Nal@ed

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Office of Indian Education

Washington, D.C. 20202-6335

Fiscal Year 2017

Application for New Grants Under

the Native American Language

(NAL@ED) Program

CFDA 84.415B

Dated Material - Open Immediately

Closing Date: XXXXXXX

Approved OMB Number: 1810-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/201X

Public Burden Statement:

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit (Title VI, Part A, of the Every Student Succeeds Act, as amended). Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20202-4260 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 1810-XXXX. Note: Please do not return the completed the NAL@ED program application to this address.

If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: John Cheek, Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., 3W207, Washington D.C. 20202-6335.

Table of Contents

Contents

1. Table of Contents 3

2. Dear Colleague Letter 5

3. Program Background Information 6

Native American Language (NAL@ED) Program 6

4. Competition Priorities 8

5. Definitions 9

6. Frequently Asked Questions 11

Eligibility and General Application Questions 11

Priorities 12

Part 6: Other Attachments 13

Scope of NAL@ED Program Projects 15

Program Costs 17

Annual Performance Reporting 19

Competition Application Review 20

Grant Application Procedures 21

Application Submission 21

7. Directions for Getting Started on the Application 22

Technical Assistance Workshop 22

8. Tips for Preparing and Submitting an Application 22

Beginning the Application Process 22

Preparing Your Application 22

Submitting Your Application 22

What Happens Next? 22

9. Application Submission Procedures 23

Application Transmittal Instructions 23

Attention Electronic Applicants 23

Applications Submitted Electronically 23

Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery 25

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications 25

Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software 25

Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants 26

Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants 27

Submission Problems – What should you do? 28

Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov 29

Dial-Up Internet Connections 29

Attaching Files – Additional Tips 29

10. Application Instructions 30

Electronic Application Format 30

11. Electronic Application Submission Checklist 32

Part 1: Cover Sheet 33

Part 2: Budget Information 40

Part 3: ED Abstract Form 43

Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form 44

Part 5: Budget Narrative 48

Part 6: Other Attachments 53

Attachment: Applicant Information for NAL@ED program 55

Attachment: Tribal Certification 57

Attachment: Competitive Preference Priority One 58

Part 7: Assurances and Certifications 59

Part 8: Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (Executive Order 12372) 62

12. Reporting and Accountability 63

13. Legal and Regulatory Information 64

Notice Inviting Applications 64

Dear Colleague Letter

Dear Colleague:

Thank you for your interest in the NAL@ED Program, administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education (Department). The purposes of the NAL@ED program are to support schools that use Native American and Alaska Native languages as the primary language of instruction; maintain, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans and Alaska Natives to use, practice, maintain, and revitalize their languages, as envisioned in the Native American Languages Act of 1990 (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and support the Nation’s First Peoples’ efforts to maintain and revitalize their languages and cultures, and to improve educational opportunities and student outcomes within Native American and Alaska Native communities. 

Please take the time to review the priorities, selection criteria, and all of the application instructions thoroughly. An application will not be evaluated for funding if the applicant does not comply with all of the procedural rules that govern the submission of the application or the application does not contain the information required under the program (EDGAR §75.216 (b) and (c)).

In the FY 2017 competition, the NAL@ED program has two absolute priorities, and two competitive preference priorities. For additional information about the absolute priorities and competitive preference priorities, review the information provided in this document.

For this competition it is mandatory for applicants to use the government-wide website, Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov), to apply. Please note that the Grants.gov site works differently than the U.S. Department of Education’s e-Application System. We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with Grants.gov and strongly recommend that you register and submit early.

Also be aware that applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader. Please review the Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software and Education Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants forms found within this package for further information and guidance related to this requirement.

Using FY 2017 funds, the Department expects to award $1,100,000 for new grants under this competition. We will award discretionary grants on a competitive basis for a project period of up to 36 months. Grants are expected to be awarded by September 30, 2017.

Please visit our program website at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/oie/index.html for further information. If you have any questions about the program after reviewing the application package, please contact John Cheek at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Bernard Garcia

Acting Director

Office of Indian Education

Program Background Information

Native American Language (NAL@ED) Program

CFDA Number: 84. 415B

Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants

Program Statute: Authorized under Section 6133 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 7453.

Anticipated Appropriations: FY 2017 - $1,100,000

Estimated range of awards: $125,000-$300,000 per year, for each year of the grant.

Estimated average size of awards: $215,000

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

Anticipated Number of Awards: 4-8

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Eligible Applicants: The following entities are eligible applicants under this program:

• Indian tribes.

• A Tribal College or University (TCU).

• A Tribal educational agency.

• A local education agency, including a public charter school that is a local educational agency under State law.

• A school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

• An Alaska Native Regional Corporation (as described in section 3(g) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602 (g))).

• A private, tribal, or Alaska Native nonprofit organization.

• A nontribal for-profit organization.

Program Purpose: The purposes of the NAL@ED program are to

support schools that use Native American and Alaska Native languages as the primary language of instruction; maintain, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans and Alaska Natives to use, practice, maintain, and revitalize their languages, as envisioned in the Native American Languages Act of 1990 (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and support the Nation’s First Peoples’ efforts to maintain and revitalize their languages and cultures, and to improve educational opportunities and student outcomes within Native American and Alaska Native communities.

Program Design: Grantees have flexibility in designing projects that support Native American or Alaska Native language education and development and provide professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators, to strengthen the overall language and academic goals of the school(s) that will be served by the grant program. Projects funded under this program may be used for professional development of teachers, curriculum development, and evaluation and assessment to support Native or Alaska Native language education, as well as instruction in the Native language. Student instruction may comprise elementary or secondary levels or both.

Official Documents Notice: The official document governing this competition is the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) published in the Federal Register on XXXXX, XX, 2017. (See Legal and Regulatory Documents of this application package). The NIA is also available electronically at the following Web sites: www.FederalRegister.gov and www.gpo.gov.

Program Contact: Please contact John Cheek by email at [email protected] after reviewing the application package if you have any questions about the program.

Application Due Date: Applications must be submitted on or before XXX XX, 2017. Please note that the Department of Education (Department) grant application deadlines are 4:30:00 P.M. Washington, D.C. time.

Late applications: Late applications will not be accepted. We strongly suggest that you submit your application several days before the deadline. The Department is required to enforce the established deadline to ensure fairness to all applicants. No changes or additions to an application will be accepted after the deadline date and time.

Application Submission: Applications must be submitted electronically using the Government-wide Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. See “Application Submission Procedures” for information on how to submit applications electronically.

Project Director Time Commitment: Applicants are requested to provide the percentage of the Project Director’s time that will be dedicated to the grant project if funded. For example, if the Project Director works 40 hours per week and spends 20 hours per week working on grant activities, then the time commitment for the Project Director would be 50 percent. We suggest that applicants include this information in the budget narrative or add this information to the Project Director line on the Department of Education Supplement to the Standard Form 424.

E-Mail Addresses: As part of our review of your application, we may need to contact you with questions for clarification. Please be sure your application contains valid e-mail addresses for the project director and authorized representative or another party designated to answer questions in the event the project director and authorized representative are unavailable.

Application Requirements: To be considered for an award under this competition, each eligible applicant must provide a detailed project narrative and budget narrative.

Along with the application narrative, an applicant must submit its:

• Applicant Information for NAL@ED program attachment

When applicable, the applicant also must submit:

• Documentation of Indian organization

• Signed consortium agreement

• Tribal certification attachment

• Competitive Preference Priority 1 attachment

• Copy of the indirect cost rate agreement

• Administrative cost limit waiver request

ISDEAA Hiring Preference Requirements: Grants that serve primarily members of federally-recognized tribes are subject to the provisions of section 7(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) (Pub. L. 93-638). That section requires that, to the greatest extent feasible, a grantee give to Indians preferences and opportunities for training and employment in connection with the administration of the grant; and give to Indian organizations and to Indian-owned economic enterprises, as defined in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452(e)), preference in the award of contracts in connection with the administration of the grant.

Competition Priorities

Priorities: This competition contains two absolute priorities and two competitive preference priorities in accordance with section 437 (d) (1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232 (d) (1).

Absolute Priorities: For FY 2017 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet one of these priorities. Under this competition, each absolute priority constitutes its own funding category. The Secretary intends to award grants under each absolute priority for which applications of sufficient quality are submitted. Applicants must choose one of the two absolute priorities, and must clearly identify the specific absolute priority that the proposed project addresses.

Absolute Priority 1: Projects that will take place in one or more schools of a State-funded local educational agency (LEA), including a public charter school that is an LEA under State law, and that will support Native American or Alaska Native language education and development, as well as provide professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators, to strengthen the overall language and academic goals of the school that will be served by the project.

Absolute Priority 2: Projects that will take place in one or more schools funded by the BIE, an Indian tribe, TCU, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation (as described in section 3(g) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.1602(g)), or a private, tribal, or Alaska Native nonprofit organization, and that will support Native American or Alaska Native language education and development, as well as provide professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators, to strengthen the overall language and academic goals of the school(s) that will be served by the project.

Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2017 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c) (2) (i) we award five points to an application that meets either of the priorities and 10 points to an application that meets both of these priorities.

Competitive Preference Priority 1 (0 or 5 points): We will award five points to an application for a project in which either the lead applicant or a partner receives, or is eligible to receive, a formula grant under title VI of the ESEA, and commits to use all or part of that formula grant to help sustain this project after conclusion of the grant period. To meet this priority, a project must include an assurance that indicates the fiscal year in which the entity will begin using title VI formula grant funds to help support this project; what percentage of the title VI grant will be used for this; and that parent committee input and approval of this action has been or will be obtained, as necessary.

Competitive Preference Priority 2 (0 or 5 points): We will award five points to an application submitted by an Indian tribe, Indian organization, or TCU that is eligible to participate in the NAL@ED program. A consortium application of eligible entities that meets the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129 and includes an Indian tribe, Indian organization, or TCU will also be considered eligible to receive preference under this priority. In order to be considered a consortium application, the application must include the consortium agreement, signed by all parties.

Definitions

The following definitions apply to this competition. For the purposes of this competition, we establish the definitions for “elementary school,” “Indian organization,” “performance target,” “secondary school,” and “tribe,” in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1). The definitions of “Native American” and “Native American language” are from sections 6151(3) and section 8101(34) of the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA (20 U.S.C. 7491(3) and 7801(34)), and section 103 of the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2902). The definition of “tribal college or university” is from section 6133 of the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA (20 U.S.C. 7453) and section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c). All other definitions are from 34 CFR 77.1.

Ambitious means promoting continued, meaningful improvement for program participants or for individuals or entities affected by the grant, or representing a significant advancement in the field of education research, practices, or methodologies. When used to describe a performance target, whether a performance target is ambitious depends upon the context of the relevant performance measure and the baseline for that measure.

Baseline means the starting point from which performance is measured and targets are set.

Elementary school means, for State-funded public schools, a day or residential school that provides elementary education, as determined under State law. The term means, for tribally controlled schools, a day or residential school that provides elementary education as determined under tribal law. The definition of “elementary school” may include pre-kindergarten if included in the State or tribal definition of elementary education.

Indian organization means an organization that--

(1) Is legally established--

(i) By tribal or inter-tribal charter or in accordance with State or tribal law; and

(ii) With appropriate constitution, by-laws, or articles of incorporation;

(2) Includes in its purposes the promotion of the education of Indians;

(3) Is controlled by a governing board, the majority of which is Indian;

(4) If located on an Indian reservation, operates with the sanction of or by charter from the governing body of that reservation;

(5) Is neither an organization or subdivision of, nor under the direct control of, any institution of higher education; and

(6) Is not an agency of State or local government.

Native American means “Indian” as defined in section 6151 of the ESEA, which includes Alaska Natives and members of federally recognized or State-recognized tribes; Native Hawaiian; and Native American Pacific Islander.

Native American language means the historical, traditional languages spoken by Native Americans.

Performance measure means any quantitative indicator, statistic, or metric used to gauge program or project performance.

Performance target means the goal for the number and percentage of participants to meet each performance measure each period of the project and as a result of a project. The performance targets should increase for each project period.

Secondary school means a day or residential school that provides secondary education as determined under State or tribal law.

Tribal college or university means an institution that—

(1) Qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or the Navajo Community College Act (25 U.S.C. 640a note); or

(2) Is cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note).

Tribe means either a federally recognized tribe or a State-recognized tribe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility and General Application Questions

1. Can a private, not- for -profit school, apply for the grant?

Yes, a private, not-for-profit school can apply for the grant.

2. If awarded a grant, may a grantee count on receiving funding for the full period of three years?

The actual level of program funding, if any, depends on final Congressional action each fiscal year and whether substantial progress has been made toward meeting the project objectives and program performance measures.

3. Can an entity submit more than one application?

Yes, an entity is allowed to submit multiple applications, as long as each application is for a different project. Each application will be reviewed and scored for quality. The proposed projects should not refer to services or activities that would be provided by a project described in another application.

4. What issues might prevent applications from being considered for funding?

The following examples are problems with grant applications that prevent an application from being considered for funding: exceeding 36 months budget; budget exceeding maximum amount; project narrative not included in application; incorrectly formatted documents; paper submission submitted without prior approval; documents that are password-protected; and late submission.

5. Can a school district with Title VI formula grant funds be a recipient of the NAL@ED program as well?

Yes, a Title VI grantee can also be a recipient of the NAL@ED program grant. In fact, applicants can be awarded five points if a project includes an assurance that after the project ends, the applicant will use all or part of the Title VI grant to sustain the goal of this project. The requirements to receive this competitive preference are identified in FAQ question # 17, as well as on the Competitive Preference Priority One attachment.

6. Are there other Federal grant programs that provide funding for Native American language programs?

Yes. At the Department of Education, the following grant programs also provide grant funding for Native American Language programs. The Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program (NAM) program, under the Office of English Language Acquisition, can be used to support the teaching, learning and studying of Native American languages for English learners. The Indian Education Formula Grants to LEAs supplement the regular school academic program through cultural enrichment, and allowable activities include Native American language instruction. The HHS Administration for Native American (ANA) funding provides opportunities to assess, plan, develop and implement projects to ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native languages. The Esther Martinez Immersion is a Special Initiative under the Native Language Preservation and Maintenance grant competition.

7. If an eligible entity currently has a grant from ED under the Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program (NAM) program, or an HHS grant, can it apply for this grant as well, to expand its existing language program?

An entity with a NAM grant, or any other similar federal grant, may apply for the NAL@ED program grant also. However, the grantee must comply with all of the program requirements of each grant, and must use the NAL@ED program funds for activities that are in addition to and not duplicative of the existing program. For example, if an entity currently receives a NAM grant for a project that provides Native American language instruction in grades K-2 to English learners (ELs), it could apply to the NAL@ED program to add more students to the existing program, e.g., students who are tribal members but are not ELs, or could expand the project into additional grades, but it could not use the NAL@ED program funds for the existing number of students in the same grades. The grantee would also need to account for the grant funds separately in order to fulfill the requirements for internal controls and reporting for each Federal program.

8. Will an applicant be at an advantage or disadvantage if it receives funding currently under another federal grant program for this purpose?

There is no priority for either an applicant that has no other funding source for Native American language programs, or an applicant with existing grants. However, note that the selection criterion “Adequacy of Resources” includes “the extent to which the applicant or a partner has experience in operating a Native language program,” as well as “the potential for continued support of the project after Federal funding ends.

9. If a private nonprofit organization applies for and receives a grant, will it be subject to other Federal legal requirements, such as civil rights requirements, in addition to the NAL@ED program grant requirements?

Yes. Every applicant for any ED grant must sign an assurance that it will comply with the civil rights laws, specifically Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as others. In addition, the government-wide Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR Part 200 apply to recipients of ED funds.

Priorities

10. What are the differences between the absolute priorities?

There are two absolute priorities for the program. Absolute priority one is for projects that will take place in one or more schools of a State-funded local education agency, including a public charter school that is a local educational agency under State law, and absolute priority two is for projects that will take place in one or more schools funded by other entities, i.e., the Bureau of Indian Education, an Indian tribe, a Tribal College or University (as defined in section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c), an Alaska Native Regional Corporation (as described in section 3(g) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.1602(g))) or a private, tribal, or Alaska Native nonprofit organization. Applicants must meet absolute priority one, absolute priority two, or both. Thus, assuming there are sufficient quality applications under both priorities, the Department will fund one or more grants from each category.

11. What is competitive preference priority one (sustainability and implementation through Title VI funds)?

Five points are awarded to an application for a project in which either the lead applicant or a partner receives or is eligible to receive a Title VI Formula grant, and will use that formula grant to help sustain the project after the conclusion of this grant period. To meet this priority, a project must include an assurance that it will use the Title VI grant to sustain the goal of this project. The assurance must indicate the fiscal year in which the entity will begin using the Title VI formula grant funds to help support this project; what percentage of the Title VI grant will be used for this; and that parent committee input and approval will be obtained, as necessary, in order to change from the current use of funds to the Native language activities. The form for this assurance (titled “Competitive Preference Priority One attachment”), must be uploaded as an attachment in Part 6 of the application. Applicants should be aware of the formatting requirements of attachments. See Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants in the application.

12. What is competitive preference priority two?

Five points are awarded to projects that are submitted by an Indian tribe, Indian organization, or TCU that is eligible to participate in the NAL@ED program or a consortium applicant that contains an Indian tribe, Indian organization or Indian TCU. The tribal entity does not need to be the lead applicant in order for the applicant to receive the priority points, as long as a tribal entity is part of the consortium.

13. When is a consortium agreement needed?

A consortium application of eligible entities would need to submit a consortium agreement that meets the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129. However, for this grant program, there is no requirement of a partnership in order to receive a grant; a solo applicant may apply.

Part 6: Other Attachments

14. What additional document is required for all applicants?

All applicants must complete the document, Applicant Information for NAL@ED program. The document provides information on the Native language for instruction, information about the school where the project is taking place, participant information and program description. The document also contains program assurances to be signed by the authorized representative of the application. The document will be uploaded as an attachment in Part 6 of the application. See Part 6 Instructions. Applicants should be aware of the formatting requirements of attachments. See Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants in this application.

15. Who signs the Applicant Information for NAL@ED program attachment?

The signer of the document should be the applicant for the project, not a school official unless the school is the applicant.

16. What are the program assurances on the Application Information for NAL@ED program attachment?

The applicant assures all of the following:

(a) the school in which the project will be located is engaged in meeting State or tribally designated long-term goals for students, as may be required by applicable Federal, State, or tribal law;

(b) the school provides assessments of students using the Native American or Alaska Native language of instruction, where possible;

(c) the qualifications of all instructional and leadership personnel at such school is sufficient to deliver high-quality education through the Native American or Alaska Native language used in the school; and

(d) the school will collect and report to the public data relative to student achievement and, if appropriate, rates of high school graduation, career readiness, and enrollment in postsecondary education or workforce development programs, of students who are enrolled in the school’s programs.

These assurances are signed by the authorized representative of the applicant.

17. Does the first assurance on the Application Information for NAL@ED program attachment refer to the new long-term goals that States must establish under the ESSA amendments to the ESEA, and if so, how can I assure that, if my State has not yet established goals?

For projects that will take place in State-funded public schools, this assurance applies to any goals currently set by the State, and also to the long-term goals that States are required under Title I of the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, to establish in their State plans that must be submitted to ED. We understand that States may not yet have set these Title I goals, and therefore we interpret this assurance as being in effect for any current as well as future goals to which the school will be held accountable during the period of the grant. Similarly, tribal school applicants will assure that they will strive to meet any long-term goals that apply to them now or in the future during the grant period.

18. In the second assurance on the Application Information for NAL@ED program attachment, does this mean that the school currently provides assessments in the Native American language, or will do so after receiving a grant?

This assurance relates to both the current situation and the plan for after a NAL@ED grant is received. Note that the assurance includes the phrase “where possible”; we understand that a school may not have the resources to be currently providing content assessments (e.g., in math, reading/language arts, science) in the Native American language, and the applicant may plan to do so using the NAL@ED grant funds.

19. In the third assurance on the Application Information for NAL@ED program attachment, does this mean that teachers must be certified to teach the Native American language?

This depends on applicable State, local, or tribal law. Applicants should work with appropriate officials to ascertain what qualifications are needed for the teaching and leadership positions planned in the proposed project.

20. Under what circumstances does an applicant need to include the Tribal Certification?

If an applicant is an LEA (including a public charter school that is an LEA), a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education, or a nontribal for-profit or nonprofit organization, it must submit the Tribal Certification Attachment in Part 6 of the application. Applicants should be aware of the formatting requirements of attachments. See the section: Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants in the application.

21. Which type of entity must sign the Tribal Certification?

The Tribal Certification Attachment must be signed by either an Indian tribe or tribal organization, a Tribal College or University (as defined in section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c)), an Alaska Native Regional Corporation or an Alaska Native nonprofit organization, or a Native Hawaiian organization. The certification must be from the relevant entity on whose land the school or program is located, or that is an entity served by the school, or whose members (as defined by that entity) are served by the school.

22. What does the tribal entity certify?

The entity signing the certification is assuring that the school or applicant organization has the capacity to provide education primarily through a Native American or an Alaska Native language; and there are sufficient speakers of the target language at the school or available to be hired by the school or applicant organization.

23. Who must upload an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement?

If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must attach a copy of its current Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) Agreement in Part 6: Other Attachments. See Important Information Regarding Indirect Costs in Part 5.

24. What type of documentation is needed for an applicant that is an Indian Organization?

A lead applicant that is an Indian organization must provide adequate documentation to demonstrate that the organization meets each element of the definition of Indian organization (see the Definitions section of this application). Such applicants must include a list of current board members demonstrating that a majority are Indian. Acceptable documentation to demonstrate that the organization meets all elements of the definition might also include the charter, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and mission statement.

Scope of NAL@ED Program Projects

25. How much of the project should focus on instruction and how much should focus on professional development?

Projects are required to include both Native American or Alaska Native language education and development, as well as provide professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators, to strengthen the overall language proficiency and academic goals of the school. The proportion of funds devoted for each activity is dependent on the particular project design.

26. Must all projects be based on an immersion model of Native language instruction?

No. Applicants have flexibility in choosing the model of instruction they believe will best suit the needs of the students and the participating school. Some applicants may wish to use a dual language model that includes some instruction in English, and some in the Native language. Factors to consider when choosing a model include the number or percentage of English learners in the school, and the number and percentage of students who are fluent speakers of the Native language. Note that under the selection criterion Quality of Project Services, applicants receive up to 3 points for the extent to which the percentage of the school day that instruction will be provided in the Native language is ambitious and is reasonable for the grade level and population served.

27. Can applications focus on developing content assessments in the Native language?

Yes, applicants can plan to use funds to develop assessments in the Native language (e.g. a math, science, or reading/language arts assessment). However, note that the program requires instruction in or through the Native language, and professional development, as well. All proposed uses of funds should be detailed in the budget in Part 5: Budget Narrative.

28. Must projects serve an entire school, or is it permissible to focus on only one grade?

Applicants have flexibility in the scope of their projects. Projects could serve an entire school; could add to an existing Native language program, e.g., one that serves grades K-2 currently, and could add grade 3; or could establish a new Native language program where one has never existed, and could focus on one or more grades. In any model chosen, however, the project must adhere to the NAL@ED program requirements as stated in the assurances in the Applicant Information for NAL@ED program attachment (Part 6).

29. Are projects required to have pre- and post-assessments of Native language proficiency?

Yes, applicants must assess the Native language proficiency of the students who participate in the project with a pre- and post- assessments. These pre- and post- assessments are needed for one of the GPRA indicators for this program. On the Applicant Information for NAL@ED program attachment, applicants will indicate if the assessment is available or if project funds will be used to create assessments. In addition, under the selection criterion Quality of the Project Evaluation, applicants earn up to 8 points for the extent to which each proposed performance target is ambitious yet achievable compared to the baseline for each performance measure. See information below under Annual Performance Reporting FAQs.

30. What types of assessments can be used for the pre- and post-assessments of language proficiency?

The pre- and post- assessment of the participating students’ proficiency in the Native language can take the form of a written assessment, an oral language assessment, or other type of assessment. The assessment should measure the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities the applicant believes are important to measure language proficiency. If a program does not have pre- and post- assessments in place currently, the program should develop an appropriate language proficiency assessment instrument.

31. Do I have to include goals, objectives, and outcomes in my application?

Reviewers will score applicants on the extent to which any goals, objectives, and outcomes are clearly specified and measurable, in the selection criterion Quality of Project Design. Applicants that wish to receive full points should address this criterion by including in their project narrative information about those goals, objectives, and outcomes. See also the FAQs below regarding targets and baseline data for the GPRA measures under the Annual Performance Reporting section.

32. Should projects plan for long-term data collection in their application?

Yes. The Department may offer NAL@ED program grantees the option of extending their NAL@ED-related data collection and evaluation activities beyond the 36-month project period, and could choose to provide additional funding, for the purposes of data collection, analysis, and reporting, subject to sufficient Congressional appropriations.  This would enable grantees to conduct long-term tracking of the students in the project in order to provide better evidence of success of the program. The Department has discretion in deciding which, if any, NAL@ED projects will receive additional time and funding for the purposes of data collection, analysis, and reporting. Preparing for this ensures that your research project will collect the highest quality data. This long-term historical data will measure student academic progress over time (e.g. comparing the number of participants to all other students in the school or LEA in terms of attendance, graduation rate, proficiency against State academic standards, etc.), and will provide evidence of the success of the program. Although this flexibility is not guaranteed and is contingent on available funding in subsequent fiscal years, we encourage all applicants to plan for this possibility.

33. How should I address long-term data collection in my application?

Applicants should address the long-term collection in the application narrative under the selection criteria Quality of Project Design and Quality of Project Evaluation. The applicant should include a plan for long –term data collection as well as provide its plan to collect valid and meaningful performance data during the project period. In addition, applicants should include in their budgets any costs associated with planning for a long-term data collection. For more information, see Part 5: Budget Narrative, “Budgeting for Data Collection.”

34. Can our project serve non-Native American students along with Native American students?

Yes, although the focus of the project (e.g. a majority of students served) should be American Indian/Alaska Native students, in keeping with the overall goals of the program.

35. Must the teachers in the project be Native American themselves?

There is a statutory hiring preference for members of Federally-recognized tribes; see ISDEAA Hiring Preference Requirements, in Program Background Information above.

36. Under selection criteria: quality of project personnel, who should be listed?

In determining project personnel, all personnel carrying out the proposed project including contractors and subcontractors should be listed under the “key personnel” in the sub-criterion.

Program Costs

37. What costs are permitted under these grants?

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the costs stipulated in their proposed budget are reasonable and necessary for addressing the proposed project effectively. The application must adequately describe the rationale for the proposed activities and their costs. In other words, an activity and its cost might be reasonable, allowable, and allocable in one project, but not necessarily in another. Applicants should review carefully the cost principles, particularly the guidance concerning “reasonable,” “allocable,” and “necessary” costs. The uniform administrative requirements and cost principles are published in 2 CFR part 200, which is available on the U.S. Government Printing Office website at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6214841a79953f26c5c230d72d6b70a1&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl.

38. Under what circumstances could NAL@ED program grant funds be used to support a preschool Native language program?         

NAL@ED program funds may be used to support preschool education in schools that also provide elementary or secondary education beyond preschool. However, for all proposed projects, grant funds must be used for at least one or more grades higher than preschool in addition to the preschool level. (e.g., a project serving ages 4-8).

39. Can NAL@ED program grant funds be used to support programs in higher education, e.g., training Native language teachers?

No. The statute limits the use of these funds to elementary and secondary schools. However, an institution of higher education can be a partner in a project; for example, a TCU or other IHE could provide professional development to teachers and administrators in the elementary or secondary school.

40. My Indirect Cost Rate Agreement is scheduled to expire shortly after my award is made. What should we do?

Applicants that include indirect costs in their budget need to be aware of when their Indirect Cost Rate Agreement is due to expire. If the current rate expires prior to the start of the first grant year, or shortly thereafter, ED is required to attach special conditions to the grant, under which the grantee has the option of not charging indirect costs, or using a temporary ED rate until the grantee obtains a new rate from its cognizant agency. See Important Information Regarding Indirect Costs in Part 5.

41. Is there a cost sharing or matching requirement?

This program does not require cost sharing or matching.

42. What are some examples of reasonable planning costs for data collection and long-term data collection?

In planning for data collections, some reasonable planning costs could include the development of pre- and post- assessment of Native language proficiency (or purchase of an existing assessment), costs of administering the assessments each year, and professional development relating to these assessments. In addition, for long-term data collections, costs could include data analysis, developing a contract for longitudinal collection of student data, or purchasing of data-tracking software.

Annual Performance Reporting

43. What are the reporting requirements for NAL@ED program grantees?

All NAL@ED program grantees must submit an annual performance report (APR) that provides the most current performance and financial expenditure information. The APR must include information on performance outcomes related to the GPRA as well as project-specific performance measures. The Department will consider this data in making annual continuation awards. At the end of the project period, grantees must submit a final performance report, including financial information, goal attainment, and program evaluation.

44. What is GPRA?

Under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), Federal departments and agencies must clearly describe the goals and objectives of programs, identify resources and actions needed to accomplish goals and objectives, develop a means of measuring progress made, and regularly report on achievement. One important source of program information on successes and lessons learned is the project evaluation conducted under individual grants.

45. What are the GPRA measures for the FY2017 NAL@ED program Competition?

The Department has developed the following GPRA performance measures for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the NAL@ED program:

• Measure 1: The number and percentage of participating students who attain proficiency in a Native language as determined by each grantee through pre-and post-assessments of Native language proficiency.

• Measure 2: The number and percentage of participating students who make progress in learning a Native language, as determined by each grantee, through pre-and post-assessments of Native language proficiency.

• Measure 3: The number and percentage of participating students who show an improvement in academic outcomes, as measured by academic assessments or other indicators.

• Measure 4: The difference between the average daily attendance of participating students and the average daily attendance of all students in the comparison group (e.g. school, LEA, tribe or other).

46. Are we required to submit performance targets and baseline data for each GPRA measure?

Yes/ Applicants should include the performance targets and baseline data in their project narrative. Note that two of the selection criteria provide points based on this information. In the selection criterion Quality of the Project Evaluation, applicants earn up to 8 points for the extent to which each proposed performance target (as defined in this notice) is ambitious (as defined in this notice) yet achievable compared to the baseline for each performance measure. In addition, in the selection criterion Quality of the Project Design, points are given for the extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable. Applicants may establish project-specific goals, objectives, and outcomes in addition to the specific GPRA measures, but the outcomes addressed in this portion of the project narrative should include the GPRA measures.

47. How does an applicant set performance targets for the GPRA measures?

The performance targets should be both annual, and there should be an overall target for the grant period (3 years). Targets may be expressed as percentages of all participating students. For example, for Measure 1 (progress in learning the Native language) an applicant might establish a performance target of 90% of participating students making annual progress towards proficiency in the language, with progress defined as a certain number of points of improvement on the Native language proficiency assessment, which will be administered at the start of the project year and again at the end of the year. The overall grant target for the end of three years might be 95% of students who made progress. For Measure 2, the applicant might establish a performance target that increases each year. If the applicant has already ascertained that there are currently no fluent speakers amongst the student body at the school, the baseline data for Measure 2 would be 0% at the start of the project. Since very few students would be expected to reach proficiency in the first year, the performance target for year 1 might be 2% of participating students gaining proficiency in the Native language; for the end of year 2 the target might be 10%, and for the end of year 3, 20%. These examples are illustrative only and are not grounded in research; applicants should use applicable research in setting their targets.

48. What if we don’t have baseline data because we have not yet developed a pre- and post-assessment of Native language proficiency?

In that situation, the applicant should explain in the project narrative (Quality of Project Evaluation) why there is no established baseline and explain how and when, during the project period, the applicant will establish a baseline for that performance measure. For example, if the applicant does not yet have a pre-and post- assessment tool for proficiency in the Native language in order to gather baseline data for Measure 1 at the time of application, it could propose that it will develop or acquire a Native language proficiency assessment within 30 days of funding, and apply the pre-assessment to the students within 60 days of funding. The cost of that development or acquisition should be included in the budget unless other funding will be used.

Competition Application Review

49. How are applications selected for funding?

Peer reviewers will review all eligible applications for NAL@ED program grants that are submitted by the established deadline. Readers will review and score all eligible applications on the selection criteria set forth in this application.

50. Is an applicant’s past performance a factor in the application review process?

Yes. The Department will take into consideration the potential applicant’s past performance in carrying out a previous award, such as the applicant’s use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and compliance with grant conditions. The Department may also consider whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or submitted a report of unacceptable quality.

51. How long does it take the Department of Education to complete the review process and when will funds be available?

Most review processes take about four to six months from the deadline date through the issuance of the signed Grant Award Notification. The list of grantees will be published at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/oie/index.html. The Department plans to issue grants prior to September 31, 2017.

Grant Application Procedures

52. Why is it helpful for a potential applicant to submit a Notice of Intent to Apply?

A Notice of Intent to Apply from potential applicants informs the Department of the approximate number of applications the program may receive so that the grant review process can be more efficiently planned. We strongly encourage each potential applicant to notify us of the applicant’s intent to submit an application by emailing [email protected] with the subject line: Intent to Apply and include in the content of the email the following information: (1) the applicant organization’s and address, and (2) absolute priority and/or any competitive preference priority the applicant is addressing in the application. Applicants that do not complete this form may still submit an application.

53. Where does a potential applicant locate resources, information, on the NAL@ED program and the application support?

Potential applicants may obtain an application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via the Internet, use the following address: www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html.

For guidance on ED's discretionary grant process and the laws and regulations that govern it, please refer to “Grant making at ED: Answers to Your Questions about the Discretionary Grants Process” at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/about/grantmaking/index.html

Application Submission

54. May applicants submit personnel resumes as an appendix to the application?

Applicants should address qualifications of personnel in the narrative response to the Quality of Personnel criterion. Applicants are requested not to submit resumes, but instead provide position descriptions for key personnel, including current staff, as well as those it expects to recruit. In addition applicants may want to describe relevant training and experience of key personnel who are current employees, which may include, for example, the project director, the project coordinator, and project evaluators.

55. Will there be a kick-off meeting after receipt of the award and any subsequent annual meetings that provide for one-on-one interaction with Department staff?

Yes, after the awards are made, grantees will attend a one and one-half day planning meeting in Washington, DC. The project director and one other relevant staff member, for a maximum of two staff members from the project, will attend.

56. Whom should I contact if I have any additional questions?

Please contact John Cheek by email at [email protected].

Directions for Getting Started on the Application

Technical Assistance Workshop

The Department intends to hold a pre-application webinar designed to provide technical assistance to interested applicants. Information about webinar time and instructions for registering are on the Department Web site at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/oie/index.html.

Tips for Preparing and Submitting an Application

Beginning the Application Process

• Read this application package in its entirety, including the NIA, and make sure you follow all of the instructions.

• Read the Frequently Asked Questions section in this application package.

• If you do not understand an instruction or requirement, contact John Cheek, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education, Room 3W221, Washington, D.C. 20202. Telephone: (202) 401-0274or by email: [email protected] for information about this grant competition.

Preparing Your Application

• Organize your narrative according to the selection criteria headings and respond comprehensively.

• Be thorough in your responses. Write so that someone who knows nothing about your community and the proposed activities, curricula, programs, and services can understand what you are proposing and why.

• Make sure your budget provides sufficient itemization and detailed descriptions about planned expenditures so Department staff can easily determine how amounts were calculated.

• Link your planned expenditures to the proposed activities, curricula, programs, and services. Do not request funds for miscellaneous purposes. Make sure you demonstrate that your proposed expenditures are necessary to carry out your program.

Submitting Your Application

• Use the checklist provided in this application package to ensure your application is complete before submitting it.

• Make sure all required forms are included and signed by an Authorized Representative of your organization.

• Transmit your application by the deadline date and time. When submitting your application electronically, you must use Grants.gov at: www.grants.gov. Unless you qualify for an exception in accordance with the instructions found in the NIA, you must submit your application electronically.

What Happens Next?

• When your application is submitted through Grants.gov, the PR/Award number will be generated automatically. Please refer to this PR/Award number if you need to contact us about your application.

• Staff members screen each application to ensure that all program eligibility requirements are met and that all forms are included and signed by the Authorized Representative. Ineligible applicants will receive a notification letter, including the reasons for ineligibility.

• If eligible, your application will be assigned to a panel of independent reviewers who will evaluate and score your proposal according to the selection criteria in this package. Your application will receive a score from 0 to 100, depending upon how well it addresses the selection criteria.

• A Grant Award Notification will be sent to applicants whose proposals rank high enough to be awarded a grant. Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will receive peer reviewers’ comments approximately 6 to 8 weeks after grant awards are announced. Unsuccessful applicants will also receive a notification letter. Please be sure your application contains a valid mailing address for both the Project Director and the Authorized Representative so that reviewers’ comments can be successfully delivered.

Application Submission Procedures

The deadline for submission of NAL@ED program applications through Grants.gov is May XX, 2017.

Application Transmittal Instructions

Attention Electronic Applicants

This program requires the electronic submission of applications--specific requirements and instructions can be found in the Federal Register notice. Please note that you must follow the Application Procedures as described in the Federal Register notice announcing the grant competition.

We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described in the Federal Register notice for this competition, 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.

Applications Submitted Electronically

Applications for grants under this program must be submitted electronically using the Government-wide 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.

Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in Federal Register notice for this competition, we will not consider your application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.

You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in this application package to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system.

Please note the following:

• You must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in a read-only, non-modifiable Portable Document Format (PDF). Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-modifiable PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material.

• Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission.

• When attaching files, applicants should limit the size of their file names. Lengthy file names could result in difficulties with opening and processing your application. We recommend your file names be less than 50 characters. The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.

• Your electronic application must comply with any page-limit requirements described in this application package.

• If you are experiencing problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.

According to the instructions found in the Federal Register notice, only those requesting and qualifying for an Exception to the electronic submission requirement may submit an application via mail, commercial carrier or by hand delivery.

Submission of Paper Applications by Mail:

If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail the original and two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:

U.S. Department of Education

Application Control Center

Attention: (CFDA Number 84. 415B)

LBJ Basement Level 1

400 Maryland Avenue, SW.

Washington, DC 20202-4260

You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

If your application is postmarked after the application deadline date, we will not consider your application.

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your local post office.

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. 415B)

550 12th Street, SW.

Washington, DC 20202-4260

The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications

If you mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--

(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are submitting your application; and

(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software

The Department of Education, working with Grants.gov, is currently using Adobe Reader software exclusively and applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using Adobe forms.

Please note: The compatible version of Adobe Reader is required for viewing, editing and submitting a complete grant application package for the Department of Education through Grants.gov. Applicants should confirm the compatibility of their Adobe Reader version before downloading the application. To ensure applicants have a version of Adobe Reader on their computer that is compatible with Grants.gov, applicants are encouraged to use the test package provided by Grants.gov that can be accessed at. http://www.grants.gov/documents/19/18249/Adobe+Versioning+Test+Application+Package.pdf/ .

Important issues to consider:

• If the applicant opened or edited the application package with any software other than the compatible version of Adobe Reader, the application package may contain errors that will be transferred to the new package even if you later download the compatible Adobe Reader version.

• Applicants cannot copy and paste data from a package initially opened or edited with an incompatible version of Adobe Reader and will need to download an entirely new package using the compatible version of Adobe Reader.

• Some applicants using an incompatible version of Adobe Reader may have trouble opening and viewing the application package while others may find they can open, view and complete the application package but may not be able to submit the application package through Grants.gov.

• Grants.gov does not guarantee to support versions of Adobe Reader that are not compatible with Grants.gov.

• Any and all edits made to the Adobe Reader application package must be made with the compatible version of Adobe Reader.

For your convenience, a compatible version of Adobe Reader is available for free download at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html.

We strongly recommend that you review the information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe available at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html before downloading, completing or submitting your application.

Applicants are reminded that they should submit their application a day or two in advance of the closing date as detailed in the Federal Register Notice. If you have any questions regarding this matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at [email protected] or call 1-800-518-4726.

Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants

To facilitate your use of Grants.gov, this document includes important submission procedures you need to be aware of to ensure your application is received in a timely manner and accepted by the Department of Education.

ATTENTION – Adobe Forms and PDF Files Required

Applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader. Information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe and links to download an appropriate version is available on Grants.gov at this link: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html. We strongly recommend that you review these details on www.Grants.gov before completing and submitting your application. In addition, applicants should submit their application a day or two in advance of the closing date as detailed below. Also, applicants are required to upload their attachments in .pdf format only. (See details below under “Attaching Files – Additional Tips.”) If you have any questions regarding this matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at [email protected] or call 1-800-518-4726.

NEW: In addition to the Adobe form application package, Grants.gov now offers a new option called Workspace for application completion and submission. Workspace allows a team of registered Grants.gov applicants to use a shared online space for completing individual forms and submitting the final application. These forms can be filled out simultaneously by different users, instead of exchanging a single PDF package file via email or a flash drive as is used when completing the traditional Adobe application package. Please go to this Grants.gov link for more information and training, etc. on using Workspace: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants

To facilitate your use of Grants.gov, this document includes important submission procedures you need to be aware of to ensure your application is received in a timely manner and accepted by the Department of Education.

Browser Support

The latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari are supported for use with Grants.gov. However, these web browsers undergo frequent changes and updates, so we recommend you have the latest version when using Grants.gov. Legacy versions of these web browsers may be functional, but you may experience issues.

For additional information or updates, please see the Grants.gov Browser information in the Applicant FAQs: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#browser

1. REGISTER EARLY – Grants.gov registration involves many steps including registration on SAM (www.sam.gov) which may take approximately one week to complete, but could take upwards of several weeks to complete, depending upon the completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM database by an applicant. You may begin working on your application while completing the registration process, but you cannot submit an application until all of the Registration steps are complete. Please note that once your SAM registration is active, it will take 24-48 hours for the information to be available in Grants.gov, and before you can submit an application through Grants.gov. For detailed information on the Registration Steps, please go to: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html [Note: Your organization will need to update its SAM registration annually.]

Primary information about SAM is available at www.sam.gov. However, to further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM or updating your existing SAM account the Department of Education has prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet which you can find at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html

2. SUBMIT EARLY – We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last day to submit your application. Grants.gov will put a date/time stamp on your application and then process it after it is fully uploaded. The time it takes to upload an application will vary depending on a number of factors including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection, and the time it takes Grants.gov to process the application will vary as well. If Grants.gov rejects your application (see step three below), you will need to resubmit successfully to Grants.gov before 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, DC time on the deadline date.

Note: To submit successfully, you must provide the DUNS number on your application that was used when you registered as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) on Grants.gov. This DUNS number is typically the same number used when your organization registered with the SAM. If you do not enter the same DUNS number on your application as the DUNS you registered with, Grants.gov will reject your application.

3. VERIFY SUBMISSION IS OK – You will want to verify that Grants.gov received your application submission on time and that it was validated successfully. To see the date/time your application was received, login to Grants.gov and click on the Track My Application link. For a successful submission, the date/time received should be earlier than 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, DC time, on the deadline date, AND the application status should be: Validated, Received by Agency, or Agency Tracking Number Assigned. Once the Department of Education receives your application from Grants.gov, an Agency Tracking Number (PR/award number) will be assigned to your application and will be available for viewing on Grants.gov’s Track My Application link.

If the date/time received is later than 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. time, on the deadline date, your application is late. If your application has a status of “Received” it is still awaiting validation by Grants.gov. Once validation is complete, the status will either change to “Validated” or “Rejected with Errors.” If the status is “Rejected with Errors,” your application has not been received successfully. Some of the reasons Grants.gov may reject an application can be found on the Grants.gov site: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-messages.html. For more detailed information on troubleshooting Adobe errors, you can review the Adobe Reader Software Tip Sheet at: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html. If you discover your application is late or has been rejected, please see the instructions below. Note: You will receive a series of confirmations both online and via e-mail about the status of your application. Please do not rely solely on e-mail to confirm whether your application has been received timely and validated successfully.

Submission Problems – What should you do?

If you have problems submitting to Grants.gov before the closing date, please contact Grants.gov Customer Support at 1-800-518-4726 or email at: mailto:[email protected], or access the Grants.gov Self-Service Knowledge Base web portal at: https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants

If electronic submission is optional and you have problems that you are unable to resolve before the deadline date and time for electronic applications, please follow the transmittal instructions for hard copy applications in the Federal Register notice and get a hard copy application postmarked by midnight on the deadline date.

If electronic submission is required, you must submit an electronic application before 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, unless you follow the procedures in the Federal Register notice and 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. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)

Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov

Please note, once you download an application from Grants.gov, you will be working offline and saving data on your computer. Please be sure to note where you are saving the Grants.gov file on your computer. You will need to logon to Grants.gov to upload and submit the application. You must provide the DUNS number on your application that was used when you registered as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) on Grants.gov.

Please go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/about/contact-us.html for help with Grants.gov. For additional tips related to submitting grant applications, please refer to the Grants.gov Applicant FAQs found at this Grants.gov link: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html.

Dial-Up Internet Connections

When using a dial up connection to upload and submit your application, it can take significantly longer than when you are connected to the Internet with a high-speed connection, e.g. cable modem/DSL/T1. While times will vary depending upon the size of your application, it can take a few minutes to a few hours to complete your grant submission using a dial up connection. If you do not have access to a high-speed connection and electronic submission is required, you may want to consider following the instructions in the Federal Register notice to obtain an exception to the electronic submission requirement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)

Attaching Files – Additional Tips

Please note the following tips related to attaching files to your application, especially the requirement that applicants only include read-only, non-modifiable .PDF files in their application:

1. Ensure that you attach .PDF files only for any attachments to your application, and they must be in a read-only, non-modifiable format. PDF files are the only Education approved file type accepted as detailed in the Federal Register application notice. Applicants must submit individual .PDF files only when attaching files to their application. Specifically, the Department will not accept any attachments that contain files within a file, such as PDF Portfolio files, or an interactive or fillable .PDF file. Any attachments uploaded that are not .PDF files or are password protected files will not be read. If you need assistance converting your files to a .pdf format, please refer to the following Grants.gov webpage with links to conversion programs under the heading of additional resources: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support/technical-support/software/pdf-conversion-software.html

2. Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission. Therefore, each file uploaded to your application package should have a unique file name.

3. When attaching files, applicants should follow the guidelines established by Grants.gov on the size and content of file names. Uploaded file names must be fewer than 50 characters, and, in general, applicants should not use any special characters. However, Grants.gov does allow for the following UTF-8 characters when naming your attachments: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore, hyphen, space, period, parenthesis, curly braces, square brackets, ampersand, tilde, exclamation point, comma, semi colon, apostrophe, at sign, number sign, dollar sign, percent sign, plus sign, and equal sign. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

4. Applicants should limit the size of their file attachments. Documents submitted that contain graphics and/or scanned material often greatly increase the size of the file attachments and can result in difficulties opening the files. For reference, the average discretionary grant application package with all attachments is less than 5 MB. Therefore, you may want to check the total size of your package before submission.

Application Instructions

Electronic Application Format

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement in accordance with the instructions in this application package.

In accordance with EDGAR §75.216 (b) and (c), an application will not be evaluated for funding if the applicant does not comply with all of the procedural rules that govern the submission of the application or the application does not contain the information required under the program.

It is recommended that your electronic application be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process. Instructions for all parts and forms of the application are found either on the following pages of the application package or individually for each form on Grants.gov.

Important note: Applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader (see Grants.gov for compatible versions).

Information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe and links to download the latest version is available on Grants.gov. Also, please review the Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software and Education Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants forms found within this package for further information and guidance related to this requirement.

We strongly recommend that you review these details on www.Grants.gov before completing and submitting your application. In addition, applicants should submit their application a day or two in advance of the closing date as detailed below. If you have any questions regarding this matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at [email protected] or call 1-800-518-4726.

Instructions for all parts and forms of the application are found either on the following pages of the application package or individually for each form on Grants.gov.

Note: Please do not attach any narratives, supporting files, or application components to any forms unless it is specifically required by the instructions for the individual section of the application. Although several forms accept attachments, the Department of Education will only review materials/files attached in accordance with the instructions provided within this application package.

Electronic Application Submission Checklist

It is recommended that your electronic application be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process. Instructions for all parts and forms of the application are found either on the following pages of the application package or individually for each form on Grants.gov.

Review your electronic application to ensure you have completed the following forms and sections:

Part 1: Cover Sheet

• Application for Federal Assistance (form SF 424)

• ED Supplemental Information for SF 424

Part 2: Budget Information

• ED Budget Information Non-Construction Programs (ED Form 524)

Part 3: ED Abstract Form

• Project Abstract

Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form

• Application Narrative

Part 5: Budget Narrative Attachment Form

• Budget Narrative

Part 6: Other Attachments

• Applicant Information for NAL@ED program

• Proof of Indian Organization (if applicable)

• Signed Consortium Agreement(if applicable)

• Tribal Certification (if applicable)

• Request for Competitive Preference Priority One (This form is optional)

• Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

• Administrative Cost Limit Waiver Request (if applicable)

• Bibliography or References (optional)

Part 7: Assurances and Certifications

• Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF 424B Form)

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (Standard Form LLL)

• Grants.gov Lobbying Form

• General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) Requirements – Section 427 (ED GEPA427 form)

• Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants (form 1890-0014)

Part 8: Intergovernmental Review (Executive Order 12372)

• State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) List

Part 1: Cover Sheet

• Application for Federal Assistance (Form SF 424)

• ED Supplemental Information for SF 424

These forms require basic identifying information about the applicant and the application. Please provide all requested applicant information (including name, address, e-mail address and DUNS number).

When applying electronically via Grants.gov, you will need to ensure that the DUNS number you enter on your application is the same as the DUNS number your organization used when it registered with the Central Contractor Registry.

Applicants are advised to complete the Application for Federal Assistance (Form SF 424) first. Grants.gov will automatically insert the correct CFDA and program name automatically wherever needed on other forms.

NOTE: Please do not attach any narratives, supporting files, or application components to the Standard Form (SF 424). Although this form accepts attachments, the Department of Education will only review materials/files attached in accordance with the instructions provided within this application.

Instructions for the SF-424

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0348-0043), Washington, DC 20503.

PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR COMPLETED FORM TO THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. SEND IT TO THE ADDRESS PROVIDED BY THE SPONSORING AGENCY.

This is a standard form (including the continuation sheet) required for use as a cover sheet for submission of preapplications and applications and related information under discretionary programs. Some of the items are required and some are optional at the discretion of the applicant or the Federal agency (agency). Required items are identified with an asterisk on the form and are specified in the instructions below. In addition to the instructions provided below, applicants must consult agency instructions to determine specific requirements.

Item	Entry:		Item	Entry:
1.	Type of Submission: (Required): Select one type of submission in accordance with agency instructions. Preapplication Application Changed/Corrected Application – If requested by the agency, check if this submission is to change or correct a previously submitted application. Unless requested by the agency, applicants may not use this to submit changes after the closing date.		10.	Name Of Federal Agency: (Required) Enter the Name of the Federal agency from which assistance is being requested with this application.
			11.	Catalog Of Federal Domestic Assistance Number/Title: Enter the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number and title of the program under which assistance is requested, as found in the program announcement, if applicable.
2.	Type of Application: (Required) Select one type of application in accordance with agency instructions. New – An application that is being submitted to an agency for the first time. Continuation - An extension for an additional funding/budget period for a project with a projected completion date. This can include renewals. Revision - Any change in the Federal Government’s financial obligation or contingent liability from an existing obligation. If a revision, enter the appropriate letter(s). More than one may be selected. If "Other" is selected, please specify in text box provided. A. Increase Award B. Decrease Award C. Increase Duration D. Decrease Duration E. Other (specify)		12.	Funding Opportunity Number/Title: (Required) Enter the Funding Opportunity Number and title of the opportunity under which assistance is requested, as found in the program announcement.
			13.	Competition Identification Number/Title: Enter the Competition Identification Number and title of the competition under which assistance is requested, if applicable.
			14.	Areas Affected By Project: List the areas or entities using the categories (e.g., cities, counties, states, etc.) specified in agency instructions. Use the continuation sheet to enter additional areas, if needed.
3.	Date Received: Leave this field blank. This date will be assigned by the Federal agency.		15.	Descriptive Title of Applicant’s Project: (Required) Enter a brief descriptive title of the project. If appropriate, attach a map showing project location (e.g., construction or real property projects). For preapplications, attach a summary description of the project.
4.	Applicant Identifier: Enter the entity identifier assigned by the Federal agency, if any, or applicant’s control number, if applicable.
5a	Federal Entity Identifier: Enter the number assigned to your organization by the Federal Agency, if any.		16.	Congressional Districts Of: (Required) 16a. Enter the applicant’s Congressional District, and 16b. Enter all District(s) affected by the program or project. Enter in the format: 2 characters State Abbreviation – 3 characters District Number, e.g., CA-005 for California 5thth district, CA-012 for California 12th district, NC-103 for North Carolina’s 103rd district. If all congressional districts in a state are affected, enter “all” for the district number, e.g., MD-all for all congressional districts in Maryland. If nationwide, i.e. all districts within all states are affected, enter US-all. If the program/project is outside the US, enter 00-000.
5b.	Federal Award Identifier: For new applications leave blank. For a continuation or revision to an existing award, enter the previously assigned Federal award identifier number. If a changed/corrected application, enter the Federal Identifier in accordance with agency instructions.
6.	Date Received by State: Leave this field blank. This date will be assigned by the State, if applicable.
7.	State Application Identifier: Leave this field blank. This identifier will be assigned by the State, if applicable.
8.	Applicant Information: Enter the following in accordance with agency instructions: a. Legal Name: (Required): Enter the legal name of applicant that will undertake the assistance activity. This is the name that the organization has registered with the Central Contractor Registry. Information on registering with CCR may be obtained by visiting the Grants.gov website.
			17.	Proposed Project Start and End Dates: (Required) Enter the proposed start date and end date of the project.
	b. Employer/Taxpayer Number (EIN/TIN): (Required): Enter the Employer or Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN or TIN) as assigned by the Internal Revenue Service. If your organization is not in the US, enter 44-4444444.
			18.	Estimated Funding: (Required) Enter the amount requested or to be contributed during the first funding/budget period by each contributor. Value of in-kind contributions should be included on appropriate lines, as applicable. If the action will result in a dollar change to an existing award, indicate only the amount of the change. For decreases, enclose the amounts in parentheses.
	c. Organizational DUNS: (Required) Enter the organization’s DUNS or DUNS+4 number received from Dun and Bradstreet. Information on obtaining a DUNS number may be obtained by visiting the Grants.gov website.
	d. Address: Enter the complete address as follows: Street address (Line 1 required), City (Required), County, State (Required, if country is US), Province, Country (Required), Zip/Postal Code (Required, if country is US).
			19.	Is Application Subject to Review by State Under Executive Order 12372 Process? Applicants should contact the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for Federal Executive Order 12372 to determine whether the application is subject to the State intergovernmental review process. Select the appropriate box. If “a.” is selected, enter the date the application was submitted to the State
	e. Organizational Unit: Enter the name of the primary organizational unit (and department or division, if applicable) that will undertake the assistance activity, if applicable.
	f. Name and contact information of person to be contacted on matters involving this application: Enter the name (First and last name required), organizational affiliation (if affiliated with an organization other than the applicant organization), telephone number (Required), fax number, and email address (Required) of the person to contact on matters related to this application.
			20.	Is the Applicant Delinquent on any Federal Debt? (Required) Select the appropriate box. This question applies to the applicant organization, not the person who signs as the authorized representative. Categories of debt include delinquent audit disallowances, loans and taxes. If yes, include an explanation on the continuation sheet.
9.	Type of Applicant: (Required) Select up to three applicant type(s) in accordance with agency instructions.		21.	Authorized Representative: (Required) To be signed and dated by the authorized representative of the applicant organization. Enter the name (First and last name required) title (Required), telephone number (Required), fax number, and email address (Required) of the person authorized to sign for the applicant. A copy of the governing body’s authorization for you to sign this application as the official representative must be on file in the applicant’s office. (Certain Federal agencies may require that this authorization be submitted as part of the application.)
	State Government County Government City or Township Government Special District Government Regional Organization U.S. Territory or Possession Independent School District Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized) Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized) Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization Public/Indian Housing Authority	Nonprofit with 501C3 IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education) Nonprofit without 501C3 IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education) Private Institution of Higher Education Individual For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business) Small Business Hispanic-serving Institution Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Non-domestic (non-US) Entity Other (specify)

[U.S Department of Education note: As of spring, 2010, the FON discussed in Block 12 of the instructions can be found via the following URL: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp.]

Instructions for U.S. Department of Education

Supplemental Information for the SF-424

1. Project Director. Name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the person to be contacted on matters involving this application. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

2. Novice Applicant. Check “Yes” if you meet the definition for novice applicants specified in the regulations in 34 CFR 75.225 and included on the attached page entitled “Definitions for U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424”). By checking “Yes” the applicant certifies that it meets these novice applicant requirements. Check “No” if you do not meet the definition for novice applicants.

This novice applicant information will be used by ED to: 1) determine the amount and type of technical assistance that a novice might need, if funded, and 2) determine novice applicant eligibility in discretionary grant competitions that give special consideration to novice applications. Certain ED discretionary grant programs give special consideration to novice applications, either by establishing a special competition for novice applicants or by giving competitive preference to novice applicants under the procedures in 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2). If special consideration is being given to novice applications under a particular discretionary grant competition, the application notice for the competition published in the Federal Register will specify this information

3. Human Subjects Research. (See I. A. “Definitions” in attached page entitled “Definitions for U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424.”)

3a. If Not Human Subjects Research. Check “No” if research activities involving human subjects are not planned at any time during the proposed project period. The remaining parts of Item 3 are then not applicable.

3a. If Human Subjects Research. Check “Yes” if research activities involving human subjects are planned at any time during the proposed project period, either at the applicant organization or at any other performance site or collaborating institution. Check “Yes” even if the research is exempt from the regulations for the protection of human subjects. (See I. B. “Exemptions” in attached page entitled “Definitions for U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF-424.”)

3b. If Human Subjects Research is Exempt from the Human Subjects Regulations. Check “Yes” if all the research activities proposed are designated to be exempt from the regulations. Check the exemption number(s) corresponding to one or more of the six exemption categories listed in I. B. “Exemptions.” In addition, follow the instructions in II. A. “Exempt Research Narrative” in the attached page entitled “Definitions for U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424.”

3b. If Human Subjects Research is Not Exempt from Human Subjects Regulations. Check “No” if some or all of the planned research activities are covered (not exempt). In addition, follow the instructions in II. B. “Nonexempt Research Narrative” in the attached page entitled “Definitions for U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424.”

3b. Human Subjects Assurance Number. If the applicant has an approved Federal Wide Assurance (FWA) on file with the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that covers the specific activity, insert the number in the space provided. (A list of current FWAs is available at:  http://ohrp.cit.nih.gov/search/asearch.asp#ASUR) If the applicant does not have an approved assurance on file with OHRP, enter “None.” In this case, the applicant, by signature on the SF-424, is declaring that it will comply with 34 CFR 97 and proceed to obtain the human subjects assurance upon request by the designated ED official. If the application is recommended/selected for funding, the designated ED official will request that the applicant obtain the assurance within 30 days after the specific formal request.

3c. If applicable, please attach your “Exempt Research” or “Nonexempt Research” narrative to your submission of the U.S Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424 form as instructed in item II, “Instructions for Exempt and Nonexempt Human Subjects Research Narratives” in the attached page entitled “Definitions for U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424.”

Note about Institutional Review Board Approval. ED does not require certification of Institutional Review Board approval with the application. However, if an application that involves non-exempt human subjects research is recommended/selected for funding, the designated ED official will request that the applicant obtain and send the certification to ED within 30 days after the formal request.

No covered human subjects research can be conducted until the study has ED clearance for protection of human subjects in research.

Paperwork Burden Statement. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1894-0007. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average between 15 and 45 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-0170. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form write directly to: (insert program office), U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202.

Definitions for ED Supplemental Information for SF 424

Definitions:

Novice Applicant (See 34 CFR 75.225). For discretionary grant programs under which the Secretary gives special consideration to novice applications, a novice applicant means any applicant for a grant from ED that—

• Has never received a grant or subgrant under the program from which it seeks funding;

• Has never been a member of a group application, submitted in accordance with 34 CFR 75.127-75.129, that received a grant under the program from which it seeks funding; and

• Has not had an active discretionary grant from the Federal government in the five years before the deadline date for applications under the program. For the purposes of this requirement, a grant is active until the end of the grant’s project or funding period, including any extensions of those periods that extend the grantee’s authority to obligate funds.

In the case of a group application submitted in accordance with 34 CFR 75.127-75.129, a group includes only parties that meet the requirements listed above.

PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH

I. Definitions and Exemptions

A. Definitions.

A research activity involves human subjects if the activity is research, as defined in the Department’s regulations, and the research activity will involve use of human subjects, as defined in the regulations.

—Research

The ED Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects, Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 97, define research as “a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.” If an activity follows a deliberate plan whose purpose is to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge it is research. Activities, which meet this definition, constitute research whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program that is considered research for other purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may include research activities.

—Human Subject

The regulations define human subject as “a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains (1) data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or (2) identifiable private information.” (1) If an activity involves obtaining information about a living person by manipulating that person or that person’s environment, as might occur when a new instructional technique is tested, or by communicating or interacting with the individual, as occurs with surveys and interviews, the definition of human subject is met. (2) If an activity involves obtaining private information about a living person in such a way that the information can be linked to that individual (the identity of the subject is or may be readily determined by the investigator or associated with the information), the definition of human subject is met. [Private information includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place, and information which has been provided for specific purposes by an individual and which the individual can reasonably expect will not be made public (for example, a school health record).]

B. Exemptions.

Research activities in which the only involvement of human subjects will be in one or more of the following six categories of exemptions are not covered by the regulations:

(1) Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices, such as (a) research on regular and special education instructional strategies, or (b) research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.

(2) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior, unless: (a) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that human subjects can be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; and (b) any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, or reputation.

If the subjects are children, exemption 2 applies only to research involving educational tests and observations of public behavior when the investigator(s) do not participate in the activities being observed. Exemption 2 does not apply if children are surveyed or interviewed or if the research involves observation of public behavior and the investigator(s) participate in the activities being observed. [Children are defined as persons who have not attained the legal age for consent to treatments or procedures involved in the research, under the applicable law or jurisdiction in which the research will be conducted.]

(3) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior that is not exempt under section (2) above, if the human subjects are elected or appointed public officials or candidates for public office; or federal statute(s) require(s) without exception that the confidentiality of the personally identifiable information will be maintained throughout the research and thereafter.

(4) Research involving the collection or study of existing data, documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if these sources are publicly available or if the information is recorded by the investigator in a manner that subjects cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects.

(5) Research and demonstration projects which are conducted by or subject to the approval of department or agency heads, and which are designed to study, evaluate, or otherwise examine: (a) public benefit or service programs; (b) procedures for obtaining benefits or services under those programs; (c) possible changes in or alternatives to those programs or procedures; or (d) possible changes in methods or levels of payment for benefits or services under those programs.

(6) Taste and food quality evaluation and consumer acceptance studies, (a) if wholesome foods without additives are consumed or (b) if a food is consumed that contains a food ingredient at or below the level and for a use found to be safe, or agricultural chemical or environmental contaminant at or below the level found to be safe, by the Food and Drug Administration or approved by the Environmental Protection Agency or the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

II. Instructions for Exempt and Nonexempt Human Subjects Research Narratives

If the applicant marked “Yes” for Item 3 of Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, the applicant must provide a human subjects “exempt research” or “nonexempt research” narrative. Insert the narrative(s) in the space provided. If you have multiple projects and need to provide more than one narrative, be sure to label each set of responses as to the project they address.

A. Exempt Research Narrative.

If you marked “Yes” for item 3 a. and designated exemption numbers(s), provide the “exempt research” narrative. The narrative must contain sufficient information about the involvement of human subjects in the proposed research to allow a determination by ED that the designated exemption(s) are appropriate. The narrative must be succinct.

B. Nonexempt Research Narrative.

If you marked “No” for item 3 a. you must provide the “nonexempt research” narrative. The narrative must address the following seven points. Although no specific page limitation applies to this section of the application, be succinct.

(1) Human Subjects Involvement and Characteristics: Provide a detailed description of the proposed involvement of human subjects. Describe the characteristics of the subject population, including their anticipated number, age range, and health status. Identify the criteria for inclusion or exclusion of any subpopulation. Explain the rationale for the involvement of special classes of subjects, such as children, children with disabilities, adults with disabilities, persons with mental disabilities, pregnant women, prisoners, institutionalized individuals, or others who are likely to be vulnerable

(2) Sources of Materials: Identify the sources of research material obtained from individually identifiable living human subjects in the form of specimens, records, or data. Indicate whether the material or data will be obtained specifically for research purposes or whether use will be made of existing specimens, records, or data.

(3) Recruitment and Informed Consent: Describe plans for the recruitment of subjects and the consent procedures to be followed. Include the circumstances under which consent will be sought and obtained, who will seek it, the nature of the information to be provided to prospective subjects, and the method of documenting consent. State if the Institutional Review Board (IRB) has authorized a modification or waiver of the elements of consent or the requirement for documentation of consent.

(4) Potential Risks: Describe potential risks (physical, psychological, social, legal, or other) and assess their likelihood and seriousness. Where appropriate, describe alternative treatments and procedures that might be advantageous to the subjects.

(5) Protection Against Risk: Describe the procedures for protecting against or minimizing potential risks, including risks to confidentiality, and assess their likely effectiveness. Where appropriate, discuss provisions for ensuring necessary medical or professional intervention in the event of adverse effects to the subjects. Also, where appropriate, describe the provisions for monitoring the data collected to ensure the safety of the subjects.

(6) Importance of the Knowledge to be Gained: Discuss the importance of the knowledge gained or to be gained as a result of the proposed research. Discuss why the risks to subjects are reasonable in relation to the anticipated benefits to subjects and in relation to the importance of the knowledge that may reasonably be expected to result.

(7) Collaborating Site(s): If research involving human subjects will take place at collaborating site(s) or other performance site(s), name the sites and briefly describe their involvement or role in the research.

Copies of the Department of Education’s Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects, 34 CFR Part 97 and other pertinent materials on the protection of human subjects in research are available from the Grants Policy and Oversight Staff, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-4331, telephone: (202) 245-8090, and on the U.S. Department of Education’s Protection of Human Subjects in Research Web Site: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/humansub.html

NOTE: The State Applicant Identifier on the SF 424 is for State Use only. Please complete it on the OMB Standard 424 in the upper right corner of the form (if applicable).

Part 2: Budget Information

• ED Budget Information Non-Construction Programs (ED Form 524)

This part of your application contains information about the Federal funding you are requesting. Remember that you must provide all requested budget information for each year of the project (up to 36 months) and the total column in order to be considered for Federal funding. Specific instructions for completing the budget forms are provided within this application package.

Instructions for completing ED Form 524 Section A:

Name of Institution/Organization: Enter the name of the applicant in the space provided.

Personnel (line 1): Enter project personnel salaries and wages only. Include fees and expenses for consultants on line 6.

Fringe Benefits (line 2): The institution’s normal fringe benefits contribution may be charged to the program. Leave this line blank if fringe benefits applicable to direct salaries and wages are treated as part of the indirect cost.

Travel (line 3): Indicate the travel costs of employees and participants only. Include travel of persons such as consultants on line 6. Applicants are strongly encouraged to budget funds for a representative from the partnering entities to accompany the project director in attending a Project Director’s Meeting in the first three years of the grant.

Equipment (line 4): Indicate the cost of tangible, non-expendable personal property that has a usefulness greater than one year and acquisition costs that are the lesser of the capitalization level established by the applicant entity for financial statement purposes or $5,000 per article. Lower limits may be established to maintain consistency with the applicant’s policy.

Supplies (line 5): Show all tangible, expendable personal property. Direct supplies and materials differ from equipment in that they are consumable, expendable, and of a relatively low unit cost. Supplies purchased with grant funds should directly benefit the grant project and be necessary for achieving the goals of the project.

Contractual (line 6): The contractual category should include all costs specifically incurred with actions that the applicant takes in conjunction with an established internal procurement system. Include consultant fees, expenses, and travel costs in this category if the consultant’s services are obtained through a written binding agreement or contract.

Construction (line 7): Not applicable.

Other (line 8): Indicate all direct costs not covered on lines 1-6. For example, include costs such as space rental, required fees, honoraria and travel (where a contract is not in place for services), training, and communication and printing costs. Do not include costs that are included in the indirect cost rate.

Total Direct Costs (line 9): The sum of lines 1-8.

Note: Administrative costs are limited by statute to 5% of the total grant award.

Indirect Costs (line 10): Indicate the applicant’s approved indirect cost rate, per sections 75.560 – 75.564 of EDGAR. If an applicant’s approved indirect cost rate agreement with a cognizant Federal agency has expired and the applicant wishes to charge indirect costs to the grant, the applicant may use a temporary rate of 10 percent of budgeted direct salaries and wages while it negotiates a rate with its cognizant agency, per section 75.560 of EDGAR. An applicant with no previous ICR can use a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC); these applicants do not need to negotiate for this rate (2 CFR 200.414(f)).

Training Stipends (line 11): The training stipend line item only pertains to costs associated with long term training programs and college or university coursework, not workshops or short-term training supported by this program.

Salary stipends paid to teachers and other school personnel for participating in short-term professional development should be reported in Personnel (line 1).

Total Cost (line 12): This should equal to sum of lines 9-11 (total direct costs + indirect + stipends). The sum for column one, labeled Project Year 1 (a), should also be equal to item 15a on the application cover sheet (SF Form 424).

Instructions for ED 524

General Instructions

This form is used to apply to individual U.S. Department of Education (ED) discretionary grant programs. Unless directed otherwise, provide the same budget information for each year of the multi-year funding request. Pay attention to applicable program specific instructions, if attached. You may access the Education Department General Administrative Regulations cited within these instructions at:

http://www.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edgar.html. You may access requirements from 2 CFR 200, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” cited within these instructions at: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013-30465/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards.

You must consult with your Business Office prior to submitting this form.

Section A - Budget Summary

U.S. Department of Education Funds

All applicants must complete Section A and provide a break-down by the applicable budget categories shown in lines 1-11.

Lines 1-11, columns (a)-(e): For each project year for which funding is requested, show the total amount requested for each applicable budget category.

Lines 1-11, column (f): Show the multi-year total for each budget category. If funding is requested for only one project year, leave this column blank.

Line 12, columns (a)-(e): Show the total budget request for each project year for which funding is requested.

Line 12, column (f): Show the total amount requested for all project years. If funding is requested for only one year, leave this space blank.

Indirect Cost Information: If you are requesting reimbursement for indirect costs on line 10, this information is to be completed by your Business Office.

(1): Indicate whether or not your organization has an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement that was approved by the Federal government. If you checked “no,” ED generally will authorize grantees to use a temporary rate of 10 percent of budgeted salaries and wages (complete (4) of this section when using the temporary rate) subject to the following limitations:

(a) The grantee must submit an indirect cost proposal to its cognizant agency within 90 days after ED issues a grant award notification; and

(b) If after the 90-day period, the grantee has not submitted an indirect cost proposal to its cognizant agency, the grantee may not charge its grant for indirect costs until it has negotiated an indirect cost rate agreement with its cognizant agency.

(2): If you checked “yes” in (1), indicate in (2) the beginning and ending dates covered by the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. In addition, indicate whether ED, another Federal agency (Other) or State agency issued the approved agreement. If you check “Other,” specify the name of the Federal or other agency that issued the approved agreement.

(3): If you check “no” in (1), indicate in (3) if you want to use the de minimis rate of 10 percent of MTDC (see 2CFR § 200.68). If you use the de minimis rate, you are subject to the provisions in 2 CFR § 200.414(f). Note: you may only use the 10 percent de minimis rate if you are a first-time Federal grant recipient, and you do not have an Approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. You may not use the de minimis rate if you are a State, Local government, or Indian Tribe, or if your grant is funded under a training rate or restricted rate program.

(4): If you are applying for a grant under a Restricted Rate Program (34 CFR 75.563 or 76.563), indicate whether you are using a restricted indirect cost rate that is included on your approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, or whether you are using a restricted indirect cost rate that complies with 34 CFR 76.564(c)(2). Note: State or Local government agencies may not use the provision for a restricted indirect cost rate specified in 34 CFR 76.564(c)(2). Check only one response. Leave blank, if this item is not applicable.

Section B - Budget Summary

Non-Federal Funds

If you are required to provide or volunteer to provide cost-sharing or matching funds or other non-Federal resources to the project, these should be shown for each applicable budget category on lines 1‑11 of Section B.

Lines 1-11, columns (a)-(e): For each project year, for which matching funds or other contributions are provided, show the total contribution for each applicable budget category.

Lines 1-11, column (f): Show the multi-year total for each budget category. If non-Federal contributions are provided for only one year, leave this column blank.

Line 12, columns (a)-(e): Show the total matching or other contribution for each project year.

Line 12, column (f): Show the total amount to be contributed for all years of the multi-year project. If non-Federal contributions are provided for only one year, leave this space blank.

Section C - Budget Narrative [Attach separate sheet(s)]

Pay attention to applicable program specific instructions,
if attached.

1. Provide an itemized budget breakdown, and justification by project year, for each budget category listed in Sections A and B. For grant projects that will be divided into two or more separately budgeted major activities or sub-projects, show for each budget category of a project year the breakdown of the specific expenses attributable to each sub-project or activity.

2. For non-Federal funds or resources listed in Section B that are used to meet a cost-sharing or matching requirement or provided as a voluntary cost-sharing or matching commitment, you must include:

a. The specific costs or contributions by budget category;

b. The source of the costs or contributions; and

c. In the case of third-party in-kind contributions, a description of how the value was determined for the donated or contributed goods or services.

[Please review cost sharing and matching regulations found in 2 CFR 200.306.]

3. If applicable to this program, provide the rate and base on which fringe benefits are calculated.

4. If you are requesting reimbursement for indirect costs on line 10, this information is to be completed by your Business Office. Specify the estimated amount of the base to which the indirect cost rate is applied and the total indirect expense. Depending on the grant program to which you are applying and/or your approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, some direct cost budget categories in your grant application budget may not be included in the base and multiplied by your indirect cost rate. For example, you must multiply the indirect cost rates of “Training grants” (34 CFR 75.562) and grants under programs with “Supplement not Supplant” requirements ("Restricted Rate" programs) by a “modified total direct cost” (MTDC) base (34 CFR 75.563 or 76.563). Please indicate which costs are included and which costs are excluded from the base to which the indirect cost rate is applied.

When calculating indirect costs (line 10) for "Training grants" or grants under "Restricted Rate" programs, you must refer to the information and examples on ED’s website at: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

You may also contact (202) 377-3838 for additional information regarding calculating indirect cost rates or general indirect cost rate information.

5. Provide other explanations or comments you deem necessary.

Paperwork Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1894-0008. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to vary from 13 to 22 hours per response, with an average of 17.5 hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4537. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to (insert program office), U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202.

Part 3: ED Abstract Form

This section should be attached as a single document to the ED Abstract Form in accordance with the instructions found on Grants.gov and should be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process.

Ensure that you only attach the Education approved file types detailed in the Federal Register application notice (read-only, non-modifiable .pdf files). Also, do not upload any password-protected files to your application.

Please note that Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission.

When attaching files, applicants should limit the size of their file names. Lengthy file names could result in difficulties with opening and processing your application. We recommend your file names be less than 50 characters.

• Project Abstract

The project abstract is a one-page, single-spaced summary of your project. It should include the following:

1) Institution: state the official name of the applicant’s Institution or Entity

2) Eligibility: state the eligibility category the applicant meets

3) Native Language(s): Name of the Native American or Alaska Native language for instruction

4) Partners: identify any participating entities if apply as a consortium

5) Project Title: state the title of the proposed project

6) Priorities: Indicate the absolute priority and which, if any, of the competitive priorities your project is addressing

7) Project Goals: state proposed project goals, objectives, and performance outcomes

8) Project Description: state a brief description of major project activities

9) School Data: provide key school information including participating school, grades, , total number of participating Native American and Alaska Native students to be served.

10) Contact: Project Director’s name, telephone and e-mail

Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form

This section should be attached as a single document to the Project Narrative Attachment Form in accordance with the instructions found on Grants.gov and should be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process.

Ensure that you only attach the Education approved file types detailed in the Federal Register application notice (read-only, non-modifiable .pdf files). Also, do not upload any password-protected files to your application.

When attaching files, applicants should limit the size of their file names. Lengthy file names could result in difficulties with opening and processing your application. We recommend your file names be less than 50 characters.

• Table of Contents

The Table of Contents shows where and how the important sections of your proposal are organized and should not exceed one double spaced page.

• Application Narrative

The application narrative responds to the selection criteria found in this application package and should follow the order of the selection criteria. The suggested page limit for the application narrative is 35 pages. The suggested standards for the narrative include:

• A “page” is 8.5" x 11", on one side only, with 1" margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.

• Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.

• Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).

• Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font (including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.

The suggested page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the budget section, including the budget narrative justification; the consortium or partnership agreement; the assurances and certifications; or the abstract, resumes, bibliography, or other required attachments.

Note: In drafting the project narrative, applicants should keep in mind that peer reviewers must consider only the information provided in the written project narrative when scoring and commenting on the application. Therefore, applicants should draft their project narratives with the goal of helping peer reviewers understand how the narrative content addresses the selection criteria.

Selection Criteria for Project Narrative

The maximum score for all criteria is 100 points (not including competitive preference priority points). The points or weight assigned to each criterion are indicated in parentheses.

All applicants should respond to each of the Selection Criteria in the NIA published in the Federal Register. The Department and its reviewers assess the quality of applications based on how they address the Selection Criteria. They do not consider outside factors, such as personal knowledge of past performance, or subjective judgments about what an application should contain. Please note that within each Criterion reviewers use their professional judgment in awarding points on how well applicants address each Criterion as a whole. Selection Criteria and sub-criteria are listed below, but please view the NIA, Section V. Application Review Information, for more information about the selection process.

Selection Criteria	Maximum Points
Quality of the project design	15 points
Quality of project services	20 points
Quality of project personnel	10 points
Adequacy of resources	20 points
Quality of management plan	15 points
Quality of the project evaluation	20 points

(a) Quality of the project design. (Up to 15 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 goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.

(2) The extent to which the project design will ensure that students progress toward high-level fluency goals in the Native language.

(3) The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of Federal financial assistance.

(4) The extent to which the project includes a plan for data collection and reporting to track long-term student academic outcomes after the project is complete.

(b) Quality of project services. (Up to 20 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 following factors:

(1) The quality of the plan for supporting Native American or Alaska Native language education and development by providing instruction of or through the Native language. (Up to 7 points)

(2) The extent to which the project will provide professional development for teachers and, as appropriate, staff and administrators to strengthen the overall language proficiency and academic goals of the school(s) that will be served by the project, including cultural competence training to all staff in the school(s). (Up to 6 points)

(3) 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. (Up to 4 points)

(4) The extent to which the percentage of the school(s) day that instruction will be provided in the Native language is ambitious and is reasonable for the grade level and population served. (Up to 3 points)

(c) Quality of project personnel. (Up to 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 extent to which teachers of the Native language are identified as staff for this project, and have teaching experience.

(2) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of key project personnel.

(3) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of project consultants or contractors.

(d) Adequacy of resources. (Up to 20 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 applicant or a partner has experience in operating a Native language program. (Up to 10 points)

(2) The extent to which the costs of the project are reasonable in relation to the objectives and design of the proposed project. (Up to 6 points)

(3) The potential for continued support of the project after Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated commitment of appropriate entities to such support. (Up to 4 points)

(e) Quality of the management plan. (Up to 15 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 extent to which the time commitments of the project director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project.

f) Quality of the project evaluation. (Up to 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 factors:

(1) The extent to which each proposed performance target is ambitious, yet achievable, compared to the baseline for each performance measure. (Up to 8 points)

(2) The quality of the applicant’s plan to collect and report reliable, valid, and meaningful performance data, including the applicant’s capacity to collect such data, as evidenced by high-quality data collection, analysis, and reporting in other projects or research. (Up to 7 points)

(3) The extent to which the data collection and reporting methods the applicant would use to track long-term student academic outcomes after the project is complete are likely to yield reliable, valid, and meaningful performance data. (Up to 5 points)

Part 5: Budget Narrative

This section should be attached as a single document to the Budget Narrative Attachment Form in accordance with the instructions found on Grants.gov. It should be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process.

Ensure that you only attach the Education approved file types detailed in the Federal Register application notice (read-only, non-modifiable .pdf files). Also, do not upload any password-protected files to your application.

When attaching files, applicants should limit the length of their file names. Lengthy file names could result in difficulties with opening and processing your application. We recommend file names be less than 50 characters.

Each application must provide a Budget Narrative (which serves to meet the requirements of ED Form 524, Section C) for requested Federal funds. The Budget Narrative for requested Federal funds should provide a justification of how the money requested for each budget item will be spent.

This section requires an itemized budget breakdown for each project year and the basis for estimating the costs of personnel salaries, benefits, project staff travel, materials and supplies, consultants and subcontracts, indirect costs and any other projected expenditures. Be sure to complete an itemized budget breakdown and narrative for each year of the proposed project (up to 36 months).

The Budget Narrative provides an opportunity for the applicant to identify the nature and amount of the proposed expenditures. The applicant should provide sufficient detail to enable reviewers, program office staff, and project staff to understand how requested funds will be used, how much will be expended, and the relationship between the requested funds, project activities, and anticipated outcomes.

Important Note

Applicants are encouraged to review the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended in 2 CFR part 3474.

Suggested Guidelines for the Budget Narrative

In accordance with 34 CFR 75.232, Department staff perform a cost analysis of each recommended project to ensure that costs relate to the activities and objectives of the project and are reasonable, allowable and allocable. We may delete or reduce costs from the budget during this review.

To facilitate the review of your Budget Narrative, we encourage each applicant to include the following information for each year of the project:

1. Personnel

• Provide the title and duties of each position to be compensated under this project.

• Provide the salary for each position under this project.

• Provide the amounts of time, such as hours or percentage of time to be expended by each position under this project.

• Explain the importance of each position to the success of the project.

• Provide the basis for cost estimates or computations.

1. Fringe Benefits

• Give the fringe benefit percentages of all personnel included under Personnel.

• Provide the rate and base on which fringe benefits are calculated.

1. Travel

• Explain the purpose of the travel, how it relates to project success, how it aligns with the project goals and objectives and which program participants or staff will participate.

• Submit an estimate for the number of trips, points of origin and destination, and purpose of travel.

• Submit an itemized estimate of transportation and/or subsistence costs for each trip.

• Provide the basis for cost estimates or computations.

1. Equipment

• Indicate the estimated unit cost for each item to be purchased.

• Identify each type of equipment.

• Provide adequate justification of the need for items of equipment to be purchased.

• Explain the purpose of the equipment, and how it relates to project success.

• Provide the basis for cost estimates or computations.

1. Supplies

• Provide an itemized estimate of materials and supplies by nature of expense or general category (e.g., instructional materials, office supplies, etc.).

• Explain the purpose of the supplies and how they relate to project success.

• Provide the basis for cost estimates or computations.

1. Contractual

• Provide the purpose and relation to project success.

• Describe the products to be acquired, and/or the professional services to be provided.

• Provide a brief justification for the use of the contractors selected.

• Identify the name(s) of the contracting party, including consultants, if available.

• Provide the cost per contractor.

• Provide the amount of time that the project will be working with the contractor(s).

• For professional services contracts, provide the amounts of time to be devoted to the project, including the costs to be charged to this proposed grant award.

• Provide the basis for cost estimates or computations.

Note: see Important Information Regarding Professional Services Contracts below.

7. Construction

• Not applicable.

1. Other

• List and identify items by major type or category (e.g., communications, printing, postage, equipment rental, etc.).

• Provide the cost per item (printing = $500, postage = $750).

• Provide the purpose for the expenditures and relation to project success.

• Provide the basis for cost estimates or computations.

1. Total Direct Costs

• The sum of expenditures, per budget category, of lines 1-8.

1. Indirect Costs

• Identify indirect cost rate (if the applicant will charge indirect costs to the grant)

Note: Remember to provide a copy of the most recent approved indirect cost rate agreement in the Other Attachments section of the application. The indirect cost rate agreement establishes the maximum amount of indirect costs the applicant may charge to the grant. However, applicants are not required to use the full negotiated indirect cost rate, and may choose to devote greater resources to direct costs. Additionally, see Important Information Regarding Indirect Costs below.

11. Training Stipends

• Not applicable.

1. Total Costs

• Sum total of direct costs, indirect costs, and stipends.

• Please provide total costs for each year of the project as well as grand total cost for the entire project period (up 36 months)

Statutory Administrative Cost Limit

• Due to a statutory limitation, budgets cannot include administrative costs that exceed 5% of the total costs of the grant.

• We note that certain costs, such as travel, the project director salary, and evaluation, may not necessarily all be administrative but may be partly direct program cost and partly administrative.

• Please describe in sufficient detail the costs and the parts of the budget lines that you include in the calculation of administrative costs.

Note: We expect that most applicants will be able to stay within the statutory 5% maximum administrative cost. However, in unusual circumstances and to limited extent to be determined on a case-by-case basis, the Department may waive the 5% maximum administrative cost. Any applicant seeking such a waiver must include a waiver request addressing the statutory waiver criteria as part of its grant application (See Part 6: Other Attachments). Please note that it is within the discretion of the U.S. Department of Education whether to approve a particular request. Further, to the extent that the scope and objectives of an application are contingent upon approval of a waiver request, the Department's decision to deny a particular waiver request could negatively impact that application.

Budgeting for Data Collection

Applicants should include in their budget any costs needed in years 1-3 relating to data collection, including any costs for the pre- and post- assessment of Native language proficiency. In addition, under Edgar 75.250(b), the Department may fund long-term data collection (take from NIA). Applicants should also include in their budget any costs needed in years 1-3 relating to planning for this long-term data collection. These costs could be included in any of the above budget line items, including contractual and personnel.

Important Information Regarding Professional Services Contracts

Generally, applicants other than States must comply with the procurement requirements in 2 CFR 200.318 through 200.326 and States must follow the same policies and procedures they use for procurements from their non-Federal funds.

However, there are two exceptions. Under 34 CFR 75.135(a), an applicant may contract, without regard to the procurement procedures in 2 CFR part 200, to obtain services from an entity that provides a site or sites where the applicant would conduct the project activities. Also, under 34 CFR 75.135(b), an applicant may use the small purchase procedures authorized under 2 CFR 200.320(b) to procure data collection, data analysis, evaluation services, or other essential services that are needed to meet a statutory, regulatory, or priority requirement related to the competition.

If you relied on either of these exceptions please contact John Cheek by via email at [email protected] or additional guidance.

Important Information Regarding Indirect Costs

The Department reimburses grantees for the portion of indirect costs that a grantee incurs on a project funded by the NAL@ED program (CFDA Number 84.415B).

If an applicant has a current ICR agreement and intends to charge indirect costs to the NAL@ED program grant, the applicant must submit a copy of the ICR agreement as part of its application. The ICR agreement must be negotiated with and approved by the grantee’s cognizant agency, i.e., either (1) the Federal agency from which it has received the most direct funding, subject to indirect cost support; (2) the Federal agency specifically assigned cognizance by OMB; or (3) the State agency that provides the most subgrant funds to the grantee (if no direct federal awards are received). For federally-recognized tribes, the Department of Interior (DOI) is the cognizant agency.

An applicant selected for funding that has an expired ICR agreement and intends to charge indirect costs to the NAL@ED program grant must follow the Department’s regulations at 34 CFR 75.560. Those rules permit an applicant to use a temporary rate of 10 percent of budgeted direct salaries and wages while it negotiates a rate with its cognizant agency (e.g., DOI); the applicant must then submit an ICR proposal to its cognizant agency within 90 days after the Department issues the grant award notification. 34 CFR 75.560.

Applicants with no previous ICR can use a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC); these applicants do not need to negotiate for this rate. Should such an applicant decide to use this MTDC as its ICR, it must use this rate for a full fiscal year; it cannot negotiate for a different rate. 2 CFR 200.414(f).

Please note that, in accordance with OMB’s Cost Principles at 2 CFR 200, applicants that have an expiring ICR agreement can apply to the cognizant agency for a one-time extension of up to four years. 2 CFR 200.414(g). If a successful applicant has an expiring ICR agreement, after the expiration date of the original agreement the grantee will be required to submit evidence to the Department that its cognizant agency granted an extension of the ICR agreement in order to charge indirect costs to the NAL@ED program grant at the approved rate.

Note: Applicants should pay special attention to specific questions on the application budget form (ED 524) about their cognizant agency and the ICR being used in the budget. Applicants should be aware that the Department is very often not the cognizant agency for its grantees. Rather, the Department accepts the currently approved ICR established by the appropriate cognizant agency.

Applicants with questions about charging indirect costs on this program should contact the program contact person noted elsewhere in this application package.

Part 6: Other Attachments

Attach one or more documents to the Other Attachments Form in accordance with the instructions found on Grants.gov. You may provide all of the required information in a single document, or in multiple documents.

Ensure that you only attach the Education approved file types detailed in the Federal Register application notice (read-only, non-modifiable .pdf files). Also, do not upload any password-protected files to your application.

Please note that Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission.

When attaching files, applicants should limit the size of their file names. Lengthy file names could result in difficulties with opening and processing your application. We recommend your file names be less than 50 characters.

Required of All Applicants

• Applicant Information for NAL@ED program Attachment: This document provides information on the Native language for instruction, information about the school where the project is taking place, participant information, program description, and other details. The document also contains program assurances to be signed by the authorized representative of the applicant.

Required, if Applicable

• Documentation of Indian Organization: Applicants that are an Indian organization must provide adequate documentation to demonstrate that the organization meets each element of the definition of Indian organization.

• A signed Consortium Agreement

• Tribal Certification Attachment: Applicants that are either LEAs (including a public charter school that is an LEA), a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education, or a nontribal for-profit or nonprofit organization must complete the form.

• Request for Competitive Preference Priority One Attachment: Applicants that request this priority must complete this form.

• Indirect Cost Rate Agreement:

  • If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must attach a copy of its current Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) Agreement.

Administrative Cost Limit Waiver Request: An applicant may request the Department to waive the administrative cost limits by adhering to the detailed requirements for waiver requests in Section 8401 of the ESEA (20 USC §7861), which is available on the U.S. General Printing Office website at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2015-title20/pdf/USCODE-2015-title20-chap70-subchapVIII-partD-sec7861.pdf

Optional

• Bibliography or References (optional)

• Other Supporting Documentation: Applicants are allowed to include other documentation that is not required elsewhere in the application. The reviewers are not required to consider the information within these optional documents in their determination of the quality of the application based on the selection criteria. Applicants are reminded that they should carefully read the “Application Submission” guidelines.

Attachment: Applicant Information for NAL@ED program

Note: This document is required for all applicants. An applicant must include this information in Part 6 of its application as an uploaded document.

Applicant Name______________________________________

Instructional language

Name of the Native American or Alaska Native language for instruction: __________________________

School information

Select the name of the governing entity of the school in which the project will take place:

• local educational agency

• tribal educational agency or department

• charter organization

• private organization

• other governing entity Name: ____________________

Organizational information

School’s accreditation status:

a. If applicable, list any partnerships with institutions of higher education.

b. If applicable, list any indigenous language schooling and research cooperatives.

Grade level

Grade level(s) for targeted students in proposed project: ________________

Pre- and Post- assessments.

1. Is a pre- and post- assessment of Native language proficiency available? Yes/No

2. Will grant funds be used for developing a pre- and post- assessment of Native language proficiency? Yes/No

Program Participants

Total number of students attending the school	Number of students to be served by the project

Instructional Hours

Total number of instructional hours per week at the school	The number of hours of instruction per week in which the Native American or Alaska Native language will be taught, or in which instruction will be given in that language.

Project Description

Provide a description of how the applicant will use the funds provided to support Native American or Alaska Native language education and development, and provide professional development to staff, in order to strengthen the overall language and academic goals of the school(s) that will be served by the project; ensure the implementation of rigorous academic content; and ensure that students progress toward high-level fluency goals in the Native language.

Program Assurance

The applicant assures that—

(a) the school in which the project will be located is engaged in meeting State or tribally designated long-term goals for students, as may be required by applicable Federal, State, or tribal law;

(b) the school provides assessments of students using the Native American or Alaska Native language of instruction, where possible;

(c) the qualifications of all instructional and leadership personnel at such school is sufficient to deliver high-quality education through the Native American or Alaska Native language used in the school; and

(d) the school will collect and report to the public data relative to student achievement and, if appropriate, rates of high school graduation, career readiness, and enrollment in postsecondary education or workforce development programs, of students who are enrolled in the school’s programs.

Signed by the following authorized representative of the applicant:

Name__________________________________________________ Date: ________________

Title: __________________________________________________

Attachment: Tribal Certification

Note: This document is required for non-tribal applicants. An applicant described below must include this information in Part 6 of its application as an uploaded document.

Directions: An applicant that is an LEA (including a public charter school that is an LEA), a school operated by the BIE or a nontribal for-profit or nonprofit organization must attach this certification, signed by an authorized representative of one of the following, on whose land the school or program is located, or that is an entity served by the school, or whose members are served by the school: an Indian tribe or tribal organization, a TCU, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation or an Alaska Native nonprofit organization or a Native Hawaiian organization.

Applicant Agency Name: ____________________________________________________

Applicant Type:

• A local educational agency, including a public charter school

• A school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education.

• A nontribal for-profit or nonprofit organization.

I hereby certify that:

a. The school in which the project will take place, or the applicant organization, has the capacity to provide education primarily through a Native American or an Alaska Native language.

b. There will be sufficient speakers of the target language at the school or available to be hired by the school or applicant organization.

The entity signing below is (check one):

• an Indian tribe or tribal organization

• a Tribal College or University

• an Alaska Native Regional Corporation or an Alaska Native nonprofit organization

• a Native Hawaiian organization

The entity signing below is connected to the applicant by the following (check all that apply):

• the school or program is located on our land

• our organization or members are served by the school

Signed by the following authorized official representative of the organization:

_______________________________ ______________________ _____________

Name and Title Organization Date

Attachment: Competitive Preference Priority One

Note: This document is only required if requesting consideration for Competitive Preference Priority 1. An applicant must include this information in Part 6 of its application as an uploaded document.

Directions for Competitive Preference Point One: Five points are awarded to an application for a project in which either the lead applicant or a partner receives, or is eligible to receive, a formula grant under title VI of the ESEA, and commits to use all or part of that formula grant to help sustain this project after conclusion of the grant period.

Name of entity with Title VI grant _______________________________________________

Title VI formula grant to LEAs Identification: PR# S060A1___________

Current Application Cycle for SY 2017-2018:

• Single-Year Application

• Multi-Year Application

• Continuing Multi-Year Application (Year ___ of 4)

Does your application type require a Parent Committee?

• Yes

• No

Describe the following:

1) What school year will the applicant begin using the Title VI formula grant funds to help support this project? SY ________________________________

2) What percentage of the Title VI grant will be used for this project? ________________

3) If parent committee input and approval will need to be obtained, how will you communicate this to the parent committee, and what is the timeline for obtaining approval for the change in activities on the Title VI application?

Part 7: Assurances and Certifications

Be certain to complete all required assurances and certification in Grants.gov, and include all required information in the appropriate place on each form.

The following assurances and certifications required for this application are:

• Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF 424B Form)

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF LLL Form)

• Certification Regarding Lobbying (ED 80-0013 Form)

• General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) Requirements – Section 427

The following survey is optional and is applicable only to nonprofit private organizations:

• Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants (Form 1890-0014): Applicable to nonprofit private organizations only.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF SF-LLL, DISCLOSURE OF LOBBYING ACTIVITIES

This disclosure form shall be completed by the reporting entity, whether subawardee or prime Federal recipient, at the initiation or receipt of a covered Federal action, or a material change to a previous filing, pursuant to title 31 U.S.C. section 1352. The filing of a form is required for each payment or agreement to make payment to any lobbying entity for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with a covered Federal action. Complete all items that apply for both the initial filing and material change report. Refer to the implementing guidance published by the Office of Management and Budget for additional information.

1. Identify the type of covered Federal action for which lobbying activity is and/or has been secured to influence the outcome of a covered Federal action.

2. Identify the status of the covered Federal action.

3. Identify the appropriate classification of this report. If this is a follow up report caused by a material change to the information previously reported, enter the year and quarter in which the change occurred. Enter the date of the last previously submitted report by this reporting entity for this covered Federal action.

4. Enter the full name, address, city, State and zip code of the reporting entity. Include Congressional District, if known. Check the appropriate classification of the reporting entity that designates if it is, or expects to be, a prime or subaward recipient. Identify the tier of the subawardee, e.g., the first subawardee of the prime is the 1st tier. Subawards include but are not limited to subcontracts, subgrants and contract awards under grants.

5. If the organization filing the report in item 4 checks “Subawardee,” then enter the full name, address, city, State and zip code of the prime Federal recipient. Include Congressional District, if known.

6. Enter the name of the federal agency making the award or loan commitment. Include at least one organizational level below agency name, if known. For example, Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard.

7. Enter the Federal program name or description for the covered Federal action (item 1). If known, enter the full Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for grants, cooperative agreements, loans, and loan commitments.

8. Enter the most appropriate Federal identifying number available for the Federal action identified in item 1 (e.g., Request for Proposal (RFP) number; Invitations for Bid (IFB) number; grant announcement number; the contract, grant, or loan award number; the application/proposal control number assigned by the Federal agency). Included prefixes, e.g., “RFP-DE-90-001.”

9. For a covered Federal action where there has been an award or loan commitment by the Federal agency, enter the Federal amount of the award/loan commitment for the prime entity identified in item 4 or 5.

10. (a) Enter the full name, address, city, State and zip code of the lobbying registrant under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 engaged by the reporting entity identified in item 4 to influence the covered Federal action.

(b) Enter the full names of the individual(s) performing services, and include full address if different from 10(a). Enter Last name, First name, and Middle Initial (MI).

11. The certifying official shall sign and date the form, print his/her name, title, and telephone number.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act, as amended, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control Number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is OMB No. 0348-0046. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0348-0046), Washington, DC 20503

Instructions for Meeting the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) Section 427 Requirements

All applicants for new awards must include information in their applications to address this new provision in order to receive funding under this program.

Section 427 requires each applicant for funds (other than an individual person) to include in its application a description of the steps the applicant proposes to take to ensure equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally-assisted program for students, teachers, and other program beneficiaries with special needs.

This provision allows applicants discretion in developing the required description. The statute highlights six types of barriers that can impede equitable access or participation: gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age.

A general statement of an applicant’s nondiscriminatory hiring policy is not sufficient to meet this requirement. Applicants must identify potential barriers and explain steps they will take to overcome these barriers.

Please review the Notice to all Applicants (included in the electronic application package in Grants.gov) for further information on meeting the provisions in the Department of Education's General Education Provisions Act (GEPA).

Applicants are required to address this provision by attaching a statement (not to exceed three pages) to ED GEPA 427 form that is included in the electronic application package in Grants.gov.

Part 8: Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (Executive Order 12372)

This program falls under the rubric of Executive Order 12372 (Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs) and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79. However, federally-recognized tribes are not subject to these requirements.

One of the objectives of the Executive order is to strengthen federalism--or the distribution of responsibility between localities, States, and the Federal government--by fostering intergovernmental partnerships. This idea includes supporting processes that State or local governments have devised for coordinating and reviewing proposed Federal financial grant applications.

The process for doing this requires grant applicants to contact State Single Points of Contact for information on how this works. Multi-state applicants should follow procedures specific to each state.

Further information about the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) process and a list of names by State can be found at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc

Absent specific State review programs, applicants may submit comments directly to the Department. All recommendations and comments must be mailed or hand-delivered by the date indicated in the actual application notice to the following address: The Secretary, EO 12372—CFDA #84.415B, U.S. Department of Education, room 7E200, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202.

Proof of mailing will be determined on the same basis as applications (see 34 CFR §75.102). Recommendations or comments may be hand-delivered until 4:30:00 p.m. (Washington, DC time) on the closing date indicated in this notice.

Important note: The above address is not the same address as the one to which the applicant submits its completed applications. Do not send applications to the above address.

Not all states have chosen to participate in the intergovernmental review process, and therefore do not have a SPOC. If you are located in a State that does not have a SPOC, you may send application materials directly to the Department as described in the Federal Register notice.

Reporting and Accountability

Successful applicants with multi-year grants must submit an APR demonstrating their progress in meeting approved project objectives. Grantees must also provide the most current financial and performance measure data for each year of the project.

At the end of the project period, applicants will also be required to submit a final performance report.

Each grantee is required under section 6133 of the ESEA to submit annually to the Secretary information on the activities carried out with these grant funds, the number of children served by the project, and the number of instructional hours in the Native American language.

Under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the following performance indicators have been established to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the Program:

Measure 1: The number and percentage of participating students who attain proficiency in a Native language as determined by each grantee through pre- and post-assessments of Native language proficiency.

Measure 2: The number and percentage of participating students who make progress in learning a Native language, as determined by each grantee through pre- and post-assessments of Native language proficiency.

Measure 3: The number and percentage of participating students who show an improvement in academic outcomes, as measured by academic assessments or other indicators.

Measure 4: The difference between the average daily attendance of participating students and the average daily attendance of all students in the comparison group (e.g. school, LEA, SEA, other).

These measures constitute the Department’s indicator of success for this program. Consequently, we advise an applicant for a grant under this program to give careful consideration to these measures in conceptualizing the approach and evaluation for its proposed project. Each grantee will be required to provide, in its annual performance and final reports, data about its progress in meeting these measures.

For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please go to the ED Performance Report Form 524B at http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

Legal and Regulatory Information

Notice Inviting Applications

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