[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2967-2971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00998]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Applications for New Awards; Lead of a Career and Technical 
Education (CTE) Network: Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems 
of Education Policy and Practice Program

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting 
applications for a new award for fiscal year (FY) 2018 to fund the Lead 
of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Network under the Research 
Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice 
Program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.305N.

DATES: 
    Request for Applications Available: January 22, 2018.
    Applications Available: February 15, 2018.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 15, 2018.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 5, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Corinne Alfeld, Institute of 
Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Potomac Center Plaza, 
550 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20202 or by email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#04476b766d6a6a612a4568626168604461602a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6f2c001d0601010a412e03090a030b2f0a0b41080019">[email protected]</span></a>.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Research Networks Focused on Critical 
Problems of Education Policy and Practice Program is designed to direct 
resources and attention to education problems or issues that are a high 
priority for the Nation, and to create a structure and process for 
researchers who are working on these issues to share ideas, build new 
knowledge, and strengthen their research and dissemination capacity. 
Under this announcement, the Institute of Education Sciences 
(Institute) intends to award one grant under this program to fund the 
Lead of a CTE Network, which is to carry out the requirements under 
section 114(d)(4) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act to establish a national research center to carry out scientifically 
based research on career and technical education programs. The CTE 
Network will conduct research on CTE through projects funded by other 
Institute grant competitions. The goal of the CTE Network is to support 
and expand the causal research base on CTE at the secondary and/or 
postsecondary level specifically through research on whether and how 
CTE practices, programs, and policies affect student education 
outcomes. The Network Lead will be responsible for: (1) CTE Network 
administration and coordination, including convening meetings and 
coordinating supplemental research activities among Network members; 
(2) conducting research activities including an evaluability assessment 
of CTE programs and a final synthesis of the CTE Network's major 
findings and lessons; (3) providing research training to increase the 
capacity of the field and to create a pipeline of new CTE researchers; 
and (4) developing and hosting a CTE Network website and conducting 
other leadership and dissemination activities to share the findings and 
products of the CTE Network with policymakers, practitioners, and other 
researchers.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2324(d)(4); 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, 
and 99. In addition, the regulations in 34 CFR part 75 are applicable, 
except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 
75.105, 75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217(a)-
(c), 75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230. (b) The Office of 
Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide 
Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted 
and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) 
The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 
Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and 
amended in 2 CFR part 3474.

    Note:  The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions 
of higher education only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 1.
    Maximum Award: The maximum total award is $5 million for the entire 
project period of 60 months.

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

    Project Period: 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are institutions of 
higher education, public and private non-profit organizations and 
agencies, and consortia of such institutions, organizations, or 
agencies that have the ability and capacity to conduct scientifically 
valid research.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Request for Applications and Other Information: Information 
regarding program and application requirements for this competition 
will be contained in the Request for Applications (RFA), which will be 
available on or before January 22, 2018, on the Institute's

[[Page 2968]]

website at: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/. The application package for 
this competition will be available on February 15, 2018, on the 
Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, 
or compact disc) by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application are contained in the RFA. The 
forms that must be submitted will be in the application package for 
this competition.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Request for Applications Available: January 22, 2018.
    Applications Available: February 15, 2018.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 15, 2018.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 5, 2018.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    The application package for this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (www.Grants.gov). For 
information about how to submit your application package 
electronically, or in paper format by mail or hand delivery if you 
qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, 
please refer to the Other Submission Requirements section below.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. If the 
Department provides an accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual 
with a disability in connection with the application process, the 
individual's application remains subject to all other requirements and 
limitations in this notice.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in CFR part 79.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification 
Number, and System for Award Management: To do business with the 
Department of Education, you must--
    a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a 
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
    b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the System for Award 
Management (SAM), the Government's primary registrant database;
    c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and
    d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information 
while your application is under review by the Department and, if you 
are awarded a grant, during the project period.
    You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet at the 
following website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. A DUNS number can be 
created within one to two business days.
    If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or 
organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service. 
If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal 
Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a 
new TIN, please allow two to five weeks for your TIN to become active.
    The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business 
days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the 
completeness and accuracy of the data you enter into the SAM database. 
Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal financial 
assistance under a program administered by the Department, please allow 
sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number and TIN. We 
strongly recommend that you register early.

    Note: Once your SAM registration is active, it may be 24 to 48 
hours before you can access the information in, and submit an 
application through, Grants.gov.

    If you are currently registered with SAM, you may not need to make 
any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with 
your DUNS number is correct. Also, note that you will need to update 
your registration annually. This may take three or more business days.
    Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further 
assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in 
SAM or updating your existing SAM account, we have prepared a SAM.gov 
Tip Sheet, which you can find at: www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html.
    In addition, if you are submitting your application via Grants.gov, 
you must (1) be designated by your organization as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself with 
Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the 
following Grants.gov web page: www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html.
    7. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify 
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the 
instructions in this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the Research Networks Focused on 
Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice Program, CFDA number 
84.305N, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide 
Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. You may not email an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared 
environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and 
edit different webforms within an application. An applicant can create 
an individual Workspace for each application notice and, thus, 
establish for that application a collaborative application package that 
allows more than one person in the applicant's organization to work 
concurrently on an application. The applicant can, thus, assign other 
users to participate in the Workspace. The system also enables the 
applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions; check them in and 
out and complete them; and submit its application package. For access 
to complete instructions on how to apply, refer to: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.
    Effective January 1, 2018, applicants may not download an Adobe 
form application package from Grants.gov. Applicants must instead use 
Workspace.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Research 
Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice 
competition at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable

[[Page 2969]]

application package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not 
include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 
84.305, not 84.305N).
    Please note the following:
    <bullet> When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
    <bullet> Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must 
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if 
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov 
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply 
with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from 
Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application 
because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after 
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
    <bullet> The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the 
application and the speed of your internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
    <bullet> You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for the competition to ensure that 
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures 
pertaining to Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department's G5 
system home page at www.G5.gov. In addition, for specific guidance and 
procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov, please 
refer to the Grants.gov website at: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.
    <bullet> You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
    <bullet> You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: The 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
    <bullet> You must upload any narrative sections and all other 
attachments to your application as files in a read-only, flattened 
Portable Document Format (PDF), meaning any fillable PDF documents must 
be saved as flattened non-fillable files. Therefore, do not upload an 
interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than 
a read-only, flattened PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or 
submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material. 
Please note that this could result in your application not being 
considered for funding because the material in question--for example, 
the project narrative--is critical to a meaningful review of your 
proposal. For that reason it is important to allow yourself adequate 
time to upload all material as PDF files. The Department will not 
convert material from other formats to PDF. There is no need to 
password protect a file in order to meet the requirement to submit a 
read-only flattened PDF. And, as noted, the Department will not review 
password-protected files.
    <bullet> After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) Grants.gov 
will also notify you automatically by email if your application met all 
the Grants.gov validation requirements or if there were any errors 
(such as submission of your application by someone other than a 
registered Authorized Organization Representative, or inclusion of an 
attachment with a file name that contains special characters). You will 
be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you 
must still meet the deadline for submission of applications.
    Once your application is successfully validated by Grants.gov, the 
Department will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send you 
an email with a unique PR/Award number for your application.
    These emails do not mean that your application is without any 
disqualifying errors. While your application may have been successfully 
validated by Grants.gov, it must also meet the Department's application 
requirements as specified in this notice and in the application 
instructions. Disqualifying errors could include, for instance, failure 
to upload attachments in a read-only, flattened PDF; failure to submit 
a required part of the application; or failure to meet applicant 
eligibility requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure that your 
submitted application has met all of the Department's requirements.
    <bullet> We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a 
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and provide an explanation 
of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with 
the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will accept your 
application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with 
the Grants.gov system and that the problem affected your ability to 
submit your application by 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. We will contact you after we determine 
whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply 
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the 
Grants.gov system. We will not grant an extension if you failed to 
fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before the 
application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you 
experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are

[[Page 2970]]

unable to submit an application through the Grants.gov system because--
    <bullet> You do not have access to the internet; or
    <bullet> You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
    <bullet> No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevents you from using the internet to submit your application.
    If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be 
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must 
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the 
application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Ellie Pelaez, U.S. 
Department of Education, 550 12th Street SW, Potomac Center Plaza, Room 
4107, Washington, DC 20202. Fax: 202-245-6752.
    If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number: 84.305N), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier.
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Institute.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark.
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    We will not consider applications postmarked after the application 
deadline date.
    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number: 84.305N), 550 12th Street SW, Room 7039, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, except 
Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.

    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by 
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a 
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not 
receive this notification within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: For all of its grant competitions, the 
Institute uses selection criteria based on a peer-review process that 
has been approved by the National Board for Education Sciences. The 
Peer Review Procedures for Grant Applications can be found on the 
Institute's website at https://ies.ed.gov/director/sro/peer_review/application_review.asp. For this competition, peer reviewers will be 
asked to evaluate the significance of the application, the quality of 
the network plan (including network administration, research 
activities, research training, leadership and dissemination), the 
qualifications and experience of the personnel, and the resources of 
the applicant to support the proposed activities. These criteria are 
described in greater detail in the RFA.
    2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants 
that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, 
the Institute 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 Institute 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 Institute 
also 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 
of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
    3. Risk Assessment and Special Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 
200.205, before awarding grants under this competition the Department 
conducts a review of the risks posed by applicants. Under 2 CFR 
3474.10, the Institute may impose special conditions and, in 
appropriate circumstances, high-risk conditions on a grant if the 
applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of 
unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or other management system 
that does not meet the standards in 2 CFR part 200, subpart D; has not 
fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not 
responsible.
    4. Integrity and Performance System: If you are selected under this 
competition to receive an award that over the course of the project 
period may exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently 
$150,000), under 2 CFR 200.205(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 SAM. 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

[[Page 2971]]

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.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN); or we may send you an email containing a link to 
access an electronic version of your GAN. We may notify you informally, 
also.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for an annual 
two-day meeting for project directors to be held in Washington, DC.
    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 
Institute. 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 Institute under 34 
CFR 75.118. The Institute may also require more frequent performance 
reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, 
please go to www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    5. Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of its 
education research grant programs, the Institute annually assesses the 
percentage of projects that result in peer-reviewed publications, the 
number of newly developed or modified interventions with evidence of 
promise for improving student education outcomes, and the number of 
Institute-supported interventions with evidence of efficacy in 
improving student outcomes including student academic outcomes and 
social and behavioral competencies for school-age students. Student 
academic outcomes include learning and achievement in core academic 
content areas (reading, writing, math, and science), and outcomes that 
reflect students' successful progression through the education system 
(e.g., course and grade completion; high school graduation; 
postsecondary enrollment, progress, and completion). Social and 
behavioral competencies include social and emotional skills, attitudes, 
and behaviors that are important to student's academic and post-
academic success.
    6. Continuation Awards: In making a continuation award under 34 CFR 
75.253, the Institute considers, among other things: Whether a grantee 
has made substantial progress in meeting 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 
Institute has established performance measurement requirements, whether 
the grantee has met the performance targets in the grantee's approved 
application.
    In making a continuation award, the Institute 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: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the RFA in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 
large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the appropriate 
program contact person listed in the chart at the end of this notice.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or PDF. To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat 
Reader, which is available free at this site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: January 16, 2018.
Thomas Brock,
Commissioner of the National Center for Education Research, Delegated 
the Duties of the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 2018-00998 Filed 1-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P


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