13098 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 

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 cutoff 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 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services; Overview 

Information; Technical Assistance and 

Dissemination To Improve Services 

and Results for Children With 

Disabilities—Center on Response To 

Intervention; Notice Inviting 

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2007 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.326E. 

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: 

$2,830,000. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $2,830,000 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: This program 

promotes academic achievement and 

improves results for children with 

disabilities by supporting technical 

assistance, model demonstration 

projects, dissemination of useful 

information, and implementation 

activities that are supported by 

scientifically-based research. 

Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 

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

allowable activities specified in the 

statute (see sections 663 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: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 13099 

Center on Response to Intervention 

Background 

Response to Intervention (RTI) 

involves maximizing student 

achievement by monitoring student 

progress to make data-based 

instructional decisions for students. 

While RTI varies in its methodologies, 

a common model is based on 

implementation of universal, secondary, 

and tertiary interventions (Kamps & 

Greenwood, 2005; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; 

Vaughn, 2003). Universal interventions 

involve providing high quality core 

instruction to students in regular 

education classrooms. Secondary 

interventions involve more intensive 

small group instruction, and tertiary 

interventions are even more intensive 

and are often provided by an 

interventionist or special educator. 

One of the many benefits of RTI is 

early identification of students who 

experience academic or behavioral 

difficulties. Experts in the field have 

reached consensus regarding the need to 

identify children with academic and 

behavioral difficulties at an early age. 

Early intervention with these students 

can either eliminate the need for special 

education or at least reduce the 

intensity of the services required. A 

National Research Council (NRC) report 

(Donovan & Cross, 2002) confirmed that 

intervening early, specifically in reading 

and behavior management, is associated 

with reduced placement rates of 

students in special education programs. 

Specifically, it was found that 

placement rates in special education 

were lower in schools where effective 

reading programs or strong classroom 

management programs existed than in 

schools where such programs did not 

exist. The report concluded that the 

effectiveness of early intervention was 

greater than the cumulative 

effectiveness of interventions provided 

to students after they had experienced 

years of failure. 

RTI is currently being used and 

investigated in regular and special 

education classrooms and is 

demonstrating promise as a means for 

early identification of children with 

disabilities, particularly specific 

learning disabilities (SLD), as well as 

students who are at risk of either or both 

academic or behavioral disabilities 

(Kamps & Greenwood, 2005; Fuchs & 

Fuchs, 2006; Vaughn, 2003). RTI also 

holds promise for children from some 

racial and ethnic backgrounds who are 

not progressing in the general education 

curriculum. Data from the National 

Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP) indicate that students from 

certain racial and ethnic backgrounds 

continue to lag behind other students in 

English, math, and science (Lee, 2006). 

Over time, the disparity in progress may 

lead to over-identification or 

disproportionate representation of this 

group of students for special education 

services (Donovan & Cross, 2002). 

Preliminary data indicate that RTI may 

reduce the number of instances of 

inappropriately identified students who 

are from certain racial or ethnic 

backgrounds or who are limited-English 

proficient for special education services 

(Kamps & Greenwood, 2005; Kamps, 

Wills, Greenwood, Thorne, Lazo, 

Crockett, McGonigle, & Swaggart, 2003). 

The 2004 amendments to IDEA 

amended section 613(f) to allow local 

educational agencies (LEAs) to use up to 

15 percent of their Part B funding for 

early intervening services to support 

students who struggle academically or 

behaviorally in a general education 

environment, but who have not been 

identified for special education. 

Additionally, LEAs that significantly 

over-identify children from particular 

racial or ethnic backgrounds for special 

education services must use the 

maximum amount of their IDEA funding 

available for early intervening services 

to provide comprehensive, coordinated 

early intervening services to children, 

particularly children in groups that 

were significantly over-identified (see 

section 618(d)(2)(B) of IDEA). 

Amendments made to IDEA by the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Improvement Act of 2004 also explicitly 

authorize the use of response to 

scientifically-based research 

interventions to identify students with 

SLD. The amendments removed a 

requirement to find discrepancies 

between achievement and intellectual 

ability before identifying a student as 

having SLD. This requirement often 

precluded early identification of 

children in need of special education. 

References 

Donovan, S. & Cross, C. (2002). Minority 

students in special and gifted education. 

Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. 

Fuchs, D. & Fuchs, L.S. (2006). 

Introduction to response to intervention: 

What, why, and how valid is it? Reading 

Research Quarterly, 41, 92–99. 

Kamps, D., & Greenwood, C. R. (2005). 

Formulating secondary-level reading 

interventions. Journal of Learning 

Disabilities, 38, 500–509. 

Kamps, D., Wills, H., Greenwood, C., 

Thorne, S., Lazo, J., Crockett, J., McGonigle, 

J., & Swaggart, B. (2003). Curriculum 

influences on growth in early reading fluency 

for students with academic and behavioral 

risks: A descriptive study. Journal of 

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11, 

211–224. 

Lee, J. (2006). Tracking Achievement Gaps 

and Assessing the Impact of NCLB on the 

Gaps: An In-depth Look into National and 

State Reading and Math Outcome Trends. 

Retrieved June 27, 2006, from The Civil 

Rights Project Harvard University Web site: 

http://www.civilrightsproject.harvard.edu/ 

research/esea/nclb_naep_lee.pdf. 

Vaughn, S. (2003). How many tiers are 

needed for response to intervention to 

achieve acceptable prevention outcomes. 

Retrieved May 14, 2006, from The National 

Research Center on Learning Disabilities Web 

site: http://www.nrcld.org/symposium2003/ 

vaughn/vaughn.pdf. 

Priority 

The Assistant Secretary establishes an 

absolute priority for a Center on 

Response to Intervention (Center) to (a) 

identify, adapt, evaluate, and scale-up 

RTI models for identifying and serving 

children with disabilities, particularly 

SLD; (b) provide technical assistance 

and disseminate information to SEAs 

and LEAs to implement comprehensive 

RTI programs in LEAs and schools; and 

(c) disseminate information on RTI to 

parents, service providers, 

policymakers, and others. SEAs must be 

the primary targets for the technical 

assistance activities of the Center. The 

Center must support States to help them 

develop the capacity to provide 

technical assistance to LEAs. 

Demonstrated Expertise of Key Staff 

To be considered for funding under 

this priority, an applicant must 

demonstrate that key staff responsible 

for fulfilling the activities of the Center 

have expertise in (a) scientifically-based 

research practices associated with SLD 

identification; (b) the use and 

implementation of RTI and all its 

components, including screening, 

progress monitoring, data-based 

decision-making, procedural safeguards, 

and multi-tiered interventions; and (c) 

issues related to disproportionate 

representation of children based on race 

or ethnicity. Expertise in these areas 

may be demonstrated by having refereed 

publications on respective topics. An 

applicant may use a team-based 

approach across sites to capitalize on 

the knowledge, experience, and 

qualifications of various key staff who 

will be responsible for providing 

technical assistance and disseminating 

information to SEAs and LEAs. The 

Assistant Secretary anticipates that this 

Center will build on the expertise and 

resources of previously and currently 

supported Department of Education 

technical assistance centers, such as the 

National Research Center on Learning 

Disabilities (NRCLD), the National 

Center on Student Progress Monitoring 

(NCSPM), the Research Institute on 


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13100 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 

Progress Monitoring (RIPM), the 

National Center for Culturally 

Responsive Educational Systems 

(NCCRESt), the Center on Instruction 

(COI), the Access Center, and the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act 2004-Research for Inclusive Settings 

(IRIS) Center. 

Requirements 

To meet the requirements of this 

priority, the Center, at a minimum, 

must—

(a) Identify, adapt, evaluate, and scale 

up evidence-based, school-wide RTI 

models that identify and serve children 

with disabilities, particularly SLD, and 

children at risk of developing a 

disability, to use as a basis for providing 

technical assistance to SEAs and LEAs. 

These models also must be evaluated on 

the extent to which the models reduce 

over-identification for special education 

services based on race or ethnicity and 

of students who are limited-English 

proficient; 

(b) Assist SEAs in developing the 

capacity to support local 

implementation of RTI models that 

provide comprehensive, coordinated 

early intervening services to students 

who are experiencing either or both 

academic or behavioral difficulties, 

especially in LEAs that are required to 

provide early intervening services 

because of significant disproportionality 

of students based on race or ethnicity; 

(c) Provide technical assistance and 

disseminate information to SEAs and 

LEAs on implementing scientificallybased practices for using RTI to improve 

instruction for all students and identify 

students with SLD; 

(d) Assist SEAs to provide technical 

assistance to enable LEAs to provide 

comprehensive, coordinated early 

intervening services, such as RTI, 

particularly to LEAs that are required to 

provide early intervening services 

because of significant disproportionality 

of students based on race or ethnicity 

required under section 618(d) of IDEA; 

(e) Communicate, coordinate, and 

collaborate with the NRCLD, NCSPM, 

COI, RIPM, NCCRESt, Access Center, 

IRIS, and progress monitoring model 

demonstration projects funded under 

the Technical Assistance and 

Dissemination to Improve Services and 

Results for Children with Disabilities 

program to summarize and proactively 

disseminate reports and documents on 

research findings and related topics to 

inform policy and practice related to 

RTI, including early intervening 

services to decrease over-identification 

or disproportionate representation in 

special education of students based on 

race or ethnicity; 

(f) Communicate, coordinate, and 

collaborate with the appropriate OSEPfunded centers identified in this priority 

to develop and disseminate information 

on RTI, progress monitoring, secondary 

and tertiary educational and behavioral 

interventions, and other pertinent 

matters; 

(g) Communicate, coordinate, and 

collaborate with appropriate OSEPfunded centers identified in this priority 

to develop and disseminate information 

for professional development on 

scientifically-based models of RTI that 

include progress monitoring for teachers 

and other school staff; 

(h) Conduct national and regional 

meetings, in collaboration with other 

centers, to assist SEAs and LEAs in 

implementing RTI models to provide 

early intervening services, especially in 

LEAs with significant 

disproportionality, and to identify 

children with SLD; 

(i) Coordinate with the NRCLD, 

NCSPM, RIPM, NCCRESt, and Access 

Center as these projects end to transfer 

their key responsibilities to the Center 

and integrate the content from their Web 

sites to the Center’s Web site; 

(j) Maintain communication and 

collaboration with other technical 

assistance centers and organizations, 

e.g., Regional Comprehensive Centers, 

NCLB-IDEA Partnership Project, 

Regional Resource Centers, and Federal 

Resource Center, National Association 

of State Directors of Special Education, 

Council of Chief State School Officers, 

Council for Exceptional Children, 100 

Black Men of America, National 

Association for Bilingual Education, and 

others as appropriate; 

(k) Provide funding to at least two 

graduate or doctoral level students who 

have concentrations in special 

education, learning disabilities, or other 

related areas that have been approved 

by the Office of Special Education 

Programs (OSEP) to assist with project 

related activities; and 

(l) Address the needs for information 

on RTI for all stakeholders including 

parents, service providers, policy 

makers, and administrators at the 

national, State, and local levels through 

dissemination activities that include the 

maintenance of a Web site. This Web 

site must be maintained in a format that 

meets a government or industry 

recognized standard for accessibility. 

Additional Requirements 

The Center also must—

(1) Establish, maintain, and meet at 

least annually with an advisory 

committee consisting of representatives 

of SEAs, LEAs, individuals with 

disabilities, parents, educators, 

professional organizations and advocacy 

groups, researchers, and other 

appropriate groups to review and advise 

on the Center’s activities and plans. The 

committee must include membership 

that represents urban schools. The final 

advisory committee will be jointly 

selected by OSEP and the Center; 

(2) Budget annually for attendance at 

a three-day Project Director’s meeting in 

Washington, DC and for a two-day trip 

to Washington, DC to attend an 

additional Project Director’s meeting 

and to meet and collaborate with the 

OSEP Project Officer and other funded 

projects for purposes of cross-project 

collaboration and information exchange; 

(3) Budget for at least a monthly trip 

to attend appropriate meetings 

convened by the Department of 

Education and other centers and 

organizations; and 

(4) Budget five percent of the grant 

amount annually to support emerging 

needs as identified jointly through 

consultation with the OSEP Project 

Officer. 

Fourth and Fifth Years of Project: In 

deciding whether to continue funding 

the Center for the fourth and fifth years, 

the Secretary will consider the 

requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a) and in 

addition—

(a) The recommendation of a review 

team consisting of experts selected by 

the Secretary. This review team will 

convene in Washington, DC during the 

last half of the project’s second year. 

Projects must budget for travel expenses 

associated with this one-day intensive 

review; 

(b) The timeliness and effectiveness 

with which all requirements of the 

negotiated cooperative agreement have 

been or are being met by the Center; and 

(c) Evidence of the degree to which 

the Center’s activities have contributed 

to changed practices and improved 

outcomes for children with disabilities 

and children at risk of developing a 

disability. 

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 under the APA 

inapplicable to the priority in this 

notice. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1463 

and 1481(d). 

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. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 13101 

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 

agreement. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$2,830,000. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $2,830,000 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. 

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 

involve individuals with disabilities or 

parents of individuals with disabilities 

ages birth through 26 in planning, 

implementing, and evaluating the 

project (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: 

edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application from ED 

Pubs, be sure to identify this 

competition as follows: CFDA Number 

84.326E. 

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 70 pages, 

using the following standards: 

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

only), with 1’’ margins (top, bottom, and 

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 proportional font that is 12- 

point or larger, or a font that is 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; or the one-page abstract, 

the resumes, the bibliography, 

references, or the letters of support. 

However, you must include all of the 

application narrative in Part III. 

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: 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. 

The Center on Response to Intervention, 

CFDA Number 84.326E, 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 email an electronic copy of a grant 

application to us. 

You may access the electronic grant 

application for the Center on Response 

to Intervention 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 

84.326E). 

Please note the following: 

• Your participation in Grants.gov is 

voluntary. 

• 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 


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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://eGrants.ed.gov/help/ 

GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf. 

• To submit your application via 

Grants.gov, you must complete the 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 submit your 

application in paper format. 

• 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). 

• 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 passwordprotected 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 System Technical Issues with 

the Grant.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 84.326E), 

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 

84.326E), 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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 53 / Tuesday, March 20, 2007 / Notices 13103 

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 84.326E), 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. 

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 competitions, 

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 

competitions for which they also have 

submitted applications. However, if the 

Department decides to select for funding 

an equal number of applications in each 

group, this may result in different cutoff 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: Under the 

Government Performance and Results 

Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has 

developed measures that will yield 

information on various aspects of the 

Technical Assistance and Dissemination 

to Improve Services and Results for 

Children with Disabilities program. 

These measures, which will be used for 

this competition, focus on: The extent to 

which projects provide high quality 

products and services, the relevance of 

project products and services to 

educational and early intervention 

policy and practice, and the use of 

products and services to improve 

educational and early intervention 

policy and practice. 

Grantees will be required to provide 

information related to these measures. 

Grantees also will be required to 

report information on their projects’

performance in annual reports to the 

Department (34 CFR 75.590). 

VII. Agency Contact 

For Further Information Contact: 

Grace Zamora Duran, Ed.D., U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., room 4088, Potomac 

Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–

2550. Telephone: (202) 245–7328. 

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. E7–5048 Filed 3–19–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 


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