FR Doc E9-6444[Federal Register: March 24, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 55)]
[Notices]
[Page 12333-12341]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24mr09-49]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Vocational and Adult Education; Native Hawaiian Career
and Technical Education Program (NHCTEP); Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards Using Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Funds.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.259A.
Dates:
Applications Available: March 24, 2009.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 23, 2009.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Native Hawaiian Career and Technical
Education Program (NHCTEP) provides grants to eligible applicants to
plan, conduct, and administer programs, or portions of programs, that
are authorized by and consistent with the purposes of section 116 of
the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Act)
for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.
Background: Under section 116(h) of the Act, eligible community-
based organizations receive NHCTEP grants to plan, conduct, and
administer programs, or portions thereof, that are consistent with the
purposes of section 116 of the Act, for the benefit of Native
Hawaiians. Section 116(e) of the Act provides that educational
programs, services, and activities funded under NHCTEP must support and
help to improve career and technical education programs. (20 U.S.C.
2326(e)) This requirement, along with the statutory definition of
career and technical education, aligns NHCTEP with other programs
authorized under the Act that require grantees to offer a sequence of
courses that provides individuals with coherent and rigorous content
aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical
knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and
careers in current or emerging professions. (20 U.S.C. 2302(5))
Under this competition the Secretary awards grants to carry out
projects that provide organized educational activities offering a
sequence of courses that--
(a) Provide individuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned
with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge
and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in
current or emerging professions;
(b) Provide technical skill proficiency, an industry-recognized
credential, a certificate, or an associate degree; and
(c) Include competency-based applied learning that contributes to
the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving
skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills,
and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an
industry, including entrepreneurship, of an individual. Projects may
include prerequisite courses (other than remedial courses) that meet
the definitional requirements of section 3(5)(A) of the Act. (20 U.S.C.
2302(5)(A)).
Requirements: The Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult
Education has established the following requirements for this program.
These requirements are from the notice of final requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria published elsewhere in this issue
of the Federal Register.
Authorized Programs, Services, and Activities:
(a) Authorized Programs. Under this competition the Secretary
awards grants to carry out projects that--
(1) Develop new programs, services, or activities or improve or
expand existing programs, services, or activities that are consistent
with the purposes of the Act. In other words, the Department will
support ``expansions'' or ``improvements'' that include, but are not
necessarily limited to, the expansion of effective programs or
practices; upgrading of activities, equipment, or materials; increasing
staff capacity; adoption of new technology; modification of curriculum;
or implementation of new policies to improve program effectiveness and
outcomes; and
(2) Fund a career and technical education program, service, or
activity that--
(i) Is a new program, service, or activity that was not provided by
the applicant during the instructional term (a defined period, such as
a semester, trimester, or quarter, within the academic year) that
preceded the request for funding under NHCTEP;
(ii) Will improve or expand an existing career and technical
education program; or
(iii) Inherently improves career and technical education. A
program, service, or activity ``inherently improves career and
technical education'' if it--
(A) Develops new career and technical education programs of study
for approval by the appropriate accreditation agency;
(B) Strengthens the rigor of the academic and career and technical
components of funded programs;
(C) Uses curriculum that is aligned with industry-recognized
standards and will result in students attaining industry-recognized
credentials, certificates, or degrees;
(D) Integrates academics (other than remedial courses) with career
and technical education programs through a coherent sequence of courses
to help ensure learning in the core academic and career and technical
subjects;
(E) Links career and technical education at the secondary level
with career and technical education at the postsecondary level, and
facilitates students' pursuit of a baccalaureate degree;
(F) Expands the scope, depth, and relevance of curriculum,
especially content that provides students with a comprehensive
understanding of all aspects of an industry and a variety of hands-on,
job-specific experiences; or
(G) Offers--
(1) Work-related experience, internships, cooperative education,
school-based enterprises, studies in entrepreneurship, community
service learning, and job shadowing that are
[[Page 12334]]
related to career and technical education programs;
(2) Coaching/mentoring, support services, and extra help for
students after school, on the weekends, or during the summer so they
can meet higher standards;
(3) Career guidance and academic counseling for students
participating in career and technical education programs under NHCTEP;
(4) Placement services for students who have successfully completed
career and technical education programs and attained a technical skill
proficiency that is aligned with industry-recognized standards;
(5) Professional development programs for teachers, counselors, and
administrators;
(6) Strong partnerships among grantees and local educational
agencies, postsecondary institutions, community leaders, adult
education providers, and, as appropriate, other entities, such as
employers, labor organizations, parents, and local partnerships, to
enable students to achieve State academic standards and attain career
and technical skills;
(7) The use of student assessment and evaluation data to
continually improve instruction and staff development; or
(8) Research, development, demonstration, dissemination, evaluation
and assessment, capacity-building, and technical assistance related to
career and technical education programs.
(b) Student stipends.
(1) A portion of an award under this program may be used to provide
stipends (as defined elsewhere in this notice under the heading
Definitions) to help students meet the costs of participation in a
NHCTEP project.
(2) To be eligible for a stipend a student must--
(i) Be enrolled in a career and technical education project funded
under this program;
(ii) Be in regular attendance in a NHCTEP project and meet the
training institution's attendance requirement;
(iii) Maintain satisfactory progress in his or her program of study
according to the training institution's published standards for
satisfactory progress; and
(iv) Have an acute economic need that--
(A) Prevents participation in a project funded under this program
without a stipend; and
(B) Cannot be met through a work-study program.
(3) The amount of a stipend is the greater of either the minimum
hourly wage prescribed by State or local law, or the minimum hourly
wage established under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(4) A grantee may award a stipend only if the stipend combined with
other resources the student receives does not exceed the student's
financial need. A student's financial need is the difference between
the student's cost of attendance and the financial aid or other
resources available to defray the student's cost of attending a NHCTEP
project.
(5) To calculate the amount of a student's stipend, a grantee must
multiply the number of hours a student actually attends career and
technical education instruction by the amount of the minimum hourly
wage that is prescribed by State or local law or by the minimum hourly
wage that is established under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The
grantee must reduce the amount of a stipend if necessary to ensure that
it does not exceed the student's financial need.
Example: If a grantee uses the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum
hourly wage of $7.25 and a student attends classes for 20 hours a week,
the student's stipend would be $145 for the week during which the
student attends classes ($7.25 x 20 = $145). If the program lasts 16
weeks and the student's total financial need is $2,000, the grantee
must reduce the weekly stipend to $125, because the total stipend for
the course would otherwise exceed the student's financial need by $320
(or $20 a week).
Note: Grantees must maintain records that fully support their
decisions to award stipends to students, as well as the amounts that
are paid, such as proof of a student's enrollment in the NHCTEP
project, stipend applications, timesheets showing the number of
hours of student attendance that are confirmed in writing by an
instructor, student financial status information, and evidence that
a student could not participate in the NHCTEP project without a
stipend. (See generally 20 U.S.C. 1232f; 34 CFR 75.700-75.702;
75.730; and 75.731)
(6) An eligible student may earn a stipend when taking a course for
the first time, although a stipend may not be provided to a student for
a particular course if the student has already taken, completed, and
had the opportunity to benefit from the course and is merely repeating
the course.
(7) An applicant must include, in its application, the procedure it
intends to use in determining student eligibility for stipends and
stipend amounts, and its oversight procedures for the awarding and
payment of stipends.
(c) Direct assistance to students. A grantee may provide direct
assistance (as defined elsewhere in this notice under the heading
Definitions) to a student only if the following conditions are met:
(1) The recipient of the direct assistance is an individual who is
a member of a special population (as defined in section 3(29) of the
Act) and who is participating in a NHCTEP project.
(2) The direct assistance is needed to address barriers to the
individual's successful participation in a NHCTEP project.
(3) The direct assistance is part of a broader, more generally
focused program or activity for addressing the needs of an individual
who is a member of a special population.
Note: Direct assistance to individuals who are members of
special populations is not, by itself, a ``program or activity for
special populations.''
(4) The grant funds used for direct assistance must be expended to
supplement, and not supplant, assistance that is otherwise available
from non-Federal sources. For example, generally, a community-based
organization could not use NHCTEP funds to provide child care for
single parents if non-Federal funds previously were made available for
this purpose, or if non-Federal funds are used to provide child care
services for single parents participating in non-career and technical
education programs and these services otherwise (in the absence of
NHCTEP funds) would have been available to career and technical
education students.
(5) In determining how much of the NHCTEP grant funds it will use
for direct assistance to an eligible student, a grantee--
(i) May only provide assistance to the extent that it is needed to
address barriers to the individual's successful participation in career
and technical education; and
(ii) Considers whether the specific services to be provided are a
reasonable and necessary cost of providing career and technical
education programs for special populations. However, the Secretary does
not envision a circumstance in which it would be a reasonable and
necessary expenditure of NHCTEP project funds for a grantee to utilize
a majority of a project's budget to pay direct assistance to students,
in lieu of providing the students served by the project with career and
technical education.
(d) Career and technical education agreement. Any applicant that is
not proposing to provide career and technical education directly to
Native Hawaiian students and proposes instead to pay one or more
qualified educational entities to provide such career and technical
education to Native Hawaiian
[[Page 12335]]
students must include with its application a written career and
technical education agreement between the applicant and the educational
entity. The written agreement must describe the commitment between the
applicant and the educational entity and must include, at a minimum, a
statement of the responsibilities of the applicant and the entity. The
agreement must be signed by the appropriate individuals on behalf of
each party, such as the authorizing official or administrative head of
the applicant Native Hawaiian community-based organization.
(e) Supplement-Not-Supplant. Grantees may not use funds under
NHCTEP to replace otherwise available non-Federal funding for ``direct
assistance to students'' (as defined elsewhere in this notice under the
heading Definitions) and family assistance programs. For example,
NHCTEP funds must not be used to supplant non-Federal funds to pay the
costs of students' tuition, dependent care, transportation, books,
supplies, and other costs associated with participation in a career and
technical education program.
Further, funds under NHCTEP may not be used to replace Federal
student financial aid. The Act does not authorize the Secretary to fund
projects that serve primarily as entities through which students may
apply for and receive tuition and other financial assistance.
Evaluation Requirements:
To help ensure the high quality of NHCTEP projects and the
achievement of the goals and purposes of section 116(h) of the Act,
each grantee must budget for and conduct an ongoing evaluation of the
effectiveness of its project. An independent evaluator must conduct the
evaluation. The evaluation must--
(a) Be appropriate for the project and be both formative and
summative in nature; and
(b) Include--
(1) Collection and reporting of the performance measures for NHCTEP
that are identified in the Performance Measures section of this notice;
and
(2) Qualitative and quantifiable data with respect to--
(i) Academic and career and technical competencies demonstrated by
the participants and the number and kinds of academic and work
credentials acquired by individuals, including their participation in
programs providing skill proficiency assessments, industry
certifications, or training at the associate degree level that is
articulated with an advanced degree option;
(ii) Enrollment, completion, and placement of participants by
gender, for each occupation for which training was provided;
(iii) Job or work skill attainment or enhancement, including
participation in apprenticeship and work-based learning programs, and
student progress in achieving technical skill proficiencies necessary
to obtain employment in the field for which the student has been
prepared, including attainment or enhancement of technical skills in
the industry the student is preparing to enter;
(iv) Activities, during the formative stages of the project, to
help guide and improve the project, as well as a summative evaluation
that includes recommendations for disseminating information on project
activities and results;
(v) The number and percentage of students who obtained industry-
recognized credentials, certificates, or degrees;
(vi) The outcomes of students' technical assessments, by type and
scores, if available;
(vii) The rates of attainment of a proficiency credential or
certificate, in conjunction with a secondary school diploma;
(viii) The effectiveness of the project, including a comparison
between the intended and observed results and a demonstration of a
clear link between the observed results and the specific treatment
given to project participants;
(ix) The extent to which information about or resulting from the
project was disseminated at other sites, such as through the grantee's
development and use of guides or manuals that provide step-by-step
directions for practitioners to follow when initiating similar efforts;
and
(x) The impact of the project, e.g., follow-up data on students'
employment, sustained employment, promotions, further and continuing
education or training, or the impact the project had on Native Hawaiian
economic development or career and technical education activities.
Performance Measures: The Assistant Secretary establishes the
following core factors and measures for evaluating the overall
effectiveness of the NHCTEP and projects supported under this program.
(a) Number of Secondary, Postsecondary, and Adult Projects. The
number of secondary, postsecondary, and adult programs that--
(1) Apply industry-recognized skill standards so that students can
earn skill certificates in those projects; and
(2) Offer skill competencies, related assessments, and industry-
recognized skill certificates in an area of study offered by secondary
and postsecondary institutions.
(b) Secondary Projects. The percentage of participating secondary
career and technical education students who--
(1) Meet or exceed State proficiency standards in reading/language
arts and mathematics;
(2) Attain a secondary school diploma or its State-recognized
equivalent, or a proficiency credential in conjunction with a secondary
school diploma;
(3) Attain career and technical education skill proficiencies
aligned with industry-recognized standards; and
(4) Are placed in postsecondary education, advanced training,
military service, or employment in high-skill, high-wage, and high-
demand occupations or in current or emerging occupations.
(c) Postsecondary Projects.
The percentage of participating postsecondary students in career
and technical education programs who--
(1) Receive postsecondary degrees, certificates, or credentials;
(2) Attain career and technical education skill proficiencies
aligned with industry-recognized standards;
(3) Receive industry-recognized credentials, certificates, or
degrees;
(4) Are retained in postsecondary education or transfer to a
baccalaureate degree program; and
(5) Are placed in military service or apprenticeship programs, or
are placed in employment, receive an employment promotion, or retain
employment.
(d) Adult Projects. The percentage of participating adult career
and technical education students who--
(1) Enroll in a postsecondary education or training program;
(2) Attain career and technical education skill proficiencies
aligned with industry-recognized standards;
(3) Receive industry-recognized credentials, certificates, or
degrees; and
(4) Are placed in employment, receive an employment promotion, or
retain employment.
Note: All grantees must submit an annual performance report
addressing these performance measures, to the extent feasible and to
the extent that they apply to each grantee's NHCTEP project.
Additional Statutory Requirement:
Limitation on services. Section 315 of the Act prohibits the use of
funds received under the Act to provide career and technical education
programs to students prior to the seventh grade, except that equipment
and facilities purchased with funds under the Act may be used by such
students. (20 U.S.C. 2395)
[[Page 12336]]
Definitions: The following definitions govern this program. The
definitions of the terms acute economic need, coherent sequence of
courses, direct assistance to students, and stipend are from the notice
of final requirements, definitions, and selection criteria published
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The definitions of the
remaining terms are from section 3 of the Act (20 U.S.C. 2303).
Acute economic need means an income that is at or below the
national poverty level according to the latest available data from the
U.S. Department of Commerce or the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Poverty Guidelines.
Career and technical education means organized educational
activities that--
(a) Offer a sequence of courses that--
(1) Provides individuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned
with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge
and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in
current or emerging professions;
(2) Provides technical skills proficiency, an industry-recognized
credential, a certificate, or an associate degree; and
(3) May include prerequisite courses (other than remedial courses)
that meet the requirements of this definition; and
(b) Include competency-based applied learning that contributes to
the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving
skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills,
and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an
industry, including entrepreneurship, of an individual. (20 U.S.C.
2302(5))
Coherent sequence of courses means a series of courses in which
career and academic education are integrated, and that directly relates
to, and leads to, both academic and occupational competencies. The term
includes competency-based education and academic education, and adult
training or retraining, including sequential units encompassed within a
single adult retraining course that otherwise meets the requirements of
this definition.
Direct assistance to students means tuition, dependent care,
transportation, books, and supplies that are necessary for a student to
participate in a project funded under this program.
Individual with a disability means an individual with any
disability (as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)). (20 U.S.C. 2302(17))
Individual with limited English proficiency means a secondary
school student, an adult, or an out-of-school youth, who has limited
ability in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English
language, and--
(a) Whose native language is a language other than English; or
(b) Who lives in a family or community environment in which a
language other than English is the dominant language. (20 U.S.C.
2302(16))
Native Hawaiian means any individual any of whose ancestors were
natives, prior to 1778, of the area that now comprises the State of
Hawaii. (20 U.S.C. 2326(a)(4))
Non-traditional fields means occupations or fields of work,
including careers in computer science, technology, and other current
and emerging high-skill occupations, for which individuals from one
gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in
each such occupation or field of work. (20 U.S.C. 2302(20))
Special populations means--
(a) Individuals with disabilities;
(b) Individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including
foster children;
(c) Individuals preparing for non-traditional fields;
(d) Single parents, including single pregnant women;
(e) Displaced homemakers; and
(f) Individuals with limited English proficiency. (20 U.S.C.
2302(29))
Stipend means a subsistence allowance--
(a) For a student who is enrolled in a career and technical
education program funded under the NHCTEP;
(b) For a student who has an acute economic need that cannot be met
through work-study programs; and
(c) That is necessary for the student to participate in a project
funded under this program.
Support services means services related to curriculum modification,
equipment modification, classroom modification, supportive personnel,
and instructional aids and devices. (20 U.S.C. 2302(31))
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2326(a)-(h).
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 81, 82,
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria published elsewhere in this issue
of the Federal Register.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $2,898,270 is available for the NHCTEP
from the FY 2008 appropriation. Funding for the second and third years
is subject to the availability of funds and to a grantee meeting the
requirements of 34 CFR 75.253. Contingent upon the availability of
funds and the quality of applications, we may make additional awards in
FY 2010 from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $250,000--$500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $289,827.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
(a) Community-based organizations primarily serving and
representing Native Hawaiians. For purposes of the NHCTEP, a community-
based organization means a public or private organization that provides
career and technical education, or related services, to individuals in
the Native Hawaiian community.
(b) Any community-based organization may apply individually or as a
part of a consortium with one or more eligible community-based
organizations. (34 CFR 75.127)
2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost
sharing or matching requirements, but does involve supplement-not-
supplant funding provisions. (See the Supplement-Not-Supplant section
of this notice.)
b. Supplement-Not-Supplant: In accordance with section 311(a) of
the Act, funds under this program may not be used to supplant non-
Federal funds used to carry out career and technical education
activities and tech prep program activities. Furthermore, the
prohibition against supplanting also means that grantees are required
to use their negotiated restricted indirect cost rates under this
program. (34 CFR 75.563)
The Secretary cautions applicants not to plan to use funds under
NHCTEP to replace otherwise available non-Federal funding for ``direct
assistance to students,'' (as defined elsewhere in this notice) and
family assistance programs. For example, NHCTEP funds must not be used
to supplant non-Federal funds to pay the costs of students' tuition,
dependent care, transportation, books, supplies, and other costs
associated with participation in a career and technical education
program.
[[Page 12337]]
Further, funds under NHCTEP may not be used to replace Federal
student financial aid. The Secretary wishes to highlight that the Act
does not authorize the Secretary to fund projects that serve primarily
as entities through which students may apply for and receive tuition
and other financial assistance.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Nancy Essey, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 11070, Potomac
Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC 20202-7241. Telephone: (202) 245-
7789. Fax: (202) 245-7170 or by e-mail: nancy.essey@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
You can also obtain an application package via the Internet from
the following address: http://www.grants.gov/.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy the application
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape,
or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed
in this section.
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. 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. You must
limit the application narrative [Part III] to no more than 50 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 page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II,
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the
resumes, the bibliography, the letters of support, or documentation of
the applicant's eligibility. However, the page limit does apply to all
of the application narrative section [Part III].
Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that
exceed the page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 24, 2009.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 23, 2009.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically, or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV.6. 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.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restriction in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. 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 NHCTEP, CFDA number 84.259A, must
be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply
site at www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download
a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload
and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a
grant application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant application for the NHCTEP at
www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application
package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA
number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.259, not
84.259A).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply
with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from
Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application
because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this program to
[[Page 12338]]
ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the
Grants.gov system. You can also find the Education Submission
Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov at
http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include
(1) registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see
http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf).
You also must provide on your
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction 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.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person
listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this
notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you
experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk
Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a
technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that
problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30:00
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The
Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether
your application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Nancy Essey, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 11070, PCP,
Washington, 20202-7241. FAX: (202) 245-7170.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.259A), 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:
[[Page 12339]]
(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 84.259A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8:00 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 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
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are
from the notice of final requirements, definitions, and selection
criteria published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register and
are as follows:
(a) Quality of the project design. (35 points) In determining the
quality of the design of the proposed project, we consider the
following factors:
(1) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is
appropriate to and will successfully address the needs of the target
population or other identified needs (as evidenced by such data as
local labor market demand, occupational trends, and surveys). (5
points)
(2) The extent to which goals, objectives, and outcomes are clearly
specified and measurable. (For example, we look for clear descriptions
of proposed student career and technical education activities;
recruitment and retention strategies; expected student enrollments,
completions, and placements in jobs, military specialties, and
continuing education/training opportunities; the number of teachers,
counselors, and administrators to be trained; and identification of
requirements for each program of study to be provided under the
project, including related training areas and a description of
performance outcomes.) (10 points)
(3) The extent to which the proposed project will establish
linkages with other appropriate agencies (e.g., community, State, and
other Federal resources) and organizations providing services to the
target population in order to improve services to students and
strengthen outcomes for the proposed project. (5 points)
(4) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed
project will create and offer activities that focus on enabling
participants to obtain the skills necessary to gain employment in high-
skill, high-wage, and high-demand occupations in emerging fields or in
a specific career field. (5 points)
(5) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed
project will create opportunities for students to acquire skills
identified by the State at the secondary level or by industry-
recognized career and technical education programs for licensure,
degree, certification, or as required by a career or profession. (5
points)
(6) The extent to which the proposed project will provide
opportunities for high-quality training or professional development
services that--
(i) Are of sufficient quality, intensity, and duration to lead to
improvements in practice among instructional personnel;
(ii) Will improve and increase instructional personnel's knowledge
and skills to help students meet challenging and rigorous academic and
career and technical skill proficiencies;
(iii) Will advance instructional personnel's understanding of
effective instructional strategies that are supported by scientifically
based research; and
(iv) Include professional development plans that clearly address
ways in which learning gaps will be addressed and how continuous review
of performance will be conducted to identify training needs. (5 points)
(b) Quality of the management plan. (15 points) In determining the
quality of the management plan for the proposed project, we consider
the following factors:
(1) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly
defined responsibilities, timelines, and the milestones and performance
standards for accomplishing project tasks. (5 points)
(2) The extent to which the time commitments of the project
director and other key project personnel, including instructors, are
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed
project. (5 points)
(3) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the proposed project. (5 points)
(c) Quality of data collection plan. (10 points) In determining the
quality of the data collection plan, we consider the following factors:
(1) The adequacy of procedures and methods for collecting data. (5
points)
(2) The adequacy of the data collection plan in allowing comparison
with other similar secondary, postsecondary, and adult career and
technical education programs. (5 points)
(d) Quality of project personnel. (25 points) In determining the
quality of project personnel, we consider the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for
employment from persons who are members of groups that have
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability. (5 points)
(2) The qualifications, including relevant training, expertise, and
experience, of the project director. (5 points)
(3) The qualifications, including relevant training, expertise, and
experience, of key project personnel, especially the extent to which
the project will use instructors who are certified to teach in the
field in which they will provide instruction. (10 points)
(4) The qualifications, including training, expertise, and
experience, of project consultants. (5 points)
(e) Adequacy of resources. (15 points) In determining the adequacy
of resources for the proposed project, we consider the following
factors:
(1) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment,
supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization(s) and
the entities to be served, including the evidence and relevance of
commitments (e.g., articulation agreements, memoranda of understanding,
letters of
[[Page 12340]]
support, or commitments to employ project participants) of the
applicant, local employers, or entities to be served by the project. (5
points)
(2) The extent to which the budget is adequate and costs are
reasonable in relation to the objectives and design of the proposed
project. (5 points)
(3) The potential for continued support of the project after
Federal funding ends. (5 points)
(f) Quality of the project evaluation. (20 points) In determining
the quality of the evaluation, we consider the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation proposed by the
grantee are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the goals,
objectives, and outcomes of the proposed project. (5 points)
(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the
intended outcomes of the project and the performance measures discussed
elsewhere in this notice and will produce quantitative and qualitative
data, to the extent possible. (5 points)
(3) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
performance feedback and continuous improvement toward achieving
intended outcomes. (5 points)
(4) The quality of the proposed evaluation to be conducted by an
external evaluator with the necessary background and technical
expertise to carry out the evaluation. (5 points)
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 your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as directed by the Secretary
under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent
performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements
on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Federal departments and agencies must
clearly describe the goals and objectives of their programs, identify
resources and actions needed to accomplish these goals and objectives,
develop a means of measuring progress made, and regularly report on
their achievement. One important source of program information on
successes and lessons learned is the project evaluation conducted under
individual grants.
The Department has established the following core factors and
measures for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the NHCTEP and
projects supported under this program. Consequently, we advise an
applicant for a grant under this program to give careful consideration
to these core factors and measures.
(a) Number of Secondary, Postsecondary, and Adult Projects. The
number of secondary, postsecondary, and adult programs that--
(1) Apply industry-recognized skill standards so that students can
earn skill certificates in those projects; and
(2) Offer skill competencies, related assessments, and industry-
recognized skill certificates in an area of study offered by secondary
and postsecondary institutions.
(b) Secondary Projects. The percentage of participating secondary
career and technical education students who--
(1) Meet or exceed State proficiency standards in reading/language
arts and mathematics;
(2) Attain a secondary school diploma or its State-recognized
equivalent, or a proficiency credential in conjunction with a secondary
school diploma;
(3) Attain career and technical education skill proficiencies
aligned with industry-recognized standards; and
(4) Are placed in postsecondary education, advanced training,
military service, or employment in high-skill, high-wage, and high-
demand occupations or in current or emerging occupations.
(c) Postsecondary Projects.
The percentage of participating postsecondary students in career
and technical education programs who--
(1) Receive postsecondary degrees, certificates, or credentials;
(2) Attain career and technical education skill proficiencies
aligned with industry-recognized standards;
(3) Receive industry-recognized credentials, certificates, or
degrees;
(4) Are retained in postsecondary education or transfer to a
baccalaureate degree program; and
(5) Are placed in military service or apprenticeship programs, or
are placed in employment, receive an employment promotion, or retain
employment.
(d) Adult Projects. The percentage of participating adult career
and technical education students who--
(1) Enroll in a postsecondary education or training program;
(2) Attain career and technical education skill proficiencies
aligned with industry-recognized standards;
(3) Receive industry-recognized credentials, certificates, or
degrees; and
(4) Are placed in employment, receive an employment promotion, or
retain employment.
Note: All grantees must submit an annual performance report
addressing these performance measures, to the extent feasible and to
the extent that they apply to each grantee's NHCTEP project.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Nancy Essey, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 11070, PCP, Washington, DC
20202-7241. Telephone: (202) 245-7789, or by e-mail:
nancy.essey@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
notice 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 person listed under For Further
Informaiton 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. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at
[[Page 12341]]
1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: March 19, 2009.
Dennis L. Berry,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. E9-6444 Filed 3-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P