5972 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Notices 

A. Purpose

If it is in the best interest of the 

Government, the contracting officer may 

authorize cost-reimbursement 

contractors to obtain, for official 

purposes only, interagency motor pool 

vehicles and related services. 

Contractors’ requests for vehicles must 

obtain two copies of the agency 

authorization, the number of vehicles 

and related services required and period 

of use, a list of employees who are 

authorized to request thevehicles, a 

listing of equipment authorized to be 

serviced, andbilling instructions and 

address.

A written statement that the 

contractor will assume, without the 

right of reimbursement from the 

Government, the cost or expense of any 

use of the motor pool vehicles and 

services not related to the performance 

of the contract is necessary before the 

contracting officer may authorize costreimbursement contractors to obtain 

interagency motor pool vehicles and 

related services.

The information is used by the 

Government to determine that it is in 

the Government’s best interest to 

authorize a cost-reimbursement 

contractor to obtain, for official 

purposes only,interagency motor pool 

vehicles and related services, and to 

provide those vehicles.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

Respondents: 70.

Responses Per Respondent: 2.

Annual Responses: 140. 

Hours Per Response: .5.

Total Burden Hours: 70.

Obtaining Copies of Proposals:

Requesters may obtain a copy of the 

information collection document from 

the General Services Administration, 

FAR Secretariat (VIR), Room 4035, 1800 

F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405, 

telephone (202) 501–4755. Please cite 

OMB Control No. 9000–0032, Contractor 

Use of Interagency Motor Pool Vehicles, 

in all correspondence.

Dated: January 28, 2005

Julia B. Wise

Acting Director, Contract Policy Division.

[FR Doc. 05–2199 Filed 2–3–05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education; Overview Information; 

Comprehensive School Reform Quality 

Initiatives Program; Notice Inviting 

Applications for New Awards

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.332B.

Note: This notice describes two separate 

competitions—one competition for Category 

1 grant awards and one competition for 

Category 2 grant awards. Applicants must 

specify in their application whether they are 

applying for Category 1 or Category 2 grant 

awards.

DATES: Applications Available: February 

4, 2005. 

Notification of Intent To Apply:

March 7, 2005. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: April 5, 2005. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 6, 2005. 

Eligible Applicants: Public or private 

organizations that provide educational 

services to public elementary or 

secondary schools. 

Estimated Available Funds: A total of 

approximately $12 million for the two 

categories of grants described in this 

notice. (Of this amount, approximately 

$5 million is from the fiscal year FY 

2004 Comprehensive School Reform 

(CSR) Quality Initiatives appropriation 

and approximately $7 million is from 

the FY 2005 CSR Quality Initiatives 

appropriation.) 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the receipt of a sufficient 

number of high-quality applications, we 

may make additional awards in FY 2006 

from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 

applications from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: Please 

see the chart (chart) elsewhere in this 

notice under section II, Award 

Information. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

See chart. 

Estimated Number of Awards: At least 

one award in each of the two categories 

described in this notice. Any additional 

awards will be distributed between 

Category 1 and Category 2 grants based 

on the quality of the applications.

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the CSR Quality Initiatives program, 

authorized under section 1608 of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), is to 

provide discretionary grants to support 

activities that will enhance the Stateadministered CSR program and to 

enable schools that have been identified 

for improvement, corrective action, or 

restructuring under Part A of Title I of 

the ESEA to meet their State’s definition 

of adequate yearly progress (AYP). 

Under this program, the Secretary 

awards funds to support two specific 

categories of activities: 

Category 1—The grantee provides 

technical assistance to States, school 

districts, and schools in making 

informed decisions regarding approving 

or selecting providers of comprehensive 

school reform, and 

Category 2—The grantee supports 

capacity building for comprehensive 

school reform providers to expand their 

work in more schools, ensure quality, 

and promote financial stability.

The Category 1 and Category 2 

competitions announced in this notice 

are independent competitions. The 

Department will evaluate and fund the 

Category 1 and Category 2 applications 

separately. 

Priorities: These priorities are from 

the notice of final priorities for this 

program, published elsewhere in this 

issue of the Federal Register. 

Absolute Priorities 

(1) Absolute priority applicable to 

both Category 1 and Category 2 

applicants.

For FY 2004 and FY 2005 and any 

subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 

CFR 75.105(c)(3), we only consider 

Category 1 and Category 2 applicants 

that meet this priority. This priority is: 

The grantee will assist local 

educational agencies (LEAs) in more 

than one State. 

(2) Absolute priority applicable to 

Category 1 applicants only.

For FY 2004 and FY 2005 and any 

subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 

CFR 75.105(c)(3), we only consider 

Category 1 applicants that meet this 

priority. This priority is: 

The applicant must demonstrate, in 

its grant application, that its CSR 

Quality Initiatives award will be 

matched with funds from one or more 

private organizations. For each year that 

a grantee receives a CSR Quality 

Initiatives award, the match, including 

any in-kind contributions, must total at 

least 10 percent of the award. 

Competitive Preference Priorities 

(1) Competitive preference priority 

applicable to Category 1 applicants 

only.

For FY 2004 and FY 2005 and any 

subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), 

we award up to 10 additional points to 

a Category 1 applicant, depending on 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Notices 5973

the extent to which the applicant meets 

this priority. This priority is: 

The grantee will provide assistance to 

States, LEAs, and schools in approving 

or selecting a comprehensive school 

reform provider or in developing 

comprehensive school reforms, for 

schools that are identified as being in 

need of improvement, corrective action, 

or restructuring under section 1116 of 

the Elementary and Secondary Act of 

1965, as amended. The applicant will 

provide a plan for providing States, 

LEAs and schools with information 

tools and technical assistance in such 

areas as using data to identify the 

instructional needs of students and to 

clarify the technical assistance and 

professional development needs of 

teachers and administrators. 

(2) Competitive preference priority 

applicable to Category 2 applicants 

only.

For FY 2004 and FY 2005 and any 

subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, this 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), 

we award up to 10 additional points to 

a Category 2 applicant, depending on 

the extent to which the applicant meets 

this priority. This priority is: 

The applicant will implement 

activities to develop and field-test 

specific strategies to: (1) Meet the needs 

of students who have been traditionally 

underserved by comprehensive school 

reform providers, such as students with 

disabilities and students with limited 

English proficiency and to integrate 

those strategies into scientifically 

research-based comprehensive school 

reforms, or (2) increase the capacity of 

comprehensive reform providers to 

serve students in rural areas. These 

strategies could be additions or 

enhancements to existing CSR models 

or services already being provided. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

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

84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; (b) the Notice 

of Final Priorities for the program 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6518.

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grant. 

Estimated Available Funds:

Approximately $12 million. 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the receipt of a sufficient 

number of high-quality applications, we 

may make additional awards in FY 2006 

from the rank-ordered list of unfunded 

applications from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards, 

Estimated Size of Awards, and Funding 

Cycle:

BILLING CODE 4001–01–P

5974 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Notices 

BILLING CODE 4001–01–C 

Estimated Number of Awards: At least 

one award under both Category 1 and 

Category 2. Additional funds will be 

distributed between Category 1 and 

Category 2 grants based on the quality 

of the applications.

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months. 


EN04FE05.000</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Notices 5975

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: Public or 

private organizations that provide 

educational services to public 

elementary or secondary schools. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: The 

following matching requirement is for 

Category 1 (technical assistance in 

making informed decisions) applicants 

only. For each year that a Category 1 

grantee receives a CSR Quality 

Initiatives award, the match, including 

any in-kind contributions, must total at 

least 10 percent of the award. Please 

refer to the Category 1 absolute 

priorities for more information. 

There is no matching requirement for 

Category 2 (development and capacity 

building) applicants. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: You may obtain an application 

package for this program via the Internet 

at the following address: http://

www.ed.gov/programs/qualinits/

applicant.html. 

You also may request an application 

package by mail at: 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 at its 

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

edpubs.html or you may contact ED 

Pubs at 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 number 

84.332B 

Individuals with disabilities may 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the program 

contact person listed elsewhere in this 

notice under section VII. Agency 

Contact. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

program. An applicant must indicate 

whether it is applying for funding from 

Category 1 or Category 2. 

Notification of Intent to Apply: We 

will be able to develop a more efficient 

process for reviewing grant applications 

if we have a better understanding of the 

number of entities that intend to apply 

for funding. 

Therefore, we strongly encourage each 

potential applicant to send a 

notification of its intent to apply for 

funding to the following address: 

compreform@ed.gov. Please indicate 

which category the potential applicant 

intends to apply under. The notification 

of intent to apply for funding is optional 

and should not include information 

regarding the proposed application. 

Page Limit: Applicants are strongly 

encouraged to limit their application to 

40 pages. 

3. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: February 4, 

2005. 

Notification of Intent to Apply: March 

7, 2005. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: April 5, 2005. 

Applications for grants under this 

program may be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) 

accessible through the Department’s eGrants system, or in paper format by 

mail or hand delivery. For information 

(including dates and times) about how 

to submit your application 

electronically, or by mail or hand 

delivery, please refer to section IV. 6. 

Other Submission Requirements in 

this notice.

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 6, 2005. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

program. 

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements:

Applications for grants under this 

program may be submitted 

electronically or in paper format by mail 

or hand delivery. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications.

If you submit your application to us 

electronically, you must use eApplication available through the 

Department’s e-Grants system, 

accessible through the e-Grants portal 

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

While completing your electronic 

application, you will be entering data 

online that will be saved into a 

database. You may not e-mail an 

electronic copy of a grant application to 

us. 

Please note the following: 

• Your participation in e-Application 

is voluntary. 

• You must complete the electronic 

submission of your grant application by 

4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. The eApplication system will not accept an 

application for this program after 4:30 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. Therefore, we 

strongly recommend that you do not 

wait until the application deadline date 

to begin the application process. 

• The regular hours of operation of 

the e-Grants Web site are 6 a.m. Monday 

until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. 

Thursday until midnight Saturday, 

Washington, DC time. Please note that 

the system is unavailable on Sundays, 

and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 

6 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, DC 

time, for maintenance. Any 

modifications to these hours are posted 

on the e-Grants Web site. 

• You will not receive additional 

point value because you submit your 

application in electronic format, nor 

will we penalize you if you submit your 

application in paper format. 

• You must submit all documents 

electronically, including the 

Application for Federal Education 

Assistance (ED 424), Budget 

Information—Non-Construction 

Programs (ED 524), and all necessary 

assurances and certifications. 

• Any narrative sections of your 

application should be attached as files 

in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), 

or .PDF (Portable Document) format. 

• Prior to submitting your electronic 

application, you may wish to print a 

copy of it for your records. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive an 

automatic acknowledgement that will 

include a PR/Award number (an 

identifying number unique to your 

application). 

• Within three working days after 

submitting your electronic application, 

fax a signed copy of the ED 424 to the 

Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

1. Print ED 424 from e-Application. 

2. The applicant’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

3. Place the PR/Award number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hardcopy signature page of the ED 424. 

4. Fax the signed ED 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6272. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on other forms at a 

later date.

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of System Unavailability: If you 

5976 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Notices 

are prevented from electronically 

submitting your application on the 

application deadline date because the eApplication system is unavailable, we 

will grant you an extension of one 

business day in order to transmit your 

application electronically, by mail, or by 

hand delivery. We will grant this 

extension if—

1. You are a registered user of eApplication and you have initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

2. (a) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for 60 minutes or more 

between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date; or 

(b) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for any period of time 

between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. 

We must acknowledge and confirm 

these periods of unavailability before 

granting you an extension. To request 

this extension or to confirm our 

acknowledgement of any system 

unavailability, you may contact either 

(1) the person listed elsewhere in this 

notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) 

the e-Grants help desk at 1–888–336–

8930. If the system is down and 

therefore the application deadline is 

extended, an e-mail will be sent to all 

registered users who have initiated an eApplication. 

Extensions referred to in this section 

apply only to the unavailability of the 

Department’s e-Application system. If 

the e-Application system is available, 

and, for any reason, you are unable to 

submit your application electronically 

or you do not receive an automatic 

acknowledgement of your submission, 

you may submit your application in 

paper format by mail or hand delivery 

in accordance with the instructions in 

this notice. 

b. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Mail.

If you submit your application in 

paper format by mail (through the U.S. 

Postal Service or a commercial carrier), 

you must mail the original and two 

copies of your application, on or before 

the application deadline date, to the 

Department at the applicable following 

address:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, 

Attention: 84.332B, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 

20202–4260; or 

By mail through a commercial carrier:

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center—Stop 

4260, Attention: 84.332B, 7100 Old 

Landover Road, Landover, MD 

20785–1506.

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; or 

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, we do not 

accept either of the following as proof 

of mailing: 

1. A private metered postmark, or 

2. A mail receipt that is not dated by 

the U.S. Postal Service. 

If your application is postmarked after 

the application deadline date, we will 

not consider your application.

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.

c. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Hand Delivery.

If you submit your application in 

paper format by hand delivery, you (or 

a courier service) 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: 

84.332B, 550 12th Street, SW., Room 

7041, Potomac Center Plaza, 

Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center 

accepts hand deliveries daily between 8 

a.m. and 4:30 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 4 of the ED 424 the 

CFDA number—and suffix letter, if 

any—of the competition under which 

you are submitting your application. 

2. The Application Control Center 

will mail a grant application receipt 

acknowledgment to you. If you do not 

receive the grant application receipt 

acknowledgement 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 

Selection Criteria: We will use 

different selection criteria for the 

Category 1 and Category 2 applications. 

These criteria are from the regulations at 

34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the 

application package. 

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). We may also notify you 

informally. 

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. Reporting: At the end of your 

project period, you must submit a final 

performance report, including financial 

information, as directed by the 

Secretary. If you receive a multi-year 

award, you must submit an annual 

performance report that provides the 

most current performance and financial 

expenditure information as specified by 

the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. 

4. Performance Measures: Under the 

Government Performance and Results 

Act (GPRA), the program objective for 

the Comprehensive School Reform 

program is to increase the number of 

CSR program schools that will be 

removed from school improvement 

status under Title I of the ESEA. 

Specifically for the CSR Quality 

Initiatives program, one performance 

indicator and related measure for each 

category have been developed for 

evaluating the overall effectiveness of 

the CSR Quality Initiatives program. 

For Category 1 (technical assistance in 

making informed decisions) projects, 

the performance indicator is ‘‘the 

usefulness of products and services 

developed through technical assistance 

addressed through a survey of target 

audience members.’’ With respect to 

this indicator, the measure that the 

Department will specifically look at is 

‘‘the percentage of all products and 

services that receive target audience 

ratings for usefulness of high and 

above.’’

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 23 / Friday, February 4, 2005 / Notices 5977

For Category 2 (model development 

and capacity building) projects, the 

indicator is ‘‘the relevance of the 

projects funded by this program.’’ With 

respect to this indicator, the 

performance measure is the ‘‘percentage 

of new research projects funded by the 

CSR Quality Initiatives program that are 

deemed to be of high relevance to 

education practice.’’

All Category 1 and Category 2 

grantees will be expected to submit an 

annual performance report addressing 

these performance measures. Data from 

the performance measures are included 

in the yearly report to Congress, key 

stakeholders, and the public. 

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sheila Sjolseth, U.S. Department of 

Education, OESE/AITQ, 400 Maryland 

Ave, SW., FB–6, Room 3W237, 

Washington, DC 20202–6200. 

Telephone (202) 260–5619 or by email 

compreform@ed.gov or by Internet at the 

following Web site: http://www.ed.gov/

programs/qualinits/index.html. 

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 to the program contact person 

listed in this section. 

VIII. Other Information 

Electronic Access to This Document:

You may view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/

fedregister. 

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. 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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/

index.html.

Dated: February 1, 2005. 

Raymond Simon, 

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary, Education.

[FR Doc. 05–2225 Filed 2–3–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–C

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Comprehensive School Reform Quality 

Initiatives

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, Department of 

Education.

ACTION: Notice of final priorities.

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary 

announces priorities under the 

Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) 

Quality Initiatives program. The 

Assistant Secretary may use one or more 

of these priorities for competitions for 

fiscal year (FY) 2004 and subsequent 

years’ funds. These priorities focus on 

schools that are in need of 

improvement, corrective action, or 

restructuring and on student groups that 

have been traditionally underserved, 

such as students with disabilities, 

limited English proficient students, and 

students in rural areas.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These priorities are 

effective March 7, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sheila Sjolseth, U.S. Department of 

Education, OESE/AITQ, 400 Maryland 

Ave, SW., FB–6, room 3W237, 

Washington, DC 20202–6200. 

Telephone: (202) 260–5619 or by e-mail 

at compreform@ed.gov or by the Internet 

at the following Web site: http://

www.ed.gov/programs/qualinits/

index.html.

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 to the contact person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the CSR Quality Initiatives 

program, authorized under section 1608 

of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965, as amended 

(ESEA), is to provide discretionary 

grants to support activities that will 

enhance the State-administered CSR 

program and to enable schools that have 

been identified as in need of 

improvement, corrective action, or 

restructuring under Part A of Title I of 

the ESEA to meet their State’s definition 

of adequate yearly progress (AYP). 

Under this program, the Assistant 

Secretary awards funds to support two 

specific categories of activities. Grantees 

under Category 1 will assist States, local 

educational agencies (LEAs), and 

schools in making informed decisions 

regarding approving or selecting 

providers of comprehensive school 

reform or in developing comprehensive 

school reforms. Category 2 projects will 

foster the development of 

comprehensive school reform models 

and support development of capacity for 

comprehensive school reform providers 

to expand their work in more schools 

and ensure quality. 

We published a notice of proposed 

priorities for this program in the Federal 

Register on December 1, 2004. (69 FR 

69898). In the notice we proposed four 

priorities—two priorities specific to 

Category 1 applications, one priority 

specific to Category 2 applications, and 

one priority for both Category 1 and 

Category 2 applications. Except for a 

change in the priority for Category 2 

applications to clarify the intent of the 

priority, and other technical changes, 

there are no differences between the 

notice of proposed priorities and this 

notice of final priorities. 

Analysis of Comments and Changes 

In response to our invitation in the 

notice of proposed priorities, one party 

submitted comments on the proposed 

priorities. This commenter suggested 

that there be no matching requirement 

for Category 1 applicants. However, 

section 1608(1) of the ESEA requires a 

match for Category 1 applications, and 

we believe that a 10 percent match, 

which may include in-kind 

contributions, is reasonable. 

Accordingly, we have not made a 

change to this matching requirement.

Note: This notice does not solicit 

applications. In any year in which we choose 

to use one or more of these priorities, we 

invite applications through a notice in the 

Federal Register. When inviting applications 

we designate each priority as absolute, 

competitive preference, or invitational. The 

effect of each type of priority follows.

Absolute priority: Under an absolute 

priority we consider only applications 

that meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3)). 

Competitive preference priority:

Under a competitive preference priority 

we give competitive preference to an 

application by either (1) awarding 

additional points, depending on how 

well or the extent to which the 

application meets the competitive 

priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) 

selecting an application that meets the 

competitive priority over an application 

of comparable merit that does not meet 

the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)). 

Invitational priority: Under an 

invitational priority we are particularly 

interested in applications that meet the 

invitational priority. However, we do 

not give an application that meets the