Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 28431 

activities to enable it to implement the 

proposed project during the school year 

in which the grant award will be made; 

(3) School administrators, teachers, 

and other school employees will receive 

effective, ongoing technical assistance 

and support in implementing structural 

and instructional reforms; 

(4) The applicant will offer all 

students a coherent sequence of rigorous 

English language arts, mathematics, and 

science courses that will provide 

students with the knowledge and skills 

needed to succeed in postsecondary 

education and careers without need for 

remediation; and 

(5) The proposed project is part of a 

districtwide strategy for high school 

redesign and strengthens the district’s 

capacity to develop and implement 

smaller learning communities and 

improve student academic achievement 

as part of that strategy. 

Quality of Project Services 

In determining the quality of the 

services to be provided by the proposed 

project, we will consider the extent to 

which the proposed project is likely to 

be effective in—

(1) Creating an environment in which 

a core group of teachers and other adults 

within the school know the needs, 

interests, and aspirations of each 

student well, closely monitor each 

student’s progress, and provide the 

academic and other support each 

student needs to succeed; 

(2) Equipping all students with the 

reading/English language arts, 

mathematics, and science knowledge 

and skills they need to succeed in 

postsecondary education and careers 

without need for remediation; 

(3) Helping students who enter high 

school with reading/English language 

arts or mathematics skills that are 

significantly below grade-level ‘‘catch 

up’’ quickly and attain proficiency by 

the end of the 10th grade; 

(4) Providing teachers with the 

professional development, coaching, 

regular opportunities for collaboration 

with peers, and other supports needed 

to implement a rigorous curriculum and 

provide high-quality instruction; 

(5) Increasing the participation of 

students, particularly low-income 

students, in Advanced Placement, 

International Baccalaureate, or dual 

credit courses; and 

(6) Increasing the percentage of 

students who enter postsecondary 

education in the semester following 

high school graduation. 

Support for Implementation 

In determining the adequacy of the 

support the applicant will provide for 

implementation of the proposed project, 

we will consider the extent to which—

(1) The management plan is likely to 

achieve the objectives of the proposed 

project on time and within budget and 

includes clearly defined responsibilities 

and detailed timelines and milestones 

for accomplishing project tasks; 

(2) The project director and other key 

personnel are qualified to carry out their 

responsibilities, and their time 

commitments are appropriate and 

adequate to implement the SLC project 

effectively; 

(3) The applicant will support the 

proposed project with funds provided 

under other Federal or State programs 

and local cash or in-kind resources; and 

(4) The requested grant amount and 

the project costs are sufficient to attain 

project goals and reasonable in relation 

to the objectives and design of the 

project. 

Quality of the SLC Project Evaluation 

In determining the quality of the 

proposed project evaluation to be 

conducted by an independent, thirdparty evaluator, we consider the extent 

to which—

(1) The evaluation will provide 

timely, regular, and useful feedback to 

the LEA and the participating schools 

on the success and progress of 

implementation, and identify areas for 

needed improvement; and 

(2) The independent evaluator is 

qualified to conduct the evaluation. 

Executive Order 12866 

This notice of final priority, 

requirements, and selection criteria has 

been reviewed in accordance with 

Executive Order 12866. Under the terms 

of the order, we have assessed the 

potential costs and benefits of this 

regulatory action. 

The potential costs associated with 

this notice of final priority, 

requirements, and selection criteria are 

those resulting from statutory 

requirements and those we have 

determined as necessary for 

administering this program effectively 

and efficiently. 

In assessing the potential costs and 

benefits—both quantitative and 

qualitative—of this notice of final 

priority, requirements, and selection 

criteria, we have determined that the 

benefits of the final priority, 

requirements, and selection criteria 

justify the costs. 

We have also determined that this 

regulatory action does not unduly 

interfere with State, local, and tribal 

governments in the exercise of their 

governmental functions. 

Intergovernmental Review 

This program is subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the 

Executive order is to foster an 

intergovernmental partnership and a 

strengthened federalism. The Executive 

order relies on processes developed by 

State and local governments for 

coordination and review of proposed 

Federal financial assistance. 

This document provides early 

notification of our 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 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. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number 84.215L, Smaller Learning 

Communities Program) 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7249. 

Dated: May 15, 2007. 

Kerri L. Briggs, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 07–2476 Filed 5–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education; Overview Information; 

Smaller Learning Communities 

Program; Notice Inviting Applications 

for New Awards Using Fiscal Year (FY) 

2006 Funds 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215L. 

DATES: Applications Available: May 18, 

2007. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: July 17, 2007. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: September 17, 2007. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES2
28432 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The Smaller 

Learning Communities (SLC) program 

awards discretionary grants to local 

educational agencies (LEAs) to support 

the implementation of SLCs and 

activities to improve student academic 

achievement in large public high 

schools with enrollments of 1,000 or 

more students. SLCs include structures 

such as freshman academies, multigrade academies organized around 

career interests or other themes, 

‘‘houses’’ in which small groups of 

students remain together throughout 

high school, and autonomous schoolswithin-a-school, as well as 

personalization strategies, such as 

student advisories, family advocate 

systems, and mentoring programs. 

Priority: This priority is from the 

notice of final priority, requirements, 

and selection criteria for this program, 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register. 

Absolute Priority: For new awards 

made using FY 2006 funds 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: 

Preparing All Students To Succeed in 

Postsecondary Education and Careers 

This priority supports projects that 

create or expand SLCs that are part of 

a comprehensive effort to prepare all 

students to succeed in postsecondary 

education and careers without need for 

remediation. 

In order to meet this priority an 

applicant must demonstrate that, using 

SLC grant funds or other resources, it 

will: 

(1) Provide intensive interventions to 

assist students who enter high school 

with reading/language arts or 

mathematics skills that are significantly 

below grade level to ‘‘catch up’’ quickly 

and attain proficiency by the end of 

10th grade; 

(2) Enroll students in a coherent 

sequence of rigorous English language 

arts, mathematics, and science courses 

that will equip them with the skills and 

content knowledge needed to succeed in 

postsecondary education and careers 

without need for remediation; 

(3) Provide tutoring and other 

academic supports to help students 

succeed in rigorous academic courses; 

(4) Deliver comprehensive guidance 

and academic advising to students and 

their parents that includes assistance in 

selecting courses and planning a 

program of study that will provide the 

academic preparation needed to succeed 

in postsecondary education, early and 

ongoing college awareness and planning 

activities, and help in identifying and 

applying for financial aid for 

postsecondary education; and 

(5) Increase opportunities for students 

to earn postsecondary credit through 

Advanced Placement courses, 

International Baccalaureate courses, or 

dual credit programs. 

Competitive Preference Priority: 

Within this absolute priority, we give 

competitive preference to applications 

that address the following priority. 

This priority is from the notice of 

final priorities published in the Federal 

Register on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 

60045). 

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

award an additional 4 points to an 

application that meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

School Districts With Schools in Need of 

Improvement, Corrective Action, or 

Restructuring 

Projects that help school districts 

implement academic and structural 

interventions in schools that have been 

identified for improvement, corrective 

action, or restructuring under the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended by the No 

Child Left Behind Act of 2001. 

Invitational Priority: For new awards 

made using FY 2006 funds, this priority 

is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(1), we do not give an 

application that meets this invitational 

priority a competitive or absolute 

preference over other applications. 

This priority is: 

Applications that propose to engage 

faith-based and community 

organizations in the delivery of services 

under this program. 

Application Requirements: In the NFP 

published in the Federal Register on 

April 28, 2005 (70 FR 22233), we 

established application requirements in 

the following areas for competitions 

conducted under this program: 

Eligibility; School Report Cards; 

Consortium Applications and 

Educational Service Agencies; Student 

Placement; Including All Students; and 

Evaluation. In the notice of final 

priority, requirements, and selection 

criteria published elsewhere in this 

issue of the Federal Register, we 

established additional application 

requirements in the following areas: 

Types of Grants; Budget Information for 

Determination of Award; Indirect Costs; 

Performance Indicators; Required 

Meetings Sponsored by the Department; 

and Previous Grantees. 

These requirements are in addition to 

the content that all SLC grant applicants 

must include in their applications as 

required by the program statute in title 

V, part D, subpart 4, section 5441(b) of 

the ESEA. 

We have incorporated the terms of 

these requirements under appropriate 

sections of this notice (e.g., the 

Eligibility requirement is listed in 

section III. Eligibility Information, 

elsewhere in this notice). 

Definitions: In addition to the 

definitions in the authorizing statute 

and 34 CFR 77.1, the following 

definitions apply to this program: 

BIE School means a school operated 

or supported by the Bureau of Indian 

Education, formerly known as the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

Large High School means a public 

school that includes grades 11 and 12 

and has an enrollment of 1,000 or more 

students in grades 9 and above. 

Smaller Learning Community means 

an environment in which a core group 

of teachers and other adults within the 

school knows the needs, interests, and 

aspirations of each student well, closely 

monitors each student’s progress, and 

provides the academic and other 

support each student needs to succeed. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7249. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 

85, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The NFP 

published in the Federal Register on 

April 28, 2005 (70 FR 22233). (c) The 

notice of final priorities final priorities 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 11, 2006 (71 FR 60045). (d) The 

notice of final priority, requirements, 

and selection criteria published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$86,315,475. 

At the time of the initial award, the 

Department will provide funds for the 

first 36 months of the performance 

period. Funding to cover the remaining 

24 months will be contingent on the 

availability of funds and each grantee’s 

substantial progress toward 

accomplishing the goals and objectives 

of the project as described in its 

approved application. Contingent upon 

the quality of applications, we may 

make additional awards in FY 2008 

from the list of unfunded applicants 

from this competition. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 28433 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$1,250,000-$14,000,000. 

The following chart provides the 

ranges of awards per high school size: 

SLC GRANT AWARD RANGES

Student enrollment Award ranges per 

school 

1,000–2,000 Students ................. $1,000,000–$1,250,000 

2,001–3,000 Students ................. 1,000,000–1,500,000 

3,001 Students 

and Up .............. 1,000,000–1,750,000 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$4,500,000. 

LEAs may receive, on behalf of a 

single school, up to $1,750,000, 

depending upon student enrollment in 

the school, during the 60-month project 

period. To ensure that sufficient funds 

are available to support awards to LEAs 

of all sizes, and not only the largest 

LEAs, we limit to eight the number of 

schools that an LEA may include in a 

single application for a grant. LEAs 

applying on behalf of a group of eligible 

schools could receive up to $14,000,000 

per grant. The actual size of awards will 

be based on a number of factors, 

including the scope, quality, and 

comprehensiveness of the proposed 

project, and the range of awards 

indicated in the application. 

Maximum Award: Applications that 

request more funds than the maximum 

amounts specified for any school or for 

the total grant will not be read as part 

of the regular application process. 

However, if, after the Secretary selects 

applications to be funded, it appears 

that additional funds remain available, 

the Secretary may choose to read those 

additional applications that requested 

funds exceeding the maximum amounts 

specified. If the Secretary chooses to 

fund any of those additional 

applications, applicants will be required 

to work with the Department to revise 

their proposed budgets to fit within the 

appropriate funding range. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 45. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: Local 

educational agencies (LEAs), including 

educational service agencies and 

schools funded by the Bureau of Indian 

Education (BIE), applying on behalf of 

one or more large high schools. 

An LEA may apply only on behalf of 

a school or schools that is not included 

in an SLC implementation grant that has 

a performance period that extends 

beyond the current fiscal year 

(September 30, 2007). 

To be considered for funding, LEAs 

must identify in their applications the 

name or names of the eligible large high 

school or schools and the number of 

students enrolled in each school. A 

large high school is defined as one 

having grades 11 and 12, with 1,000 or 

more students enrolled in grades 9 and 

above. Enrollment figures must be based 

upon data from the current school year 

or data from the most recently 

completed school year. We will not 

accept applications from LEAs applying 

on behalf of schools that are being 

constructed and do not have an active 

student enrollment at the time of 

application. LEAs may apply on behalf 

of no more than eight schools. 

In an effort to encourage systemic, 

district-level reform efforts, we permit 

an individual LEA to submit only one 

grant application in a competition, 

specifying in each application which 

high schools the LEA intends to fund. 

In addition, we require that an LEA 

applying for a grant under this 

competition apply only on behalf of a 

high school or high schools for which it 

has governing authority, unless the LEA 

is an educational service agency that 

includes in its application evidence that 

the entity that has governing authority 

over the eligible high school supports 

the application. An LEA, however, may 

form a consortium with another LEA 

and submit a joint application for funds. 

The consortium must follow the 

procedures for group applications 

described in 34 CFR 75.127 through 

75.129 in EDGAR. 

An LEA is eligible for only one grant 

whether the LEA applies independently 

or as part of a consortium. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not require 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 addresses: http:// 

www.grants.gov or http://www.ed.gov/ 

programs/slcp/applicant.html. To 

obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write, fax, 

or call the following: Education 

Publications Center, P.O. Box 1398, 

Jessup, MD 20794–1398. Telephone, toll 

free: 1–877–433–7827. FAX: (301) 470–

1244. 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.ed.gov/pubs/ 

edpubs.html or at its e-mail address: 

edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application from ED 

Pubs, be sure to identify this 

competition as follows: CFDA number 

84.215L. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the person or 

team listed under Alternative Format in 

section VIII of this notice. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: All applicants must 

include in their applications the 

information required by the program 

statute in title V, part D, subpart 4, 

section 5441(b) of the ESEA. Applicants 

also must meet the following 

requirements: 

(a) School Report Cards. We require 

that LEAs provide, for each school 

included in the application, the most 

recent ‘‘report card’’ produced by the 

State or the LEA to inform the public 

about the characteristics of the school 

and its students, including information 

about student academic achievement 

and other student outcomes. These 

‘‘report cards’’ must include, at a 

minimum, the following information 

that LEAs are required to report for each 

school under section 1111(h)(2)(B)(ii) of 

the ESEA: (1) Whether the school has 

been identified for school improvement; 

and (2) Information that shows how the 

academic assessments and other 

indicators of adequate yearly progress 

compare to those indicators for students 

in the LEA as a whole and also shows 

the performance of the school’s students 

on statewide assessments. 

(b) Student Placement. We require 

applicants for SLC grants to include a 

description of how students will be 

selected or placed in an SLC and an 

assurance that students will not be 

placed according to ability or any other 

measure, but will be placed at random 

or by student/parent choice and not 

pursuant to testing or other judgments. 

(c) Including All Students. We require 

applicants for grants to create or expand 

an SLC project that will include every 

student within the school by no later 

than the end of the fifth school year of 

implementation. Elsewhere in this 

notice, we define an SLC as an 

environment in which a group of 

teachers and other adults within the 

school knows the needs, interests, and 

aspirations of each student well, closely 

monitors each student’s progress, and 

provides the academic and other 

support each student needs to succeed. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with NOTICES2
28434 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 

(d) Performance Indicators. We 

require applicants to identify in their 

application specific performance 

indicators and annual performance 

objectives for each of these indicators. 

Specifically, we require applicants to 

use the following performance 

indicators to measure the progress of 

each school: 

(1) The percentage of students who 

score at the proficient and advanced 

levels on the reading/language arts and 

mathematics assessments used by the 

State to determine whether a school has 

made adequate yearly progress under 

part A of title I of the ESEA, as well as 

these percentages disaggregated by 

subject matter and the following 

subgroups: 

(A) Major racial and ethnic groups; 

(B) Students with disabilities; 

(C) Students with limited English 

proficiency; and 

(D) Economically disadvantaged 

students. 

(2) The school’s graduation rate, as 

defined in the State’s approved 

accountability plan for part A of title I 

of the ESEA. 

(3) The percentage of graduates who 

enroll in postsecondary education, 

advanced training, or a registered 

apprenticeship program in the semester 

following high school graduation. 

Applicants must include in their 

applications baseline data for each of 

these indicators and identify 

performance objectives for each year of 

the project period. We further require 

recipients of grant funds to report 

annually on the extent to which each 

school achieves its performance 

objectives for each indicator during the 

preceding school year. We require 

grantees to include in these reports 

comparable data, if available, for the 

preceding three school years so that 

trends in performance will be more 

apparent. 

Grantees must submit this additional 

data using the Department’s SLC 

electronic reporting Web site within 

three months after awards are made. 

(e) Evaluation. We require each 

applicant to provide assurances that it 

will support an evaluation of the project 

that provides information to the project 

director and school personnel, and that 

will be useful in gauging the project’s 

progress and in identifying areas for 

improvement. Each evaluation must 

include an annual report for each of the 

first four years of the project period and 

a final report that would be completed 

at the end of the fifth year of 

implementation and that will include 

information on implementation during 

the fifth year as well as information on 

the implementation of the project across 

the entire project period. We require 

grantees to submit each of these reports 

to the Department. 

In addition, we require that the 

evaluation be conducted by an 

independent third party, selected by the 

applicant, whose role in the project is 

limited to conducting the evaluation. 

(f) Required Meetings Sponsored by 

the Department. Applicants must set 

aside adequate funds within their 

proposed budget to send their project 

director and at least two individuals 

from each school included in the 

application to a two-day technical 

assistance meeting in Washington, DC, 

in each year of the project period. The 

Department will host these meetings. 

(g) Additional Requirements. 

Additional requirements concerning the 

content of an application for this 

program, together with the forms you 

must submit, are in the application 

package for this competition. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

is where you, the applicant, address the 

selection criteria that reviewers use to 

evaluate your application. We 

encourage you to limit the narrative to 

the equivalent of no more than 30 pages 

and suggest that you use the following 

standards: 

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

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

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. 

The suggested page limit does not 

apply to the forms; the budget section, 

including the narrative budget 

justification; the assurances and 

certifications; the one-page abstract; the 

resumes; school report cards; indirect 

cost agreement; or letters of support. 

However, the suggested page limit does 

apply to all of the application narrative 

section. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: May 18, 2007. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

June 18, 2007. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: July 17, 2007. 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically using the Grants.gov 

Apply site (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. 6. Other Submission 

Requirements in this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in section VII in this notice. If 

the Department provides an 

accommodation or auxiliary aid to an 

individual with a disability in 

connection with the application 

process, the individual’s application 

remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: September 17. 2007. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program 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 the application package for this 

competition. 

5. Funding Restrictions: Eligible 

applicants that propose to use SLC grant 

funds for indirect costs must include, as 

part of their applications, a copy of their 

approved indirect cost agreement. We 

reference additional regulations 

outlining funding restrictions in the 

Applicable Regulations section in this 

notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically unless you qualify for an 

exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. Applications for grants 

under the Smaller Learning 

Communities Program, CFDA Number 

84.215L, 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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 28435 

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 Smaller Learning 

Communities Program at http:// 

www.Grants.gov. You must search for 

the downloadable application package 

for this competition by the CFDA 

number. Do not include the CFDA 

number’s alpha suffix in your search 

(e.g., search for 84.215, not 84.215L). 

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 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. 

• 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. 

• 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 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. 

• 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. 

• 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: 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. 

Please note that two of these forms—the 

SF 424 and the Department of Education 

Supplemental Information for SF 424—

have replaced the ED 424 (Application 

for Federal Education Assistance). 

• You must attach any narrative 

sections of your application as files in 

a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or 

.PDF (Portable Document) format. If you 

upload a file type other than the three 

file types specified in this paragraph or 

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 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 under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in 

section VII in 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 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—


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28436 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 

• 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: Gregory Dennis, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., room 3W243, FB6, 

Washington, DC 20202–6200. FAX: 

(202) 205–4921. 

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 84.215L), 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 84.215L), 

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 84.215L), 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 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 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. 

V. Application Review Information 

Selection Criteria: The following 

selection criteria will be used to 

evaluate applications for new grants 

under this program and are from the 

notice of final priority, requirements, 

and selection criteria published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register. 

Note: The maximum score for all selection 

criteria is 100 points. The points or weights 

assigned to each criterion are indicated in 

parentheses. 

Need for the Project (8) 

In determining the need for the 

proposed project, we will consider the 

magnitude of the need for the services 

that will be provided and the activities 

that will be carried out by the proposed 

project. 

Quality of the Project Design (25) 

In determining the quality of the 

design of the proposed project, we will 

consider the extent to which—

(1) Teachers, school administrators, 

parents and community stakeholders 

support the proposed project and have 

been and will continue to be involved 

in its development and implementation; 

(2) The applicant has carried out 

sufficient planning and preparatory 

activities to enable it to implement the 

proposed project during the school year 

in which the grant award will be made; 

(3) School administrators, teachers, 

and other school employees will receive 

effective, ongoing technical assistance 

and support in implementing structural 

and instructional reforms; 

(4) The applicant will offer all 

students a coherent sequence of rigorous 

English language arts, mathematics, and 

science courses that will provide 

students with the knowledge and skills 

needed to succeed in postsecondary 

education and careers without need for 

remediation; and 

(5) The proposed project is part of a 

districtwide strategy for high school 

redesign and strengthens the district’s 

capacity to develop and implement 

smaller learning communities and 

improve student academic achievement 

as part of that strategy. 

Quality of Project Services (45) 

In determining the quality of the 

services to be provided by the proposed 

project, we will consider the extent to 

which the proposed project is likely to 

be effective in—

(1) Creating an environment in which 

a core group of teachers and other adults 

within the school know the needs, 

interests, and aspirations of each 

student well, closely monitor each 

student’s progress, and provide the 

academic and other support each 

student needs to succeed; 

(2) Equipping all students with the 

reading/English language arts, 

mathematics, and science knowledge 

and skills they need to succeed in 

postsecondary education and careers 

without need for remediation; 

(3) Helping students who enter high 

school with reading/English language 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 96 / Friday, May 18, 2007 / Notices 28437 

arts or mathematics skills that are 

significantly below grade-level ‘‘catch 

up’’ quickly and attain proficiency by 

the end of the 10th grade; 

(4) Providing teachers with the 

professional development, coaching, 

regular opportunities for collaboration 

with peers, and other supports needed 

to implement a rigorous curriculum and 

provide high-quality instruction; 

(5) Increasing the participation of 

students, particularly low-income 

students, in Advanced Placement, 

International Baccalaureate, or dual 

credit courses; and 

(6) Increasing the percentage of 

students who enter postsecondary 

education in the semester following 

high school graduation. 

Support for Implementation (17) 

In determining the adequacy of the 

support the applicant will provide for 

implementation of the proposed project, 

we will consider the extent to which—

(1) The management plan is likely to 

achieve the objectives of the proposed 

project on time and within budget and 

includes clearly defined responsibilities 

and detailed timelines and milestones 

for accomplishing project tasks; 

(2) The project director and other key 

personnel are qualified to carry out their 

responsibilities, and their time 

commitments are appropriate and 

adequate to implement the SLC project 

effectively; 

(3) The applicant will support the 

proposed project with funds provided 

under other Federal or State programs 

and local cash or in-kind resources; and 

(4) The requested grant amount and 

the project costs are sufficient to attain 

project goals and reasonable in relation 

to the objectives and design of the 

project. 

Quality of the SLC Project Evaluation (5) 

In determining the quality of the 

proposed project evaluation to be 

conducted by an independent, thirdparty evaluator, we consider the extent 

to which—

(1) The evaluation will provide 

timely, regular, and useful feedback to 

the LEA and the participating schools 

on the success and progress of 

implementation, and identify areas for 

needed improvement; and 

(2) The independent evaluator is 

qualified to conduct the evaluation. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notice (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 in this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section in 

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: 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 

application requirements and other 

information related to performance 

indicators and objectives are described 

elsewhere in this notice under section 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information, 2. Content and Form of 

Application Submission. 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory Dennis, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 3W243, FB6, Washington, DC 

20202–6200. Telephone: (202) 205–3784 

or by e-mail: 

smallerlearningcommunities@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Alternative Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package 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 in section VII in 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. 

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. 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. 

Dated: May 15, 2007. 

Kerri L. Briggs, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 07–2477 Filed 5–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 


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