Professional Development Grants for Indian Children Appl

Application for New Grants Under the Indian Education Professional Development Plan (1894-0001)

1810-0580 FY18 PD Application Package

Application for New Grants Under the Indian Education Professional Developement Program CFDA 84.299B

OMB: 1810-0580

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U.S. Department of Education

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Washington, D.C.


Fiscal Year


Application for New Grants Under

the Program


CFDA

















Dated Material - Open Immediately

Closing Date: [DATE], 2018







Approved OMB Number: 1810-0580

Expiration Date: 09/30/2018

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 30 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 Elementary and Secondary Education 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 20210-4537 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 1810-0580. Note: Please do not return the completed Indian Education Professional Development application to this address.



If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Angela Hernandez-Marshall, Indian Education Professional Development program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 3W113, Washington, D.C. 20202-6200.


Table of Contents



United States Department of Education

O ffice of Elementary and Secondary Education

Office of Indian Education

Dear Colleague:


Thank you for your interest in the Indian Education Professional Development program, administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education (Department).


In December 2015, Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Under ESSA the Department continues to build on its investments and initiatives that support Indian tribes and organizations, State and local educational agencies, postsecondary institutions, and other entities to meet the unique educational and culturally-related needs of Native youth.


To this end, the Fiscal Year (FY 18) notice inviting applications places an increased emphasis on ensuring that Professional Development grants seek to train, place and support the retention of individuals who go on to work as teachers and administrators in local education agencies, including Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools, that serve high proportions of Indian students. The NIA also includes this year (1) a new competitive preference priority for recruiting individuals to teach in the subject areas of science, technology, engineering, math, or computer science, (2) an increase in the total grant period from 48 to 60 months and (3) a corresponding increase in time for induction services, from one year to two years. And, as part of a broader effort to reduce barriers for applicants seeking funds under a Department of Education (Department) discretionary grant competition, the Department has issued a set of Common Instructions for Applicants available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf and also in this application package. 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 Department’s e-Application System within the G5 grant portal.


Using FY 2018 funds, the Department expects to award $6,300,000 for new grants under this competition. We will award discretionary grants on a competitive basis for a project period of up to 60 months. Grants are expected to be awarded by September 2018.


Please visit our program website at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/indianprofdev/index.html for further information, including pre-application webinar events. If you have any questions about the program after reviewing the application package, please contact Angela Hernandez-Marshall, Indian Education Professional Development Grants, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW room 3W113, Washington, D.C. 20202-6335, Angela.Hernandez-Marshall, (202) 205-1909.


Tara Ramsey

Acting Director

Office of Indian Education

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education


Program Background Information


Program Overview

The purposes of the Indian Education Professional Development Grants program that are relevant to this competition are to increase the number of qualified Indian individuals in professions that serve local education agencies (LEAs), including BIE schools, with a high proportion of Indian students; and to provide training to qualified Indian individuals to become teachers and administrators. .


Authority

This grant program is authorized under Section 6122 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 7442, as amended.


Official Documents Notice

The official document governing this competition is the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) published in the Federal Register on [DATE]. (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.


Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include

(1) An institution of higher education, including a tribal college or university (TCU);

(2) A State educational agency in consortium with an institution of higher education;

(3) An LEA in consortium with an institution of higher education;

(4) An Indian tribe or Indian organization in consortium with an institution of higher education; or

(5) A Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded school, in consortium with at least one TCU, where feasible.


Eligibility of an applicant requiring a consortium with an institution of higher education requires that the institution of higher education be accredited to provide the coursework and level of degree required by the project.


An applicant applying as an Indian organization must demonstrate that the lead entity meets the definition of “Indian organization.”


Competition Priorities


Priorities

This competition contains two absolute priorities, and four competitive preference priorities. We are establishing these priorities for the FY 2018 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition.



Absolute Priority One: Pre-Service training for teachers


Projects that –

(i) Provide support and training to Indian individuals to complete a pre-service education program before the end of the award period that enables the individuals to meet the requirements for full State certification or licensure as a teacher through-- (A) Training that leads to a degree in education; or (B) For States allowing a degree in a specific subject area, training that leads to a degree in the subject area; or (C) Training in a current or new specialized teaching assignment that requires a degree and in which a documented teacher shortage exists; and

(ii) Provide two years of induction services, during the award period, to participants after graduation, certification, or licensure, while they are completing their first two years of work as teachers in LEAs (including BIE-funded schools) that serve a high proportion of Indian students; and

(iii) Include goals for the - (A) Number of participants to be recruited each year; (B) Number of participants to continue in the project each year; (C) Number of participants to graduate each year; and (D) Number of participants to find qualifying jobs within twelve months of completion.



Absolute Priority Two: Pre-service administrator training


Projects that

(i) Provide support and training to Indian individuals to complete a graduate degree in education administration that is provided before the end of the award period and that allows participants to meet the requirements for State certification or licensure as an education administrator; and

(ii) Provide two years of induction services, during the award period, to participants after graduation, certification, or licensure, while they are completing their first two years of work as administrators in LEAs (including BIE-funded schools) that serve a high proportion of Indian students; and

(iii) Include goals for the-- (A) Number of participants to be recruited each year; (B) Number of participants to continue in the project each year; (C) Number of participants to graduate each year; and (D) Number of participants to find qualifying jobs within twelve months of completion.



Competitive Preference Priorities (CPPs): For FY 2018 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition, these priorities are competitive preference priorities. Applicants may be eligible for either CPP Two or CPP Three, but not both; therefore the maximum number of CPP points allowable is 13. These thirteen points are in addition the maximum 100 points possible in the Selection Criteria, described later in this application package


Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii) we give preference to an application that meets one or more of these priorities over an application of comparable merit that does not meet the priorities.



CPP One

We award three points to a project that includes a letter of support signed by the authorized representative of a an LEA or BIE-funded school that agrees to consider program graduates for qualifying employment and that serves a high proportion of Indian students.



CPP Two

We award five points to a project submitted by an Indian tribe, Indian organization, or TCU that is eligible to participate in the Professional Development 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 be considered eligible to receive preference under this priority only if the lead applicant for the consortium is the Indian tribe, Indian organization, or TCU. In order to be considered a consortium application, the application must include the consortium agreement, signed by all parties. An applicant that receives five points for this CPP is not eligible to receive three points under CPP Three.



CPP Three

We award three points to a consortium application of eligible entities whose lead is non-tribal that-- (i) Meets the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129 and includes an Indian tribe, Indian organization, or Indian institution of higher education; and (ii) Is not eligible to receive a preference under competitive preference priority two.


CPP Four

We award up to five points to a project that is designed to increase the opportunities for high-quality preparation of, or professional development for, teachers or other educators of science, technology, engineering, math, or computer science.


For this priority, peer reviewers will evaluate and score applications according to the following two rubrics, which we are establishing for the FY 2018 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition,  in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1).




CPP Four- Teacher Training Applications

Points

Criteria

0

Applicant does not make any reference to opportunities for preparation of, or professional development for, teachers in the area of STEM or computer science subjects.

1

Applicant proposes requiring a very short-term (e.g., one-day), stand-alone workshop on select instructional strategies around one or more STEM or computer science subjects during the training program. For example, the training may cover (1) content knowledge acquisition of the STEM or computer science subjects that participants may teach as well as related instructional strategies; (2) how to teach inquiry-based learning; (3) teachers’ use of technology tools, lab equipment or other specialized tools to enhance student learning experiences; (4) how to incorporate experiential learning opportunities in formal and informal settings; or (5) how to facilitate students’ skills attainment in high-demand STEM or computer-science related occupations in the regional job market.

2

Applicant proposes required participation in a short-term (e.g., one-week) stand-alone workshop on employing two or more instructional strategies (for example, those mentioned in the enumerated items above) around one or more of the STEM or computer science subjects during the training program.


3

Applicant proposes required participation in a one semester course that includes training in three or more instructional strategies and teaching practices to support student achievement in STEM or computer science subjects (for example, those mentioned in the second enumerated item above) around one or more of the STEM or computer science subjects during the training program.


4

Applicant proposes required participation in a year-long program course/course sequence that provides in-depth training in five or more instructional strategies and pedagogical practices (for example, those mentioned in the second enumerated item above) to support student achievement in STEM or computer science subjects.

5

The same as the criteria for 4 points, as well as required job-embedded activities during the induction period that support application of the knowledge and skills acquired in the course.



CPP Four- Administrator Training Applications

Points

Criteria

0

Applicant does not make any reference to opportunities for preparation of, or professional development for, administrators in the area of STEM or computer science subjects.

1

Applicant proposes requiring a very short-term (e.g., one-day), stand-alone workshop on select administrative practices or instructional leader strategies around one or more STEM or computer science subjects during the training program. For example, the training could include one or more of the following administrative strategies, specific to one or more STEM or computer science subjects: 1) gain new knowledge and understanding of how to effectively leverage resources for STEM or computer science instruction, or 2) identify, establish and leverage external partners in the community and region that can support student achievement and/or career and technical education opportunities in STEM or computer science subjects; 3) employing strategies for substantially increasing the STEM or computer science knowledge and teaching skills of teachers; 4) aligning STEM or computer science curriculum, instruction and assessment with the academic goals of the school or LEA; and 5) fostering opportunities for active participation of teachers, other school leaders, parents, and representatives of Indian tribes to inform goals around STEM teaching and learning.

2

Applicant proposes requiring participation in a short-term (e.g., one-week) stand-alone workshop on employing two or more administrative practices or instructional leader strategies (for example, those mentioned in the second enumerated item above) around one or more of the STEM or computer science subjects during the training program.

3

Applicant proposes required participation in a one semester course on employing three or more administrative practices or instructional leader strategies (for example, those mentioned in the second enumerated item above) around one or more of the STEM or computer science subjects during the training program.

4

Applicant proposes required participation in a year-long program course/course sequence that provides in-depth training in five or more administrative practices or instructional leader strategies (for example, those mentioned in the enumerated items above) to support student achievement in STEM or computer science subjects.

5

The same as the criteria for 4 points, as well as required job-embedded activities during the induction period that support application of knowledge and skills acquired in the course.



Program Contact

Please contact Angela Hernandez-Marshall by telephone at (202) 205-1909 or via email at [email protected] after reviewing the application package if you have any questions about the program.

Project Period

The project period for this grant is up to 60 months (5 budget periods of 12 months each).

Note: Continuation of each successive grant period is subject to satisfactory performance, submission of an annual report, and availability of funds. We will award grants for an initial period of not more than 3 years, and may renew such grants for an additional period of not more than 2 years if we find that the grantee is achieving the objectives of the grant.


Grant Award Estimations

We estimate that awards will range annually from $300,000 - $400,000. We expect to award 18 grants. We will not make an award exceeding $400,000 for the first, second, or third 12-month budget period. The last two 12-month budget periods will be limited to induction services only, at a cost not to exceed $120,000 per year. We will not make an award exceeding $120,000 for the fourth or fifth 12-month budget period.

Application Due Date

Applications must be submitted on or before [DATE]. Please note that the Department of Education (Department) grant application deadlines are 4:30:00 P.M. Eastern time.

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

Submit applications for grants under the program electronically using Grants.gov. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, please refer to the Department’s Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf and later in this application package. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements.

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. Certain eligibility requirements can be addressed by applicants in the application narrative, as they are included under the selection criteria. If these application requirements are fully addressed in the narrative then no further evidence is required (see Part 4, Project Narrative Attachment Form).

Required of All Applicants

Along with the application narrative, an applicant must:

  1. Submit Individual Resumes for Project Directors and Key Personnel: Provide brief resumes or job descriptions that describe their qualifications for the responsibilities they will carry out under the project.

  2. Submit Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

:

  1. Describe how the project will recruit qualified Indian individuals, such as students who may not be of traditional college age, to become teachers, principals, or school leaders. Applicants may address this requirement in their project narrative, for example, under selection criterion Quality of Project Design, subcriterion (2).

  2. Describe how the project will use funds made available under the grant to support recruitment, preparation, and professional development of Indian teachers or principals in local education agencies (including BIE-funded schools) that have a high proportion of Indian students. Applicants may address these requirements in their project narrative responses to selection criterion Quality of Project Design, subcriterion (3), and Quality of Project Services, subcriteria (1) and (3)).

  3. Describe how the project will assist participants in meeting the payback requirements. Applicants may address this requirement in their project narrative responses to Quality of Project Services, subcriterion (5).

  4. Describe how the application meets either Absolute Priority 1 or 2. The description of the two years of induction services could be addressed in the project narrative, Quality of Project Services, subcriterion (4). The numeric participant goals could be addressed under Quality of Project Design, subcriterion (1).


If items 3-6 are addressed in the project narrative, we request that you upload a brief statement in Part 6 indicating where each is located in the narrative (e.g., page numbers). If any of these four elements are not addressed in the project narrative, you must upload a statement in Part 6 that addresses the required element.

Required, if Applicable

  1. Documentation of Indian Organization: Applicants that include an Indian organization must provide adequate documentation to demonstrate that the organization meets each element of the definition of Indian organization (See the definition listed in 34 CFR 263.3)

  2. Signed Letter(s) of Support (CPP One), if applicable

  3. Signed Consortium Agreement, if applicable

  4. STEM Supporting Narrative (CPP Four), if applicable (or a statement indicating where in the project narrative this information is located)



ISDEAA Hiring Preference Requirements

Awards that are primarily for the benefit of Indians are subject to the provisions of section 7(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (Pub. L. 93-638). That section requires that, to the greatest extent feasible, a grantee--

(1) Give to Indians preferences and opportunities for training and employment in connection with the administration of the grant; and

(2) 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.

For purposes of this section, an Indian is a member of any federally recognized Indian tribe.



Definitions


BIE-funded school means a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) school, a contract or grant school, or a school for which assistance is provided under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988.


Computer Science means the study of computers and algorithmic processes and includes the study of computing principles and theories, computational thinking, computer hardware, software design, coding, analytics, and computer applications. Computer science often includes computer programming or coding as a tool to create software, including applications, games, websites, and tools to manage or manipulate data; or development and management of computer hardware and the other electronics related to sharing, securing, and using digital information.

In addition to coding, the expanding field of computer science emphasizes computational thinking and interdisciplinary problem-solving to equip students with the skills and abilities necessary to apply computation in our digital world. Computer science does not include using a computer for everyday activities, such as browsing the internet; use of tools like word processing, spreadsheets, or presentation software; or using computers in the study and exploration of unrelated subjects.


Department means the U.S. Department of Education


Dependent allowance means costs for the care of minor children under the age of 18 who reside with the training participant and for whom the participant has responsibility. The term does not include financial obligations for payment of child support required of the participant.


Full course load means the number of credit hours that the institution requires of a full-time student.


Full-time student means a student who—

(1) Is a degree candidate for a baccalaureate or graduate degree;

(2) Carries a full course load; and

(3) Is not employed for more than 20 hours a week.


Good standing means a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 grade point scale in which failing grades are computed as part of the average, or another appropriate standard established by the institution.


Graduate degree means a post-baccalaureate degree awarded by an institution of higher education.


Indian means an individual who is--

(1) A member of an Indian tribe or band, as membership is defined by the Indian tribe or band, including any tribe or band terminated since 1940, and any tribe or band recognized by the State in which the tribe or band resides;

(2) A descendant of a parent or grandparent who meets the requirements described in paragraph (1) of this definition;

(3) Considered by the Secretary of the Interior to be an Indian for any purpose;

(4) An Eskimo, Aleut, or other Alaska Native; or

(5) A member of an organized Indian group that received a grant under the Indian Education Act of 1988 as it was in effect on October 19, 1994.


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.


Induction services means services provided after participants complete their training program and during their first two years of teaching. Induction services support and improve participants’ professional performance and promote their retention in the field of education and teaching. They include, at a minimum, these activities:

  1. High-quality mentoring, coaching, and consultation services for the participant to improve performance;

  2. Access to research materials and information on teaching and learning;

  3. Assisting new teachers with use of technology in the classroom and use of data, particularly student achievement data, for classroom instruction;

  4. Clear, timely, and useful feedback on performance, provided in coordination with the participant’s supervisor; and

  5. Periodic meetings or seminars for participants to enhance collaboration, feedback, and peer networking and support.


In-service training means activities and opportunities designed to enhance the skills and abilities of individual in their current areas of employment.


Institution of higher education means an accredited college or university within the United States that awards a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree.


Participant means an Indian individual who is being trained under the Professional Development program.


Payback means work related service or cash reimbursement to the Department of Education for the training received under the Professional Development program.


Pre-service training means training to Indian individuals to prepare them to meet the requirements for licensing or certification in a professional field requiring at least a baccalaureate degree.


Professional development activities means pre-service or in-service training offered to enhance the skills and abilities of individual participants.


Qualifying Job means employment in the participant’s field of study under this program, in an LEA (including a BIE-funded school) that serves a high proportion of Indian students.


Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of Education or an official or employee of the Department acting for the Secretary under a delegation of authority.


Stipend means that portion of an award that is used for room, board, and personal living expenses for full-time participants who are living at or near the institution providing the training.


Frequently Asked Questions

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Application Procedures


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/programs/indianprofdev/applicant.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 Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf and included in this application package for your quick reference.

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

  • If you do not understand an instruction or requirement, contact Angela Hernandez-Marshall, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education, Room 3W113, Washington, D.C. 20202. Telephone: (202) 205-1909 or by email: Angela.Hernandez-Marshall 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 Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf, and in this application package, you must submit your application electronically.

What Happens Next?

  • Once the Department 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 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track-my-application.html. Please refer to this PR/Award number if you need to contact us about your application.

  • The Department screens 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, not including competitive preference priority (CPP) points (up to 13 CPP points possible), 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 Deadline

The deadline for submission of Indian Education Professional Development Program applications through Grants.gov is [DATE].


Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs

The application and submission information that follows comes directly from the Department’s Common Instructions, referenced in the NIA and available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf.


Application and Submission Information


1. Address To Request Application Package: You can obtain an application package from the Department’s website or Grants.gov. To obtain a copy via the Department’s website, use the following address: www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements concerning the content and form of an application, together with the forms you must submit, are in the application package for the program.

3. Submission Dates and Times: Submit applications for grants under the program electronically using Grants.gov. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, please refer to Other Submission Requirements in section 5 of these instructions. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact Angela Hernandez-Marshall at [email protected] or 202-205-1909.

If the Department provides an accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the application process, the individual’s application remains subject to all other requirements and limitations in the competition NIA.

4. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification Number, and System for Award Management: To do business with the Department, and to submit your application electronically using Grants.gov, you must—

a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), the Government’s primary registrant database;

c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and

d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information while your application is under review by the Department and, if you are awarded a grant, during the project period.


You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet at the following website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. A DUNS number can be created within one to two business days. If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the IRS or the Social Security Administration. If you need a new TIN, please allow two to five weeks for your TIN to become active.


The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the completeness and accuracy of the data you enter into the SAM.gov database. Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal financial assistance under a program administered by the Department, please allow sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number and TIN. We strongly recommend that you register early. Note: Once your SAM.gov registration is active, it may be 24 to 48 hours before you

can access the information in, and submit an application through, Grants.gov. If you are currently registered with SAM.gov, you may not need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note

that you will need to update your registration annually. This may take three or more business days.


Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM.gov or updating your existing SAM account,

we have prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet, which you can find at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/samfaqs.html. In addition, in order to submit your

application via Grants.gov, you must (1) register as an applicant using your DUNS number; and (2) be designated by your organization’s E-Biz Point of Contact as an Authorized Organization

Representative (AOR). Details on these steps are outlined at the following Grants.gov web page: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html.

5. Other Submission Requirements:

a. Electronic Submission of Applications. We are participating as a partner in the Government-wide Grants.gov site. Submit applications electronically using Grants.gov and do not email them unless explicitly allowed in a competition NIA. On December 31, 2017, Grants.gov retired the Legacy PDF format for submitting grant applications. A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. An

applicant can create an individual Workspace for each application notice and establish for that application a collaborative application package that allows more than one person in the applicant’s organization to work concurrently on an application. The Grants.gov system also enables the applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions, check them in and out to complete them, and submit the application package. For access to further instructions on how to apply using Grants.gov, refer to: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.

You may access the electronic grant applications at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include

the CFDA number’s alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.299 not 84.299B).

Please note the following:


  • Applicants needing assistance with Grants.gov may contact the Grants.gov Support Center either by calling 1–800–518–4726 or by sending an email to [email protected]. The Grants.gov Support Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for

Federal holidays.


  • Applications received by Grants.gov are date- and time-stamped upon submission. 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., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if it is received—that is, date- and timestamped by the Grants.gov system—after 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application because it was late.


  • 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 leave yourself plenty of time to complete your submission.


  • You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for the program to ensure that you submit your application on time. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department’s G5 system home page at www.G5.gov. In addition, for specific guidance and procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov, please

refer to the Grants.gov website at: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.


  • When you submit your application electronically, all documents must be submitted in this manner, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: The Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental

Information for SF 424, Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.


  • When you submit your application electronically, you must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in a read-only flattened Portable Document Format (PDF), meaning any fillable documents must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files. Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-fillable PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a password-protected file, we will be unable to review that material. Please note that this will likely result in your application not being considered for funding. The Department will not convert material from other formats to PDF.


  • After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. Grants.gov also will notify you automatically by email if your application met all of the Grants.gov validation requirements or if there were any errors (such as submission of your application by someone other than a registered AOR, issues with your DUNS number, or inclusion of an attachment with a file name that contains special characters). You will be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you must still meet the deadline for submission of applications. Once your application is successfully validated by Grants.gov, the Department will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send you an email with a unique PR/Award number for your application.


Email confirmations and receipts from Grants.gov do not indicate receipt by the Department, nor do they mean that your application is complete or has met all application requirements. While your application may have been successfully validated by Grants.gov, it also must be reviewed in accordance with the Department’s application requirements as specified in the competition NIA and in these application instructions. It is your responsibility to ensure that your submitted application has met all of the Department’s requirements. Additionally, we may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date.


Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System: If you experience problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk immediately, toll-free, at 1–800–518–4726. The Grants.gov Support Center will provide you with a ticket number documenting your communication. You must retain

your ticket number for future reference as proof of your communication with the Support Center. Please subsequently contact a person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in the competition NIA and provide an explanation of the technical problem

you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number.

If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline

date because of technical problems within the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, provided we can verify the technical issues affected your ability to submit your application on time via your Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to technical problems with the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register in order to submit your application to Grants.gov (including with the required DUNS number and TIN currently registered in SAM) before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you

experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.


b. Submission of Paper Applications. We discourage paper applications, but if electronic submission is not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the internet), you must provide a written statement that you intend to submit a paper application. Send this written statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth

calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday). If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. Please send this statement to a person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of the competition NIA. If you submit a paper application, 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), 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.


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. We will not consider applications

postmarked after the application deadline date.


Note for Mail Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail your application to the Department—

(1) You must indicate on the envelope and 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 Application Control Center at (202) 245–6288.


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

ATTENTION – Workspace, Adobe Forms and PDF Files Required

Grants.gov applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement (FOA), you can create individual instances of a workspace.

Below is an overview of applying on Grants.gov. For access to complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

  1. Create a Workspace: Creating a workspace allows you to complete it online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.

2) Complete a Workspace: Add participants to the workspace to work on the application together, complete all the required forms online or by downloading PDF versions, and check for errors before submission. The Workspace progress bar will display the state of your application process as you apply. As you apply using Workspace, you may click the blue question mark icon near the upper-right corner of each page to access context-sensitive help.

a. Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out web forms you can download individual PDF forms in Workspace. The individual PDF forms can be downloaded and saved to your local device storage, network drive(s), or external drives, then accessed through Adobe Reader. NOTE: Visit the Adobe Software Compatibility page on Grants.gov to download the appropriate version of the software at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

b. Mandatory Fields in Forms: In the forms, you will note fields marked with an asterisk and a different background color. These fields are mandatory fields that must be completed to successfully submit your application.

c. Complete SF-424 Fields First: The forms are designed to fill in common required fields across other forms, such as the applicant name, address, and DUNS Number. Once it is completed, the information will transfer to the other forms.

  1. Submit a Workspace: An application may be submitted through workspace by clicking the Sign and Submit button on the Manage Workspace page, under the Forms tab. Grants.gov recommends submitting your application package at least 24-48 hours prior to the close date to provide you with time to correct any potential technical issues that may disrupt the application submission.

  2. Track a Workspace Submission: After successfully submitting a workspace application, a Grants.gov Tracking Number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) is automatically assigned to the application. The number will be listed on the Confirmation page that is generated after submission. Using the tracking number, access the Track My Application page under the Applicants tab or the Details tab in the submitted workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

Helpful Reminders

  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

  1. 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.

  1. 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 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. 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. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)



Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov

Please go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.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 as well as additional information on Workspace at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#workspace.

Dial-Up Internet Connections

  1. 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, flattened .PDF files in their application:

  • Ensure that you attach .PDF files only for any attachments to your application, and they must be in a read-only, flattened 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf) and in this application package under Application Submission Procedures.

In accordance with 34 CFR 75.216 (b) and (c) 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 web forms and 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 a compatible version is available on Grants.gov. Also, please review the Application Submission Procedures and in particular the Grants.gov 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


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


Part 1: Preliminary Documents

  • 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 (two pages maximum recommended)


Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form

  • Application Narrative (30-page maximum recommended)


Part 5: Budget Narrative Attachment Form

  • Budget Narrative


Part 6: Other Attachments

Required

  • Individual Resumes for Project Directors & Key Personnel

  • Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

  • Description of proposed recruitment activities

  • Description of use funds to support recruitment, preparation, and professional development

  • Description of payback support

  • Description of meeting Absolute Priority 1 or 2

Required, if applicable

  • Proof of Indian Organization, if applicable (see definition section)

  • Signed Letter(s) of Support (CPP One), if applicable

  • Signed Consortium Agreement , if applicable

  • STEM Supporting Narrative (CPP Four), if applicable


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 GEPA 427 Form)


Part 8: Intergovernmental Review (Executive Order 12372)

  • State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) List




Part 1: Preliminary Documents

  • 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 System for Award Management (SAM).


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.

  1. Preapplication

  2. Application

  3. 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 early 2018, the FON discussed in Block 12 of the instructions can be found via the following URL: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html.]

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 eight 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/search.aspx?styp=bsc) 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.


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 20 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. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit (20 USC 3474 General Education Provisions Act). 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 20210-4537 or email [email protected] and reference the OMB Control Number 1894-0007. Note: Please do not return the completed ED SF 424 Supplemental Form to this address.



Definitions for U.S. Department of Education

Supplemental Information for the SF-424


Definitions:


Novice Applicant (See 34 CFR 75.225)

For discretionary grant programs, 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. 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 (i) information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual and uses through intervention or interaction with the individual and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens, or (ii ) obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generate identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens. ”


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. If an activity involves obtaining private information about a living person in such a way that the information can be directly or indirectly linked to that individual), 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 eight categories of exemptions are not covered by the regulations:


(1) Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, that specifically involves normal educational practices that are not likely to adversely impact students’ opportunity to learn required educational content or the assessment of educators who provide instruction. This includes most research on regular and special education instructional strategies, and research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods. If an educational practice is being introduced to the site and is not widely used for similar populations, it is not covered by this exemption.


(2) Research that only includes interactions involving educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior (including visual or auditory recordings) if at least one of the following criteria is met: (i) the information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects cannot readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; (ii) Any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research would not reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, educational advancement or reputation; or (iii) the information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects can readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects, and an IRB conducts a “limited IRB review” to make the determinations required by 34 CFR 97.111(a)(7).


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 benign behavioral interventions in conjunction with the collection of information from an adult subject through verbal or written responses (including data entry) or audiovisual recording if the subject prospectively agrees to the intervention and information collection and at least one of the following criteria is met: (A) The information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects cannot readily be ascertained directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; (B) Any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research would not reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subject’ financial standing, employability, educational advancement or reputation; or (C) The information obtained is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects can readily be ascertained, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects, and an IRB conducts a limited IRB review to make the determination required by 34 CFR 97.111(a)(7).


For the purpose of this provision, benign behavioral interventions are brief in duration, harmless, painless, not physically invasive, not likely to have a significant adverse lasting impact on the subjects, and the investigator has no reason to think the subjects will find the interventions offensive or embarrassing. Provided all such criteria are met, examples of such benign behavioral interventions would include having the subject play an online game, having them solve puzzles under various noise conditions, or having them decide how to allocate a nominal amount of received cash between themselves and someone else.


If the research involves deceiving the subjects regarding the nature or purposes of the research, this exemption is not applicable unless the subject authorizes the deception through a prospective agreement to participate in research in circumstances in which the subject is informed that he or she will be unaware of or misled regarding the nature or purposes of the research.


(4) Secondary Research for which Consent is not required. Secondary research uses of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens, if at least one of the following criteria is men: (i) The identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens are publicly available; (ii) Information, which may include information about biospecimens, is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that the identity of the human subjects cannot readily be ascertained directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects, the investigator does not contact the subjects, and the investigator will not re-identify subjects; (iii) the research involves only information collection and analysis involving the investigators’ use of identifiable health information when that use is regulated under 45 CFR parts 160 and 164, subparts A and E, for the purposes of “health care operations” or “research” as those terms are defined at 45 CFR 164.501 or for “public health activities and purposes” as described under 45 CFR 164.512 (b); or (iv) The research is conducted by, or on behalf of, a Federal department or agency using government-generated or government-collected information obtained for nonresearch activities, if the research generates identifiable private information that is or will be maintained on information technology that is subject to and in compliance with section 208(b) of the E-Government Act of 2002, 44 USC 3501 note, if all of the identifiable private information collected, used or generated as part of the activity will be maintained in systems of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 USC 552a, and, if applicable, the information used in the research was collected subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 USC 3501 et seq.


(5) Research and demonstration projects that are conducted or supported by a Federal department or agency, or otherwise subject to the approval of department or agency heads (or otherwise subject to the approval of department or agency heads (or the approval of the heads of bureaus or other subordinate agencies that have been delegated authority to conduct the research and demonstration projects), and that are designed to study, evaluate, improve, or otherwise examine public benefit or service programs, including procedures for obtaining benefits or services under those programs, possible changes in or alternative to those programs or procedures, or possible changes in methods or levels of payment for benefits or services under those programs. Such projects include, but are not limited to, internal studies by Federal employees, and studies under contracts or consulting arrangements, cooperative agreements, or grants. Exempt projects also include waivers of otherwise mandatory requirements using authorities such as sections 1115 and 1115A of the Social Security Act as amended.


Each Federal department or agency conducting or supporting the research and demonstration projects must establish, on a publicly accessible Federal website or in such other manner as the department or agency head may determine, a list of the research and demonstration projects that the Federal department or agency conducts or supports under this provision. The research or demonstration project must be published on this list prior to commencing the research involving human subjects.


(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.


(7) Storage or Maintenance for Secondary Research for which Broad Consent is required. Storage or maintenance of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens for potential secondary research use if an IRB conducts a limited IRB review and makes the determinations requires by 34 CFR 97.111(a)(8).


(8) Secondary Research for which Broad Consent is Required. Research involving the use of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens for secondary research use if the following criteria are met: (i) Broad Consent for the storage, maintenance and secondary research use of the identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens was obtained in accordance with 34 CFR 97.116(a) (1)-(4), (a) (6) and (d); (ii) Documentation of informed consent or waiver of documentation of consent was obtained in accordance with 34 CFR 97.117. (iii) an IRB conducts a limited IRB review and makes the determination that the research to be conducted is within the scope of the broad consent referenced in paragraph (d)(8)(i) of this section; and (iv) The investigator does not prevent an investigator from abiding by any legal requirements to return individual research results.


II. Instructions for Exempt and Nonexempt Human Subjects Research Narratives


If the applicant marked “Yes” for Item 3.b. of the U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF 424, the applicant must attach a human subjects “exempt research” or “nonexempt research” narrative to the U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424 form. If you have multiple projects, include information about each, labeling the responses as to the project they address. For applications that include multiple research projects this can be done in a single narrative or in more than one narrative as appropriate.



A. Exempt Research Narrative.

If you marked “Yes” for item 3.b. and designated exemption numbers(s), attach the “exempt research” narrative to the U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424. 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.b. you must attach the “nonexempt research” narrative to the U.S. Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424. 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 Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 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 SF-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 60 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. Please also refer to the NIA, and 34 CFR 263.4 for regulatory guidance on allowable costs.



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 should budget funds for a representative from the partnering entities to accompany the project director in attending a Project Director’s Meeting during each year 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.

Indirect Costs (line 10): Indicate the applicant’s approved indirect cost rate, per sections 34 CFR 75.560 – 75.564. 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 34 CFR 75.560. 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. Under the program’s regulations, this may include the cost of tuition, books, and required fees; health insurance required by the institution of higher education; stipend; dependent allowance; technology costs; program required travel; and instructional supplies (34 CFR 263.4).

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 be 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 2 CFR 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.]

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

  2. 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.

  1. 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 the Office of Indian Education, 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, flattened .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. Therefore, each file uploaded to your application package should have a unique file name.

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. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

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.

  • Project Abstract

The project abstract should not exceed two double spaced pages and should identify the applicant, including all consortium members if applicable, and should concisely describe the following:


  • The purpose and expected outcomes of the project

  • Applicable priorities

  • Number of participants to be served

  • The number and location of proposed sites

  • How the project will conduct recruitment activities, induction services, and how they will assist participants with completing their service payback obligations,

  • The Indian Tribe(s), if any, involved in the project


Note: Grants.gov may include a note that indicates that the project abstract may not exceed one page; however, an abstract of more than one page may be uploaded.

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, flattened .pdf files). Also, do not upload any password-protected files to your application.

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. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

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.

  • 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 is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. We recommend that you (1) limit the application narrative to no more than 30 pages and (2) use the following standards:

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

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

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

  • Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New, or Arial.

The recommended page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; the assurances and certifications; or the two-page abstract, the resumes, the letters of support or the signed consortium agreement, if applicable.

Selection Criteria for Project Narrative

The Selection Criteria for any year in which this competition is held will be announced through the Notice Inviting Applications. The NIA will also identify the associated point value for each criterion.

The maximum score for the selection criteria below is 100 points. The points or weight assigned to each criterion are indicated in parentheses. Non-Federal peer reviewers will review each application. They will be asked to evaluate and score each program narrative against the following selection criteria. The applicant must address all of following criteria. We are establishing the remaining selection criteria for the FY 2018 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition.

Selection Criteria

Maximum Points

Need for project


15 points

Subcriterion (1) Up to 5 points

Subcriterion (2) Up to 10 points

Quality of the project design

25 points

Subcriterion (1) Up to 10 points

Subcriterion (2) Up to 8 points

Subcriterion (3) Up to 7 points

Quality of project services

25 points

Subcriterion (1) Up to 4 points

Subcriterion (2) Up to 4 points

Subcriterion (3) Up to 6 points

Subcriterion (4) Up to 5 points

Subcriterion (5) Up to 6 points

Quality of project personnel 

15 points

Subcriterion (1) Up to 4 points

Subcriterion (2) Up to 8 points

Subcriterion (3) Up to 3 points

Quality of management plan 

20 points

Subcriterion (1) Up to 7 points

Subcriterion (2) Up to 5 points

Subcriterion (3) Up to 8 points



In describing the proposed project, applicants should address the five selection criteria in the order in which they are listed.

(a) Need for Project (Maximum 15 points). The Secretary considers the need for the proposed project. In determining the need for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(1) (Up to 5 points) The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services, infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude of those gaps or weaknesses.

(2) (Up to 10 points) The extent to which employment opportunities exist in LEAs (including BIE-funded schools) that serve a high proportion of Indian students in the project's service area, as demonstrated through a job market analysis.

Note: In addressing this criterion, applicants may want to consider including sufficient information for readers to assess the quality of the evidence.

(b) Quality of the Project Design (Maximum 25 points). The Secretary considers the following factors in determining the quality of the design of the proposed project:

(1) (Up to 10 points) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are ambitious but also attainable and address--

(i) The number of participants expected to be recruited in the project each year;

(ii) The number of participants expected to continue in the project each year;

(iii) The number of participants expected to graduate; and

(iv) The number of participants expected to find qualifying jobs within twelve months of completion.

(2) (Up to 8 points) The extent to which the proposed project has a plan for recruiting and selecting participants, including students who may not be of traditional college age, that ensures that program participants are likely to complete the program.

(3) (Up to 7 points) The extent to which the proposed project will incorporate the needs of potential employers, as identified by a job market analysis, by establishing partnerships and relationships with appropriate entities (e.g., LEAs, including BIE-funded schools, that serve a high proportion of Indian students,) and developing programs that meet their employment needs.

(c) Quality of project services (Maximum 25 points). The Secretary considers the following factors in determining the quality of project services:

(1) (Up to 4 points) The likelihood that the proposed project will provide participants with learning experiences that develop needed skills for successful teaching and/or administration in LEAs, including BIE-funded schools, that serve a high proportion of Indian students.

(2) (Up to 4 points) The extent to which the proposed project prepares participants to adapt teaching and/or administrative practices to meet the breadth of Indian student needs.

(3) (Up to 6 points) The extent to which the applicant will provide job placement activities that reflect the findings of a job market analysis and needs of potential employers that serve a high proportion of Indian students.

(4) (Up to 5 points) The extent to which the applicant will offer induction services that reflect the latest research on effective delivery of such services.

(5) (Up to 6 points) The extent to which the applicant will assist participants in meeting the payback requirements.

(d) Quality of Project Personnel (34 CFR 263.6) (Maximum 15 points). The Secretary considers the following factors when determining the quality of the personnel who will carry out the proposed project:

(1) (Up to 4 points) The qualifications, including relevant training, experience, and cultural competence, of the project director and the amount of time this individual will spend directly involved in the project.

(2) (Up to 8 points) The qualifications, including relevant training, experience, and cultural competence, of key project personnel and the amount of time to be spent on the project and direct interactions with participants.

(3) (Up to 3 points) The qualifications, including relevant training, experience, and cultural competence (as necessary), of project consultants or subcontractors, if any.

Note: Please note that section 7(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act requires that to the greatest extent feasible, a grantee must give to Indians preference and opportunities in connection with the administration of the grant, and give Indian organizations and Indian-owned economic enterprises, as defined in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C. 1452(e)), preference in award of contracts in connection with the administration of the grant.

(e) Quality of Management Plan (Maximum 20 points). In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(1) (Up to 7 points) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the number of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and benefits.

(2) (Up to 5 points) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous improvement in the operation of the proposed project

(3) (Up to 8 points) 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.

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.

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. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

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.

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 60 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.

Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a budget exceeding $400,000 for the first, second, or third 12-month budget period. The last two 12-month budget periods will be limited to induction services only, at a cost not to exceed $120,000 per year. We will reject any application that proposes a budget exceeding $120,000 for the fourth or fifth 12-month budget period.

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.

  • Submit travel and/or subsistence cost estimate for the project director to attend the program’s project director meeting in Washington, DC each year of the grant period.

    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 of the contract and its 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.

    1. 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.

    1. Training Stipends

The PD program may include, as training costs, assistance to fully finance a student’s educational expenses, including: tuition, books, and required fees; health insurance required by the IHE; stipend; dependent allowance; technology costs; program required travel; and instructional supplies; or assistance to supplement other financial aid, including Federal funding other than loans, meeting a student’s educational expenses. Regulatory requirements may be found in 34 CFR 263.4.

    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 to 60 months)


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 Angela Hernandez-Marshall by phone at (202) 205-1909 or via email at [email protected] for 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 Professional Development program (CFDA Number 84.299B).

If an applicant has a current ICR agreement and intends to charge indirect costs to the Professional Development 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 Professional Development 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 Professional Development 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.

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. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

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.

Required of All Applicants

  • 1. Submit individual Resumes for Project Directors and Key Personnel: Provide brief resumes or job descriptions that describe their qualifications for the responsibilities they will carry out under the project.

  • 2. Submit your Indirect Cost Rate Agreement


If you have not addressed the requirements below in the project narrative under the corresponding subcriteria, you have the option to attach additional narrative here that describes how your project will meet these requirements. To do so, please create and upload a pdf document with your narrative in this section– consistent with Grants.gov guidelines (i.e. .pdf document, etc.) – that addresses these application requirements.

  • 3. Describe how the project will recruit qualified Indian individuals, such as students who may not be of traditional college age, to become teachers, principals, or school leaders. Applicants may address this requirement in their project narrative, for example, under selection criterion Quality of Project Design, subcriterion (2).

  • 4. Describe how the project will use funds made available under the grant to support recruitment, preparation, and professional development of Indian teachers or principals in local education agencies (including BIE-funded schools) that have a high proportion of Indian students. Applicants may address these requirements in their project narrative responses to selection criterion Quality of Project Design, subcriterion (3), and Quality of Project Services, subcriteria (1) and (3).

  • 5. Describe how the project will assist participants in meeting the payback requirements. Applicants may address this requirement in their project narrative responses to Quality of Project Services, subcriterion (5).

  • 6. Describe how the application meets either Absolute Priority One or Two. The description of the two years of induction services could be addressed in the project narrative, under Quality of Project Services, subcriterion (4). The numeric participant goals could be addressed under Quality of Project Design, subcriterion (1).


If items 3-6 are addressed in the project narrative, we request that you upload a brief statement in Part 6 indicating where each is located in the narrative (e.g., page numbers). If any of these four elements are not addressed in the project narrative, you must upload a statement in Part 6 that addresses the required element.

Required, if Applicable

  • Documentation of Indian Organization: Applicants that include an Indian organization must provide adequate documentation to demonstrate that the organization meets each element of the definition of Indian organization (See the definition listed in 34 CFR 263.3). 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.


  • Signed Letter(s) of Support (Competitive Preference Priority (CPP) One), if applicable: We award three points to a project that includes a letter of support signed by the authorized representative of an LEA or Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded school or other entity in the applicant's service area that agrees to consider program graduates for qualifying employment and that serves a high proportion of Indian students.


Upload here a PDF version of your letter(s) of support, consistent with the Grants.gov guidelines.


  • Signed Consortium Agreement, if applicable


An SEA, LEA, or Tribe must apply in consortium with an IHE. In addition, a BIE-funded school must apply in consortium with at least one Tribal College or University (TCU). Thus all applicants other than IHEs must submit a consortium agreement. Please see the FY18 NIA for additional details.


In addition, to be eligible for an additional five CPP points under CPP Two, your application must be submitted by an Indian Tribe, Indian organization, or tribal college or university (as defined in section 316 of the Higher Education Act of 1965) (TCU) that is eligible to participate in the Professional Development 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 be considered eligible to receive preference under this priority only if the lead applicant for the consortium is the Indian tribe, Indian organization, or TCU. In order to be considered a consortium application, the application must include the consortium agreement, signed by all parties. If you request points for CPP Two, you are not eligible for points under CPP Three.


CPP Three is for applicants that are not eligible for CPP Two, with a lead applicant that is non-tribal, but whose members include an Indian tribe, Indian organization, or Indian institution of higher education. To receive points under CPP Three, you must submit a consortium application.


Upload a PDF version of your signed and dated consortium agreement of eligible entities that meets the requirements of 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129, consistent with Grants.gov guidelines.



  • STEM Supporting Narrative (CPP Four), if applicable

We award up to five points to a project that is designed to increase the opportunities for high-quality preparation of, or professional development for, teachers or other educators of science, technology, engineering, math, or computer science. For this priority, peer reviewers will evaluate and score applications according to the two rubrics described in the Competition Priorities section near the front of this application package.


If you have not addressed CPP Four within the project narrative you have the option to attach additional narrative here that describes how your project will adhere to this CPP. To do so, please create and upload a pdf document with your narrative– consistent with Grants.gov guidelines (i.e. .pdf document) – that addresses CPP Four requirements.


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 are required for this application:

  • 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



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 followup 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.


Shape1

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. 4040-0013. 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 (4040-0013), 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: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Intergovernmental_-Review-_SPOC_01_2018_OFFM.pdf

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 #84.299B, 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. (Eastern 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.

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

1) The percentage of participants in administrator preparation projects who become principals, vice principals, or other school administrators in LEAs that serve American Indian and Alaska Native students;


(2) The percentage of participants in teacher preparation projects who become teachers in LEAs that serve American Indian and Alaska Native students;


(3) The percentage of program participants who meet State licensure requirements;


(4) The percentage of program participants who complete their service requirement on schedule;


(5) The cost per individual who successfully completes an administrator preparation program, takes a position in a school district that benefits American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment, and completes the service requirement in such a district; and


(6) The cost per individual who successfully completes a teacher preparation program, takes a position in such a school district that benefits American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment, and completes the service requirement in such a district.

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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File TitleFY18 PD Application Pkg for ICC -03-07-2018 CLEAN
AuthorHernandez-Marshall, Angela
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File Created2021-01-21
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