27098 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 92 / Monday, May 14, 2007 / Notices 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) provide interested 

Federal agencies and the public an early 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection requests. OMB may amend or 

waive the requirement for public 

consultation to the extent that public 

participation in the approval process 

would defeat the purpose of the 

information collection, violate State or 

Federal law, or substantially interfere 

with any agency’s ability to perform its 

statutory obligations. The IC Clearance 

Official, Regulatory Information 

Management Services, Office of 

Management, publishes that notice 

containing proposed information 

collection requests prior to submission 

of these requests to OMB. Each 

proposed information collection, 

grouped by office, contains the 

following: (1) Type of review requested, 

e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or 

reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of 

the collection; (4) Description of the 

need for, and proposed use of, the 

information; (5) Respondents and 

frequency of collection; and (6) 

Reporting and/or Recordkeeping 

burden. OMB invites public comment. 

The Department of Education is 

especially interested in public comment 

addressing the following issues: (1) Is 

this collection necessary to the proper 

functions of the Department; (2) will 

this information be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate 

of burden accurate; (4) how might the 

Department enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (5) how might the 

Department minimize the burden of this 

collection on the respondents, including 

through the use of information 

technology. 

Dated: May 8, 2007. 

Angela C. Arrington, 

IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information 

Management Services, Office of Management. 

Institute of Education Sciences 

Type of Review: Extension. 

Title: Impact Evaluation of Upward 

Bound’s Increased Focus on Higher-Risk 

Students—Baseline Data Collection 

Protocols. 

Frequency: One time. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

household. 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour 

Burden: 

Responses: 10,890. 

Burden Hours: 3,900. 

Abstract: This evaluation will focus 

on the impacts of Upward Bound on 

students applying to enter the program 

as early as the summer of 2007. The 

current OMB package requests clearance 

for the instruments to be used in 

gathering information. 

Requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, 

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on 

link number 3345. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, 

DC 20202–4700. Requests may also be 

electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202–

245–6623. Please specify the complete 

title of the information collection when 

making your request. 

Comments regarding burden and/or 

the collection activity requirements 

should be electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339. 

[FR Doc. E7–9199 Filed 5–11–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Postsecondary Education; 

Overview Information; Fund for the 

Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education—Comprehensive Program; 

Notice Inviting Applications for New 

Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.116B 

DATES: Applications Available: May 14, 

2007. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: June 13, 2007. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: August 13, 2007. 

Eligible Applicants: Institutions of 

higher education (IHEs) or combinations 

of those institutions and other public 

and private nonprofit institutions and 

agencies. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$3,400,000. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$100,000–$250,000 per year. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$160,000 per year. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $250,000 for a single budget 

period of 12 months. The Assistant 

Secretary for Postsecondary Education 

may change the maximum amount 

through a notice published in the 

Federal Register. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 16–20. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The 

Comprehensive Program supports 

innovative grants and cooperative 

agreements to improve postsecondary 

education. It supports reforms, 

innovations, and significant 

improvements of postsecondary 

education that respond to problems of 

national significance and serve as 

national models. 

Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(i), we are particularly 

interested in applications that meet the 

following invitational priorities. 

Invitational Priorities: For FY 2007 

these priorities are invitational 

priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we 

do not give an application that meets 

these invitational priorities a 

competitive or absolute preference over 

other applications. 

These priorities are: 

Invitational Priority 1: 

Projects encouraging higher levels of 

access, persistence, and completion of 

graduation requirements for higher 

education. 

Invitational Priority 2: 

Projects aligning curriculum on a state 

or multi-state level between high 

schools and colleges, and between twoyear and four-year postsecondary 

programs, to ensure continuing 

academic progress and transferability of 

credits. 

Invitational Priority 3: 

Projects improving the mathematics 

and science proficiency of 

postsecondary students including 

preservice math and science teachers. 

Invitational Priority 4: 

Projects to enable postsecondary 

students, including preservice teachers, 

to achieve proficiency or advanced 

proficiency or postsecondary 

institutions to develop programs in one 

or more of the less commonly taught 

languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, 

Japanese, Russian, and languages in the 

Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language 

families. 

Invitational Priority 5: 

Projects designed to disseminate 

successful strategies to achieve the goals 

of any of the above invitational 

priorities serving postsecondary 

education. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138–1138d. 

Applicable Regulations: The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 92 / Monday, May 14, 2007 / Notices 27099 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 84, 

85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to IHEs only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants 

or cooperative agreements. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$3,400,000. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$100,000–$250,000 per year. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$160,000 per year. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $250,000 for a single budget 

period of 12 months. The Assistant 

Secretary for Postsecondary Education 

may change the maximum amount 

through a notice published in the 

Federal Register. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 16–20. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs or 

combinations of those institutions and 

other public and private nonprofit 

institutions and agencies. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Although 

this program does not require cost 

sharing or matching for eligibility, it is 

expected that applicants will provide an 

institutional financial commitment to 

the project. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Levenia Ishmell, Fund for the 

Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education, U.S. Department of 

Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 

6147, Washington, DC 20006–8544. 

Telephone: (202) 502–7668 or by e-mail: 

Levenia.Ishmell@ed.gov. 

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 a copy of the application package 

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

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the program 

contact person listed in this section. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

program. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

(Part III of the application) is where you, 

the applicant, address the selection 

criteria that reviewers use to evaluate 

the application. You must limit your 

narrative to the equivalent of no more 

than 20 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. Page numbers and an 

identifier may be outside of the 1′′ 

margin. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, except titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions. Charts, tables, 

figures, and graphs in the application 

narrative may be singled spaced and 

will count toward the page limit. 

• Use a font that is either 12-point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). However, you may 

use a 10-point font in charts, tables, 

figures, and graphs. 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New or Arial. Applications submitted in 

any other font (including Times Roman 

and Arial Narrow) will be rejected. 

• The page limit does not apply to 

Part I, the Title Page; Part II, the Budget 

Summary form (ED Form 524); Part IV, 

the assurances and certifications; the 

table of contents, the appendix, which 

shall only include letters of support, or 

the response to section 427 of the 

Department of Education’s General 

Education Provisions Act (GEPA). If you 

include any attachments or appendices 

not specifically requested, these items 

will be counted as part of the program 

narrative (Part III) for purposes of the 

page limit requirement. 

We will reject your application if: 

• You apply these standards and 

exceed the page limit; or 

• You apply other standards and 

exceed the equivalent of the page limit. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: May 14, 2007. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: June 13, 2007. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: August 13, 2007. 

Applications for grants under this 

program 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 by mail or by 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. 

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. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

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 in the application package for this 

program. 

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under the 

Comprehensive 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 

Comprehensive Program, CFDA Number 

84.116B 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 Comprehensive 

Program 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 84.116, not 

84.116B). 

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. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
27100 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 92 / Monday, May 14, 2007 / Notices 

• 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 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 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 to five 

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 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 will then 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 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 as described elsewhere in 

this notice. 

If you submit an application after 4:30 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

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: Extensions referred to 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: Levenia Ishmell, FIPSE 

Comprehensive Program Assistant, U.S. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 92 / Monday, May 14, 2007 / Notices 27101 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street, 

NW., room 6147, Washington, DC 

20006–8544. FAX: (202) 502–7877. 

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 84.116B), 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 84.116B), 

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 84.116B), 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 

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 

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 selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

75.210 and are listed in the application 

package. 

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 also notify you 

informally. 

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: 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 specified by 

the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. 

Grantees are required to use the 

electronic data instrument provided by 

the program office to complete the 

annual and final reports. 

4. Performance Measures: Under the 

Government Performance and Results 

Act (GPRA), the following measures will 

be used by the Department in assessing 

the performance of the Fund for the 

Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education’s Comprehensive Program: 

(1) The percentage of projects that are 

adopted in full or in part, or whose 

materials are used by other institutions; 

and 

(2) The percentage of projects with a 

high likelihood of sustainability beyond 

Federal funding, based on the project 

officer’s determination. 

If funded, you will be asked to collect 

and report data in your project’s annual 

performance report (EDGAR, 34 CFR 

75.590) on steps taken toward these 

goals. Consequently, applicants are 

advised to include these two indicators 

in conceptualizing the design, 

implementation and evaluation of the 

proposed project. Consideration of the 

two performance indicators is an 

important part of many of the review 

criteria. Thus, it is important to the 

success of your application that you 

include these indicators. Their measure 

should be a part of the project 

evaluation plan, along with measures of 

goals and objectives specific to your 

project. 

VII. Agency Contact 

For Further Information Contact: 

Levenia Ishmell, Fund for the 

Improvement of Postsecondary 

Education, U.S. Department of 

Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 

6147, Washington, DC 20006–8544. 

Telephone: (202) 502–7668 or by e-mail: 

Levenia.Ishmell@ed.gov. 

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 in this section. 

VIII. Other Information 

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. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
27102 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 92 / Monday, May 14, 2007 / Notices 

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 8, 2007. 

James F. Manning, 

Delegated the Authority of the Assistant 

Secretary for Postsecondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 07–2341 Filed 5–11–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services; Overview 

Information; Personnel Development 

to Improve Services and Results for 

Children With Disabilities—National 

Center to Inform Policy and Practice in 

Special Education Professional 

Development; Notice Inviting 

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2007 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.325Q. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: May 14, 2007. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: June 13, 2007. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: August 13, 2007. 

Eligible Applicants: Institutions of 

higher education (IHEs). 

Estimated Available Funds: $500,000. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $500,000 for a single budget 

period of 12 months. The Assistant 

Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services may change the 

maximum amount through a notice 

published in the Federal Register. 

Number of Awards: 1. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purposes of 

this program are to (1) help address 

State-identified needs for highly 

qualified personnel—in special 

education, related services, early 

intervention, and regular education—to 

work with infants or toddlers with 

disabilities, or children with 

disabilities; and (2) ensure that those 

personnel have the skills and 

knowledge—derived from practices that 

have been determined through research 

and experience to be successful—that 

are needed to serve those children. 

Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority is from 

allowable activities specified in the 

statute (see sections 662(d) and 681(d) 

of the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act (IDEA)). 

Absolute Priority: For FY 2007 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 Center to 

Inform Policy and Practice in Special 

Education Professional Development. 

Background 

While Federal law requires educators 

to meet the highly qualified teacher 

(HQT) requirements, States and school 

districts struggle to retain such teachers. 

The likelihood that teachers will remain 

in their positions beyond the first years 

of employment is affected by a wide 

variety of factors, including the policies 

and practices of teacher preparation 

programs, States, and school districts. 

The retention of teachers is a major 

concern among educators because 

teacher turnover creates multiple 

challenges for schools. Several recent 

studies report the costs of teacher 

turnover are high because it not only 

affects the quality of instruction, but 

turnover also means additional costs for 

preparing, recruiting, and inducting 

highly qualified teachers to replace 

those who have left (Boe, Cook, and 

Sutherland, 2006; Billingsley, 2005; 

Johnson, Berg, and Donaldson, 2005). 

On the whole, there is broad consensus 

among policymakers that significant 

efforts are needed to improve the 

preparation and retention of highly 

qualified teachers. 

Teacher preparation that is of high 

quality is a strong predictor of both 

teacher retention and good teaching 

practice (NCTAF, 2006), and research 

has consistently found that new 

teachers make important gains in 

teaching quality in the first year and 

smaller gains over the next few years of 

their careers (Rivkin, Hanushek, and 

Kain, 2005, p. 449 as cited in Condition 

of Education, NCES, 2005). In addition, 

high quality teacher preparation, along 

with quality induction and mentoring 

during the first years of employment, 

appear to be even more important in 

urban school districts where data from 

the last several decades show that from 

40 to 50 percent of new teachers will 

leave the profession within five years 

(Darling-Hammond and Schlan, 1996; 

Ingersoll, 2003; National Education 

Association, 2006; Farber, 2006). 

Research suggests that there are a 

variety of effective ways to improve 

retention rates for beginning special 

educators, as well as strategies that 

improve the quality of pre-service 

training and professional development 

for special educators. To this end, the 

Secretary proposes a National Center to 

Inform Policy and Practice in Special 

Education Professional Development. 

Priority: This priority supports a 

National Center to Inform Policy and 

Practice in Special Education 

Professional Development (Center). The 

purposes of this Center are to: (a) Inform 

special education teacher preparation 

policy and practice by examining and 

recommending to IHEs, State 

educational agencies (SEAs), and local 

educational agencies (LEAs) those 

policies and practices that improve 

retention of beginning special education 

teachers, such as high quality induction, 

mentoring, and collaborative teaching 

experiences; and (b) recommend 

implementation strategies for policies 

and practices that provide beginning 

special education and regular education 

teachers with the knowledge and skills 

to effectively support students with 

disabilities in different classroom 

settings, including collaborative 

practices in regular classroom settings. 

The Center must: 

(a) Identify needs and existing 

resources: Identify critical issues, needs, 

and existing resources that relate to 

improved support for beginning special 

educators through: (1) A comprehensive 

review of current policy, scientifically 

based research, and evidence-based 

practice literature on retention strategies 

such as the induction and mentoring of 

beginning teachers of students with 

disabilities and collaborative teaching 

practices; and (2) coordination with 

other U.S. Department of Education (ED) 

funded grants related to highly qualified 

teacher induction, mentoring, and 

retention (e.g., National Comprehensive 

Center for Teacher Quality (http:// 

www.ncctq.org); Center for Improving 

Teacher Quality (http:// 

www.centerforteacherquality.org); 

National Center for Special Education 

Personnel and Related Service Providers 

(http://www.personnelcenter.org); and 

Faculty Enhancement Center (http:// 

iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu); 

(b) Identify critical gaps in the 

knowledge base: Identify the most 

significant gaps in the current 

knowledge base, considering the critical 

issues and needs identified in paragraph 

(a), and utilize this information to 

develop an agenda that identifies and 


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