[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13094-13098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5047]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview 
Information; Technology and Media Services for Individuals With 
Disabilities--Television Access; Notice Inviting Applications for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327C.
    Dates: Applications Available: March 20, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 4, 2007.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 3, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local 
educational agencies (LEAs); public charter schools that are LEAs under 
State law; institutions of higher education (IHEs); other public 
agencies; private nonprofit organizations; outlying areas; freely 
associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-
profit organizations.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,500,000. The Assistant Secretary may 
use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2008 and later 
years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $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.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 5.


    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 purpose of the program is to: (1) Improve 
results for children with disabilities by promoting the development, 
demonstration, and use of technology, (2) support educational media 
services activities designed to be of educational value in the 
classroom setting to children with disabilities, and (3) provide 
support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for 
use in the classroom setting.
    Priorities: This competition contains one absolute priority and one 
competitive preference priority. In accordance with 34 CFR 
75.105(b)(2)(iv) and (v), these priorities are from allowable 
activities specified in the statute, or otherwise authorized in the 
statute (see sections 674 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:

[[Page 13095]]

Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--
Television Access

Background of Priority
    On July 21, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
adopted rules to make television more accessible to people with visual 
disabilities by mandating that a certain amount of programming contain 
video description. However, in November 2002, a Federal court struck 
down these rules. Thus, because FCC accessibility rules do not 
currently require video description, only a limited number of 
television programs provide video description for individuals with 
blindness or low vision. For more information about video description, 
please refer to: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/video-description.html.
    The FCC is also responsible for implementing and monitoring the 
closed captioning requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. 
In that law, Congress authorized the FCC to adopt exemptions from 
general captioning requirements. For more information about closed 
captioning and the exemptions please refer to: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html.
    Through the following priority, we intend to support projects that 
will provide video description and captioning of programming that is 
appropriate for use in the classroom setting for children with 
disabilities, thereby increasing these children's access to educational 
video programming.
    Statement of Priority: Under this priority, an applicant must 
describe, or describe and caption, widely available programs that are 
appropriate for use in the classroom setting for children with 
disabilities at the preschool, elementary, or secondary level.
    To meet the requirements of this priority, an application must--
    (a) Include criteria for selecting programs of high educational 
value that take into account the preferences of educators, students, 
and parents.
    (b) Identify the extent to which the programming to be video 
described or video described and captioned is widely available.
    (c) Identify the total number of program hours the project will 
make accessible and the cost per hour for description and, if the 
applicant is proposing both description and captioning, the cost per 
hour for description and captioning.
    (d) For each video program, identify the source of any private or 
other public support, and the projected dollar amount of that support, 
if any.
    (e) Demonstrate the willingness of program providers or program 
owners to permit and facilitate the description or the description and 
captioning of their programs.
    (f) Provide assurances from program providers or program owners 
stating that programs made accessible under this project will air, and 
will continue to air during the duration of the grant award, with 
descriptions or with descriptions and captions.
    (g) If the applicant is proposing both description and captioning, 
provide assurances from program providers or program owners stating 
that programs captioned under this project would not otherwise be 
captioned to meet the FCC's captioning requirements, or are 
specifically exempt from the FCC's captioning requirements.
    In addition, projects funded under this priority must--
    (a) Establish a consumer advisory group that includes parents and 
educators. This group must convene at least annually for the purpose of 
certifying that each program to be described or described and captioned 
with project funds is of high educational value and is appropriate for 
use in a preschool, elementary or secondary level classroom for 
children with disabilities, taking into account the educational needs 
of students, including intellectual/cognitive and social/emotional 
needs.
    (b) Implement procedures for monitoring the extent to which full 
accessibility is provided, and use this information to make refinements 
in project operations.
    (c) Identify the anticipated shelf-life and range of distribution 
of the video programs that is possible without further costs to the 
project.
    (d) Budget for a three-day Project Directors' meeting in 
Washington, DC during each year of the project.
    (e) If the project maintains a Web site, include relevant 
information and documents in a format that meets a government or 
industry-recognized standard for accessibility.
    Competitive Preference Priority: Within this absolute priority, we 
give competitive preference to applications that address the following 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 10 
points to an application from a small business. Applicants must 
document their status as a small business according to the definition 
for their business category as provided by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA) (for more information see SBA Web site at: http://www.sba.gov/size/index.html).
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. However, 
section 681(d) of IDEA makes the public comment requirements of the APA 
inapplicable to the priorities in this notice.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and 1481.

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants 
except federally recognized Indian tribes.


    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Cooperative agreements.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,500,000. The Assistant Secretary may 
use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2008 and later 
years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $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.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 5.


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.


    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs; public charter schools that are 
LEAs under State law; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit 
organizations; outlying areas; freely associated States; Indian tribes 
or tribal organizations; and for-profit organizations.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.
    3. Other: General Requirements-- (a) The projects funded under this 
competition must make positive efforts to employ and advance in 
employment qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of 
IDEA).
    (b) Applicants and grant recipients funded under this competition 
must

[[Page 13096]]

involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals with 
disabilities ages birth through 26 in planning, implementing, and 
evaluating the projects (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of IDEA).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs), 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), you may call (toll free): 
1-877-576-7734.
    You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f2979682879081b29b9c9786dc9796dc959d84"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1c79786c697e6f5c75727968327978327b736a">[email protected]</span></a>.
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA Number 84.327C.
    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 Grants and Contracts 
Services Team listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section 
VII of this notice.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this competition. Page 
Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) is where 
you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use 
to evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to the equivalent 
of no more than 50 pages, using the following standards:
    <bullet> A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, 
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part 
IV, the assurances and certifications; the one-page abstract, the 
resumes, the bibliography, the references, or the letters of support. 
However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III.

We will reject your application if--

    <bullet> You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
    <bullet> You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: March 20, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 4, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov), or in 
paper format by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates 
and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by 
mail or hand delivery, 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.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 3, 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 in the application package for this competition.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this competition may be submitted electronically or in paper format by 
mail or hand delivery.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications. To comply with the 
President's Management Agenda, we are participating as a partner in the 
Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site. Television Access-CFDA Number 
84.327C, is included in this project. We request your participation in 
Grants.gov.
    If you choose to submit your application electronically, you must 
use 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.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Television 
Access-CFDA Number 84.327C competition at: http://www.Grants.gov. You 
must search for the downloadable application package for this program 
or competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's 
alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.326, not 84.326A).
    Please note the following:
    <bullet> Your participation in Grants.gov is voluntary.
    <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 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.
    <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

[[Page 13097]]

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 submit your application in paper format.
    <bullet> If you submit your application electronically, 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--Non-Construction 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).
    <bullet> If you submit your application electronically, 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.
    <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.

    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail. If you submit your 
application in paper format by mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or 
a commercial carrier), 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 84.327C), 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 
84.327C), 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 submit 
your application in paper format by hand delivery, you (or a courier 
service) 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 84.327C), 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 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.


[[Page 13098]]



V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition 
are from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
    2. Treating a Priority as Two Separate Competitions: In the past, 
there have been problems in finding peer reviewers without conflicts of 
interest for competitions in which many entities throughout the country 
submit applications. The Standing Panel requirements under IDEA also 
have placed additional constraints on the availability of reviewers. 
Therefore, the Department has determined that, for some discretionary 
priorities, applications may be separated into two or more groups and 
ranked and selected for funding within the specific group. This 
procedure will ensure the availability of a much larger group of 
reviewers without conflicts of interest. It also will increase the 
quality, independence and fairness of the review process and permit 
panel members to review applications under discretionary priorities for 
which they have also submitted applications. However, if the Department 
decides to select for funding an equal number of applications in each 
group, this may result in different cut-off points for fundable 
applications in each group.

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.
    4. Performance Measures: Grantees will be expected to submit data 
on total number of hours of programs captioned or described in the 
aggregate. No additional data collection or review activities are 
planned.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Jo Ann McCann, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4067, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7434.
    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 by contacting the following office: The Grants and 
Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. 
Telephone: (202) 245-7363.

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.
    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: March 15, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
 [FR Doc. E7-5047 Filed 3-19-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P


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