28740 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 98 / Friday, May 21, 2010 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education: Overview Information; 

Teacher Incentive Fund: Notice Inviting 

Applications for New Awards for Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Numbers: 84.385 and 84.374. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: May 21, 2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

June 1, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: July 6, 2010. 

Dates of Pre-Application Workshops: 

Visit the Teacher Incentive Fund’s Web 

site at: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/ 

teacherincentive/applicant.html for 

more information. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: September 3, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) 

program is to support projects that 

develop and implement performancebased compensation systems (PBCSs) 

for teachers, principals, and other 

personnel in order to increase educator 

effectiveness and student achievement 

(as defined in this notice), measured in 

significant part by student growth (as 

defined in this notice), in high-need 

schools (as defined in this notice). 

Priorities: These priorities are from 

the notice of final priorities, 

requirements, definitions, and selection 

criteria (NFP) for this program, 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register. This notice contains 

six priorities for the Main TIF 

Competition and the TIF Evaluation 

Competition. Priorities 1 through 3 are 

absolute priorities. Priorities 4 through 

6 are competitive preference priorities 

and are aligned with other key 

education reform goals of the 

Department. 

Absolute Priorities: For FY 2010 and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, these 

priorities are absolute priorities. Under 

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

applications that address these 

priorities. 

Applicants for each type of grant must 

address all three absolute priorities in 

their applications. These priorities are: 

Priority 1 (Absolute)—Differentiated 

Levels of Compensation for Effective 

Teachers and Principals: 

To meet this absolute priority, an 

applicant must demonstrate, in its 

application, that it will develop and 

implement a PBCS that rewards, at 

differentiated levels, teachers and 

principals who demonstrate their 

effectiveness by improving student 

achievement (as defined in this notice), 

as part of the coherent and integrated 

approach of the local educational 

agency (LEA) to strengthening the 

educator workforce. 

In determining teacher and principal 

effectiveness as part of the PBCS, the 

LEA— 

(a) Must give significant weight to 

student growth (as defined in this 

notice), based on objective data on 

student performance; 

(b) Must include observation-based 

assessments of teacher and principal 

performance at multiple points in the 

year, carried out by evaluators trained in 

using objective evidence-based rubrics 

for observation, aligned with 

professional teaching standards; and, if 

applicable, as part of the LEA’s coherent 

and integrated approach to 

strengthening the educator workforce; 

and 

(c) May include other measures, such 

as evidence of leadership roles (as 

defined in this notice), that increase the 

effectiveness of other teachers in the 

school or LEA. 

In determining principal effectiveness 

as part of a PBCS, the LEA must give 

significant weight to student growth (as 

defined in this notice) and may include 

supplemental measures such as high 

school graduation and college 

enrollment rates. 

In addition, the applicant must 

demonstrate that the differentiated 

effectiveness incentive payments will 

provide incentive amounts that are 

substantial and provide justification for 

the level of incentive amounts chosen. 

While the Department does not propose 

a minimum incentive amount, the 

Department encourages applicants to be 

thorough in their explanation of why 

the selected incentive amounts are 

likely high enough to create change in 

the behavior of current and prospective 

teachers and principals in order to 

ultimately improve student outcomes. 

Priority 2 (Absolute)—Fiscal 

Sustainability of the Performance-Based 

Compensation System (PBCS): 

To meet this absolute priority, the 

applicant must provide, in its 

application, evidence that: 

(a) The applicant has projected costs 

associated with the development and 

implementation of the PBCS, during the 

project period and beyond, and has 

accepted the responsibility to provide 

such performance-based compensation 

to teachers, principals, and other 

personnel (in those sites in which the 

grantee wishes to expand the PBCS to 

additional staff in its schools) who earn 

it under the system; and 

(b) The applicant will provide from 

non-TIF funds over the course of the 

five-year project period an increasing 

share of performance-based 

compensation paid to teachers, 

principals, and other personnel (in 

those sites in which the grantee wishes 

to expand the PBCS to additional staff 

in its schools) in those project years in 

which the LEA provides such payments 

as part of its PBCS. 

Priority 3 (Absolute)—Comprehensive 

Approaches to the Performance-Based 

Compensation System (PBCS): 

To meet this absolute priority, the 

applicant must provide, in its 

application, evidence that the proposed 

PBCS is aligned with a coherent and 

integrated strategy for strengthening the 

educator workforce, including in the use 

of data and evaluations for professional 

development and retention and tenure 

decisions, in the LEA or LEAs 

participating in the project, during and 

after the end of the TIF project period. 

Competitive Preference Priorities: For 

FY 2010 and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applicants from this 

competition, these priorities are 

competitive preference priorities. 

Applicants may choose to address one 

or more of the three competitive 

preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(i) applicants will be 

awarded points for competitive 

preference priorities 4 and 5 depending 

on how well the application addresses 

the priority. The number of points to be 

awarded are indicated in parenthesis 

following the criterion. 

These priorities are: 

Priority 4 (Competitive Preference)— 

Use of Value-Added Measures of 

Student Achievement. (Up to 5 points) 

To meet this competitive preference 

priority, the applicant must 

demonstrate, in its application, that the 

proposed PBCS for teachers, principals, 

and other personnel (in those sites in 

which the grantee wishes to expand the 

PBCS to additional staff in its schools) 

will use a value-added measure of the 

impact on student growth (as defined in 

this notice) as a significant factor in 

calculating differentiated levels of 

compensation provided to teachers, 

principals, and other personnel (in 

those sites in which the grantee wishes 

to expand the PBCS to additional staff 

in its schools). 

Under this priority, the applicant 

must also demonstrate that it has a plan 

to ensure that, as part of the PBCS, it has 

the capacity to (1) implement the 

proposed value-added model (e.g., 

through robust data systems that collect 


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1Successful applicants that receive Teacher 

Incentive Fund grant awards must ensure that the 

program’s PBCS, including the necessary data 

systems, complies with the Family Educational 

Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), including the 

regulations in 34 CFR Part 99, as well as any 

applicable State and local requirements regarding 

privacy. 

the necessary data and ensure data 

quality), and (2) clearly explain the 

chosen value-added model to teachers 

to enable them to use the data generated 

through the model to improve classroom 

practices. 

Priority 5 (Competitive Preference)— 

Increased Recruitment and Retention of 

Effective Teachers to Serve High-Need 

Students and in Hard-to-Staff Subjects 

and Specialty Areas in High-Need 

Schools. (Up to 5 points) 

To meet this competitive preference 

priority, the applicant must demonstrate 

in its application that its proposed PBCS 

is designed to assist high-need schools 

(as defined in this notice) to (1) serve 

high-need students (as defined in this 

notice), (2) retain effective teachers in 

teaching positions in hard-to-staff 

subjects and specialty areas, such as 

mathematics, science, special education, 

and English language acquisition, and 

(3) fill vacancies with teachers of those 

subjects or specialty areas who are 

effective or likely to be effective. The 

applicant must provide an explanation 

for how it will determine that a teacher 

filling a vacancy is effective or likely to 

be effective. In addition, applicants 

must demonstrate, in their applications, 

the extent to which the subjects or 

specialty areas they propose to target are 

hard-to-staff. Lastly, applicants must 

demonstrate, in their applications, that 

they will implement a process for 

effectively communicating to teachers 

which of the LEA’s schools are highneed and which subjects and specialty 

areas are considered hard-to-staff. 

Priority 6 (Competitive Preference)-– 

New Applicants to the Teacher 

Incentive Fund. (2 points) 

To meet this competitive preference 

priority, an applicant must be a new 

applicant to the TIF program. For the 

purposes of this priority, a new 

applicant is (1) an eligible entity that 

has not previously been awarded a grant 

under the TIF program, or (2) a 

nonprofit organization that previously 

received funding through TIF, as part of 

a partnership with one or more LEAs or 

SEAs, but that is applying to work with 

a different group of eligible LEAs or 

SEAs than it worked with under any 

previous TIF grant. Under this 

competitive preference priority, a 

current nonprofit grantee may not 

propose to use new TIF funds to 

compensate for any activities related to 

the development and implementation of 

its PBCS in LEAs and high-need schools 

(as defined in this notice) already served 

under the current grant. Rather, a 

nonprofit organization that is a current 

TIF grantee may only use new TIF funds 

for the costs of implementing the PBCS 

in high-need schools (as defined in this 

notice) in the new LEAs or SEAs 

(including charter schools) that have not 

previously received TIF funds. 

Requirements: The following sections 

provide requirements for both the Main 

TIF and TIF Evaluation competitions. 

Requirements for Main TIF 

competition: 

The following requirements are from 

the notice of final priorities, 

requirements, definitions, and selection 

criteria (NFP) for this program, 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register, and apply to the Main 

TIF competition. 

Selection of Competition. An 

applicant may submit an application for 

either the Main TIF competition or the 

TIF Evaluation competition. Each 

applicant must identify in its 

application the competition for which it 

is applying. Decisions regarding awards 

for the TIF Evaluation program will be 

made prior to doing so for the Main TIF 

competition, so that applicants not 

funded in the TIF Evaluation 

competition will still be eligible for 

funding under the Main TIF 

competition. 

Application Requirement. Each 

applicant must describe in its 

application how its proposed PBCS will 

provide educators with incentives to 

take on additional responsibilities and 

leadership roles (as defined in this 

notice). 

Core Elements of a PBCS and a 

Potential Planning Period. Each 

applicant must either— 

(a) Demonstrate in its application that 

it has in place the five core elements 

that follow; or 

(b) If the applicant cannot 

demonstrate in its application that it has 

in place each of the five core elements— 

(1) Agree, as part of its application, to 

implement a planning period of up to 

one year, during which it will use its 

TIF funds to develop the core element 

or elements it lacks; and 

(2) Include, in its application, a plan 

for how it will implement the core 

element or elements it lacks during the 

planning period. 

Core Elements. 

(a) A plan for effectively 

communicating to teachers, 

administrators, other school personnel, 

and the community-at-large the 

components of its PBCS; 

(b) The involvement and support of 

teachers, principals, and other 

personnel (including input from 

teachers, principals, and other 

personnel in the schools and LEAs to be 

served by the grant) and the 

involvement and support of unions in 

participating LEAs (where they are the 

designated exclusive representatives for 

the purpose of collective bargaining) 

that is needed to carry out the grant; 

(c) Rigorous, transparent, and fair 

evaluation systems for teachers and 

principals that differentiate 

effectiveness using multiple rating 

categories that take into account student 

growth (as defined in this notice) as a 

significant factor, as well as classroom 

observations conducted at least twice 

during the school year. The evaluation 

process must: (1) Use an objective, 

evidence-based rubric aligned with 

professional teaching or leadership 

standards and the LEA’s coherent and 

integrated approach to strengthening the 

educator workforce; (2) provide for 

observations of each teacher or principal 

at least twice during the school year by 

individuals (who may include peer 

reviewers) who are provided specialized 

training; (3) incorporate the collection 

and evaluation of additional forms of 

evidence; and (4) ensure a high degree 

of inter-rater reliability (i.e., agreement 

among two or more raters who score 

approximately the same); 

(d) A data-management system 1 that 

can link student achievement (as 

defined in this notice) data to teacher 

and principal payroll and human 

resources systems; and 

(e) A plan for ensuring that teachers 

and principals understand the specific 

measures of teacher and principal 

effectiveness included in the PBCS, and 

receive professional development that 

enables them to use data generated by 

these measures to improve their 

practice. 

Planning Period Requirements. Each 

grantee that implements a planning 

period to develop the core element or 

elements it lacks, is— 

(a) Required to demonstrate in its 

annual performance report or other 

interim performance report that it has 

implemented any of the five core 

elements it had lacked at the start of the 

project; and 

(b) Prohibited from using TIF program 

funds to provide incentive payments to 

teachers, principals, and other 

personnel (in those sites in which the 

grantee wishes to expand the PBCS to 

additional staff in its schools) until it 

has implemented a PBCS that, to the 

Secretary’s satisfaction, has all five core 

elements. 

Professional Development. Each 

applicant must demonstrate, in its 


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2For the purposes of the TIF Evaluation 

Competition, an ‘‘LEA’’ includes consortia and 

intermediary units, so long as they are considered 

an LEA under State law. 

application, that its proposed PBCS will 

include a high-quality professional 

development component for teachers 

and principals consistent with the 

definition of the term professional 

development in section 9101(34) of the 

ESEA. 

The applicant must demonstrate that 

its PBCS has a professional 

development component in place, or a 

specific plan for developing one, that is 

directly linked to the specific measures 

of teacher and principal effectiveness 

included in the PBCS. The professional 

development component of the PBCS 

must— 

(1) Be based on needs assessed either 

at the high-need schools (as defined in 

this notice) participating in the 

applicant’s proposed PBCS or LEAwide; 

(2) Be targeted to individual teachers’ 

and principals’ needs as identified in 

the evaluation process; 

(3) Provide— 

(a) Those teachers and principals in 

participating TIF schools who do not 

receive differentiated compensation 

based on effectiveness under the PBCS 

with the tools and skills they need to 

improve their effectiveness in the 

classroom or school and be able to raise 

student achievement (as defined in this 

notice); and 

(b) Those teachers and principals who 

are deemed to be effective and who, 

therefore, receive differentiated 

compensation under the PBCS, with the 

tools and skills they need to (1) 

continue effective practices in the 

classroom or school and raise student 

achievement (as defined in this notice), 

and (2) successfully assume additional 

responsibilities and leadership roles (as 

defined in this notice); 

(4) Support teachers and principals to 

better understand and use the measures 

of effectiveness in the PBCS to improve 

practice and student achievement (as 

defined in this notice); and 

(5) Include a process for regularly 

assessing the effectiveness of this 

professional development in improving 

teacher and leadership practice to 

increase student achievement (as 

defined in this notice) and making 

modifications necessary to improve its 

effectiveness. 

High-Need Schools Documentation. 

Each applicant must demonstrate, in its 

application, that the schools to be 

served by the proposed PBCS are highneed schools (as defined in this notice). 

Each applicant must provide, in its 

application, a list of schools in which 

the proposed PBCS will be implemented 

as well as the most current data on the 

percentage of each identified school’s 

students who are eligible for free or 

reduced-price lunch subsidies under the 

Richard B. Russell National School 

Lunch Act, or other poverty measures 

that the LEA uses (see section 1113(a)(5) 

of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5))). Data 

provided to demonstrate eligibility as a 

high-need school (as defined in this 

notice) must be school-level data; the 

Department will not accept LEA-or 

State-level data for purposes of 

documenting whether a school is a highneed school (as defined in this notice). 

Additional Eligibility Requirement. 

Each applicant that currently 

participates in a TIF project must 

confirm in its application either that— 

(a) Its proposed PBCS would be 

available to educators in high-need 

schools (as defined in this notice) in 

which the LEA does not currently make 

a TIF-supported PBCS available; or 

(b) If the applicant’s current TIF 

project serves only principals or only 

teachers, its proposed project would add 

teachers or principals, respectively, who 

work in high-need schools (as defined 

in this notice) and who are not eligible 

for performance-based compensation 

under the applicant’s current TIF 

project’s PBCS. 

If awarded a grant, the grantee must 

maintain its PBCS for teachers and 

principals in high-need schools (as 

defined in this notice) for the duration 

of the new TIF project period. An 

applicant may also propose to have 

other personnel (in those sites in which 

the grantee wishes to expand the PBCS 

to additional staff in its schools) who 

work in high-need schools (as defined 

in this notice) benefit from the PBCS. 

Requirements for the TIF Evaluation 

Competition: 

In addition to the requirements and 

priorities for the Main TIF competition, 

which applicants for the TIF Evaluation 

competition are also required to meet, 

the Secretary includes the following 

requirements for the TIF Evaluation 

competition only: 

Budget Information. In exchange for 

its agreement to participate in the 

national TIF Evaluation, a successful 

applicant for the TIF Evaluation 

competition will receive a minimum of 

$1 million of additional funding over 

the 5-year grant period (above the 

amount of funding awarded to it to 

implement the PBCS proposed in its 

application) for the four pairs of schools 

selected to participate in the evaluation. 

For each additional pair of schools 

participating in the evaluation, a 

successful applicant will receive an 

additional $250,000, up to a maximum 

total additional award of $2 million. 

An applicant for the TIF Evaluation 

competition must provide, in its 

application, a proposed budget that 

indicates how it plans to use the 

additional funds the Department would 

award. While these additional funds 

must be used for TIF-related activities, 

examples of acceptable expenses 

include the costs of: 

(1) Academic coaches such as 

mathematics and reading coaches, and 

Master, Mentor, or Lead Teacher salaries 

beyond those the Department will 

otherwise fund under the Main TIF 

competition. Under the Main TIF 

competition, the Department approves 

expenses related to one salary, per 

position, per high-need school (as 

defined in this notice) within the project 

scope); 

(2) Activities such as expenses related 

to release time for teachers to attend 

professional development beyond those 

the Department will otherwise fund 

under the Main competition (the 

Department does not allow for an 

unreasonable amount of substitute 

teacher salaries to compensate for this 

release time); 

(3) Support for the PBCS that would 

otherwise need to be paid with non-TIF 

funds in order to implement the 

applicant’s plan for fiscal sustainability 

under absolute priority 2; and 

(4) Costs associated with participating 

in the national evaluation, such as 

preparing administrative student 

records for use by the national 

evaluator. 

Incentive Amounts. Consistent with 

absolute priority 1, an applicant for the 

TIF Evaluation competition must 

demonstrate, in its application, that it 

will implement a PBCS that uses— 

(1) Incentive payments to principals 

based on differentiated levels of 

effectiveness in which— 

(a) The average principal payout 

(defined as the total amount of principal 

payments divided by the total number 

of principals in the schools participating 

in the differentiated effectiveness 

incentive payment component of the 

PBCS) is substantial (e.g., 5 percent of 

the average principal salary); 

(b) The criteria for determining 

whether a principal is eligible for 

payment are challenging (e.g., payments 

are made to only those who perform 

significantly better than the current 

average performance among study 

schools within the LEA),2 and; 

(c) There is an expectation of 

meaningful differences in resulting 

principal pay (e.g., at least some 

principals could reasonably expect to 

receive an incentive payment of three 


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times the average principal payout and 

the applicant’s documentation of cost 

projections is consistent with this 

expectation); and 

(2) Incentive payments to teachers 

based on differentiated levels of 

effectiveness in which— 

(a) The average teacher payout 

(defined as the total amount of teacher 

payments divided by the total number 

of teachers in the schools participating 

in the differentiated effectiveness 

incentive payment component of the 

PBCS) is substantial (e.g., 5 percent of 

the average teacher salary); 

(b) The criteria for determining 

whether a teacher is eligible for 

payment are challenging (e.g., payments 

are made only to those who perform 

significantly better than the current 

average performance among study 

schools within the LEA); and 

(c) There is an expectation of 

meaningful differences in resulting 

teacher pay (e.g., at least some teachers 

could reasonably expect to receive an 

incentive payment of three times the 

average teacher payout and the 

applicant’s documentation of cost 

projections is consistent with this 

expectation). 

Implementation of Evaluation. Each 

applicant under the TIF Evaluation 

competition must agree, in its 

application, to implement its 

differentiated effectiveness incentive 

component of the PBCS and a 1 percent 

across-the-board annual bonus in at 

least one LEA in accordance with the 

implementation plan developed by the 

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) 

evaluator, Mathematica Policy Research 

(http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/ 

education/tifgrantee.asp). Specifically, 

the IES evaluator will select by lottery 

one-half of the evaluation schools 

within the LEA (i.e., ‘‘Group 1’’) to 

implement the applicant’s proposed 

differentiated effectiveness incentive 

payment component of the PBCS. The 

other half of the schools within the LEA 

(i.e., ‘‘Group 2’’) participating in the 

evaluation will implement a 1 percent 

across-the-board annual bonus for 

teachers, principals, and other 

personnel (in those sites in which the 

grantee wishes to expand the PBCS to 

additional staff in its schools). The 

applicant must identify, in its 

application, the schools that are 

proposed for participation in the 

evaluation. 

In participating LEAs that have the 

five core elements in place at the time 

of the initial grant award, the first group 

of schools in that LEA (Group 1 schools) 

must begin implementation of all 

components of the PBCS at the 

beginning of the 2010–2011 school year. 

In a participating LEA that does not yet 

have in place the five core elements 

necessary to implement a successful 

PBCS at the time of award, the first 

group of schools in that LEA (Group 1 

schools) must begin implementation of 

all components of the PBCS no later 

than the 2011–2012 school year. 

The following table illustrates the TIF 

Evaluation random assignment plan, 

depending on the amount of planning 

time an applicant needs: 

Random assignment a Pay component of PBCS b

LEAs Ready for 2010–11 Implementation.Group 1 .......................................... Differentiated pay implemented starting in 2010–11. 

Group 2 .......................................... Across-the-board annual 1 percent bonus implemented starting in 

2010–11 through 2014–15. 

LEAs Ready for 2011–12 Implementation.Group 1 .......................................... Differentiated pay implemented starting in 2011–12. 

Group 2 .......................................... Across-the-board annual 1 percent bonus implemented starting in 

2011–12 through 2014–15. 

aFor each LEA, the IES evaluator will randomly assign the schools participating in the Evaluation into 2 groups (Groups 1 and 2). bThe school year listed is the first year in which the differentiated effectiveness incentive component of the PBCS will be implemented in the 

LEA’s schools participating in the designated group. 

Commitment to Evaluation. An 

applicant for the TIF Evaluation 

competition must demonstrate, in its 

application, that each participating LEA 

and school is willing to participate in 

the TIF Evaluation. Documentation 

demonstrating this commitment must 

include, for each participating LEA— 

(1) A letter from the LEA 

superintendent and the principals of the 

participating schools stating that those 

officials agree to meet the TIF 

Evaluation competition requirements, 

including adhering to the 

implementation plan of the IES 

evaluator, which involves selection 

through a lottery of those schools to 

implement the differentiated 

effectiveness component among the 

schools participating in the evaluation. 

(2) A letter from the research office or 

research board of the participating LEA 

that expresses an agreement to comply 

with the TIF Evaluation requirements (if 

the LEA requires such research office 

approval). 

Advance Notice. Each applicant must 

agree, in its application, to work with 

the IES evaluator to notify all eligible 

schools participating in the TIF 

Evaluation at least two months prior to 

the assigned Group 1 implementation 

schedule. The Department will waive 

this advance notice for any applicants 

that are eligible to implement their 

PBCS in 2010–11 (i.e., meet the five core 

requirements) so long as the program is 

implemented according to the 

evaluator’s assigned group status (Note: 

The evaluator will be ready to assign 

group status immediately upon grant 

award, or if the applicant prefers, the 

applicant can discuss with Mathematica 

prior to grant award how to comply 

with the evaluation requirements by 

contacting Mathematica at http:// 

www.mathematica-mpr.com/education/ 

tifgrantee.asp). 

Implementation of All Nondifferentiated Effectiveness Incentive 

Components. Each applicant must agree, 

in its application, to implement the nondifferentiated effectiveness incentive 

components of its PBCS (e.g., bonuses 

for leadership or additional 

responsibilities and professional 

development activities) in all of the 

LEA’s participating schools (those in 

Groups 1 and 2) starting at the same 

time as the differentiated effectiveness 

incentive component of its PBCS is 

implemented in the Group 1 schools. 

The schools in Group 2 must not 

implement the differentiated 

effectiveness incentive component of its 

PBCS for the duration of the TIF grant. 

Scope of Schools. An applicant for the 

TIF Evaluation competition must 

demonstrate, in its application, that it 

will implement a PBCS in eight or more 

high-need schools (as defined in this 

notice) in an LEA that has students in 


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tested subjects or grades (i.e., students 

in grades three through eight). At least 

two of the schools proposed to 

participate in the TIF Evaluation must 

be from within the same grade 

configuration (i.e., if elementary schools 

are proposed there are at least two 

elementary schools among the 

minimum of eight schools all within the 

same LEA; if middle schools are 

proposed there are at least two middle 

schools among the minimum of eight 

schools all within the same LEA). 

Applicants that include multiple LEAs 

must meet the scope-of-schools 

requirement in at least one LEA. In 

addition, no LEA will have more than 

16 high-need schools (as defined in this 

notice) selected for the TIF Evaluation. 

An applicant that is a consortium of 

small LEAs or an intermediary unit that 

is considered an LEA under State law 

does not have to have eight eligible 

schools in a participating LEA provided 

that the consortium or intermediary unit 

serves a coordinating function (i.e., data 

are available from a centralized or 

coordinating entity). In this case, the 

minimum number of schools required 

for the consortium or intermediary unit 

is still eight, and within the eight, each 

school is at least paired with another 

school at the same grade level and 

within the same State. The Department 

will use the number of eligible schools, 

up to 16 per LEA, that a successful 

applicant makes available for the TIF 

Evaluation. 

Local Evaluation. In order to be 

eligible to receive points under the 

selection criteria, TIF Evaluation 

competition applicants must include a 

description of its local evaluation, 

demonstrated in its response to the 

selection criterion Quality of Local 

Evaluation. For the purposes of the TIF 

Evaluation competition, the score for 

this part of the application will not be 

used to rank the application. For the 

purposes of the Main TIF competition, 

if applicable, the score for this part of 

the application will be used to rank the 

application. If an applicant is selected 

under the TIF Evaluation competition, 

the local evaluation plan will not be 

reviewed and will not be applicable for 

program implementation. 

Definitions: 

The following definitions are from the 

NFP for this program, published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register, and apply to the competitions 

announced in this notice. 

High-need school means a school with 

50 percent or more of its enrollment 

from low-income families, based on 

eligibility for free or reduced-price 

lunch subsidies under the Richard B. 

Russell National School Lunch Act, or 

other poverty measures that LEAs use 

(see section 1113(a)(5) of the ESEA (20 

U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). For middle and high 

schools, eligibility may be calculated on 

the basis of comparable data from feeder 

schools. Eligibility as a high-need 

school under this definition is 

determined on the basis of the most 

currently available data. 

Student achievement means— 

(a) For tested grades and subjects— 

(1) A student’s score on the State’s 

assessments under the ESEA; and 

(2) As appropriate, other measures of 

student learning, such as those 

described in paragraph (b) of this 

definition, provided that they are 

rigorous and comparable across schools; 

and 

(b) For non-tested grades and subjects, 

alternative measures of student learning 

and performance, such as student scores 

on pre-tests and end-of-course tests; 

student performance on English 

language proficiency assessments; and 

other measures of student achievement 

that are rigorous and comparable across 

schools. 

Student growth means the change in 

student achievement (as defined in this 

notice) for an individual student 

between two or more points in time. A 

State or LEA may also include other 

measures that are rigorous and 

comparable across schools. 

High-need students means students at 

risk of educational failure or otherwise 

in need of special assistance and 

support, such as students who are living 

in poverty, who attend high-minority 

schools, who are far below grade level, 

who have left school before receiving a 

regular high-school diploma, who are at 

risk of not graduating with a diploma on 

time, who are homeless, who are in 

foster care, who have been incarcerated, 

who have disabilities, or who are 

English learners. 

Additional responsibilities and 

leadership roles means additional duties 

teachers may voluntarily accept, such 

as: (1) Serving as master or mentor 

teachers who are chosen through a 

performance-based selection process 

(including through assessment of their 

teaching effectiveness and the ability to 

work effectively with other adults and 

students) and who have responsibilities 

to share effective instructional practices 

and/or to assess and improve the 

teaching effectiveness of other teachers 

in the school; (2) roles in induction and 

mentoring of novice teachers or highneed students (as defined in this notice); 

(3) tutoring students; or (4) roles in 

establishing and developing learning 

communities designed to continually 

improve the capacity of all teachers in 

a school to advance student learning, 

using a shared set of practices, 

instructional principles, or teaching 

strategies. 

Program Authority: The Departments 

of Labor, Health and Human Services, 

and Education, and Related Agencies 

Appropriations Act, 2008, Division G, 

Title III, Public Law 110–161; 

Departments of Labor, Health and 

Human Services, and Education, and 

Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

2010, Division D, Title III, Public Law 

111–117; and the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Division 

A, Title VIII, Public Law 111–5. 

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, 

requirements, definitions, and selection 

criteria (NFP) for this program, 

published elsewhere in this issue of the 

Federal Register. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 

apply to all applicants except federally 

recognized Indian tribes. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Types of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$437,000,000 in total. $300,000,000 

million from the FY 2010 

appropriations and $137,000,000 from 

FY 2009 American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$5,000,000–$10,000,000.* 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$7,500,000.* 

Estimated Number of Awards: 40–80. 

* Successful applicants for the TIF 

Evaluation competition can anticipate 

award amounts at least $1,000,000 more 

than for the Main TIF competition. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months, 

including the planning period, if 

applicable. 

III. Eligibility Information and Program 

Requirements 

1. Eligible Applicants: Eligible entities 

for these funds are: 

(a) State educational agencies (SEAs), 

(b) Local educational agencies (LEAs), 

including charter schools that are LEAs, 

or 

(c) Partnerships of— 

(1) An SEA, LEA, or both; and 

(2) At least one nonprofit 

organization. 


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IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: ED Pubs, U.S. Department of 

Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, 

VA 22304. Telephone, toll free: 1–877– 

433–7827. FAX: (703) 605–6794. If you 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD), call, toll free: 1–877–576– 

7734. 

You can contact ED Pubs at its Web 

site, also: www.EDPubs.ed.gov or at its 

e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application package 

from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this 

program or competition as follows: 

CFDA number 84.385. 

Also, you can download the 

application package at the Teacher 

Incentive Fund Web site: http:// 

www2.ed.gov/programs/ 

teacherincentive/index.html. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by calling the program contact 

number or by writing to the e-mail 

address listed under Accessible Format 

in section VIII of this notice. 

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 

competition. 

Notice of Intent to Apply: June 1, 

2010. 

We will be able to develop a more 

efficient process for reviewing grant 

applications if we understand the 

number of applicants that intend to 

apply for funding under these 

competitions. Therefore, the Secretary 

strongly encourages each potential 

applicant to notify us of the applicant’s 

intent to submit an application for 

funding by sending a short e-mail 

message. This short e-mail should 

provide (1) the applicant organization’s 

name and address, (2) the type of grant 

for which the applicant intends to 

apply, (3) the one absolute priority the 

applicant intends to address, and (4) all 

competitive preference priorities the 

applicant intends to address. The 

Secretary requests that this e-mail be 

sent to tif@ed.gov with ‘‘Intent to Apply’’ 

in the e-mail subject line. Applicants 

that do not provide this e-mail 

notification may still apply for funding. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

(Part III of the application) is where you, 

the applicant, address the selection 

criteria that reviewers use to evaluate 

your application. Applicants are 

strongly encouraged to limit the 

application narrative (Part III) to not 

more than 60 pages using the following 

standards: 

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

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

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. An application submitted 

in any other font (including Times 

Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be 

accepted. 

The suggested page limit does not 

apply to Part 1, the cover sheet; Part 2, 

the budget section, including the 

narrative budget justification; Part 7, the 

assurances and certifications; the onepage abstract; or appendices, such as the 

resumes, the bibliography, or the letters 

of support. However, the suggested page 

limit does apply to all of the application 

narrative section [Parts 3, 4, and 5]. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: May 21, 2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

June 1, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: July 6, 2010. 

Bidders’ Conferences: In-person 

bidders’ conferences or pre-application 

workshops will be held in three 

locations across the country in late May 

and early June. Bidders’ conferences are 

intended to provide technical assistance 

to all interested grant applicants. 

Detailed information regarding the preapplication workshop locations and 

times, along with the on-line 

registration form, can be found on the 

Teacher Incentive Fund’s Web site at 

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/ 

teacherincentive/applicant.html. 

Applications for grants under this 

competition must be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) 

accessible through the Department’s 

e-Grants site. For 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 the 

electronic submission requirement, 

please refer to section IV.7. Other 

Submission Requirements of 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 of 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. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: September 3, 2010. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

competition 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 

competition. 

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

6. Data Universal Numbering System 

Number, Taxpayer Identification 

Number, and Central Contractor 

Registry: To do business with the 

Department of Education, (1) you must 

have a Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer 

Identification Number (TIN); (2) you 

must register both of those numbers 

with the Central Contractor Registry 

(CCR), the Government’s primary 

registrant database; and (3) you must 

provide those same numbers on your 

application. 

You can obtain a DUNS number from 

Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number 

can be created within one business day. 

If you are a corporate entity, agency, 

institution, or organization, you can 

obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue 

Service. If you are an individual, you 

can obtain a TIN from the Internal 

Revenue Service or the Social Security 

Administration. If you need a new TIN, 

please allow 2–5 weeks for your TIN to 

become active. 

The CCR registration process may take 

five or more business days to complete. 

If you are currently registered with the 

CCR, you may not need to make any 

changes. However, please make certain 

that the TIN associated with your DUNS 

number is correct. Also note that you 

will need to update your CCR 

registration on an annual basis. This 

may take three or more business days to 

complete. 

In addition, if you are submitting your 

application via Grants.gov, you must (1) 

be designated by your organization as an 

Authorized Organization Representative 

(AOR); and (2) register yourself with 

Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these 

steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 


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3-Step Registration Guide (see 

www.grants.gov/section910/ 

Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). 

7. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

program must be submitted 

electronically unless you qualify for an 

exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications for grants under the 

Teacher Incentive Fund—CFDA number 

84.385 must be submitted electronically 

using e-Application, accessible through 

the Department’s e-Grants Web site at: 

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

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. 

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: 

• You must complete the electronic 

submission of your grant application by 

4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

the application deadline date. 

E-Application will not accept an 

application for this competition after 

4:30:00 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 hours of operation of the eGrants Web site are 6:00 a.m. Monday 

until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 

a.m. Thursday until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, 

Washington, DC time. Please note that, 

because of maintenance, the system is 

unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on 

Sundays and 6:00 a.m. on Mondays, and 

between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 

6:00 a.m. on Thursdays, Washington, 

DC time. 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 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: the Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

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

necessary assurances and certifications. 

You must attach any narrative sections 

of your application as files in a .DOC 

(document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF 

(Portable Document) format. If you 

upload a file type other than the three 

file types specified in this paragraph or 

submit a password protected file, we 

will not review that material. 

• Your electronic application must 

comply with any page limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• 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 acknowledgment 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 SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

(1) Print SF 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 SF 424. 

(4) Fax the signed SF 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 e-Application Unavailability: 

If you are prevented from electronically 

submitting your application on the 

application deadline date because 

e-Application is unavailable, we will 

grant you an extension of one business 

day to enable you to transmit your 

application electronically, by mail, or by 

hand delivery. We will grant this 

extension if— 

(1) You are a registered user of 

e-Application and you have initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

(2) (a) E-Application 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) E-Application is unavailable for 

any period of time between 3:30 p.m. 

and 4:30:00 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 

acknowledgment 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 e-Application is unavailable 

due to technical problems with the 

system and, therefore, the application 

deadline is extended, an e-mail will be 

sent to all registered users who have 

initiated an e-Application. Extensions 

referred to in this section apply only to 

the unavailability of e-Application. 

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 

e-Application because–– 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to 

e-Application; 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 prevents 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: April Lee, Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

(Attention: Teacher Incentive Fund), 

U.S. Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E120, 

Washington, DC 20202. FAX: 202–260– 

8969. 

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. 


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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 following address: 

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, Attention: 

(CFDA Numbers 84.385), LBJ Basement 

Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

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 

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 84.385), 550 12th Street, 

SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, 

Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center accepts 

hand deliveries daily between 8:00:00 

a.m. and 4:30:00 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 11 of the SF 424 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 

grant 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. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from the 

notice of final priorities, requirements, 

definitions, and selection criteria, for 

this program, published elsewhere in 

this issue of the Federal Register. 

The selection criteria are as follows. 

The maximum points assigned to each 

criterion are indicated in parentheses 

next to the criterion. Applicants may 

earn up to a total of 100 points. 

(a) Need for the project (10 points). In 

determining the need for the proposed 

project, the Secretary will consider the 

extent to which the applicant 

establishes that— 

(1) The high-need schools (as defined 

in this notice) whose educators would 

be part of the PBCS have difficulty— 

(i) Recruiting highly qualified or 

effective teachers, particularly in hardto-staff subjects or specialty areas, such 

as mathematics, science, English 

language acquisition, and special 

education; and 

(ii) Retaining highly qualified or 

effective teachers and principals. 

(2) Student achievement (as defined 

in this notice) in each of the schools 

whose educators would be part of the 

PBCS is lower than in what the 

applicant determines are comparable 

schools in the LEA, or another LEA in 

its State, in terms of key factors such as 

size, grade levels, and poverty levels; 

and 

(3) A definition of what it considers 

a ‘‘comparable’’ school for the purposes 

of paragraph (2) of this selection 

criterion is established. 

(b) Project design (60 points). The 

Secretary will consider the quality of 

the design of the proposed project. In 

determining the quality of the design of 

the proposed project, the Secretary will 

consider the extent to which the 

proposed PBCS— 

(1) Is part of a proposed LEA or 

statewide strategy, as appropriate, for 

improving the process by which each 

participating LEA rewards teachers, 

principals, and other personnel (in 

those sites in which the grantee wishes 

to expand the PBCS to additional staff 

in its schools) in high-need schools (as 

defined in this notice) based upon their 

effectiveness as determined in 

significant part by student growth (as 

defined in this notice). With regard to 

the effectiveness of teachers, principals, 

and other personnel, the Secretary will 

consider whether— 

(i) The methodology the LEA or SEA 

proposes to use in its PBCS to determine 

the effectiveness of a school’s teachers, 

principals, and other personnel (in 

those sites in which the grantee wishes 

to expand the PBCS to additional staff 

in its schools) includes valid and 

reliable measures of student growth (as 

defined in this notice); 

(ii) The participating LEA would use 

the proposed PBCS to provide 

performance awards to teachers, 

principals, and other personnel (in 

those sites in which the grantee wishes 

to expand the PBCS to additional staff 

in its schools) that are of sufficient size 

to affect the behaviors of teacher, 

principal, and other personnel and their 

decisions as to whether to go to, or 

remain working in, the high-need 

school; and 

(iii) The applicant provides a clear 

explanation of how teachers, principals, 

and other personnel (in those sites in 

which the grantee wishes to expand the 

PBCS to additional staff in its schools) 

are determined to be ‘‘effective’’ for the 

purposes of the proposed PBCS. 

(2) Has the involvement and support 

of teachers, principals, and other 

personnel (in those sites in which the 

grantee wishes to expand the PBCS to 

additional staff in its schools), including 

input from teachers, and principals, and 

other personnel in the schools and LEAs 

to be served by the grant, and the 

involvement and support of unions in 

participating LEAs where they are the 

designated exclusive representatives for 

the purpose of collective bargaining that 

is needed to carry out the grant; 

(3) Includes rigorous, transparent, and 

fair evaluation systems for teachers and 

principals that differentiate levels of 

effectiveness using multiple rating 

categories that take into account data on 

student growth (as defined in this 

notice) as a significant factor, as well as 

classroom observations conducted at 

least twice during the school year; 

(4) Includes a data-management 

system, consistent with the LEA’s 

proposed PBCS, that can link student 

achievement (as defined in this notice) 

data to teacher and principal payroll 

and human resources systems; and 

(5) Incorporates high-quality 

professional development activities that 

increase the capacity of teachers and 

principals to raise student achievement 

(as defined in this notice) and are 

directly linked to the specific measures 

of teacher and principal effectiveness 

included in the PBCS. 

(c) Adequacy of Support for the 

Proposed Project (25 points). In 


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determining the adequacy of the support 

for the proposed project, the Secretary 

considers the extent to which— 

(1) The management plan is likely to 

achieve the objectives of the proposed 

project on time and within budget, and 

includes clearly defined responsibilities 

and detailed timelines and milestones 

for accomplishing project tasks; 

(2) The project director and other key 

personnel are qualified to carry out their 

responsibilities, and their time 

commitments are appropriate and 

adequate to implement the project 

effectively; 

(3) The applicant will support the 

proposed project with funds provided 

under other Federal or State programs 

and local financial or in-kind resources; 

and 

(4) The requested grant amount and 

project costs are sufficient to attain 

project goals and reasonable in relation 

to the objectives and design of the 

project. 

(d) Quality of Local Evaluation (5 

points). In determining the quality of the 

local project evaluation, the Secretary 

considers the extent to which the 

applicant’s evaluation plan— 

(1) Includes the use of strong and 

measurable performance objectives (that 

are clearly related to the goals of the 

project) for raising student achievement 

(as defined in this notice), increasing 

the effectiveness of teachers, principals, 

and other personnel (in those sites in 

which the grantee wishes to expand the 

PBCS to additional staff in its schools), 

and retaining and recruiting effective 

teachers, principals, and other 

personnel; 

(2) Will produce evaluation data that 

are quantitative and qualitative; and 

(3) Includes adequate evaluation 

procedures for ensuring feedback and 

continuous improvement in the 

operation of the proposed project. 

2. Review and Selection Process: The 

Department will screen applications 

submitted in accordance with the 

requirements in this notice, and will 

determine which applications are 

eligible to be read based on whether 

they have met eligibility and other 

statutory requirements. 

The Department will use independent 

reviewers from various backgrounds and 

professions, including those with 

expertise in: Evaluation, teacher quality, 

data management and analysis, 

differentiated pay, educational policy, 

teaching and/or school leadership. The 

Department will thoroughly screen all 

reviewers for conflicts of interest to 

ensure a fair and competitive review 

process. 

Reviewers will read, prepare a written 

evaluation, and score the applications 

assigned to their panel, using the 

selection criteria provided in this 

notice. 

Reviewers will review and score all 

applications on the following four 

criteria: 

(a) Need for the project; 

(b) Project design; 

(c) Adequacy of support for the 

proposed project; and 

(d) Quality of local evaluation. 

If eligible applicants have chosen to 

address the competitive preference 

priorities, reviewers will review and 

score those competitive preference 

priorities as well. If points are awarded, 

those points will be added to the 

eligible applicant’s score. 

The Secretary will prepare a rank 

order of applications based solely on the 

evaluation of their quality according to 

the selection criteria. In accordance 

with 34 CFR 75.217(c)(3), the Secretary 

will make final awards after considering 

the rank ordering and other information, 

including an applicant’s performance 

and use of funds and compliance 

history under a previous award under 

any Department program. In making 

awards under any future competitions, 

the Secretary will consider an 

applicant’s past performance. 

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 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 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 the 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 75.720(a) 

and (b). The Secretary may also require 

more frequent performance reports 

under 34 CFR. For specific requirements 

on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 

appforms.html. 

Funding for the 2010 TIF program has 

been made available through a 

combination of funds available under 

the Department’s 2010 Appropriations 

Act and the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). 

Grantees may receive funds from a 

combination or one of these sources. It 

is anticipated that grantees that wish to 

include other school personnel in 

addition to teachers and principals in 

their TIF-funded PBCSs will be funded 

through the FY 2010 appropriation 

funds. TIF Evaluation competition 

grantees, at a minimum, will receive 

funds through the ARRA provisions and 

therefore must also meet the reporting 

requirements that apply to all ARRAfunded programs. Specifically, under 

the ARRA, each grantee must submit 

reports, within 10 days after the end of 

each calendar quarter, that contain the 

information required under section 

1512(c) of the ARRA in accordance with 

any guidance issued by the Office of 

Management and Budget or the 

Department (ARRA division A, section 

1512(c)). 

In addition, for each year of the 

program, each grantee must submit a 

report to the Secretary, at such time and 

in such manner as the Secretary may 

require, that describes— 

1. The uses of funds within the 

defined area of the proposed project; 

2. How the applicant distributed the 

funds it received; 

3. The number of jobs estimated to be 

saved or created with the funds; and 

4. The project’s progress in reducing 

inequities in the distribution of highly 

qualified teachers, implementing a 

longitudinal data system, and 

developing and implementing valid and 

reliable assessments for English learners 

and students with disabilities. 

4. Performance Measures: Pursuant to 

the Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993, the Department has 

established the following performance 

measures that it will use to evaluate the 

overall effectiveness of the grantee’s 

project, as well as the TIF program as a 

whole: 

(1) Changes in LEA personnel 

deployment practices, as measured by 

changes over time in the percentage of 

teachers and principals in high-need 

schools who have a record of 

effectiveness; and 

(2) Changes in teacher and principal 

compensation systems in participating 

LEAs, as measured by the percentage of 

an LEA’s personnel budget that is used 

for performance-related payments to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 98 / Friday, May 21, 2010 / Notices 28749 

effective (as measured by student 

achievement gains) teachers and 

principals. 

All grantees will be also expected to 

submit an annual performance report 

documenting their success in addressing 

these performance measures. The 

Department will use the applicant’s 

performance data for program 

management and administration, in 

such areas as determining new and 

continuation funding and planning 

technical assistance. 

VII. Agency Contact 

For Further Information Contact: 

April Lee, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Room 3E120, Washington, DC 20202. 

Telephone: (202) 205–5224, or by 

e-mail: TIF@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the Federal 

Relay Service, toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

number or e-mail address listed under 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in 

section VII 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: www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

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: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: May 18, 2010. 

Thelma Mele ́ndez de Santa Ana, 

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12216 Filed 5–20–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 


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