PKG00251685-instructions.pdf

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Alaska Native Education Program

Washington, D.C. 20202-6200

Fiscal Year 2019

Application for New Grants Under the Alaska Native Education Program

CFDA 84.356A

Dated Material - Open Immediately Closing Date: July 5, 2019

Approved OMB Number: 1894-0006

Expiration Date: 01/31/2021 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 16 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. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this application, please contact Almita Reed, Alaska Native Education program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland, Avenue, SW, Room 3E222, Washington, DC 20202-6200. [Note: Please do not return the completed application this address.]

If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Almita Reed, Alaska Native Education program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland, Avenue, SW Room 3E222, Washington, D.C. 20202-6200.

iii

Table of Contents

Dear Colleague Letter

Program Background Information

Program Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

Applicant Guide

Technical Assistance Workshops for Prospective Applicants

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Application Submission Procedures

Application Transmittal Instructions

Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software

Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants

Application Instructions

Electronic Application Format

Electronic Application Submission Checklist

Part 1: Preliminary Documents

Part 2: Budget Information

Part 3: ED Abstract Form

Part 4: Project Narrative Attachment Form

Part 5: Budget Narrative

Important Information Regarding Indirect Costs

Part 6: Other Attachment Form

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 Colleague Letter

Dear Colleague:

Thank you for your interest in the Alaska Native Education (ANE) program, administered by the

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

(Department). This document includes information for applicants seeking funding for new grant projects in Fiscal Year 2019 under the ANE program, authorized under Title VI, Part C of the

Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015.

The purpose of the ANE program is to support innovative projects that meet the unique educational needs of Alaska Native students.

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

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 will be posted using

Adobe forms. Therefore, applicants will need to download a compatible version of Adobe reader. 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.

Using FY 2019 funds, the Department expects to award approximately $19,580,000 for new grants under this competition. We will award discretionary grants on a competitive basis for a project period of up to 36 months. Grants are expected to be awarded in September 2019.

Please visit our program website at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/alaskanative/index.html for further information. If you have any questions about the program after reviewing the application package, please contact Almita Reed by telephone at (202) 260-1979 or via e-mail at

OESE.ASKANEP@ed.gov.

Sincerely, James Butler

Director

United States Department of Education

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

OFFICE OF RURAL, INSULAR AND NATIVE ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAMS

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www2.ed.gov/programs/alaskanative/index.html https://usdedeop-my.sharepoint.com/personal/almita_reed_ed_gov/Documents/Application%20Package/OESE.ASKANEP@ed.gov

Program Background Information

Program Overview

The purpose of this competition under the Alaska Native Education (ANE) program is to support innovative projects that recognize and address the unique educational needs of Alaska Natives.

These projects must include activities (i.e. mandatory activities) authorized under section

6304(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every

Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) and may include one or more of the activities (i.e. permissible activities) authorized under section 6304(a)(3) of the ESEA.

Frequently Asked Questions

(1) What costs may be included under the five-percent limit on administrative costs (ESEA sec. 6305)?

Due to the limitation in ESEA section 6305, ANE budgets cannot include administrative costs that exceed five percent of the total costs of the grant. This five-percent limit includes both direct and indirect administrative costs. For all ANE grantees except certain IHEs and non-profit organizations (see the next question for information for these two types of grantees), all indirect costs are considered administrative costs, so must be included within this five-percent limit. Grantees must ensure that any indirect costs charged to the grant do not total more than five percent of the total grant. This means that many grantees may not be able to charge their full indirect cost rate against costs in their grant.

Certain costs, such as travel, the project director salary, and evaluation, may not necessarily all be administrative, but may be direct program cost, or partly direct program cost and partly administrative. For example, if your project director is directly managing and supervising your project, their salary may be considered a direct cost that is not subject to the five-percent cap under ESEA section 6305. In your budget narrative, you must describe the costs and parts of the budget lines that you include in the calculation of the administrative costs and provide enough explanation to justify that you have met the administrative cost limit.

(2) Are there different requirements for grantees with an indirect cost rate that separately breaks out “facilities” and “administration” costs?

A small number of ANEP grantees (“major nonprofit organizations” (those that receive more than $10 million in direct Federal funding in a fiscal year) and “major IHEs” (those whose total direct cost of work exceeds $10 million in a fiscal year)) may have an indirect cost rate that breaks out “facilities” and “administrative” costs separately. For those grantees, the

“administrative” portion of those costs must be included within the five-percent administrative cost cap. But the “facilities” portion of those indirect costs are not subject to the five-percent administrative cost cap. Please see OMB Uniform Guidance July 2017 FAQs for more information.

https://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/dcd/July2017-UniformGuidanceFrequentlyAskedQuestions.pdf

Applicant Guide

The intent of this section of the application package is to identify the selection criteria, application requirements, definitions, and help applicants understand how each criterion and the requirements will be applied during the review process.

The program supports effective supplemental education programs that maximize participation of

Alaska Native educators and leaders in the planning, development, implementation, management, and evaluation of programs designed to serve Alaska Natives. Permissible activities include, but are not limited to, such activities as curriculum development, training and professional development, early childhood services and parent outreach, enrichment programs, as well as construction.

The program narrative is the section of the application that directly responds to the selection criteria. The program narrative should follow the order of the selection criteria listed below, and in the notice inviting applications (NIA), which is included in this application package.

Applicants should describe, in detail, activities planned for each of the funding periods of the grant (up to three funding periods). The program office suggests that applicants limit the program narrative to 30 pages. All applications must be entered into the Grants.gov system. E-mailed applications are not acceptable. Narrative attachments must be submitted as files in a read-only, flattened Portable Document Format (PDF). If applicants upload a file type other than a read-only, flattened PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material.

A minimum of three peer reviewers will evaluate each proposal. Reviewers will be asked to review the applicants’ responses to each of the criteria identified below and score each of their assigned proposals. The points for the selection criteria add up to a score of 120. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses. Not responding to a specific criterion could negatively affect your score.

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria for this competition are from 34 CFR 75.210 and section 6304(a)(2)(A) of the ESEA. The maximum score for all the selection criteria is 120 points. The maximum possible score for addressing each selection criterion is indicated in parentheses. Each criterion also includes the factors that reviewers will consider in determining the extent to which an applicant meets the criterion. The selection criteria for this competition are as follows:

(a) Need for project (up to 20 points)

(1) The Secretary considers the need for the proposed project.

In determining the need for the proposed project, the Secretary considers the extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services, infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude of those gaps or weaknesses.

(b) Quality of the project design (up to 40 points)

(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the design of the proposed project.

In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable (up to 20 points);

(ii) The extent to which the proposed project demonstrates a rationale (as defined in this notice) (up to 10 points); and

(iii) The extent to which the project plans, methods, strategies, and activities described by the applicant under Application Requirement 1 will improve educational outcomes for Alaska

Natives (up to 10 points).

(c) Quality of the management plan (up to 40 points)

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

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

(i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project tasks (up to 20 points); and

(ii) The adequacy of mechanisms for ensuring high-quality products and services from the proposed project (up to 20 points).

(d) Quality of project personnel (up to 10 points)

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

In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary considers the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability. In addition the Secretary considers the qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of key project personnel.

(e) Quality of the project evaluation (up to 10 points)

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

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

(i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the proposed project. (up to 5 points)

(ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are appropriate to the context within which the project operates. (up to 5 points)

Application Requirements

Listed below are the application requirements for this grant competition. These application requirements are for the FY 2019 grant competition and any subsequent year in which awards are made from the list of unfunded applications from this competition.

Each applicant must describe its response to the following requirements:

(a) The applicant must provide a detailed description of the plans, methods, strategies, and activities it will develop and implement to improve the educational outcomes of Alaska Natives;

and how the applicant will develop and implement such plans, methods, strategies, and activities;

and

(b) The applicant must provide a detailed description of the data it will collect to assist in the evaluation of the programs carried out under the ANE program, including data that address the performance measures in section VI.5 (Performance Measures) of this notice; and how the applicant will collect such data.

(c) Group Application: An applicant that applies as part of a partnership must meet this requirement, in addition to the requirements in (a) and (b) above.

(1) An ANO that applies for a grant in partnership with a State educational agency (SEA) or local educational agency (LEA) must serve as the fiscal agent for the project.

(2) Group applications under the ANE program must include a partnership agreement that includes a Memorandum of Understanding or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU/MOA) between the members of the partnership identified and discussed in the grant application. Each

MOU/MOA must-–

(i) Be signed by all partners, and dated within 120 days prior to the date of the submission of the application;

(ii) Clearly outline the work to be completed by each partner that will participate in the grant in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of the project; and

(iii) Demonstrate an alignment between the activities, roles, and responsibilities described in the grant application for each of the partners in the partnership agreement.

(d) Applicants Establishing Eligibility through a Charter or Sanction from an Alaska Native

Tribe or ANO:

For an entity that does not meet the eligibility requirements for an ANO, established in section

6304(a)(1) and 6306(2) of the ESEA and the notice of final definitions and requirements published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, and that seeks to establish eligibility through a charter or sanction provided by an Alaska Native Tribe or ANO as required under section 6304(a)(1)(C)(ii) of the ESEA, the following documentation is required, in addition to the information in requirements (a) through (c) above:

(1) Written documentation demonstrating that the entity is physically located in the State of

Alaska.

(2) Written documentation demonstrating that the entity has experience operating programs that fulfill the purposes of the ANE program.

(3) Written documentation demonstrating that the entity is predominately governed by

Alaska Natives, including the total number, names, and Tribal affiliations of members of the governing board.

(4) A copy of the official charter or sanction provided to the entity by an Alaska Native Tribe or ANO.

Statutory Hiring Preference: (a) Awards that are primarily for the benefit of Indians are subject to the provisions of section 7(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act

(Pub. L. 93–638). That section requires that, to the greatest extent feasible, a grantee—

(1) Give to Indians preferences and opportunities for training and employment in connection with the administration of the grant; and (2) Give to Indian organizations and to Indian-owned economic enterprises, as defined in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 (25 U.S.C.

1452(e)), preference in the award of contracts in connection with the administration of the grant.

(b) For the purposes of this requirement, an Indian is a member of any federally recognized

Indian Tribe.

Program Authority: Title VI, part C of the ESEA (20 U.S.C 7541-7546).

Definitions

The definitions for “Alaska Native” and “Alaska Native organization” are from section 6306 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7546). The definitions for “logic model,” “demonstrates a rationale,”

“project component,” and “relevant outcome” are from 34 CFR 77.1. The definition for

“Native” is from section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b)).

In addition, the definitions for ‘experience operating programs that fulfill the purposes of the

ANE program,” “official charter or sanction,” and “predominately governed by Alaska Natives” are from the notice of final definitions and requirements published elsewhere in this issue of the

Federal Register. These definitions apply to the FY 2019 ANE grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition.

Alaska Native has the same meaning as the term Native has in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native

Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b)) and includes the descendants of individuals so defined.

Alaska Native organization means an organization that has or commits to acquire expertise in the education of Alaska Natives and is--

(a) An Indian tribe, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education

Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450(b)), located in Alaska;

(b) A tribal organization, as defined in section 4 of such Act (25 U.S.C. 450(b)), located in

Alaska; or

(c) An organization listed in clauses (i) through (xii) of section 419(4)(B) of the Social Security

Act (42 U.S.C. 619(4)(B)(i) through (xii)), or the successor of an entity so listed.

Demonstrates a rationale means a key project component included in the project’s logic model is informed by research or evaluation findings that suggest the project component is likely to improve relevant outcomes.

Experience operating programs that fulfill the purpose of the ANE program means, within the past four years, the entity has received and satisfactorily administered, in compliance with applicable terms and conditions, a grant under the ANE program or another Federal or non-

Federal program within the past four years that focused on meeting the unique education needs of Alaska Native children and families in Alaska.

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

Native means a citizen of the United States who is a person of one-fourth degree or more Alaska

Indian (including Tsimshian Indians not enrolled in the Metlaktla Indian Community) Eskimo, or

Aleut blood, or combination thereof. The term includes any Native as so defined either or both of whose adoptive parents are not Natives. It also includes, in the absence of proof of a minimum blood quantum, any citizen of the United States who is regarded as an Alaska Native by the Native village or Native group of which he claims to be a member and whose father or mother is (or, if deceased, was) regarded as Native by any village or group. Any decision of the

Secretary of the Interior regarding eligibility for enrollment shall be final.

Official charter or sanction means a signed letter or written agreement from an Alaska Native

Tribe or ANO that is dated within 120 days prior to the date of the submission of the application and expressly (1) authorizes the applicant to conduct activities authorized under the ANE program and (2) describes the nature of those activities.

Predominately governed by Alaska Natives means that at least 80 percent of the entity’s governing board (i.e., board elected or appointed to direct the policies of the organization) are

Alaska Natives.

Project component means an activity, strategy, intervention, process, product, practice, or policy included in a project. Evidence may pertain to an individual project component or to a combination of project components (e.g., training teachers on instructional practices for English learners and follow-on coaching for these teachers).

Relevant outcome means the student outcome(s) or other outcome(s) the key project component is designed to improve, consistent with the specific goals of the program.

Technical Assistance Workshops for Prospective Applicants

Two technical assistance webinars for prospective applicants are scheduled. The content of the webinars will be repeated, so applicants only need to attend one, if interested. The dates and times for the webinars are:

• Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 3:00pm ET

Event address for attendees to join webinar:

https://longevityconsulting.webex.com/longevityconsulting/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46bf4305e

43c465eca8d5330a27bf55b https://longevityconsulting.webex.com/longevityconsulting/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46bf4305e43c465eca8d5330a27bf55b https://longevityconsulting.webex.com/longevityconsulting/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46bf4305e43c465eca8d5330a27bf55b

• Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 3:00pm ET

Event address for attendees to join webinar:

https://longevityconsulting.webex.com/longevityconsulting/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46bf4305e

43c465eca8d5330a27bf55b

Click link above to access the WebEx webinar, or cut and paste the link into your browse.

• Enter your first name, last name and email address as requested on the right side of the screen.

• Once the information is entered correctly you will be directed to download any necessary plugins to start your WebEx meeting.

• Click the green Join Now button to join the webinar. Please note that if the webinar has not been started yet the Join Now button will not be available.

No pre-registration is required.

Application Submission Procedures

The deadline for submission of Alaska Native Education Program applications through

Grants.gov is July 5, 2019.

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

Applications for grants under this program must be submitted electronically using the

Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.

Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in Federal Register notice for this competition, we will not consider your application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date.

https://longevityconsulting.webex.com/longevityconsulting/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46bf4305e43c465eca8d5330a27bf55b https://longevityconsulting.webex.com/longevityconsulting/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46bf4305e43c465eca8d5330a27bf55b http://www.grants.gov/

You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in this application package to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system.

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 84.356 not 84.356A).

Please note the following:

• You must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in either .pdf (Portable

Document Format) or Microsoft Word. Although applicants have the option of uploading any narrative sections and all other attachments to their application in either PDF or

Microsoft Word, we recommend applicants submit all documents as read-only flattened

PDFs, meaning any fillable PDF files must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files and not as interactive or fillable PDF files, to better ensure applications are processed in a more timely, accurate, and efficient manner. If you choose to submit your application in

Microsoft Word, you may do so using any version of Microsoft Word (i.e., a document ending in a .doc or .docx extension).

• Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission.

• When attaching files, applicants should limit the size of their file names. Lengthy file names could result in difficulties with opening and processing your application. We recommend your file names be less than 50 characters. 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 do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the submission process through

Grants.gov.

• If you are experiencing problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a

Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.

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 84.356A)

LBJ Basement Level 1

400 Maryland Avenue, SW.

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 Delivery of Paper Applications:

If you mail your application to the Department--

(1) You must indicate on the envelope and 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.

Submitting Applications with Adobe Reader Software

The Department of Education, working with Grants.gov, is currently using Adobe Reader software exclusively and applications submitted to Grants.gov for the Department of Education will be posted using Adobe forms.

Please note: The compatible version of Adobe Reader is required for viewing, editing and submitting PDF forms through Grants.gov. Applicants should confirm the compatibility of their

Adobe Reader version before downloading the application. To ensure applicants have a version of Adobe Reader on their computer that is compatible with Grants.gov, applicants are encouraged to use the test package provided by Grants.gov that can be accessed at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html.

Important issues to consider:

• If the applicant opened or edited the application package with any software other than a compatible version of Adobe Reader, the application package may contain errors that will be transferred to the new package even if you later download the compatible Adobe Reader version.

• Applicants cannot copy and paste data from a package initially opened or edited with an incompatible version of Adobe Reader and will need to download an entirely new package using the compatible version of Adobe Reader.

• Some applicants using an incompatible version of Adobe Reader may have trouble opening and viewing the application package while others may find they can open, view and complete the application package but may not be able to submit the application package through

Grants.gov.

• Grants.gov does not guarantee to support versions of Adobe Reader that are not compatible with Grants.gov.

• Any and all edits made to the Adobe Reader application package must be made with a compatible version of Adobe Reader.

• If more than one person is entering text into a Workspace PDF form, the same version of

Adobe Reader software should be used by each person. Check the version number of the

Adobe software on each user's computer to make sure the versions match. Using different versions of Adobe Reader may cause submission and/or save errors – even if each version is individually compatible with Grants.gov.

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

We strongly recommend that you review the information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe available at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html 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 http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html matter please email the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or call 1-800-518-

4726.

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

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

2) 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 mailto:support@grants.gov 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 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.

3) 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.

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

Application page under the Applicants tab or the Details tab in the submitted workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

Helpful Reminders

1) 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, 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 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html http://www.sam.gov/ 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

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

Eastern Time on the deadline date.

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.

3) VERIFY SUBMISSION IS OK – You will want to verify that Grants.gov received your application submission on time and that it was validated successfully. To see the date/time your application was received, login to Grants.gov and click on the Track My

Application link. For a successful submission, the date/time received should be earlier than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the deadline date, AND the application status should be: Validated, Received by Agency, or Agency Tracking Number Assigned. Once the

Department 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 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the deadline date, your application is late. If your application has a status of “Received” it is still awaiting validation by Grants.gov. Once validation is complete, the status will either change to

“Validated” or “Rejected with Errors.” If the status is “Rejected with Errors,” your application has not been received successfully. Some of the reasons Grants.gov may reject an application can be found on the Grants.gov site:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-messages.html. For more detailed information on troubleshooting Adobe errors, you can review the Adobe

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 http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-messages.html see the instructions below. Note: You will receive a series of confirmations both online and via e-mail about the status of your application. Please do not rely solely on e-mail to confirm whether your application has been received timely and validated successfully.

Submission Problems – 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: mailto: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 11:59:59 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. 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 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.

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 mailto:support@grants.gov https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html

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 or Microsoft Word documents in their application:

• Ensure that you attach .PDF files only or Microsoft Word files for any attachments to your application, and any PDFs must be in a read-only, flattened format (meaning any fillable documents must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files). PDF files and Microsoft Word files are the only Education approved file type accepted as detailed in the common instructions. 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.

• 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 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 (see Grants.gov for compatible versions).

Information on computer and operating system compatibility with Adobe and links to download the latest 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.

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…