81484 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 / Notices 

(SKL); crypto cable; training aids; 

technical data; U.S. Government 

technical assistance; transportation; 

Excalibur spare parts; artillery 

cleaning sections; new equipment 

training; repair and return support 

equipment; support related to 

collateral damage estimation tables; 

and other related elements of 

logistics and program support. 

(iv) Military Department: Army (SP– 

B–WAT) 

(v) Prior Related Cases, if any: None 

(vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, 

Offered, or Agreed to be Paid: None 

(vii) Sensitivity of Technology 

Contained in the Defense Article or 

Defense Services Proposed to be Sold: 

See Attached Annex 

(viii) Date Report Delivered to 

Congress: June 14, 2023 

* As defined in Section 47(6) of the 

Arms Export Control Act. 

POLICY JUSTIFICATION 

Spain—Excalibur Projectiles 

The Government of Spain has 

requested to buy an additional one 

hundred fifty-three (153) M982A1 

Excalibur tactical projectiles that will be 

added to a previously implemented case 

whose value was under the 

congressional notification threshold. 

The original FMS case, valued at $21.87 

million, included one hundred eighteen 

(118) M982A1 Excalibur tactical 

projectiles. This notification is for a 

combined total of two hundred seventyone (271) M982A1 Excalibur tactical 

projectiles. Also included is a portable 

electronic Fire Control System (FCS); 

Improved Platform Integration Kit; 

Propelling Charge Modular Artillery 

Charge System; Simple Key Loaders 

(SKL); crypto cable; training aids; 

technical data; U.S. Government 

technical assistance; transportation; 

Excalibur spare parts; artillery cleaning 

sections; new equipment training; repair 

and return support equipment; support 

related to collateral damage estimation 

tables; and other related elements of 

logistics and program support. The total 

estimated cost is $48.2 million. 

This proposed sale will support the 

foreign policy and national security of 

the United States by improving the 

security of a NATO ally which is an 

important force for political stability 

and economic progress in Europe. 

The proposed sale will improve 

Spain’s capability to meet current and 

future threats and will enhance 

interoperability with U.S. forces and 

other allied forces. The enhanced 

capability will also strengthen its 

homeland defense. Spain will have no 

difficulty absorbing this equipment into 

its armed forces. 

The proposed sale of this equipment 

and support will not alter the basic 

military balance in the region. 

The principal contractor will be 

Raytheon Company Missile Systems, 

McAlester, OK. There are no known 

offset agreements proposed in 

connection with this potential sale. 

Implementation of this sale will not 

require the assignment of any U.S. 

Government or contractor 

representatives to Spain. 

There will be no adverse impact on 

U.S. defense readiness because of this 

proposed sale. 

Transmittal No. 23–36 

Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of 

Offer Pursuant to Section 36(b)(1) of the 

Arms Export Control Act 

Annex 

Item No. vii 

(vii) Sensitivity of Technology: 

1. The M982A1 Excalibur 155 mm, 

High Explosive Projectile is an all-up 

projectile with Global Positioning 

System (GPS)-aided precision guidance 

capability. The Excalibur provides the 

ability to accurately engage targets at 

distances up to 25 miles. Excalibur is 

commonly fired from U.S. Army and 

Marine Corps towed and self-propelled 

howitzer systems, including the M777 

and M109. 

2. The highest level of classification of 

defense articles, components, and 

services included in this potential sale 

is SECRET. 

3. If a technologically advanced 

adversary were to obtain knowledge of 

the specific hardware and software 

elements, the information could be used 

to develop countermeasures that might 

reduce weapon system effectiveness or 

be used in the development of a system 

with similar or advanced capabilities. 

4. A determination has been made 

that Spain can provide substantially the 

same degree of protection for the 

sensitive technology being released as 

the U.S. Government. This sale is 

necessary in furtherance of the U.S. 

foreign policy and national security 

objectives outlined in the Policy 

Justification. 

5. All defense articles and services 

listed in this transmittal have been 

authorized for release and export to the 

Government of Spain. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23180 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

Personnel Development To Improve 

Services and Results for Children With 

Disabilities—Personnel Preparation of 

Special Education, Early Intervention, 

and Related Services Personnel at 

Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Tribally Controlled 

Colleges and Universities, and Other 

Minority Serving Institutions 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

(Department) is issuing a notice inviting 

applications for new awards for fiscal 

year (FY) 2025 for Personnel 

Development to Improve Services and 

Results for Children with Disabilities— 

Personnel Preparation of Special 

Education, Early Intervention, and 

Related Services Personnel at 

Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Tribally Controlled 

Colleges and Universities, and Other 

Minority Serving Institutions. 

DATES: 

Applications Available: October 8, 

2024. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: December 12, 2024. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: February 5, 2025. 

Pre-Application Webinar Information: 

No later than October 15, 2024, the 

Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services will post details 

on pre-recorded informational webinars 

designed to provide technical assistance 

to interested applicants. Links to the 

webinars may be found at www.ed.gov/ 

about/ed-offices/osers/osep/new-osepgrant-competitions. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tracie Dickson, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

Room 4A10, Washington, DC 20202. 

Telephone: 202–245–7844. Email: 

Tracie.Dickson@ed.gov. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability and wish to 


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1For purposes of this priority, ‘‘Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities’’ means colleges and 

universities that meet the criteria in 34 CFR 608.2. 

2For purposes of this priority, ‘‘Tribally 

Controlled Colleges and Universities’’ has the 

meaning ascribed to it in section 316(b)(3) of the 

Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). 

3For purposes of this priority, ‘‘Minority-Serving 

Institution’’ means an institution that is eligible to 

receive assistance under sections 316 through 320 

of part A of title III, under part B of title III, or under 

Continued 

access telecommunications relay 

services, please dial 7–1–1. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purposes of 

this program are to (1) help address 

State-identified needs for personnel 

preparation in special education, early 

intervention, related services, and 

regular education to work with children, 

including infants, toddlers, and youth 

with disabilities; and (2) ensure that 

those personnel have the necessary 

skills and knowledge, derived from 

practices that have been determined 

through scientifically based research, to 

be successful in serving those children. 

Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 

84.325M. 

OMB Control Number: 1820–0028. 

Priorities: This competition includes 

one absolute priority and two 

competitive preference priorities. In 

accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), 

the absolute priority is from allowable 

activities specified in the statute (see 

sections 662 and 681 of the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 

(20 U.S.C. 1462 and 1481)). Competitive 

Preference Priority 1 is from the 

Administrative Priorities for 

Discretionary Grants Programs 

published in the Federal Register on 

March 9, 2020 (85 FR 13640) 

(Administrative Priorities), and 

Competitive Preference Priority 2 is 

from the Secretary’s Supplemental 

Priorities and Definitions for 

Discretionary Grants Programs 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 10, 2021 (86 FR 70612) 

(Supplemental Priorities). 

Absolute Priority: For FY 2025 and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition, this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 

CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only 

applications that meet this priority. 

This priority is: 

Personnel Preparation of Special 

Education, Early Intervention, and 

Related Services Personnel at 

Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Tribally Controlled 

Colleges and Universities, and Minority 

Serving Institutions. 

Background: 

The purpose of this priority is to 

prepare scholars who are fully 

credentialed to serve children, 

including infants, toddlers, and youth, 

with disabilities (children with 

disabilities). The Department is 

committed to promoting equity for 

children with disabilities in accessing 

educational resources and 

opportunities. The Department also 

places a high priority on increasing the 

number of personnel, including 

increasing personnel from racially and 

ethnically diverse backgrounds and 

personnel who are multilingual, who 

provide services to children with 

disabilities. Further, the Department 

seeks to fund applications from new 

potential grantees that prepare special 

education, early intervention, and 

related services leadership personnel. 

To support these goals, under this 

absolute priority, the Department will 

fund projects within Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), 

Tribally Controlled Colleges and 

Universities (TCCUs), and Minority 

Serving Institutions (MSIs) that prepare 

special education, early intervention, 

and related services personnel at the 

bachelor’s degree, certification, master’s 

degree, educational specialist degree, or 

clinical doctoral degree levels to serve 

in a variety of settings, including natural 

environments (the home and 

community settings in which children 

with and without disabilities 

participate), early learning programs, 

child care, classrooms, and schools. 

Over time, the population of children 

receiving services under the IDEA is 

increasingly racially and ethnically 

diverse. In 2021, of those receiving 

services under IDEA, approximately 50 

percent of infants and toddlers with 

disabilities, ages birth through two, 

were children of color; approximately 

49 percent of preschool children with 

disabilities, ages three through five (not 

in kindergarten), were from racially and 

ethnically diverse backgrounds; while 

approximately 54 percent of students 

with disabilities, ages five (in 

kindergarten) through 21, were from 

racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds (U.S. Department of 

Education, 2022a). 

While children of color make up 

approximately 54 percent of public 

school enrollment (National Center for 

Education Statistics, 2022) and greater 

than 50 percent of children receiving 

early intervention and special education 

services, results from the 2020–2021 

National Teacher and Principal Survey 

(U.S. Department of Education, 2022b) 

show that about 80 percent of all public 

K–12 school teachers were nonHispanic White. 

Moreover, the demographics of 

personnel entering the early 

intervention and special education 

fields are not aligned with the 

demographics of the children and 

families served under IDEA, though 

IDEA specifically authorizes grants to 

recruit and prepare personnel, 

especially from groups that are 

underrepresented in the teaching 

profession. The Department’s Office of 

Special Education Programs (OSEP) 

Personnel Development Program Data 

Collection System data reveal that the 

race/ethnicity of scholars obtaining a 

graduate degree to serve children with 

disabilities in FY 2020 was 65.8 percent 

White, 14.5 percent Hispanic, 11.5 

percent Black, 3.9 percent Asian, 0.7 

percent American Indian or Alaska 

Native, 1.4 percent Native Hawaiian or 

Other Pacific Islander, and 2.2 percent 

Two or More Races. 

The data demonstrate that there is 

insufficient ethnic and racial diversity 

among special education, early 

intervention, and related service 

personnel (Ondrasek et al., 2020; 

Carver-Thomas, 2018; Sutcher et al., 

2016). This lack of diversity is of 

concern, as research indicates that 

increasing the racial, ethnic, and 

linguistic diversity of personnel can 

have positive impacts on all children. 

Children of color and children who are 

multilingual, with and without 

disabilities, demonstrate improved 

academic achievement and behavioral 

and social and emotional development 

when they are taught by teachers who 

are from racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds and multilingual teachers 

(Bryan, 2021; Carver-Thomas, 2018, 

April). States and policymakers are also 

highlighting the need to address the lack 

of racial and ethnic diversity of those 

working in early intervention and 

special education and are recognizing 

the need to develop career pathways 

and comprehensive strategies to recruit, 

prepare, develop, and retain educators 

from racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds (Carver-Thomas, 2018; 

Colorado Department of Higher 

Education, 2022; Gardner et al., 2019). 

Priority: 

The purpose of this priority is to 

prepare and increase the number of 

personnel, including personnel from 

racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds and personnel who are 

multilingual, who are fully credentialed 

to serve children with disabilities. 

Under this absolute priority, the 

Department will fund grantees from 

HBCUs,1 TCCUs,2 and other MSIs 3 that 


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title V of the HEA. For purposes of this priority, the 

Department will use the FY 2024 Eligibility Matrix 

to determine MSI eligibility (see www.ed.gov/ 

grants-and-programs/grants-higher-education/ 

eligibility-designations-higher-education-programs). 

4For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘scholar’’ is 

limited to an individual who: (a) is pursuing a 

bachelor’s, certification, master’s, educational 

specialist degree, or clinical doctoral degree in 

special education, early intervention, or related 

services (as defined in this notice); (b) receives 

scholarship assistance as authorized under section 

662 of IDEA (34 CFR 304.3(g)); (c) will be eligible 

for a license, endorsement, or certification from a 

State or national credentialing authority following 

completion of the degree program identified in the 

application; and (d) will be able to be employed in 

a position that serves children with disabilities for 

a minimum of 51 percent of their time or case load. 

Individuals pursuing degrees in general education 

or early childhood education do not qualify as 

‘‘scholars’’ eligible for scholarship assistance. 

5For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘related 

services’’ includes the following: speech-language 

pathology and audiology services; assistive 

technology services; interpreting services; 

intervener services; psychological services; applied 

behavior analysis; physical therapy and 

occupational therapy; recreation, including 

therapeutic recreation; artistic and cultural services, 

including music, art, dance and movement therapy; 

social work services; counseling services, including 

rehabilitation counseling; and orientation and 

mobility services. 

6For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘certification’’ 

refers to programs of study for individuals with 

bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, or 

clinical doctoral degrees that lead to licensure, 

endorsement, or certification from a State or 

national credentialing authority following 

completion of the degree program that qualifies 

graduates to teach or provide services to children 

with disabilities. Programs of study that lead to a 

certificate of completion awarded from an HBCU, 

TCCU, or MSI, but do not lead to licensure, 

endorsement, or certification from a State or 

national credentialing authority, do not qualify. 

7For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘evidencebased’’ means, at a minimum, evidence that 

demonstrates a rationale (as defined in 34 CFR 

77.1), where a key project component (as defined 

in 34 CFR 77.1) included in the project’s logic 

model (as defined in 34 CFR 77.1) is informed by 

research or evaluation findings that suggest the 

project component is likely to improve relevant 

outcomes (as defined in 34 CFR 77.1). 

prepare scholars 4 in special education, 

early intervention, and related services 5

at the bachelor’s degree, certification,6

master’s degree, educational specialist 

degree, or clinical doctoral degree levels 

to serve in a variety of settings, 

including natural environments (the 

home and community settings in which 

children with and without disabilities 

participate), early learning programs, 

child care, classrooms, and schools. 

This priority will provide support to 

help address identified needs for 

personnel, including personnel from 

racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds and personnel who are 

multilingual, with the knowledge and 

skills to promote high expectations and 

provide effective evidence-based 7

interventions and services that improve 

outcomes for children with disabilities, 

including children of color with 

disabilities and children with 

disabilities who are multilingual. 

Note: Projects may include 

individuals who are not funded as 

scholars, but are in degree programs 

(e.g., general education, early childhood 

education, administration) that are 

cooperating with the grantee’s project. 

These individuals may participate in the 

coursework, assignments, field or 

clinical experiences, and other 

opportunities required by the scholars’ 

program of study (e.g., speaker series, 

monthly seminars) if doing so does not 

diminish the benefit for project-funded 

scholars (e.g., by reducing funds 

available for scholar support or limiting 

opportunities for scholars to participate 

in project activities). 

Note: Personnel preparation degree 

programs that prepare all scholars to be 

dually certified can qualify under this 

priority. 

Note: Applicants under this priority 

may not submit the same proposal 

under Preparation of Early Intervention 

and Special Education Personnel 

Serving Children with Disabilities who 

have High-Intensity Needs, ALN 

84.325K. Applicants may submit 

substantively different proposals under 

ALN 84.325M and ALN 84.325K. OSEP 

will not fund similar personnel 

preparation projects within the same 

IHE across ALN 84.325K and ALN 

84.325M competitions. 

Note: Eligible applicants may submit 

only one application under this 

competition. 

Focus Areas: 

Within this absolute priority, the 

Secretary intends to support projects 

under the following two focus areas: (A) 

Preparing Personnel to Serve Infants, 

Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children 

with Disabilities; and (B) Preparing 

Personnel to Serve School-Age Children 

with Disabilities. 

In this competition, Focus Areas (A) 

and (B) each constitute a separate 

funding category. The Secretary intends 

to award grants under each of these 

funding categories, provided that 

applications submitted are of sufficient 

quality. 

Applicants must identify the specific 

focus area (i.e., A or B) under which 

they are applying as part of the 

competition title on the application 

cover sheet (SF 424, line 12). 

Focus Area A: Preparing Personnel to 

Serve Infants, Toddlers, and PreschoolAge Children with Disabilities. This 

focus area is for projects that prepare 

early intervention, early childhood 

special education, and related services 

personnel, including scholars from 

racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds and scholars who are 

multilingual, to provide services to 

infants, toddlers, and preschool 

children with disabilities. Programs 

preparing early intervention special 

educators and early childhood special 

educators must prepare graduates to 

meet State and national professional 

organization standards for early 

intervention special educators and early 

childhood special educators such as the 

Division of Early Childhood Initial 

Practice-Based Professional Preparation 

Standards for Early Intervention/Early 

Childhood Special Education (Division 

for Early Childhood, 2020). In States 

where certification in early intervention 

is combined with certification in early 

childhood special education, applicants 

may propose a combined early 

intervention and early childhood 

special education personnel preparation 

project under this focus area. In States 

where the certification age range is other 

than birth through five, applicants must 

propose a preparation project that 

complies with the State’s certification 

requirements for early intervention and 

early childhood special education 

personnel. Programs that prepare 

general early childhood educators are 

not eligible under this competition 

regardless of whether a degree in early 

childhood education complies with the 

State’s certification requirements for 

early intervention special educators or 

early childhood special educators. 

Focus Area B: Preparing Personnel to 

Serve School-Age Children with 

Disabilities. This focus area is for 

projects that prepare special education 

and related services personnel, 

including personnel from racially and 

ethnically diverse backgrounds and 

personnel who are multilingual, to work 

with school-age children with 

disabilities. 

Focus Areas A and B: 

Applicants may, but are not required 

to, use up to the first 12 months of the 

project period and up to $100,000 

awarded in the first budget period for 

planning, including enhancing an 

existing program, without enrolling 

scholars. If an applicant chooses to use 

the first year for program planning, then 

the applicant must provide sufficient 

justification for requesting program 

planning time and include the goals, 

objectives, key personnel and 

collaborators, and intended outcomes of 

program planning in year one, a 

description of the proposed strategies 

and activities to be supported, and a 

timeline for the work. The proposed 

strategies may include activities such 

as— 

(1) Updating coursework, course 

outcomes, scholar competencies, 

assignments, or extensive and 


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8For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘high-need 

LEA’’ means an LEA (a) that serves not fewer than 

10,000 children from families with incomes below 

the poverty line; or (b) for which not less than 20 

percent of the children are from families with 

incomes below the poverty line. 

9For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘high-poverty 

school’’ means a school in which at least 50 percent 

of students are from low-income families as 

determined using one of the measures of poverty 

specified in section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended 

(ESEA). For middle and high schools, eligibility 

may be calculated on the basis of comparable data 

from feeder schools. Eligibility as a high-poverty 

school under this definition is determined on the 

basis of the most currently available data. 

10For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘school 

implementing a comprehensive support and 

improvement plan’’ means a school identified for 

comprehensive support and improvement by a State 

under section 1111(c)(4)(D) of the ESEA that 

includes (a) not less than the lowest performing 5 

percent of all schools in the State receiving funds 

under title I, part A of the ESEA; (b) all public high 

schools in the State failing to graduate one third or 

more of their students; and (c) public schools in the 

State described in section 1111(d)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the 

ESEA. 

11For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘school 

implementing a targeted support and improvement 

plan’’ means a school identified for targeted support 

and improvement by a State that has developed and 

is implementing a school-level targeted support and 

improvement plan to improve student outcomes 

based on the indicators in the statewide 

accountability system as defined in section 

1111(d)(2) of the ESEA. 

12For the purposes of this priority, 

‘‘competencies’’ means what a person knows and 

can do—the knowledge, skills, and dispositions 

necessary to effectively function in a role (National 

Professional Development Center on Inclusion, 

2011). 

coordinated field or clinical experiences 

needed to support preparation for 

special education, early intervention, or 

related services scholars, including 

scholars from racially and ethnically 

diverse backgrounds, scholars who are 

multilingual, and scholars with 

disabilities serving children with 

disabilities, including children of color 

with disabilities and children with 

disabilities who are multilingual; 

(2) Building the capacity (e.g., hiring 

a field supervisor, providing 

professional development for faculty 

and field supervisors) of the project to 

prepare scholars, including scholars 

from racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds, scholars who are 

multilingual, and scholars with 

disabilities, to serve children with 

disabilities and their families, including 

children and families of color and who 

are multilingual; 

(3) Purchasing needed resources (e.g., 

additional teaching supplies, 

technology-based resources, or other 

specialized equipment to enhance 

instruction); or 

(4) Establishing relationships, which 

may include developing memorandums 

of understandings or other formal 

agreements, with early intervention and 

early childhood programs or schools, to 

serve as sites for field or clinical 

experiences needed to support the 

project. These sites may include highneed local educational agencies (LEAs),8

high-poverty schools,9 schools 

identified for comprehensive support 

and improvement,10 and schools 

implementing a targeted support and 

improvement plan 11 for children with 

disabilities; early childhood and early 

intervention programs located within 

the geographic boundaries of a highneed LEA; and early childhood and 

early intervention programs located 

within the geographical boundaries of 

an LEA serving the highest percentage 

of schools identified for comprehensive 

support and improvement or 

implementing targeted support and 

improvement plans in the State. 

In addition to requesting up to 

$100,000 for planning, additional 

Federal funds may also be requested for 

scholar support and other grant 

activities occurring in year one of the 

project. 

Note: Applicants proposing projects 

to develop, expand, or add a new area 

of emphasis within the curriculum of 

early intervention, special education, or 

related services programs must provide, 

in their applications, information on 

how these new areas will be sustained 

once Federal funding ends. 

Note: Project periods under this 

priority may be up to 60 months. 

Projects should be designed to ensure 

that all proposed scholars successfully 

complete the program within 60 months 

from the start of the project. The 

Secretary may reduce continuation 

awards for any project in which scholar 

recruitment is not on track or scholars 

are not on track to complete the program 

by the end of the 60 months. 

To be considered for funding under 

this absolute priority, applicants must 

meet the application requirements 

contained in the priority. All projects 

funded under this absolute priority also 

must meet the programmatic and 

administrative requirements specified in 

the priority. 

To meet the requirements of this 

priority, an applicant must— 

(a) Demonstrate, in the narrative 

section of the application under 

‘‘Significance’’ how— 

(1) The proposed project will address 

the need in the proposed preparation 

focus area to increase the number of 

personnel, including increasing the 

number from racially and ethnically 

diverse backgrounds, the number of 

personnel who are multilingual, and the 

number of personnel with disabilities, 

who are prepared to provide effective 

and equitable, evidence-based, and 

culturally and linguistically responsive 

instruction, interventions, and services 

that improve outcomes, including 

literacy and math outcomes, for 

children with disabilities; 

(2) The proposed project will increase 

the number of personnel with 

competencies 12 in the proposed 

preparation focus area to provide 

effective and equitable, evidence-based, 

and culturally and linguistically 

responsive instruction, interventions, 

and services, including through distance 

education, that improve outcomes, 

including literacy and math outcomes, 

for children with disabilities, including 

children of color with disabilities and 

children with disabilities who are 

multilingual; and 

(3) The applicant has successfully 

graduated students from its program, 

including students who are from 

racially and ethnically diverse 

backgrounds, students who are 

multilingual, and students with 

disabilities, by including data 

disaggregated by race, national origin 

and primary language(s), and disability 

status; and the number of students who 

have graduated in the last five years. 

(b) Demonstrate, in the narrative 

section of the application under 

‘‘Quality of project services,’’ how— 

(1) The project will conduct its 

planning activities if the applicant 

elects to use up to the first 12 months 

of the project period and up to $100,000 

awarded in the first budget period for 

planning; 

(2) The project will recruit and retain 

scholars to participate in the project. To 

meet this requirement, the applicant 

must describe— 

(i) The selection criteria the project 

will use to identify program applicants 

for admission into the program; 

(ii) The specific recruitment strategies 

the project will use to attract a diverse 

pool of applicants, including from 

groups that are underrepresented in the 

field, including applicants from racially 

and ethnically diverse backgrounds, 

applicants who are multilingual, and 

applicants with disabilities; and 

Note: Applicants should engage in 

focused outreach and recruitment to 

increase the number of applicants from 

groups that are traditionally 

underrepresented in the field, including 

applicants from racially and ethnically 

diverse backgrounds, applicants who 

are multilingual, and applicants with 

disabilities, but the selection criteria the 

applicant intends to use must ensure 

equal access and treatment of all 

applicants seeking admission to the 


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program, and must be consistent with 

applicable law, including Federal civil 

rights laws. 

(iii) The approach that will be used to 

mentor and support all scholars, 

including any specific approaches to 

supporting scholars from groups that are 

underrepresented in the field, including 

scholars from racially and ethnically 

diverse backgrounds, scholars who are 

multilingual, and scholars with 

disabilities, with the goal of helping 

them complete the program within the 

project period and preparing them for 

careers in special education, early 

intervention, or related services; 

(3) The project will promote the 

acquisition of competencies needed by 

special education, early intervention, or 

related services personnel in the 

project’s proposed preparation focus 

area to provide effective and equitable, 

evidence-based, and culturally and 

linguistically responsive instruction, 

interventions, and services that improve 

outcomes, including literacy and math 

outcomes, for children with disabilities, 

including children of color with 

disabilities and children with 

disabilities who are multilingual. To 

address this requirement, the applicant 

must— 

(i) Describe how the proposed 

components, such as coursework; field 

or clinical experiences in early 

intervention, early childhood, or school 

settings; work-based experiences; or 

other opportunities provided to 

scholars, and sequence of the 

components will enable the scholars to 

acquire the competencies needed by 

applicable personnel to serve children 

with disabilities, including children of 

color and children who are multilingual 

in a school or early intervention setting; 

(ii) Describe how the proposed project 

will reflect current evidence-based 

practices (EBPs) to prepare scholars to 

provide effective and equitable, 

evidence-based, and culturally and 

linguistically responsive instruction, 

interventions, and services that improve 

outcomes for children with disabilities, 

including literacy and math outcomes, 

including children of color and children 

who are multilingual, in a variety of 

early childhood and early intervention 

settings or educational settings; 

(iii) Describe the pedagogical 

practices that will be used to ensure that 

the program is inclusive regarding race, 

ethnicity, culture, language, and 

disability status so that scholars are 

prepared to create inclusive, supportive, 

equitable, unbiased, and identity-safe 

learning environments for children with 

disabilities; and 

(iv) Describe how the project will 

engage various partners, including 

families of color, families who are 

multilingual, and parents with 

disabilities; public or private agencies, 

schools, or programs, including those 

that serve racially and ethnically diverse 

populations, multilingual populations, 

and children with disabilities; and 

centers or organizations that provide 

services to children with disabilities, 

including children of color with 

disabilities and children with 

disabilities who are multilingual, to 

inform and support project components. 

(c) Demonstrate, in the narrative 

section of the application under 

‘‘Quality of the project personnel and 

management plan,’’ how— 

(1) The project director and other key 

project personnel are qualified to 

prepare scholars in the project’s 

preparation focus area; 

(2) The project director and other key 

project personnel will manage the 

components of the project; and 

(3) The time commitments of the 

project director and other key project 

personnel are adequate to meet the 

objectives of the proposed project. 

(d) Demonstrate, in the narrative 

section of the application under 

‘‘Adequacy of resources,’’ how— 

(1) Information regarding the types of 

accommodations and resources 

available to fully support scholars’ wellbeing and a work-life balance (e.g., 

university and community mental 

health supports, counseling services, 

health resources, housing resources, 

child care) will be disseminated and 

how the project will support scholars to 

access those accommodations and 

resources on a timely basis, if needed, 

while the scholar is in the program; 

(2) The types of accommodations and 

resources provided to support scholars’ 

well-being and a work-life balance will 

be individualized based on scholars’ 

cultural, academic, social and 

emotional, and disability-related needs 

with the goals of supporting them to 

complete the program; and 

(3) The budget is adequate for meeting 

the project objectives and mitigating 

financial burden to scholars in 

completing the program of study. 

Note: Scholar support does not need 

to be uniform for all scholars and 

should be customized for individual 

scholars based on scholars’ financial 

needs, including consideration of all 

costs associated with the cost of 

attendance, even if that means enrolling 

fewer scholars. Scholar support can 

include support for cost of attendance 

(e.g., tuition and fees; university student 

health insurance; an allowance for 

books, materials, and supplies; an 

allowance for miscellaneous personal 

expenses; an allowance for dependent 

care, such as child care; an allowance 

for transportation; and an allowance for 

room and board), travel in conjunction 

with training assignments, including 

conference registration, and stipends to 

support scholars’ completion of the 

program and professional development. 

Projections for scholar support should 

consider tuition increases and cost of 

living increases over the project period. 

Projects that prepare personnel at the 

bachelor’s degree level may not provide 

scholar support during the first two 

years (e.g., freshman and sophomore 

years) of the degree program. 

(e) Demonstrate, in the narrative 

section of the application under 

‘‘Quality of the project evaluation,’’ how 

the applicant will— 

(1) Evaluate how well the goals or 

objectives of the proposed project have 

been met. To meet this requirement the 

applicant must describe— 

(i) The relevant outcomes to be 

measured for both the project and the 

scholars, particularly the acquisition of 

scholars’ competencies; and 

(ii) The evaluation methodologies, 

data collection methods, and data 

analyses that will be used; and 

(2) Collect and analyze data on all 

scholars supported by the project, 

including data disaggregated by race, 

national origin, primary language(s), 

and disability status, to inform the 

proposed project on an ongoing basis. 

(f) Demonstrate, in the appendices or 

narrative under ‘‘Required project 

assurances’’ as directed, that the 

following requirements are met. The 

applicant must— 

(1) Include, in Appendix A of the 

application— 

(i) Charts, tables, figures, graphs, 

screen shots, and visuals that provide 

information directly relating to the 

application requirements for the 

narrative. Appendix A should not be 

used for supplementary information. 

Please note that charts, tables, figures, 

graphs, and screen shots can be singlespaced when placed in Appendix A; 

and 

(ii) A letter of support from a public 

or private partnering agency, school, or 

program, that states it will provide 

scholars with a field or clinical 

experience in a high-need LEA, a highpoverty school, a school implementing 

a comprehensive support and 

improvement plan, a school 

implementing a targeted support and 

improvement plan for children with 

disabilities, a State educational agency, 

an early childhood or early intervention 

program located within the geographical 

boundaries of a high-need LEA, or an 

early childhood or early intervention 

program located within the geographical 


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boundaries of an LEA serving the 

highest percentage of schools identified 

for comprehensive support and 

improvement or implementing targeted 

support and improvement plans in the 

State; 

(2) Include in Appendix B of the 

application— 

(i) A table that lists the project’s 

required coursework and includes the 

course title, brief description, learning 

goals, and relevant State or national 

professional organization personnel 

standards for each course; and 

(ii) Four exemplars of course syllabi 

required by the degree program that 

reflect EBPs across the areas of 

assessment; social, emotional, and 

behavioral development and learning; 

inclusive practices; instructional 

strategies; and literacy if appropriate, 

and consider the unique needs of 

children of color with disabilities and 

children with disabilities who are 

multilingual; 

(3) Include in the application budget 

attendance by the project director at a 

three-day project directors’ meeting in 

Washington, DC, during each year of the 

project; and 

(4) Provide an assurance that— 

(i) The project will meet the 

requirements in 34 CFR 304.23, 

particularly those related to (A) 

informing all scholarship recipients of 

their service obligation commitment; 

and (B) disbursing scholarships. Failure 

by a grantee to properly meet these 

requirements is a violation of the grant 

award that may result in the grantee 

being liable for returning any misused 

funds to the Department; 

(ii) The project will meet the statutory 

requirements in section 662(e) through 

(h) of IDEA; 

(iii) The project will be operated in a 

manner consistent with 

nondiscrimination requirements 

contained in Federal civil rights laws; 

(iv) All the syllabi for the project’s 

required coursework will be provided at 

the request of OSEP; 

(v) At least 65 percent of the total 

award over the project period (i.e., up to 

60 months) will be used for scholar 

support; 

(vi) Scholar support provided by the 

project (e.g., tuition and fees; university 

student health insurance; an allowance 

for books, materials, and supplies; an 

allowance for miscellaneous personal 

expenses; an allowance for dependent 

care, such as child care; an allowance 

for transportation; an allowance for 

room and board; an allowance for travel 

in conjunction with training 

assignments including conference 

registration; and stipends to support 

scholars’ completion of the program and 

professional development) is not 

conditioned on scholars working for the 

grantee (e.g., personnel at the IHE); 

(vii) The project director, key 

personnel, and scholars will actively 

participate in learning opportunities 

(e.g., webinars, briefings) supported by 

OSEP. This is intended to promote 

opportunities for participants to 

understand reporting requirements, 

share resources, and generate new ideas 

by discussing topics of common interest 

to participants across projects including 

Department priorities and needs in the 

field; 

(viii) The project website, if 

applicable, will be of high quality, with 

an easy-to-navigate design that meets 

government or industry-recognized 

standards for web accessibility; 

(ix) Scholar accomplishments (e.g., 

public service, awards, publications, 

conference presentations) will be 

reported in annual and final 

performance reports; and 

(x) Annual data will be submitted on 

each scholar who receives grant support 

(OMB Control Number 1820–0686). The 

primary purposes of the data collection 

are to track the service obligation 

fulfillment of scholars who receive 

funds from OSEP grants and to collect 

data for program performance measure 

reporting under 34 CFR 75.110. Data 

collection includes the submission of a 

signed, completed pre-scholarship 

agreement and exit certification for each 

scholar funded under an OSEP grant 

(see paragraph (f)(4)(i) of this priority). 

Applicants are encouraged to visit the 

Personnel Development Program Data 

Collection System website at https://

pdp.ed.gov/osep for further information 

about this data collection requirement. 

Competitive Preference Priorities: For 

FY 2025 and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applications from this 

competition, these priorities are 

competitive preference priorities. Under 

34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award an 

additional 5 points to an application 

that meets Competitive Preference 

Priority 1 and an additional 5 points to 

an application that meets Competitive 

Preference Priority 2. Applicants should 

indicate in the abstract if competitive 

preference priorities are addressed, and 

which competitive preference priorities 

are being addressed. 

The competitive preference priorities 

are: 

Competitive Preference Priority 1: 

Applications from New Potential 

Grantees (0 or 5 points). 

(a) Under this priority, an applicant 

must demonstrate that the applicant 

(e.g., the IHE) has not had an active 

discretionary grant under the ALN 

84.325M, 84.325K, or 84.325R, 

including through membership in a 

group application submitted in 

accordance with 34 CFR 75.127–75.129, 

in the last five years before the deadline 

date for submission of applications 

under ALN 84.325M. 

(b) For the purpose of this priority, a 

grant is active until the end of the 

grant’s project or funding period, 

including any extensions of those 

periods that extend the grantee’s 

authority to obligate funds. 

Competitive Preference Priority 2: 

Promoting Equity in Student Access to 

Educational Resources and 

Opportunities (0 or 5 points). 

Under this priority, an applicant must 

demonstrate the project will be 

implemented by or in partnership with 

one or both of the following entities: 

(a) HBCUs (as defined in this notice). 

(b) TCCUs (as defined in this notice). 

References 

Bryan, N. (2021, May 26). Black male 

teachers and gender equity in early 

childhood education. Oxford Research 

Encyclopedia of Education. https://

doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/ 

9780190264093.013.1565. 

Carver-Thomas, D. (2018, April). Diversifying 

the teaching profession through highretention pathways [Research brief]. 

Learning Policy Institute. https://

learningpolicyinstitute.org/media/164/ 

download?inline&file=Diversifying_

Teaching_Profession_BRIEF.pdf. 

Carver-Thomas, D. (2018). Diversifying the 

teaching profession: How to recruit and 

retain teachers of color. Learning Policy 

Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/ 

559.310. 

Colorado Department of Higher Education. 

(2022). Diversifying the educator 

workforce: Disrupting inequities. https:// 

highered.colorado.gov/Publications/ 

Reports/teachereducation/2022/2022_

Diversifying_the_Workforce_FINAL.pdf. 

Division of Early Childhood of the Council 

for Exceptional Children (DEC). (2020). 

The early interventionist/early childhood 

special educator (EI/ECSE) standards. 

www.dec-sped.org/ei-ecse-standards. 

Gardner, M., Melnick, H., Meloy, B., & 

Barajas, J. (2019). Promising models for 

preparing a diverse, high-quality early 

childhood workforce. Learning Policy 

Institute. https://

learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/ 

preparing-diverse-high-quality-earlychildhood-workforce-report. 

National Center for Education Statistics. 

(2022). Racial/Ethnic Enrollment in 

Public Schools. Condition of Education. 

U.S. Department of Education, Institute 

of Education Sciences. https://

nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cge. 

National Professional Development Center on 

Inclusion. (August, 2011). Competencies 

for early childhood educators in the 

context of inclusion: Issues and guidance 

for States. The University of North 


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Carolina, FPG Child Development 

Institute. https://fpg.unc.edu/sites/ 

fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/reports-andpolicy-briefs/FPG_NPDCI_

Competencies_2011.pdf. 

Ondrasek, N., Carver-Thomas, D., Scott, C., & 

Darling-Hammond, L. (2020). 

California’s special education teacher 

shortage (policy brief). Policy Analysis 

for California Education. Learning Policy 

Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.

org/media/395/download?inline&

file=PACE_Special_Education_Teacher_

Shortage_REPORT.pdf. 

Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & CarverThomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in 

teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and 

shortages in the U.S. Learning Policy 

Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/ 

247.242. 

U.S. Department of Education. (2022a). 

EDFacts data warehouse: ‘‘IDEA Section 

618 Part B Child Count and Educational 

Environments Collection’’ and ‘‘IDEA 

Section 618 Part C Child Count and 

Settings Collection,’’ 2020–21. https://

data.ed.gov/dataset/idea-section-618- 

data-products-state-level-data-files. 

U.S. Department of Education. (2022b). 

Characteristics of 2020–21 public and 

private K–12 school teachers in the 

United States: Results from the national 

teacher and principal survey. https://

nces.ed.gov/pubs2022/2022113.pdf. 

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: 

Under the Administrative Procedure Act 

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

generally offers interested parties the 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

priorities. Section 681(d) of IDEA, 

however, makes the public comment 

requirements of the APA inapplicable to 

the absolute priority in this notice. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1462 

and 1481. 

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 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, 

and 99. (b) The Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) 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 Guidance for Federal Financial 

Assistance in 2 CFR part 200, as 

adopted and amended as regulations of 

the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. (d) 

The regulations for this program in 34 

CFR part 304. (e) The Administrative 

Priorities. (f) The Supplemental 

Priorities. 

Note: The Department will implement 

the changes included in the OMB final 

rule, OMB Guidance for Federal 

Financial Assistance 

(www.federalregister.gov/documents/

2024/04/22/2024-07496/guidance-forfederal-financial-assistance), formerly 

called, Office of Management and 

Budget Guidance for Grants and 

Agreements, which amends 2 CFR part 

200, on October 1, 2024. Grant 

applicants who anticipate a 

performance period start date on or after 

October 1, 2024, should follow the 

provisions stated in the updated 2 CFR 

part 200, when preparing an 

application. For more information about 

these updated regulations please visit: 

https://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/guid/ 

uniform-guidance/index.html. The 

Department will continue to provide 

more resources on our web page as they 

become available. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 

86 apply to IHEs only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: The 

Administration has requested 

$125,000,000 for the Personnel 

Development to Improve Services and 

Results for Children with Disabilities 

program for FY 2025, of which we 

intend to use an estimated $3,000,000 

for this competition. The actual level of 

funding, if any, depends on final 

congressional action. However, we are 

inviting applications to allow enough 

time to complete the grant process if 

Congress appropriates funds for this 

program. 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the quality of applications, 

we may make additional awards in FY 

2026 from the list of unfunded 

applications from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$150,000–$350,000 per year. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$250,000 per year. 

Maximum Award: We will not make 

an award exceeding $1,250,000 per 

project for a project period of 60 months 

or an award that exceeds $350,000 for 

any single budget period. 

Note: Applicants must describe, in 

their applications, the amount of 

funding being requested for each 12- 

month budget period. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 12. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

Note: The Department is not bound by 

any estimates in this notice. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs and 

private nonprofit organizations. 

Note: To meet the absolute priority, 

eligible applicants (i.e., IHEs) must have 

a bachelor’s degree, certification, 

master’s degree, educational specialist 

degree, or clinical doctoral degree 

program that prepare scholars in special 

education, early intervention, and 

related services at an HBCU, TCCU, or 

other MSI or be a private nonprofit 

organization that has the legal authority 

to enter into grants and cooperative 

agreements with the Federal 

government on behalf of an applicant 

(i.e., IHE) that has a bachelor’s degree, 

certification, master’s degree, 

educational specialist degree, or clinical 

doctoral degree program that prepare 

scholars in special education, early 

intervention, and related services at an 

HBCU, TCCU, or other MSI. 

Note: If you are a nonprofit 

organization, under 34 CFR 75.51, you 

may demonstrate your nonprofit status 

by providing: (1) proof that the Internal 

Revenue Service currently recognizes 

the applicant as an organization to 

which contributions are tax deductible 

under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

Revenue Code; (2) a statement from a 

State taxing body or the State attorney 

general certifying that the organization 

is a nonprofit organization operating 

within the State and that no part of its 

net earnings may lawfully benefit any 

private shareholder or individual; (3) a 

certified copy of the applicant’s 

certificate of incorporation or similar 

document if it clearly establishes the 

nonprofit status of the applicant; or (4) 

any item described above if that item 

applies to a State or national parent 

organization, together with a statement 

by the State or parent organization that 

the applicant is a local nonprofit 

affiliate. 

2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

competition does not require cost 

sharing or matching. 

b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This 

program uses a training indirect cost 

rate. This limits indirect cost 

reimbursement to an entity’s actual 

indirect costs, as determined in its 

negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, 

or 8 percent of a modified total direct 

cost base, whichever amount is less. For 

more information regarding training 

indirect cost rates, see 34 CFR 75.562. 

For more information regarding indirect 

costs, or to obtain a negotiated indirect 

cost rate, please see www.ed.gov/about/ 

ed-offices/ofo#Indirect-Cost-Division. 

c. Administrative Cost Limitation: 

This program does not include any 

program-specific limitation on 

administrative expenses. All 

administrative expenses must be 

reasonable and necessary and conform 

to Cost Principles described in 2 CFR 

part 200 subpart E of the Guidance for 

Federal Financial Assistance. 

3. Subgrantees: Under 34 CFR 

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


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competition may award subgrants—to 

directly carry out project activities 

described in its application—to the 

following types of entities: IHEs, 

nonprofit organizations suitable to carry 

out the activities proposed in the 

application, and other public agencies. 

The grantee may award subgrants to 

entities it has identified in an approved 

application or that it selects through a 

competition under procedures 

established by the grantee, consistent 

with 34 CFR 75.708(b)(2). 

4. Other General Requirements: 

a. Recipients of funding under this 

competition must make positive efforts 

to employ and advance in employment 

qualified individuals with disabilities 

(see section 606 of IDEA). 

b. Applicants for, and recipients of, 

funding must, with respect to the 

aspects of their proposed projects 

relating to the absolute priority, involve 

individuals with disabilities, or parents 

of individuals with disabilities ages 

birth through 26, in planning, 

implementing, and evaluating the 

project (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of 

IDEA). 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. 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 www.federalregister.gov/

documents/2022/12/07/2022-26554/ 

common-instructions-for-applicants-todepartment-of-education-discretionarygrant-programs, which contain 

requirements and information on how to 

submit an application. 

2. 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. 

3. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

4. Recommended Page Limit: The 

application narrative is where you, the 

applicant, address the selection criteria 

that reviewers use to evaluate your 

application. We recommend that you 

limit the application narrative to no 

more than 40 pages and use the 

following standards: 

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ × 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, 

reference citations, and captions, as well 

as all text in charts, tables, figures, 

graphs, and screen shots. 

• Use a font that is 12 point or larger. 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. 

The recommended page limit does not 

apply to the cover sheet; the budget 

section, including the narrative budget 

justification; the assurances and 

certifications; or the abstract (follow the 

guidance provided in the application 

package for completing the abstract), the 

table of contents, the list of priority 

requirements, the resumes, the reference 

list, the letters of support, or the 

appendices. However, the 

recommended page limit does apply to 

all of the application narrative, 

including all text in charts, tables, 

figures, graphs, and screen shots. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from 34 

CFR 75.210 and are as follows: 

(a) Significance (10 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

significance of the proposed project. 

(2) In determining the significance of 

the proposed project, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 

(i) The extent to which the proposed 

project will prepare personnel for fields 

in which shortages have been 

demonstrated; and 

(ii) The importance or magnitude of 

the results or outcomes likely to be 

attained by the proposed project, 

especially improvements in teaching 

and student achievement. 

(b) Quality of project services (45 

points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the services to be provided by 

the proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of the 

services to be provided by the proposed 

project, the Secretary considers the 

quality and sufficiency of strategies for 

ensuring equal access and treatment for 

eligible project participants who are 

members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented 

based on race, color, national origin, 

gender, age, or disability. 

(3) In addition, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 

(i) The extent to which the services to 

be provided by the proposed project 

reflect up-to-date knowledge from 

research and effective practice; 

(ii) The extent to which the training 

or professional development services to 

be provided by the proposed project are 

of sufficient quality, intensity, and 

duration to lead to improvements in 

practice among the recipients of those 

services; 

(iii) The extent to which the services 

to be provided by the proposed project 

involve the collaboration of appropriate 

partners for maximizing the 

effectiveness of project services; and 

(iv) The extent to which the proposed 

activities constitute a coherent, 

sustained program of training in the 

field. 

(c) Quality of project personnel and 

quality of the management plan (20 

points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the project personnel and the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project. 

(2) In determining the quality of 

project personnel, the Secretary 

considers 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. 

(3) In addition, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 

(i) The qualifications, including 

relevant training and experience, of key 

project personnel; 

(ii) 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; and 

(iii) 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. 

(d) Adequacy of resources (10 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

adequacy of resources of the proposed 

project. 

(2) In determining the adequacy of 

resources of the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the following 

factors: 

(i) The adequacy of support, including 

facilities, equipment, supplies, and 

other resources, from the applicant 

organization or the lead applicant 

organization; and 

(ii) The extent to which the costs are 

reasonable in relation to the objectives, 

design, and potential significance of the 

proposed project. 

(e) Quality of the project evaluation 

(15 points). 

(1) The Secretary considers the 

quality of the evaluation to be 

conducted of the proposed project. 


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(2) In determining the quality of the 

evaluation, the Secretary considers the 

following factors: 

(i) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and 

appropriate to the goals, objectives, and 

outcomes of the proposed project; and 

(ii) The extent to which the methods 

of evaluation will provide performance 

feedback and permit periodic 

assessment of progress toward achieving 

intended outcomes. 

2. Review and Selection Process: We 

remind potential applicants that in 

reviewing applications in any 

discretionary grant competition, the 

Secretary 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, and compliance with grant 

conditions. The Secretary 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, the Secretary 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). 

In the event there are two or more 

applications with the same final score, 

and there are insufficient funds to fully 

support each of these applications, the 

scores under selection criterion (b) 

Quality of project services will be used 

as a tiebreaker. If the scores remain tied, 

then the scores under selection criterion 

(d) Adequacy of resources will be used 

to break the tie. 

3. Additional Review and Selection 

Process Factors: In the past, the 

Department has had difficulty finding 

peer reviewers for certain competitions 

because many individuals who are 

eligible to serve as peer reviewers have 

conflicts of interest. The standing panel 

requirements under section 682(b) of 

IDEA also have placed additional 

constraints on the availability of 

reviewers. Therefore, the Department 

has determined that for some 

discretionary grant competitions, 

applications may be separated into two 

or more groups and ranked and selected 

for funding within specific groups. This 

procedure will make it easier for the 

Department to find peer reviewers by 

ensuring that greater numbers of 

individuals who are eligible to serve as 

reviewers for any particular group of 

applicants will not have conflicts of 

interest. It also will increase the quality, 

independence, and fairness of the 

review process, while permitting panel 

members to review applications under 

discretionary grant competitions for 

which they also have submitted 

applications. 

4. 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, the 

Secretary 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. 

5. 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. 

6. In General: In accordance with the 

Guidance for Federal Financial 

Assistance 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 also may 

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. Open Licensing Requirements: 

Unless an exception applies, if you are 

awarded a grant under this competition, 

you will be required to openly license 

to the public grant deliverables created 

in whole, or in part, with Department 

grant funds. When the deliverable 

consists of modifications to pre-existing 

works, the license extends only to those 

modifications that can be separately 

identified and only to the extent that 

open licensing is permitted under the 

terms of any licenses or other legal 

restrictions on the use of pre-existing 

works. Additionally, a grantee or 

subgrantee that is awarded competitive 

grant funds must have a plan to 

disseminate these public grant 

deliverables. This dissemination plan 

can be developed and submitted after 

your application has been reviewed and 

selected for funding. For additional 

information on the open licensing 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 / Notices 81493 

requirements please refer to 2 CFR 

3474.20. 

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

grant under this competition, 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 the Secretary. If you 

receive a multiyear 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 www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 

appforms.html. 

(c) Under 34 CFR 75.250(b), the 

Secretary may provide a grantee with 

additional funding for data collection 

analysis and reporting. In this case the 

Secretary establishes a data collection 

period. 

5. Performance Measures: For the 

purposes of Department reporting under 

34 CFR 75.110, the Department has 

established a set of performance 

measures, including long-term 

measures, that are designed to yield 

information on various aspects of the 

effectiveness and quality of the 

Personnel Development to Improve 

Services and Results for Children with 

Disabilities program. These measures 

include: (1) the percentage of 

preparation programs that incorporate 

scientifically or evidence-based 

practices into their curricula; (2) the 

percentage of scholars completing the 

preparation program who are 

knowledgeable and skilled in evidencebased practices that improve outcomes 

for children with disabilities; (3) the 

percentage of scholars who exit the 

preparation program prior to completion 

due to poor academic performance; (4) 

the percentage of scholars completing 

the preparation program who are 

working in the area(s) in which they 

were prepared upon program 

completion; (5) the Federal cost per 

scholar who completed the preparation 

program; (6) the percentage of scholars 

who completed the preparation program 

and are employed in high-need districts; 

and (7) the percentage of scholars who 

completed the preparation program and 

who are rated effective by their 

employers. 

In addition, the Department will 

gather information on the following 

outcome measures: the number and 

percentage of scholars proposed by the 

grantee in its application that were 

actually enrolled and making 

satisfactory academic progress in the 

current academic year; the number and 

percentage of enrolled scholars who are 

on track to complete the training 

program by the end of the project’s 

original grant period; and the percentage 

of scholars who completed the 

preparation program and are employed 

in the field of special education for at 

least two years. 

Grantees may be asked to participate 

in assessing and providing information 

on these aspects of program quality. 

6. Continuation Awards: In making a 

continuation award under 34 CFR 

75.253, the Secretary 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; and, 

if the Secretary 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, the 

Secretary 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 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document and a copy of the 

application package 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, 

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 

Department documents 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 Department 

documents 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. 

Glenna Wright-Gallo, 

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23256 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Personnel Development To Improve 

Services and Results for Children With 

Disabilities—Preparation of Early 

Intervention and Special Education 

Personnel Serving Children With 

Disabilities Who Have High-Intensity 

Needs 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

(Department) is issuing a notice inviting 

applications for new awards for fiscal 

year (FY) 2025 for Personnel 

Development to Improve Services and 

Results for Children with Disabilities— 

Preparation of Early Intervention and 

Special Education Personnel Serving 

Children with Disabilities who have 

High-Intensity Needs. 

DATES: 

Applications Available: October 8, 

2024. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: December 3, 2024. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: February 5, 2025. 

Pre-Application Webinar Information: 

No later than October 15, 2024, the 

Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services will post details 

on pre-recorded informational webinars 

designed to provide technical assistance 

to interested applicants. Links to the 

webinars may be found at www.ed.gov/ 

about/ed-offices/osers/osep/new-osepgrant-competitions. 

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/ 


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