Special Notice: Reopening the STEP Pilot Grant Competition for fiscal year (FY) 2012.

We are reopening this competition in order to allow applicants more time to prepare and submit their applications. Given the number of application requirements, the unique nature of this pilot competition, and the short deadline for applications (45 days), some applicants might not have had sufficient time to complete all requirements. At this time we have received a very limited number of applications. In addition, we understand that there was confusion in the field about the preliminary agreement requirement and the consortia requirements for this competition. Therefore, we are supplementing the “Frequently Asked Questions” document with additional questions and will re-post the document on the STEP website, http://www2.ed.gov/programs/step", on the same day that this notice is published.

Reopened Application Dates
Application Reopened: July 26, 2012
Application Available: July 26, 2012
New Application Due Date: August 9, 2012

Application is Available: May 29, 2012
Webinars for Potential Applicants: June 1 and June 5, 2012, 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Washington, DC time each day
Dates of Pre-Application Meetings: June 1 and June 5, 2012
Notice of Intent to Apply Deadline: June 12, 2012
Deadline for Submitting Applications: July 13, 2012
Awards Announced: By September 30, 2012

• The reopen notice, as published on July 26, 2012, may be found here Federal Register Notice

• Applications must be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov. See the original Federal Register Notice for more information.

• The direct link to the application package on Grants.gov is located here: https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/UpdateOffer?id=134510

• Download the application package now:
  

  MS Word (287K) | PDF (1327K)

• For printed applications contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs),
  P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398,
  Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827, fax (301) 470-1244.
  If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) you may call (toll free) 1-877-576-7734.
  Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.
  E-mail: edpubs@inet.ed.gov

All applications must be submitted by the closing date of July 13, 2012 and meet the submission requirements identified in the Notice Inviting Applications in order to be considered for FY 2012 funding.

Projects selected for funding should plan start dates of October 1, 2012.

Please carefully read the closing notice for the program in order to meet all eligibility and submission requirements. If you have questions, please contact OESE Step Program by e-mail at: step@ed.gov

Instructions for Submitting Intent to Apply:

A. Prospective applicants are encouraged to notify the Department of their intent to apply for a grant under the STEP program. Prospective applicants should submit the following information to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) STEP Program email address with "Notice of Intent to Apply" in the subject line to: step@ed.gov by June 12, 2012 and include the following:

B. Applicant's name, address and contact person's email

C. Contact person's name and email address

D. Whether the applicant will be a single TEA or a consortium of TEAs

E. The name of the State educational agency

• Pre-Application Webinar PowerPoint
  Available here is the pre-application PowerPoint from the June 1 and June 5 webinars. Please click on this download link for the file. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/step/stepwebinar.ppt [MS PowerPoint, 4.41MB].

• Pre-Application Webinar Schedule
  Pre-application webinars have been scheduled for June 1 and June 5, 2012 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Washington, DC time daily. To participate in the webinar please send an email to: step@ed.gov with "Webinar" in the subject line.

July 10, 2012 - Q&A Session regarding STEP Applications

Prospective applicants are encouraged to participate in a conference call on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 1:00pm EST regarding the State-Tribal Education Partnership Pilot (STEP Pilot). The conference call will serve as an opportunity for potential applicants to engage in a question and answer session with ED officials. Please RSVP for this conference call by emailing your name and affiliation to step@ed.gov. Click on this download link for the Save the Date flyer for this conference call. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/step/concall-flyer.pdf [PDF, 210KB].