20884 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 18, 2000 / Notices

professional development activities

would be implemented.

(b) The extent to which the proposed

activities support research-based

classroom reading instruction

(including extended learning such as

tutoring and summer programs,

kindergarten transition, and family

literacy/involvement).

(c) The extent to which the proposed

activities will improve reading

instruction for all children, including

English language learners, children with

special needs, and children whose level

of achievement indicates that they will

need additional instructional support.

(d) The extent to which the Tutorial

Assistance subgrant activities of the

proposed project reflect up-to-date

knowledge of reading research and

effective practice.

(4) Quality of the plan for State

leadership, oversight and evaluation.

(25 points)

In determining the quality of the plan

for State leadership, oversight and

evaluation, the Secretary considers the

following factors:

(a) The adequacy of procedures for

ensuring success under this grant,

including how the State will ensure that

school activities will use practices based

on scientifically-based reading research,

especially professional development

activities for K–3 teachers.

(b) The adequacy of the management

plan to achieve the objectives of the

proposed project on time and within

budget, including:

• Development of the reading and

literacy partnership for overseeing

proposed grant activities;

• Guidance provided to eligible

districts and schools for developing

applications;

• Subgrant processes and criteria; and

• Leadership, technical assistance,

and monitoring activities for

subgrantees that ensure continuous

improvement in reading.

(c) The qualifications, including

relevant training and experience, of the

key SEA staff responsible for managing

the grant activities described above.

(d) The quality of the State’s

evaluation design, including student

outcome measures or indicators for

grades K–3, subgrant (Local Reading

Improvement and Tutorial Assistance)

and school implementation measures

and indicators, a timeline for data

collection and reporting, provisions for

feedback to districts, and identification

of a qualified evaluator or inclusion of

appropriate criteria.

(e) The extent to which the proposed

activities coordinate REA with other

State initiatives and programs,

including how the REA grant will add

to current State and local efforts such as

comprehensive early literacy programs.

(5) Adequacy of resources. (15 points)

In determining the adequacy of

resources, the Secretary considers the

following factors:

(a) The extent to which the average

and range of amounts proposed,

including the amounts per school, that

will provide sufficient resources to

accomplish the tasks of Local Reading

Improvement and Tutorial Assistance

subgrants.

(b) The budget provides sufficient

detail and an appropriate level of

funding to accomplish the purposes of

this grant.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to Executive

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34

CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the

Executive order is to foster an

intergovernmental partnership and a

strengthened federalism. The Executive

order relies on processes developed by

State and local governments for

coordination and review of proposed

Federal financial assistance.

This document provides early

notification of our specific plans and

actions for this program.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register, in text or Adobe Portable

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet

at either of the following sites:

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

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

To use the PDF you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program, which

is available free at either of the

preceding sites. If you have questions

about using the PDF, call the U.S.

Government Printing Office (GPO), toll

free at 1–888–293–6498; or in the

Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register. Free Internet access to the official

edition of the Federal Register and the Code

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO

Access at:

http://access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

(Catalog of Federal Assistance Number:

84.338 Reading Excellence Program

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6661 et seq.

Dated: April 12, 2000.

Michael Cohen,

Assistant Secretary for Office of Elementary

and Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 00–9641 Filed 4–13–00; 1:32 pm]

BILLING CODE 4001–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.338]

Reading Excellence Program

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for

new awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000.

Purpose of Program: The Reading

Excellence Program provides

competitive grants to eligible State

educational agencies to award

competitive subgrants to local

educational agencies to fund local

reading improvement programs and

tutorial assistance programs.

Eligible Applicants: State educational

agencies (SEAs) that were not funded in

FY 1999; the District of Columbia;

Puerto Rico; the Virgin Islands; Guam;

American Samoa; and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands.

Applications Available: April 14,

2000.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: May 22, 2000.

Note: An application for an award may be

submitted by electronic mail (email), regular

mail, or hand delivery.

Special Instructions for Applications

Submitted by Email

Applications submitted by email

should include an electronic return

receipt and should be emailed to:

grantspolicy@ed.gov

Applications submitted by email may be

submitted in one of the following

formats: (1) Microsoft Word (Version

Word 95 or Word 97) or (2) portable

document format (PDF). The preferred

version is Word 97; however, all

versions must have text search

capability. The electronic version will

be the official file copy. To ensure the

integrity of the program, the Department

will return a printed version to the

applicant. The returned receipt and

copy will be considered proof of receipt.

All forms requiring original signatures

(ED–424, Application for Federal

Education Assistance; SF 424B,

Assurances: Non-Construction

Programs; ED 80–0013, Certifications

Regarding Lobbying, Debarment,

Suspension and other Responsibility

Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements; ED 80–0014, Certification

Regarding Debarment, Suspension,

Ineligibility and Voluntary ExclusionLower Tier Covered Transactions; and

Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities) must be mailed to the

Department by the deadline date, as set

out above under the Deadline for

Transmittal section. Please send a hard

copy of your application in addition to

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 18, 2000 / Notices 20885

the electronic copy to ensure that your

application is formatted properly when

printed.

Note: Some of the procedures in these

instructions for transmitting applications

differ from those in 34 CFR 75.102 (EDGAR).

Under 5 U.S.C. 553, the Department generally

offers interested parties the opportunity to

comment on proposed regulations. However,

these exceptions to EDGAR make procedural

changes only and do not establish new

substantive policy. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that

proposed rulemaking is not required.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: June 21, 2000.

Estimated Available Funds:

$241,100,000.

Estimated Range of Awards:

$500,000–$60,000,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$20,092,000.

Estimate Number of Awards: 12.

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Minimum Grant Award for SEAs:

$500,000 for SEAs, $100,000 minimum

for territories.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Page Limit: The application narrative

(Part III of the application) is where you,

the applicant, address the selection

criteria reviewers use to evaluate your

application. You must limit Part III to

the equivalent of no more than 100

pages, using the following standards:

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

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

and both sides.

• Single space (no more than six lines

per vertical inch) all text in the

application narrative.

• Use a font that is either 11-point or

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch

(characters per inch).

The page limit does not apply to Part

I, the cover sheet; Part II, the budget

section, including the narrative budget

justification; Part IV, the assurances and

certifications; or the one-page abstract,

the resumes, the bibliography, the

letters of support or the two permissible

appendices. However, you must include

all of the application narrative in Part

III.

Our reviewers will not read any pages

of your application that:

• Exceed the page limit if you apply

these standards; or

• Exceed the equivalent of the page

limit if you apply other standards.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The

Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85,

86, 97, 98, and 99; (b) 34 CFR part 299;

and (c) the notice of final priorities,

application requirements, and selection

criteria as published elsewhere in this

issue of the Federal Register.

For Applications and Further

Information: Send an email message

requesting an application to:

readinglexcellence@ed.gov

You may also receive an application

by downloading it from the reading

excellence website:

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/REA/

index.html

or by contacting Nancy Rhett, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW, Room 5C141, Washington,

DC 20202–6200; Telephone: (202) 260–

8228. If you use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternative

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request by contacting Katie Mincey,

Director, Alternate Format Center, 330 C

St. SW, Room 1000, Washington, DC

20202–4560; by calling (202) 260–9895

or 205–8113; or by emailing:

katielmincey@ed.gov

Individuals with disabilities also may

obtain a copy of the application package

in an alternate format by contacting Ms.

Mincey. However, the Department is not

able to reproduce in an alternate format

the standard forms included in the

application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register, in text or Adobe Portable

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet

at either of the following sites:

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

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

To use the PDF file you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program, which

is available free at either of the

preceding sites. If you have questions

about using the PDF, call the U.S.

Government Printing Office (GPO), toll

free at 1–888–293–6498; or in the

Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register. Free Internet access to the official

edition of the Federal Register and the Code

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO

Access at:

http://access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6661 et seq.

Dated: April 12, 2000.

Michael Cohen,

Assistant Secretary, Elementary and

Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 00–9640 Filed 4–13–00; 1:32 pm]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P