2025-327S Application Instructions - 508 REVISED (2).docx

FY25 Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program Grant Application Instructions

Assistance Listing Number: 84.327S Form Approved OMB #1820-0028 Expiration Date: July 31, 2025.

Application Deadline Date: July 25, 2025 at 11:59:59 PM ET U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20202

Contents

Program and Competition Background Program and Competition Overview Program Office: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) Competition Name: Stepping-up Technology Implementation Assistance Listing Number: 84.327S Grant Type: Cooperative Agreement.

Program Purpose: The purpose of the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program (ETechM2 Program) is 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 for children with disabilities; (3) providing support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for use in the classroom; and (4) providing accessible educational materials to children with disabilities in a timely manner.

Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs); local educational agencies (LEAs), including public charter schools that operate as LEAs under State law; institutions of higher education (IHEs); other public agencies; private nonprofit organizations; freely associated States and outlying areas; Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations; and for-profit organizations.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1471, 1481, 1482.

Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program Webpage: [Link] Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program Email: Anita.Vermeer@ed.gov

Timeline and General Information Important Dates

In addition, applicants may view information on this competition at www.ed.gov/about/ed-offices/osers/osep/new-osep-grant-competitions.

FY 2025 Stepping-up Technology Implementation Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) All applicants interested in completing a Stepping-up Technology Implementation application should first thoroughly review the FY 2025 Stepping-up Technology Implementation NIA. The NIA will orient applicants to the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities program by providing the following information:

Background information and purpose of the program;

Eligibility requirements;

Absolute priorities;

Program and application requirements;

Selection criteria and assigned points;

Definitions of terms used in the NIA (optional);

Procedural and substantive requirements of the application process; and Instructions on how to electronically submit the application.

The full text of the NIA for the FY 2025 Stepping-up Technology Implementation grant competition can be found at the Federal Register website: [Link]. For convenience, links to the Federal Register Notice, Application Package, Abstract Template, and webinar information is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s website: New OSEP Funding Opportunities.

All Stepping-Up Technology Implementation applications must be received on or before 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on July 25, 2025. Please note that the U.S. Department of Education grant application deadline is 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, received, and date- and time-stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on July 25, 2025, the application deadline date. The Department will not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements.

Applicants are required to follow the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs available at www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-30488 (89 FR 104528, December 23, 2024).

Notification of Intent to Apply The Department will be able to review grant applications more efficiently if we know the approximate number of applicants who intend to apply. Therefore, we strongly encourage, but do not require, each potential applicant to notify us of the applicant’s intent to submit an application. To do so, please email anita.vermeer@ed.gov with the subject line “Intent to Apply,” and include the applicant’s name, contact person’s name, and email address by July 25, 2025.

Applicants that do not submit a notice of intent to apply may still apply for funding; applicants that do submit a notice of intent to apply are not bound to apply or bound by the information provided.

FY 2025 Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals With Disabilities Program-Stepping-Up Technology Implementation Grant Competition Design Elements Priorities and Requirements:

The FY 2025 competition includes one absolute priority.

Absolute Priority:

Use of Evidence-based Technology-based Tools or Approaches that Improve Reading Outcomes for Children with, or At Risk for, Disabilities.

Applicants are required to apply for Absolute Priority 1. Clear headings should be provided to indicate an applicant's response to the absolute priority under which they are submitting their proposal. There are multiple selection criteria upon which application proposals will be evaluated. To read the priority, programmatic and application requirements, and selection criteria for this grant competition, please reference the NIA published on the Federal Register website: [LINK].

Application Forms Instructions for Grants.gov Applications The electronic application on Grants.gov consists of multiple mandatory forms that must be completed as well as narrative attachment forms that should be used to upload any file attachments. While there are no file size restrictions, we strongly discourage submission of very large documents. Follow the guidance provided on Grants.gov as well as the Submission Tips document located in this application instruction document for specific information on file sizes, file naming requirements, etc. NOTE: As stated in the application notice, you must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in either PDF or Microsoft Word. It is recommended that applicants submit all files in a read only, flattened PDF format.

Listed below are all forms that must be completed and instructions on where to upload narratives for the application.

General Forms:

• Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

• Department of Education Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (ED-524)

• Department of Education Supplemental Information for the SF-424

• Evidence Form Note: Instructions for all of the standard forms (SF-424, ED-524, and SF-424 Supplemental, etc.), are available on the ED website: [LINK] .

Assurances and Certifications:

• Grants.gov Lobbying Form (Formerly ED Form 80-0013)

• ED GEPA427 Form Abstract

• ED Abstract Form (Upload and attach your abstract as a PDF or Microsoft Word document (a read only, flattened PDF format is recommended). For the application Abstract, applicants should use the template located at:

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

Narrative Attachment Forms 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 50 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.

Other Narrative Attachments Upload the attachments as PDF or Microsoft Word documents (a read only, flattened PDF format is recommended) in the order they should appear in the application.

· Suggested order...

· Reference List

· Appendix A

· Resumes/Vitae

· Letters

· Supplementary Information

· Other Appendices *NOTE: The Project Narrative Attachment Form should include the narrative (text) that addresses each of the selection criteria, listed elsewhere in this document. The selection criteria will be used to evaluate applications submitted for this competition. The narrative has recommended formatting and page limits (check the Page Limits section of this document for formatting and page limit recommendations for the competition to which you are applying). The table of contents and list of priority requirements, if applicable, do not count toward the recommended narrative page limit.

NOTE: The Federal Funding Opportunity Number for this program is

ED-GRANTS-062525-001.

NOTE: Please do not attach any narratives, supporting files, or application components to the Standard Form (SF 424) in Part I. Although this form accepts attachments, that option should not be used.

Budget Summary Guidelines (Budget Worksheet Sections A, B, C, and D) Applicants must provide a summary of requested federal funds for each line-item category included on the worksheet. Applicants should provide dollar amounts for all requested years of the desired grant award.

Section A: Budget Summary U.S. Department of Education Funds Applicants should populate the Name of Applicant Organization: and use the dropdown to select the appropriate program at the top of the Section A tab.

All applicants should review the Budget and Match/Cost Share FAQs.

Section B: Budget Summary Non-Federal Funds ** applicants are not required to complete this section since there is not a non- Federal matching funds/cost-share requirement for the program.

Section C : Budget Narrative In this section, applicants must provide written justification to support project cost for each budget line item. Project costs must be linked to the proposed project objectives. Applicants must explain why each cost is necessary for implementation of the proposed project and describe the basis for cost estimates or computations.

Additionally, the budget narrative must provide sufficient detail to justify the use of program funds. It should:

Provide the basis for estimating the costs of personnel salaries, benefits, project staff travel, materials and supplies, consultants and subcontracts, and any other projected expenditures;

Clarify the relationship between the requested funds and project activities and outcomes;

Describe the total amount that will be expended as shown in the Budget Worksheet; and Enable reviewers and project staff to understand how the requested funds will be used.

Section D: Limitation on Administrative Expenses ** applicants are not required to complete this section since there is not a non- Federal matching funds/cost-share requirement for the program.

Submitting the Application Using Grants.Gov U.S. Department of Education Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants To facilitate your use of Grants.gov, this document includes important submission procedures you need to be aware of to ensure your application is received in a timely manner and accepted by the U.S. Department of Education (Department).

Browser Support The latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari are supported for use with Grants.gov. However, these web browsers undergo frequent changes and updates, so we recommend you have the latest version when using Grants.gov. Legacy versions of these web browsers may be functional, but you may experience issues. Grants.gov no longer provides support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 or below.

For additional information or updates, please see the Grants.gov Browser information in the Applicant FAQs: Grants.gov Applicant FAQs.

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

Below is an overview of applying on Grants.gov. For access to complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to: Grants.gov Applicant Workspace Overview Create a Workspace: Creating a workspace allows you to complete it online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.

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

Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out web forms you can download individual PDF forms to upload in Workspace. The individual PDF forms can be downloaded and saved to your local device storage, network drive(s), or external drives, then accessed through Adobe Reader.

NOTE: Visit the Adobe Software Compatibility page on Grants.gov to download the appropriate version of the software at: Grants.gov Adobe Software Compatibility.

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

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

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

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

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to Grants.gov Applicant Training.

Helpful Reminders

1. REGISTER EARLY – Grants.gov registration involves many steps including registration on the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), which usually takes approximately 7 to 10 business days, but can take longer depending on the completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM.gov database by an applicant. You may begin working on your application while completing the registration process, but you cannot submit until all of the Registration Steps are complete.

NOTE: It will take 24-48 hours once your SAM.gov registration is active before the information becomes available in Grants.gov, and you can submit an application through Grants.gov.

For detailed information on the Registration Steps, please go to: Grants.gov Applicant Registration. Please note that your organization will need to update its SAM.gov registration annually.

To register in SAM.gov, click on the “Get Started” link under the “Register Your Entity…” heading in SAM.gov. Grantees, and other entities wanting to do business with the U.S. Department of Education (e.g., entities applying for a grant), that are not already registered in SAM.gov must complete the “Register Entity” registration option and NOT the “Get a Unique Entity ID” option. The “Get a Unique Entity ID” option, which is not a full registration, is only available to entities for reporting purposes. Failing to complete the “Register Entity” option may result in loss of funding, loss of applicant eligibility, and/or delays in receiving a grant award. Information about SAM.gov is available at SAM.gov website. To further assist you with registering in SAM.gov or updating your existing SAM.gov registration, see the Quick Start Guide for Grant Registrations and the Entity Registration Video at SAM.gov Entity Registration.

SUBMIT EARLY – We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last day to submit your application. Grants.gov will put a date/time stamp on your application and then process it after it is fully uploaded. The time it takes to upload an application will vary depending on a number of factors including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection, and the time it takes Grants.gov to process the application will vary as well. If Grants.gov rejects your application (see step three below), you will need to resubmit successfully to Grants.gov before 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

You must provide the UEI on your application that was used when you registered as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) on Grants.gov. This UEI is assigned to your organization in SAM.gov at the time your organization registers in SAM.gov. If you do not enter the UEI assigned by SAM.gov on your application, Grants.gov will reject your application.

VERIFY SUBMISSION IS OK – You will want to verify that Grants.gov received your application submission on time and that it was validated successfully. To see the date/time your application was received, login to Grants.gov and click on the Track My Application link. For a successful submission, the date/time received should be earlier than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the deadline date, AND the application status should be: Validated, Received by Agency, or Agency Tracking Number Assigned. Once the Department receives your application from Grants.gov, an Agency Tracking Number (PR/award number) will be assigned to your application and will be available for viewing on Grants.gov’s Track My Application link.

If the date/time received is later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the deadline date, your application is late. If your application has a status of “Received” it is still awaiting validation by Grants.gov. Once validation is complete, the status will either change to “Validated” or “Rejected with Errors.” If the status is “Rejected with Errors,” your application has not been received successfully. Some of the reasons Grants.gov may reject an application can be found on the Grants.gov site: Gramts.gov Encountering Error Messages. For more detailed information on troubleshooting Adobe errors, you can review the Adobe Reader Software Tip Sheet at: Grants.gov Adobe Software Compatibility. If you discover your application is late or has been rejected, please see the instructions below. Note: You will receive a series of confirmations both online and via e-mail about the status of your application. Please do not rely solely on e-mail to confirm whether your application has been received timely and validated successfully.

Submission Problems

1. If you have problems submitting to Grants.gov before the closing date, please contact Grants.gov Customer Support at 1-800-518-4726 or email at: support@grants.gov or access the Grants.gov Self-Service Knowledge Base web portal at: Grants.gov Portal.

The Department discourages paper applications, but if electronic submission is not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the internet), (1) you must provide a prior written notification that you intend to submit a paper application and (2) your paper application must be postmarked by the application deadline date. Your prior written notification may be submitted by email or by mail to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of the competition Notice Inviting Applications (NIA). If you submit your notification by email, it must be received by the Department no later than 14 calendar days before the application deadline date. If you mail your notification to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than 14 calendar days before the application deadline date. (Refer to the NIA for detailed instructions) Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov Please go to Grants.gov Support for help with Grants.gov. For additional tips related to submitting grant applications, please refer to the Grants.gov Applicant FAQs found at this Grants.gov link: Grants.gov Applicant FAQs as well as additional information on Workspace at Grants.gov Applicant Workspace FAQs.

Slow Internet Connections When using a slow internet connection, such as a dial-up connection, to upload and submit your application, it can take significantly longer than when you are connected to the Internet with a high-speed connection, e.g., cable modem/DSL/T1. While times will vary depending upon the size of your application, it can take a few minutes to a few hours to complete your grant submission using a dial up connection. Failure to fully upload an application by the deadline date and time will result in your application being marked late in the G5 system. If you do not have access to a high-speed internet connection, you may want to consider following the instructions in the Federal Register notice to obtain an exception to the electronic submission requirement no later than 14 calendar days before the application deadline date. (See the NIA for detailed instructions) Attaching Files – Additional Tips Please note the following tips related to attaching files to your application:

1. When you submit your application electronically, you must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in either Portable Document Format (PDF) or Microsoft Word. Although applicants have the option of uploading any narrative sections and all other attachments to their application in either PDF or Microsoft Word, we recommend applicants submit all documents as read-only flattened PDFs, meaning any fillable PDF files must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files and not as interactive or fillable PDF files, to better ensure applications are processed in a more timely, accurate, and efficient manner.

Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission. Therefore, each file uploaded to your application package should have a unique file name.

When attaching files, applicants should follow the guidelines established by Grants.gov on the size and content of file names. Uploaded file names must be fewer than 50 characters.

In general, applicants should not use any special characters. However, Grants.gov does allow for the following UTF-8 characters when naming your attachments: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore, hyphen, space, period, parenthesis, curly braces, square brackets, ampersand, tilde, exclamation point, comma, semi colon, apostrophe, at sign, number sign, dollar sign, percent sign, plus sign, and equal sign. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

Applicants should limit the size of their file attachments. Documents submitted that contain graphics and/or scanned material often greatly increase the size of the file attachments and can result in difficulties opening the files. For reference, the average discretionary grant application package with all attachments is less than 5 MB. Therefore, you may want to check the total size of your package before submission.

Additional Information Addressing Your Questions The Department provides multiple avenues for interested applicants to ask questions and clarify their understanding of the competition and process.

Applicants should keep in mind that the Department cannot provide guidance on specific proposals.

First, the Department has established the following email address: anita.vermeer@ed.gov, where potential applicants may ask questions about the competition. This email account will be monitored regularly and program staff will respond to applicant inquiries within 24-48 business hours.

Transparency After awards are made under this competition, all the submitted applications, together with reviewer scores and comments for those applications, may be posted on the Department’s web site.

Executive Order 12372 - Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs Executive Order 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs," was issued with the desire to foster the intergovernmental partnership and strengthen federalism by relying on State and local processes for the coordination and review of proposed Federal financial assistance and direct Federal development. The Order allows each State to designate an entity to perform this function. Below is the official list of those entities. For those States that have a home page for their designated entity, a direct link has been provided below by clicking on the State name.

You may locate the name and contact information of a State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) at https://www.ojp.gov/IntergovernmentalReviewSPOCList.pdf NOTE: States that are not listed on the website have chosen not to participate in the intergovernmental review process, and therefore do not have a SPOC. If you are located within a State that does not have a SPOC, you may send application materials directly to a federal awarding agency.

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. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit (20 USC 3474 General Education Provisions Act). Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or email ICDocketMgr@ed.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1894-0007.

NOTE: Please do not return completed applications to this address.

Grant Application Receipt Acknowledgement The G5 Functional Application Team will notify you of the Department’s receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of the competition NIA.

Grant and Contract Funding Information The Department of Education provides information about grant and contract opportunities electronically in several ways:

ED Internet Home Page: ED.gov website Grants.gov: Grants.gov website image1.png