50470 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 157 / Monday, August 15, 2011 / Notices 

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) 

by contacting the Grants and Contracts 

Services Team, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC 

20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 245– 

7363. If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

Electronic Access to this Document: 

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 via the Federal Digital System 

at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this 

site 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). To use PDF 

you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, 

which is available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at: http:// 

www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, 

through the advanced search feature at 

this site, you can limit your search to 

documents published by the 

Department. 

Dated: August 9, 2011 . 

Alexa Posny, 

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20698 Filed 8–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; Special 

Demonstration Programs—National 

Technical Assistance Projects To 

Improve Employment Outcomes for 

Individuals With Disabilities 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information: Special 

Demonstration Programs—National 

Technical Assistance Projects to 

Improve Employment Outcomes for 

Individuals with Disabilities. 

Notice inviting applications for new 

awards for fiscal year (FY) 2011. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.235M. 

DATES: Applications Available: August 

15, 2011. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: September 14, 2011. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: November 14, 2011. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

this program is to expand and improve 

the provision of rehabilitation and other 

services authorized under the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 

(Rehabilitation Act), or to support 

activities that increase the provision, 

extent, availability, scope, and quality of 

rehabilitation services provided under 

the Rehabilitation Act. 

Priorities: This priority is from the 

notice of final priority for this program, 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register. 

Absolute priority: For FY 2011 and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 

34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only 

applications that meet this priority. 

This priority is: 

National Technical Assistance 

Projects to Improve Employment 

Outcomes for Individuals with 

Disabilities Program. 

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 773(b). 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

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

84, 85, 86, 97, and 99. (b) The 

regulations for this program in 34 CFR 

parts 373. (c) The notice of final 

priority, published elsewhere in this 

issue of the Federal Register. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 

apply to all applicants except federally 

recognized Indian tribes. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$650,000–$800,000. 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the quality of applications, 

we may make additional awards in FY 

2012 from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $800,000 for a single budget 

period of 24 months. The Assistant 

Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services may change the 

maximum amount through a notice 

published in the Federal Register. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 1. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 24 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: Public or 

nonprofit agencies or organizations, 

including institutions of higher 

education or consortia that meet the 

requirements of 34 CFR 75.128 and 

75.129. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not involve cost sharing 

or matching. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: You can obtain an application 

package via the Internet or from the 

Education Publications Center (ED 

Pubs). To obtain a copy via the Internet, 

use the following address: http:// 

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

grantapps/index.html. To obtain a copy 

from ED Pubs, write, fax, or call the 

following: ED Pubs, U.S. Department of 

Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, 

VA 22304. Telephone, toll free: 1–877– 

433–7827. FAX: (703) 605–6794. If you 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD), call, toll free: 1–877–576– 

7734. 

You can contact ED Pubs at its Web 

site, also: http://www.EDPubs.gov or at 

its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application package 

from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this 

program as follows: CFDA number 

84.235M. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 

large print, audiotape, or compact disc) 

by contacting the person or team listed 

under Accessible Format in section VIII 

of this notice. 

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. You must limit the 

application narrative (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 


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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. An application submitted 

in any other font (including Times 

Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be 

accepted. 

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, the page 

limit does apply to all of the application 

narrative section (Part III). 

We will reject your application if you 

exceed the page limit; or if you apply 

other standards and exceed the 

equivalent of the page limit. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: August 15, 

2011. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: September 14, 2011. 

Applications for grants under this 

program must be submitted 

electronically using the Grants.gov 

Apply site (http://www.Grants.gov). 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. 7. 

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 of 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. 

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: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

6. Data Universal Numbering System 

Number, Taxpayer Identification 

Number, and Central Contractor 

Registry: To do business with the 

Department of Education, you must— 

a. Have a Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer 

Identification Number (TIN); 

b. Register both your DUNS number 

and TIN with the Central Contractor 

Registry (CCR), the Government’s 

primary registrant database; 

c. Provide your DUNS number and 

TIN on your application; and 

d. Maintain an active CCR registration 

with current information while your 

application is under review by the 

Department and, if you are awarded a 

grant, during the project period. 

You can obtain a DUNS number from 

Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number 

can be created within one business day. 

If you are a corporate entity, agency, 

institution, or organization, you can 

obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue 

Service. If you are an individual, you 

can obtain a TIN from the Internal 

Revenue Service or the Social Security 

Administration. If you need a new TIN, 

please allow 2–5 weeks for your TIN to 

become active. 

The CCR registration process may take 

five or more business days to complete. 

If you are currently registered with the 

CCR, you may not need to make any 

changes. However, please make certain 

that the TIN associated with your DUNS 

number is correct. Also note that you 

will need to update your CCR 

registration on an annual basis. This 

may take three or more business days to 

complete. 

In addition, if you are submitting your 

application via Grants.gov, you must (1) 

Be designated by your organization as 

an Authorized Organization 

Representative (AOR); and (2) register 

yourself with Grants.gov as an AOR. 

Details on these steps are outlined at the 

following Grants.gov Web page: http:// 

www.grants.gov/applicants/get 

_registered.jsp. 

7. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

program 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 

National Technical Assistance Projects 

to Improve Employment Outcomes for 

Individuals with Disabilities, CFDA 

number 84.235M, must be submitted 

electronically using the 

Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site 

at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this 

site, you will be able to download a 

copy of the application package, 

complete it offline, and then upload and 

submit your application. You may not email an electronic copy of a grant 

application to us. 

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. 

You may access the electronic grant 

application for the National Technical 

Assistance Projects to Improve 

Employment Outcomes for Individuals 

with Disabilities at http:// 

www.Grants.gov. You must search for 

the downloadable application package 

for this program by the CFDA number. 

Do not include the CFDA number’s 

alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search 

for 84.235, not 84.235M). 

Please note the following: 

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, 

you will find information about 

submitting an application electronically 

through the site, as well as the hours of 

operation. 

• Applications received by Grants.gov 

are date and time stamped. Your 

application must be fully uploaded and 

submitted and must be date and time 

stamped by the Grants.gov system no 

later than 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 

time, on the application deadline date. 

Except as otherwise noted in this 

section, we will not accept your 

application if it is received—that is, date 

and time stamped by the Grants.gov 

system—after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, on the application deadline 

date. We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. When we retrieve your 

application from Grants.gov, we will 

notify you if we are rejecting your 

application because it was date and time 

stamped by the Grants.gov system after 

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

the application deadline date. 

• The amount of time it can take to 

upload an application will vary 

depending on a variety of factors, 


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including the size of the application and 

the speed of your Internet connection. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend that 

you do not wait until the application 

deadline date to begin the submission 

process through Grants.gov. 

• You should review and follow the 

Education Submission Procedures for 

submitting an application through 

Grants.gov that are included in the 

application package for this program to 

ensure that you submit your application 

in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 

system. You can also find the Education 

Submission Procedures pertaining to 

Grants.gov under News and Events on 

the Department’s G5 system home page 

at http://www.G5.gov. 

• 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 upload any narrative 

sections and all other attachments to 

your application as files in a .PDF 

(Portable Document) format only. If you 

upload a file type other than a .PDF or 

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. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive from 

Grants.gov an automatic notification of 

receipt that contains a Grants.gov 

tracking number. (This notification 

indicates receipt by Grants.gov only, not 

receipt by the Department.) The 

Department then will retrieve your 

application from Grants.gov and send a 

second notification to you by e-mail. 

This second notification indicates that 

the Department has received your 

application and has assigned your 

application a PR/Award number (an EDspecified identifying number unique to 

your application). 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of Technical Issues with the 

Grants.gov System: If you are 

experiencing problems submitting your 

application through Grants.gov, please 

contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, 

toll free, at 1–800–518–4726. You must 

obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case 

Number and must keep a record of it. 

If you are prevented from 

electronically submitting your 

application on the application deadline 

date because of technical problems with 

the Grants.gov system, we will grant you 

an extension until 4:30:00 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, the following 

business day to enable you to transmit 

your application electronically or by 

hand delivery. You also may mail your 

application by following the mailing 

instructions described elsewhere in this 

notice. 

If you submit an application after 

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

the application deadline date, please 

contact the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in 

section VII of this notice and provide an 

explanation of the technical problem 

you experienced with Grants.gov, along 

with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case 

Number. We will accept your 

application if we can confirm that a 

technical problem occurred with the 

Grants.gov system and that that problem 

affected your ability to submit your 

application by 4:30:00 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. The 

Department will contact you after a 

determination is made on whether your 

application will be accepted. 

Note: The extensions to which we refer in 

this section apply only to the unavailability 

of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov 

system. We will not grant you an extension 

if you failed to fully register to submit your 

application to Grants.gov before the 

application deadline date and time or if the 

technical problem you experienced is 

unrelated to the Grants.gov system. 

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 

the Grants.gov system because— 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to the 

Grants.gov system; 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: Thomas Finch, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Room 5147, Potomac 

Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC 

20202–2800. FAX: (202) 245–7591. 

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 84.235M), 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. 

c. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Hand Delivery. 

If you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, you 

(or a courier service) may deliver your 

paper application to the Department by 

hand. You must deliver the original and 

two copies of your application by hand, 


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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 84.235M), 550 12th 

Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 

Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center 

accepts hand deliveries daily between 

8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, 

and Federal holidays. 

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of 

Paper Applications: If you mail or hand 

deliver your application to the 

Department— 

(1) You must indicate on the envelope 

and—if not provided by the 

Department—in Item 11 of the SF 424 

the CFDA number, including suffix 

letter, if any, of the program under 

which you are submitting your 

application; and 

(2) The Application Control Center 

will mail to you a notification of receipt 

of your grant application. If you do not 

receive this notification within 15 

business days from the application 

deadline date, you should call the U.S. 

Department of Education Application 

Control Center at (202) 245–6288. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

75.210 of EDGAR and are listed in the 

application package. 

2. Review and Selection Process: We 

remind potential applicants that in 

reviewing applications in any 

discretionary grant competition, the 

Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 

75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the 

applicant in carrying out a previous 

award, such as the applicant’s use of 

funds, achievement of project 

objectives, and compliance with grant 

conditions. The Secretary may also 

consider whether the applicant failed to 

submit a timely performance report or 

submitted a report of unacceptable 

quality. 

In addition, in making a competitive 

grant award, the Secretary also requires 

various assurances including those 

applicable to Federal civil rights laws 

that prohibit discrimination in programs 

or activities receiving Federal financial 

assistance from the Department of 

Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 

108.8, and 110.23). 

3. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR 

74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary may 

impose special conditions on a grant if 

the applicant or grantee is not 

financially stable; has a history of 

unsatisfactory performance; has a 

financial or other management system 

that does not meet the standards in 34 

CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has 

not fulfilled the conditions of a prior 

grant; or is otherwise not responsible. 

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 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a 

grant under this program, you must 

ensure that you have in place the 

necessary processes and systems to 

comply with the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive 

funding under the competition. This 

does not apply if you have an exception 

under 2 CFR 170.110(b). 

(b) 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 

Government Performance and Results 

Act of 1993 (GPRA) directs Federal 

departments and agencies to improve 

the effectiveness of programs by 

engaging in strategic planning, setting 

outcome-related goals for programs, and 

measuring program results against those 

goals. 

One goal of this project is to provide 

technical assistance (TA) in areas of 

national need identified by the grantee 

in consultation with RSA and RSA’s 

regional Technical Assistance and 

Continuing Education (TACE) centers. A 

second goal is to increase the transfer, 

utilization, and dissemination of 

information on promising practices and 

knowledge from research on topics of 

national significance in the field of 

rehabilitation that can be used in 

providing TA to improve the 

performance of State vocational 

rehabilitation (VR) agencies. 

As required by the absolute priority in 

paragraph (f), the grantee must conduct 

an evaluation of the national TA 

provided by the project. To measure the 

success of the grantee in meeting the 

goals of the project, the grantee is also 

required to submit annual performance 

reports detailing its activities and 

providing quantitative and qualitative 

evidence that its performance met or 

exceeded the goals and objectives set 

forth in its application. The report must 

include, at a minimum, the following 

information: 

(1) The number of technical assistance 

activities conducted, the identified 

needs to which these activities 

responded, and the target audience for 

each activity; 

(2) The number and types of TA 

products organized and archived; 

(3) The number of visits to the 

grantee’s Web site on a monthly and 

annual basis; and 

(4) A quantitative analysis of any 

customer satisfaction survey findings 

including information derived from 

questions about product quality, 

relevance, and utility. 

In addition, the Department will use 

the following measures to assess the 

extent to which: 

(1) The two-year plan is developed on 

time and appropriately reflects the need 

for national TA on high priority issues; 

(2) The plan includes cost-effective 

and efficient options for delivering TA 

at the national level; 

(3) The need for TA was addressed by 

the technical assistance provided; 

(4) The TA products are readily 

available and in a useful format; and 

(5) The TA products and materials are 

used by State VR agencies, TACE 

centers, and other RSA grantees. 

5. Continuation Awards: In making a 

continuation award, the Secretary may 

consider, under 34 CFR 75.253, the 

extent to which a grantee has made 

‘‘substantial progress toward meeting 

the objectives in its approved 

application.’’ This consideration 

includes the review of a grantee’s 

progress in meeting the targets and 

projected outcomes in its approved 

application, and whether the grantee 

has expended funds in a manner that is 

consistent with its approved application 

and budget. In making a continuation 

grant, the Secretary also considers 

whether the grantee is operating in 


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compliance with the assurances in its 

approved application, including those 

applicable to Federal civil rights laws 

that prohibit discrimination in programs 

or activities receiving Federal financial 

assistance from the Department (34 CFR 

100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

VII. Agency Contacts 

For Further Information Contact: 

Thomas Finch, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 5147, Potomac Center Plaza 

(PCP), Washington, DC 20202–2800. 

Telephone: (202) 245–7343 or by e-mail: 

Tom.Finch@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 compact disc) by 

contacting the Grants and Contracts 

Services Team, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC 

20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 245– 

7363. If you use a TDD call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

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 via the Federal Digital System 

at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this 

site you can view this document, as well 

as all other documents of this 

Department published in the Federal 

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Dated: August 10, 2011. 

Alexa Posny, 

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20709 Filed 8–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Special Demonstration Programs— 

National Technical Assistance Projects 

To Improve Employment Outcomes for 

Individuals With Disabilities 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.235M. 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice of final priority. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services announces a 

priority under the Special 

Demonstration Programs authorized 

under section 303(b) of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 

(Rehabilitation Act). The Assistant 

Secretary may use this priority for 

competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2011 

and later years. We take this action to 

focus technical assistance (TA) on areas 

of national need identified by the 

Rehabilitation Services Administration 

(RSA) through analyses of information 

obtained during monitoring and 

oversight of its vocational rehabilitation 

(VR) programs. We intend the priority to 

increase the transfer, utilization, and 

dissemination of information on 

promising practices and knowledge 

from research on topics in the field of 

rehabilitation that have national 

significance and to improve the 

performance of State VR agencies. 

DATES: Effective Date: This priority is 

effective September 14, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Finch, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 5147, Potomac Center Plaza 

(PCP), Washington, DC 20202–2800. 

Telephone: (202) 245–7343 or by e-mail: 

Tom.Finch@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. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

this program is to expand and improve 

the provision of rehabilitation and other 

services authorized under the 

Rehabilitation Act, or to support 

activities that increase the provision, 

extent, availability, scope, and quality of 

rehabilitation services provided under 

the Rehabilitation Act. 

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 773(b). 

We published a notice of proposed 

priority for this program in the Federal 

Register on June 20, 2011 (76 FR 35864). 

The notice contained background 

information and our reasons for 

proposing the particular priority. 

There are differences between the 

notice of proposed priority and this 

notice of final priority as discussed in 

the Analysis of Comments and Changes 

section below. 

Public Comment: In response to our 

invitation in the notice of proposed 

priority, two parties submitted 

comments on the proposed priority. 

Generally, we do not address 

technical and other minor changes. In 

addition, we do not address general 

comments that raise concerns not 

directly related to the proposed priority. 

However, as a result of our further 

review of the proposed priority since 

publication of the notice of proposed 

priority, we have made minor changes 

for purposes of clarification. 

Analysis of Comments and Changes: 

An analysis of the comments and of any 

changes in the priority since publication 

of the notice of proposed priority 

follows. 

Comment: One commenter asserted 

that the purposes of the priority would 

be best served by building on the 

existing capacity of grantees funded 

under RSA’s Training programs, such as 

current partnerships with the National 

Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation 

Training Materials (NCRTM), the 

regional Technical Assistance and 

Continuing Education (TACE) centers, 

and State VR agencies. For example, the 

commenter stated that the NCRTM 

currently collaborates with the 10 

regional TACE centers to support a 

centralized resource for training 

materials. This commenter also 

emphasized the need to tailor technical 

assistance to the unique needs and 

demands of customers. 

Discussion: It is our intention that the 

applicant funded under this priority 

build upon the work of, and collaborate 

with, current providers of training and 

technical assistance in the field of 

rehabilitation, including the TACE 

centers and the NCRTM. 

As stated in the June 20, 2011, notice 

of proposed priority, the activities 

conducted under this priority would 

supplement the TA provided by the 

TACE centers by supporting costeffective and efficient mechanisms for 

delivering TA at the national level. For 

example, prior to developing its annual 

work plan for the provision of TA and 

continuing education (CE), each 

regional TACE center conducts an 

annual needs assessment of State VR 

agencies and agency partners in its 

region to identify TA topics. The grantee 

under this priority would work with the 

TACE centers to identify topics that 

would be most appropriately addressed 

nationally. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES