25148 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 83 / Friday April 28, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Indian Education Professional

Development Grant Program

AGENCY: Office of Indian Education,

Department of Education.

ACTION: Final priorities for fiscal year

(FY) 2000 and subsequent fiscal years.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces final

funding priorities under the Indian

Education Professional Development

Grant program. The Secretary may use

these priorities for competitions in FY

2000 and in subsequent fiscal years. The

Secretary takes this action to support

training opportunities to increase the

number of Indian teachers, education

administrators, and personnel in other

fields.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These priorities take

effect May 30, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cathie Martin, Office of Indian

Education, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

Room 3W111, Washington, DC 20202–

6335. Telephone: (202) 260–1683.

Internet address: Cathie_Martin@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 contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

Note: This notice of final priority does not

solicit applications. A notice inviting

applications under this competition is

published in this edition of the Federal

Register. The notice inviting applications

identifies the final priority that will be

implemented for the FY 2000 competition for

new grants under the Professional

Development program.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General

The Secretary has authority to

establish priorities, including absolute

preferences, under section 75.105(c)(3)

of the Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).

This notice contains final absolute

priorities for the Professional

Development program authorized by

section 9122 of subpart 2 of part A, title

IX of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act (ESEA) of 1965; 20 U.S.C.

7832.

The Professional Development

program is a competitive grant program

that supports activities to increase the

number of qualified Indian individuals

in professions that serve Indian people.

Individuals who receive training under

the Professional Development program

are required to perform work that is

related to the training received and that

benefits Indian people, or repay all or a

prorated part of the assistance received.

The requirements for the payback

provision (required by section 9122(h)

of ESEA; 20 U.S.C. 7832(h)) are

governed by 34 CFR 263. For the

purposes of this program, the term

‘Indian’’ includes both American

Indians and Alaska Natives as defined

in 34 CFR 263.3 and 20 U.S.C. 9161(4)

of ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7881(4)).

One component of the Professional

Development program supports training

for qualified Indian individuals to (1)

Become teachers, administrators,

teacher aides, social workers, and

ancillary educational personnel; and (2)

improve the skills of Indian individuals

serving in these capacities. The second

component of the program supports

training of qualified Indian individuals

in fields other than education that result

in a degree at the graduate level. The

final priorities support these training

efforts by focusing all or a portion of

available funds for new awards on

projects that train Indians to become

teachers and administrators, to improve

the skills of individuals serving in those

capacities, and to train personnel in

fields other than education.

The Secretary also announces

procedures for implementation of the

statutory requirement to give a

preference for awards under the

Professional Development program to:

(1) Programs that provide training to

Indian individuals (section 9122(e)(2);

20 U.S.C. 7832(e)(2)) and (2) eligible

Indian tribes, Indian organizations, and

Indian institutions of higher education

(section 9153 of ESEA; 20 U.S.C. 7873).

The Secretary announces these final

priorities based on responses to the

notice soliciting comments on the

proposed priorities and other

considerations published in the Federal

Register on March 7, 2000. On an

annual basis the Secretary may select,

from the final priorities, the absolute

priorities that will apply for that fiscal

year and the amount of available

program funds. Funding of a particular

project depends on the availability of

funds, the requirements of the final

priorities selected, and the quality of the

applications received.

The publication of these final

priorities does not preclude the

Secretary from proposing additional

priorities, nor does it limit the Secretary

to funding one or more these priorities,

subject to meeting applicable

rulemaking requirements.

Eligible Applicants

(1) Institutions of higher education,

including Indian institutions of higher

education;

(2) State or local educational agencies

in consortium with institutions of

higher education; and

(3) Indian tribes or Indian

organizations in consortium with

institutions of higher education.

Applications submitted by a

consortium under categories (2) and (3)

must meet the requirements of 34 CFR

75.127 through 75.129 of EDGAR in

order to be an eligible applicant.

Analysis of Comments and Changes

In response to the Secretary’s

invitation to comment on the proposed

priorities, the Department received a

total of 12 responses from two State

universities, three Indian institutions of

higher education, four Indian

organizations, one educational (nonIndian) organization, and two Indian

tribes. Most of the comments received

could be grouped in these general areas:

changing the term ‘‘Indian institution of

higher education’’ to ‘‘tribal college or

university’’; designating tribal colleges

as the lead agency or primary applicant

for consortium applications; making

only tribal colleges eligible for the

competitive preference points; and

reducing or eliminating the minimum

number of participants for the program.

Technical and other minor changes, and

suggested changes the Secretary is not

authorized to make under the applicable

statutory authority, are not addressed. A

summary of the comments, and the

considerations given to those comments,

are as follows:

Comment—The term ‘‘Indian

institution of higher education’’ as an

eligible applicant should be changed to

‘‘tribally controlled college or

university’’ to be consistent with the

Higher Education Act and the Executive

Order on Tribal Colleges and

Universities. A related comment

suggested that tribal colleges and

universities be the only eligible

applicants for this program.

Discussion—The term ‘‘Indian

institution of higher education’’ is the

language contained within the

program’s statute. The suggestion that

eligible applicants for the program be

limited to only tribal colleges and

universities is too restrictive and may

not meet the needs of all eligible

applicants. The purpose of the program

is to support training for qualified

Indian individuals to become teachers,

administrators, teacher aides, social

workers, and ancillary educational

personnel and to improve the skills of

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 83 / Friday April 28, 2000 / Notices 25149

Indian individuals serving in these

capacities. As the funding for this

program in fiscal year 2000 is intended

to train an initial cohort of 500 new

teachers during the award periods of

these grants, all eligible applicants

should be afforded the opportunity to

compete for the funding. The training

provided should be locally determined

to meet the needs of communities and

schools so that those trained may

provide services that benefit Indian

people.

Change—No change in the Final

Priorities is made to the listing of

eligible entities, which includes an

‘‘Indian institution of higher

education.’’

Comment—Two types of comments

were received concerning consortium

applications. First, commenters

suggested that all consortium

applications be required to have a

partnership with a tribal college or

university.

Discussion—The suggestion that all

consortium applications include a tribal

college or university, or that the

Department only give competitive

preference points to consortium

applications with a tribal college as the

lead agency, would impose severe

limitations on other eligible applicants

and would not meet the legislative

intent that all Indian entities be given

preference in the award process.

Although tribal colleges and universities

are important in promoting access to

higher education in Indian communities

and on reservations, all eligible

applicants should be afforded the

opportunity to apply for the program

funds based on local needs. For these

reasons, eligible applicants that must

apply through a consortium application

should be allowed to determine locally

the institution(s) of higher education

they will have as partners in their

project.

Change—No change is made in the

Final Priorities to require all consortium

applications include a tribal college or

university.

Comment—With regard to the second

type of comments concerning

consortium applications, commenters

suggested that only consortium

applications in which a tribal college or

university is the lead agency be eligible

to receive competitive preference

points.

Discussion—Although the

development of a consortium should be

a local decision, this program does

promote the inclusion of tribal colleges

and universities in the Professional

Development program as consortium

partners as well as innovative

approaches to linking tribal colleges

with early childhood, elementary, and

secondary education programs. These

efforts also support the objectives of the

Executive order on Tribal Colleges and

Universities (Executive Order 13021 of

October 19, 1996).

Change—Therefore, to be responsive

to the comments requesting preference

for tribal colleges and universities, and

to further the efforts of the Executive

order, a third competitive preference is

added that will award five additional

points to consortium applications that

include, and designate as the fiscal

agent, a tribal college or university. To

avoid awarding (because of the addition

of Priority 3) a disproportionate number

of total competitive priority points in

relationship to the total number of

points available under the program, we

have reduced the number of competitive

priority points for Priority 2 from 10 to

5.

Comment—There were two types of

comments concerning the project

participants and their training: (1) The

minimum number of participants

(which had been identified as 25)

should be lowered or eliminated; and

(2) to achieve the number of participants

required, that projects be allowed to

include current teachers who are

seeking certification in the subject

area(s) they are teaching or in new

subject areas (as in the case of retraining

teachers to meet teacher shortages in

specific instructional areas).

Discussion—(1) As it was the

consensus of all parties commenting on

this issue that a minimum of 25

participants would be difficult to

achieve, the Final Priorities have been

changed to eliminate a minimum

number of participants to be served.

However, it should be noted that,

according to the program’s selection

criteria for evaluating applications, the

Secretary will consider factors such as

reasonableness of costs in relation to:

the number of persons to be served and

the anticipated results and benefits; and

the objectives, design, and potential

significance of the proposed project. (2)

The comments were also consistent on

the types of participants to be trained

and the need for current teachers to be

certified in the areas they are teaching,

as well as the need to re-train current

teachers in other areas of specialized

instructional needs where shortages

exist.

Change—The Final Priorities have

been revised to allow applicants to

provide pre-service training to teachers

that will enable them to meet state

certification requirements, that require

at least a bachelor’s degree, in current or

new teaching assignments when a

teacher shortage exists in specialized

areas, within a two-year training period.

Comment—Some comments

expressed concern that a two-year

program to complete a bachelor’s degree

was not an adequate amount of time and

suggested the language be changed to

allow a grant program of four or five

years.

Discussion—A four-or five-year grant

program that allows students to obtain

a bachelor’s degree (from initial entry to

completion) does not guarantee student

completion of a degree. The following

factors were taken into consideration

when the two-year time period for

completion of bachelor’s degree was

proposed:

(1) Students are more prone to leave

postsecondary institutions before

completing their first two years of

college. Thus, students recruited as

participants in the program in their

junior or senior year of college are more

likely to obtain a degree and complete

the program.

(2) The first two years of college

generally involve general education

requirements, and majors are not

usually declared until the end of the

second year of study or at the beginning

of the third year. If students declare a

major that is not related to the field of

education, they would then become

ineligible for the professional

development program. The program

legislation specifically requires that

training to enter any field other than

education must be a program that

results in a graduate degree.

Change—No change in the Final

Priorities has been made to extend the

completion time of a bachelor’s from

two years to a longer period of time.

Comment—One comment raised the

issue that graduates of the program are

to be provided with one year of

induction services while they are

working in schools with predominately

Indian student populations. It was

suggested that the language was too

restrictive and that most Indian students

do not attend tribal schools, which

would make the employment

requirement hard to accomplish.

Discussion—Participants of the

program are required to complete a

payback for the training they receive,

either in service that benefits Indian

people and is related to the training

received or through a cash payback. The

induction services are intended to

provide a support system for

individuals entering new professional

fields and to aid graduates in that

transition process. It is anticipated that

individuals completing a service

payback will be employed in a school

that has a large Indian student

25150 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 83 / Friday April 28, 2000 / Notices

population. It was not the intent in

using the word ‘‘predominately’’ that

the student population of a school in

which a new teacher is working be

interpreted to mean only Indian

students.

Change—To clarify the language, the

term ‘‘predominately’’ has been changed

to ‘‘significant’’ in the Final Priorities.

Comment—One comment suggested

that the induction services for the

component of in-service training be

eliminated.

Discussion—The suggestion has been

adopted.

Change—The Final Priorities have

been changed; programs providing inservice training are not required to

provide induction services.

Absolute Priority

Under section 34 CFR 75.105 of

EDGAR, the Secretary gives an absolute

preference to applications that meet one

of the priorities selected for a fiscal year.

The Secretary reserves all or a portion

of the funds available for new awards

under the Professional Development

program to fund only those applications

that meet one of these absolute

priorities:

(1) Pre-Service Training for Teachers

Provide support and training to

Indian individuals to complete a preservice education program that:

(a) Enables individuals to meet the

requirements for full state certification

or licensure as a teacher through:

(i) Training that leads to a bachelor’s

degree in education within a two-year

period; or

(ii) Training in a current or new

specialized teaching assignment, that

requires at least a bachelor’s degree, in

which a teacher shortage exists.

(iii) Provides graduates of the preservice program with one year of

induction services while they are

working in schools with significant

Indian student populations.

(2) In-Service Training for Teachers

Provide professional development

activities, over a two-year period, to

train existing teachers of Indian

students provided that such activities

allow participants to meet the

requirements for continued state

certification or licensure in areas such

as:

(a) Standards and assessments;

(b) Integrating reliable, research-based

teaching methods and technology into

the curriculum;

(c) Subject content area specialization

such as reading, math, science or

technology; or

(d) Specializations in teaching

culturally and linguistically unique

Indian student populations.

(3) Pre-Service and In-Service Training

for Teachers

Provide support and training to

Indian individuals to complete:

(a) A pre-service education program

that:

(1) Enables individuals to meet the

requirements for full state certification

or licensure as a teacher through:

(i) Training that leads to a bachelor’s

degree in education within a two-year

period; or

(ii) Training in a current or new

specialized teaching assignment, that

requires at least a bachelor’s degree, in

which a teacher shortage exists.

(2) Provide graduates of the preservice program with one year of

induction services while they are

working in schools with significant

Indian student populations.

(b) Professional development

activities, over a two-year period, to

train existing teachers of Indian

students, provided that such activities

allow participants to meet the

requirements for continued state

certification or licensure, in areas such

as:

(1) Standards and assessments;

(2) Integrating reliable, research-based

teaching methods and technology into

the curriculum;

(3) Subject content area

specializations such as reading, math,

science or technology; or

(4) Specializations in teaching

culturally and linguistically unique

Indian student populations.

(4) Pre-Service Administrator Training

(a) Provide support and training to

Indian individuals to complete a master

degree, within a two-year period, in

education administration that allows

participants to meet the requirements

for state certification or licensure as an

education administrator, and

(b) Provide graduates of the program

with one year of induction services

while they are working in schools with

significant Indian student populations.

(5) In-Service Administrator Training

Provide professional development

activities to existing administrators that

enhance their skills and knowledge in

more than one of the following areas:

(a) Standards and assessments;

(b) Integrating reliable, research-based

teaching methods and technology into

the curriculum;

(c) Mentoring, coaching, and

evaluating the performance of teachers;

(d) Site-based management; or

(e) Reform efforts to improve teacher

quality.

(6) Pre-Service and In-Service Training

for Administrators:

Provide support and training to

Indian individuals to complete:

(a) A pre-service program that:

(1) Results in a master degree in

education administration, within a twoyear period, that allows participants to

meet state certification or licensure as

an education administrator; and

(i) Provides graduates of the program

one year of induction services while

they are working in schools with

significant Indian student populations.

(b) Professional development

activities that enhance their skills and

knowledge, as existing school

administrators, in more than one of the

following areas:

(i) Standards and assessments;

(ii) Integrating reliable, research-based

teaching methods and technology into

the curriculum;

(iii) Mentoring, coaching and

evaluating the performance of teachers;

(iv) Site-based management; or

(v) Reform efforts to improve teacher

quality.

(7) Training in Fields Other Than

Education

(a) Provide support and training to

Indian individuals to complete a master

or doctoral degree in a field other than

education, or a related field, within a

two-year period, and

(b) Provide graduates of the program

with one-year of induction services

while they are employed in positions

relating to the training received and that

benefits Indians.

Applications meeting one of the

absolute priorities may offer

professional development activities that

include, but are not limited to,

continuing programs, symposia,

workshops, conferences, and direct

financial support.

Induction Services

Induction services must be provided

after the participant has completed his/

her pre-service training program. The

induction services shall include the

following activities, at a minimum:

(1) Mentoring, coaching, and

consultation services for the participant;

(2) Participant access to research

materials and information on teaching

and learning or, for non-education fields

of study, subject matter related to the

participant’s field of study;

(3) Periodic assessment of, and

feedback sessions on, participant

performance in coordination with the

participant’s supervisor; and

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 83 / Friday April 28, 2000 / Notices 25151

(4) Periodic meetings or seminars for

participants to enhance collaboration,

feedback, and peer networking and

support.

Projects with a pre-service component

will be awarded for a three-year project

period. The pre-service training is to be

offered only during the first two years

of the award, with the final 12 months

of the project period consisting only of

induction services for participants. The

notice inviting applications published

in the Federal Register for this

competition will identify any annual

funding limitations for the program.

Applications submitted by a

consortium must identify the party or

entity within the consortium that will

be responsible for delivery and

oversight of the induction services.

We may select more than one absolute

priority for this program in any given

fiscal year.

Competitive Preference

The Secretary also announces

procedures for implementing the

statutory requirement to give a

preference to eligible Indian tribes,

Indian organizations and Indian

institutions of higher education for

grants awarded under the Professional

Development program (section 9153 of

ESEA; 20 U.S.C. 7873 and 20 U.S.C.

1221e–3).

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) of

EDGAR and sections 9122 and 9153 of

ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7832 and 7873) and

section 410 of the General Education

Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221e–3), the

Secretary gives preference to

applications that meet the following

competitive priorities. The total number

of points the Secretary proposes to

award to an application that meets a

competitive priority is indicated in

parenthesis next to the title of the

priority. These points are in addition to

any points the application earns under

the selection criteria for the program.

Competitive Priority 1—Preference for

Training Indian Individuals (5 Points)

Background

Grants under this program may be

used to provide support and training for

Indian individuals to increase the

number of qualified Indian individuals

in professions that serve Indian people.

Activities may include, but are not

limited to, continuing programs,

symposia, workshops, conferences, and

direct financial support.

Grants for training educational

personnel may be for pre-service or inservice training. For individuals who

are being trained to enter any field other

than education, the training received

must be in a program resulting in a

graduate degree. In awarding grants

under this program, the Secretary is

required to give preference to

applications describing programs that

train Indian individuals.

Priority

The Secretary shall award a total of 5

points to applications submitted under

the Professional Development program

that include only Indian individuals as

training participants.

Authority: Section 9122(e)(2); 20 U.S.C.

7832(e)(2).

Competitive Priority 2—Preference for

Indian Applicants (5 Points)

Background

An eligible entity for this program

includes an institution of higher

education, including an Indian

institution of higher education; a State

or local educational agency, in

consortium with an institution of higher

education; or an Indian tribe or

organization, in consortium with an

institution of higher education. In

making grants under this program,

preference is given to applications

submitted by Indian tribes, Indian

organizations, and Indian institutions of

higher education, including a

consortium of any of these entities with

other eligible entities.

Priority

The Secretary shall award a total of 5

points to applications submitted by

Indian tribes, Indian organizations, and

Indian institutions of higher education

that are eligible to participate in the

Professional Development program. A

consortium application of eligible

entities that meets the requirements of

34 CFR 75.127–.129 of EDGAR and

includes an Indian tribe, Indian

organization or Indian institution of

higher education shall be considered

eligible to receive the 5 priority points.

Authority: Section 9153; 20 U.S.C. 7873.

Competitive Priority 3—Preference for

Consortia Applications in Which a

Tribal College or University is the

Fiscal Agent (5 Points)

Background

Applications for this program may be

submitted by a consortium of eligible

applicants that include a State or local

educational agency, or an Indian tribe or

organization, in consortium with an

institution of higher education,

including an Indian institution of higher

education. As Indian institutions of

higher education are generally defined

as ‘‘tribal colleges or universities,’’ this

program does promote the inclusion of

tribal colleges and universities in the

Professional Development program as

consortium partners and exploring

innovative approaches to better link

tribal colleges with early childhood,

elementary, and secondary education

programs. These efforts also support the

objectives of the Executive order on

Tribal Colleges and Universities

(Executive Order 13021 of October 19,

1996). In order to promote the inclusion

of tribal colleges and universities in the

Professional Development program, a

competitive preference will be given to

consortium applications that include a

tribal college or university and

designate that tribal college or

university as the fiscal agent for the

application.

Priority

The Secretary shall award a total of 5

points to applications submitted by a

consortium of eligible applicants that

include a tribal college or university and

which designate that tribal college or

university as the fiscal agent for the

application. The consortium application

of eligible entities must meet the

requirements of 34 CFR 75.127–.129 of

EDGAR to be considered eligible to

receive the 5 priority points. These

competitive preference points are in

addition to the 5 competitive preference

points that may be given under the

Competitive Priority 2—Preference for

Indian Applicants.

Tribal colleges and universities are

those institutions cited in section 532 of

the Equity in Educational Land-Grant

Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note),

any other institution that qualifies for

funding under the Tribally Controlled

College or University Assistance Act of

1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and

Navajo Community College, authorized

in the Navajo Community College

Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95–

471, title II (25 U.S.C. 640a note).

Authority: Section 9153; 20 U.S.C. 7873;

and 20 U.S.C. 1221e–3.

Intergovernmental Review

These programs are subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.

However, Part 79 does not apply to

assistance to federally recognized Indian

tribes. The objective of the Executive

order is to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened

federalism by relying on processes

developed by State and local

governments for coordination and

review of proposed Federal financial

assistance. In accordance with the

Order, this document is intended to

provide early notification of the

25152 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 83 / Friday April 28, 2000 / Notices

Department’s specific plans and actions

for this program.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view 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 either of the following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program, which

is available free at either of the previous

sites. If you have questions about using

the 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 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/access/gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number: 84.299 Indian Education—Special

Programs)

Program Authority: Section 9122; 20

U.S.C. 7832.

Dated: April 24, 2000.

Michael Cohen,

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and

Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 00–10644 Filed 4–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.299B]

Indian Education Discretionary Grant

Programs—Professional Development

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for

new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2000.

Purpose of the Program

The purposes of this program are to:

(1) Increase the number of qualified

Indian individuals in professions that

serve Indian people; (2) provide training

to qualified Indian individuals to

become teachers, administrators, teacher

aides, social workers, and ancillary

educational personnel; and (3) improve

the skills of qualified Indian individuals

who serve in the capacities described in

(2). Activities may include, but are not

limited to, continuing programs,

symposia, workshops, conferences, and

direct financial support.

Grants for training educational

personnel may be for preservice or

inservice training. For individuals who

are being trained to enter any field other

than education, the training received

must be in a program resulting in a

graduate degree.

For FY 2000 the competition for new

awards focuses on projects designed to

meet the priority described in the

PRIORITY section of this application

notice.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants for this program

are institutions of higher education,

including Indian institutions of higher

education; State or local educational

agencies, in consortium with

institutions of higher education; and

Indian tribes or organizations, in

consortium with institutions of higher

education. An application from a

consortium of eligible entities must

meet the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127

through 75.129. The consortium

agreement must be submitted with the

application. Letters of support do not

meet the consortium requirements.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: May 31, 2000.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: July 31, 2000.

Applications Available:April 28,

2000.

Available Funds: $10,000,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: $175,000

to $500,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$300,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 30.

Project Period

Up to 24 months for projects that

provide only in-service training, and up

to 36 months for projects that provide

pre-service training.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Budget Requirement

All projects funded under this

competition must budget for a two-day

Project Directors’ meeting in

Washington, DC during each year of the

project.

Maximum Annual Award Amount

In no case does the Secretary make an

award greater than $500,000 for a single

budget period of 12 months for the first

24 months of the award period. The last

12 months of a 36-month award will be

limited to induction services only at a

cost not to exceed $75,000 for the third

12-month budget period. The Secretary

rejects and does not consider an

application that proposes a budget

exceeding these maximum amounts.

Page Limit

The application narrative Part III of

the application) is where you, the

applicant, addresses the selection

criteria reviewers use to evaluate your

application. You must limit Part III to

the equivalent of no more than 75 pages,

using the following standards:

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ x 11′′, 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

font 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, the bibliography, or the

letters of support. However, you must

include all of the application narrative

in Part III.

We will reject your application if—

• You apply these standards and

exceed the page limit; or

• You apply other standards and

exceed the equivalent of the page limit.

Applicable Regulations

(a) The Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82,

85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and (b) for the

Professional Development Program, the

payback provisions of 34 CFR 263.1(b),

263.3, and 263.35 through 263.37.

Absolute Priority

Under section 34 CFR 75.105 of

EDGAR, the Secretary gives an absolute

preference to applications that meet the

priority selected. The Secretary reserves

all of the funds available for new awards

under the Professional Development

program to fund only those applications

that meet this absolute priority:

Pre-Service Training for Teachers —

Provide support and training to

Indian individuals to complete a preservice education program that:

(a) Enables individuals to meet the

requirements for full state certification

or licensure as a teacher through —

(i) Training that leads to a bachelor’s

degree in education within a two-year

period; or

(ii) Training in a current or new

specialized teaching assignment, that

requires at least a bachelor’s degree, in

which a teacher shortage exists.

(b) Provides graduates of the preservice program with one year of

induction services while they are