PKG00247844-instructions.pdf

U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Office of State Support Washington, D.C. 20202-6200

Fiscal Year 2019

Application for New Grants Under the Competitive Grants for State Assessment Program

(CGSA)

CFDA 84.368A

Dated Material - Open Immediately

Closing Date: March 29, 2019

Approved OMB Number: 1894-0006

Expiration Date: 1/31/2021 ii

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: 1894-0006. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data resources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. 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. Please do not return completed applications to this address.

If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to:

Donald Peasley Office of Elementary and Secondary Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202-6132 Telephone: (202) 453-7982. Email: Donald.Peasley@ed.gov mailto:ICDocketMgr@ed.gov iii

Table of Contents

Dear Colleague:

Program Background Information

Program Overview Application Submission Procedures

Application Transmittal Instructions Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants Application Instructions

Electronic Application Submission Checklist Part 1: Preliminary Documents Part 2: Budget Information Part 3: ED Abstract Form Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Part 5: Budget Narrative Part 6: Other Attachments Part 7: Assurances and Certifications Part 8: Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (Executive Order 12372)

Reporting and Accountability Legal and Regulatory Information

Notice Inviting Applications Program Statute

Dear Colle

Dear Colleague:

Thank you for your interest in the Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA) program, administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education (Department). The purpose of this program is to enhance the quality of assessment instruments and assessment systems used by States for measuring the academic achievement of elementary and secondary school students. It is authorized by section 1203(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).

This program is similar to the Enhanced Assessment Grant (EAG) program authorized under the ESEA as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act, but there are some important differences between the CGSA and EAG. Most importantly, the CGSA has a different set of absolute priorities. An eligible applicant awarded a grant under this program must propose activities that fit one or more of the following categories:

1. Developing or improving assessments for English learners, including assessments of English language proficiency.

2. Developing or improving models to measure and assess student progress or student growth on State assessments.

3. Developing or improving assessments for children with disabilities, including alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and using the principles of universal design for learning.

4. Allowing for collaboration with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments.

5. Measuring student academic achievement using multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple sources.

6. Evaluating student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments (such as performance and technology-based academic assessments, computer adaptive assessments, projects, or extended performance task assessments) that emphasize the mastery of standards and aligned competencies in a competency-based education model.

Please take the time to review the applicable priorities, selection criteria, and all of the application instructions and requirements thoroughly. An application will not be evaluated if the applicant does not comply with all of the procedural rules that govern the submission of the application or the application does not contain the information required under the program (34 CFR §75.216(b) and (c)).

United States Department of Education

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

OFFICE OF STATE SUPPORT

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 U.S. Department of Education’s e-Application System. We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with Grants.gov and strongly recommend that you register and submit early.

Applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education are posted using Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader.

Please refer to grants.gov for more information. Please review the Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software and Education Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants forms found within this package for further information and guidance related to this requirement.

The Department expects to award $17,622,000 for new grants under this competition. We will award discretionary grants on a competitive basis for a project period of up to 48 months. We expect to award grants in August 2019.

Please visit our program website at www.ed.gov/programs/eag for further information. If you have any questions about the program after reviewing the application package, please contact Donald Peasley by e-mail at Donald.Peasley@ed.gov or Denise M. Joseph at Denise.Joseph@ed.gov.

Sincerely, Roberta Miceli Director Office of School Support and Accountability http://www.grants.gov/

Part I. Program Background Information

Program Overview The CGSA is a competitive discretionary grant program for States and consortia of States designed to enhance assessments and assessment systems. An essential part of educating students involves assessing students’ progress toward meeting the high standards they need to be ready for college and the workplace. Assessments provide necessary information for States, districts, educators, families, the public, and students themselves to measure progress and improve outcomes for all learners. It is important to continuously improve and innovate to ensure assessments are fair, of high quality and not duplicative, and reflect the expectation that students will be prepared for success in college and careers.

Proficiency on State assessments required under Title I, Part A, of the ESEA is the primary indicator in the ESEA of student academic achievement and, hence, the primary measure of State success in meeting the goals of ESEA. In view of the critical importance of these State assessments, section 1201 of the ESEA provides formula grants to all SEAs, and section 1203 authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grant awards to State educational agencies (SEAs) to help them enhance the quality of assessment and accountability systems.

An eligible applicant under this program must propose activities that fit one or more of the following categories:

1. Developing or improving assessments for English learners, including assessments of English language proficiency as required under ESEA section 1111(b)(2)(G) and academic assessments in languages other than English to meet the State’s obligations under ESEA section 1111(b)(2)(F).

2. Developing or improving models to measure and assess student progress or student growth on State assessments under ESEA section 1111(b)(2) and other assessments not required under ESEA section 1111(b)(2).

3. Developing or improving assessments for children with disabilities, including alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities described in ESEA section 1111(b)(2)(D), and using the principles of universal design for learning.

4. Allowing for collaboration with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments beyond the requirements for such assessments described in ESEA section 1111(b)(2).

5. Measuring student academic achievement using multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple sources.

6. Evaluating student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments (such as performance and technology-based academic assessments, computer adaptive assessments, projects, or extended performance task assessments) that emphasize the mastery of standards and aligned competencies in a competency-based education model.

Background for this Competition The Department’s 2019 competition will support the enhancement of States’ assessment instruments and systems under one of the program’s six statutory priorities. The Federal Register notice inviting applications (NIA) for this competition is included in this application package on page 53 and contains the official information and requirements for application submission, including all priorities, definitions, selection criteria, and requirements. Much of that information is repeated in other sections of this application package, but please refer to the NIA for complete information and requirements.

This application package and the NIA contain the requirements and instructions for submitting an application for the 2019 Competitive Grants for State Assessments discretionary grant competition.

Overview of Competition

• Type of Award: Discretionary grants.

• Estimated Available Funds: $17,622,000.

• Estimated Range of Awards: $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 total over a 48-month project period.

• Estimated Average Size of Awards: $2,500,000.

• Estimated Number of Awards: 4-8.

• Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs), as defined in section 8101(49) of the ESEA, of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and consortia of such SEAs.

• Note About Award Size: The Department will not make an award for less than the amount specified in section 1203(b)(1)(C) of the ESEA. Minimum award sizes, based on the FYs 2018 and 2019 appropriations and FY 2018 SEA school-age child counts, are as follows:

State Amount State Amount State Amount

ALABAMA $263,238 LOUISIANA $261,414 OKLAHOMA $228,320

ALASKA $42,952 MAINE $61,756 OREGON $209,316

ARIZONA $392,674 MARYLAND $322,062 PENNSYLVANIA $641,972

ARKANSAS $168,760 MASSACHUSETTS $331,334 RHODE ISLAND $50,082

CALIFORNIA $2,162,780 MICHIGAN $526,320 SOUTH

CAROLINA $266,226

COLORADO $303,846 MINNESOTA $309,688 SOUTH

DAKOTA $50,256

CONNECTICUT $183,992 MISSISSIPPI $172,792 TENNESSEE $360,710

DELAWARE $49,072 MISSOURI $331,048 TEXAS $1,751,074

DISTRICT OF

COLUMBIA $26,082 MONTANA $54,360 UTAH $220,426

FLORIDA $1,005,752 NEBRASKA $56,243 VERMONT $28,490

GEORGIA $608,720 NEVADA $82,004 VIRGINIA $445,614

HAWAII $70,784 NEW HAMPSHIRE $31,889 WASHINGTON $389,842

IDAHO $107,260 NEW JERSEY $478,372 WEST VIRGINIA $89,036

ILLINOIS $697,268 NEW MEXICO $118,156 WISCONSIN $310,782

INDIANA $378,232 NEW YORK $981,526 WYOMING $32,646

IOWA $174,946 NORTH

CAROLINA $555,624 PUERTO RICO $167,028

https://www.federalregister.gov/ https://www.federalregister.gov/

KANSAS $170,498 NORTH DAKOTA $39,958

KENTUCKY $240,830 OHIO $625,812

SEAs applying as part of a consortium must ensure that the amount requested is at least the amount specified for the largest State in the consortium; the amount requested does not need to be the cumulative amount for all States in the consortium.

Program Authority Section 1203(b)(1) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6363(b)(1)).

Applicable Regulations

(a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Office of Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. (d) The Secretary’s Final Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grant Programs (Supplemental Priorities), published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2018 (83 FR 9096).

More information on this program is available on the program website at https://www2.ed.gov/programs/eag/index.html.

Absolute and Invitational Priorities This competition includes six absolute priorities and two invitational priorities. The absolute priorities are from section 1203(b)(1) of the ESEA. The invitational priorities are from the the Supplemental Priorities.

Absolute Priorities:

For FY 2019 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet one or more of these priorities. Eligible applicants must specify which absolute priority(ies) they are applying under.

These priorities are:

Absolute Priority 1: Developing or improving assessments for English learners, including assessments of English language proficiency as required under section 1111(b)(2)(G) of the ESEA and academic assessments in languages other than English to meet the State’s obligations under section 1111(b)(2)(F) of the ESEA.

Absolute Priority 2: Developing or improving models to measure and assess student progress or student growth on State assessments under section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA and other assessments not required under section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA.

Absolute Priority 3: Developing or improving assessments for children with disabilities, including alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities described in section 1111(b)(2)(D) of the ESEA, and using the principles of universal design for learning.

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/eag/index.html

Absolute Priority 4: Allowing for collaboration with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments beyond the requirements for such assessments described in section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA.

Absolute Priority 5: Measuring student academic achievement using multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple sources.

Absolute Priority 6: Evaluating student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments (such as performance and technology-based academic assessments, computer adaptive assessments, projects, or extended performance task assessments) that emphasize the mastery of standards and aligned competencies in a competency-based education model.

Invitational Priorities:

For FY 2019 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are invitational priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets an invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.

The priorities are:

Promoting Literacy: Projects that are designed to address facilitating the accurate and timely use of data by educators to improve reading instruction and make informed decisions about how to help children or students build literacy skills while protecting student and family privacy.

Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) Education, With a Particular Focus on Computer Science: Projects designed to improve student achievement or other educational outcomes in one or more of the following areas:

Science, technology, engineering, math, or computer science (as defined in the NIA).

PART II: APPLICATION PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

INSTRUCTIONS

Application Submission Procedures

The deadline for submission of Competitive Grant for State Assessment applications through Grants.gov is March 29, 2019 at 4:30:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Application Transmittal Instructions

Attention Electronic Applicants: This program requires the electronic submission of applications--specific requirements and instructions can be found in the Federal Register notice.

Please note that you must follow the Application Procedures as described in the Federal Register notice announcing the grant competition.

We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described in the Federal Register notice for this competition, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions.

Applications Submitted Electronically

We are participating as a partner in the Government-wide Grants.gov site. Submit applications electronically using Grants.gov and do not email them.

On December 31, 2017, Grants.gov retired the Legacy PDF format for submitting grant applications. A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. An applicant can create an individual Workspace for each application notice and establish for that application a collaborative application package that allows more than one person in the applicant’s organization to work concurrently on an application. The Grants.gov system also enables the applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions, check them in and out to complete them, and submit the application package. For access to further instructions on how to apply using Grants.gov, refer to: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html. You may access the electronic grant applications at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number’s alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.368 not 84.368A).

Please note the following:

• Applicants needing assistance with Grants.gov may contact the Grants.gov Support Center either by calling 1–800–518–4726 or by sending an email to support@grants.gov.

The Grants.gov Support Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for Federal holidays.

• Applications received by Grants.gov are date- and time-stamped upon submission. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must be date- and time-stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if it is received—that is, date- and timestamped by the Grants.gov system— after 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application because it was late.

• The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the application and the speed of your internet connection.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you leave yourself plenty of time to complete your submission.

• You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for the program to ensure that you submit your application on time. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department’s G5 system home page at www.G5.gov. In addition, for specific guidance and procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov, please refer to the Grants.gov website at: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.

• When you submit your application electronically, all documents must be submitted in this manner, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: The Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.

• When you submit your application electronically, you must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in a read-only flattened Portable Document Format (PDF), meaning any fillable documents must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files. Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-fillable PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.)

or submit a password-protected file, we will be unable to review that material. Please note that this will likely result in your application not being considered for funding. The Department will not convert material from other formats to PDF.

• After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. Grants.gov also will notify you automatically by email if your application met all of the Grants.gov validation requirements or if there were any errors (such as submission of your application by someone other than a registered AOR, issues with your DUNS number, or inclusion of an attachment with a file name that contains special characters). You will be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you must still meet the deadline for submission of applications. Once your application is successfully validated http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html by Grants.gov, the Department will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send you an email with a unique PR/Award number for your application.

• Email confirmations and receipts from Grants.gov do not indicate receipt by the Department, nor do they mean that your application is complete or has met all application requirements. While your application may have been successfully validated by Grants.gov, it also must be reviewed in accordance with the Department’s application requirements as specified in the competition NIA and in these application instructions. It is your responsibility to ensure that your submitted application has met all of the Department’s requirements. Additionally, we may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date.

• Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System: If you experience problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk immediately, toll-free, at 1–800–518–4726.

The Grants.gov Support Center will provide you with a ticket number documenting your communication. You must retain your ticket number for future reference as proof of your communication with the Support Center. Please subsequently contact a person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in the competition NIA and provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline date because of technical problems within 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, provided we can verify the technical issues affected your ability to submit your application on time via your Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to technical problems with the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register in order to submit your application to Grants.gov (including with the required DUNS number and TIN currently registered in SAM) before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

According to the instructions found in the Federal Register notice, only those requesting and qualifying for an Exception to the electronic submission requirement may submit an application via mail, commercial carrier or by hand delivery.

Submission of Paper Applications by Mail:

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

U.S. Department of Education Application Control Center Attention: (CFDA Number 84.368A) LBJ Basement Level 1 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.

Washington, DC 20202-4260

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

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

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

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

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

Education.

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

(1) A private metered postmark.

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

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

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

Note for Mail of Paper Applications:

If you mail your application to the Department--

(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the Department--in Item

11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are submitting your application; and

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

For your convenience, a compatible version of Adobe Reader is available for free download at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html?inheritRedirect=true.

We strongly recommend that you review the information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe available at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html?inheritRedirect=true before downloading, completing or submitting your application.

Applicants are reminded that they should submit their application a day or two in advance of the closing date as detailed in the Federal Register Notice. If you have any questions regarding this matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or call 1-800-518-

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 Department of Education.

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.

For additional information or updates, please see the Grants.gov Browser information in the Applicant FAQs: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#browser

ATTENTION – Workspace, Adobe Forms and PDF Files Required

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: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

• Create a Workspace: Creating a workspace allows you to complete it online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html?inheritRedirect=true https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html?inheritRedirect=true https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html?inheritRedirect=true https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html?inheritRedirect=true http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#browser https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

• 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.

• a. Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out web forms you can download individual PDF forms 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:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

• b. 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.

• c. 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 DUNS 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 (GRANT 012819-001) 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 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

Helpful Reminders

REGISTER EARLY – Grants.gov registration involves many steps including registration on SAM (www.sam.gov) which may take approximately one week to complete, but could take upwards of several weeks to complete, depending upon the completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM database by an applicant. 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, and before you can submit an application through Grants.gov. For detailed information on the Registration Steps, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html please go to: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html [Note: Your organization will need to update its SAM registration annually.]

Primary information about SAM is available at www.sam.gov . However, to further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM or updating your existing SAM account the Department of Education has prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet which you can find at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html

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 4:30:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

Note: To submit successfully, you must provide the DUNS number on your application that was used when you registered as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) on Grants.gov.

This DUNS number is typically the same number used when your organization registered with the SAM. If you do not enter the same DUNS number on your application as the DUNS you registered with, 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 4:30:00 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 of Education 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 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. 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: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-messages.html . For more detailed information on troubleshooting Adobe errors, you can review the Adobe Reader Software Tip Sheet at:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html. 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.

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

Submission Problems – What should you do?

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:

https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants

If electronic submission is required, you must submit an electronic application before 4:30:00 p.m. Eastern Time, unless you follow the procedures in the Federal Register notice and qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. If electronic submission is optional and you have problems that you are unable to resolve before the deadline date and time for electronic applications, please follow the transmittal instructions for hard copy applications in the Federal Register notice and get a hard copy application postmarked by midnight on the deadline date. (See the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs notice for detailed instructions. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018- 02558.pdf )

Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov

Please go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html 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: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html as well as additional information on Workspace at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#workspace.

Dial-Up Internet Connections

When using 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. If you do not have access to a high-speed connection and electronic submission is required, 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 two weeks before the application deadline date. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)

Attaching Files – Additional Tips

Please note the following tips related to attaching files to your application, especially the requirement that applicants only include read-only, flattened .PDF files in their application:

• Ensure that you attach .PDF files only for any attachments to your application, and they must be in a read-only, flattened format. PDF files are the only Education approved file type accepted as detailed in the Federal Register application notice. 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 https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#workspace

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.

• 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, and, 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.

Application Instructions

Electronic Application Format

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement in accordance with the instructions in the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018- 02558.pdf) and in this application package under Application Submission Procedures.

In accordance with 34 CFR 75.216 (b) and (c) 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 the application does not contain the information required under the program.

It is recommended that your electronic application be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process. Instructions for all parts and forms of the application are found either on the following pages of the application package or individually for each form on Grants.gov.

Important note: Applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using web forms and Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader.

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

Information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe and links to download a compatible version is available on Grants.gov. Also, please review the Application Submission Procedures and in particular the Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants forms found within this package for further information and guidance related to this requirement.

We strongly recommend that you review these details on www.Grants.gov before completing and submitting your application. In addition, applicants should submit their application a day or two in advance of the closing date as detailed below. If you have any questions regarding this matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or call 1-800-518- 4726.

Instructions for all parts and forms of the application are found either on the following pages of the application package or individually for each form on Grants.gov.

Note: Please do not attach any narratives, supporting files, or application components to any forms unless it is specifically required by the instructions for the individual section of the application. Although several forms accept attachments, the Department of Education will only review materials/files attached in accordance with the instructions provided within this application package.

Submission Problems – What should you do?

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

https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants.

If electronic submission is optional and you have problems that you are unable to resolve before the deadline date and time for electronic applications, please follow the transmittal instructions for hard copy applications in the Federal Register notice and get a hard copy application postmarked by midnight on the deadline date.

If electronic submission is required, you must submit an electronic application before 4:30:00 p.m., unless you follow the procedures in the Federal Register notice and qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)

Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov

Please note, once you download an application from Grants.gov, you will be working offline and saving data on your computer. Please be sure to note where you are saving the Grants.gov file on your computer. You will need to logon to Grants.gov to upload and submit the application.

You must provide the DUNS number on your application that was used when you registered as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) on Grants.gov.

https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants

Application Instructions

Electronic Application Format

Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement in accordance with the instructions in this application package.

In accordance with EDGAR §75.216 (b) and (c), 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 the application does not contain the information required under the program.

Important note: Applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader.

Information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe and links to download a compatible version is available on Grants.gov. Also, please review the Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software and Education Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants forms found within this package for further information and guidance related to this requirement.

We strongly recommend that you review these details on www.Grants.gov before completing and submitting your application. In addition, applicants should submit their application a day or two in advance of the closing date as detailed below. If you have any questions regarding this matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or call 1-800-518- 4726.

Note: Please do not attach any narratives, supporting files, or application components to any forms unless it is specifically required by the instructions for the individual section of the application. Although several forms accept attachments, the Department of Education will only review materials/files attached in accordance with the instructions provided within this application package.

http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov

Electronic Application Submission Checklist

It is recommended that your electronic application be organized in the following manner and include the following parts in order to expedite the review process. Instructions for all parts and forms of the application are found either on the following pages of the application package or individually for each form on Grants.gov. We recommend that you limit the application narrative to no more than 65 pages using the standards outlined in the NIA for the competition. (The recommended 65-page limit, or its equivalent, does not apply to the following sections of an application: Part 1 (including the response regarding research activities involving human subjects); Part 2 (budget information); Part 3 (two-page project abstract); Part 5 (the budget narrative); Part 6 (memoranda of understanding or other binding agreement, if applicable; copy of applicant’s indirect cost rate agreement; letters of commitment and support from collaborating SEAs and organizations; other attachments forms, including, if applicable, references/bibliography for the project narrative and individual résumés for project director(s) and key personnel); and Part 7 (standard assurances and certifications). Applicants are encouraged to limit each résumé to no more than five pages.)

Review your electronic application to ensure you have completed the following forms and sections:

Part 1: Preliminary Documents Application for Federal Assistance (form SF 424) ED Supplemental Information for SF 424

Part 2: Budget Information ED Budget Information Non-Construction Programs (ED Form 524)

Part 3: ED Abstract Form Project Abstract

Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form Application Narrative

Part 5: Budget Narrative Attachment Form Budget Narrative

Part 6: Other Attachments Form Individual Resumes for Project Directors & Key Personnel (applicants are encouraged to limit each resume to no more than five pages) Executive Order 12372 Transmittal Letter…