4800 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2001 / Notices

20006–8524, telephone 202–502–7676,

fax (202) 502–7675, or e-mail

gearup@ed.gov

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 or a copy of the

GEAR UP application package in an

alternative format (e.g., Braille, large

print, audiotape, or computer diskette)

upon request to the contact number

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. However, the Department is

not able to reproduce in an alternative

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/new.html

To use PDF you must have Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at either of the previous sites. If you

have any questions about using PDF,

call the U.S. Government Printing Office

(GPO) at (202) 512–1530 or, toll free, at

1–888–293–6498.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register. Free Internet access to the offical

edition of the Federal Register and the Code

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO

Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/

index.html.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a–21—

20 U.S.C. 1070a–28.

Dated: January 12, 2001.

A. Lee Fritschler,

Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary

Education.

[FR Doc. 01–1529 Filed 1–17–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.128G]

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers

Program; Notice Inviting Applications

for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY)

2001

Purpose of Program: To provide

grants for vocational rehabilitation

services to individuals with disabilities

who are migrant or seasonal

farmworkers, as determined in

accordance with rules prescribed by the

Secretary of Labor, and to the family

members who are residing with those

individuals (whether or not those family

members are individuals with

disabilities).

Eligible Applicants: A State

designated agency; nonprofit agencies

working in collaboration with a State

agency; and a local agency working in

collaboration with a State agency.

Applications Available: January 30,

2001.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: March 30, 2001.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: May 30, 2001.

Estimated Available Funds: $528,000.

Estimated Range of Awards:

$150,000–$170,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$165,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 3.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Reasonable Accommodations: We

will consider, and may fund, requests

for additional funding as an addendum

to an application to reflect the costs of

reasonable accommodations necessary

to allow individuals with disabilities to

be employed on the project as personnel

on project activities.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Applicable Regulations: The

Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

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

85, and 86.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79

apply to applicants except federally

recognized Indian tribes.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86

apply to institutions of higher education

only.

Priority: This competition focuses on

projects designed to meet the priority in

the notice of final competitive

preference for this program, published

in the Federal Register on November 22,

2000 (65 FR 70408). Under 34 CFR

75.105 (c)(2)(i) the Assistant Secretary

adds a competitive preference to

applications that are otherwise eligible

for funding under this program.

The maximum score under the

selection criteria for this program is 100

points; however, we will also use the

following competitive preference so that

up to an additional 10 points may be

earned by an applicant for a total

possible score of 110 points.

Up to 10 points may be earned based

on the extent to which an application

includes effective strategies for

employing and advancing in

employment qualified individuals with

disabilities as project employees in

projects awarded under this program. In

determining the effectiveness of those

strategies, we will consider the

applicant’s prior success, as described

in the application, in employing and

advancing in employment qualified

individuals with disabilities.

Therefore, within this competitive

preference, applicants can be awarded

up to a total of 10 points in addition to

those awarded under the published

selection criteria for this program (The

selection criteria to be used for this

competition will be provided in the

application package for this

competition). That is, an applicant

meeting this competitive preference

could earn a maximum total of 110

points.

Application Procedures:

Note: Some of the procedures in these

instructions for transmitting applications

differ from those in the Education

Department General Administrative

Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under

the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.

553) the Department generally offers

interested parties the opportunity to

comment on proposed regulations. However,

these amendments 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.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission

of Applications

The U.S. Department of Education is

expanding its pilot project of electronic

submission of applications to include

certain formula grant programs, as well

as additional discretionary grant

competitions. The Migrant and Seasonal

Farmworkers Program (CFDA 84.128G)

is one of the programs included in the

pilot project. If you are an applicant

under the Migrant and Seasonal

Farmworkers Program, you may submit

your application to us in either

electronic or paper format.

The pilot project involves the use of

the Electronic Grant Application System

(e-APPLICATION, formerly e-GAPS)

portion of the Grant Administration and

Payment System (GAPS). We request

your participation in this pilot project.

We shall continue to evaluate its

success and solicit suggestions for

improvement.

If you participate in this eAPPLICATION pilot, please note the

following:

• Your participation is voluntary.

• You will not receive any additional

point value or penalty because you

submit a grant application in electronic

or paper format.

• You can submit all documents

electronically, including the

Application for Federal Assistance (ED

424), Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED 524), and all

necessary assurances and certifications.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2001 / Notices 4801

• Fax a signed copy of the

Application for Federal Assistance (ED

424) after following these steps:

1. Print ED 424 from the eAPPLICATION system.

2. Make sure that the institution’s

Authorizing Representative signs this

form.

3. Before faxing this form, submit

your electronic application via the eAPPLICATION system. You will receive

an automatic acknowledgement, which

will include a PR/Award number (an

identifying number unique to your

application).

4. Place the PR/Award number in the

upper right hand corner of ED 424.

5. Fax ED 424 to the Application

Control Center within three working

days of submitting your electronic

application. We will indicate a fax

number in e-APPLICATION at the time

of your submission.

• We may request that you give us

original signatures on all other forms at

a later date. You may access the

electronic grant application for the

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers

Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

We have included additional

information about the e-APPLICATION

pilot project (see Parity Guidelines

between Paper and Electronic

Applications) in the application

package.

For Applications Contact: Education

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

1398, Jessup, MD 20794–1398.

Telephone (toll free): 1–877–433–7827.

FAX: (301) 470–1244. If you use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD), you 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 you may contact ED Pubs at its email address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.

If you request an application from ED

Pubs, be sure to identify this

competition as follows: CFDA number

84.128G.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain a copy of the application package

in an alternative format by contacting

the Grants and Contracts Services Team

(GCST), U.S. Department of Education,

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3317,

Switzer Building, Washington, DC

20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 205–

8351. If you use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339. However,

the Department is not able to reproduce

in an alternative format the standard

forms included in the application

package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary E. Chambers, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

room 3322, Switzer Building,

Washington, DC 20202–2647.

Telephone (202) 205–8435. 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 a copy of this document in an

alternative format (e.g., Braille, large

print, audiotape, or computer diskette)

on request to the contact person listed

in the preceding paragraph.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as 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 Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at either of the previous sites. If you

have questions about using 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://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/

index.html

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 774.

Dated: January 12, 2001.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 01–1528 Filed 1–17–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Recognition of Accrediting Agencies,

State Agencies for the Approval of

Public Postsecondary Vocational

Education, and State Agencies for the

Approval of Nurse Education

AGENCY: National Advisory Committee

on Institutional Quality and Integrity,

Department of Education (The Advisory

Committee).

What Is the Purpose of This Notice?

The purpose of this notice is to invite

written comments on accrediting

agencies whose applications to the

Secretary for initial or renewed

recognition will be reviewed at the

Advisory Committee meeting to be held

on May 23–25, 2001. The notice also

invites written comments on agencies

submitting interim reports that will be

reviewed at the May meeting. Further,

the notice invites written comments on

one Federal agency seeking degreegranting authority.

Where Should I Submit My Comments?

Please submit your written comments

by March 5, 2001 to Carol Griffiths,

Chief, Accrediting Agency Evaluation,

Accreditation and State Liaison. You

may contact her at the U.S. Department

of Education, 1990 K Street, NW, 7th

Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC

20006–8509, telephone: (202) 219–7011.

Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339.

What Is the Authority for the Advisory

Committee?

The National Advisory Committee on

Institutional Quality and Integrity is

established under Section 114 of the

Higher Education Act (HEA), as

amended, 20 U.S.C. 1011c. One of the

purposes of the Advisory Committee is

to advise the Secretary of Education on

the recognition of accrediting agencies

and State approval agencies.

Will This Be My Only Opportunity To

Submit Written Comments?

Yes, this notice announces the only

opportunity you will have to submit

written comments. However, a

subsequent Federal Register notice will

announce the meeting and invite

individuals and/or groups to submit

requests to make oral presentations

before the Advisory Committee on the

agencies that the Committee will

review. That notice, however, does not

offer a second opportunity to submit

written comment.

What Happens to the Comments That I

Submit?

We will review your comments, in

response to this notice, as part of our

evaluation of the agencies’ compliance

with the Secretary’s Criteria for

Recognition of Accrediting Agencies.

The Criteria are regulations found in 34

CFR part 602 (for accrediting agencies)

and in 34 CFR part 603 (for State

approval agencies).

We will also respond to your

comments, as appropriate, in the staff

analyses we present to the Advisory

Committee at its May 2001 meeting.

Therefore, in order for us to give full

consideration to your comments, it is

important that we receive them by

March 5, 2001. In all instances, your

comments about agencies seeking initial