02/29/00: Office of Educational Research and Improvement; Regional Technology in Education Consortia Program Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2000 [OERI]


[Federal Register: February 29, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 40)]
[Notices]               
[Page 10921-10923]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29fe00-137]                         


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Part IV

Department of Education
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Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Regional Technology in 
Education Consortia Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.302A]

 
Office of Educational Research and Improvement; Regional 
Technology in Education Consortia Program Notice inviting applications 
for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2000.

    Purpose of the Program: The Regional Technology in Education 
Consortia Program provides professional and leadership development, 
technical assistance, information and resources to States, districts, 
schools and other education institutions to help in their efforts to 
integrate advanced technologies into K-12 teaching and learning and 
programs of adult literacy. This competition supports 10 regional 
consortia projects that will provide these services in the following 
multi-state regions.
    Northwest RTEC Region: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and 
Washington.
    Pacific RTEC Region: Hawaii, American Samoa, Commonwealth of 
Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the 
Republic of Palau, and the Republic of Marshall Islands.
    Southwest RTEC Region: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
    High Plains RTEC Region:\1/2\ Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
    North Central RTEC Region: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
    South Central RETC Region: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, 
Oklahoma, and Texas.
    Northeast and Islands RTEC Region: Connecticut, Maine, 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto 
Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
    Mid-Atlantic RTEC Region: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Washington, DC.
    Appalachian RTEC Region: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West 
Virginia.
    Southeast RTEC Region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, 
North Carolina, and South Carolina.
    Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are regional entities or 
consortia composed of State educational agencies, institutions of 
higher education, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof.
    Applications Available: February 29, 2000.
    Deadline for Transmitting Applications: April 14, 2000.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 14, 2000.
    Estimated Available Funds: $9,900,000.
    Estimated Maximum Award: $990,000.
    Eestimated Average Size of Awards: $990,000 for the first budget 
year and $995,000 for each of years 2-5.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes funding 
in excess of the amount available in a given year.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
    Budget Period: 12 Months.
    Project Period: 60 Months.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, 
address the selection criteria reviewers use to evaluate your 
application. You must limit the application narrative to the equivalent 
of no more than 50 pages of 2,000 characters per page for the page 
limit specified, 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. For electronic submission a page 
equals 2,000 characters; and we will convert any charts, tables, 
figures, and graphs from a page equivalency to a character count.
    * 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).
    The page and character limits in the application narrative include 
no more than a 10-page evaluation plan.
    The page and character count limits do not apply to the cover 
sheet; the budget section, including the narrative budget 
justification; the assurances and certifications; or the one-page 
abstract, the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. 
However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III.
    If, to meet the page limit, you use more than one side of the page, 
you use a larger page, or you use a print size, spacing, or margins 
smaller than the standards in this notice, we will reject your 
application.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
    For Applications Contact: Carmelita Stevenson, U.S. Department of 
Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, room 522, Washington, DC 20208-
5645. Telephone: (202) 208-5410. Email: carmelita__stevenson@ed.gov. If 
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Enid Simmons, U.S. Department of 
Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, room 502g, Washington, DC 20208-
5645. Telephone: (202) 219-1739. Email: enid__simmons@ed.gov. If you 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain 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 under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Individuals with 
disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an 
alternative format by contacting that person. However, the Department 
is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the standard forms 
included in the application package.

Application Procedures

    Note: Some of the procedures in this notice for transmitting 
applications differ from those in the Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally 
offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed 
regulations. However, these amendments make procedural changes only 
and do not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, under 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that proposed 
rulemaking is not required.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    The U.S. Department of Education (we) are conducting a limited 
pilot project of electronic submission of discretionary grant 
applications for selected programs. The Regional Technology in 
Education Consortia (RTEC Grants Program) (CFDA No. 84.302A) is one of 
the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant 
under the RTEC Grant program, you may submit your application to us in 
either electronic or paper format.
    The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-GAPS) portion of the Grant Administration and 
Payment System (GAPS). We request your participation in the e-GAPS 
pilot project. By participating you will have an

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opportunity to have input into the overall design and approach of e-
GAPS. At the conclusion of the pilot project, we will evaluate its 
success and solicit suggestions for improvements.
    If you participate as a grant applicant in an e-GAPS pilot, please 
note the following:
    * Your participation is voluntary.
    * You will not receive any additional point value or penalty 
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format.
    * You can submit all documents electronically, including the 
Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget 
Information-Non-Construction Programs (ED Form No. 524), and all 
necessary assurances and certifications. We may request that you give 
us original signatures on forms at a later date.
    You may access the electronic grant application for Office of 
Educational Research and Improvement: Regional Technology in Education 
Consortia at: http://e-grants.ed.gov

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in the text or 
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.goc/fedreg.html
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office (GP0), 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 version 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8671-8678.

    Dated: February 23, 2000.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 00-4769 Filed 2-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P