PAIR Letter of Invitation

Dear PAIR Program Director:

This letter invites you to apply for your FY ___ grant award for the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) program authorized under Section 509 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. This package consists of:

• a letter of application,

• the PAIR Assurances, and

• the Certification Regarding Lobbying (Form ED 80-013; revised March 8, 2004).

The above-mentioned documents and the required attachments constitute your FY ____ PAIR application. Please do the following:

• Provide all requested information.

• Sign and date the forms as indicated.

• Address the cover letter of application to Edward Anthony, Ph.D. on your own letterhead. The copy that we are enclosing is simply a sample to assist you in composing a letter.

• Make sure all attachments are legible and organized according to the order in which they are referenced in the application.

• Include only information and attachments regarding the PAIR program. Do not include information pertaining to other programs within the protection and advocacy system.

• The original application package can be addressed to the following addresses either through regular or overnight mail.

Materials sent through regular mail can be addressed as follows:

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Attention: Jessica M. Smith

400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., PCP Room 5030

Washington, DC 20202-2800

Materials sent by overnight mail should be sent to the following address:

U.S. Department of Education

Attention: Jessica M. Smith c/o Pedro Romero

Mail Stop 2800

PCP Room 5030

7100 Old Landover Road

Landover, MD 20785-1605

Page 2 - Program Director

To ensure a timely review, please submit your application to one of the addresses no later than August 31, ____.

Please note that P&As are no longer required to submit assurances on an annual basis. However, in the event the program is redesignated or the statutory requirements of the assurances change, the program must submit assurances as part of the application package. A copy of the assurances is included in this package in the event that your program has been redesignated and you need to submit it.

Items 6 and 7 of the assurances are still required attachments and must be included for your application to be complete. Note that you are no longer required to submit a Statement of Priorities and Objectives developed in accordance with Item 5. Instead, this information now is included in the PAIR Program Performance Report (Form 509), due by December 30 of each year (see PD 03-04). In addition, you still must submit as part of this application package an attachment pursuant to item (6)(a), concerning the methods by which you obtain public comment on your priorities and objectives.

In addition, RSA will not request grantees to submit the assurances electronically because they are so brief and an original signature is required. Please do not hesitate to contact Jessica Smith at (202) 245-6493 or via e-mail at jessica.smith@ed.gov if you have any questions.

I appreciate your commitment to serving individuals with disabilities and meeting the goals of the PAIR program.

Sincerely,

Edward Anthony, Ph.D.

Delegated the authority to perform

The duties of the Commissioner of

The Rehabilitation Services Administration

Enclosures