[Federal Register: September 26, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 186)]
[Notices]
[Page 56133-56137]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26se06-54]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Overview Information; Technology and Media Services for
Individuals With Disabilities--Research on Technology Effectiveness and
Implementation for Children With Disabilities: Web-Supported
Instructional Approaches Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.327W
DATES: Applications Available: September 26, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 13, 2006.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: January 9, 2007.
Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local
educational agencies (LEAs); public charter schools that are LEAs under
State law; institutions of higher education (IHEs); other public
agencies; private nonprofit organizations; outlying areas; freely
associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-
profit organizations.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$31,063,000 for the Technology and Media Services for Individuals with
Disabilities program for FY 2007, of which we intend to use an
estimated $500,000 for the Research on Technology Effectiveness and
Implementation for Children with Disabilities: Web-Supported
Instructional Approaches competition. The actual level of funding, if
any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting
applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if
Congress appropriates funds for this program.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $500,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal
Register.
Number of Awards: 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 purpose of this program is to: (1) Improve
results for children with disabilities by promoting the development,
demonstration, and use of technology; (2) support educational media
services activities designed to be of educational value in the
classroom setting to children with disabilities; and (3) provide
support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for
use in the classroom setting.
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), this priority
is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections 674
and 681(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2007 this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
This priority is:
Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--
Research on Technology Effectiveness and Implementation for Children
With Disabilities: Web-Supported Instructional Approaches
Background: A number of Office of Special Education Programs
(OSEP)-funded projects have developed and tested World Wide Web-
supported approaches for improving educational results for children
with disabilities. In some cases, these projects have used generally
available Web resources (e.g., newspaper sites, museum sites, and
search engines). In other cases, the projects have developed
specialized Web sites (e.g., simulation of learning environments,
discussion boards, and strategy reminders) to improve student learning.
Web-supported educational approaches have a number of potential
benefits for students with disabilities. The Web can support varied
learning strategies and Web-supported activities can be designed to
address different student needs. For example, they can provide supports
to compensate for learning difficulties, sensory impairments, and
academic skill deficits. Research on the benefits of Web-supported
approaches for students with disabilities is not entirely conclusive,
however. While some studies have found the Web or some of its features
to be effective in teaching and learning, other studies have not found
the Web to be effective in teaching. We also have little information
about whether Web-based resources that provide access for one
population of students may create accessibility barriers for others
(e.g., graphic features may not be accessible to students with visual
disabilities, hyper-linked resources or graphic organizers may increase
intellectual demands and thus create barriers for students with
cognitive disabilities). Finally, the effectiveness of Web-supported
instruction in widespread use in typical educational environments has
not been fully explored.
Priority: This priority supports a Center to conduct a systematic
program of research on the use of Web-supported instructional
approaches to improve access to, and participation and progress in, the
general curriculum for students with disabilities. In carrying out its
research, the Center must apply the principles of universal design
(i.e., design of products that will be usable by children with
different disabilities, to the greatest extent possible, with minimal
need for additional adaptations).
In their applications, applicants must--
(a) Propose an operational definition of Web-supported
instructional approaches to be used in a program of research;
(b) Describe their access to existing Web-supported instructional
materials that will allow the Center to proceed quickly with the
research without substantial time devoted to additional development;
(c) Demonstrate knowledge of the state of practice in terms of use
of products, sources of products, and research on the use of the Web to
support instruction;
(d) Present a plan for conducting a program of research to answer
the following questions: (1) Do Web-supported instructional approaches
improve learning of academic content for students with disabilities in
actual educational settings with typical resources and levels of
teacher support? (2) What characteristics of Web-supported instruction
facilitate or impede access to and learning of academic content for
students with disabilities? (3) What student characteristics (e.g.,
disability, technology skills) and contextual factors (e.g., teacher
training, hardware
[[Page 56134]]
resources, student groupings) influence the effectiveness of Web-
supported instruction?
This plan may focus on specific academic content areas or student
ages, but, at a minimum, must address each of the three research
questions separately for each of the following populations: students
with learning disabilities, students with mental retardation, students
with visual impairments or blindness, students with hearing impairments
or deafness, and students with physical disabilities.
These research questions are intended to test causal relationships,
and the research must employ rigorous experimental designs using
randomized assignment unless a compelling case is made that such
designs are not possible and that other designs, such as quasi-
experiments with matched groups and statistical controls, can be used
to determine treatment effects.
Applicants must fully describe methodologies and must provide
documentation that available sample sizes and methodologies are
sufficient to produce the statistical power needed to yield conclusive
findings. Experimental research may be supplemented with qualitative or
non-experimental methodologies, provided sufficient rigor is
maintained.
The plan must provide for conducting the majority of research in
actual educational environments using typical resources and levels of
teacher support.
Once funded, the Center must--
(a) Establish a technical review board to review its operational
definition of Web-supported instructional approaches and its research
plans, and identify any needed improvements.
(b) Revise its operational definition of Web-supported
instructional approaches and its research plan in accordance with
comments from the technical review board and input from the U.S.
Department of Education.
(c) Conduct the program of research called for in its plan, as
revised, taking appropriate steps to ensure that the research is
rigorous and objective. Toward this end, the Center must maintain
communication with the U.S. Department of Education and the technical
review board to identify needed corrective actions.
(d) Disseminate findings to appropriate audiences. The Center must
submit reports for publication in peer-reviewed professional journals
and for presentation at professional conferences, and must post reports
on a Web site that meets a government or industry-recognized standard
for accessibility.
(e) Formulate research-based guidelines for the development and use
of the Web to support instruction and to improve access to, and
participation and progress in the general education curriculum for
students with disabilities.
(f) Budget for a two-day Project Directors' meeting and a two-day
Technology Innovation meeting, each in Washington, DC during each year
of the project.
(g) Budget five percent of the grant amount annually to support
emerging needs as identified jointly through consultation with the OSEP
project officer.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. However,
section 681(d) of the IDEA makes the public comment requirements of the
APA inapplicable to the priority in this notice.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and 1481.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
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 IHEs only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Cooperative agreements.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$31,063,000 for the Technology and Media Services for Individuals with
Disabilities program for FY 2007, of which we intend to use an
estimated $500,000 for the Research on Technology Effectiveness and
Implementation for Children with Disabilities: Web-Supported
Instructional Approaches competition. The actual level of funding, if
any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting
applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if
Congress appropriates funds for this program.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $500,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal
Register.
Estimated Number of Awards: 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: SEAs; LEAs; public charter schools that are
LEAs under State law; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit
organizations; outlying areas; freely associated States; Indian tribes
or tribal organizations; and for-profit organizations.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not involve cost
sharing or matching.
3. Other: General Requirements-- (a) The projects funded under this
competition must make positive efforts to employ and advance in
employment qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of
IDEA).
(b) Applicants and grant recipients funded under this competition
must involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals
with disabilities ages birth through 26 in planning, implementing, and
evaluating the projects (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of IDEA).
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: 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.
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 84.327W.
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 Grants and Contracts
Services Team listed under For Further Information Contact in section
VII of this notice.
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
[[Page 56135]]
criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must
limit Part III to the equivalent of no more than 70 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).
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 references, or the letters of support.
However, you must include all of the application narrative in Part III.
We will reject your application if--
You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: September 26, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 13, 2006.
Applications for grants under this competition may be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov), or in
paper format by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates
and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or by
mail or hand delivery, 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: January 9, 2007.
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 may be submitted electronically or in paper format by
mail or hand delivery.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
We have been accepting applications electronically through the
Department's e-Application system since FY 2000. In order to expand on
those efforts and comply with the President's Management Agenda, we are
continuing to participate as a partner in the new governmentwide
Grants.gov Apply site in FY 2006. The Research on Technology
Effectiveness and Implementation for Children with Disabilities: Web-
Supported Instructional Approaches competition--CFDA number 84.327W is
one of the competitions included in this project. We request your
participation in Grants.gov.
If you choose to submit your application electronically, you must
use the Grants.gov Apply site at http://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.
You may access the electronic grant application for the Research on
Technology Effectiveness and Implementation for Children with
Disabilities: Web-Supported Instructional Approaches competition--CFDA
number 84.327W at: http://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.
Please note the following:
Your participation in Grants.gov is voluntary.
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, and
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30
p.m., Washington, DC time, 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 date/time stamped by the
Grants.gov system after 4:30 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 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
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 of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.Grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps
include (1) registering your organization, (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 successfully submit an application
via Grants.gov.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you submit your application in paper format.
You may submit all documents electronically, including all
information typically included on the 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. Please note
that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the Department of Education
Supplemental Information for SF 424--have replaced the ED 424
(Application for Federal Education Assistance). If you choose to submit
your application electronically, you must attach any narrative sections
of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text) or
.PDF (portable document)
[[Page 56136]]
format. If you upload a file type other than the three file types
specified above 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 an automatic acknowledgment 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.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability
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 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 as described elsewhere in this notice. If you submit an
application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the deadline date,
please contact the person listed elsewhere in this notice under For
Further Information Contact, and provide an explanation of the
technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the
Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). 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 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: Extensions referred to 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 deadline date
and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to
the Grants.gov system.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you submit your application in paper format by mail (through the
U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), 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
84.327W), 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
84.327W), 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 submit your application in paper format by hand delivery,
you (or a courier service) 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
84.327W), 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 11 of SF 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
1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition
are from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
2. Treating A Priority As Two Separate Competitions: In the past,
there have been problems in finding peer reviewers without conflicts of
interest for competitions in which many entities throughout the country
submit applications. The Standing Panel requirements under IDEA also
have placed additional constraints on the availability of reviewers.
Therefore, the Department has determined that, for some discretionary
competitions, applications may be separated into two or more groups and
ranked and selected for funding within the specific group. This
procedure will ensure the availability of a much larger group of
reviewers without conflicts of interest. It also will increase the
quality, independence and fairness of the review process and permit
panel members to review applications under discretionary competitions
for which they have also submitted applications. However, if the
Department decides to select for funding an equal number of
applications in each group, this may result in different cut-off points
for fundable applications in each group.
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
[[Page 56137]]
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 specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA), the Department has developed measures that will
yield information on various aspects of the quality of the Technology
and Media Services for Individuals with Disabilities program. These
measures focus on the extent to which projects are of high quality, are
relevant to the needs of children with disabilities, and contribute to
improving the results for children with disabilities. Data on these
measures will be collected from the projects funded under this
competition.
Grantees also will be required to report information on their
projects' performance in annual reports to the Department (34 CFR
75.590).
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Hauser, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4067, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7373.
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 by contacting the following office: The Grants and
Contracts Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550.
Telephone: (202) 245-7363.
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: September 20, 2006.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E6-15765 Filed 9-25-06; 8:45 am]
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