progress of the 

students attending the schools, in the 

period prior to the period for which an 

SEA applies for a grant under this 

competition. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
13736 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 

Priority 3—One Authorized Public 

Chartering Agency Other than a Local 

Educational Agency (LEA), or an 

Appeals Process (10 points). The State— 

(a) Provides for one authorized public 

chartering agency that is not an LEA, 

such as a State chartering board, for 

each individual or entity seeking to 

operate a charter school pursuant to 

State law; or 

(b) In the case of a State in which 

LEAs are the only authorized public 

chartering agencies, allows for an 

appeals process for the denial of an 

application for a charter school. 

Priority 4—High Degree of Autonomy 

(10 points). The State ensures that each 

charter school has a high degree of 

autonomy over the charter school’s 

budgets and expenditures. 

Under this competition we are 

particularly interested in applications 

that address the following priority. 

Invitational Priority: For FY 2010, this 

priority is an invitational priority. 

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not 

give an application that meets this 

invitational priority a competitive or 

absolute preference over other 

applications. 

This priority is: 

High-Quality Charter Schools in 

Urban or Rural Areas. 

The Secretary is particularly 

interested in projects designed to 

enhance and expand a State’s capacity 

to support high-quality charter schools 

in one or more geographic areas, 

particularly urban and rural areas, in 

which a large proportion or number of 

public schools have been identified for 

improvement, corrective action, or 

restructuring under Title I, Part A of the 

ESEA. The proposed project should be 

based on research evidence and 

demonstrate effective practices in 

building charter school capacity through 

one or more of the following types of 

activities: (1) The dissemination of 

information on the implementation of 

the school turnaround and restart 

models (as described in the Notice of 

Final Requirements for the School 

Improvement Grants published in the 

Federal Register on December 10, 2009 

(74 FR 65618)) in charter schools and 

information on best practices for turning 

around the public schools identified as 

the persistently-lowest achieving 

schools under Title I, Part A of the 

ESEA; (2) the creation of new charter 

schools in the vicinity of public schools 

closed as a consequence of a LEA 

implementing a restructuring plan 

under section 1116(b)(8) of the ESEA, 

provided that this is done in 

coordination with the LEA; or (3) the 

identification and replication of highperforming charter schools in ‘‘highneed communities’’, as this term is 

defined in section 2151(e)(9)(B) of the 

(ESEA), 20 U.S.C. 6651(e)(9)(B). 

Requirements: 

Applicants approved for funding 

under this competition must attend a 

two-day meeting for project directors in 

the Washington, DC area during each 

year of the project. Applicants are 

encouraged to include the cost of 

attending this meeting in their proposed 

budgets. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7221–7221j. 

Applicable Regulations: The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 

82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

The FY 2010 appropriation for the 

Charter Schools Program is 

$256,031,000, of which an estimated 

$124,237,000 will be used for this 

competition. Contingent upon the 

availability of funds, and the quality of 

the applications, we may make 

additional awards later in FY 2010 and 

FY 2011 from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$1,000,000-$15,000,000 per year. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$8,000,000 per year. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 6–10. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. The estimated range, 

size, and number of awards are based on a 

single 12-month budget period. However, the 

Department may choose to fund more than 12 

months of a project using the FY 2010 funds. 

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 

Note: Planning and implementation 

subgrants awarded by an SEA to non-SEA 

eligible applicants will be awarded for a 

period of up to three years, no more than 18 

months of which may be used for planning 

and program design and no more than two 

years of which may be used for the initial 

implementation of a charter school. 

Dissemination subgrants are awarded for a 

period of up to two years. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs in States 

with a State statute specifically 

authorizing the establishment of charter 

schools. 

Note: Non-SEA eligible applicants in States 

in which the SEA elects not to participate in 

or does not have an application approved 

under the CSP may apply for funding directly 

from the Department. The Department plans 

to hold a separate competition for non-SEA 

eligible applicants under CFDA numbers 

84.282B and 84.282C. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

competition does not require cost 

sharing or matching. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Leslie Hankerson or Richard 

Payton, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 

4W249, Washington, DC 20202–5970. 

Telephone: (202) 205–8524, or (202) 

453–7698 or by e-mail: 

Leslie.Hankerson@ed.gov or 

Richard.Payton@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 

1–800–877–8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible 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 

competition. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

(Part III of the application) is where you, 

the applicant, address the selection 

criteria that reviewers use to evaluate 

your application. The Secretary strongly 

encourages applicants to limit Part III to 

the equivalent of no more than 60 pages, 

using the following standards: 

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

only, with 1′′ margins at the top, bottom, 

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

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). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. 

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, the bibliography, or the 

letters of support. However, you must 

include all of the application narrative 

in Part III. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 7, 2010. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 13737 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) 

accessible through the Department’s eGrants site. For information (including 

dates and times) about how to submit 

your application electronically, or in 

paper format by mail or hand delivery 

if you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, 

please refer to section IV.6. Other 

Submission Requirements of this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in section VII in this notice. If 

the Department provides an 

accommodation or auxiliary aid to an 

individual with a disability in 

connection with the application 

process, the individual’s application 

remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 30, 2010. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

competition is subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

competition. 

5. Funding Restrictions: The following 

funding restrictions apply to this 

competition: 

Use of Funds for Post-Award Planning 

and Design of the Educational Program 

and Initial Implementation of the 

Charter School. A non-SEA eligible 

applicant receiving a subgrant under 

this program may use the subgrant 

funds only for— 

(a) Post-award planning and design of 

the educational program, which may 

include (i) refinement of the desired 

educational results and of the methods 

for measuring progress toward achieving 

those results; and (ii) professional 

development of teachers and other staff 

who will work in the charter school; 

and 

(b) Initial implementation of the 

charter school, which may include (i) 

Informing the community about the 

school; (ii) acquiring necessary 

equipment and educational materials 

and supplies; (iii) acquiring or 

developing curriculum materials; and 

(iv) other initial operational costs that 

cannot be met from State or local 

sources. (20 U.S.C. 7221c(f)(3)) 

Use of Funds for Dissemination 

Activities. An SEA may reserve not 

more than 10 percent of its grant funds 

to support dissemination activities (20 

U.S.C. 7221c(f)(1)). A charter school 

may use those funds to assist other 

schools in adapting the charter school’s 

program (or certain aspects of the 

charter school’s program) or to 

disseminate information about the 

charter school through such activities 

as— 

(a) Assisting other individuals with 

the planning and start-up of one or more 

new public schools, including charter 

schools, that are independent of the 

assisting charter school and the assisting 

charter school’s developers and that 

agree to be held to at least as high a level 

of accountability as the assisting charter 

school; 

(b) Developing partnerships with 

other public schools, including charter 

schools, designed to improve student 

academic achievement in each of the 

schools participating in the partnership; 

(c) Developing curriculum materials, 

assessments, and other materials that 

promote increased student achievement 

and are based on successful practices 

within the assisting charter school; and 

(d) Conducting evaluations and 

developing materials that document the 

successful practices of the assisting 

charter school and that are designed to 

improve student achievement (20 U.S.C. 

7221c(f)(6)(B)(i) through (iv)). 

Award Basis. In determining whether 

to approve a grant award and the 

amount of such award, the Department 

will consider, among other things, the 

amount of any carryover funds the 

applicant has under an existing CSP 

grant and the applicant’s performance 

and use of funds under a previous or 

existing award under any Department 

program (34 CFR 75.233(b) and 

75.217(d)(ii)). 

We reference additional regulations 

outlining funding restrictions in the 

Applicable Regulations section of this 

notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements. 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically unless you qualify for an 

exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications for grants under the 

CSP, CFDA number 84.282A, must be 

submitted electronically using eApplication, accessible through the 

Department’s e-Grants Web site at: 

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

We will reject your application if you 

submit it in paper format unless, as 

described elsewhere in this section, you 

qualify for one of the exceptions to the 

electronic submission requirement and 

submit, no later than two weeks before 

the application deadline date, a written 

statement to the Department that you 

qualify for one of these exceptions. 

Further information regarding 

calculation of the date that is two weeks 

before the application deadline date is 

provided later in this section under 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement. 

While completing your electronic 

application, you will be entering data 

online that will be saved into a 

database. You may not e-mail an 

electronic copy of a grant application to 

us. 

Please note the following: 

• You must complete the electronic 

submission of your grant application by 

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

the application deadline date. EApplication will not accept an 

application for this competition after 

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

the application deadline date. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend that 

you do not wait until the application 

deadline date to begin the application 

process. 

• The hours of operation of the eGrants Web site are 6:00 a.m. Monday 

until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 

a.m. Thursday until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 

Washington, DC time. Please note that, 

because of maintenance, the system is 

unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on 

Sundays and 6:00 a.m. on Mondays, and 

between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 

6:00 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, 

DC time. Any modification to these 

hours are posted in the e-Grants Web 

site. 

• You will not receive additional 

point value because you submit your 

application in electronic format, nor 

will we penalize you if you qualify for 

an exception to the electronic 

submission requirement, as described 

elsewhere in this section, and submit 

your application in paper format. 

• You must submit all documents 

electronically, including all information 

you typically provide on the following 

forms: the Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

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

necessary assurances and certifications. 

You must attach any narrative sections 

of your application as files in a .DOC 

(document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF 

(Portable document) format. If you 

upload a file type other than the three 

file types specified in this paragraph or 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
13738 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 

submit a password protected file, we 

will not review that material. 

• Your electronic application must 

comply with any page limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• Prior to submitting your electronic 

application, you may wish to print a 

copy of it for your records. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive an 

automatic acknowledgement that 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 SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

(1) Print SF 424 from e-Application. 

(2) The applicant’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

(3) Place the PR/Award number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hardcopy signature page of the SF 424. 

(4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6272. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on other forms at a 

later date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of e-Application Unavailability: 

If you are prevented from electronically 

submitting your application on the 

application deadline date because eApplication is unavailable, we will 

grant you an extension of one business 

day to enable you 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 you have initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

(2)(a) E-Application 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) E-Application is unavailable for 

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

and 4:30:00 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 Contacts) or 

(2) the e-Grants help desk at 1–888– 

336–8930. If e-Application is 

unavailable due to technical problems 

with the system and, therefore, the 

application deadline is extended, an email will be sent to all registered users 

who have initiated an e-Application. 

Extensions referred to in this section 

apply only to the unavailability of eApplication. 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement: You qualify for an 

exception to the electronic submission 

requirement, and may submit your 

application in paper format, if you are 

unable to submit an application through 

e-Application because— 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to eApplication; and 

• No later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date (14 calendar 

days or, if the fourteenth calendar day 

before the application deadline date 

falls on a Federal holiday, the next 

business day following the Federal 

holiday), you mail or fax a written 

statement to the Department, explaining 

which of the two grounds for an 

exception prevent you from using the 

Internet to submit your application. 

If you mail your written statement to 

the Department, it must be postmarked 

no later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date. If you fax 

your written statement to the 

Department, we must receive the faxed 

statement no later than two weeks 

before the application deadline date. 

Address and mail or fax your 

statement to: Leslie Hankerson or 

Richard Payton, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 4W249, Washington, DC 20202– 

5970. FAX: (202) 205–5630. 

Your paper application must be 

submitted in accordance with the mail 

or hand delivery instructions described 

in this notice. 

b. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Mail. 

If you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, you 

may mail (through the U.S. Postal 

Service or a commercial carrier) your 

application to the Department. You 

must mail the original and two copies 

of your application, on or before the 

application deadline date, to the 

Department at the following address: 

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, Attention: 

(CFDA Number 84.282A), LBJ Basement 

Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20202–4260. You must 

show proof of mailing consisting of one 

of the following: 

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service 

postmark. 

(2) A legible mail receipt with the 

date of mailing stamped by the U.S. 

Postal Service. 

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or 

receipt from a commercial carrier. 

(4) Any other proof of mailing 

acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. 

Department of Education. 

If you mail your application through 

the U.S. Postal Service, we do not 

accept either of the following as proof 

of mailing: 

(1) A private metered postmark. 

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by 

the U.S. Postal Service. 

If your application is postmarked after 

the application deadline date, we will 

not consider your application. 

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not 

uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before 

relying on this method, you should check 

with your local post office. 

V. Application Review Information 

Application Requirements: 

Applicants applying for CSP grant funds 

must address both the following 

application requirements, which are 

based on the statute, and the selection 

criteria described in this notice. An 

applicant may choose to respond to the 

application requirements in the context 

of its responses to the selection criteria. 

(i) Describe the objectives of the SEA’s 

charter school grant program and how 

these objectives will be fulfilled, 

including steps taken by the SEA to 

inform teachers, parents, and 

communities of the SEA’s charter school 

grant program; 

(ii) Describe how the SEA will inform 

each charter school in the State about 

Federal funds the charter school is 

eligible to receive and Federal programs 

in which the charter school may 

participate; 

(iii) Describe how the SEA will ensure 

that each charter school in the State 

receives the school’s commensurate 

share of Federal education funds that 

are allocated by formula each year, 

including during the first year of 

operation of the school and a year in 

which the school’s enrollment expands 

significantly; 

(iv) Describe how the SEA will 

disseminate best or promising practices 

of charter schools to each LEA in the 

State; 

(v) If an SEA elects to reserve part of 

its grant funds (no more than 10 

percent) for the establishment of a 

revolving loan fund, describe how the 

revolving loan fund would operate; 

(vi) If an SEA desires the Secretary to 

consider waivers under the authority of 

the CSP, include a request and 

justification for any waiver of statutory 

or regulatory provisions that the SEA 

believes is necessary for the successful 

operation of charter schools in the State; 

and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 13739 

(vii) Describe how charter schools that 

are considered to be LEAs under State 

law and LEAs in which charter schools 

are located will comply with sections 

613(a)(5) and 613(e)(1)(B) of the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act. 

Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from the 

authorizing statute for this program and 

34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are as 

follows: 

SEAs that propose to use a portion of 

their grant funds for dissemination 

activities must address each selection 

criterion (i) through (vii) individually 

and title each accordingly. SEAs that do 

not propose to use a portion of their 

grant funds for dissemination activities 

must address selection criteria (i) 

through (v) and (vii) only. SEAs that do 

not address criterion (vi) because they 

are not proposing to use a portion of 

their grant funds for dissemination 

activities will not be penalized. The 

maximum possible score is 180 points 

for SEAs that do not propose to use 

grant funds to support dissemination 

activities and 210 points for SEAs that 

propose to use grant funds to support 

dissemination activities. The maximum 

possible score for each criterion is 

indicated in parentheses following the 

criterion. 

(i) The contribution the charter 

schools grant program will make in 

assisting educationally disadvantaged 

and other students to achieve State 

academic content standards and State 

student academic achievement 

standards (30 points). 

Note: The Secretary encourages the 

applicant to provide a description of the 

objectives for the SEA’s charter school grant 

program and to explain how these objectives 

will be fulfilled, including steps taken by the 

SEA to inform teachers, parents, and 

communities of the SEA’s charter school 

grant program and how the SEA will 

disseminate best or promising practices of 

charter schools to each LEA in the State. 

(ii) The degree of flexibility afforded 

by the SEA to charter schools under the 

State’s charter school law (30 points). 

Note: The Secretary encourages the 

applicant to include a description of how the 

State’s law establishes an administrative 

relationship between the charter school and 

the authorized public chartering agency and 

exempts charter schools from significant 

State or local rules that inhibit the flexible 

operation and management of public schools. 

The Secretary also encourages the 

applicant to include a description of the 

degree of autonomy charter schools 

have achieved over such matters as the 

charter school’s budget, expenditures, 

daily operation, and personnel in 

accordance with their State’s law. 

(iii) The number of high-quality 

charter schools to be created in the State 

(30 points). 

Note: The Secretary considers the SEA’s 

reasonable estimate of the number of new 

charter schools to be authorized and opened 

in the State during the three-year period of 

this grant. 

The Secretary also considers how the 

SEA will inform each charter school in 

the State about Federal funds the charter 

school is eligible to receive and ensure 

that each charter school in the State 

receives the school’s commensurate 

share of Federal education funds that 

are allocated by formula each year, 

including during the first year of 

operation of the school and during a 

year in which the school’s enrollment 

expands significantly. 

(iv) The quality of the management 

plan for the proposed project. In 

determining the quality of the 

management plan for the proposed 

project, the Secretary considers the 

adequacy of the management plan to 

achieve the objectives of the proposed 

project on time and within budget, 

including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and 

milestones for accomplishing project 

tasks (30 points). 

Note: In addition to describing the 

proposed objectives of the SEA charter 

school grant program and how these 

objectives will be fulfilled, the Secretary 

encourages applicants to provide 

descriptions of the steps to be taken by the 

SEA to award subgrant funds to eligible 

applicants desiring to receive these funds, 

including descriptions of the peer review 

process the SEA will use to review 

applications for assistance, the timelines for 

awarding such funds, and how the SEA will 

assess the quality of the applications. 

(v) The SEA’s plan to monitor and 

hold accountable authorized public 

chartering agencies through such 

activities as providing technical 

assistance or establishing a professional 

development program, which may 

include providing authorized public 

chartering agency staff with training and 

assistance on planning and systems 

development, so as to improve the 

capacity of those agencies to authorize, 

monitor, and hold accountable charter 

schools (30 points). 

(vi) In the case of SEAs that propose 

to use grant funds to support 

dissemination activities under section 

5204(f)(6) of the ESEA, the quality of the 

dissemination activities (15 points) and 

the likelihood that those activities will 

improve student academic achievement 

(15 points). 

Note: The Secretary encourages the 

applicant to describe the steps to be taken by 

the SEA to award these funds to eligible 

applicants, including a description of the 

peer review process the SEA will use to 

review applications for dissemination, the 

timelines for awarding such funds, and how 

the SEA will assess the quality of the 

applications. 

(vii) 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 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 (30 points). 

Note: The Secretary encourages the 

applicant to include a strong evaluation plan 

in the application narrative and to use that 

plan, as appropriate, to shape the 

development of the project from the 

beginning of the grant period. The Secretary 

encourages the applicant to design the plan 

so that it includes (a) benchmarks to monitor 

progress toward specific project objectives 

and (b) outcome measures to assess the 

impact on teaching and learning or other 

important outcomes for project participants. 

In its plan, we encourage the applicant to 

identify the individual and/or organization 

that will serve as the evaluator and to 

describe the qualifications of the evaluator. 

We also encourage the applicant to describe, 

in its application, the evaluation design, 

indicating: (1) The types of data that will be 

collected; (2) when various types of data will 

be collected; (3) the methods that will be 

used; (4) the instruments that will be 

developed and when; (5) how the data will 

be analyzed; (6) when reports of results and 

outcomes will be available; and (7) how the 

applicant will use the information collected 

through the evaluation to monitor progress of 

the funded project and to provide 

accountability information both about 

success at the initial site and about effective 

strategies for replication in other settings. 

Applicants are encouraged to devote an 

appropriate level of resources to project 

evaluation. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN). We may notify you informally, 

also. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
13740 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 

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 directed by 

the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The 

Secretary may also require more 

frequent performance reports under 34 

CFR 75.720(c). For specific 

requirements on reporting, please go to 

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/

appforms/appforms.html. 

4. Performance Measures: The goal of 

the CSP is to support the creation and 

development of a large number of highquality charter schools that are free from 

State or local rules that inhibit flexible 

operation, are held accountable for 

enabling students to reach challenging 

State performance standards, and are 

open to all students. The Secretary has 

set two performance indicators to 

measure progress toward this goal: (1) 

The number of charter schools in 

operation around the Nation, and (2) the 

percentage of fourth- and eighth-grade 

charter school students who are 

achieving at or above the proficient 

level on State examinations in 

mathematics and reading/language arts. 

Additionally, the Secretary has 

established the following measure to 

examine the efficiency of the CSP: 

Federal cost per student in 

implementing a successful school 

(defined as a school in operation for 

three or more years). 

All grantees will be expected to 

submit an annual performance report 

documenting their contribution in 

assisting the Department in meeting 

these performance measures. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Leslie Hankerson or Richard Payton, 

U.S. Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4W249, 

Washington, DC 20202–5970. 

Telephone: (202) 205–8524 or (202) 

453–7698 or by e-mail: 

Leslie.Hankerson@ed.gov or 

Richard.Payton@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

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

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT of section VII in 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) 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. 

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: March 17, 2010. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2010–6370 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Innovation and Improvement; 

Overview Information; Charter Schools 

Program (CSP) Grants for National 

Leadership Activities; Notice Inviting 

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.282N 

Dates: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2010. 

Date of Pre-Application Meeting: 

April 8, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 14, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 12, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the CSP is to increase national 

understanding of the charter school 

model and to expand the number of 

high-quality charter schools available to 

students across the Nation by providing 

financial assistance for the planning, 

program design, and initial 

implementation of charter schools, and 

to evaluate the effects of charter schools, 

including their effects on students, 

student academic achievement, staff, 

and parents. Section 5205 of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7221d), 

authorizes the Secretary to award grants 

under the CSP to carry out national 

activities. 

For FY 2010, the Department is 

holding a grant competition for national 

activities projects listed in section 

5205(a) of the ESEA. Grants for national 

activities projects under the CSP are 

highly competitive. Applicants should 

make a well-reasoned and compelling 

case for the national significance of the 

problems or issues that will be the 

subject of the proposed project and of 

the approach the project would take to 

addressing those problems or issues. 

Priority: This notice includes one 

invitational priority. Under this 

competition we are particularly 

interested in applications that address 

the following priority. 

Invitational Priority: For FY 2010 this 

priority is an invitational priority. 

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), we do not 

give an application that meets an 

invitational priority a competitive or 

absolute preference over other 

applications. 

This priority is: 

High-Quality Charter Schools in 

Urban or Rural Areas. 

The Secretary is particularly 

interested in projects designed to 

enhance and expand a State’s capacity 

to support high-quality charter schools 

in one or more geographic areas, 

particularly urban and rural areas, in 

which a large proportion or number of 

public schools have been identified for 

improvement, corrective action, or 

restructuring under Title I, Part A of the 

ESEA. A project meeting this priority 

should be based on research evidence 

and demonstrate effective practices 

through one or more of the following 

types of activities: (1) The dissemination 

of information on the implementation of 

school turnaround and restart models 

(as described in the Notice of Final 

Requirements for the School 

Improvement Grants published in the 

Federal Register on December 10, 2009 

(74 FR 65618) (SIG Notice)) in charter 

schools and information on best 

practices for turning around a State’s 

persistently lowest-achieving schools 

under Title I (also as identified by the 

State under the SIG notice); (2) opening 

new charter schools in the vicinity of 

schools closed as a consequence of a 

local educational agency (LEA) 

implementing a restructuring plan 

under section 1116(b)(8) of the ESEA, or 

schools identified as persistently 

lowest-achieving, provided this is done 

in coordination with the local 

educational agency (LEA); (3) the 

identification and replication of highperforming charter schools in ‘‘highneed communities’’, as this term is 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES