2024-325B Application Package - 508 UPDATED FINAL.docx

U.S. Department of Education

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION & REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, DC 20202

FISCAL YEAR 2024

APPLICATION FOR NEW GRANTS UNDER THE

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA)

PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES PROGRAM

(ALN 84.325)

REOPENING; APPLICATIONS FOR NEW AWARDS;

NATIONAL CENTER ON HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, TRIBALLY CONTROLLED COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, AND OTHER MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS TO DIVERSIFY THE WORKFORCE SERVING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

(ALN 84.325B)

DATED MATERIAL: OPEN IMMEDIATELY

CLOSING DATE: AUGUST 12, 2024 *UPDATED*

FORM APPROVED — OMB No. 1820-0028, EXP. DATE: 07/31/2025

B-1 A-2

Contents

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 1820-0028. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 45 hours and 40 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to:

U.S. Department of Education Washington, DC 20202-4651 If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to:

Office of Special Education Programs U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave. SW Washington, DC 20202

Applicant Letter

A-4 Dear Applicant, This application packet contains information and the required forms for you to use in submitting a new application for funding under one program authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This packet covers one competition under the Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities (Assistance Listing Number 84.325) program—Applications for New Awards; Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities--National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities (Assistance Listing Number 84.325B).

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

Please note the following:

· Grants.gov Application Submission and SAM Registration.

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (www.Grants.gov). Please read carefully the Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants document included on page A-48, which includes helpful tips about submitting electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site. Grants.gov registration involves many steps including registration on SAM (www.sam.gov) which may take approximately one week to complete but could take as many as several weeks to complete. 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. You cannot submit an application through Grants.gov until Grants.gov has received your SAM registration information. We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with SAM and Grants.gov, and strongly recommend that you register and submit early.

Applicants are required to upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in either Portable Document Format (PDF) or Microsoft Word. However, it is recommended that applicants upload files as read-only flattened PDFs.

Information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe and links to download the latest version of Adobe are available on Grants.gov. Please note that you must follow the Application Procedures as described in the Federal Register notice announcing this grant competition. Information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically can also be found in section D of this application package, Application Transmittal Instructions and Requirements for Intergovernmental Review. Additional instructions for sending applications electronically are provided on page E-4, Application Forms and Instructions for Grants.gov Applications.

· MAXIMUM AWARD AMOUNT.

The competition included in this package has maximum award amounts. Please refer to the specific information for the priority/competition to which you are submitting an application (i.e., Section D of this package) for detailed budget information for the total grant period requested. Please be advised that for the priority in this package, the maximum award amount covers all project costs including indirect costs.

· RECOMMENDED PAGE LIMITS AND LINE SPACING OF APPLICATION NARRATIVE.

The competition included in this package limits the Application Narrative to a recommended number of double-spaced pages. This recommended page limit and double-line spacing applies to all material presented in the application narrative. This recommended double-line spacing applies to all titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, reference citations, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, graphs, screen shots, and logic models included in the application narrative. (Please refer to the specific recommendations on page limits for the priority/competition to which you are submitting an application, Section B of this package).

· FORMAT FOR OTHER SECTIONS OF THE APPLICATION.

Additional information regarding formatting applications has been included on page C-1 of the “General Information on Completing an Application” section of this package.

Appendix A: Reviewers will be instructed to review the content of Appendix A as they do the application narrative. Reviewers will not be required to review any other appendices.

Charts, tables, figures, graphs, screen shots and logic models that provide information directly relating to the application requirements for the narrative should be the only items included in Appendix A. Appendix A should not be used for supplementary information. Please note that charts, tables, figures, graphs, screen shots, and logic models can be single-spaced when placed in Appendix A.

Abstract: For the application Abstract, applicants should use the template located at:

https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/osep/new-osep-grants.html.

ABSOLUTE PRIORITY AND COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITIES.

This competition includes one absolute priority. The Department will use peer reviewers to review and score applications on the selection criteria.

Prior to the peer review, Department staff will determine if an application has met the qualifications of the absolute priority and is eligible for peer review. An application that has not met the absolute priority will not be considered for funding and may not be reviewed.

PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH.

The discretionary grant Application Form SF-424 requires applicants to indicate whether they plan to conduct research involving human subjects at any time during the proposed project period. The Protection of Human Subjects in Research Attachment is an integral part of the SF-424 form. It includes information that applicants need to complete the protection of human subjects item and, as appropriate, to provide additional information to the Department regarding human subjects research projects. Additional information on completing the protection of human subjects item is also available and can be accessed on the internet at:

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/humansub.html

RESPONSE TO GPRA.

As required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has developed a strategic plan for measuring GPRA performance. The program included in this announcement is authorized under Part D - National Activities to Improve Education of Children with Disabilities of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Projects funded under this competition are required to submit data on GPRA performance measures as directed by OSEP. See Performance Measures included in the Priority Description section of this application package. Applicants are encouraged to consider this information when preparing their applications.

COPIES OF THE APPLICATION.

Unless you qualify for an exception in accordance with the instructions found in the Notice inviting applications, you must submit your application electronically. Therefore, you do not need to submit paper copies of the application. If you are granted an exception, current Government-wide policy requires that an original and two paper copies need to be submitted. Please note: If an application is recommended for funding and a grant award is issued, we will contact the applicant to request an electronic copy of the application in MS Word or a PDF file. The Department is moving toward an electronic grant filing system and an electronic copy of all applications that are being funded will facilitate this effort.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

OSEP also provides information on developing performance measures and logic models at https://www.osepideasthatwork.org/logicModel to assist you in preparing a quality application. For information about other U.S. Department of Education grant and contract opportunities, we encourage you to use the Department's grant information web page which can be accessed on the internet at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/grants/grants.html.

We appreciate your efforts to improve the provision of services for individuals with disabilities.

Sincerely, /s/ David J. Cantrell, OSEP Deputy Director and Acting Research to Practice Division Director

A-2

Notice Inviting Applications

A-5 Federal Register Notice 4000-01-U

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Reopening; Applications for New Awards; Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities--National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children 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) 2024 for the National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.325B. This notice relates to the approved information collection under OMB control number 1820-0028.

Dates:

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 12, 2024 Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 26, 2024 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 7, 2022 (87 FR 75045) and available at www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-26554.

For Further Information Contact:

Tracie Dickson Telephone: (202) 245-7844.

Email: Tracie.Dickson@ed.gov If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

Supplementary Information On March 19, 2024, we published in the Federal Register (89 FR 19572) the NIA for the National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities. Under the NIA, applications were due on May 15, 2024. No applications received in response to the NIA were funded because the applicants did not adequately address the selection criteria for the competition and did not have the necessary partners in place to adequately carryout the technical assistance described in the NIA. Therefore, we are reopening the competition to allow applicants to submit or resubmit applications that meet the requirements in the NIA, in order to ensure that Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and other Minority Serving Institutions that offer high-quality degree or certification programs in early intervention, early childhood special education, special education, or related services receive the technical assistance necessary to implement high-quality personnel preparation programs.

OSEP will host a virtual office hours session for interested applicants in early July. Please see https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/osep/new-osep-grants.html for the pre-recorded webinar and further information on the office hours.

Applicants that have already submitted applications under the FY 2024 competition are encouraged to review their applications and determine whether they have met all eligibility requirements and adequately addressed the selection criteria in the NIA and the application package, which is available at www.grants.gov.

Applications that were previously submitted for this competition, including those deemed ineligible for review, must be resubmitted to be considered for review.

Eligibility: The extended application deadline applies to all eligible applicants under the National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities competition. An eligible applicant for this competition is defined in the NIA.

Note: All information in the NIA remains the same, except for the extended date for the transmittal of applications and the deadline for intergovernmental review.

Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description Purpose of Program:

The purposes of this program are to (1) help address State-identified needs for personnel preparation in special education, early intervention, related services, and regular education to work with children, including infants, toddlers, and youth with disabilities; and (2) ensure that those personnel have the necessary skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been determined through scientifically based research, to be successful in serving those children.

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 662 and 681 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); 20 U.S.C. 1462 and 1481).

Absolute Priority:

For FY 2024 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:

National Center on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Serving Institutions to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities.

Background:

While HBCUs, TCCUs, and other MSIs are more likely to graduate scholars who are multilingual and from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, there are currently a limited number that receive OSEP funding to prepare personnel to work in early intervention, early childhood special education, special education, and related services. Therefore, there is a need to build capacity at HBCUs, TCCUs, and other MSIs to access and successfully implement Federal grants to improve or develop high-quality degree or certification programs of study, and to prepare scholars to work in early intervention and special education fields. However, during listening sessions held by OSEP, faculty at HBCUs, TCCUs, and other MSIs identified barriers to accessing funding for personnel preparation, such as a lack of knowledge about funding opportunities, faculty workload, and lack of existing institutional infrastructure and support. Supporting HBCUs, TCCUs, and other MSIs to improve or develop high-quality degree or certification programs of study, and to receive and successfully implement Federal personnel preparation grants, would increase the number of multilingual and racially and ethnically diverse personnel with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies to serve children with disabilities in early intervention, early childhood special education, special education, and related services. This priority is consistent with the Secretary’s Supplemental Priority related to supporting a diverse educator workforce and professional growth to strengthen student learning. See Secretary’s Final Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grants Programs, 86 FR 70612 (December 10, 2021) (Supplemental Priorities) (Priority 3).

Priority:

The purpose of this priority is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a National Technical Assistance Center to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities (Center) by supporting HBCUs,[footnoteRef:2] TCCUs,[footnoteRef:3] and other MSIs[footnoteRef:4] that offer high-quality degree[footnoteRef:5] or certification[footnoteRef:6] programs in early intervention, early childhood special education, special education, or related services.[footnoteRef:7] The Center must achieve, at a minimum, the following expected outcomes: [2: For purposes of this priority, “Historically Black Colleges and Universities” means colleges and universities that meet the criteria set out in 34 CFR 608.2.] [3: For purposes of this priority, “Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities” has the meaning ascribed to it in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).] [4: For purposes of this priority, “Minority-Serving Institution” means an institution that is eligible to receive assistance under sections 316 through 320 of part A of title III, under part B of title III, or under title V of the HEA. For purposes of this priority, the Department will use the FY 2023 Eligibility Matrix to determine MSI eligibility (see https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html).] [5: For purposes of this priority “degree” refers to programs of study that lead to bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, or clinical doctoral degrees.] [6: For the purposes of this priority, “certification” refers to programs of study for individuals with bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, or clinical doctoral degrees that lead to licensure, endorsement, or certification from a State or national credentialing authority following completion of the degree program that qualifies graduates to teach or provide services to children with disabilities.] [7: For the purposes of this priority, “related services” includes the following: speech-language pathology and audiology services; assistive technology services; sign language interpreting services; intervener services; psychological services; applied behavior analysis; physical therapy and occupational therapy; recreation, including therapeutic recreation; artistic and cultural services, including music, art, dance and movement therapy; social work services; counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling; and orientation and mobility services.]

(a) Improve the capacity of HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to improve or develop high-quality degree programs that integrate effective, equitable, evidence-based,[footnoteRef:8] and culturally and linguistically responsive instruction, interventions, and services in inclusive settings to prepare early intervention, early childhood special education, special education, and related services personnel with the competencies necessary to provide services to children with disabilities, including those who are multilingual and those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds; [8: For the purposes of this priority, “evidence-based” means, at a minimum, evidence that demonstrates a rationale (as defined in 34 CFR 77.1), where a key project component included in the project’s logic model is informed by research or evaluation findings that suggest the project component is likely to improve relevant outcomes.]

Note: The following websites provide more information on logic models and conceptual frameworks: https://osepideasthatwork.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/ConceptualFramework_Updated.pdf and www.osepideasthatwork.org/resources-grantees/program-areas/ta-ta/tad-project-logic-model-and-conceptual-framework.

(ii) With whom the proposed project will collaborate and the intended outcomes of this collaboration; and

(iii) How the proposed project will use non-project resources to achieve the intended project outcomes;

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 three-day project directors’ conference in Washington, DC, during each year of the project period. The project must reallocate funds for travel to the project directors’ conference no later than the end of the third quarter of each budget period if the conference is conducted virtually;

(iii) Three annual two-day trips to attend Department briefings, Department-sponsored conferences, and other meetings, as requested by OSEP. The project must reallocate funds for travel to the meetings no later than the end of the third quarter of each budget period if the meetings are conducted virtually; and

Fourth and Fifth Years of the Project:

References:

Carver-Thomas, D. (2018). Diversifying the teaching profession: How to recruit and retain teachers of color. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/559.310.

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Diversifying the teacher workforce: Research and strategies. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midwest/pdf/infographics/teacher-diversity-508.pdf.

U.S. Department of Education. (2020). EDFacts Data Warehouse: “IDEA Part B Child Count and Educational Environments Collection” and “IDEA Part C Child Count and Settings Collection,” 2019-20. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepidea/618-data/collection-documentation/data-documentation-files/part-b/child-count-and-educational-environment/idea-partb-childcountandedenvironment-2019-20.pdf and https://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepidea/618-data/collection-documentation/data-documentation-files/part-c/child-count-and-settings/idea-partc-childcountandsettings-2019-20.pdf.

U.S. Department of Education. (2022). Agency Equity Plan related to Executive Order 13985. https://www2.ed.gov/documents/equity/2022-equity-plan.pdf.

U.S. Department of Education. (2023a). Students with disabilities. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/2023/cgg_508.pdf.

U.S. Department of Education. (2023b). Raise the Bar: Lead the World. www.ed.gov/raisethebar.

U.S. Department of Education. (2023c). Fact Sheet. www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-highlights-record-championing-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-hbcus.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. (2021). Personnel Development Program Data Collection System.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education. (2016). Policy statement on supporting the development of children who are dual language learners in early childhood programs. https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/earlylearning/files/dll-policy-statement-2016.pdf.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking:

Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.