Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 13745 

frequent performance reports under 34 

CFR 75.720(c). For specific 

requirements on reporting, please go to 

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/

appforms/appforms.html. 

4. Performance Measures: The goal of 

the CSP is to support the creation and 

development of a large number of highquality charter schools that are free from 

State or local rules that inhibit flexible 

operation, are held accountable for 

enabling students to reach challenging 

State performance standards, and are 

open to all students. The Secretary has 

two performance indicators to measure 

progress toward this goal: (1) the 

number of charter schools in operation 

around the Nation, and (2) the 

percentage of charter school students 

who are achieving at or above the 

proficient level on State examinations in 

mathematics and reading/language arts. 

Additionally, the Secretary has 

established the following measure to 

examine the efficiency of the CSP: 

Federal cost per student in 

implementing a successful school 

(defined as a school in operation for 

three or more consecutive years). 

All grantees will be expected, as 

applicable, to submit an annual 

performance report documenting their 

contribution in assisting the Department 

in meeting these performance measures. 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Payton, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 4W225, Washington, DC 20202– 

5970. Telephone: (202) 453–7698 or by 

e-mail: richard.payton@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT in Section VII of 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

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

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

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 17, 2010. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2010–6378 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Innovation and Improvement 

Overview Information; Ready To Teach 

Program—General Programming 

Grants; Notice Inviting Applications for 

New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.286A 

Dates: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent To 

Apply: April 22, 2010. 

Date of Meeting for Prospective 

Applicants: April 15, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 24, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 21, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: 

The Ready to Teach program (RTT) 

supports the use of telecommunications 

to improve teaching by assisting 

elementary school and secondary school 

teachers to prepare all students to 

achieve challenging State academic 

content and student academic 

achievement standards in core 

curriculum areas. 

Background: 

In order to improve the Nation’s 

lowest-achieving schools, the Secretary 

recognizes the need to improve the 

professional development of teachers, 

including early childhood professionals. 

In this competition, the Secretary 

encourages applicants to create new 

professional development models that 

incorporate emerging technologies and 

innovative strategies into digital 

professional development content and 

to disseminate products and results 

through open educational resources 

(OER). 

Through this competition, the 

Department intends to promote 

telecommunications innovations that 

support effective teaching. Examples of 

using telecommunications innovations 

to support effective teaching include the 

distribution of digital professional 

development content through cell 

phone applications, or the creation of 

new games, simulations, or other 

electronic applications that improve the 

academic achievement of high-need 

students and are available as open 

educational resources through the 

Internet, online portals, or other digital 

media platforms. 

In addition, the Secretary encourages 

applicants to consider developing 

rigorous research and evaluation 

strategies to increase knowledge about 

the impact of educational technology on 

improving teaching practices and 

student outcomes. 

Statutory Requirements: Under the 

requirements for this program in section 

5477 of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965, as amended 

(ESEA), to be eligible to receive a Ready 

to Teach General Programming Grant, 

an applicant must submit an application 

that— 

a. Demonstrates that the applicant 

will use the public broadcasting 

infrastructure, the Internet, and school 

digital networks, where available, to 

deliver video and data in an integrated 

service to train teachers in the use of 

materials and learning technologies for 

achieving challenging State academic 

content and student academic 

achievement standards; 

b. Ensures that the project will be 

conducted in cooperation with 

appropriate State educational agencies, 

local educational agencies, and State or 

local nonprofit public 

telecommunications entities; and 

c. Ensures that a significant portion of 

the benefits available for elementary 

schools and secondary schools from the 

project will be available to schools of 

local educational agencies that have a 

high percentage of children counted 

under Part A of Title I of the ESEA. 

Priorities: This competition includes 

two invitational priorities and one 

competitive preference priority. 

Invitational Priorities: Under this 

competition we are particularly 

interested in applications that address 

the following priorities. For FY 2010 

and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, these 

priorities are invitational priorities. 

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not 

give an application that meets these 

invitational priorities a competitive or 

absolute preference over other 

applications. 

These priorities are: 

Invitational Priority 1. Applications 

that use innovative strategies to deliver 

professional development content (such 

as through the Internet, online portals, 

learning modules, games, simulations, 

cell phones, and other technological 


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applications or emerging digital media 

platforms) to teachers serving high-need 

students, including early learners, in the 

persistently lowest-achieving schools 

(as defined in the final requirements for 

the School Improvement Grants 

program, 74 FR 65618; 75 FR 3375). 

Invitational Priority 2. Applications 

that propose to develop and disseminate 

products and project results through 

OER. OER are teaching, learning, and 

research resources that reside in the 

public domain or have been released 

under an intellectual property license 

that permits their free use or 

repurposing by others. This invitational 

priority encourages applications that 

include plans that describe how the 

applicants will make the grant products 

and resources developed with these 

grant funds freely available through 

various media platforms, in an effort to 

share digital professional development 

methodologies, proven teaching 

strategies, and lessons learned in 

implementing RTT projects with other 

educators, including early learning 

professionals. 

Note: Each applicant addressing this 

priority is encouraged to include plans for 

how the applicant will disseminate 

resources, for example, through a Web site 

that is freely available to all users. Each 

applicant is also encouraged to include plans 

specifying how the project will identify 

quality resources, such as lesson plans, 

primary source activities, reading lists, 

teacher reflections, and videos of quality 

teaching and student learning in action, for 

presentation to other educators. 

Competitive Preference Priority: This 

priority is from the notice of final 

priority for Scientifically Based 

Evaluation Methods, published in the 

Federal Register on January 25, 2005 

(70 FR 3586). For FY 2010 and any 

subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) 

we award up to an additional 20 points 

to an application, depending on how 

well the application meets this priority. 

These points are in addition to any 

points the application earns under the 

selection criteria. 

When using the priority to give 

competitive preference to an 

application, we will review the 

applications using a two-stage review 

process. In the first stage, we will 

review the applications without taking 

the competitive preference priority into 

account. In the second stage of the 

process, we will review the applications 

rated highest in the first stage of the 

process to determine whether they will 

receive the competitive preference 

points. We will consider awarding 

competitive preference points only to 

those applicants with top-ranked scores 

based on the selection criteria. 

This priority is: 

The Secretary establishes a priority 

for projects proposing an evaluation 

plan that is based on rigorous, 

scientifically based research methods to 

assess the effectiveness of a particular 

intervention. The Secretary intends that 

this priority will allow program 

participants and the Department to 

determine whether the project produces 

meaningful effects on student 

achievement or teacher performance. 

Evaluation methods using an 

experimental design are best for 

determining project effectiveness. Thus, 

when feasible, the project must use an 

experimental design under which 

participants—e.g., students, teachers, 

classrooms, or schools—are randomly 

assigned to participate in the project 

activities being evaluated or to a control 

group that does not participate in the 

project activities being evaluated. 

If random assignment is not feasible, 

the project may use a quasiexperimental design with carefully 

matched comparison conditions. This 

alternative design attempts to 

approximate a randomly assigned 

control group by matching 

participants—e.g., students, teachers, 

classrooms, or schools—with nonparticipants having similar pre-program 

characteristics. 

In cases where random assignment is 

not possible and participation in the 

intervention is determined by a 

specified cut-off point on a quantified 

continuum of scores, regression 

discontinuity designs may be employed. 

For projects that are focused on 

special populations in which sufficient 

numbers of participants are not 

available to support random assignment 

or matched comparison group designs, 

single-subject designs such as multiple 

baseline or treatment-reversal or 

interrupted time series that are capable 

of demonstrating causal relationships 

can be employed. 

Proposed evaluation strategies that 

use neither experimental designs with 

random assignment nor quasiexperimental designs using a matched 

comparison group nor regression 

discontinuity designs will not be 

considered responsive to the priority 

when sufficient numbers of participants 

are available to support these designs. 

Evaluation strategies that involve too 

small a number of participants to 

support group designs must be capable 

of demonstrating the causal effects of an 

intervention or program on those 

participants. 

The proposed evaluation plan must 

describe how the project evaluator will 

collect—before the project intervention 

commences and after it ends—valid and 

reliable data that measure the impact of 

participation in the program or in the 

comparison group. 

Points awarded under this priority 

will be determined by the quality of the 

proposed evaluation method. In 

determining the quality of the 

evaluation method, we will consider the 

extent to which the applicant presents 

a feasible, credible plan that includes 

the following: 

(1) The type of design to be used (that 

is, random assignment or matched 

comparison). If matched comparison, 

include in the plan a discussion of why 

random assignment is not feasible. 

(2) Outcomes to be measured. 

(3) A discussion of how the applicant 

plans to assign students, teachers, 

classrooms, or schools to the project and 

control group or match them for 

comparison with other students, 

teachers, classrooms, or schools. 

(4) A proposed evaluator, preferably 

independent, with the necessary 

background and technical expertise to 

carry out the proposed evaluation. An 

independent evaluator does not have 

any authority over the project and is not 

involved in its implementation. 

In general, depending on the 

implemented program or project, under 

a competitive preference priority, 

random assignment evaluation methods 

will receive more points than matched 

comparison evaluation methods. 

We encourage applicants to take 

advantage of the competitive preference 

priority if their model allows them to do 

so. 

Definitions: 

As used in the competitive preference 

priority in this notice— 

Scientifically based research (section 

9101(37) of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 

7801(37)): 

(A) Means research that involves the 

application of rigorous, systematic, and 

objective procedures to obtain reliable 

and valid knowledge relevant to 

education activities and programs; and 

(B) Includes research that— 

(i) Employs systematic, empirical 

methods that draw on observation or 

experiment; 

(ii) Involves rigorous data analyses 

that are adequate to test the stated 

hypotheses and justify the general 

conclusions drawn; 

(iii) Relies on measurements or 

observational methods that provide 

reliable and valid data across evaluators 

and observers, across multiple 

measurements and observations, and 


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across studies by the same or different 

investigators; 

(iv) Is evaluated using experimental or 

quasi-experimental designs in which 

individuals, entities, programs, or 

activities are assigned to different 

conditions and with appropriate 

controls to evaluate the effects of the 

condition of interest, with a preference 

for random-assignment experiments, or 

other designs to the extent that those 

designs contain within-condition or 

across-condition controls; 

(v) Ensures that experimental studies 

are presented in sufficient detail and 

clarity to allow for replication or, at a 

minimum, offer the opportunity to build 

systematically on their findings; and 

(vi) Has been accepted by a peerreviewed journal or approved by a panel 

of independent experts through a 

comparably rigorous, objective, and 

scientific review. 

Random assignment or experimental 

design means random assignment of 

students, teachers, classrooms, or 

schools to participate in a project being 

evaluated (treatment group) or not 

participate in the project (control 

group). The effect of the project is the 

difference in outcomes between the 

treatment and control groups. 

Quasi-experimental designs include 

several designs that attempt to 

approximate a random assignment 

design. 

Carefully matched comparison groups 

design means a quasi-experimental 

design in which project participants are 

matched with non-participants based on 

key characteristics that are thought to be 

related to the outcome. 

Regression discontinuity design 

means a quasi-experimental design that 

closely approximates an experimental 

design. In a regression discontinuity 

design, participants are assigned to a 

treatment or control group based on a 

numerical rating or score of a variable 

unrelated to the treatment such as the 

rating of an application for funding. 

Eligible students, teachers, classrooms, 

or schools above a certain score (‘‘cut 

score’’) are assigned to the treatment 

group and those below the score are 

assigned to the control group. In the 

case of the scores of applicants’ 

proposals for funding, the ‘‘cut score’’ is 

established at the point where the 

program funds available are exhausted. 

Single subject design means a design 

that relies on the comparison of 

treatment effects on a single subject or 

group of single subjects. There is little 

confidence that findings based on this 

design would be the same for other 

members of the population. 

Treatment reversal design means a 

single subject design in which a pretreatment or baseline outcome 

measurement is compared with a posttreatment measure. Treatment would 

then be stopped for a period of time, a 

second baseline measure of the outcome 

would be taken, followed by a second 

application of the treatment or a 

different treatment. For example, this 

design might be used to evaluate a 

behavior modification program for 

disabled students with behavior 

disorders. 

Multiple baseline design means a 

single subject design to address 

concerns about the effects of normal 

development, timing of the treatment, 

and amount of the treatment with 

treatment-reversal designs by using a 

varying time schedule for introduction 

of the treatment and/or treatments of 

different lengths or intensity. 

Interrupted time series design means 

a quasi-experimental design in which 

the outcome of interest is measured 

multiple times before and after the 

treatment for program participants only. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7257– 

7257b; 7257d. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) 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. 

(b) The notice of final priority for 

Scientifically Based Evaluation 

Methods, published in the Federal 

Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 

3586). 

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 institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$10,650,000. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$2,662,000–$5,325,000 for the first year 

of the project. Funding for the second, 

third, and fourth years is subject to the 

availability of funds and the approval of 

continuation awards (see 34 CFR 

75.253). 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$2,662,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 2–4. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: To be eligible 

to receive a General Programming Grant, 

an applicant must be a nonprofit 

telecommunications entity or 

partnership of such entities. 

Note: If more than one non-profit 

telecommunications entity wishes to form a 

consortium and jointly submit a single 

application, they must follow the procedures 

for group applications described in 34 CFR 

75.127 through 75.129 of EDGAR. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: An 

applicant submitting an application 

under this competition for General 

Programming Grants (84.286A) is not 

required to provide matching funds. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: ED Pubs, U.S. Department of 

Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, 

VA 22304. Telephone, toll free: 1–877– 

433–7827. FAX: (703) 605–6794. If you 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD), call, toll free: 1–877–576– 

7734. 

You can contact ED Pubs at its Web 

site, also: http://www.EDPubs.gov or at 

its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application package 

from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this 

program as follows: CFDA number 

84.286A. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the person listed 

under Accessible Format in section VIII 

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 

program. 

Notice of Intent to Apply: The 

Department will be able to develop a 

more efficient process for reviewing 

grant applications if it has a better 

understanding of the number of entities 

that intend to apply for funding under 

this program. Therefore, the Secretary 

strongly encourages each potential 

applicant to notify the Department by 

sending a short e-mail message 

indicating the applicant’s intent to 

submit an application for funding. The 

e-mail need not include information 

regarding the content of the proposed 

application, only the applicant’s intent 

to submit it. This e-mail notification 

should be sent to Sharon Harris at 

readytoteach@ed.gov. 

Applicants that fail to provide this email notification may still apply for 

funding. 

Meeting for Prospective Applicants: 

The Ready to Teach program will hold 

a webinar for prospective applicants on 

April 15, 2010 from 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. 


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Washington, DC time. The conference 

will offer information about how to 

apply for a Ready to Teach grant. For 

information and to register, please send 

an e-mail to Sharon.Harris@ed.gov. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

is where you, the applicant, address the 

selection criteria that reviewers use to 

evaluate your application. Applicants 

are strongly encouraged to limit the 

application narrative (Part III) to the 

equivalent of no more than 40 singlesided pages, using the following 

standards: 

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

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

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. An application submitted 

in any other font (including Times 

Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be 

accepted. 

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, or the 

letters of support. However, the page 

limit does apply to all of the application 

narrative section (Part III). 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

April 22, 2010. 

Date of Meeting for Prospective 

Applicants: April 15, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 24, 2010. 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) 

accessible through the Department’s eGrants site. For information (including 

dates and times) about how to submit 

your application electronically, or in 

paper format by mail or hand delivery 

if you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, 

please refer to section IV.6. Other 

Submission Requirements of this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in section VII of this notice. If 

the Department provides an 

accommodation or auxiliary aid to an 

individual with a disability in 

connection with the application 

process, the individual’s application 

remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 21, 2010. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

competition 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: Under section 

5485 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7257d), an 

entity that receives a General 

Programming Grant may not use more 

than five percent of the amount received 

under the grant for administrative 

purposes. We reference regulations 

outlining additional funding restrictions 

in the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically unless you qualify for an 

exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications for grants under the 

Ready to Teach Program—CFDA 

Number 84.286A must be submitted 

electronically using e-Application, 

accessible through the Department’s eGrants Web site at: http://egrants.ed.gov. 

We will reject your application if you 

submit it in paper format unless, as 

described elsewhere in this section, you 

qualify for one of the exceptions to the 

electronic submission requirement and 

submit, no later than two weeks before 

the application deadline date, a written 

statement to the Department that you 

qualify for one of these exceptions. 

Further information regarding 

calculation of the date that is two weeks 

before the application deadline date is 

provided later in this section under 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement. 

While completing your electronic 

application, you will be entering data 

online that will be saved into a 

database. You may not e-mail an 

electronic copy of a grant application to 

us. 

Please note the following: 

• You must complete the electronic 

submission of your grant application by 

4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

the application deadline date. E– 

Application will not accept an 

application for this competition after 

4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

the application deadline date. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend that 

you do not wait until the application 

deadline date to begin the application 

process. 

• The hours of operation of the eGrants Web site are 6:00 a.m. Monday 

until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 

a.m. Thursday until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 

Washington, DC time. Please note that, 

because of maintenance, the system is 

unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on 

Sundays and 6:00 a.m. on Mondays, and 

between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 

6:00 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, 

DC time. Any modifications to these 

hours are posted on the e-Grants Web 

site. 

• You will not receive additional 

point value because you submit your 

application in electronic format, nor 

will we penalize you if you qualify for 

an exception to the electronic 

submission requirement, as described 

elsewhere in this section, and submit 

your application in paper format. 

• You must submit all documents 

electronically, including all information 

you typically provide on the following 

forms: The Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

SF 424, Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED 524), and all 

necessary assurances and certifications. 

You must attach any narrative sections 

of your application as files in a .DOC 

(document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF 

(Portable Document) format. If you 

upload a file type other than the three 

file types specified in this paragraph or 

submit a password protected file, we 

will not review that material. 

• Your electronic application must 

comply with any page limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• Prior to submitting your electronic 

application, you may wish to print a 

copy of it for your records. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive an 

automatic acknowledgment that will 

include a PR/Award number (an 

identifying number unique to your 

application). 

• Within three working days after 

submitting your electronic application, 

fax a signed copy of the SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

(1) Print SF 424 from e-Application. 


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(2) The applicant’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

(3) Place the PR/Award number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hardcopy signature page of the SF 424. 

(4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6272. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on other forms at a 

later date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of e-Application Unavailability: 

If you are prevented from electronically 

submitting your application on the 

application deadline date because eApplication is unavailable, we will 

grant you an extension of one business 

day to enable you to transmit your 

application electronically, by mail, or by 

hand delivery. We will grant this 

extension if— 

(1) You are a registered user of eApplication and you have initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

(2)(a) E-Application is unavailable for 

60 minutes or more between the hours 

of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, on the application deadline 

date; or 

(b) E-Application is unavailable for 

any period of time between 3:30 p.m. 

and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, 

on the application deadline date. 

We must acknowledge and confirm 

these periods of unavailability before 

granting you an extension. To request 

this extension or to confirm our 

acknowledgment of any system 

unavailability, you may contact either 

(1) the person listed elsewhere in this 

notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) 

the e-Grants help desk at 1–888–336– 

8930. If e-Application is unavailable 

due to technical problems with the 

system and, therefore, the application 

deadline is extended, an e-mail will be 

sent to all registered users who have 

initiated an e-Application. Extensions 

referred to in this section apply only to 

the unavailability of e-Application. 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement: You qualify for an 

exception to the electronic submission 

requirement, and may submit your 

application in paper format, if you are 

unable to submit an application through 

e-Application because— 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to eApplication; and 

• No later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date (14 calendar 

days or, if the fourteenth calendar day 

before the application deadline date 

falls on a Federal holiday, the next 

business day following the Federal 

holiday), you mail or fax a written 

statement to the Department, explaining 

which of the two grounds for an 

exception prevents you from using the 

Internet to submit your application. If 

you mail your written statement to the 

Department, it must be postmarked no 

later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date. If you fax 

your written statement to the 

Department, we must receive the faxed 

statement no later than two weeks 

before the application deadline date. 

Address and mail or fax your 

statement to: Sharon Harris, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Room 4W216, 

Washington, DC 20202–5980. FAX: 

(202) 205–5720. 

Your paper application must be 

submitted in accordance with the mail 

or hand delivery instructions described 

in this notice. 

b. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Mail. 

If you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, you 

may mail (through the U.S. Postal 

Service or a commercial carrier) your 

application to the Department. You 

must mail the original and two copies 

of your application, on or before the 

application deadline date, to the 

Department at the following address: 

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, Attention: 

(CFDA Number 84.286A), LBJ Basement 

Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

You must show proof of mailing 

consisting of one of the following: 

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service 

postmark. 

(2) A legible mail receipt with the 

date of mailing stamped by the U.S. 

Postal Service. 

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or 

receipt from a commercial carrier. 

(4) Any other proof of mailing 

acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. 

Department of Education. 

If you mail your application through 

the U.S. Postal Service, we do not 

accept either of the following as proof 

of mailing: 

(1) A private metered postmark. 

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by 

the U.S. Postal Service. 

If your application is postmarked after 

the application deadline date, we will 

not consider your application. 

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not 

uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before 

relying on this method, you should check 

with your local post office. 

c. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Hand Delivery. 

If you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, you 

(or a courier service) may deliver your 

paper application to the Department by 

hand. You must deliver the original and 

two copies of your application, by hand, 

on or before the application deadline 

date, to the Department at the following 

address: U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, Attention: 

(CFDA Number 84.286A), 550 12th 

Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 

Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center 

accepts hand deliveries daily between 

8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 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 

grant notification within 15 business days 

from the application deadline date, you 

should call the U.S. Department of Education 

Application Control Center at (202) 245– 

6288. 

V. Application Review Information 

Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from 34 

CFR 75.210. The maximum score for all 

the selection criteria is 100 points. The 

maximum score for each criterion is 

indicated in parentheses. Each criterion 

also includes the factors that the 

reviewers will consider in determining 

how well an application meets the 

criterion. The Note following selection 

criterion (6) is guidance to help 

applicants prepare their applications; it 

is not required by statute or regulations. 

The selection criteria are as follows: 

(1) Need for project (15 points). The 

Secretary considers the need for the 

proposed project by considering the 

following factors: 

(a) The extent to which the proposed 

project will provide services or 

otherwise address the needs of students 

at risk of educational failure. 

(b) The extent to which specific gaps 

or weaknesses in services, 

infrastructure, or opportunities have 

been identified and will be addressed by 

the proposed project, including the 

nature and magnitude of those gaps or 

weaknesses. 

(2) Significance (10 points). The 

Secretary considers the significance of 

the proposed project by considering the 

likely utility of the products (such as 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
13750 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 

information, materials, processes, or 

techniques) that will result from the 

proposed project, including the 

potential for their being used effectively 

in a variety of other settings. 

(3) Quality of the project design (25 

points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the design of the proposed 

project by considering the following 

factors: 

(a) The extent to which the design of 

the proposed project reflects up-to-date 

knowledge from research and effective 

practice. 

(b) The extent to which the proposed 

project is part of a comprehensive effort 

to improve teaching and learning and 

support rigorous academic standards for 

students. 

(c) The extent to which the proposed 

project is designed to build capacity and 

yield results that will extend beyond the 

period of Federal financial assistance. 

(4) Quality of project personnel (10 

points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the personnel who will carry 

out the proposed project by considering 

the extent to which the applicant 

encourages applications for employment 

from persons who are members of 

groups that have traditionally been 

underrepresented based on race, color, 

national origin, gender, age, or 

disability. In addition, the Secretary 

considers the qualifications, including 

relevant training and experience, of key 

project personnel. 

(5) Quality of the management plan 

(20 points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project by considering the 

following factors: 

(a) The adequacy of the management 

plan to achieve the objectives of the 

proposed project on time and within 

budget, including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and 

milestones for accomplishing project 

tasks. 

(b) The extent to which the time 

commitments of the project director and 

principal investigator and other key 

project personnel are appropriate and 

adequate to meet the objectives of the 

proposed project. 

(c) The adequacy of procedures for 

ensuring feedback and continuous 

improvement in the operation of the 

proposed project. 

(6) Quality of the project evaluation 

(20 points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the evaluation to be 

conducted of the proposed project by 

considering the following factors: 

(a) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation include the use of 

objective performance measures that are 

clearly related to the intended outcomes 

of the project and will produce 

quantitative and qualitative data to the 

extent possible. 

(b) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation will provide performance 

feedback and permit periodic 

assessment of progress toward achieving 

intended outcomes. 

Note on Factors Applicants May Wish to 

Consider in Developing an Evaluation Plan: 

The quality of the evaluation plan is one of 

the selection criteria by which applications 

in this competition will be judged. A strong 

evaluation plan should be used, as 

appropriate, to shape the development of the 

project from the beginning of the grant 

period. The evaluation plan should include 

benchmarks to monitor progress toward 

specific project objectives and also outcome 

measures to assess the impact on teaching 

and learning, or other important outcomes for 

project participants. More specifically, the 

plan should identify the individual or 

organization that has agreed to serve as 

evaluator for the project and describe the 

qualifications of that evaluator. The plan 

should describe the evaluation design, 

indicating: (1) What types of data will be 

collected; (2) when various types of data will 

be collected; (3) what methods will be used; 

(4) what instruments will be developed and 

when these instruments will be developed; 

(5) how the data will be analyzed; (6) when 

reports of results and outcomes will be 

available; and (7) how the applicant will use 

the information collected through the 

evaluation to monitor progress of the funded 

project and to provide accountability 

information both about success at the initial 

site and about effective strategies for 

replication in other settings. Applicants are 

encouraged to devote an appropriate level of 

resources to project evaluation. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN). We may notify you informally, 

also. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section 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 a one-day meeting for 

project directors to be held in 

Washington, DC. 

4. Reporting: At the end of your 

project period, you must submit a final 

performance report, including financial 

information, as directed by the 

Secretary. If you receive a multi-year 

award, you must submit an annual 

performance report that provides the 

most current performance and financial 

expenditure information as directed by 

the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The 

Secretary may also require more 

frequent performance reports under 34 

CFR 75.720(c). For specific 

requirements on reporting, please go to 

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/

appforms/appforms.html. 

5. Performance Measures: The 

Department has established the 

following Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) performance 

measure for the Ready to Teach Grant 

Program: The percentage of digital 

professional development products 

deemed to be of high quality by a panel 

of experts in the field. 

This measure constitutes the 

Department’s indicator of success for 

this program. Consequently, we advise 

an applicant for a grant under this 

program to give careful consideration to 

the GPRA measure in conceptualizing 

the approach and evaluation for its 

proposed project. Each grantee will be 

required to provide, in its annual 

performance and final reports, data 

about its progress in meeting the 

Department’s indicator. 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sharon Harris, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 4W216, Washington, DC 20202– 

5980. Telephone: (202) 205–5880 or by 

e-mail: readytoteach@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the Federal 

Relay Service, toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

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

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 55 / Tuesday, March 23, 2010 / Notices 13751 

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 17, 2010. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2010–6286 Filed 3–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of English Language 

Acquisition; Overview Information; 

Language Enhancement, and 

Academic Achievement for Limited 

English Proficient Students; Foreign 

Language Assistance Program—State 

Educational Agencies (SEAs); Notice 

Inviting Applications for New Awards 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.293C. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

April 7, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: April 22, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: May 24, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The Foreign 

Language Assistance Program (FLAP) 

provides grants to SEAs for innovative 

model programs providing for the 

establishment, improvement, or 

expansion of foreign language study for 

elementary and secondary school 

students. An SEA that receives a grant 

under this program must use the funds 

to support programs that promote 

systemic approaches to improving 

foreign language learning in the State. 

Priorities: This notice involves two 

competitive preference priorities. 

Competitive Preference Priority #1 is 

from the notice of final priority for this 

program published in the Federal 

Register on May 19, 2006 (71 FR 29222). 

In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(iv), Competitive Preference 

Priority #2 is from Title V, Part D, 

Subpart 9, section 5493 of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended. 

Competitive Preference Priority #1. 

For FY 2010 and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applicants from this 

competition, this priority is a 

competitive preference priority. Under 

34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to 

an additional 10 points to an 

application, depending on how well the 

application meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

Critical Need Languages 

This priority supports projects that 

establish, improve, or expand foreign 

language learning, primarily during the 

traditional school day, within grade 

kindergarten through grade 12, and that 

exclusively teach one or more of the 

following less commonly taught 

languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, 

Japanese, Russian, and languages in the 

Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language 

families. 

Competitive Preference Priority #2: 

For FY 2010 and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applicants from this 

competition, this priority is a 

competitive preference priority. Under 

34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii) we give 

preference to an application that meets 

this priority over an application of 

comparable merit that does not meet the 

priority. 

This priority is: 

Consortia Applicants 

Applications describing programs that 

are carried out through a consortium 

comprised of the SEA receiving the 

grant and an elementary or secondary 

school. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7259a– 

7259b. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

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

85, 97, 98 and 99. (b) The notice of final 

priority, published in the Federal 

Register on May 19, 2006 (71 FR 29222). 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 

apply to all applicants except Federally 

recognized Indian Tribes. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: $900,000. 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the quality of applications, 

we may make additional awards in FY 

2011 from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000– 

$250,000. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$150,000. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $250,000 for a single budget 

period of 12 months. The Assistant 

Deputy Secretary and Director for the 

Office of English Language Acquisition, 

Language Enhancement, and Academic 

Achievement for Limited English 

Proficient Students (OELA) may change 

the maximum amount through a notice 

published in the Federal Register. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 6. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: 36 months. Applicants 

that request funding for a project period 

of other than 36 months will be deemed 

ineligible and their applications will not 

be read. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Title V, 

Part D, Subpart 9, section 5492 of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended, requires that 

the Federal share of a project funded 

under this program for each fiscal year 

be 50 percent. For example, an SEA 

requesting $100,000 in Federal funding 

for its foreign language program each 

fiscal year must match that amount with 

$100,000 of non-Federal funding for 

each year. 34 CFR 80.24 of EDGAR 

addresses Federal cost-sharing 

requirements. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Yvonne Mathieu, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., room 5C138, Washington, 

DC 20202–6510. Telephone: (202) 401– 

1461 or by e-mail: 

Yvonne.Mathieu@ed.gov. 

Note: Please include ‘‘84.293C FLAP SEA 

Application Request’’ in the subject heading 

of your e-mail. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 

1–800–877–8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the program 

contact person listed in this section. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

competition. 

Notice of Intent to Apply: If you 

intend to apply for a grant under this 

competition, contact Yvonne Mathieu 

by e-mail: Yvonne.Mathieu@ed.gov. 

Note: Please include ‘‘84.293C FLAP SEA 

Intent to Apply’’ in the subject heading of 

your e-mail. Your e-mail should specify: (1) 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES