82860 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 226 / Monday, November 27, 2023 / Notices 

CHART 1—DIRECT SUBSIDIZED LOANS, DIRECT UNSUBSIDIZED LOANS, DIRECT SUBSIDIZED CONSOLIDATION LOANS, DIRECT UNSUBSIDIZED CONSOLIDATION LOANS, DIRECT PLUS LOANS, AND DIRECT PLUS CONSOLIDATION LOANS—Continued 

[Interest rates based on 91-day treasury bill] 

Loan type 

Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Subsidized Consolidation, Unsubsidized Consolidation.

First disbursed before 07/01/95.5.46 3.10 8.25 8.25. 

Subsidized Consolidation, Unsubsidized Consolidation, PLUS 

Consolidation.

Application received on/after 

10/01/98 and before 02/01/99.

5.46 2.30 8.25 7.76 

CHART 2—DIRECT PLUS LOANS AND DIRECT PLUS CONSOLIDATION LOANS

[Interest rates based on weekly average of one-year constant maturity treasury yield] 

Loan type Cohort 

Weekly average of 

1-year constant 

maturity treasury 

yield for last 

calendar week 

ending on or 

before 06/26/23 

(%) 

Add-on 

(%) 

Maximum rate 

(%) 

Interest rate 

07/01/23 

through 06/30/ 

24 

(%) 

PLUS, PLUS Consolidation ........ First disbursed before 07/01/98 5.26 3.10 9.00 8.36 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087 et 

seq. 

Richard Cordray, 

Chief Operating Officer Federal Student Aid. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26053 Filed 11–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

Education Research and Development 

Center Program 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

(Department) is issuing a notice inviting 

applications for new awards for fiscal 

year (FY) 2024 for the Education 

Research and Development Center 

Program, Assistance Listing Number 

(ALN) 84.305C. This notice relates to 

the approved information collection 

under OMB control number 4040–0001. 

DATES: The dates when applications are 

available and the deadlines for 

transmittal of applications invited under 

this notice are indicated in the chart at 

the end of this notice and in the Request 

for Applications (RFA) that is posted at 

the following website: https://

ies.ed.gov/funding. 

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for 

obtaining and submitting an 

application, please refer to our Common 

Instructions for Applicants to 

Department of Education Discretionary 

Grant Programs, published in the 

Federal Register on December 7, 2022 

(87 FR 75045) and available at 

www.federalregister.gov/documents/ 

2022/12/07/2022-26554/commoninstructions-for-applicants-todepartment-of-education-discretionarygrant-programs. Please note that these 

Common Instructions supersede the 

version published on December 27, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

contact person associated with a 

particular research competition is listed 

in the chart at the end of this notice, as 

well as in the relevant RFA and 

application package. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability and wish to 

access telecommunications relay 

services, please dial 7–1–1. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: In awarding the 

grants, the Institute of Education 

Sciences (IES) intends to provide 

national leadership in expanding 

knowledge and understanding of (1) 

education outcomes for all learners from 

early childhood education through 

postsecondary and adult education, and 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 226 / Monday, November 27, 2023 / Notices 82861 

(2) employment and wage outcomes 

when relevant (such as for those 

engaged in career and technical, 

postsecondary, or adult education). IES 

research grant programs are designed to 

provide interested individuals and the 

general public with reliable and valid 

information about education practices 

that support learning and improve 

academic achievement and access to 

education opportunities for all learners. 

These interested individuals include 

parents, educators, learners, researchers, 

and policymakers. In carrying out its 

grant programs, IES provides support for 

programs of research in areas of 

demonstrated national need. 

Competition in This Notice: The IES 

National Center for Education Research 

(NCER) is announcing one competition: 

the education research and development 

center program. 

The Education Research and 

Development Center Program (ALN 

84.305C). Under this competition, NCER 

will consider only applications that 

address one of the following topics: 

• Improving Rural Education. 

• Using Generative Artificial 

Intelligence to Augment Teaching and 

Learning in Classrooms. 

• K–12 Teacher Recruitment and 

Retention Policy. 

• Improving Outcomes in Elementary 

Science Education. 

IES intends to fund four centers, each 

focused on one of the topics, subject to 

receiving applications of sufficient 

quality. The Education Research and 

Development Center for Improving 

Outcomes in Elementary Science 

Education will be supported in part 

with funding provided by the National 

Science Foundation’s STEM Education 

Directorate. 

Exemption from Proposed 

Rulemaking: Under section 191 of the 

Education Sciences Reform Act, 20 

U.S.C. 9581, IES is not subject to section 

437(d) of the General Education 

Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232(d), and 

is therefore not required to offer 

interested parties the opportunity to 

comment on matters relating to grants. 

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

seq., 42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq. 

Note: Projects will be awarded and must be 

operated in a manner consistent with the 

nondiscrimination requirements contained in 

Federal civil rights laws. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR 

parts 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. 

In addition, the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 75 are applicable, except for the 

provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 

75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 75.109(a), 

75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 

75.217(a)–(c), 75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 

75.222, 75.230, and 75.250(a). (b) The 

Office of Management and Budget 

Guidelines to Agencies on 

Governmentwide Debarment and 

Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR 

part 180, as adopted and amended as 

regulations of the Department in 2 CFR 

part 3485. (c) The Uniform 

Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as 

adopted and amended as regulations of 

the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

Note: The open licensing requirement in 2 

CFR 3474.20 does not apply to these 

competitions. 

II. Award Information 

Types of Awards: Cooperative 

agreements. 

Fiscal Information: Although 

Congress has not yet enacted an 

appropriation for FY 2024, IES is 

inviting applications for this 

competition now so that applicants can 

have adequate time to prepare their 

applications. The actual level of 

funding, if any, depends on final 

congressional action. Contingent upon 

the availability of funds and the quality 

of applications, we may make additional 

awards in subsequent years from the list 

of unfunded applications from this 

competition. IES may announce 

additional competitions later in FY 

2024. 

Estimated Range of Awards: See chart 

at the end of this notice. The size of the 

awards will depend on the scope of the 

projects proposed. 

Estimated Number of Awards: We 

intend to fund not more than one grant 

under each of the four topics. However, 

the number of awards made under this 

competition will depend on the quality 

of the applications received for each 

topic in the competition and the 

availability of funds; and, in the special 

case that the peer review process results 

in a tie between two or more grant 

applications, making it impossible to 

adhere to that limit without funding 

only some of the equally ranked 

applications, IES may make a larger 

number of awards to include all 

applications of the same rank. 

Maximum Award: The maximum 

award amount for each topic area in this 

competition is set out in the RFA. Three 

of the four centers will have maximum 

awards of $10,000,000. The fourth 

center, co-funded with the National 

Science Foundation (NSF), will have a 

maximum award of $15,000,000. 

Applications must include budgets no 

higher than the relevant maximum 

award. IES will not make an award 

exceeding the maximum award amount. 

Note: The Department is not bound by 

any estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: The project period for 

each Education Research and 

Development Center is 5 years. This 

information is also included in the chart 

at the end of this notice. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: Applicants that 

have the ability and capacity to conduct 

rigorous research are eligible to apply. 

Eligible applicants include, but are not 

limited to, nonprofit and for-profit 

organizations and public and private 

agencies and institutions of higher 

education, such as colleges and 

universities. 

2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: These 

programs do not require cost sharing or 

matching. 

b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This 

program uses an unrestricted indirect 

cost rate. For more information 

regarding indirect costs, or to obtain a 

negotiated indirect cost rate, please see 

www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/ 

intro.html. 

3. Subgrantees: Under 34 CFR 

75.708(b) and (c) a grantee under this 

competition may award subgrants—to 

directly carry out project activities 

described in its application—to the 

following types of entities: nonprofit 

and for-profit organizations and public 

and private agencies and institutions of 

higher education. The grantee may 

award subgrants to entities it has 

identified in an approved application. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Application Submission 

Instructions: Applicants are required to 

follow the Common Instructions for 

Applicants to Department of Education 

Discretionary Grant Programs, 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 7, 2022 (87 FR 75045) and 

available at https://www.federal

register.gov/documents/2022/12/07/ 

2022-26554/common-instructions-forapplicants-to-department-of-educationdiscretionary-grant-programs, which 

contain requirements and information 

on how to submit an application. Please 

note that these Common Instructions 

supersede the version published on 

December 27, 2021. 

2. Other Information: Information 

regarding program and application 

requirements for the competition is in 

the IES Application Submission Guide 

(currently available) and in the NCER 


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82862 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 226 / Monday, November 27, 2023 / Notices 

RFA (to be posted) on the IES website 

at: https://ies.ed.gov/funding/. The date 

on which the application package for 

this competition will be available is 

indicated in the chart at the end of this 

notice. 

3. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application are 

contained in the RFA for this 

competition. The forms that must be 

submitted are in the application package 

for the specific competition. 

4. Submission Dates and Times: The 

deadline date for transmittal of 

applications for this competition is 

indicated in the chart at the end of this 

notice and in the RFA for the 

competition. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

5. Intergovernmental Review: This 

competition is not subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. 

6. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: For all its grant 

competitions, IES uses selection criteria 

based on a peer review process that has 

been approved by the National Board for 

Education Sciences. The Peer Review 

Procedures for Grant Applications can 

be found on the IES website at https:// 

ies.ed.gov/director/sro/application_

review.asp. 

For the 84.305C competition, peer 

reviewers will be asked to evaluate the 

significance of the focused program of 

research, the quality of the research plan 

for the focused program of research, the 

quality of the plans for leadership, 

capacity building and outreach 

activities, the quality of the management 

and institutional resources, and the 

qualifications and experience of the 

personnel. These criteria will be 

described in greater detail in the RFA. 

2. Review and Selection Process: We 

remind potential applicants that in 

reviewing applications in any 

discretionary grant competition, IES 

may consider, under 34 CFR 

75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the 

applicant in carrying out a previous 

award, such as the applicant’s use of 

funds, achievement of project 

objectives, compliance with the IES 

policy regarding public access to 

research, and compliance with grant 

conditions. IES may also consider 

whether the applicant failed to submit 

a timely performance report or 

submitted a report of unacceptable 

quality. 

In addition, in making a competitive 

grant award, IES requires various 

assurances including those applicable to 

Federal civil rights laws that prohibit 

discrimination in programs or activities 

receiving Federal financial assistance 

from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 

104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

3. Risk Assessment and Specific 

Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 

200.206, before awarding grants under 

this competition, the Department 

conducts a review of the risks posed by 

applicants. Under 2 CFR 200.208, IES 

may impose specific conditions and, 

under 2 CFR 3474.10, in appropriate 

circumstances, high-risk conditions on a 

grant if the applicant or grantee is not 

financially stable; has a history of 

unsatisfactory performance; has a 

financial or other management system 

that does not meet the standards in 2 

CFR part 200, subpart D; has not 

fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; 

or is otherwise not responsible. 

4. Integrity and Performance System: 

If you are selected under this 

competition to receive an award that 

over the course of the project period 

may exceed the simplified acquisition 

threshold (currently $250,000), under 2 

CFR 200.206(a)(2) we must make a 

judgment about your integrity, business 

ethics, and record of performance under 

Federal awards—that is, the risk posed 

by you as an applicant—before we make 

an award. In doing so, we must consider 

any information about you that is in the 

integrity and performance system 

(currently referred to as the Federal 

Awardee Performance and Integrity 

Information System (FAPIIS)), 

accessible through the System for 

Award Management. You may review 

and comment on any information about 

yourself that a Federal agency 

previously entered and that is currently 

in FAPIIS. 

Please note that, if the total value of 

your currently active grants, cooperative 

agreements, and procurement contracts 

from the Federal Government exceeds 

$10,000,000, the reporting requirements 

in 2 CFR part 200, Appendix XII, 

require you to report certain integrity 

information to FAPIIS semiannually. 

Please review the requirements in 2 CFR 

part 200, Appendix XII, if this grant 

plus all the other Federal funds you 

receive exceed $10,000,000. 

5. In General: In accordance with the 

Office of Management and Budget’s 

guidance located at 2 CFR part 200, all 

applicable Federal laws, and relevant 

Executive guidance, the Department 

will review and consider applications 

for funding pursuant to this notice 

inviting applications in accordance 

with: 

(a) Selecting recipients most likely to 

be successful in delivering results based 

on the program objectives through an 

objective process of evaluating Federal 

award applications (2 CFR 200.205); 

(b) Prohibiting the purchase of certain 

telecommunication and video 

surveillance services or equipment in 

alignment with section 889 of the 

National Defense Authorization Act of 

2019 (Pub. L. 115—232) (2 CFR 

200.216); 

(c) Providing a preference, to the 

extent permitted by law, to maximize 

use of goods, products, and materials 

produced in the United States (2 CFR 

200.322); and 

(d) Terminating agreements in whole 

or in part to the greatest extent 

authorized by law if an award no longer 

effectuates the program goals or agency 

priorities (2 CFR 200.340). 

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), or we may send you an email 

containing a link to access an electronic 

version of your 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. Grant Administration: Applicants 

should budget for an annual meeting of 

up to three days for project directors to 

be held in Washington, DC. 

4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a 

grant under the competition announced 

in this notice, you must ensure that you 

have in place the necessary processes 

and systems to comply with the 

reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 

170 should you receive funding under 

the competition. This does not apply if 

you have an exception under 2 CFR 

170.110(b). 

(b) At the end of your project period, 

you must submit a final performance 

report, including financial information, 

as directed by IES. If you receive a 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 226 / Monday, November 27, 2023 / Notices 82863 

multiyear award, you must submit an 

annual performance report that provides 

the most current performance and 

financial expenditure information as 

directed by IES under 34 CFR 75.118. 

IES may also require more frequent 

performance reports under 34 CFR 

75.720(c). For specific requirements on 

reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 

appforms.html. 

5. Performance Measures: To evaluate 

the overall success of its education 

research grant programs, IES annually 

assesses the percentage of projects that 

result in peer-reviewed publications and 

the number of IES-supported 

interventions with evidence of efficacy 

in improving learner education 

outcomes. Student academic outcomes 

include learning and achievement in 

academic content areas, such as reading, 

writing, math, and science, as well as 

outcomes that reflect students’ 

successful progression through the 

education system, such as course and 

grade completion; high school 

graduation; and postsecondary 

enrollment, progress, and completion. 

Social and behavioral competencies 

include social and emotional skills, 

attitudes, and behaviors that are 

important to academic and postacademic success. Employment and 

earnings outcomes include hours of 

employment, job stability, and wages 

and benefits, and may be measured in 

addition to student academic outcomes. 

6. Continuation Awards: In making a 

continuation award under 34 CFR 

75.253, IES considers, among other 

things: whether a grantee has made 

substantial progress in achieving the 

goals and objectives of the project; 

whether the grantee has expended funds 

in a manner that is consistent with its 

approved application and budget; 

whether a grantee is in compliance with 

the IES policy regarding public access to 

research; and if IES has established 

performance measurement 

requirements, whether the grantee has 

made substantial progress in achieving 

the performance targets in the grantee’s 

approved application. 

In making a continuation award, IES 

also considers whether the grantee is 

operating in compliance with the 

assurances in its approved application, 

including those applicable to Federal 

civil rights laws that prohibit 

discrimination in programs or activities 

receiving Federal financial assistance 

from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 

104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

VII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

relevant program contact person listed 

in the chart at the end of this notice, as 

well as in the relevant RFA and 

application package, individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the RFA in an accessible 

format. The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Mark Schneider, 

Director, Institute of Education Sciences. 

ALN and name 

Application 

package 

available 

Deadline for 

transmittal of 

applications 

Estimated range of 

awards * Project period For further information contact 

National Center for Education Research (NCER) 

84.305C. Education Research and Development 

Center Program.

On or before 

December 7, 

2023.

March 7, 2024 ... Up to 5 years. 

D Improving Rural Education ......................... .......................... ........................... $1 to $2 million ....... ........................... Emily Doolittle, Emily.Doolittle@

ed.gov, 202–987–0795. 

D K–12 Teacher Recruitment and Retention 

Policy.

.......................... ........................... $1 to $2 million ....... ........................... Wai-Ying Chow, WaiYing.Chow@ed.gov, 202– 

245–8198. 

D Improving Outcomes in Elementary 

Science Education.

.......................... ........................... $2 to $3 million ....... ........................... Jennifer Schellinger, Jennifer.Schellinger@ed.gov, 

202–987–0765. 

D Using Generative Artificial Intelligence to 

Augment Teaching and Learning in Classrooms.

.......................... ........................... $1 to $2 million ....... ........................... Christina Chhin, Christina.Chhin@ed.gov, 202–245– 

7736. 

* These estimates are annual amounts. 

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

Note: If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7–1–1. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26008 Filed 11–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Annual Notice of Interest Rates for 

Fixed-Rate Federal Student Loans 

Made Under the William D. Ford 

Federal Direct Loan Program 

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, 

Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Chief Operating Officer 

for Federal Student Aid announces the 

interest rates for Federal Direct Stafford/ 

Ford Loans (Direct Subsidized Loans), 

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/ 

Ford Loans (Direct Unsubsidized 

Loans), and Federal Direct PLUS Loans 

(Direct PLUS Loans) made under the 

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan 

(Direct Loan) Program, Assistance 

Listing Number 84.268, with first 

disbursement dates on or after July 1, 

2023, and before July 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Sturlaugson, U.S. Department of 

Education, 830 First Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: 

202–377–4174 or by email: 

travis.sturlaugson@ed.gov. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability and wish to 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES