Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/03/21/2018-05748/application-for-new-awards-expanding-opportunity-through-quality-charter-schools-program-csp-grants
Timestamp: 2018-12-11 02:43:08
Document Index: 220578552

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 225', 'arts 75', 'art 180', 'art 3485', 'art 200', 'art 3474', 'art 225', 'art 200']

Federal Register :: Application for New Awards; Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Program (CSP)-Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities
Application for New Awards; Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Program (CSP)-Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities
A Notice by the Education Department on 03/21/2018
Applications Available: March 21, 2018.
83 FR 12351
12351-12356 (6 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-05748 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2018-05748
The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 for CSP—Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities (Credit Enhancement), Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.354A.
Date of Pre-Application Meeting: The Credit Enhancement program intends to hold a webinar designed to provide technical assistance to interested applicants. Detailed information regarding this webinar will be provided on the Credit Enhancement web page at https://innovation.ed.gov/​what-we-do/​charter-schools/​credit-enhancement-for-charter-school-facilities-program/​applicant-info-and-eligibility/​.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 11, 2018.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 5, 2018.
Clifton Jones, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4W244, Washington, DC 20202-5970. Telephone: (202) 205-2204 or by email: Clifton.Jones@ed.gov.
Purpose of Program: The Credit Enhancement program provides grants to eligible entities to demonstrate innovative methods of helping charter schools to address the cost of acquiring, constructing, and renovating facilities by enhancing the availability of loans and bond financing.
Background: Since FY 2002, the Department has made new Credit Enhancement grants each year, which has resulted in a portfolio of grantees using Federal funds to enhance the credit of charter schools so that they can access private-sector and other non-Federal capital in order to acquire, construct, and renovate facilities at a reasonable cost.
This notice contains application requirements from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA),[1] and selection criteria and a competitive preference priority for charter schools operating in high-need communities and geographic areas from program regulations at 34 CFR part 225. This notice also includes an invitational priority that encourages applicants to partner with other entities to leverage new or previously untapped capital and other resources to expand support to more schools and students as well as improve their ability to support schools and students. Under this priority, an applicant could propose, for example, to partner with a newly created State-funded credit enhancement program designed to improve charter schools' credit ratings on bonds, thereby enabling charter school facility financing at lower interest rates and lower borrowing costs.
Competitive Preference Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), this priority is from 34 CFR 225.12. For FY 2018 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 15 points to an application, depending on how well the application addresses the priority.
(1) The extent to which the applicant would target services to geographic areas in which a large proportion or number of public schools have been identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB);
With regard to paragraph (1), consistent with the ESSA, if applicants will be operating in States that have identified schools for comprehensive support and improvement or targeted support and improvement under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, “improvement, corrective action, or restructuring” refers to schools identified for “comprehensive support and improvement or targeted support and improvement” under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA. If applicants will be operating in States that are delaying, as permitted by the Department, the identification of schools for comprehensive support and improvement or targeted support and improvement until school year 2018-2019, the Department will award competitive preference points under paragraph (1) to allow those applicants to target services to geographic areas in which a large proportion of public schools are, at the time of submission of an application under this competition: (i) Elementary and secondary schools identified as in need of improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under the ESEA, as amended by NCLB; or (ii) elementary and secondary schools identified as a priority or focus school by the State prior to August 1, 2016 under ESEA flexibility. After school year 2018-2019, the Department will require a grantee that is operating in States that are delaying identification of schools, and that receives points under this priority, to amend its approved application, as needed, to describe how it will target services to geographic areas in which a large proportion of public schools are elementary and secondary schools identified for comprehensive or targeted support and improvement under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2018 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets this invitational priority a competitive or Start Printed Page 12352absolute preference over other applications.
Projects proposing the development of one or more partnerships that will enable the applicant to leverage newly created or previously untapped sources of capital or other assistance, which may include non-Federal programs, in financing charter school facilities in geographic areas and communities described in the competitive preference priority.
Definitions: The following definition is from section 4310 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7221i(2)).
(g) Complies with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly referred to as the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974”), and part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.);
(1) Admits students on the basis of a lottery, consistent with section 4303(c)(3)(A) (20 U.S.C. 7221b(c)(3)(A)), if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated; or
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Office of Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. (d) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR part 225.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $500,000,000 for the CSP for FY 2018, of which we would use an estimated $65,000,000 for new awards under this competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $4,000,000 to $12,000,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $9,000,000.
Maximum Award: We will not make an award exceeding $12,000,000 for a single grant project period.
4. Other: The charter schools that a grantee selects to benefit from this program must meet the definition of “charter school” in section 4310 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7221i).
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Each Credit Enhancement program application must include the following specific elements:
(a) A statement identifying the activities that the eligible entity proposes to carry out with funds received under the program, including Start Printed Page 12353how the eligible entity will determine which charter schools will receive assistance, and how much and what types of assistance charter schools will receive.
(g) In the case of applicants applying as a consortium, applicants must also submit consortium agreements as part of their application package. These applicants must either designate one member of the group to apply for the grant or establish a separate legal entity to apply for the grant. All members of the consortium must then enter into an agreement that details the activities that each member of the group plans to perform and that binds each member to the application statements and assurances. This consortium agreement must be submitted as part of the consortium's application. The Department's administrative regulations at 34 CFR 75.127-129 provide more details about the requirements that govern group/consortium applications.
3. Submission of Proprietary Information: Given the types of projects that may be proposed in applications for the Credit Enhancement program, your application may include business information that you consider proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11, we define “business information” and describe the process we use in determining whether any of that information is proprietary and, thus, protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended).
5. Funding Restrictions: (a) Reserve accounts. An eligible entity receiving a grant must, in accordance with State and local law, directly or indirectly, alone or in collaboration with others, deposit the funds received, other than funds used for administrative costs, in a reserve account established and maintained by the eligible entity. Amounts deposited in such account must be used by the eligible entity for one or more of the following purposes:
Funds received and deposited in the reserve account must be invested in obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States or a State, or in other similarly low-risk securities. Any earnings on funds received must be deposited in the reserve account and used in accordance with this program.
(c) Other. Grantees must ensure that all costs incurred using funds from the reserve account are reasonable. Under 20 U.S.C. 7221c(g), an eligible entity may use not more than 2.5 percent of the funds received under this grant for the administrative costs of carrying out its project responsibilities.
Applicants that are selected to receive an award must enter into a written Performance Agreement with the Department prior to drawing down funds, unless the grantee receives written permission from the Department in the interim to draw down a specific limited amount of funds. Grantees must maintain and enforce standards of conduct governing the performance of their employees, officers, directors, trustees, and agents engaged in the selection, award, and administration of contracts or agreements related to this grant. The standards of conduct must mandate disinterested decision-making. The Secretary, in accordance with chapter 37 of title 31 of the United States Code, will collect all or a portion of the funds in the reserve account established with grant funds (including any earnings on those funds) if the Secretary determines that: (1) The grantee has permanently ceased to use such funds to accomplish the purposes described in the authorizing statute and the Performance Agreement; or (2) not earlier than two years after the date on which it first receives these funds, the Start Printed Page 12354grantee has failed to make substantial progress in undertaking the grant project.
6. Recommended Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. We recommend that you (1) limit the application narrative to 40 pages and (2) use the following standards:
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are from program regulations at 34 CFR 225.11. The Secretary awards up to 100 points for addressing these criteria. The maximum possible score for addressing each criterion is indicated in parentheses. Each criterion also includes the factors that the reviewers will consider to determine how well an application meets the criterion. We encourage applicants to make explicit connections to the selection criteria and factors in their applications.
The Secretary uses the following criteria to evaluate an application for a Credit Enhancement grant:
(a) Quality of project design and significance (35 points):
(b) Quality of project services (15 points):
(c) Capacity (35 points):
In determining an applicant's business and organizational capacity to carry out the project, the Secretary considers—
(d) Quality of project personnel (15 points):
3. Risk Assessment and Special Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 200.205, before awarding grants under this competition the Department conducts a review of the risks posed by applicants. Under 2 CFR 3474.10, the Start Printed Page 12355Secretary may impose special conditions and, in appropriate circumstances, high-risk conditions on a grant if the applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or other management system that does not meet the standards in 2 CFR part 200, subpart D; has not fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible.
(a) Program Performance Measures. The performance measures for this program are: (1) The amount of funding grantees leverage for charter schools to acquire, construct, and renovate school facilities and (2) the number of charter schools served. Grantees must provide information that is responsive to these measures as part of their annual performance reports.
(b) Project-Specific Performance Measures. Applicants must propose project-specific performance measures and performance targets consistent with the objectives of the project and program. Applicants must provide the following information as directed under 34 CFR 75.110(b):
If applicants do not have experience with collection and reporting of performance data through other projects or research, they should provide other evidence of their capacity to successfully carry out data collection and reporting for their proposed project.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/​fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Start Printed Page 12356Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.
1. Unless otherwise indicated, references to the ESEA are to the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA.
[FR Doc. 2018-05748 Filed 3-20-18; 8:45 am]