Application Notice

Draft 03/10/09

4000-01-U

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Institute of Education Sciences

Overview Information

Grant Program for Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems

Notice inviting applications for new awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.384.

Dates:

Applications Available: March 19, 2009 (Request for Applications (RFA); April 17, 2009 (application package).

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 18, 2009.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purpose of assistance under this program is to enable State educational agencies to design, develop, and implement statewide, longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate and use individual student data. The long-term goal of the program is to enable all States to create comprehensive systems that permit the generation and use of accurate and timely data, support informed decision-making at all levels of the education system, including the classroom and school, increase the efficiency with which data may be analyzed to support the continuous improvement of education services and outcomes, facilitate research to improve student achievement and close achievement gaps, and support education accountability systems.

This competition is being conducted with funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5 (ARRA). The purposes of the ARRA include the following:

(a) To preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery.

(b) To assist those most impacted by the recession.

(c) To provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health.

(d) To invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefit.

(e) To stabilize State and local government budgets in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive State and local tax increases.

Funding provided under this competition is to be used for Statewide data systems that, in addition to K-12 data, also include postsecondary and workforce information. Grants will support the development and implementation of P-16 systems that link individual student data across time and across databases, including matching teachers to students, promote interoperability across institutions and States, and protect student privacy consistent with applicable privacy protection laws. This additional one-time funding provided by the ARRA will permit grantee State educational agencies (SEAs) to accelerate the development of their statewide, longitudinal data systems and to create P-16 systems that include not only data related to K-12 education but also data on preschool and postsecondary education and workforce information. By creating interoperability with postsecondary data systems or creating consolidated pre-kindergarten through baccalaureate (P-16) data systems in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, States can develop systems that include data to serve multiple purposes, such as to 1) improve instruction and identify successful instructional programs within the State, 2) determine priorities for allocating scarce State and local resources, 3) devise methods for identifying high-quality teachers and teaching practices, 4) identify programs and pathways that encourage students to stay in school and enter postsecondary education, 5) determine whether high school graduates have the knowledge and skills to succeed in postsecondary education, the workforce, and the Armed Forces without the need for remediation, 6) strengthen the preparation of all students for success after high school, 7) provide accurate information about schools, school staff, and the progress of students, and 8) support accountability and public reporting.

Priorities: This notice contains one absolute priority. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet this priority.

This priority is:

P-16 Statewide Data Systems.

Funding provided under this competition will be used for Statewide data systems that, in addition to K-12 data, also include postsecondary and workforce information. Specifically, grants will support the development and implementation of P-16 systems that link individual student data across time and across databases, including matching teachers to students, promote interoperability across institutions and States, and protect student privacy consistent with applicable privacy protection laws.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities. Section 191 of the Educational Science Reform Act, however, makes the public comment requirements of the APA inapplicable to the priority in this notice.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9607; American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Division A, Title VIII, Pub. L. No. 111-5.

Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 77, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 97, 98, and 99. In addition, the regulations in 34 CFR part 75 are applicable, except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 75.219, 75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Cooperative agreements.

Available Funds: $245,000,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: Grants will range from $2,000,000 to $20,000,000 for the entire project period.

Estimated Number of Awards: The number of awards made under this competition will depend upon the nature and quality of the applications received.

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

Project Period: Not to exceed 3 years.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are limited to SEAs.

2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not require cost sharing or matching.

b. Supplement-Not-Supplant: This competition involves supplement-not-supplant funding requirements. Funds made available under this grant program are to be used to supplement, and not supplant, other State or local funds used for developing State data systems.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. RFA and Other Information: Information regarding program and application requirements for this competition will be contained in the RFA package, which will be available on March 19, 2009, at the following Web site:

http://ies.ed.gov/funding.

2. Application Package: The application package with forms and instructions for applying to this competition will be available no later than April 17, 2009, at http://www.Grants.gov (see section V of this notice).

Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the person listed under Accessible Format in section IX of this notice.

Note: Interested potential applicants should periodically check the Institute’s Web site at http://ies.ed.gov/funding.

3. Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or in paper format by mail or hand delivery if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer to section V. Submission of Applications in this notice.

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 the person listed under For Further Information Contact in Section VII of this notice. 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 this notice.

V. Submission of Applications

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in this section.

a. Electronic Submission of Applications.

Applications for grants under the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems competition, CFDA number 84.384, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.

We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.

You may access the electronic grant application for the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems competition 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 84.384, not 84.384A).

Please note the following:

• When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site, as well as the hours of operation.

• Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 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 date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.

• The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.

• You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for this competition to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.

• To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include (1) registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please note that the registration process may take five or more business days to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.

• You will not receive additional point value because you submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format.

• You must submit all documents electronically, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: 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.

• You must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in .PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the file type specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material.

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

• After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification indicates that the Department has received your application and has assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number unique to your application).

• We may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date.

Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.

If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline date because of technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing instructions described elsewhere in this notice.

If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VIII of this notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application through the Grants.gov system because––

• You do not have access to the Internet; or

• You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.gov system;

and

• 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), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.

If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.

Address and mail or fax your statement to: Elizabeth Payer, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 602C, Washington, DC 20208. FAX: (202) 219-1466.

Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.

b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.

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

U.S. Department of Education

Application Control Center

Attention: (CFDA Number: 84.384)

LBJ Basement Level

400 Maryland Avenue, SW.

Washington, DC 20202-4260

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

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

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

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

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

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

(1) A private metered postmark.

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

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

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

c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.

If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:

U.S. Department of Education

Application Control Center

Attention: (CFDA Number: 84.384)

550 12th Street, SW.

Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza

Washington, DC 20202-4260

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

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--

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

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

6. Application Review Information

Selection Criteria: Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures for this competition will be provided in the RFA package.

VII. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN). We may notify you informally, also.

If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify administrative and national policy requirements in the application package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant.

In addition, the GAN includes terms and conditions necessary for effective implementation of data collection and accountability requirements under the ARRA.

3. Reporting: The ARRA requires accountability and transparency in the use of funds provided under the law. To meet the reporting requirements under the ARRA, you must (a) ensure that funds provided by the ARRA are clearly distinguishable from other funds and (b) no later than ten days after the end of each calendar quarter, starting on July 10, 2009, submit a report to the Department that contains—

(1) The total amount of recovery funds received from the Department;

(2) The amount of recovery funds that were expended or obligated to projects or activities;

(3) A detailed list of all projects or activities for which recovery funds were expended or obligated, including—

(i) The name of the project or activity;

(ii) A description of the project or activity;

(iii) An evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity;

(iv) An estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the project or activity; and

(v) For infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with funds made available under the ARRA, and the name of the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns with respect to the infrastructure investment; and

(4) Detailed information on any subcontracts or subgrants that you awarded to include the data elements required to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, allowing aggregate reporting on awards below $25,000 or to individuals, as prescribed by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

More specific and detailed reporting requirements will be included in the terms and conditions of the grant contained in the GAN. At the end of your project period, you also must submit a final performance report, including financial information, as directed by the Secretary. For specific requirements on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

4. Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of this program, the Institute will determine at the end of each grant whether the SEA has in operation a statewide, longitudinal (P-16) data system. In your final performance report, you will be expected to report on the achievement of each of the proposed outcomes included in your grant application and on the status of the development and implementation of your data system.

5. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for a two-day meeting for project directors to be held in Washington, DC.

VIII. Agency Contact

For Further Information Contact: Tate Gould, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1990 K Street, NW., room 9023, Washington, DC 20006-5651. Telephone: (202) 219-7080 or via Internet: Tate.Gould@ed.gov.

If you use a TDD, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

IX. Other Information

Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VIII in this notice.

Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

Note: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

Dated:

________________________________

Sue Betka,

Acting Director, Institute of

Education Sciences.

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