2022-02688.pdf

7433 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Notices in a comment, be aware that the entire comment— including PII—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask in your comment to withhold PII from public view, USPTO cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.

Kimberly Hardy, Information Collections Officer, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, United States Patent and Trademark Office.

[FR Doc. 2022–02641 Filed 2–8–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

Charter Amendment of Department of Defense Federal Advisory Committees—U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Charter amendment and name change of Federal Advisory Committee.

SUMMARY: DoD is publishing this notice to announce that it is amending the charter for the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and changing its name to the Department of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (DAF SAB).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Freeman, DoD Advisory Committee Management Officer, 703–692–5952.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.

Air Force Scientific Advisory Board will now be known as the DAF SAB, and its charter is being amended in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C., Appendix) and 41 CFR 102–3.50(d). The charter and contact information for the DAF SAB’s Designated Federal Officer (DFO) are found at https://www.facadatabase.gov/ FACA/apex/FACAPublicAgency Navigation.

The DAF SAB provides the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense with independent advice and recommendations on matters supporting the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF) scientific and technical enterprise and specifically on matters pertaining to (a) conducting studies on topics deemed critical by the Secretary of the Air Force;

(b) recommending applications of technology to improve DAF capabilities;

and (c) providing independent reviews of the quality and relevance of the DAF science and technology (S&T) programs.

The DAF SAB is composed of no more than 20 members who are eminent authorities in the fields of defense and/ or S&T. These members come from varied backgrounds such as science, technology, manufacturing, acquisition, logistics, public or private sector business management, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, National Laboratories, and academia (universities and colleges).

Individual members are appointed according to DoD policy and procedures, and serve a term of service of one-to-four years with annual renewals. One member will be appointed as Chair of the DAF SAB. No member, unless approved according to DoD policy and procedures, may serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the DAF SAB, or serve on more than two DoD Federal advisory committees at one time.

DAF SAB members who are not full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active duty members of the Uniformed Services, are appointed as experts or consultants, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3109, to serve as special government employee members. DAF SAB members who are full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active duty members of the Uniformed Services are appointed pursuant to 41 CFR 102–3.130(a), to serve as regular government employee members.

All DAF SAB members are appointed to provide advice based on their best judgment without representing any particular point of view and in a manner that is free from conflict of interest.

Except for reimbursement of official DAF SAB-related travel and per diem, members serve without compensation.

The public or interested organizations may submit written statements about the DAF SAB’s mission and functions.

Written statements may be submitted at any time or in response to the stated agenda of planned meeting of the DAF SAB. All written statements shall be submitted to the DFO for the DAF SAB, and this individual will ensure that the written statements are provided to the membership for their consideration.

Dated: February 4, 2022.

Aaron T. Siegel, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 2022–02735 Filed 2–8–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Applications for New Awards;

Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals With Disabilities Program—Educational Materials in Accessible Formats for Eligible Children and Students With Disabilities

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2022 for Educational Materials in Accessible Formats for Eligible Children and Students with Disabilities, Assistance Listing Number 84.327D.

This notice relates to the approved information collection under OMB control number 1820–0028.

DATES:

Applications Available: February 9, 2022.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2022.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 9, 2022.

Pre-Application Webinar Information:

No later than 5 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE Federal Register, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will post details on pre-recorded informational webinars designed to provide technical assistance to interested applicants. Links to the webinars may be found at www2.ed.gov/ fund/grant/apply/osep/new-osep-grants.html.

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2021 (86 FR 73264) and available at www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-27979.

Please note that these Common Instructions supersede the version published on February 13, 2019, and, in part, describe the transition from the requirement to register in SAM.gov a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to the implementation of the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

More information on the phase-out of DUNS numbers is available at https:// www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ofo/ docs/unique-entity-identifier-transition-fact-sheet.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carlene Reid, U.S. Department of

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7434 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Notices

1 Applicants should note that other laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101, et seq.; 28 CFR part 35) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794; 34 CFR part 104), may require that State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) provide captioning, video description, and other accessible educational materials to students with disabilities when these materials are necessary to provide equally integrated and equally effective access to the benefits of the educational program or activity, or as part of a ‘‘free appropriate public education’’ as defined in 34 CFR 104.33.

2 For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘accessible format(s)’’ has the meaning given in 17 U.S.C.

121(d)(1).

3 For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘eligible person’’ means an individual who meets the eligible person definition in 17 U.S.C. 121(d)(3) regardless of any other disability—(A) is blind; (B) has a visual impairment or perceptual or reading disability that cannot be improved to give visual function substantially equivalent to that of a person who has no such impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to substantially the same degree as a person without an impairment or disability; or (C) is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes to the extent that would be normally acceptable for reading. Eligibility must be certified in accordance with 36 CFR 701.6(b)(2).

4 For the purposes of this priority, we are using the term ‘‘educational materials’’ as it is used in section 674(c)(1)(D) of IDEA.

5 For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘eligible children and students’’ are eligible persons as defined in 17 U.S.C. 121.

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 5083A, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–5076.

Telephone: (202) 245–6139. Email:

carlene.reid@ed.gov.

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description Purpose of Program: The purposes of the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities (ETechM2) Program are to improve results for children with disabilities by (1) promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology; (2) supporting educational activities designed to be of educational value in the classroom; (3) providing support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for use in the classroom; and (4) providing accessible educational materials (AEM) to children with disabilities in a timely manner.1

Priority: This competition includes one absolute priority. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(v), this priority is from allowable activities specified in the statute (see sections 674(c)(1)(D) and 681(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); 20 U.S.C. 1474(c)(1)(D) and 1481(d)).

Absolute Priority: For FY 2022 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet this priority.

This priority is:

Educational Technology, Media, and

Materials for Individuals with Disabilities—Educational Materials in Accessible Formats for Eligible Children and Students with Disabilities.

Background:

IDEA requires State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide free educational materials, including textbooks and instructional materials, in accessible formats 2 to eligible early intervention, preschool, elementary, and secondary children and students in a timely manner (IDEA Part B, section 612(a)(23)(B) and section 613(a)(6)(B)).

Further, under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, recipients of Federal financial assistance that are institutions of higher education (IHEs), SEAs, and LEAs must provide educational materials in accessible formats as a means to accommodate students with disabilities, including those who are blind, have a visual impairment or perceptual or reading disability, or have a physical disability.

The accessible formats are needed to provide these students with an equal educational opportunity. 34 CFR 104.4.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is also applicable and requires, among other things, that public entities, including LEAs, SEAs, and public IHEs, ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in a school’s services, programs, or activities and ensure that communication with students with disabilities is as effective as communication with students without disabilities, through the provision, in a timely manner, of auxiliary aids and services. 28 CFR 35.130, 35.160.

To help ensure the free distribution of educational materials in accessible formats, Congress has granted exceptions to copyright holders’ exclusive rights to replication and distribution through 17 U.S.C. 121 (the Chafee Amendment), which authorizes entities to reproduce or distribute copies of previously published works in accessible formats exclusively for use by eligible persons.3

In the 2019–2020 school year, States reported that there were 28,132 enrolled students, ages 3 through 21, receiving services through IDEA whose primary disability eligibility category was deaf-blindness or visual impairment including blindness and 2,381,411 students had a specific learning disability, many of whom would typically qualify as having a reading or perceptual disability that inhibits access to printed educational materials (U.S.

Department of Education, 2020). For more than 15 years, previous projects supported by the Department have provided equitable access to materials that enable access to and progress in the general education curriculum for more than 800,000 individuals who have downloaded more than 10,045,000 files.

These numbers continue to grow daily (www.bookshare.org). In order to provide access to educational content that is otherwise denied to individuals with disabilities when content is inaccessible, the provision of AEM is required. The provision of AEM enables those individuals to access content and experience equal opportunity and benefit from their education.

Priority:

The purpose of this priority is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a Center that will provide free educational materials,4 including textbooks, in fully accessible media for eligible children and students 5 enrolled in early intervention, preschool, elementary, and secondary schools, and eligible students enrolled in postsecondary schools. This Center will provide high-quality AEM to eligible children and students with disabilities, including individuals from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, at no cost, in a timely manner including dedicated outreach and collaboration with stakeholders (including those in high needs communities) to increase awareness and use of AEM. As a condition of this grant, the educational materials and textbooks distributed by the Center must be in accessible formats that are of high quality and meet or exceed industry standards for accessibility (e.g., Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA Standard; EPUB 3.2 Accessibility Standards) and digital rights management. Processes, strategies, and models used in the production, dissemination, and in digital rights management must be user-friendly, efficient, and cost effective.

The AEM distributed by the Center must exemplify accessibility features required to receive third-party certification for accessibility. The Center will improve access to text, images, charts, graphics, VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:29 Feb 08, 2022 Jkt 256001 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\09FEN1.SGM 09FEN1lo tte r on

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7435 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Notices

6 For the purposes of this priority, ‘‘users’’ includes eligible children and students, families, schools, SEAs, LEAs, postsecondary schools, and vocational rehabilitation agencies requesting AEM on behalf of eligible children or students.

7 For the recommendations from this report, please see: https://aem.cast.org/get-started/ resources/2011/postsecondary-advisory-commission-report

8 For more information regarding the NIMAC, please see: www.nimac.us.

9 Openly licensed educational resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under a license that permits their use, modification, and sharing with others.

equations, and other expressions, notations, or numerical content included in educational materials. To facilitate continuous improvement and promote equity in access to free, high-quality products and services, the Center will collect and analyze relevant data on the needs of its’ users 6 and barriers encountered by children and students eligible to use, but not currently using AEM.

The Center must achieve, at a minimum, the following expected outcomes:

(a) Improved access to text, images, charts, graphics, equations, and other expressions, notations, or numerical content disseminated in AEM;

(b) An increase in the number of children and students accessing high-quality AEM, including those in underserved communities (e.g., urban, rural, and high-poverty areas);

(c) An increase in the number of early intervention providers, LEAs, and postsecondary schools enrolling eligible children or students and accessing AEM on behalf of eligible children and students;

(d) An increase in the number of eligible children and students enrolling and accessing AEM directly from the Center;

(e) An increase in the number of publishers and producers who create and disseminate student-ready accessible files to the Center and provide eligible children and students direct access to student-ready accessible files;

(f) An increase in the number and quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) textbooks and educational materials, including STEM images, graphics, descriptions, charts, equations, and other expressions, notations, or numerical content distributed to eligible children and students;

(g) Improved implementation of a model or models for producing and disseminating educational materials in accessible formats for children served under Part C of IDEA and section 619 of

IDEA;

(h) Expanded or enhanced models for postsecondary schools to produce and disseminate accessible educational materials and textbooks that align with the key recommendations from the Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary

Education for Students with Disabilities (2011); 7 and

(i) Increased provision of educational materials in accessible formats, including any specialized software needed to use the materials, at no cost to SEAs, LEAs, families, schools for use by students who are eligible to receive accessible materials through the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC).8

In addition to these programmatic requirements, to be considered for funding under this priority, applicants must meet the application and administrative requirements in this priority, which are:

(a) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under ‘‘Quality of project services,’’ how the proposed project will—

(1) Acquire materials from publishers or authorized entities and make those materials accessible and available as high-quality, user-friendly AEM, including digital text, braille-ready files, and audio formats at no cost to eligible children and students;

(2) Ensure equal access and treatment for eligible children and students from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability. To meet this requirement, the applicant must describe how it will—

(i) Apply knowledge of diverse populations, inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status, to determine preferences and respond to unmet needs of eligible children and students in selecting the materials and services made available by the Center;

(ii) Use criteria to develop and implement processes for selecting, producing, and adding high-quality products and services to meet the needs of eligible children and students; and

(iii) Increase engagement in high-need communities to ensure educators in these communities are accessing professional development and learning to support the effective use of AEM in their instructional practice.

(3) Achieve its goals, objectives, and intended outcomes. To meet this requirement, the applicant must provide—

(i) Measurable intended project outcomes; and

(ii) A plan to implement the services and provide the products described in paragraph one of this section including the provision of no cost, compatible software for use with a variety of electronic devices and operating systems (e.g., e-readers, computers, smart phones, and tablets);

(iii) A plan that focuses on improving the quality, timeliness, ease of use, and access to AEM for eligible children and students, including anticipating and responding to future needs and technologies across the five years of the project;

(iv) A plan to ensure that eligible children and students will continue to be able to access at no cost the educational materials, including textbooks, in accessible formats, when the Center is no longer federally funded;

(v) A plan to ensure that resources developed by the Center are, to the maximum extent allowable under the law, openly licensed 9 through an open licensing authority;

(vi) A detailed digital rights management plan that will be implemented during the project and will protect the interests of rights holders while maintaining ease of access to AEM for eligible children and students;

(vii) A plan to consult with publishers, software developers, other manufacturers of AEM for eligible children and students, and the NIMAC, to ensure that the project uses the most efficient, cost-effective technology available to provide timely access to AEM. This plan should also address strategies to provide consistent features across all interfaces and media formats;

(viii) A plan to encourage and support the inclusion of accessibility features that are embedded during the development and production of the AEM by publishers and producers, where possible;

(ix) A plan for how the project will proactively coordinate across authorized entities to include IHEs, SEAs, and LEAs to reduce costs of production and duplication of materials, and to improve the timeliness of distribution;

(x) Information on how the project will collaborate with the National Library Service (NLS), Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), NIMAC, the National AEM Center, and other projects supporting accessibility to ensure awareness of work, share developed products to improve the quality of AEM, and minimize duplicative efforts;

(xi) Information on how the project will collaborate with the National AEM

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7436 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 9, 2022 / Notices

10 A third-party evaluator is an independent and impartial program evaluator who is contracted by the grantee to conduct an objective evaluation of the project. This evaluator must not have participated in the development or implementation of any project activities, except for the evaluation activities, nor have any financial interest in the outcome of the evaluation.

11 Logic model (34 CFR 77.1) (also referred to as a theory of action) means a framework that identifies key project components of the proposed project (i.e., the active ‘‘ingredients’’ that are hypothesized to be critical to achieving the relevant outcomes) and describes the theoretical and operational relationships among the key project components and relevant outcomes.

Center and other projects supporting accessibility to implement a plan for improving IHE, SEA, and LEA systems for providing educational material in accessible formats to eligible children and students; and

(xii) A description of how the project will ensure that project activities are conducted in compliance with 17 U.S.C.

121. (www.copyright.gov/title17/ 92chap1.html#121).

(4) Provide direct support to eligible children and students to address any technical assistance (TA) needs;

(5) Implement outreach activities to systematically distribute information, products, and services to varied audiences, including underserved individuals and their families (e.g., individuals from racially, ethnically, linguistically diverse backgrounds and individuals living in poverty or experiencing homelessness), using a variety of engagement strategies, to promote awareness and use of the Center’s products and services; and

(6) Develop a professional learning plan to increase awareness of AEM, develop educator capacity, and create support systems for current and future educators. The plan must include strategies to engage faculty from teacher preparation programs responsible for preparing future educators as well as outreach to and engagement with current educators to support the effective use of AEM in their instructional practice.

(b) In the narrative section of the application under ‘‘Quality of the project evaluation,’’ include an evaluation plan for the project developed in consultation with and implemented by a third-party evaluator.10 The evaluation plan must—

(1) Include the logic model 11 by which the proposed project will achieve its intended outcomes that depicts, at a minimum, the goals and how they will be measured, activities, outputs, and intended outcomes of the proposed project;

(2) Describe a formative and summative evaluation plan, including important process and outcome evaluation questions. The plan must describe how the formative evaluation will use clear performance objectives to ensure continuous improvement in the operation of the proposed project, including objective measures of progress in implementing the project and ensuring quality of products and services. This plan should be related to the project’s proposed logic model required in paragraph (b)(1) of the application and administrative requirements in this priority;

(3) Describe how progress in and fidelity of implementation, as well as project outcomes, will be measured to answer the evaluation questions.

Specify the measures and associated instruments to be used so that the project can better meet the needs of current users and identify the needs of eligible, non-users. Identify and justify the sources for data appropriate to the evaluation questions. Include information regarding procedures for establishing reliability and validity of measures and data quality, where appropriate. Data sources must include, at a minimum—

(i) Information on the numbers of free educational materials requested by, produced for, available to, distributed to, and accessed by eligible children and students;

(ii) Information on the characteristics of the free educational materials (e.g., descriptive metadata, file types, types of literary work, source of materials), requested by, produced for, available to, distributed to, and accessed by eligible children and students;

(iii) Information on the characteristics of the current users (e.g., qualifying disability type (visual, learning, physical), individualized education program status, 504 plan status, age, grade level, member type, National Center for Education Statistics District ID or Institution) who request and access the free educational materials;

(4) Describe strategies for analyzing data and how data collected as part of this plan will be used to inform and improve product development and service delivery over the course of the project and to refine the proposed logic model and evaluation plan, including subsequent data collection;

(5) Include cost and efficiency measures, or a plan for cost and efficiency measures, for the production of AEM and using information from those measures to incorporate the most efficient, cost-effective technology available to provide timely access to AEM that can be used across alternative media formats;

(6) Provide a timeline for conducting the evaluation and include staff assignments for completing the plan.

The timeline must indicate that the data will be available annually for the annual performance report (APR) and at the end of Year 2 for the review process described under the heading, Fourth and Fifth Years of the Project;

(7) Dedicate sufficient funds in each budget year to cover the costs of developing or refining the evaluation plan in consultation with a third-party evaluator, as well as the costs associated with the implementation of the evaluation plan by the third-party evaluator.

(c) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under ‘‘Adequacy of resources and quality of project personnel,’’ how—

(1) The proposed project will encourage applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability, as appropriate;

(2) The proposed key project personnel, consultants, and subcontractors have the qualifications and experience to carry out the proposed activities and achieve the project’s intended outcomes;

(3) The applicant and any key partners have adequate resources to carry out the proposed activities; and

(4) The proposed costs are reasonable in relation to the anticipated results and benefits.

(d) Demonstrate, in the narrative section of the application under ‘‘Quality of the management plan,’’ how—

(1) The proposed management plan will ensure that the project’s intended outcomes will be achieved on time and within budget. To address this requirement, the applicant must describe—

(i) Clearly defined responsibilities for key project personnel, consultants, and subcontractors, as applicable; and

(ii) Timelines and milestones for accomplishing the project tasks;

(2) Key project personnel and any consultants and subcontractors will be allocated and how these allocations are appropriate and adequate to achieve the project’s intended outcomes;

(3) The proposed management plan will ensure that the products and services provided are of high quality, relevant, and useful to recipients; and

(4) The proposed project will benefit from a diversity of perspectives, including those of eligible children or students, families, educators, TA providers, researchers, and policy makers, among others, in its development and operation.

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(5) The proposed project will establish and maintain an advisory committee consisting of representatives from an SEA and an LEA;

representatives from community colleges and four-year IHEs;

representatives from vocational rehabilitation agencies; eligible children and students, and/or parents or family members of eligible children or students; and representatives of schools or other institutions where AEM are used. The purpose of this advisory committee is to provide the project with input and ongoing advice on the project’s goals, objectives, products, and services. The project must submit the proposed membership of the advisory committee to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for approval within eight weeks after receipt of the award;

(6) The project will communicate and collaborate on an ongoing basis with OSEP-funded projects (see www.osepideasthatwork.org/find-center-or-grant/find-a-center), including NIMAS-related projects. Activities could include jointly developing products, training sessions, and materials; and improving the AEM delivery system to ensure timely and easy access; and

(7) The project will maintain ongoing communication with the OSEP project officer through phone conferences, email communication, and face-to-face meetings, as appropriate.

(e) Address the following application requirements. The applicant must—

(1) Include, in Appendix A, personnel-loading charts and timelines, as applicable, to illustrate the management plan described in the narrative;

(2) Use a conceptual framework (and provide a copy in Appendix A) to develop project plans and activities, describing any underlying concepts, assumptions, expectations, beliefs, or theories, as well as the presumed relationships or linkages among these variables, and any empirical support for this framework;

Note: The following websites provide more information on logic models and conceptual frameworks:

www.osepideasthatwork.org/logicModel and www.osepideasthatwork.org/ resources-grantees/program-areas/ta-ta/ tad-project-logic-model-and-conceptual-framework.

(3) Include, in the budget, attendance at the following:

(i) A one and one-half day kick-off meeting in Washington, DC, or virtually, after receipt of the award, and an annual planning meeting in Washington, DC, or virtually, with the OSEP project officer and other relevant staff during each subsequent year of the project period.

Note: Within 30 days of receipt of the award, a post-award teleconference must be held between the OSEP project officer and the grantee’s project director or other authorized representative;

(ii) A two and one-half day project directors’ conference in Washington, DC, or virtually, during each year of the project period;

(iii) Two annual two-day trips, or virtually, to attend Department briefings, Department-sponsored conferences, and other meetings, as requested by OSEP; and

(iv) A one-day intensive 3+2 review meeting in Washington, DC, or virtually, during the last half of the second year of the project period;

(4) Include, in the budget, a line item for an annual set-aside of 5 percent of the grant amount to support emerging needs that are consistent with the proposed project’s intended outcomes, as those needs are identified in consultation with, and approved by, the OSEP project officer. With approval from the OSEP project officer, the project must reallocate any remaining funds from this annual set-aside no later than the end of the third quarter of each budget period; and

(5) Maintain a high-quality website, with an easy-to-navigate design, that meets or exceeds government or industry-recognized standards for accessibility;

(6) Ensure that annual project progress toward meeting project goals is posted on the project website; and

(7) Include, in Appendix A, an assurance to assist OSEP with the transfer of pertinent resources and products and to maintain the continuity of services to eligible children and students during the transition to this new award period and at the end of this award period, as appropriate.

Fourth and Fifth Years of the Project:

In deciding whether to continue funding the project for the fourth and fifth years, the Secretary will consider the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253(a), including—

(a) The recommendations of a 3+2 review team consisting of experts who have experience and knowledge in providing educational materials in accessible formats for eligible children and students with disabilities. This review will be conducted during a one-day intensive meeting that will be held during the last half of the second year of the project period;

(b) The timeliness with which, and how well, the requirements of the negotiated cooperative agreement have been or are being met by the project; and

(c) The quality, relevance, and usefulness of the project’s products and services and the extent to which the project’s products and services are aligned with the project’s objectives and likely to result in the project achieving its intended outcomes.

Under 34 CFR 75.253, the Secretary may reduce continuation awards or discontinue awards in any year of the project period for excessive carryover balances or a failure to make substantial progress. The Department intends to closely monitor unobligated balances and substantial progress under this program and may reduce or discontinue funding accordingly.

References:

Advisory Commission on Accessible

Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education. (December 6, 2011). Report of the Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities.

Advisory Commission on AIM in Postsecondary Education. http:// aem.cast.org/about/publications/2011/ postsecondary-advisory-commission-report.html

U.S. Department of Education. 2020. IDEA section 618 data products: Static tables (2019–2020). http://www2.ed.gov/ programs/osepidea/618-data/static-tables/index.html#partb-cc.

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 681(d) of IDEA, however, makes the public comment requirements of the APA inapplicable to the priority in this notice.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1474 and 1481.

Note: Projects will be awarded and must be operated in a manner consistent with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in Federal civil rights laws.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Office of Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3474.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants except federally recognized Indian Tribes.

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Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.

Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $29,547,000 for the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities program for FY 2022, of which we intend to use an estimated $8,500,000 for this competition. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.

Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2023 from the list of unfunded applications from this competition.

Maximum Award: We will not make an award exceeding $8,500,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.

Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

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

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; State lead agencies under Part C of IDEA;

LEAs, including public charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit organizations; freely associated States and outlying areas;

Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations;

and for-profit organizations.

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

b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This program uses an unrestricted indirect cost rate. For more information regarding indirect costs, or to obtain a negotiated indirect cost rate, please see www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/ intro.html.

c. Administrative Cost Limitation:

This program does not include any program-specific limitation on administrative expenses. All administrative expenses must be reasonable and necessary and conform to Cost Principles described in 2 CFR part 200 subpart E of the Uniform Guidance.

3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this competition may not award subgrants to entities to directly carry out project activities described in its application.

Under 34 CFR 75.708(e), a grantee may contract for supplies, equipment, and other services in accordance with 2 CFR part 200.

4. Other General Requirements:

a. Recipients of funding under this competition must make positive efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities (see section 606 of IDEA).

b. Applicants for, and recipients of, funding must, with respect to the aspects of their proposed project relating to the absolute priority, involve individuals with disabilities, or parents of individuals with disabilities ages birth through 26, in planning, implementing, and evaluating the project (see section 682(a)(1)(A) of

IDEA).

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Submission Instructions: Applicants are required to follow the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2021 (86 FR 73264) and available at www.federalregister.gov/d/ 2021–27979. Please note that these Common Instructions supersede the version published on February 13, 2019, and, in part, describe the transition from the requirement to register in SAM.gov a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to the implementation of the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

More information on the phase-out of DUNS numbers is available at https:// www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ofo/ docs/unique-entity-identifier-transition-fact-sheet.pdf.

2. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this competition.

3. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

4. Recommended Page Limit: 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 70 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, reference citations, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, graphs, and screen shots.

• Use a font that is 12 point or larger.

• 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 abstract (follow the guidance provided in the application package for completing the abstract), the table of contents, the list of priority requirements, the resumes, the reference list, the letters of support, or the appendices. However, the recommended page limit does apply to all of the application narrative, including all text in charts, tables, figures, graphs, and screen shots.

V. Application Review Information

1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed below:

(a) Quality of project services (30 points).

(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the services to be provided by the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of the services to be provided by the proposed project, the Secretary considers the quality and sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and treatment for eligible project participants who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.

(3) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.

(ii) The likely impact of the services to be provided by the proposed project on the intended recipients of those services.

(iii) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed project reflect up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.

(iv) The extent to which the training or professional development services to be provided by the proposed project are of sufficient quality, intensity, and duration to lead to improvements in practice among the recipients of those services.

(v) The extent to which the technical assistance services to be provided by the proposed project involve the use of efficient strategies, including the use of technology, as appropriate, and the leveraging of non-project resources.

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(b) Quality of the project evaluation (30 points).

(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the proposed project.

(ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies.

(iii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide timely guidance for quality assurance.

(iv) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes.

(v) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide valid and reliable performance data on relevant outcomes.

(c) Adequacy of resources and quality of project personnel (20 points).

(1) The Secretary considers the adequacy of resources for the proposed project and the quality of the personnel who will carry out the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary considers the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.

(3) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of the project director or principal investigator.

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

(iii) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of project consultants or subcontractors.

(iv) The qualifications, including relevant training, experience, and independence, of the evaluator.

(v) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization or the lead applicant organization.

(vi) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.

(vii) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the proposed project.

(viii) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.

(d) Quality of the management plan (20 points).

(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project.

(2) In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project tasks.

(ii) The extent to which…