oppED-GRANTS-080218-001-cfda84.184-cid84-184Q2018-1-instructions.pdf

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Office of Safe and Healthy Students

Washington, D.C. 20202

Fiscal Year 2018

Application for New Grants Under the Grants to

States for School Emergency Management Program

CFDA 84.184Q

Dated Material - Open Immediately Closing Date: September 04, 2018

Approved OMB Number: 1894-0006

Expiration Date: 01/31/2021

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Number 1894-0006. Note: Please do not return the completed Grants to States for School

Emergency Management application to this address.

If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Hamed Negron-Perez , Office of Safe and Healthy Students, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 3C130, Washington, D.C. Error!

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Table of Contents

A) Program Background Information

B) Competition Priorities

C) Definitions

D) Frequently Asked Questions

E) Application Procedures

F) Application Instructions

Part 1: Preliminary Documents

Part 2: Budget Information

Part 3: ED Abstract Form

Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form

Part 5: Budget Narrative

Part 6: Other Attachments

Part 7: Assurances and Certifications

Part 8: Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (Executive Order 12372)

G) Reporting and Accountability

H) Legal and Regulatory Information

Notice Inviting Applications

Dear Colleague:

Thank you for your interest in the Grants to States for School Emergency Management Grant

Program, administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S.

Department of Education (Department). The Grants to States for School Emergency

Management Grant Program provides competitive grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to expand the capacity of SEAs to provide training and technical assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs).

This competition has one priority. We consider only applications for the Grants to States for

School Emergency Management Grant Program that meet the absolute priority described in the notice inviting applications published in the Federal Register on September 04, 2018. Under the absolute priority, SEAs must expand their capacity to assist LEAs in the development and implementation of high-quality school EOPs.

Please note that the application deadline for this grant is September 04, 2018. Please also take the time to review the absolute priority, requirements, selection criteria, and all of the application instructions thoroughly. And, as part of a broader effort to reduce barriers for applicants seeking funds under a Department of Education (Department) discretionary grant competition, the

Department has issued a set of Common Instructions for Applicants available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf and also in this application package. For this competition it is mandatory for applicants to use the government-wide website, Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov), to apply. Please note that the Grants.gov site works differently than the Department’s e-Application System within the G5 grant portal.

Using FY 2018 funds, the Department expects to award $8,000,000 for new grants under this competition. We will award discretionary grants on a competitive basis for a project period of up to 60 months. Grants are expected to be awarded by September 30, 2018.

Please visit our program website at the Department of Education for further information on the

Grants to States for School Emergency Management Program Page. If you have any questions about the program after reviewing the application package, please contact Hamed Negron-Perez by telephone at (202) 453-6725 or via e-mail at hamed.negron-perez@ed.gov.

Paul Kesner, Director

Office of Safe and Healthy Students

United States Department of Education

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/schlemergmgt-sea/index.html

Program Background Information

Program Overview

The GSEM program provides grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to increase their capacity to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) by providing training and technical assistance in the development and implementation of high-quality school emergency operations plans (EOPs), as defined in this notice.

Authority

This grant program is authorized under Title IV, part F, subpart 3 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7281).

Official Documents Notice

The official document governing this competition is the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) published in the Federal Register on August 02, 2018. (See Legal and Regulatory Documents of this application package). The NIA is also available electronically at the following Web sites:

www.FederalRegister.gov and www.gpo.gov.

Eligible Applicants

This grant competition limits eligibility to State educational agencies (SEAs). Eligible applicants include SEAs in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the

United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern

Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Eligible applicants may collaborate informally or contract with other agencies to provide services to LEAs, including agencies such as:

• A State school safety center;

• The State emergency management agency; and

• The State homeland security department.

Competition Priorities

Priorities

We are establishing these priorities for the FY 2018 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C.

1232(d)(1).

Absolute Priority: This priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet this priority.

This priority is:

Projects that expand the capacity of SEAs to provide training and technical assistance to

LEAs.

Projects to increase the long-term internal capacity of SEAs to provide training and technical assistance to LEAs for the development and implementation of high-quality school EOPs.

http://www.federalregister.gov/ http://www.gpo.gov/

Competitive Preference Priorities (CPPs): For FY 2018 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(1) we award an additional 5 points to an application that meets this priority.

Competitive Preference Priority Applications from SEAs that have not previously received a grant under the GSEM program.

Projects proposed by applicants that have not previously received a grant under this program. A list of former recipients of this grant may be found at https://www2.ed.gov/programs/schlemergmgt-sea/2014awards.html.

Program Contact

Please contact Hamed Negron-Perez by telephone at (202) 453-6725 or via email at

Hamed.Negron-Perez@ed.gov after reviewing the application package if you have any questions about the program.

Project Period

The project period for this grant is up to 60 months (5 budget periods of 12 months each).

Note: Continuation of each successive grant period is subject to satisfactory performance, submission of an annual report, and availability of funds.

Grant Award Estimations

We estimate that awards will range annually from $250,000 to $750,000. We expect to award 16 grants. We will not make an award exceeding $750,000 for a single budget period of 12 months.

Application Due Date

Applications must be submitted on or before September 04, 2018. Please note that the

Department of Education (Department) grant application deadlines are 4:30:00 P.M. Eastern time.

Late applications will not be accepted.

We strongly suggest that you submit your application several days before the deadline. The

Department is required to enforce the established deadline to ensure fairness to all applicants.

No changes or additions to an application will be accepted after the deadline date and time.

Application Submission

Submit applications for grants under the program electronically using Grants.gov. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, please refer to the Department’s Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of

Education Discretionary Grant Programs available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-

02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf and later in this application package. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements.

Project Director Time Commitment

Applicants are requested to provide the percentage of the Project Director’s time that will be dedicated to the grant project if funded. For example, if the Project Director works 40 hours per https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf week and spends 20 hours per week working on grant activities, then the time commitment for the Project Director would be 50 percent. We suggest that applicants include this information in the budget narrative or add this information to the Project Director line on the Department of

Education Supplement to the Standard Form 424.

E-Mail Addresses

As part of our review of your application, we may need to contact you with questions for clarification. Please be sure your application contains valid e-mail addresses for the project director and authorized representative or another party designated to answer questions in the event the project director and authorized representative are unavailable.

Application Requirements

Applicants that receive grants under this program must:

(1) Provide an established point of contact (e.g., person or office) for school emergency management issues and submit that information to the Department no later than the project start date;

(2) Provide training and technical assistance to LEAs on best practices for developing and implementing school EOPs including, but not limited to, the process described in the “Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans”;

(3) Provide training and technical assistance to LEAs on developing or enhancing memoranda of understanding with community partners (e.g., local government, law enforcement, public safety or emergency management, public health, and mental health agencies); and

(4) Provide training and technical assistance to LEAs on the implementation of the

National Incident Management System (NIMS). Information about current NIMS requirements for States may be accessed at: www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system.

Each application must contain a plan that includes the following:

(1) Information on:

(a) Training, technical assistance, and resources the applicant currently provides to LEAs on emergency management;

(b) The current number of LEAs served; and

(c) The proposed number of LEAs, including rural LEAs that might not otherwise have full access to school emergency management training and resources, that

1 Available at: https://rems.ed.gov/docs/REMS_K-12_Guide_508.pdf. Plans must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), among other prohibitions on disability discrimination, across the spectrum of emergency management services, programs, and activities, including preparation, testing, notification and alerts, evacuation, transportation, sheltering, emergency medical care and services, transitioning back, recovery, and repairing and rebuilding. Plans should include students, staff, and parents with disabilities. Among other things, school emergency plans must address the provision of appropriate auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities (e.g., interpreters, captioning, and accessible information technology); ensure individuals with disabilities are not separated from service animals and assistive devices, and can receive disability-related assistance throughout emergencies (e.g., assistance with activities of daily living and administration of medications); and comply with the law’s architectural and other requirements. Information and technical assistance about the ADA is available at www.ada.gov.

would receive training and technical assistance to improve their school EOPs under the applicant’s proposal.

(d) A description of how the SEA will evaluate the quality of training and TA events administered to their LEAs, which should incorporate feedback from LEAs and other stakeholders (e.g. parents, students, teachers, first-responders, etc.)

(2) A long-term strategy for improving the applicant’s:

(a) Capacity to provide training and technical assistance to LEAs, including rural

LEAs that might not otherwise have full access to school emergency management training and resources; and capacity to address the unique needs of students, staff, and visitors with disabilities and other access and functional needs, including individuals with limited English proficiency.

(b) Existing training and technical assistance activities for their LEAs;

(c) Catalog of emergency management resources; and

(d) Alignment of emergency management training, technical assistance, and resources with emergency management planning at the Federal, State, and local levels.

(3) A description of a process for the coordination and sustainability of support that will be provided to LEAs so that they can continue to improve their schools’ EOPs beyond the period of Federal financial assistance.

Definitions

We are establishing the definitions for “high-quality school emergency operations plan (EOP),”

“rural LEA,” “technical assistance,” and “training” in this notice for the FY 2018 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C.

1232(d)(1). The remaining definitions are from 20 U.S.C. 7801(30), 7801(36), 7801(48), and

7801(49).

These definitions are:

High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) means a comprehensive emergency operations plan that encompasses the five mission areas--(1) prevention, (2) protection, (3) mitigation, (4) response, and (5) recovery--and that is (a) adequate, (b) feasible, (c) acceptable,

(d) complete, and (e) compliant.

For the purpose of this definition, the following terms are as defined below:

(1) Prevention means the capabilities necessary to avoid, deter, or stop an imminent crime or threatened or actual mass casualty incident. Prevention is also the action schools take to prevent a threatened or actual incident from occurring; and includes those capabilities necessary

2 Derived from: (1) Presidential Policy Directive 8, available at www.dhs.gov/presidential-policy-directive-8-national-preparedness; and (2) “Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans,” available at https://rems.ed.gov/docs/REMS_K-12_Guide_508.pdf.

to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism, and it includes preventing imminent threats.

(2) Protection means the capabilities to secure schools against acts of violence and manmade or natural disasters. Protection focuses on ongoing actions that protect students, teachers, staff, visitors, networks, and property from a threat or hazard.

(3) Mitigation means the capabilities necessary to eliminate or reduce the loss of life and property damage by lessening the impact of an event or emergency. It also means reducing the likelihood that threats and hazards will happen.

(4) Response means the capabilities necessary to stabilize an emergency once it has already happened or is certain to happen in an unpreventable way; establish a safe and secure environment; save lives and property; and facilitate the transition to recovery.

(5) Recovery means the capabilities necessary to assist schools affected by an event or emergency in restoring the learning environment.

(a) Adequate means the plan identifies and addresses critical courses of action effectively; the plan can accomplish the assigned function; and the assumptions are valid and reasonable.

(b) Feasible means the school can accomplish the assigned function and critical tasks by using available resources within the time contemplated by the plan, and that the plan explains where or how the district and school will obtain the resources to support the execution of a course of action or to meet a requirement established in the plan.

(c) Acceptable means the plan meets the requirements driven by a threat or hazard, meets cost and time limitations, and is consistent with the law.

(d) Complete means the plan:

(i) Incorporates all courses of action to be accomplished for all selected threats and hazards and identified functions;

(ii) Integrates the needs of the whole school community;

(iii) Provides a complete picture of what should happen, when, and at whose direction;

(iv) Estimates time for achieving objectives, with safety remaining as the utmost priority;

(v) Identifies success criteria and a desired end state; and

(vi) Conforms with the planning principles outlined in the “Guide for Developing

High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans.”

(e) Compliant means the plan complies with applicable State and local requirements because these provide a baseline that facilitates both planning and execution.

LEA means a local educational agency as defined by section 8101(30) of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7801(30)).

Outlying Areas means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the

Republic of the Marshall Islands. (ESEA section 8101(36), 20 U.S.C. 7801(36)).

Rural LEA means an LEA with one of the following district locale codes as assigned by the

National Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core of Data: Code 33 (Remote Town);

Code 41 (Fringe Rural); Code 42 (Distant Rural); and Code 43 (Remote Rural). LEA locale codes may be obtained by searching the Common Core of Data database at:

http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/.

http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/

SEA means a State educational agency as defined by section 8101(49) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C.

7801(49)).

State means any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico, and each of the outlying areas as defined in this notice. (ESEA section 8101(48), 20

U.S.C. 7801(48)).

Technical Assistance means consultations, information, referrals, logistical support, and other assistance on specific issues, topics, or problems as requested by the LEAs and other stakeholders. The grantee disseminates materials collected, developed, adapted, and adopted for this assistance. Technical assistance may proceed, follow, or be combined with training activities.

Training means instruction directed toward imparting knowledge, skills, and attitudes supportive of change by engaging, informing, equipping, and motivating trainees toward the development and implementation of action plans responsive to the specific need or circumstances of the trainees. Training may consist of various formats (e.g., workshops, seminars, or computer-assisted tutorials).

Frequently Asked Questions

A. Administrative

A.1 What is the deadline date for this competition?

The competition deadline for the Grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) for School

Emergency Management program is XXXX XX, 2018.

A.2 May I get an extension of the deadline date?

Waivers for individual applications failing to meet the deadline will not be granted, regardless of the circumstances. Under very extraordinary circumstances the U.S.

Department of Education (Department) may change the closing date for a grant competition. When this occurs, the Department announces such a change in a notice published in the Federal Register.

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

A.3 Do I have to submit my application electronically?

Yes. Unless you qualify for an exception in accordance with the instructions found in

Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant

Programs available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-

02558.pdf, and in this application package, you must submit your application electronically.

A.4 How do I register to submit my grant electronically?

If you are a new user, you will need to register to use Grants.gov. Read the Common

Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf.

A.5 How do I submit my application electronically?

Transmit your application by the deadline date and time. When submitting your application electronically, you must use Grants.gov at: www.grants.gov. Unless you qualify for an exception in accordance with the instructions found in Common

Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf, and in this application package, you must submit your application electronically.

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf http://www.grants.gov/

A.6 What information do I enter in box 4 Applicant Identifier, box 5a Federal

Entity Identifier, and box 5b Federal Award Identifier on the SF-424 form?

These boxes are not applicable for this competition. Please leave boxes 4, 5a, and 5b blank. You may input “NA” in each box, but be sure not to include a slash (i.e., “N/A”);

the system will not allow you to input special characters.

A.7 How should I submit forms with signatures?

We strongly encourage you to scan and upload signed versions of the forms, in a Portable

Document Format (PDF format), to the Other Attachments Form section of the application package on Grants.gov or you may fax the signed forms to the Department.

These documents may be faxed to the attention of Hamed Negron-Perez at 202-453-6742 and must be received within three days of your application submission.

A.8 Are there any compatibility restrictions?

You must submit your application in a PDF format in order for your application to submit successfully to the Department. If you submit your application in any other format, we will not be able to access your document. Applicants must submit individual .PDF files only when attaching files to their application. Specifically, the Department will not accept any attachments that contain files within a file, such as PDF Portfolio files, or an interactive or fillable .PDF file. Any attachments uploaded that are not .PDF files or are password protected files will not be read.

A.9 How does the Freedom of Information Act affect my application?

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. All U.S. Government agencies are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those records that are protected from disclosure by the nine exemptions listed in the FOIA. All applications submitted for funding consideration under this grant competition are subject to the FOIA. The Department’s Freedom of Information website is available at:

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html.

A.10 For my General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) 427 statement is it adequate to state that our organization does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, etc.?

No. An organization’s non-discrimination statement is not sufficient to meet the GEPA requirements. A GEPA statement should outline an entity’s potential barriers and solutions to equal access, specific to the proposed project.

A.11 Is this program covered by Executive Order 12372?

Yes. This means applicants must submit a copy of their application to their State Single

Point of Contact for review and upload the transmittal letter in the Other Attachments

Form section in Grants.gov (refer to page 64). On the application for Federal Assistance http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html

(Standard Form 424), you must check box (a) in item 19 and provide the date on which you made your application available for review. Note that the Department is prohibited from making an award to an entity that has not provided an opportunity for its State to review the application. The only exceptions to this requirement are applicants from

States that have chosen not to participate or have indicated they do not wish to review applications from this competition. In either of these cases, applicants should check box

(b). Do not check box (c) since this grant program is covered by Executive Order

12372. For more information about this requirement, see the Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs section in this application package.

A.12 What is required from an applicant whose State Single Point of Contact indicates that they are not reviewing applications for this grant competition?

Applicants should include a copy of such a response from the State Single Point of

Contact in their application package submitted to the Department and check the appropriate line on the SF 424 form.

A.13 By what date do applicants have to submit their application to their State

Single Point of Contact, if participating?

Applicants must submit their application to the State Single Point of Contact by the deadline date for transmitting their application to the Department.

A.14 What steps should the applicant’s Authorized Representative take before signing a grant application?

The standard form that serves as a cover sheet for grant applications includes a certification statement that accompanies the authorized representative’s signature. That certification indicates that the information provided in the grant application is true and complete to the best of the authorized representative’s knowledge, and that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject the authorized representative to administrative, civil, or criminal penalties. As a result, an authorized representative should carefully review a grant application before signing in order to be sure that all of the information contained in the application package is correct. Additionally, an authorized representative should be sure that the application describes a project that has the organization’s support and reflects an approach that the organization is committed to implementing.

A.15 What should I include in the “Table of Contents”?

The Table of Contents shows where and how the important sections of your proposal are organized and should not exceed one double spaced page. The application package shows the “Table of Contents” falling within the “Project Narrative,” but the “Table of

Contents” should be comprehensive, covering all application content.

B. Eligibility

B.1 Who is eligible to apply?

This grant competition limits eligibility to State educational agencies (SEAs). Eligible applicants include SEAs in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Eligible applicants may collaborate informally or contract with other agencies to provide services to LEAs, including agencies such as:

• A State school safety center;

• The State emergency management agency; and

• The State homeland security department.

B.2 Are State school safety centers eligible to apply?

No. Only SEAs (as defined) are eligible applicants. However, as stated in the NIA for this grant program, eligible applicants may collaborate informally or contract with other agencies to provide services to local educational agencies (LEAs), including agencies such as a State school safety center, the State Emergency Management Agency, or the

State Homeland Security Department.

C. Priorities

C.1 What priority must all applicants address to be eligible for funding?

Projects that expand the capacity of SEAs to provide training and technical assistance to

LEAs.

Projects to increase the long-term internal capacity of SEAs to provide training and technical assistance to LEAs for the development and implementation of high-quality school EOPs.

C.2 What is the balance between building capacity at the State level and providing training and technical assistance to LEAs?

The goal of this grant program is for SEAs to be equipped to assist their LEAs in ensuring schools have high-quality emergency operating plans and are prepared to implement them. Depending on the SEA’s current capacity, this grant can support that goal through a balance of two approaches: (1) expand SEA capacity to provide training and technical assistance to LEAs; and (2) provide training and technical assistance to

LEAs resulting in the development and implementation of high-quality school emergency management plans. Those States that currently have limited internal capacity must first expand their internal capacity and then use the remaining grant funds to provide training and technical assistance to as many LEAs as possible. Those States that demonstrate current internal capacity (e.g., subject matter experts on staff and comprehensive up-to-date resources), will be expected to focus their grants on providing training and technical assistance to as many LEAs as possible.

D. Requirements

D.1 What Assurances and Certifications are required?

Be certain to complete all required assurances and certifications in Grants.gov, and include all required information in the appropriate place on each form. The assurances and certifications required for this application are:

Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF 424B Form)

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF LLL Form)

Certification Regarding Lobbying (ED 80-0013 Form)

General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) Requirements – Section 427

For those SEAs that plan to collaborate informally or contract with other State-level agencies, departments, or organizations, signed letters of intent from each State-level entity are required along with the application.

D.2 When must an SEA provide an established point of contact (e.g., person or office) for school emergency management issues and submit that information to the

Department?

SEAs must provide an established point of contact (e.g., person or office) for school emergency management issues and submit that information to the Department no later than the project start date. This program requirement can be found on page 6 in the NIA.

D.3 Must an SEA assist LEAs in developing memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with their community partners?

GSEM applicants must provide a training and technical assistance strategy that includes assisting LEAs in developing or enhancing LEA MOUs with their community partners as part of a high-quality EOP. This program requirement can be found on page 7 in the NIA.

D.4 What are the Project Performance Measures for this program?

The Department has established the following performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of the GSEM program:

The number of training events provided by the GSEM program to assist LEAs in the development and implementation of high-quality school EOPs.

The extent to which the GSEM program expands the capacity of the SEAs to provide training and technical assistance to LEAs for the development and implementation of high-quality school EOPs

For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please go to the Department’s

Performance Report Form 524B at http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html

D.5 What is the National Incident Management System (NIMS)?

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) identifies concepts and principles that answer how to manage emergencies from preparedness to recovery regardless of their cause, size, location or complexity. NIMS provides a consistent, nationwide approach and vocabulary for multiple agencies or jurisdictions to work together to build, sustain and deliver the core capabilities needed to achieve a secure and resilient nation.

Consistent implementation of NIMS provides a solid foundation across jurisdictions and disciplines to ensure effective and integrated preparedness, planning and response.

Applicants are required to provide training and technical assistance to LEAs on the implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Information about current NIMS requirements may be accessed at http://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system.

E. Program-Specific Questions

E.1 How do applicants demonstrate intent to collaborate informally or contract with other State-level agencies, departments or organizations to provide ongoing services to LEAs?

Applicants that intend to collaborate informally or contract with other State-level entities should consult with them during the development of their application to obtain signed letters of intent to clearly state each entity’s specific role and responsibility in carrying out the grant activities and to ensure that efforts are coordinated, sustainable beyond the period of federal funding, and to avoid duplication of effort.

E.2 Will a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with one of the State-level partners suffice as a letter of intent?

No. Eligible applicants may collaborate informally or contract with other State-level agencies, departments or organizations to provide services to LEAs, but the signed letter of intent must clearly state each partner’s specific role and responsibility in carrying out the grant activities. The agreement must be written specifically for the proposed GSEM project and should identify specific responsibilities in connection to the proposed project.

A separate MOU from a previously established relationship will not meet the requirements.

E.3 May applicants coordinate with more than the State-level partners indicated in the NIA for this grant?

Yes. The Department has indicated sample allowable State-level partners in the NIA.

Eligible applicants may collaborate informally or contract with other agencies to provide services to LEAs, including agencies such as:

• A State school safety center;

• The State Emergency Management Agency; and

• The State Homeland Security Department.

http://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system http://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system

Additional State-level partners are allowable to help with implementation of this grant

(i.e., public health or transportation departments, etc.).

E.4 Are prevention programs (i.e., bullying prevention, suicide prevention, violence prevention, etc.) allowable under the GSEM grant program?

No. Prevention programs are beyond the scope of this grant competition. While we recognize the importance of a comprehensive approach to violence prevention, those activities are not directly related to development of an effective emergency operations plan. Requests for funds to implement a prevention program will not be allowed.

E.5 Are America’s PrepareAthon! activities allowable under this grant?

Yes. Preparedness activities in line with America’s PrepareAthon

(www.ready.gov/prepare) are allowable under this grant, to the extent that they serve the purpose of building capacity of SEAs to assist LEAs in the development and implementation of high-quality EOPs.

F. Selection Criteria

F.1 How will applications be reviewed?

The Department will first screen applications to determine which applications should be forwarded to reviewers based on the adequacy of the applications’ response to the absolute priority, and their eligibility.

The Department intends to use non-federal reviewers from various backgrounds and professions with relevant expertise. These reviewers will use their professional judgment to evaluate and score each application based on the selection criteria.

F.2 Will an applicant receive its scores and reviewer comments after the competitions are completed?

Yes. Both funded and unfunded applicants will receive a copy of the technical review form completed by the peer reviewers. Individual reviewer names are deleted from the forms to preserve confidentiality.

F.3 Will the reviewers be asked to read every part of each application?

Yes. Reviewers will be asked to read every part of the application (including the budget narrative, budget forms, and project narrative, among others); however, reviewers will not read any pages of the project narrative that exceed the page limit. For this reason and to facilitate the review, the Department encourages applicants to carefully follow the directions in the application package. Applicants should pay particular attention to the flow of the narrative and correctly label all attachments.

http://www.ready.gov/prepare

G. Budget

G.1 Is there a maximum award amount for this competition?

Yes. We will not fund any budget exceeding the maximum award amount for each eligible applicant as stated in the NIA for this grant.

G.2 What is an indirect cost?

An indirect cost is an expense that you incur that is necessary for implementing the grant, but may be difficult to identify directly with your grant. For example, indirect costs may include money spent for heat, light, rent, telephone, security, accounting, and Internet use.

G.3 Does this program use a restricted or unrestricted indirect cost rate?

This program uses an unrestricted indirect cost rate.

G.4 How do I obtain an unrestricted indirect cost rate?

Your organization may already have a negotiated, unrestricted indirect cost rate with a

Federal government agency. If your organization has not negotiated this rate in the past, please contact the Department’s Indirect Cost Group at Indirectcostgroup@ed.gov.

G.5 If an applicant intends to charge indirect costs to the grant, what documentation should it submit with its application?

If an applicant has a current indirect cost rate, it should submit a copy of its current indirect cost rate agreement, including its current rate.

If an applicant does not have a current indirect cost rate agreement, applicants should submit a provisional indirect cost rate. Applicants may choose not to submit indirect cost rate information at the time of application; however, in order to charge indirect costs to the grant, this applicant will need to submit an indirect cost rate agreement. The applicant should include any proposed indirect costs in its proposed budget and budget narrative.

G.6 What guidance is available on developing a budget narrative?

For guidance on preparing a budget narrative, please see http://www.ed.gov/admins/grants/apply/techassist/resource_pg8.html.

G.7 If a grantee fails to propose indirect costs in the budget section of the application, may it charge indirect costs to the grant once awarded?

During the Department’s budget review process, which occurs prior to grant award, the

Department reviews each applicant’s requested budget. If the requested budget does not include estimated indirect costs, they will not be included in the budget approved by the

Department that forms the basis of the grant award. This means that, after award, a grantee would only have funds with which to charge indirect costs to the grant if the mailto:Indirectcostgroup@ed.gov http://www.ed.gov/admins/grants/apply/techassist/resource_pg8.html approved direct costs of the grantee’s project for any budget period exceed the grantee's actual direct costs. Where this occurs, the grantee may submit a requested budget revision to the Department program office to use the excess funds budgeted for direct costs to cover its indirect costs.

G.8 If, at the time it receives a grant award, a grantee does not have an approved indirect cost agreement, may it still charge indirect costs to the grant?

A grantee that does not have an indirect cost agreement at the time of application may still be able to charge indirect costs until it receives an approved rate, if the Secretary approves the grantee's request to use a temporary rate of ten percent of budgeted direct salaries and wages. However, after the grant award is issued, the grantee must expeditiously take steps to obtain an indirect cost rate. The grantee should inform the

Department that it has taken this step and forward to the Department’s program office the indirect cost rate agreement that it eventually obtains.

For additional information about obtaining an approved indirect cost rate or applying for an indirect cost rate, contact the Department’s indirect cost group at

IndirectCostGroup@ed.gov.

G.9 What are the funding restrictions?

Program funds may be used for costs related to training, technical assistance, and SEA capacity building, in addition to other allowable costs.

G.10 Are applicants required to secure cost sharing or matching funds?

No. Applicants are not required to secure cost sharing or matching funds.

G.11 What is the project and budget period for these grants?

The project period for this grant is up to 60 months (5 budget periods of 12 months each).

Note: Continuation of each successive grant period is subject to satisfactory performance, submission of an annual report, and availability of funds.

G.12 What will be the project start date?

Should you receive a grant, the start date will depend on when funds can be awarded and obligated. September 30, 2018 is the suggested start date; however, the applicant’s proposed start date may be slightly modified by mutual agreement by the Department and the grantee.

G.13 Must a grantee wait until the start of the initial budget period to begin incurring costs that grant funds will reimburse?

No. GSEM funds are available to reimburse a grantee for pre-award costs that are reasonable, necessary, and otherwise allowable when these costs were incurred within 90 days prior to the beginning of the grant's initial budget period. For instance, a grantee with a budget period start date of October 1 may begin carrying out tasks for the new project as early as July 1, although it cannot draw down any payments until October 1 when the grant is awarded and the initial budget period has begun.

However, until notified of receipt of a grant award, an applicant bears the risk of committing its own funds to these pre-award obligations. If the applicant is not awarded a GSEM grant, the Department will not reimburse the applicant for any costs incurred in anticipation of a possible grant award.

G.14 What should be included in the budget narrative?

As explained in the application package, an application should include one budget narrative. This narrative should provide a detailed description of how the applicant plans to use its requested grant funds, and should be of sufficient scope and detail for the

Department to determine if the costs are necessary, reasonable, and otherwise allowable, and for the reader to understand how the applicant proposes to use Federal and any non-

Federal funds to support the proposed project.

For further guidance on Federal cost principles, an applicant may wish to consult the applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars: OMB Circular A-87 (for

SEAs and LEAs) and A-21 (for nonprofit organizations). (To review these Circulars, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars.)

Additionally, the “Budget Narrative” section of the application package provides extensive detail, including examples, on how an applicant might present the assumptions on which the proposed performance-based compensation costs are based.

G.15 Are there certain items that cannot be purchased with GSEM funds?

Yes. Generally, grant funds cannot be used to purchase refreshments, breakfast, incentives or prizes, or other prohibited items identified by the Office of Management and Budget’s Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments available at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/federal_register/FR2005/08

3105_a87.pdf .

H. Additional Questions

H.1 Who do I contact for more information about this grant competition?

Any questions pertaining to this grant competition should be directed to Hamed Negron-

Perez, U.S. Department of Education, by email hamed.negron-perez@ed.gov or by phone: (202-453-6725). Please note that we anticipate receiving a large volume of inquiries and recommend contacting us via email with any questions. We will do our best to respond to inquiries within 24-48 hours. Please do not wait until the closing date to contact us with questions, as we may not be able to respond prior to competition closing time.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars

Application Procedures

Technical Assistance Workshop

The Department intends to hold a pre-application webinar designed to provide technical assistance to interested applicants. Information about webinar time and instructions for registering will be posted on the Department Web site at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/indianprofdev/applicant.html.

Tips for Preparing and Submitting an Application

Beginning the Application Process

Read this application package in its entirety, including the NIA, and make sure you follow all of the instructions.

Read the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary

Grant Programs at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf and included in this application package for your quick reference.

Read the Frequently Asked Questions section in this application package.

If you do not understand an instruction or requirement, contact Hamed Negron-Perez, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students, Room 3C130, Washington, D.C. 20202. Telephone: (202) 453-6725 or by email: Hamed.Negron-

Perez@ed.gov for information about this grant competition.

Preparing Your Application

Organize your narrative according to the selection criteria headings and respond comprehensively.

Be thorough in your responses. Write so that someone who knows nothing about your community and the proposed activities, curricula, programs, and services can understand what you are proposing and why.

Make sure your budget provides sufficient itemization and detailed descriptions about planned expenditures so Department staff can easily determine how amounts were calculated.

Link your planned expenditures to the proposed activities, curricula, programs, and services. Do not request funds for miscellaneous purposes. Make sure you demonstrate that your proposed expenditures are necessary to carry out your program.

Submitting Your Application

Use the checklist provided in this application package to ensure your application is complete before submitting it.

Make sure all required forms are included and signed by an Authorized Representative of your organization.

Transmit your application by the deadline date and time. When submitting your application electronically, you must use Grants.gov at: www.grants.gov. Unless you qualify for an exception in accordance with the instructions found in Common

Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf, and in http://www2.ed.gov/programs/indianprofdev/applicant.html https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf this application package, you must submit your application electronically.

What Happens Next?

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 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/track-my-application.html. Please refer to this PR/Award number if you need to contact us about your application.

The Department screens each application to ensure that all program eligibility requirements are met and that all forms are included and signed by the Authorized

Representative. Ineligible applicants will receive a notification letter, including the reasons for ineligibility.

If eligible, your application will be assigned to a panel of independent reviewers who will evaluate and score your proposal according to the selection criteria in this package. Your application will receive a score from 0 to 100, not including competitive preference priority (CPP) points (5 points), depending upon how if it addresses the selection criteria.

A Grant Award Notification will be sent to applicants whose proposals rank high enough to be awarded a grant. Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will receive peer reviewers’ comments approximately 6 to 8 weeks after grant awards are announced.

Unsuccessful applicants will also receive a notification letter. Please be sure your application contains a valid mailing address for both the Project Director and the

Authorized Representative so that reviewers’ comments can be successfully delivered.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submission of the Grants to States for School…