27814 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services; Special

Education—Training and Information

for Parents of Children With

Disabilities

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for

new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2001.

SUMMARY: This notice provides closing

dates and other information regarding

the transmittal of applications for FY

2001 competitions under one program

authorized by the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as

amended: Special Education— Training

and Information for Parents of Children

with Disabilities.

National Education Goals

The eight National Education Goals

focus the Nation’s education reform

efforts and provide a framework for

improving teaching and learning.

This priority addresses the National

Education Goals that promote new

partnerships to strengthen schools and

expand the Department’s capacities for

helping communities to exchange ideas

and obtain information needed to

achieve the goals.

This priority would address the

National Education Goals by helping to

improve results for children with

disabilities.

Waiver of Rulemaking

It is generally our practice to offer

interested parties the opportunity to

comment on proposed priorities.

However, section 661(e)(2) of IDEA

makes the Administrative Procedure Act

(5 U.S.C. 553) inapplicable to the

priority in this notice.

General Requirements

(a) The projects funded under this

notice must make positive efforts to

employ and advance in employment

qualified individuals with disabilities in

project activities (see section 606 of

IDEA).

(b) Applicants and grant recipients

funded under this notice must involve

individuals with disabilities or parents

of individuals with disabilities in

planning, implementing, and evaluating

the projects (see section 661(f)(1)(A) of

IDEA).

(c) The projects funded under these

priorities must budget for a two-day

Project Directors’ meeting in

Washington, D.C. during each year of

the project.

(d) In a single application, an

applicant must address only one

absolute priority in this notice.

(e) Part III of each application

submitted under a priority in this

notice, the application narrative, is

where an applicant addresses the

selection criteria that are used by

reviewers in evaluating the application.

You must limit Part III to the equivalent

of no more than the number of pages

listed in the table at the end of this

notice for each applicable priority, using

the following standards:

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′x11′′ (on one side

only) with one-inch margins (top,

bottom, and sides).

• Double-space (no more than three

lines per vertical inch) all text in the

application narrative, including titles,

headings, footnotes, quotations, and

captions, as well as all text in charts,

tables, figures, and graphs.

• If using a proportional computer

font, use no smaller than a 12-point

font, and an average character density

no greater than 18 characters per inch.

If using a nonproportional font or a

typewriter, do not use more than 12

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 or

references, or the letters of support.

However, you must include all of the

application narrative in Part III.

We will reject without consideration

or evaluation any application if —

• You apply these standards and

exceed the page limit; or

• You apply other standards and

exceed the equivalent of the page limit.

Special Education—Training and

Information for Parents of Children

With Disabilities [CFDA No. 84.328]

Purpose of Program: The purpose of

this program is to ensure that parents of

children with disabilities receive

training and information to help

improve results for their children.

Under section 682(e) of IDEA, we are

required to:

(a) Make at least one award to a parent

organization in each State, unless we do

not receive an application from such an

organization in each State of sufficient

quality to warrant approval; and

(b) Select among applications

submitted by parent organizations in a

State in a manner that ensures the most

effective assistance to parents, including

parents in urban and rural areas, in the

State.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The

Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82,

85, 97, 98, and 99; (b) The selection

criteria for this priority are drawn from

the EDGAR general selection criteria

menu. The specific selection criteria for

this priority are included in the funding

application package for this

competition.

Eligible Applicants: Parent

organizations, as defined in section

682(g) of IDEA. A parent organization is

a private nonprofit organization (other

than an institution of higher education)

that:

(a) Has a board of directors, the parent

and professional members of which are

broadly representative of the population

to be served and the majority of whom

are parents of children with disabilities,

that includes individuals with

disabilities and individuals working in

the fields of special education, related

services, and early intervention; or

(b) Has a membership that represents

the interests of individuals with

disabilities and has established a special

governing committee meeting the

requirements for a board of directors in

paragraph (a) of this section and

develops a memorandum of

understanding between this special

governing committee and the board of

directors of the organization that clearly

outlines the relationship between the

board and the committee and the

decisionmaking responsibilities and

authority of each.

Priority

Under section 682 of the Act and 34

CFR 75.105(c)(3), we will give an

absolute preference to applications that

meet the following priority. We will

fund under this competition only those

applications that meet this priority:

Absolute Priority—Parent Training and

Information Centers (84.328M)

Background

The IDEA Amendments of 1997

strengthen the role of parents and

increase their involvement in decisions

about their children’s education. In

order to allocate resources more

equitably, create a unified system of

service delivery, and provide the

broadest coverage for the parents and

families in every State, the Department

is making awards in five (5)-year cycles

for each State. In FY 2001, applications

for 5-year awards will be accepted for

Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Florida,

Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska,

New York, North Dakota, Nevada,

Vermont, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico.

In addition to the above State awards,

we intend to fund one award that

focuses on the needs of NativeAmerican families who have children

with disabilities and one award that

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Notices 27815

focuses on the needs of military families

who have children with disabilities.

Until the first five (5)-year cycle is

completed, there is a need to have an

interim schedule for awards in States

where there is more than one PTI and

their current awards do not have the

same end date. We are holding

competitions for one or more awards in

these States for the time periods needed

to match the end date of the last Center

funded.

Applications will be accepted for FY

2001 interim competitions for the State

of California and the State of Michigan.

We intend to fund five awards for oneyear each:

(1) One Center in the State of

California that will serve the population

in the northern part of the State. This

award will be for $399,400.

(2) One Center in the State of

California that will serve the population

in the central part of the State. This

award will be for $230,470.

(3) One Center in the State of

California that will serve the population

in the southern part of the State. This

award will be for $236,970.

(4) One Center in the State of

California that will serve the population

in the San Francisco Bay area. This

award will be for $236,970.

(5) One Center in the State of

Michigan that will serve the population

in the Detroit area. This award will be

for $274,440.

Priority

A Parent Training and Information

Center must —

(a) Provide training and information

that meets the training and information

needs of parents of children with

disabilities in the area served by the

Center, particularly underserved parents

and parents of children who may be

inappropriately identified, including

those who are not identified at all;

(b) Assist parents to understand the

availability of, and how to effectively

use, procedural safeguards under IDEA,

including encouraging the use, and

explaining the benefits, of alternative

methods of dispute resolution, such as

the mediation process described in

IDEA;

(c) Serve the parents of infants,

toddlers, and children with the full

range of disabilities;

(d) Assist parents to—

(1) Better understand the nature of

their children’s disabilities and their

educational and developmental needs;

(2) Communicate effectively with

personnel responsible for providing

special education, early intervention,

and related services;

(3) Participate in decisionmaking

processes and the development of

individualized education programs and

individualized family service plans;

(4) Obtain appropriate information

about the range of options, programs,

services, and resources available to

assist children with disabilities and

their families;

(5) Understand the provisions of the

Act for the education of, and the

provision of early intervention services

to, children with disabilities; and

(6) Participate in school reform

activities;

(e) Contract with the State educational

agency, if the State elects to contract

with the Parent Training and

Information Center, for the purpose of

meeting with parents who choose not to

use the mediation process to encourage

the use, and explain the benefits, of

mediation consistent with section

615(e)(2)(B) and (D) of IDEA;

(f) Establish cooperative relations

with the Community Parent Resource

Center or Centers in their State in

accordance with section 683(b)(3) of

IDEA;

(g) Network with appropriate

clearinghouses, including organizations

conducting national dissemination

activities under section 685(d) of IDEA,

and with other national, State, and local

organizations and agencies, such as

protection and advocacy agencies, that

serve parents and families of children

with the full range of disabilities;

(h) Annually report to the Assistant

Secretary on—

(1) The number of parents to whom

the Parent Training and Information

Center provided information and

training in the most recently concluded

fiscal year, and

(2) The effectiveness of strategies used

to reach and serve parents, including

underserved parents of children with

disabilities; and

(i) If there is more than one parent

center in a particular State, coordinate

its activities to ensure the most effective

assistance to parents in that State.

An applicant must identify the

strategies it will undertake—

(a) To ensure that the needs for

training and information of underserved

parents of children with disabilities in

the areas to be served are effectively

met, particularly in underserved areas of

the State; and

(b) To work with the communitybased organizations, particularly in the

underserved areas of the State.

A Parent Training and Information

Center that receives assistance under

this absolute priority may also conduct

the following activities —

(a) Provide information to teachers

and other professionals who provide

special education and related services to

children with disabilities;

(b) Assist students with disabilities to

understand their rights and

responsibilities on reaching the age of

majority, as stated in section 615(m) of

IDEA; and

(c) Assist parents of children with

disabilities to be informed participants

in the development and implementation

of the State improvement plan under

IDEA.

In addition to the annual Project

Directors’ meeting included in the

‘‘General Requirements’’ section of this

notice, a project’s budget must include

funds to attend a regional Project

Directors’ meeting to be held each year

of the project.

In order to demonstrate eligibility to

receive a grant, an applicant must

describe how its board or special

governing committee meets the criteria

for a parent organization in section

682(g) of IDEA. In addition, any parent

organization that establishes a special

governing committee under section

682(g)(2) of IDEA must demonstrate that

the bylaws of its organization allow the

governing committee to be responsible

for operating the project (consistent

with existing fiscal policies of its

organization).

Current funding levels and population

of school age children were factors in

determining the funding levels for these

grants.

Competitive Preferences

Within this absolute priority, we will

award the following competitive

preference points under 34 CFR

75.105(c)(2)(i): An additional 10 points

to an application submitted by a parent

organization or a consortia of parent

organizations that qualify as parent

organizations under section 682(g)(1) of

IDEA.

In addition, we will give the following

competitive preference points under

section 606 of IDEA and 34 CFR

75.105(c)(2)(i), to applications that are

otherwise eligible for funding under this

priority:

Up to ten (10) points based on the

effectiveness of the applicant’s strategies

for employing and advancing in

employment qualified individuals with

disabilities in project activities as

required under paragraph (a) of the

‘‘General Requirements’’ section of this

notice. In determining the effectiveness

of those strategies, we may consider the

applicant’s past success in pursuit of

this goal.

Therefore, for purposes of these

competitive preferences, applicants can

be awarded up to a total of 20 points in

addition to those awarded under the

27816 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Notices

selection criteria for this priority. That

is, an applicant meeting this

competitive preference could earn a

maximum total of 120 points.

Project Period: With the exception of

the following, projects will be funded

for a period up to 60 months. Interim

projects will be funded for a period up

to 12 months.

Estimated Project Awards: Project

award amounts are for a single budget

period of 12 months. The FY 2001 State

awards, interim State awards, and

awards focusing on Native American

families and military families are listed

below:

Alaska ....................................... $269,820

Alabama ................................... 280,940

Colorado ................................... 277,330

Florida ...................................... 585,020

Kentucky .................................. 253,760

Maine ....................................... 193,350

Maryland .................................. 297,890

Nebraska ................................... 202,110

New York ................................. 1,154,270

North Dakota ............................ 210,170

Nevada ..................................... 210,280

Puerto Rico .............................. 278,880

Vermont ................................... 193,870

Wisconsin ................................ 450,000

Native American Families ...... 100,000

Military Families ..................... 100,000

California (4 Interim Awards) 1,103,810

Michigan (Interim Award) ...... 274,440

Awards may also be made to

authorized entities in Guam, Palau, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, and the freely associated States.

However, maximum funding levels have

not been specified.

Consistent with EDGAR 34 CFR

75.104(b), we will reject any application

that proposes a project funding level for

any year that exceeds the stated

maximum award amount for that year.

Page Limits: The maximum page limit

for this priority is 50 double-spaced

pages.

Note: Applications must meet the required

page limit standards that are described in the

‘‘General Requirements’’ section of this

notice.

For Applications Contact: Education

Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box

1398, Jessup, Maryland 20794–1398.

Telephone (toll free): 1–877–4ED–Pubs

(1–877–433–7827). FAX: 301–470–1244.

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call (toll free) 1–877–576–

7734.

You may also contact ED Pubs via its

Web site (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/

edpubs.html) or its E-mail address

(edpubs@inet.ed.gov).

If you request an application from ED

Pubs, be sure to identify this

competition as follows: CFDA 84.328M.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Grants and Contracts Services Team,

U.S. Department of Education, 400

Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3317,

Switzer Building, Washington, DC

20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 260–

9182.

If you use a 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 to the contact office.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain a copy of the application package

in an alternative format by contacting

the Department contact office. However,

the Department is not able to reproduce

in an alternative format the standard

forms included in the application

package.

Intergovernmental Review

The program in this notice is subject

to the requirements of Executive Order

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR

part 79. The objective of the Executive

order is to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened

federalism by relying on processes

developed by State and local

governments for coordination and

review of proposed Federal financial

assistance.

In accordance with the order, we

intend this document to provide early

notification of the Department’s specific

plans and actions for this program.

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT APPLICATION NOTICE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001

CFDA No. and name Applications

available

Application

deadline

date

Deadline for

intergovernmental review

Maximum

award (per

year) *

Project period Page limit **

Estimated

No. of

awards

84.328M Parent Training and Information Centers.05/25/01 07/13/01 09/13/01 .................... Up to 60 mos 50 21

Alaska .................................................... .................... .................... .................... $269,820 ...................... .................... ....................

Alabama ................................................ .................... .................... .................... 280,940 ...................... .................... ....................

Colorado ................................................ .................... .................... .................... 277,330 ...................... .................... ....................

Florida .................................................... .................... .................... .................... 585,020 ...................... .................... ....................

Kentucky ................................................ .................... .................... .................... 253,760 ...................... .................... ....................

Maine ..................................................... .................... .................... .................... 193,350 ...................... .................... ....................

Maryland ................................................ .................... .................... .................... 297,890 ...................... .................... ....................

Nebraska ............................................... .................... .................... .................... 202,110 ...................... .................... ....................

New York ............................................... .................... .................... .................... 1,154,270 ...................... .................... ....................

North Dakota ......................................... .................... .................... .................... 210,170 ...................... .................... ....................

Nevada .................................................. .................... .................... .................... 210,280 ...................... .................... ....................

Puerto Rico ............................................ .................... .................... .................... 278,880 ...................... .................... ....................

Vermont ................................................. .................... .................... .................... 193,870 ...................... .................... ....................

Wisconsin .............................................. .................... .................... .................... 450,000 ...................... .................... ....................

Native American Families ...................... .................... .................... .................... 100,000 ...................... .................... ....................

Military Families ..................................... .................... .................... .................... 100,000 ...................... .................... ....................

California (Interim) ................................. .................... .................... .................... 1,103,810 ...................... .................... ....................

Michigan (Interim) .................................. .................... .................... .................... 274,440 ...................... .................... ....................

* Consistent with EDGAR 34 CFR 75.104(b), we will reject any application that proposes a project funding level for any year that exceeds the

stated maximum award amount for that year. Awards may also be made to authorized entities in Guam, Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the freely associated States. However, maximum funding levels have not been specified.

** Applicants must limit the Application Narrative, Part III of the Application, to the page limits noted above. Please refer to the ‘‘Page Limit’’ requirements included under each priority description and the page limit standards described in the ‘‘General Requirements’’ section. We will reject

and will not consider an application that does not adhere to this requirement.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Notices 27817

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index.html.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1482.

Dated: May 14, 2001.

Frank V. Corrigan,

Deputy Director for National Institute on

Disability and Rehabilitation and Research.

[FR Doc. 01–12518 Filed 5–17–01; 8:45 am]

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