FR Doc 05-4978

[Federal Register: March 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 12448-12455]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14mr05-37]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) Overview Information,
Ready-To-Learn Television Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.295A and
84.295B.

Dates: Applications Available: March 15, 2005.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: April 13, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 13, 2005.

[[Page 12449]]

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 12, 2005.
Eligible Applicants: To receive a cooperative agreement under this
competition, an entity shall be a public telecommunications entity that
is able to demonstrate each of the following:
(A) A capacity to develop and nationally distribute educational and
instructional television programming of high quality that is accessible
by a large majority of disadvantaged preschool and elementary school
children;
(B) A capacity to contract with the producers of children's
television programming for the purpose of developing educational
television programming of high quality;
(C) A capacity, consistent with the entity's mission and nonprofit
nature, to negotiate such contracts in a manner that returns to the
entity an appropriate share of any ancillary income from sales of any
program-related products; and
(D) A capacity to localize programming and materials to meet
specific State and local needs and to provide educational outreach at
the local level.

Note: The term public telecommunications entity means any
enterprise which (a) is a public broadcast station or a
noncommercial telecommunications entity; and (b) disseminates public
telecommunications services to the public.

Estimated Available Funds: $23,312,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: Programming Projects --$10,000,000--
$20,000,000; Outreach Project--$2,000,000-$4,000,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Programming Projects--
$10,000,000; Outreach Project--$3,500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: Programming Projects--1-2; Outreach
Project--1.

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

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The Ready-To-Learn (RTL) Television program
supports awards to: (1) Develop, produce and distribute educational and
instructional video programming for preschool and early elementary
school children and their parents in order to facilitate academic
achievement; (2) facilitate the development of educational programming
for preschool and elementary school children and the accompanying
support materials and services that promote the effective use of such
programming; (3) facilitate the development of programming and digital
content containing RTL-based children's programming and resources for
parents and caregivers that is specially designed for nationwide
distribution over public television stations' digital broadcasting
channels and the Internet; (4) contract with entities, such as public
telecommunications entities, so that programs developed are
disseminated and distributed to the widest possible audience
appropriate to be served by the programming, and through the use of the
most appropriate distribution technologies; and (5) develop and
disseminate education and training materials, including interactive
programs and programs adaptable to distance learning technologies that
are designed to (a) promote school readiness; and (b) promote the
effective use of materials developed through the program among parents,
teachers, Head Start providers, Even Start providers, providers of
family literacy services, child care providers, early childhood
development personnel, elementary school teachers, public librarians,
and after school program personnel caring for preschool and elementary
school children.
The Department will hold two separate competitions under this
program. Both programming and outreach grantees will be expected to
collaborate on RTL activities. Eligible applicants may apply for grants
under programming projects (CFDA No. 84.295A) and outreach projects
(CFDA No. 84.295B).
Priorities: This competition includes two absolute priorities and
one competitive preference priority that are explained in the following
paragraphs.
We are establishing these priorities for the FY 2005 grant
competition only, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General
Education Provisions Act.
Absolute Priorities: For FY 2005 these priorities are absolute
priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications
that meet these priorities. Applicants may choose to apply under
Absolute Priority 1 or Absolute Priority 2 or both.
These priorities are:
Absolute Priority 1--Programming Grants (CFDA No. 84.295A): This
priority supports projects designed to develop, produce and distribute
age appropriate educational video programming and curricula that employ
scientifically based reading research for children ages two through
eight years old and their parents and educators. Applicants must
demonstrate how they will create partnerships to develop and produce
multiple series within each proposal. Under this absolute priority,
applicants may develop new programming as well as continuations of
existing programming that meets the stated criteria.
Applications must--
(a) Describe how educational programming developed using RTL funds
will target low-income children and families. The term low-income
children is defined on the basis of the poverty criteria set out in
section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
Those criteria are as follows: living below the poverty level,
eligibility for free or reduced price lunches under the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act, living in a family receiving funding
under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act, or eligibility to receive medical services under the
Medicaid program.
(b) Describe how scientifically based reading research will be used
to inform educational programming developed using RTL funds, and how
scientifically based reading instruction techniques and age appropriate
academic content will be incorporated into the proposed programming to
facilitate improved academic outcomes for children, including children
from low-income backgrounds.
(c) Demonstrate how new technologies will be utilized to ensure
that educational programming developed using RTL funds reaches a wide
audience in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The applicant must
include a plan for the national distribution of digital programming
content that includes, but is not limited to, low-income children and
families.
(d) Include as key personnel an expert in scientifically based
reading instruction who will devote no less than 25% of his or her time
to the overall guidance and direction of the program. The applicant
will be required to establish an advisory board for each series
composed of early childhood, media, scientifically based reading
research and other relevant experts as programming requires who will
provide advice on the age appropriateness of content and the
development of related curricula and materials.
Absolute Priority 2--Outreach Grants (CFDA No. 84.295B): This
priority supports a project that will develop a national outreach plan
and targeted local strategies that promote the programming content
developed using RTL funds. The outreach shall be designed to reach
children ages two

[[Page 12450]]

through eight years old, their parents and educators. The outreach plan
will support the programming goal of scientifically based reading
instruction. Outreach activities must address all RTL funded shows,
including shows funded under previous RTL awards and new shows, which
are consistent with Absolute Priority One of this notice. Both national
and local campaigns must be conducted and evaluated.
The outreach plan must be two-fold--
1. National Campaign. The national campaign must include a national
outreach with unified RTL messages and strategies that support the goal
of scientifically based reading instruction. The applicant must--
(a) Develop a partnership plan that leverages the outreach
available for the program through collaborative efforts that may
include local educational agencies, State educational agencies, Head
Start centers, Even Start programs, early childhood development
entities, public libraries, after-school programs, faith-based groups,
Extension Service programs, pre-kindergarten programs, child care
providers, and providers of family literacy services.
(b) Develop, manage and maintain Web sites for children, parents
and educators to support outreach and that links the programming
activities of all RTL shows.
(c) Include a description of a national marketing plan for all RTL
shows that targets parents, elementary classroom teachers and early
childhood educators. The plan should include strategies for embedding
educational programming developed using RTL funds into other
appropriate television series, movies, and videos for both children and
adults.
(d) Establish an advisory board that will provide advice on the age
appropriateness of outreach content and the development of curricula
and materials related to programming.
2. Targeted Local Campaigns. The applicant shall propose a
systematic outreach campaign at the local level that targets low-income
children and their families. The term low-income children is defined on
the basis of the poverty criteria set out in section 1113(a)(5) of the
ESEA, as amended by NCLB. Those criteria are as follows: living below
the poverty level, eligibility for a free or reduced price lunches
under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, living in a
family receiving funding under the State program funded under Part A of
title IV of the Social Security Act, or eligibility to receive medical
services under the Medicaid program.
The applicant must--
(a) Describe how new technologies, where appropriate, will be
utilized to deliver curricula, ancillary materials, as well as how such
technologies will be used to support program-related outreach
activities for all shows developed using RTL funds.
(b) Describe how the applicant will conduct public awareness/
advertising campaigns for all shows developed using RTL funds that
target the needs of low-income children and families.
The applicant will evaluate outreach through a market/survey
evaluation to determine the percentage of parents and educators
randomly surveyed who participated in the public awareness campaign and
either co-viewed programs developed using RTL funds with their
children/students for the first time or increased co-viewing.
Competitive Preference Priority--Programming Grants (CFDA No.
84.295A): This priority is from the notice of final priority for
Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods, published in the Federal
Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 3586). Within Absolute Priority 1
(Programming Grants), we give competitive preference to applications
that address the following priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we
award up to an additional 25 points to an application, depending on the
extent to which the application meets this priority.

Note: In awarding additional points to applications that address
this competitive preference priority, we will consider only those
applications that have top-ranked scores on the basis of the
Selection Criteria in Section V. (see Section V. 1. Selection
Criteria in this notice).

The Secretary establishes a priority for projects proposing an
evaluation plan that is based on rigorous scientifically based research
methods to assess the effectiveness of a particular intervention. The
Secretary intends that this priority will allow program participants
and the Department to determine whether the project produces meaningful
effects on student achievement or teacher performance.
Evaluation methods using an experimental design are best for
determining project effectiveness. Thus, when feasible, the project
must use an experimental design under which participants--e.g.,
students, teachers, classrooms, or schools--are randomly assigned to
participate in the project activities being evaluated or to a control
group that does not participate in the project activities being
evaluated.
If random assignment is not feasible, the project may use a quasi-
experimental design with carefully matched comparison conditions. This
alternative design attempts to approximate a randomly assigned control
group by matching participants--e.g., students, teachers, classrooms,
or schools--with non-participants having similar pre-program
characteristics.
In cases where random assignment is not possible and participation
in the intervention is determined by a specified cutting point on a
quantified continuum of scores, regression discontinuity designs may be
employed.
For projects that are focused on special populations in which
sufficient numbers of participants are not available to support random
assignment or matched comparison group designs, single-subject designs
such as multiple baseline or treatment-reversal or interrupted time
series that are capable of demonstrating causal relationships can be
employed.
Proposed evaluation strategies that use neither experimental
designs with random assignment nor quasi-experimental designs using a
matched comparison group nor regression discontinuity designs will not
be considered responsive to the priority when sufficient numbers of
participants are available to support these designs. Evaluation
strategies that involve too small a number of participants to support
group designs must be capable of demonstrating the causal effects of an
intervention or program on those participants.
The proposed evaluation plan must describe how the project
evaluator will collect--before the project intervention commences and
after it ends--valid and reliable data that measure the impact of
participation in the program or in the comparison group.
If the priority is used as a competitive preference priority,
points awarded under this priority will be determined by the quality of
the proposed evaluation method. In determining the quality of the
evaluation method, we will consider the extent to which the applicant
presents a feasible, credible plan that includes the following:
(1) The type of design to be used (that is, random assignment or
matched comparison). If matched comparison, include in the plan a
discussion of why random assignment is not feasible.
(2) Outcomes to be measured.
(3) A discussion of how the applicant plans to assign students,
teachers, classrooms, or schools to the project and control group or
match them for comparison with other students, teachers, classrooms, or
schools.
(4) A proposed evaluator, preferably independent, with the
necessary

[[Page 12451]]

background and technical expertise to carry out the proposed
evaluation. An independent evaluator does not have any authority over
the project and is not involved in its implementation.
In general, depending on the implemented program or project, under
a competitive preference priority, random assignment evaluation methods
will receive more points than matched comparison evaluation methods.

Definitions

As used in this notice--
Scientifically based research (section 9101(37), of the ESEA as
amended by NCLB), 20 U.S.C. 7801(37)):
(A) Means research that involves the application of rigorous,
systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid
knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and
(B) Includes research that--
(i) Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation
or experiment;
(ii) Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the
stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
(iii) Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide
reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across
multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same
or different investigators;
(iv) Is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs
in which individuals entities, programs, or activities are assigned to
different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the
effects of the condition of interest, with a preference for random-
assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that those
designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls;
(v) Ensures that experimental studies are presented in sufficient
detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the
opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and
(vi) Has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a
panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective,
and scientific review.
Random assignment or experimental design means random assignment of
students, teachers, classrooms, or schools to participate in a project
being evaluated (treatment group) or not participate in the project
(control group). The effect of the project is the difference in
outcomes between the treatment and control groups.
Quasi experimental designs include several designs that attempt to
approximate a random assignment design.
Carefully matched comparison groups design means a quasi-
experimental design in which project participants are matched with non-
participants based on key characteristics that are thought to be
related to the outcome.
Regression discontinuity design means a quasi-experimental design
that closely approximates an experimental design. In a regression
discontinuity design, participants are assigned to a treatment or
control group based on a numerical rating or score of a variable
unrelated to the treatment such as the rating of an application for
funding. Eligible students, teachers, classrooms, or schools above a
certain score (``cut score'') are assigned to the treatment group and
those below the score are assigned to the control group. In the case of
the scores of applicants' proposals for funding, the ``cut score'' is
established at the point where the program funds available are
exhausted.
Single subject design means a design that relies on the comparison
of treatment effects on a single subject or group of single subjects.
There is little confidence that findings based on this design would be
the same for other members of the population.
Treatment reversal design means a single subject design in which a
pre-treatment or baseline outcome measurement is compared with a post-
treatment measure. Treatment would then be stopped for a period of
time, a second baseline measure of the outcome would be taken, followed
by a second application of the treatment or a different treatment. For
example, this design might be used to evaluate a behavior modification
program for disabled students with behavior disorders.
Multiple baseline design means a single subject design to address
concerns about the effects of normal development, timing of the
treatment, and amount of the treatment with treatment-reversal designs
by using a varying time schedule for introduction of the treatment and/
or treatments of different lengths or intensity.
Interrupted time series design means a quasi-experimental design in
which the outcome of interest is measured multiple times before and
after the treatment for program participants only.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested parties
the opportunity to comment on absolute priorities. Section 437(d)(1) of
the General Education Provisions Act, however, exempts from this
requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a new or
substantially revised program authority. This is the first competition
under the RTL program, which was substantially revised by the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001. These absolute priorities will apply to the FY
2005 grant competition only.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6775.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81,
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final priority for
Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods, published in the Federal
Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 3586).

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

Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.
Estimated Available Funds: $23,312,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: Programming Projects--$10,000,000-
$20,000,000; Outreach Project--$2,000,000-$4,000,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Programming Projects--
$10,000,000; Outreach Project--$3,500,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: Programming Projects--1-2; Outreach
Project--1.

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

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: To receive a cooperative agreement under
this competition, an entity shall be a public telecommunications entity
that is able to demonstrate each of the following:
(A) A capacity to develop and nationally distribute educational and
instructional television programming of high quality that is accessible
by a large majority of disadvantaged preschool and elementary school
children.
(B) A capacity to contract with the producers of children's
television programming for the purpose of developing educational
television programming of high quality.
(C) A capacity, consistent with the entity's mission and nonprofit
nature, to negotiate such contracts in a manner that returns to the
entity an appropriate share of any ancillary income from sales of any
program-related products.

[[Page 12452]]

(D) A capacity to localize programming and materials to meet
specific State and local needs and to provide educational outreach at
the local level.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain an
application package via Internet or from the Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via Internet use the following
address: http://www.ed.gov/fundgrant/apply/grantapps/index. To obtain a

copy from ED Pubs, write or call the following: Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs), PO 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.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.

If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.295A or 84.295B, as
appropriate.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed elsewhere in this notice under For Further Information
Contact (see VII. Agency Contacts).
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: Applicants that plan to apply for
funding under this competition are encouraged to indicate an intent to
apply via e-mail notification sent to ReadytoLearnintent@ed.gov no
later than April 13, 2005. Applicants that fail to supply this e-mail
notification may still apply for funding under this notice.
Page Limit for Program Narrative: The program narrative is where
you, the applicant, address the selection criteria (i.e., within the
context of the absolute priority) 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 program 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).
Although no page limit is required, applicants are encouraged to
confine the program narrative to no more than 50 pages.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 15, 2005.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: April 13, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 13, 2005.
Applications for grants under this competition 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 in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 12, 2005.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program 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. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition 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 Ready-To-Learn program--CFDA
Number 84.295A and 84.295B must be submitted electronically using the
Grants.gov Apply site. 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 RTL at: http://www.grants.gov.
You must search for the downloadable application

package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the
CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search.
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 time and date
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted with a
date/time received by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. We will not
consider your application if it was received by the Grants.gov system
later than 4:30 p.m. on the application deadline date. When we retrieve
your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are
rejecting your application because it was submitted after 4:30 p.m. 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 application 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 competition to ensure that
your application is submitted timely to the Grants.gov system.
To use Grants.gov, you, as the applicant, must have a D-U-
N-S

[[Page 12453]]

Number and register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). You
should allow a minimum of five business days to complete the CCR
registration.
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 typically included on the Application for Federal
Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction
Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. Any
narrative sections of your application should be attached as files in a
.DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include 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.
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: Joseph Caliguro, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W212,
Washington, DC 20202-5900. FAX: (202) 205-5720.
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 applicable
following address:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.295A or
84.295B), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260
or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.295A
or 84.295B), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.

Regardless of which address you use, 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, or
(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, or
(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 84.295A or 84.295B), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041,
Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 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 4 of the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424) the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if any--of the
competition under which you are submitting your application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment 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 competition are
from 34 CFR 75.210. These selection criteria apply to the absolute
priority only. The maximum score for all of the selection criteria is
100 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in
parentheses with the criterion.
Except where specifically indicated, the ``Notes'' we have included
after each criterion are guidance to help applicants in preparing their
applications and are not required by statute or regulation. The
criteria are as follows:
(a) Need for the project (15 Points). The Secretary considers the
need for the proposed project. In determining the need for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
(2) The extent to which the proposed project will focus on serving
or

[[Page 12454]]

otherwise addressing the needs of disadvantaged individuals.

Note: Applicants should provide information concerning the
current gap in the quality and quantity of television programming
that rests on scientifically based reading research and is designed
for the targeted population and propose strategies designed to close
that gap. Furthermore, applicants responding to Absolute Priority
One must describe how scientifically based reading instruction and
academic content will be incorporated into the proposed programming
to facilitate success in school for low-income children. In
responding to both priorities, applicants should note that low-
income children and their families are the target population under
this competition.

(b) Quality of the project design (20 Points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the design of the proposed project. In
determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects
up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.
(2) The extent to which the proposed project will establish
linkages with other appropriate agencies and organizations providing
services to the target population.
(3) The extent to which the proposed project encourages parental
involvement.

Note: Applicants should include a thorough, high-quality review
of the relevant literature, a high-quality plan for project
implementation, and a description of how appropriate methodological
tools will be used to assess the impact of the proposed activities
on enhancing the scientifically based reading research skills of
targeted low-income children.

(c) Quality of project services (15 Points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the services to be provided by the proposed
project. In determining the quality of the services to be provided by
the proposed project, the Secretary considers the quality and
sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and treatment for
eligible project participants who are members of groups that have
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability. In addition, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(1) The likelihood that the services to be provided by the proposed
project will lead to improvements in the achievement of students as
measured against rigorous academic standards.
(2) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed
project involve the collaboration of appropriate partners for
maximizing the effectiveness of project services.
(d) Quality of project personnel (10 Points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the personnel who will carry out the proposed
project. In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary
considers 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. In addition, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(1) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of key project personnel.
(2) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of project consultants or subcontractors.

Note: An applicant submitting under Absolute Priority One
(84.295A) must include as key personnel an expert in scientifically
based reading instruction who will devote no less than 25% of his or
her time to the overall guidance and direction of the program.

(f) Adequacy of resources (10 Points). The Secretary considers the
adequacy of resources for the proposed project. In determining the
adequacy of resources for the proposed project, the Secretary considers
the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the
proposed project.
(2) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.
(g) Quality of the management plan (10 Points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project.
In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers 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 milestones for accomplishing
project tasks.
(2) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the proposed project.
(h) Quality of the project evaluation (20 Points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers the following factor:
(1) 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 will produce quantitative and
qualitative data to the extent possible.

Note: A strong evaluation plan should be included in the
application narrative and should be used, as appropriate, to shape
the development of the project from the beginning of the grant
period. The plan should include benchmarks to monitor progress
toward specific project objectives and also outcome measures to
assess the impact on teaching and learning or other important
outcomes for project participants. More specifically, the plan
should identify the individual and/or organization that has agreed
to serve as evaluator for the project and describe the
qualifications of that evaluator. The plan should describe the
evaluation design, indicating: (1) What types of data will be
collected; (2) when various types of data will be collected; (3)
what methods will be used; (4) what instruments will be developed
and when; (5) how the data will be analyzed; (6) when reports of
results and outcomes will be available; and (7) how the applicant
will use the information collected through the evaluation to monitor
progress of the funded project and to provide accountability
information both about success at the initial site and effective
strategies for replication in other settings. Applicants are
encouraged to devote 25-30% of the grant funds to project evaluation
under Absolute Priority One and 10% of the grant funds to project
evaluation under Absolute Priority Two.

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 also notify you informally.
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. Grant Administration: Applicants approved for funding under this
competition may be required to attend a two- or three-day Grants
Administration meeting in Washington, DC during the first year of the
grant. In

[[Page 12455]]

addition, applicants should budget for one Project Directors meeting to
be held in Washington, DC in each subsequent year of the grant. The
cost of attending these meetings may be paid from RTL program grant
funds or other resources.
4. 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 meets the reporting requirements in
section 2431(c)(1) of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB, and provides the
most current performance and financial expenditure information as
specified by the Secretary in 34 CFR 75.118. For specific requirements
on grantee reporting, please go to http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html
.

5. Performance Measures: The Department is currently developing
measures that will be designed to yield information on the
effectiveness of grant supported activities (e.g., the extent to which
children ages 3 to 6 years old who view scientifically based RTL shows
demonstrate expressive vocabulary and emergent literacy skills at or
above national norms). If funded, applicants will be expected to
participate in collecting and reporting data for these measures. We
will notify grantees of the performance measures once they are
developed.

VII. Agency Contacts

For Further Information Contact: Joseph Caliguro or Norma
Fleischman, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20202-5900. Telephone: (202) 205-5449 (Joe Caliguro) or
(202) 205-5482 (Norma Fleischman), or by e-mail: Joseph.Caliguro@ed.gov
or Norma.Fleischman@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact persons listed in this
section.

VIII. Other Information

Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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: http://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 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: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.

Dated: March 9, 2005.
Michael J. Petrilli,
Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 05-4978 Filed 3-11-05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P