`[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 42 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11496-11501]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-911]



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Part III





Department of Education





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 Institute of Education Sciences; Overview Information; Education 
Research and Special Education Research Grant Programs; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 42 / Monday, March 3, 2008 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Institute of Education Sciences; Overview Information; Education 
Research and Special Education Research Grant Programs; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.305A, 
84.305B, 305C, 305D, 305E, 84.324A, and 84.324B.

    Summary: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 
(Institute) announces the Institute's FY 2009 competitions for grants 
to support education research and special education research. The 
Director takes this action under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 
2002, title I of Public Law 107-279. The intent of these grants is to 
provide national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and 
understanding of education from early childhood education through 
postsecondary and adult education.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The central purpose of the Institute's research 
grant programs is to provide parents, educators, students, researchers, 
policymakers, and the general public with reliable and valid 
information about education practices that support learning and improve 
academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all 
students. In carrying out its grant programs, the Institute provides 
support for programs of research in areas of demonstrated national 
need.
    Competitions in this Notice: The Institute will conduct nine 
research competitions in FY 2009 through two of its National Education 
Centers.
    The National Center for Education Research (NCER) will hold six 
competitions: Two competitions for education research; one competition 
for education research training; one competition for education research 
and development centers; one competition for research on statistical 
and research methodology in education; and one competition for 
evaluation of State and district education programs and policies.
    The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) will 
hold three competitions: Two competitions for special education 
research and one competition for special education research training.

National Center for Education Research Competitions

    Education Research. Under the two education research competitions, 
NCER will consider only applications that address one of the following 
education research topics:

 Reading and Writing
 Mathematics and Science Education
 Cognition and Student Learning
 Teacher Quality--Reading and Writing
 Teacher Quality--Mathematics and Science Education
 Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning
 Education Leadership
 Education Policy, Finance, and Systems
 Early Childhood Programs and Policies
 Middle and High School Reform
 Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult Readers and 
Writers
 Postsecondary Education
 Education Technology

    Education Research Training. Under the education research training 
competition, NCER will consider only applications for:

 Postdoctoral Research Training
 Predoctoral Research Training

    Education Research and Development Centers. Under the education 
research and development centers competition, NCER will consider only 
applications that address one of the following education research 
topics:

 Teacher Effectiveness
 Rural Education
 Turning Around Chronically Low Achieving Schools

    Research on Statistical and Research Methodology in Education. 
Under this competition, NCER will consider only applications that 
address research on statistical and research methodology in education.
    Evaluation of State and District Education Programs and Policies. 
Under this competition, NCER will consider only applications that 
address the evaluation of State and district education programs and 
policies.

National Center for Special Education Research Competitions

    Special Education Research. Under the two special education 
research competitions, NCSER will consider only applications that 
address one of the following special education research topics:

 Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education
 Reading, Writing, and Language Development
 Mathematics and Science Education
 Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning
 Transition Outcomes for Special Education Secondary Students
 Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education
 Teacher Quality
 Related Services
 Systemic Interventions and Policies for Special Education
 Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Special Education Research Training. Under the special education 
research training competition, NCSER will consider only applications 
for Postdoctoral Research Training.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 77, 80, 81, 82, 
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. In addition, 34 CFR part 75 is applicable, 
except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 
75.105, 75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 
75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants and cooperative agreements.
    Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not enacted a final 
appropriation for FY 2009, the Institute is inviting applications for 
these competitions now so that it may be prepared to make awards 
following final action on the Department's appropriations bill. The 
President's FY 2009 Budget for the Institute includes sufficient 
funding for all of the competitions included in this notice. The actual 
award of grants will depend on the availability of funds. The number of 
awards made under each competition will depend on the quality of the 
applications received for that competition. The size of the awards will 
depend on the scope of the projects proposed.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Applicants that have the ability and 
capacity to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to 
apply. Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit 
and for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and 
institutions, such as colleges and universities.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: These programs do not require cost 
sharing or matching.

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IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Request for Applications and Other Information: Information 
regarding program and application requirements for the competitions 
will be contained in the NCER and NCSER Request for Applications (RFA) 
packages, which will be available at the following Web sites:

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html.

    2. Applications Available: The RFAs for the education research, 
special education research, research on statistical and research 
methodology in education, and evaluation of State and district 
education programs and policies competitions will be available at the 
Web sites listed above on or before March 3, 2008. The dates on which 
applications for these competitions will be available are also 
indicated in the chart at the end of this notice.
    The RFAs for the education research training, special education 
research training, and education research and development centers 
competitions will be available at the Web sites listed above on or 
before March 20, 2008.
    Interested potential applicants should periodically check the 
Institute's Web site.
    Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures for 
the competitions will be provided in the RFA packages.
    3. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: The deadline dates for 
transmittal of applications invited under this notice are indicated in 
the chart at the end of this notice and in the RFAs for the 
competitions.
    4. Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under these 
competitions must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov 
Apply site (Grants.gov). Information (including dates and times) about 
how to submit your application electronically, or in paper format by 
mail or hand delivery if you qualify for an exception to this 
requirement, please refer to section V. a. Submission of Applications 
in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII 
in this notice. 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 this notice.

V. Submission of Applications

a. Electronic Submission of Applications

    Applications for grants under the Education Research, Education 
Research Training, Education Research and Development Centers, Research 
on Statistical and Research Methodology in Education, and Evaluation of 
State and District Education Programs and Policies competitions, CFDA 
Numbers 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.305C, 84.305D, and 84.305E, and for grants 
under the Special Education Research and Special Education Research 
Training competitions, CFDA Numbers 84.324A and 84.324B, must be 
submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site 
at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to 
download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and 
then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant applications for the Education 
Research, Education Research Training, Education Research and 
Development Centers, Research on Statistical and Research Methodology 
in Education, Evaluation of State and District Education Programs and 
Policies, Special Education Research, and Special Education Research 
Training competitions at http://www.Grants.gov. You must search for the 
downloadable application package for each competition by the CFDA 
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search 
(e.g., search for 84.324, not 84.324A).
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. 
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your 
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline 
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify 
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time 
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date.
     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, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     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 competition to ensure that 
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures 
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include (1) 
registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes 
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) 
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative 
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. 
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step 
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In 
addition you will need to

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update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take three or 
more business days to complete.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424 (R&R)) and the other R&R 
forms, including Project Performance Site Locations, Other Project 
Information, Senior/Key Person Profile, Research and Related Budget 
(Total Federal + Non-federal) and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
     You must attach any narrative sections of your application 
as files in a .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file 
type other than the file type specified in this paragraph or submit a 
password-protected file, the Institute may choose not to review that 
material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification 
indicates that the Department has received your application and has 
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified 
identifying number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
With the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a 
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed 
under For Further Information Contact in section VII in this notice and 
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with 
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will 
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your 
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after 
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply 
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the 
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed 
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before 
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem 
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
    If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be 
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must 
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the 
application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Elizabeth Payer, U.S. 
Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., Room 602C, 
Washington, DC 20208. Fax: (202) 219-1466.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.

b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail

    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. 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: (CFDA Number: 
[Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which you are 
submitting an application.]), 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: (CFDA Number: 
[Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which you are 
submitting an application.]), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 
20785-1506.
    Regardless of which address you use, 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, we do 
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.
    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 qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your

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paper application to the Department by hand. You 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: 
(CFDA Number: [Identify the CFDA number for the competition under which 
you are submitting an application.]), 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--if not provided by the 
Department--in Item 10 of the SF 424 (R&R) the CFDA number, including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification 
of receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this 
notification 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.

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 Notice 
(GAN). We may notify you informally, also.
    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 in this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in 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. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for a three-day 
meeting for project directors to be held in Washington, DC.
    4. 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 directed by the Secretary 
under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent 
performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements 
on grantee reporting, please go to http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    5. Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of its 
education research program, the Institute annually assesses the quality 
and relevance of newly funded research projects, as well as the quality 
of research publications that result from its funded research projects. 
External panels of qualified scientists review the quality of new 
research applications, and the percentage of newly funded projects that 
receive an average panel score of excellent or higher is determined. A 
panel of experienced education practitioners and administrators reviews 
descriptions of a randomly selected sample of newly funded projects and 
rates the degree to which the projects are relevant to educational 
practice. An external panel of eminent scientists reviews the quality 
of a randomly selected sample of new publications, and the percentage 
of new publications that are deemed to be of high quality is 
determined.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: The contact person associated with 
a particular research competition is listed in the chart at the end of 
this notice and in the RFA. The date on which applications will be 
available, the deadline for transmittal of applications, the estimated 
range of awards, and the project period are also listed in the chart 
and in the RFA that will be posted at the following Web sites:

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html.

    Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an alternative format 
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the program contact person listed in the chart at the end of 
this notice.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You can 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 26, 2008.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
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