76524 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No: 84.051B]

Career Clusters—Cooperative

Agreements; Notice Inviting

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal

Year (FY) 2001

Note to Applicants: This notice is a

complete application package. Together

with the statute authorizing the program

and the Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR),

the notice contains all of the

information, application forms, and

instructions needed to apply for a grant

under this competition.

Purpose of Program: The purpose of

the Career Clusters Initiative, formerly

known as the Building Linkages

Initiative, is to enable States to establish

linkages among State educational

agencies, secondary and postsecondary

educational institutions, employers,

industry groups, other stake holders and

Federal agencies. Through these

linkages, States will be able to develop

curricular frameworks designed to

prepare students for a successful

transition from high school to

postsecondary education, employment

in a career area, or both. For each Career

Cluster project, representatives from

these partner entities, agencies, or

groups, will form a Career Cluster

Advisory Consortium that represents all

aspects of each Career Cluster area. (See

Appendix A) From each Advisory

Consortium an Executive Committee

will be selected to provide leadership

and direction for project activities.

Through cooperative agreements funded

under the Career Clusters Initiative,

recognized academic and skill standards

will be identified and/or established by

each consortium, along with

assessments that are organized around

each Career Cluster area, with the goal

of providing secondary schools of States

participating in each consortium with

the information needed to establish

curriculum guidelines that meet the

education and training needs of their

students.

Eligible Applicants: ‘‘Eligible

agencies’’ as defined in Section 3(9) of

the Perkins Act are eligible to apply for

funds under this program.

An eligible applicant may apply for

more than one Career Cluster

cooperative agreement award.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: January 5, 2001.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: January 5, 2001.

Available Funds: $2,200,000 for the

first 12 months of the 24-month project

period. Funding for the second 12-

month period of the 24-month project

period is subject to the availability of

funds and to a grantee meeting the

EDGAR requirements of (34 CFR

75.253).

Estimated Amount of Awards: The

estimated amount of each award made

under this competition is $200,000 for

each Career Cluster project.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$200,000 for the first 12 months.

Estimated Number of Awards: The

Secretary hopes to fund 11 Career

Cluster projects. Each eligible applicant

may apply to carry out more than one

project, as stated in the ‘‘Estimated

Range of Awards’’ section.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: 24 months.

Applicable Statute and Regulations: 

(a) The relevant provisions of the Carl

D. Perkins Vocational and Technical

Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III), 20

U.S.C. 2301 et seq., in particular, section

114(c)(6)(A) of Perkins III (20 U.S.C.

2324(c)(6)(A)).

(b) The Education Department

General Administrative Regulations

(EDGAR), as follows:

(1) 34 CFR Part 75 (Direct Grant

Programs).

(2) 34 CFR Part 77 (Definitions that

Apply to Department Regulations).

(3) 34 CFR Part 79 (Intergovernmental

Review of Department of Education

Programs and Activities).

(4) 34 CFR Part 80 (Uniform

Administrative Requirements for Grants

and Cooperative Agreements to State

and Local Governments).

(5) 34 CFR Part 81 (General Education

Provisions Act—Enforcement).

(6) 34 CFR Part 82 (New Restrictions

on Lobbying).

(7) 34 CFR Part 85 (Government-wide

Debarment and Suspension

(Nonprocurement) and Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free

Workplace (Grants)).

(8) 34 CFR Part 86 (Drug and Alcohol

Abuse Prevention).

(9) 34 CFR Part 97 (Protection of

Human Subjects).

(10) 34 CFR Part 98 (Student Rights In

Research, Experimental Programs and

Testing).

(11) 34 CFR Part 99 (Family

Educational Rights and Privacy).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Career Clusters Initiative began in

1996 as the Building Linkages Initiative

and was a collaborative effort between

the U.S. Department of Education, the

Office of Vocational and Adult

Education (OVAE), the National Schoolto-Work Office (NSTWO) and the

National Skill Standards Board (NSSB).

The purpose of the Initiative was to

establish linkages among State

educational agencies, secondary and

postsecondary educational institutions,

employers, industry groups, other

stakeholders and Federal agencies. The

goal was to create curricular frameworks

in broad career clusters, designed to

prepare students to transition

successfully from high school to

postsecondary education and

employment in a career area, or both.

Two Career Cluster projects (Health

Science and Manufacturing) have

completed their final year of

development. Arts/Audio Video

Technology and Communications,

Information Technology and the

Transportation/Distribution, and

Logistics projects were funded by

contract and began in the fall of 1999,

under authority of the Carl D. Perkins

Act of 1990 (Perkins II).

The Career Clusters Initiative

continues to evolve and expand based

on lessons learned from these earlier

efforts. The creation of curricular

models within the context of broad

career clusters ensures the alignment of

academic and technical instructional

strategies with the requirements of

postsecondary education and the

expectations of employers in

increasingly academic and

technologically demanding careers.

Education officials across the country

are continuously being challenged to

demonstrate that their students are

achieving high levels of academic and

technical competency. Curriculum

strategies, developed through the Career

Clusters Initiative, can increase student

achievement by providing a context in

which challenging math, science,

language arts and other academic

subjects can be made relevant to

students and to their postsecondary

education and career choices. Students

who, in addition to meeting State

academic requirements, can also meet

standards related to their Career Cluster

will be well prepared to transition to

postsecondary education, employment

in their career of choice, or both.

The vocational education field has

historically responded to the needs of

the national economy by preparing

individuals to enter jobs in demand.

Vocational education played a vital role

helping our nation transition from an

agricultural economy to an industrial

economy through education and

training. Today, schools are faced with

the new challenge of helping our nation

and its people transition from an

industrial economy to a ‘‘new

knowledge’’ economy. In response to

this challenge, OVAE recently adopted

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices 76525

16 Career Clusters that redefine the role

of vocational education. Organizing

schools around Career Clusters provides

an ideal mechanism for high school

reform efforts and establishes a structure

that promotes and sustains the

components of school-to-work.

Through the cooperative agreements

awarded under this Career Clusters

competition, the U.S. Department of

Education, in cooperation with the

National School-to-Work Office, will

facilitate the completion of the

remaining 11 Career Clusters. The

Secretary will fund these cooperative

agreements under authority of section

114(c)(6)(A) of Perkins III. Under this

provision, the Secretary is authorized to

carry out demonstration vocational and

technical education programs, to

replicate model vocational and

technical education programs, to

disseminate best practices information,

and to provide technical assistance

upon the request of a State, for the

purposes of developing, improving, and

identifying the most successful methods

and techniques for providing vocational

and technical education programs

assisted under Perkins III.

By awarding cooperative agreements

under section 114(c)(6)(A) of Perkins III,

the Secretary hopes to work more

closely with State consortia to assist

them in their development of vocational

education curricular frameworks. It is

the Secretary’s intent that the curricular

frameworks developed by States for the

eleven career areas listed in Appendix

A to this notice will serve to better meet

the academic and training needs of

students seeking postsecondary

education, or employment in one of

these career areas, or both.

The projects funded through these

cooperative agreements will be required

to use the established standards-based

Career Cluster framework (see

‘‘Required Activities’’) for Career

Clusters previously funded, as the

blueprint for development activities.

Required Activities

(a) Under this competition, for each

Career Cluster project, grantees must

carry out thirteen tasks which, when

completed, form the Career Cluster

Framework:

(1) Establish an Advisory Consortium

and an Executive Committee. The

appropriate selection of these partners is

crucial to ensure an end product that is

recognized by all stakeholders and of

value for States.

(2) Identify the education and

industry certificates, as well as

postsecondary degree options (including

entry-level through management/

professional career opportunities)

available to students and recognized by

employers.

(3) Organize or subdivide the

occupations, within each cluster, into

pathways or concentrations that group

the cluster occupations based on

commonalities.

(4) Identify existing and/or establish

broad career-cluster-related standards

with specific content standards for the

cluster, as well as for the pathways that

are State-recognized.

(5) Establish suggested curriculum

guidelines for cluster and pathway

content standards.

(6) Select a minimum of ten high

schools to pilot the established cluster

and pathway content standards.

(7) Conduct pilot testing of the cluster

and pathway content standards.

(8) Connect existing and/or develop

State assessment instruments agreed

upon by the States for cluster and

pathway content standards that are

recognized by both employers and

postsecondary education institutions.

(9) Establish a portable skill

certification program agreed upon by

the States that documents student

mastery of cluster and pathway content

standards that are recognized by

employers and postsecondary education

institutions.

(10) Conduct pilot testing of the

assessment instruments and portable

skill certificate processes at the selected

pilot sites.

(11) Develop rollout strategies for

implementing the completed cluster

project to other States and to territories.

(12) Establish a structure and

strategies for ensuring sustainability of

the Advisory Consortium and Executive

Committee after completion of the

Career Cluster project.

(13) Develop strategies for

professional development and teacher

preparation within the Career Cluster.

Priorities

Invitational Priorities

The Secretary is especially interested

in applications that meet the following

priorities:

Invitational Priority 1

Applications that propose to align

products and services to be provided

with the 11 industry-based career areas

identified in this notice and required as

the reporting framework for the new

student enrollment form which is part

of the Consolidated Annual Report

(CAR) required for basic grants under

Perkins III. (These career areas are

discussed in the supplementary

information section of this notice and

are defined in Appendix A to this

notice.)

Invitational Priority 2

Applications that propose to develop

products and services that assist State

and local users to achieve student

outcomes established by performance

measurement and accountability

systems under development by Federal

and State educational agencies,

vocational education agencies, and in

workforce development programs.

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), the

Secretary does not give an application

that meets these invitational priorities a

competitive or absolute preference over

other applications.

Selection Criteria

The Secretary uses the following

selection criteria to evaluate

applications for new cooperative

agreements under this competition. The

Secretary awards a total possible score

of 100 points. The maximum possible

score for each criterion is indicated in

parentheses.

(1) Advisory Consortium and

Executive Committee Experience and

Commitment (Maximum Total of 40

points).

(a) The application includes evidence

of commitment and support from the

proposed members of the Advisory

Consortium and Executive Committee

for the utilization of Career Clusters in

both education and employer settings.

(10 points)

(b) The application demonstrates

broad representation of consortium

partners from all levels of postsecondary

education, as well as employers and

industry groups and other relevant

stakeholders representing local, state

and national perspectives. (10 points)

(c) The application includes evidence

of consortium support from consortium

partners in the form of funding from

non-Federal sources and/or ‘‘in

kind’’contributions. (10 points)

(d) The application includes strategies

for sustainability of the Career Cluster

project after the initial development. (10

points)

(2) Technical Approach (Maximum 35

points).

(a) The applicant demonstrates a clear

understanding of the Career Clusters

Framework purpose and scope of the

project. (15 points)

(b) The applicant comprehensively

addresses all specified required

activities in the application, clearly

defining the activities to be undertaken

to accomplish each activity. (15 points)

(c) The proposed project is described

in a clear and comprehensive manner

that is appropriate to the required

program activities. The applicant

identifies design improvements and

76526 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

additional activities that may enhance

the proposed project and describes any

anticipated problems and recommends

solutions. (5 points)

(3) Management Plan (Maximum 15

points).

(a) The application includes a

description, in a clear and sequential

fashion, of the plan for managing the

project. The plan provides credible

evidence that the management of

personnel, physical resources, activities,

and work production will result in

orderly and timely completion of work

within the project performance period.

(10 points)

(b) The time commitments of the

Project Director and Executive

Committee are appropriate to the tasks

assigned. (5 points)

(4) Executive Committee (Maximum

10 points).

The Project Director and Executive

Committee possess clearly identified

and documented qualifications,

competencies, and experiences that are

appropriate for the tasks to be carried

out under this cooperative agreement.

Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs

This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

(Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs) and the regulations in 34 CFR

part 79.

One of the objectives of the Executive

order is to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened

federalism. The Executive order relies

on processes developed by State and

local governments for coordination and

review of proposed Federal financial

assistance.

If you are an applicant, you must

contact the appropriate State Single

Point of Contact (SPOC) to find out

about, and to comply with, the State’s

process under Executive Order 12372. If

you propose to perform activities in

more than one State, you should

immediately contact the SPOC for each

of those States and follow the

procedures established in each State

under the Executive order. If you want

to know the name and address of any

State Single Point of Contact (SPOC),

see the list published in the Federal

Register on April 28, 1999 (64 FR

22963), or you may view the latest

SPOC list on the web site of the Office

of Management and Budget at the

following address: http://

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants

In States that have not established a

process or chosen a program for review,

State, area-wide, regional, and local

entities may submit comments directly

to the Department.

Any State Process Recommendation

and other comments submitted by a

SPOC and any comments from State,

area-wide, regional, and local entities

must be mailed or hand-delivered by the

date indicated in this application notice

to the following address: The Secretary,

E.O. 12372–CFDA No: 84.051B, U.S.

Department of Education, Room 7E200,

400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20202–0125.

We will determine proof of mailing

under 34 CFR 75.102 (Deadline date for

applications). Recommendations or

comments may be hand-delivered until

4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time) on the

date indicated in this notice.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE

ADDRESS IS NOT THE SAME

ADDRESS AS THE ONE TO WHICH

THE APPLICANT SUBMITS ITS

COMPLETED APPLICATION. DO NOT

SEND APPLICATIONS TO THE ABOVE

ADDRESS.

Waiver of Rulemaking

Under the Administrative Procedure

Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department

generally offers interested parties the

opportunity to comment on proposed

regulations. However, in order to make

timely cooperative agreement awards in

FY 2001, the Secretary has decided to

issue this application notice with

program requirements and selection

criteria without first publishing the

notice for public comment. These

requirements and criteria will apply to

the FY 2001 cooperative agreement

competition. The Secretary takes this

action under authority of section

437(d)(1) of the General Education

Provisions Act (GEPA). Section

437(d)(1) of GEPA exempts from formal

rulemaking requirements, regulations

governing the first grant competition

under a new or substantially revised

program authority (20 U.S.C.

1232(d)(1)). The program authority for

Vocational Education National

Activities was substantially revised on

October 31, 1998 by Public Law 105–

332. Any requirements or criteria that

the Department establishes in future

years, will be published in proposed

form in the Federal Register with an

opportunity for interested parties to

comment.

Instructions for Transmitting

Applications

If you want to apply for a cooperative

agreement and be considered for

funding, you must meet the following

deadline requirements:

(a) If You Send Your Application by

Mail—

You must mail the original and two

copies of the application on or before

the deadline date to: U.S. Department of

Education, Application Control Center,

Attention: (CFDA No: 84.051B),

Washington, D.C. 20202–4725.

You must show one of the following

as proof of mailing:

(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.

If you mail an 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.

(b) If You Deliver Your Application by

Hand—

You must hand deliver the original

and two copies of the application by

4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time) on or

before the deadline to: U.S. Department

of Education, Application Control

Center, Attention: (CFDA No: 84.051B),

Room #3633, Regional Office Building

3, 7th and D Streets, SW., Washington,

DC 20202–4725.

The Application Control Center

accepts application deliveries daily

between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

(Washington, DC time), except

Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal

holidays. The Center accepts

application deliveries through the D

Street entrance only. A person

delivering an application must show

identification to enter the building.

(c) If You Submit Your Application by

Courier—You must deliver the original

and two copies of your application to

the courier service on or before the

deadline date. You must show as proof

of delivery to the courier service a dated

shipping label, invoice, or receipt from

the courier service.

The courier service must deliver your

application to: U.S. Department of

Education, Application Control Center,

Attention: (CFDA No: 84.051B), Room

#3633, Regional Office Building 3, 7th &

D Streets, S.W, Washington, DC 20202–

4725.

The Application Control Center

accepts application deliveries daily

between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

(Washington, DC time), except

Saturdays, Sundays and Federal

holidays. The Center accepts

application deliveries through the D

Street entrance only. A courier

delivering an application must show

identification to enter the building.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices 76527

Notes: (1) 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.

(2) If you send your application by mail or

deliver it by hand or by a courier service, the

Application Control Center will mail a

Cooperative Agreement Application Receipt

Acknowledgment to you. If you do not

receive the notification of application receipt

within 15 days from the date of mailing the

application, you should call the U.S.

Department of Education Application Control

Center at (202) 708–9494.

You must indicate on the envelope and—

if not provided by the Department—in Item

3 of the Application for Federal Education

Assistance (ED Form 424; revised January 12,

1999) the CFDA number—and suffix letter, if

any—of the competition under which you are

submitting your application.

Application Instructions and Forms

The Appendix to this notice contains

forms and instructions, a statement

regarding estimated public reporting

burden, a notice to applicants regarding

compliance with section 427 of the

General Education Provisions Act, and

various assurances and certifications.

Please organize the parts and additional

materials in the following order:

Application for Federal Education

Assistance (ED 424 (Rev. 1/12/99)) and

instructions.

Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED Form 524

and instructions.

Application Narrative.

Assurances—Non-Construction

Programs (Standard Form 424B) (Rev.

7–97)

Certifications regarding Lobbying;

Debarment, Suspension, and Other

Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements (ED 80–0013,

12/98) and instructions.

Certification regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion: Lower Tier Covered

Transactions (ED 80–0014, 9/90) and

instructions. (NOTE: ED 80–0014 is

intended for the use of grantees and

should not be transmitted to the

Department.)

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

(Standard Form LLL (Rev. 7/97)) (if

applicable) and instructions.

You may submit information on a

photocopy of the application and budget

forms, the assurances, and the

certifications. However, the application

form, the assurances, and the

certifications must each have an original

signature. We will not award a

cooperative agreement unless we have

received a completed application form.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Scott Hess, Division of VocationalTechnical Education, Office of

Vocational and Adult Education, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW. (Room 4329, Mary E.

Switzer Building), Washington, DC

20202–7241. Telephone (202) 205–9422.

If you are using a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.

Electronic Access to This Department

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register, in text or Adobe portable

document format (PDF) on the Internet

at either of the following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use PDF you must have Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at either of the previous sites. 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/

index.html

Additionally, this notice, as well as other

documents concerning the implementation of

the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical

Education Act of 1998, is available on the

World Wide Web at the following site: http:/

/www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/VocEd/

InfoBoard/legis.html

Dated: November 30, 2000.

Robert Muller,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of

Vocational and Adult Education.

Appendix A—Eleven Career Areas

Definitions

(a) Agriculture and Natural Resources,

comprised of courses and/or programs

related to planning, managing and

performing agricultural production and

horticulture and landscaping services and

related professional and technical services,

mining and extraction operations, and

managing and conserving natural resources

and related environmental services;

(b) Architecture and Construction,

comprised of courses and/or programs

relating to designing, planning, managing,

building, and maintaining physical structures

and the larger building environment

including roadways and bridges and

industrial, commercial and residential

facilities and buildings;

(c) Wholesale/Retail Sales and Services,

comprised of courses and/or programs

related to planning, managing and

performing wholesaling and retailing services

and related marketing and distribution

support services including merchandise/

product management and promotion;

(d) Finance, comprised of courses and/or

programs related to planning, managing and

providing banking, investment, financial

planning, and insurance services;

(e) Hospitality and Tourism, comprised of

courses and/or programs related to

hospitality and tourism and to planning,

managing and providing lodging, food,

recreation, convention and tourism, and

related planning and support services such as

travel-related services;

(f) Business and Administration,

comprised of courses and/or programs

related to planning, managing, and providing

administrative support, information

processing, accounting, and human resource

management services and related

management support services;

(g) Human Services, comprised of courses

and/or programs related to planning,

managing, and providing human services

including social and related community

services;

(h) Law and Public Safety, comprised of

courses and/or programs related to planning,

managing and providing judicial, legal, and

protective services, including professional

and technical support services in the fire

protection and criminal justice systems;

(i) Scientific Research and Engineering,

comprised of courses and/or programs

related to planning, managing, and providing

scientific research and professional and

technical services (e.g., physical science,

social science, engineering), including

laboratory and testing services, and research

and development services;

(j) Education and Training, comprised of

courses and/or programs related to planning,

managing and providing education and

training services, and related learning

support services, including assessment and

library and information services; and

(k) Government and Public Administration,

comprised of courses and/or programs

related to planning, managing and providing

government, legislative, administrative and

regulatory services and related general

purpose government services at the Federal,

State and local levels.

Instructions for Part II—Budget Information

Sections A and B—Budget Summary by

Categories

1. Personnel: Show salaries to be paid to

personnel for each budget year.

2. Fringe Benefits: Indicate the rate and

amount of fringe benefits for each budget

year.

3. Travel: Indicate the amount requested

for both local and out of State travel of

Project Staff for each budget year. Include

funds for at least two trips per year for two

people to attend the Project Directors’

Workshop.

4. Equipment: Indicate the cost of nonexpendable personal property that has a cost

of $5,000 or more per unit for each budget

year.

5. Supplies: Include the cost of consumable

supplies and materials to be used during the

project period for each budget year.

6. Contractual: Show the amount to be

used for: (1) Procurement contracts (except

those which belong on other lines such as

supplies and equipment); and (2)

subcontracts for each budget year.

76528 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

7. Construction: Not Applicable

8. Other: Indicate all direct costs not

clearly covered by lines 1 through 6 above,

including consultants and capital

expenditures for each budget year.

9. Total Direct Cost: Show the total for

Lines 1 through 8 for each budget year.

10. Indirect Costs: Indicate the rate and

amount of indirect costs for each budget year.

11. Training/stipend Cost: Not applicable.

This item pertains only to student and

institutional allowances.

12. Total Costs: Show total for lines 9

through 11 for each budget year.

Part III: Budget Narrative

Instructions for Part III—Budget Narrative

The budget narrative should explain,

justify, and, if needed, clarify your budget

summary. For each line item (personnel,

fringe benefits, travel, etc.) in your budget,

explain why it is there and how you

computed the costs.

Please limit this section to no more than

five pages. Be sure that each page of your

application is numbered consecutively.

Part IV: Program Narrative

Instructions for Part IV—Program Narrative

The program narrative will comprise the

largest portion of your application. This part

is where you spell out the who, what, when,

why, and how, of your proposed project.

Although you will not have a form to fill

out for your narrative, there is a format. This

format is based on the selection criteria.

Because your application will be reviewed

and rated by a review panel on the basis of

the selection criteria, your narrative should

follow the order and format of the criteria.

Before preparing your application, you

should carefully read the legislation and

EDGAR regulations governing this program,

eligibility requirements, priorities, and the

selection criteria for this process.

Your program narrative should be clear,

concise, and to the point. Begin the narrative

with a one page abstract or summary of your

project. Then describe the project in detail,

addressing each selection criterion in order.

The Secretary strongly suggests that you

limit the program narrative to no more than

30 double-spaced, typed pages (on one side

only), although the Secretary will consider

your application if it is longer. Be sure to

number consecutively ALL pages in your

application.

You may include supporting

documentation as appendices to the program

narrative. Be sure that this material is concise

and pertinent to this program.

You are advised that—

(a) The Secretary considers only

information contained in the application in

ranking applications for funding

consideration. Letters of support sent

separately from the formal application

package are not considered in the review by

the technical review panels. (34 CFR 75.217)

(b) The technical review panel evaluates

each application solely on the basis of the

selection criteria contained in this notice.

(c) Letters of support included as

appendices to an application, that are of

direct relevance to or contain commitments

that pertain to the established selection

criteria, such as commitment of resources,

will be reviewed by the panel. As noted

above in paragraph (a), letters of support sent

separately from the formal application

package are not considered in the review by

the technical review panel. (34 CFR 75.217)

(2) An applicant that proposes to develop

instructional materials for classroom use

might describe how it will make the

materials available on audio tape or in Braille

for students who are blind.

(3) An applicant that proposes to carry out

a model science program for secondary

students and is concerned that girls may be

less likely than boys to enroll in the course,

might indicate how it tends to conduct

‘‘outreach’’ efforts to girls, to encourage their

enrollment.

We recognize that many applicants may

already be implementing effective steps to

ensure equity of access and participation in

their grant programs, and we appreciate your

cooperation in responding to the

requirements of this provision.

Estimated Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, no persons are required to respond

to a collection of information unless it

displays a valid OMB control number. The

valid OMB control number for this

information collection is 1830–0546.

(Expiration date: 11–30–2003). The time

required to complete this information

collection is estimated to average 40 hours

per response, including the time to review

instructions, search existing data resources,

gather the data needed, and complete and

review the information collection.

If you have any comments concerning the

accuracy of the time estimate(s) or

suggestions for improving this grant

application, please write to: U.S. Department

of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202–4651.

If you have comments or concerns

regarding the status of your individual

submission of this grant application, write

directly to: Mr. Scott Hess, Division of

Vocational and Technical Education, Office

of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, S.W. (Room 4329, Mary E. Switzer

Building), Washington D.C. 20202–7242.

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76538 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

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76540 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

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76542 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 6, 2000 / Notices

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[FR Doc. 00–31034 Filed 12–5–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–C