Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education.
Notice.
Overview Information; Arts in Education National Program; Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2012.
The absolute priority is from the notice of final priority, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for this program, published elsewhere in this issue of the
This priority is:
One or more high-quality projects that are designed to develop and implement, or expand, initiatives in arts education and arts integration (as defined in this notice) on a national level for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 children and youth, with special emphasis on serving children from low-income families (as defined in this notice) and children with disabilities (as defined in this notice). In order to meet this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that the project for which it seeks funding will provide services and develop initiatives in multiple schools and school districts throughout the country, including in at least one urban, at least one rural, and at least one high-need community (as defined in this notice).
These priorities are:
Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following priority areas:
(a) Improving student achievement (as defined in this notice) in persistently lowest-achieving schools (as defined in this notice).
(b) Providing services to students enrolled in persistently lowest-achieving schools (as defined in this notice).
For the purposes of this priority, the Department considers schools that are identified as Tier I or Tier II schools under the School Improvement Grants Program (see 75 FR 66363) as part of a State's approved FY 2009 or FY 2010 applications to be persistently lowest-achieving schools. A list of these Tier I and Tier II schools can be found on the Department's Web site at
Projects that are designed to improve student achievement (as defined in this notice) or teacher effectiveness through the use of high-quality digital tools or materials, which may include preparing teachers to use the technology to improve instruction, as well as developing, implementing, or evaluating digital tools or materials.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Department's regulations implementing Section 504 at 34 CFR part 104, prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department. They require recipients to provide an equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities to participate in, and receive the benefits of, the educational program, and to provide accommodations or modifications when necessary to ensure equal treatment. In particular, they apply to a recipient's use of technology, including digital tools and equipment. For additional information regarding their application to technology, please refer to the May 26, 2011, Dear Colleague Letter available at
Projects that are designed to collect (or obtain), analyze, and use high-quality and timely data, including data on program participant outcomes, in accordance with privacy requirements (as defined in this notice) in one or more of the following priority areas:
(a) Improving instructional practices, policies, and child outcomes in early learning settings.
(b) Improving instructional practices, policies, and student outcomes in elementary or secondary schools.
(c) Providing reliable and comprehensive information on the implementation of Department of Education programs, and participant outcomes in these programs, by using data from State longitudinal data systems or by obtaining data from reliable third-party sources.
Projects that propose evaluation plans that are likely to produce valid and reliable evidence in one or more of the following priority areas:
(a) Improving project design and implementation or designing more effective future projects to improve outcomes.
(b) Identifying and improving practices, strategies, and policies that may contribute to improving outcomes. Under this priority, at a minimum, the outcome of interest is to be measured multiple times before and after the treatment for project participants and, where feasible, for a comparison group of non-participants.
The following eligibility and application requirements are from the AENP notice of final priority, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria, published elsewhere in this issue of the
1. To be eligible for an award, an applicant must be a national nonprofit arts education organization (as defined in this notice).
2. An applicant must describe in its application how it would serve children from low-income families (as defined in this notice) and children with disabilities (as defined in this notice).
3. An applicant must describe in its application how it would implement the following activities and services at the national level:
(i) Professional development based on State or national standards for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 arts educators (as defined in this notice).
(ii) Development and dissemination of instructional materials, including online resources, in music, dance, theater, media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts, for arts educators (as defined in this notice).
(iii) Arts-based educational programming in music, dance, theater, media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts, for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 students and arts educators (as defined in this notice).
(iv) Community and national outreach activities and services that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, school districts, and communities throughout the country.
All of the definitions, except the definitions of “persistently lowest-achieving schools,” “privacy requirements,” and “student achievement” are from the notice of final priority, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for this program, published elsewhere in this issue of the
To identify the persistently lowest-achieving schools, a State must take into account both: (i) The academic achievement of the “all students” group in a school in terms of proficiency on the State's assessments under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), in reading/language arts and mathematics combined; and (ii) the school's lack of progress on those assessments over a number of years in the “all students” group.
(a) For tested grades and subjects: (1) A student's score on the State's assessments under the ESEA; and, as appropriate, (2) other measures of student learning, such as those described in paragraph (b) of this definition, provided they are rigorous and comparable across schools.
(b) For non-tested grades and subjects: Alternative measures of student learning and performance, such as student scores on pre-tests and end-of-course tests; student performance on English language proficiency assessments; and other measures of student achievement that are rigorous and comparable across schools.
20 U.S.C. 7271.
(b) The Education Department suspension and debarment regulations in 2 CFR part 3485.
(c) The notice of final priority, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for this program, published elsewhere in this
(d) The notice of final supplemental priorities and definitions for discretionary grant programs, published in the
The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes.
The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of higher education only.
The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.
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2.a.
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1.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877–8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) by contacting the program contact person listed in this section.
2.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. We suggest you limit the application narrative (Part III) to no more than 50 pages, using the following standards:
• A “page” is 8.5″ × 11″, on one side only, with 1″ margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
• Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
• Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
• Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New, or Arial.
3.
Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov site (Grants.gov). For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, or in
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact the person listed under
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a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR), the Government's primary registrant database;
c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and
d. Maintain an active CCR registration with current information while your application is under review by the Department and, if you are awarded a grant, during the project period.
You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number can be created within one business day.
If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service. If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a new TIN, please allow 2–5 weeks for your TIN to become active.
The CCR registration process may take five or more business days to complete. If you are currently registered with the CCR, you may not need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will need to update your registration annually. This may take three or more business days to complete.
In addition, if you are submitting your application via Grants.gov, you must (1) be designated by your organization as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself with Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the following Grants.gov Web page:
7.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in this section.
a.
Applications for grants under the Arts in Education National Program, CFDA number 84.351F, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement
You may access the electronic grant application for the Arts in Education National Program at
Please note the following:
• When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site, as well as the hours of operation.
• Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time stamped. 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., Washington, DC 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 time stamped by the Grants.gov system—after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 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 date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
• 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.
• You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for this program to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. 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
• You will not receive additional point value because you submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format.
• You must submit all documents electronically, 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.
• You must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in a PDF (Portable Document) read-only, non-modifiable format. Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-modifiable PDF or submit a
• Your electronic application must comply with any page-limit requirements described in this notice.
• After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department). The Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send a second notification to you by email. This second notification indicates that the Department has received your application and has assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number unique to your application).
• We may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline date because of technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed under
The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
• You do not have access to the Internet; or
• You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.gov system;
• No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Diane Austin, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 4W245, Washington, DC 20202–5950. Fax: (202) 205–5630.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b.
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 84.351F), 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.
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.
c.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (84.351F), 550 12th Street SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–4260. The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.
If you mail or hand deliver 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.
1.
The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses. The maximum score for all of the selection criteria is 100 points. The total maximum score of an application is 120 points (up to 100 points under the selection criteria and up to an additional 20 points under the competitive preference priorities in this notice). Each criterion also includes the factors that the reviewers will consider in determining how well an application meets the criterion. The notes following the selection criteria are provided as guidance to help applicants in preparing their applications, and are not required by statute or regulations.
The selection criteria are as follows:
(1)
(a) The proposed project is likely to build State and local capacity to provide, improve, or expand arts education and arts integration that address the needs of children and youth, with special emphasis on serving children from low-income families and children with disabilities; and
(b) The applicant has a history of three or more years of demonstrated excellence in the areas of arts education and arts integration on a national scale.
(2)
(a) The design of the proposed project is appropriate to, and will successfully address, the arts education needs of pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 children and youth, with special emphasis on children from low-income families and children with disabilities;
(b) The proposed project will provide high-quality professional development for pre-kindergarten-through-grade-12 arts educators who provide instruction in music, dance, drama, media arts, or visual arts, including folk arts;
(c) The proposed project will develop and disseminate instructional materials, including online resources, in multiple arts disciplines for arts educators and other instructional staff;
(d) The proposed project will support arts-based educational programming; and
(e) The proposed project will provide community and national outreach that strengthens and expands partnerships among schools, school districts, and communities throughout the country.
(3)
(a) The services to be provided by the proposed project involve the collaboration of appropriate partners in order to maximize the effectiveness of project services; and
(b) The proposed project will provide services and initiatives that will reach students and arts educators in multiple schools and school districts in urban, rural, and high-need communities throughout the country.
(4)
(a) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to the extent possible.
(b) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes.
2.
In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
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If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you.
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We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the
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(b) At the end of your project period, you must submit a final performance report, including financial information, as directed by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an annual performance report that provides the most current performance and financial expenditure information as directed by the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to
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Diane Austin, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 4W245, Washington, DC 20202–5950. Telephone: (202) 260–1280 or by email:
If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at 1–800–877–8339.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the