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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104528-104530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30488]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education 
Discretionary Grant Programs

AGENCY: Office for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice; revised common instructions.

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SUMMARY: On December 7, 2022, the Department of Education (Department) 
published a revised set of common instructions for applicants seeking 
funds under a Department discretionary grant competition. In this 
notice, the Department is publishing a revised version of the common 
instructions that supersedes the version published on December 7, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Terpak, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, room 4C212, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 280-8472. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: This document is a centralized and up-to-date set of 
instructions for applying to the Department's discretionary grant 
programs. Notices inviting applications (NIAs) will reference this 
document instead of providing this series of instructions within each 
NIA. If in the rare circumstance exceptions to these instructions are 
necessary, they will be noted in an individual competition NIA.
    Revised Common Instructions:
    The Department is making changes to the revised common instructions 
for applicants that were published in the Federal Register on December 
7, 2022 (87 FR 75045), to make them clearer and more direct. The 
Department has also added guidance on the usage of Artificial 
Intelligence when applying to grant competitions.
    The revised common instructions are:
    Common Set of Instructions for Applicants:

Application and Submission Information

    1. Where to Find the Application Package: You can obtain an 
application package from the Department's website or Grants.gov.
    2. Content and Formatting Requirements: Requirements concerning the 
content and formatting of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for the program located on 
Grants.gov.
    3. Unique Entity Identifier, Taxpayer Identification Number, and 
System for Award Management: To do business with the Department, and to 
submit your application electronically using Grants.gov, you must--
    a. Have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and a Taxpayer 
Identification Number (TIN);
    b. Be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), the 
Government's primary registrant database. Information about SAM is 
available at www.SAM.gov. To further assist you with registering in 
SAM.gov and getting a UEI or updating your existing SAM registration, 
see the Quick Start Guide for Grant Registrations and the Entity 
Registration Video at https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration;
    c. Provide your UEI 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.
    If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or 
organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service 
(IRS). If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the IRS 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 usually takes approximately 7 to 10 
business days, but may take longer, depending on the completeness and 
accuracy of the data you enter into the SAM.gov database. The 
Department recommends that you register early, at least 10 to 14 
business days before the application deadline. If you are unable to 
submit an application on Grants.gov by the application deadline because 
you do not have an active SAM registration, you will not be considered 
for funding.
    Note: Once your SAM.gov 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.gov, you may not need to 
make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated 
with your UEI is correct.
    Note: You must update your SAM registration annually. This may take 
three or more business days.
    e. (1) Register as an applicant using your UEI number and (2) be 
designated by your organization's E-Biz Point of Contact as an 
Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Details on these steps 
are outlined at the following Grants.gov web page: https://grants.gov/register.
    4. Submission Instructions:
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    The Department is participating as a partner in the Government-wide 
Grants.gov site. Submit applications electronically using Grants.gov. 
Do not email them unless explicitly allowed in a competition NIA.
    You may access the electronic grant applications at www.grants.gov. 
You may search for the downloadable application package for the 
competition that you are interested in applying to by the Assistance 
Listing Number (ALN). Do not include the ALN's alpha suffix in your 
search (e.g., search for 84.184, not 84.184D).
    A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared 
environment in Grants.gov where members of a grant team may 
simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an 
application. An applicant can create an individual Workspace for each 
application and 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 Grants.gov 
system also enables the applicant to reuse forms from previous 
submissions, check forms in and out to complete them, and submit the 
application package. For further instructions on how to apply using 
Grants.gov, refer to: https://grants.gov/applicants/grant-applications/how-to-apply-for-grants.
    Please note the following:
     Assistance: Applicants needing assistance with Grants.gov 
may contact the Grants.gov Support Center either by calling 1-800-518-
4726 or by sending an email to [email protected]. The Grants.gov 
Support Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except 
for Federal holidays. Applicants needing assistance from Principal 
Office staff with their applications should

[[Page 104529]]

contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section in the competition NIA prior to the application deadline date 
during normal business hours, and no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern 
Time, on the application deadline date.
    Further information about applying for discretionary grants can 
also be found on the ED.gov website: https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/apply-grant/getting-started-discretionary-grant-applications.
     Time to Submit an Application: 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, the Department recommends that you 
leave yourself plenty of time to complete your submission.
     Application Deadline, Date- and Time-Stamps: Applications 
received by Grants.gov are date- and time-stamped upon submission. Your 
application must be fully uploaded and submitted, received, and date- 
and time-stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 11:59:59 p.m., 
Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise 
noted in this section, the Department will not accept your application 
if it is submitted, received, and date- and time-stamped by the 
Grants.gov system after 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application 
deadline date. The Department will not consider an application that 
does not comply with the deadline requirements. When the Department 
retrieves your application from Grants.gov, the Department will notify 
you if the Department is rejecting your application because it was 
late. Receipt of a date- and time-stamp from Grants.gov does not mean 
that your application meets program eligibility requirements described 
in the NIA.
     Submission Procedures: 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 program 
to ensure that you submit your application on time. In addition, for 
specific guidance and procedures for submitting an application through 
Grants.gov, please refer to the Grants.gov website at: https://grants.gov/applicants/grant-applications/how-to-apply-for-grants.
     Artificial Intelligence: The Department recognizes the 
potential of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and generated content 
to support the mission of promoting student achievement and ensuring 
equal access. The use of AI in the development of grant application 
materials is allowable. However, it should be noted that the use of AI 
may introduce significant risks (such as, but not limited to, bias, 
inaccuracy, falsification, and plagiarism), and applicants and grantees 
are responsible for ensuring the integrity of application materials. 
Applicants are fully responsible for the content of grant applications 
and will be held accountable if their project design, even if it was 
developed with the assistance of AI, has discriminatory or other 
adverse outcomes when implemented.
    We encourage applicants and grantees to become familiar and align 
with the principles of responsible use discussed in Executive Order 
14110, the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology AI Risk Management Framework. 
These resources can be found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence/, 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-of-rights/, and https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework. For those applicants who 
are proposing AI in their grant applications to develop or implement 
new AI systems for use in educational settings, the Department highly 
encourages applicants to review the recent resources produced by the 
Department. These resources provide valuable insights that can guide 
the responsible development and implementation of AI-based tools and 
services intended to improve education outcomes. For more information 
on the use of AI in Education, please visit: The Department of 
Education, Office of Educational Technology at: tech.ed.gov.
    Any questions related to an open grant competition may be directed 
to contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section in the competition NIA.
     Forms: When you submit your application electronically, 
all documents must be submitted 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 Department-specific assurances 
and certifications.
     File Type: When you submit your application 
electronically, you must upload any narrative sections and all other 
attachments to your application as files in either Portable Document 
Format (PDF) or Microsoft Word. Although applicants have the option of 
uploading any narrative sections and all other attachments to their 
application in either PDF or Microsoft Word, the Department recommends 
applicants submit all documents as read-only flattened PDFs, meaning 
any fillable PDF files must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF 
files and not as interactive or fillable PDF files, to better ensure 
applications are processed in a more timely, accurate, and efficient 
manner. If you choose to submit your application in Microsoft Word, you 
may do so using any version of Microsoft Word (i.e., a document ending 
in a .doc or .docx extension). If you upload a file type other than PDF 
or Microsoft Word or if you submit a password-protected file, the 
Department will be unable to review that material. Please note that 
this will likely result in your application not being considered for 
funding. The Department will not convert material from other formats to 
PDF or Microsoft Word.
     Notification of Receipt: After you electronically submit 
your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic 
notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. 
Grants.gov will also notify you automatically by email if your 
application met all of 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 
(AOR), issues with your UEI number, or inclusion of an attachment with 
a file name that contains special characters). If you discover that 
your submitted application was incomplete or included errors, you will 
be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you 
must still meet the deadline date and time (11:59:59) for submission.
    Email confirmations and receipts from Grants.gov do not indicate 
receipt by the Department, nor do they mean that your application is 
complete or has met all application requirements. While your 
application may have been successfully validated by Grants.gov, it also 
must be reviewed in accordance with the Department's application 
requirements as specified in the competition NIA and in these 
application instructions. It is your responsibility to ensure that your 
submitted application has met all of the Department's requirements. 
Additionally, the Department may request that you provide us with 
original signatures on forms at a later date.
    Once your application is successfully validated by Grants.gov, the 
Department will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send you 
an email with

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a unique PR/Award number for your application.
     Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical 
Issues with the Grants.gov System: If you experience problems with 
Grants.gov while submitting your application, please contact the 
Grants.gov Support Desk immediately, toll-free, at 1-800-518-4726. The 
Grants.gov Support Center will provide you with a Support Desk Case 
Number documenting your communication. You must retain your Support 
Desk Case Number for future reference as proof of your communication 
with the Support Center. Please subsequently contact the person listed 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in the competition NIA 
and provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced 
with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems within the Grants.gov system, the Department will grant you an 
extension until 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, the following business day 
to enable you to transmit your application electronically, provided the 
Department can verify the technical issues that affected your ability 
to submit your application on time via your Grants.gov Support Desk 
Case Number.
    Note: The extensions to which the Department refers in this section 
apply only to technical problems with the Grants.gov system. The 
Department will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully 
register in order to submit your application to Grants.gov (including 
with the required UEI number and TIN currently registered in SAM) 
before the application deadline date and time or if the technical 
problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications.
    The Department discourages paper applications, but if electronic 
submission is not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the 
internet), (1) you must provide a prior written notification that you 
intend to submit a paper application and (2) your paper application 
must be postmarked by the application deadline date.
    The prior written notification may be submitted by email or by mail 
to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
the competition NIA. If you submit your notification by email, it must 
be received by the Department no later than 14 calendar days before the 
application deadline date. If you mail your notification to the 
Department, it must be postmarked no later than 14 calendar days before 
the application deadline date.
    If you submit a paper application, you must have, and include on 
your application, a UEI number and 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, OFO/G5 Functional Application Team, Mail 
Stop 2C124, Attention: (Assistance Listing Number + Suffix Letter), 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202

    You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier.
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, the 
Department does 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.
    The Department will not consider applications postmarked after the 
application deadline date.
    Note for Mail Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail your 
application to the Department--
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and in Item 11 of the SF 424 
the ALN, including suffix letter, if any, of the competition under 
which you are submitting your application; and
    (2) The G5 Functional Application Team will notify you of the 
Department's receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive 
this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline 
date, you should contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of the competition NIA.
    Accommodations; Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities 
who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the 
application process should contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section in the competition NIA. 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 the competition NIA.
    On request to the 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 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.

Roberto Rodriguez,
Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-30488 Filed 12-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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