56
18
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 submit
ting 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 t
o Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department’s G5 system home page at
http://www.G5.gov.
• 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 sec
tions 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 password-protected file, we will not
review that material.
• 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 auto
matic 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 (a Department-specified identifying number
unique to your application).
• 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 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.
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 For Further Information Contact in section VII of this notice and provide an
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk
Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with the
Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination
is made on whether your application will be accepted.
Note: 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.
47
19
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because
––
• You do not have access to the Internet; or
• You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to the Grants.
gov system;
and
• 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 prevents 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: Francisco Ramirez, U.S. Department of Education, 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E224, Washington, DC 20202-6200. FAX: (202) 260-8969.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the mail or hand delivery instructions
described in this notice.
b. 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 84.330B)
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.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
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:
42
20
U.S. Department of Education
Application Control Center
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.330B)
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.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: 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.
V. Application Review Information
1. Review and Selection Process: The Department intends to fund, at some level, all applications that meet the
requirements for Approval of Application as described in the application package for this program and that
demonstrate need for new or additional funds to pay advanced placement exam fees on behalf of low-income
students for school years 2013-14 and/or 2014-15.
For FY 2014, the Department expects to award approximately $28,483,000 in new grants under this program.
Based on the anticipated number of applications and other available information, the Department expects this
amount to be sufficient to pay (1) all but $18 of the cost of each advanced placement exam taken by low-income
students in school year 2013-14; and (2) all but $18 of the cost of some of the advanced placement exams taken
by low-income students in school year 2014-15.
Accordingly, SEAs may use AP Test Fee program funds to cover a portion of the cost of each approved
advanced placement exam taken by low-income students in school years 2013-14 and 2014-15 as follows: (a)
up to $37 for each Advanced Placement test administered by the College Board; (b) up to $86 for each Diploma
Programme test administered by the International Baccalaureate Organization; and (c) up to $39 for each
Advanced Subsidiary test and up to $68 for each Advanced test administered by Cambridge International
Examinations. To the extent that FY 2014 funds are insufficient to cover the cost of advanced placement exams
taken by low-income students in school year 2014-15, contingent upon the availability of funds, the Department
may award supplemental funds to existing grantees in FY 2015 to cover the cost of advanced placement exams
taken by low-income students in school year 2014-15.
Note: AP Test Fee program funds may not be used to pay advanced placement test candidate registration fees
on behalf of low-income students. Therefore, the student registration fee charged by the International
Baccalaureate Organization and the candidate fee charged by the Cambridge International Examinations are not
allowable costs under this program.
Further information and instructions on how to request funds for school years 2013-14 and 2014-15 are included
in the application package for this program.
46
21
Also, in determining whether to approve an application for a new award (including the amount of the award)
from an applicant with a current grant under this program, the Department will consider the amount of any
unexpended funds under the existing grant and the applicant's use of funds under previous AP Test Fee grant
awards.
We remind potential applicants that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, the
Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the applicant in carrying out a
previous award, such as the applicant’s use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and compliance with
grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance
report or submitted a report of unacceptable quality.
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).
2. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR 74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary may impose special conditions on a grant
if the applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or
other management system that does not meet the standards in 34 CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has not
fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your U.S. Representative and U.S.
Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN); or we may send you an email containing a link to
access an electronic version of your GAN. We may notify you informally, also. If your application is not
evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify administrative and national policy
requirements in the application package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the Applicable Regulations
section of this notice and include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates
your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a grant under this competition, you must ensure that you have in place the
necessary processes and systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170 and section
1704(f) of the ESEA should you receive funding under the competition. The reporting requirements in 2 CFR
part 170 do not apply if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b).
(b) At the end of your project period, you must submit a final performance report, including financial
information, as directed by the Secretary. The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports
under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to
www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the
Department has developed five performance measures to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the AP Test Fee
program: (1) The number of advanced placement tests taken by low-income public school students nationally;
(2) The number of advanced placement tests taken by minority (Hispanic, Black, Native American) public
school students nationally; (3) The percentage of advanced placement tests passed (for AP exams, scores of 3-5)
by low-income public school students nationally; (4) The number of advanced placement tests passed (for AP
exams, scores of 3-5) by low-income public school students nationally; and (5) The cost per passage of an
advanced placement test taken by a low-income public school student. The information provided by grantees in
their final performance reports will be one of the sources of data for the measures. Other sources of data include
the College Board, IB Americas, and University of Cambridge International Examinations.
24
22
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Francisco Ramirez, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., room 3E224, Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: (202) 260-1541 or by email:
francisco.ramirez@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the application package
in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact
person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this notice.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the
Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article
search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you
can limit your search to documents published by the Department.
Dated: March 19, 2014
/S/
Deborah Delisle,
Assistant Secretary for
Elementary and Secondary Education.
VB.NET PDF: Basic SDK Concept of XDoc.PDF You may add PDF document protection functionality into your VB.NET program. to edit hyperlink of PDF document, including editing PDF url links and quick
clickable links in pdf files; add links to pdf in preview
43
23
Program Statute
Sec. 1701. Short Title.
This part may be cited as the 'Access to High Standards Act'.
Sec. 1702. Purposes.
The purposes of this part are
—
(1) to support State and local efforts to raise academic standards through advanced placement programs,
and thus further increase the number of students who participate and succeed in advanced placement programs;
(2) to encourage more of the 600,000 students who take advanced placement courses each year but do
not take advanced placement exams each year, to demonstrate their achievements through taking the exams;
(3) to build on the many benefits of advanced placement programs for students, which benefits may
include the acquisition of skills that are important to many employers, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores
that are 100 points above the national averages, and the achievement of better grades in secondary school and in
college than the grades of students who have not participated in the programs;
(4) to increase the availability and broaden the range of schools, including middle schools, that have
advanced placement and pre-advanced placement programs;
(5) to demonstrate that larger and more diverse groups of students can participate and succeed in
advanced placement programs;
(6) to provide greater access to advanced placement and pre-advanced placement courses and highly
trained teachers for low-income and other disadvantaged students;
(7) to provide access to advanced placement courses for secondary school students at schools that do not
offer advanced placement programs, increase the rate at which secondary school students participate in
advanced placement courses, and increase the numbers of students who receive advanced placement test scores
for which college academic credit is awarded;
(8) to increase the participation of low-income individuals in taking advanced placement tests through
the payment or partial payment of the costs of the advanced placement test fees; and
(9) to increase the number of individuals that achieve a baccalaureate or advanced degree, and to
decrease the amount of time such individuals require to attain such degrees.
Sec. 1703. Funding Distribution Rule.
From amounts appropriated under section 1002(g) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall give priority to funding
activities under section 1704 and shall distribute any remaining funds under section 1705.
Sec. 1704. Advanced Placement Test Fee Program.
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED- From amounts made available under section 1703 for a fiscal year, the
Secretary shall award grants to State educational agencies having applications approved under this section to
enable the State educational agencies to reimburse low-income individuals to cover part or all of the costs of
advanced placement test fees, if the low-income individuals
—
(1) are enrolled in an advanced placement course; and
(2) plan to take an advanced placement test.
(b) AWARD BASIS- In determining the amount of the grant awarded to a State educational agency under
this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall consider the number of children eligible to be counted under
section 1124(c) in the State in relation to the number of such children so counted in all the States.
48
24
(c) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION- A State educational agency awarded a grant under this section
shall disseminate information regarding the availability of advanced placement test fee payments under this
section to eligible individuals through secondary school teachers and guidance counselors.
(d) APPLICATIONS- Each State educational agency desiring to receive a grant under this section shall
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as
the Secretary may require. At a minimum, each State educational agency application shall
—
(1) describe the advanced placement test fees the State educational agency will pay on behalf of low-
income individuals in the State from grant funds awarded under this section;
(2) provide an assurance that any grant funds awarded under this section shall be used only to pay for
advanced placement test fees; and
(3) contain such information as the Secretary may require to demonstrate that the State educational
agency will ensure that a student is eligible for payments authorized under this section, including documentation
required under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
(e) REGULATIONS- The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out this
section.
(f) REPORT-
(1) IN GENERAL- Each State educational agency awarded a grant under this section shall, with respect
to each advanced placement subject, annually report to the Secretary on
—
(A) the number of students in the State who are taking an advanced placement course in that subject;
(B) the number of advanced placement tests taken by students in the State who have taken an
advanced placement course in that subject;
(C) the number of students in the State scoring at different levels on advanced placement tests in that
subject; and
(D) demographic information regarding individuals in the State taking advanced placement courses
and tests in that subject disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, English proficiency status, and socioeconomic
status.
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS- The Secretary shall annually compile the information received from
each State educational agency under paragraph (1) and report to the appropriate committees of Congress
regarding the information.
(g) BIA AS SEA- For purposes of this section the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall be treated as a State
educational agency.
Sec. 1705. Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grants.
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED-
(1) IN GENERAL- From amounts made available under section 1703 for a fiscal year, the Secretary
shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable those entities to carry out the authorized
activities described in subsection (d).
(2) DURATION AND PAYMENTS-
(A) DURATION- The Secretary shall award a grant under this section for a period of not more than
3 years.
(B) PAYMENTS- The Secretary shall make grant payments under this section on an annual basis.
(3) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY- In this section, the term eligible entity' means a State
educational agency, local educational agency, or national nonprofit educational entity with expertise in
advanced placement services.
(b) APPLICATION- Each eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require.
52
25
(c) PRIORITY- In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity
that submits an application under subsection (b) that
—
(1) demonstrates a pervasive need for access to advanced placement incentive programs;
(2) provides for the involvement of business and community organizations in the activities to be
assisted;
(3) assures the availability of matching funds from State, local, or other sources to pay for the cost of
activities to be assisted;
(4) demonstrates a focus on developing or expanding advanced placement programs and participation in
the core academic areas of English, mathematics, and science;
(5) demonstrates an intent to carry out activities that target
—
(A) local educational agencies serving schools with a high concentration of low-income students; or
(B) schools with a high concentration of low-income students; and
(6) in the case of a local educational agency, assures that the local educational agency serves schools
with a high concentration of low-income students; or
(7) demonstrates an intent to carry out activities to increase the availability of, and participation in, on-
line advanced placement courses.
(d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES-
(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraph (2), an eligible entity shall use grant funds made available
under this section to expand access for low-income individuals to advanced placement incentive programs that
involve
—
(A) teacher training;
(B) pre-advanced placement course development;
(C) coordination and articulation between grade levels to prepare students for academic achievement
in advanced placement courses;
(D) books and supplies; or
(E) activities to increase the availability of, and participation in, on-line advanced placement
courses; or
(F) any other activity directly related to expanding access to and participation in advanced placement
incentive programs, particularly for low-income individuals.
(2) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY- In the case of an eligible entity that is a State educational
agency, the entity may use grant funds made available under this section to award subgrants to local educational
agencies to enable the local educational agencies to carry out the activities under paragraph (1).
(e) CONTRACTS- An eligible entity awarded a grant to provide online advanced placement courses under
this part may enter into a contract with a nonprofit or for profit organization to provide the online advanced
placement courses, including contracting for necessary support services.
(f) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING-
(1) DATA COLLECTION- Each eligible entity awarded a grant under this section shall, with respect to
each advanced placement subject, annually report to the Secretary on
—
(A) the number of students served by the eligible entity who are taking an advanced placement
course in that subject;
(B) the number of advanced placement tests taken by students served by the eligible entity in that
subject;
(C) the number of students served by the eligible entity scoring at different levels on advanced
placement tests in that subject; and
(D) demographic information regarding individuals served by such agency who taking advanced
placement courses and tests in that subject disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, English proficiency status, and
socioeconomic status.
21
26
(2) REPORT- The Secretary shall annually compile the information received from each eligible entity
under paragraph (1) and report to the appropriate committees of Congress regarding the information.
Sec. 1706. Supplement, Not Supplant.
Grant funds provided under this part shall supplement, and not supplant, other non-Federal funds that are
available to assist low-income individuals to pay for the cost of advanced placement test fees or to expand
access to advanced placement and pre-advanced placement courses.
Sec. 1707. Definitions.
In this part:
(1) ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEST- The term advanced placement test' means an advanced
placement test administered by the College Board or approved by the Secretary.
(2) HIGH CONCENTRATION OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS- The term high concentration of low-
income students', used with respect to a school, means a school that serves a student population 40 percent or
more of whom are low-income individuals.
(3) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL- The term low-income individual' means an individual who is
determined by a State educational agency or local educational agency to be a child, ages 5 through 19, from a
low-income family, on the basis of data used by the Secretary to determine allocations under section 1124 of
this Act, data on children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Act, data
on children in families receiving assistance under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, or data on
children eligible to receive medical assistance under the medicaid program under title XIX of the Social
Security Act, or through an alternate method that combines or extrapolates from those data.
29
27
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 found in the Federal Register notice.
The deadline for submission of Advanced Placement Test Fee Program applications
through Grants.gov is May 8, 2014 and we strongly recommend that you do not wait until
the last day to submit your application.
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: For this competition it is mandatory for applicants to submit their application
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (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 must complete the electronic submission of your grant application by 4:30:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department will not accept an
application for this program after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date.
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.
Ensure that you attach .PDF files only for any attachments to your application, and they
must be in a read-only, non-modifiable format. PDF files are the only Education approved
file type accepted as detailed in the Federal Register application notice.
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
