[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 66 (Friday, April 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17346-17351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1713]



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Part IV





Department of Education





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Institute of Educational Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education and Special Education Research Training for 
Fiscal Year FY 2008; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 66 / Friday, April 6, 2007 / 
Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Nos. 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.305C, 84.324A, 84.324B, and 84.324C]


Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education and Special Education Research and Research 
Training for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008

SUMMARY: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 
(Institute) announces the Institute's FY 2008 competitions for grants 
to support education and special education research and research 
training. The Director takes this action under the Education Sciences 
Reform Act of 2002, title I of Public Law 107-279. The intent of these 
grants is to provide national leadership in expanding fundamental 
knowledge and understanding of education from early childhood education 
through postsecondary and adult education.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Mission of Institute: A central purpose of the Institute is to 
provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and 
the general public with reliable and valid information about education 
practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and 
access to education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its 
mission, the Institute provides support for programs of research in 
areas of demonstrated national need.
    Competitions in this notice: The Institute will conduct nine 
research or research training competitions in FY 2008 through two of 
its National Education Centers.
    The National Center for Education Research (NCER) will hold five 
competitions: two competitions for education research; two competitions 
for education research training; and one competition for education 
research and development centers.

Education Research

    Under the two education research competitions, NCER will consider 
only applications that address one of the following education research 
topics:
    <bullet> Reading and Writing.
    <bullet> Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult Readers 
and Writers.
    <bullet> Mathematics and Science Education.
    <bullet> Teacher Quality in Reading and Writing.
    <bullet> Teacher Quality in Mathematics and Science.
    <bullet> Cognition and Student Learning.
    <bullet> Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning.
    <bullet> Education Technology.
    <bullet> Early Childhood Programs and Policies.
    <bullet> Education Leadership.
    <bullet> Education Policy, Finance, and Systems.
    <bullet> High School Reform.
    <bullet> Postsecondary Education.

Education Research Training

    Under the first education research training competition, NCER will 
consider only applications for Postdoctoral Research Training; under 
the second competition, NCER will consider only applications for 
Predoctoral Research Training.

Education Research and Development Centers

    Under the education research and development centers competition, 
NCER will consider only applications that address one of the following 
education research topics:
    <bullet> Cognition and Science Instruction.
    <bullet> Instructional Technology.
    The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) will 
hold four competitions: two competitions for special education 
research; one competition for special education research training; and 
one competition for special education research and development centers.

Special Education Research

    Under the first special education research competition, NCSER will 
consider only applications that address one of the following special 
education research topics:
    <bullet> Early Intervention, Early Childhood Special Education, and 
Assessment for Young Children with Disabilities.
    <bullet> Mathematics and Science Special Education.
    <bullet> Reading, Writing, and Language Development.
    <bullet> Serious Behavior Disorders.
    <bullet> Individualized Education Programs and Individualized 
Family Service Plans.
    Under the second special education research competition, NCSER will 
consider only applications that address one of the following special 
education research topics:
    <bullet> Secondary and Transition Services.
    <bullet> Autism Spectrum Disorders.
    <bullet> Response to Intervention.
    <bullet> Related Services.

Special Education Research Training

    Under the special education research training competition, NCSER 
will consider only applications for Postdoctoral Research Training.

Special Education Research and Development Centers

    Under the special education research and development centers 
competition, NCSER will consider only applications that address one of 
the following special education research topics:
    <bullet> Serious Behavior Disorders at the Secondary Level.
    <bullet> Response to Intervention in Early Childhood Special 
Education.
    Eligible Applicants: Applicants that have the ability and capacity 
to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply. 
Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit and 
for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and 
institutions, such as colleges and universities.
    Request for Applications and Other Information: Information 
regarding program and application requirements for the competitions 
will be contained in the NCER and NCSER Request for Applications 
packages (RFA), which will be available at the following Web sites:

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html

    <bullet> The RFAs for the education research and special education 
research competitions will be available at these Web sites no later 
than April 6, 2007.
    <bullet> The RFAs for the education research training and the 
special education research training competitions will be available at 
these Web sites no later than April 6, 2007.
    <bullet> The RFAs for the education research and development 
centers and special education research and development centers 
competitions will be available at these Web sites no later than May 15, 
2007.
    Interested potential applicants should periodically check the 
Institute's Web site.
    Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures for 
the competitions will be provided in the RFA packages.
    Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not enacted a final 
appropriation for FY 2008, the Institute is inviting applications for 
these competitions now so that it may be prepared to make awards 
following final action on the Department's appropriations bill. The 
President's FY 2008 Budget for the Institute includes sufficient 
funding for all of the competitions included in this notice. The actual 
award of grants will depend on the availability of funds. The number of 
awards made under each competition will depend upon the quality of the 
applications received for that

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competition. The size of the awards will depend upon the scope of the 
projects proposed.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 77, 80, 81, 82, 
84, 85, 86 (part 86 applies only to institutions of higher education), 
97, 98, and 99. In addition 34 CFR part 75 is applicable, except for 
the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 
75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 75.219, 
75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230.

Performance Measures

    To evaluate the overall success of its education research program, 
the Institute annually assesses the quality and relevance of newly 
funded research projects, as well as the quality of research 
publications that result from its funded research projects. External 
panels of qualified scientists review the quality of new research 
applications, and the percentage of newly funded projects that receive 
an average panel score of excellent or higher is determined. A panel of 
experienced education practitioners and administrators reviews 
descriptions of a randomly selected sample of newly funded projects and 
rates the degree to which the projects are relevant to educational 
practice. An external panel of eminent scientists reviews the quality 
of a randomly selected sample of new publications, and the percentage 
of new publications that are deemed to be of high quality is 
determined.

Submission Requirements

    Applications for grants under these competitions must be submitted 
electronically unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement 
in accordance with the instructions in this section.
    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.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the Education Research, Education 
Research Training, and Education Research and Development Centers 
competitions, CFDA Number 84.305A, 84.305B, and 84.305C and for grants 
under the Special Education Research, Special Education Research 
Training, and Special Education Research and Development Centers 
competitions, CFDA Number 84.324A, 84.324B, and 84.324C, 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 e-mail 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 applications for the Education 
Research, Education Research Training, Education Research and 
Development Centers, Special Education Research, Special Education 
Research Training, and Special Education Research and Development 
Centers competitions at http://www.Grants.gov. You must search for the 
downloadable application package for each competition by the CFDA 
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search 
(e.g., search for 84.324, not 84.324A).
    Please note the following:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. 
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your 
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline 
date. 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 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date.
    <bullet> The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors 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.
    <bullet> You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for the competition 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 at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
    <bullet> To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include (1) 
registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes 
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) 
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative 
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. 
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step 
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In 
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual 
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424 (R&R) and the other R&R 
forms including, Project Performance Site Locations, Other Project 
Information, Senior/Key Person Profile, Research and Related Budget 
(Total Federal + Non-federal) and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.

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    <bullet> You must attach any narrative sections of your application 
as files in a .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file 
type other than the file type specified in this paragraph or submit a 
password-protected file, we will not review that material.
    <bullet> Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
    <bullet> 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 ED-specified 
identifying number unique to your application).
    <bullet> 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 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 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 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed 
elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 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 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--
    <bullet> You do not have access to the Internet; or
    <bullet> You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system;
     and
    <bullet> 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: Elizabeth Payer, U.S. 
Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 602c, 
Washington, DC 20208. Fax: (202) 219-1466.
    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 applicable 
following address:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number: [Identify the CFDA 
number for the competition under which you are submitting an 
application.]), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260.
     or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number: 
[Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which you are 
submitting an application.]), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 
20785-1506.

    Regardless of which address you use, 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, 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: [Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which 
you are submitting an application.]), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, 
Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260 .
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 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--if not provided by the 
Department--in Item 10

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of the SF 424 (R&R) the CFDA number, including suffix letter, if 
any, of the competition 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.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The contact person associated with a 
particular research competition is listed in the chart at the end of 
this notice and in the RFA. The date on which applications will be 
available, the deadline for transmittal of applications, the estimated 
range of awards, and the project period are also listed in the chart 
and in the RFA that will be posted at the following Web sites:

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html

    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a 
copy of the RFA in an alternative format by contacting that person.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.

    Dated: April 3, 2007.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
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