[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 71 (Thursday, April 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16175-16177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9011]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Challenge Grants for Technology in Education; Notice
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of selection criteria, selection procedures, and
application procedures.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary establishes selection criteria, procedures for
evaluating applications, and procedures for submission of applications
under the Challenge Grants for Technology in Education Program. The
program provides grants to consortia comprised of one or more local
educational agencies and other appropriate entities for the purpose of
improving and expanding new applications of technology to strengthen
the school reform effort, improve student achievement, and provide
sustained professional development of teachers, administrators, and
school library media personnel. The Secretary establishes selection
criteria and related procedures to make informed funding decisions on
applications for technology projects having great promise for improving
elementary and secondary education.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The provisions of this notice take effect May 13, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Challenge Grants for Technology in
Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S.
Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-5544. Telephone (202)
708-6001. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339
[[Page 16176]]
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Challenge Grants for Technology in
Education Program is authorized in Title III, section 3136, of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C.
6846).
Under this program the Secretary makes grants to consortia. Each
consortium must include at least one local educational agency (LEA)
with a high percentage or number of children living below the poverty
line, and may include other LEAs, State educational agencies,
institutions of higher education, businesses, academic content experts,
software designers, museums, libraries, or other appropriate entities.
The Secretary announces in this notice selection criteria for the
FY 1996 competition. The program statute (20 U.S.C. 6846(c)) requires
the Secretary to give priority in awarding grants to consortia that
demonstrate certain factors in their applications. The Secretary
carries out this mandate by incorporating the priority factors into the
selection criteria. In addition, the Secretary believes that
substantive selection criteria specifically framed for this program
competition are necessary to enable the Secretary to evaluate how well
the applicants address the purpose of the Challenge Grants for
Technology in Education Program. The Secretary uses the following
selection criteria instead of the selection criteria in the Education
Department General Administrative Regulations, 34 CFR 75.200(b)(3) and
75.210.
Selection Criteria
The Secretary uses the following unweighted selection criteria to
evaluate applications:
(a) Significance. The Secretary reviews each proposed project for
its significance by determining the extent to which the project--
(1) Offers a creative, new vision for using technology to help all
students to learn challenging standards or to promote efficiency and
effectiveness in education; and contributes to the advancement of State
and local systemic educational reform;
(2) Will achieve far-reaching impact through results, products, or
benefits that are easily exportable to other settings and communities;
(3) Will directly benefit students by integrating acquired
technologies into the curriculum to enhance teaching, training, and
student achievement or by other means;
(4) Will ensure ongoing, intensive professional development for
teachers and other personnel to further the use of technology in the
classroom, library, or other learning center;
(5) Is designed to serve areas with a high number or percentage of
disadvantaged students or other areas with the greatest need for
educational technology; and
(6) Is designed to create new learning communities, and expanded
markets for high-quality educational technology applications and
services.
(b) Feasibility. The Secretary reviews each proposed project for
its feasibility by determining the extent to which--
(1) The project will ensure successful, effective, and efficient
uses of technologies for educational reform that will be sustainable
beyond the period of the grant;
(2) The members of the consortium or other appropriate entities
will contribute substantial financial and other resources to achieve
the goals of the project; and
(3) The applicant is capable of carrying out the project, as
evidenced by the extent to which the project will meet the problems
identified; the quality of the project design, including objectives,
approaches, evaluation plan, and dissemination plan; the adequacy of
resources, including money, personnel, facilities, equipment, and
supplies; the qualifications of key personnel who would conduct the
project; and the applicant's prior experience relevant to the
objectives of the project.
Selection Procedures
The Secretary intends to evaluate applications using unweighted
selection criteria. The Secretary believes that the use of unweighted
criteria is most appropriate because they will allow the reviewers
maximum flexibility to apply their professional judgments in
identifying the particular strengths and weaknesses in individual
applications. Therefore, the Secretary will not apply the selection
procedures in EDGAR, 34 CFR 75.217, which require a rank order to be
established based on weighted selection criteria.
The Secretary also believes that due to the highly technical nature
of the applications, it will be necessary to obtain clarifications and
additional information from applicants during the selection process. In
accordance with 34 CFR 75.109(b), an applicant may make changes to an
application on or before the deadline date for submission of
applications. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.231, the Secretary may
request an applicant to submit additional information after the
application has been selected for funding. For the purposes of the
Challenge Grants for Technology in Education Program, the Secretary
also permits an applicant to submit additional information, in response
to a request from the Secretary, during the application selection
process.
The Secretary will use the following selection procedures for the
FY 1996 competition.
In applying the selection criteria, one or more peer review panels
of experts will first analyze each application in terms of individual
selection criteria. The reviewers assign to each application two
separate qualitative ratings based on the extent to which the
application has met the two individual selection criteria. The two
ratings taken together yield a composite rating, representing each
reviewer's total rating of each application. These reviewer ratings for
each application are then combined to yield an overall rating for each
application. The panels will also identify inconsistencies, points in
need of clarification, and other concerns, if any, pertaining to each
application.
The Secretary assigns each application to one of several groups
based on the application's overall level of quality. Starting with the
highest quality group and moving down in unbroken order, the Secretary
then identifies the groups of applications of sufficiently high quality
to be considered for funding. The Secretary may request each applicant
whose application was identified as being in a group of sufficiently
high quality applications to submit additional information or materials
to address the concerns and questions, if any, identified by the peer
review panels. Such requests are strictly limited to clarifications of
a conceptual or technical nature, and are not meant to fill major gaps
in information that reviewers identify in applications.
A second peer review panel then reevaluates each application in a
group identified as being of sufficiently high quality, taking into
account any additional information or materials, to determine the
extent to which each application addresses the selection criteria. The
Secretary then reassigns each reevaluated application to one of several
groups based on the application's overall level of quality.
In the final stage of the selection process, the Secretary selects
for funding those applications of highest quality based on the results
of the second review panel. The Secretary may also consider the extent
to which each application demonstrates an effective response to the
learning technology needs of areas with a high number or percentage of
disadvantaged students or the greatest need for educational technology.
[[Page 16177]]
APPLICATION DEADLINE
In order to ensure timely receipt and processing of applications,
the Secretary takes exception to 34 CFR 75.102(b) by requiring that for
an application to be considered for funding it must be received on or
before the deadline date announced in the application notice published
in this issue of the Federal Register. The Secretary will not consider
an application for funding if it is not received by the deadline date
unless the applicant can show proof that the application was (1) sent
by registered or certified mail not later than five days before the
deadline date; or (2) sent by commercial carrier not later than two
days before the deadline date. An applicant must show proof of mailing
in accordance with 34 CFR 75.102(d) and (e). Applications delivered by
hand must be received by 2:00 p.m. (Washington, D.C. time) on the
deadline date. For the purposes of this competition, the Secretary does
not apply 34 CFR 75.102(b) which requires an application to be mailed,
rather than received, by the deadline date.
Waiver of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553),
it is the practice of the Department to offer interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed rules. Ordinarily, this practice
would have applied to the selection criteria, selection procedures, and
application procedures in this notice. However, the Secretary waives
rulemaking on these rules under section 553(b)(B) of the Administrative
Procedure Act. This section provides that rulemaking is not required
when the agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure
are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. The
Secretary believes that, in order to make timely grant awards using
Fiscal Year (FY) 1996 funds, public comment on these rules is
impracticable. As of April 5, 1996, Congress had not authorized the
final FY 1996 appropriations for the Challenge Grant Program. Final
Congressional action regarding the FY 1996 appropriation is not
expected to occur until after April 24, 1996. The Secretary anticipates
that Congress will appropriate sufficient funds to enable the
Department to fund new awards in FY 1996. However, if FY 1996 awards
are to be made in a timely manner, the Department must proceed with the
FY 1996 competition prior to a determination of the amount of funds
available for this program. The Secretary believes that it is essential
to make new awards no later than October 1, 1996. The Challenge Grant
Program statute focuses on projects that apply technology in ways which
will directly benefit students. To realize this statutory purpose, each
funded project must be in the position to begin to implement project
activities in classrooms at the beginning of the 1996-1997 school year.
Due to the prolonged uncertainty regarding FY 1996 funds, it is now
impracticable to receive public comments and still allow FY 1996 awards
to be made by October 1, 1996.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid
OMB control number. The valid OMB control number assigned to the
collection of information in this notice of selection criteria,
selection procedures, and application procedures is 1810-0569.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order
12373 and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79. The objective of the
executive order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a
strengthened federalism by relying on processes developed by State and
local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal
financial assistance.
In accordance with the order, this document is intended to provide
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for
this program.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6846.
Dated: April 5, 1996.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.303A, Challenge
Grants for Technology in Education)
Sharon P. Robinson,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 96-9011 Filed 4-10-96; 8:45 am]
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