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following issues: (1) Is this collection
necessary to the proper functions of the
Department; (2) will this information be
processed and used in a timely manner;
(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
(4) how might the Department enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (5) how
might the Department minimize the
burden of this collection on the
respondents, including through the use
of information technology. Please note
that written comments received in
response to this notice will be
considered public records.
Title of Collection: High School
Equivalency Program (HEP) Annual
Performance Report.
OMB Control Number: 1810–0684.
Type of Review: A revision of an
existing information collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: State,
Local, and Tribal Governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 51.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 1,173.
Abstract: The High School
Equivalency Program (HEP) office staff
collects information for the HEP Annual
Performance Report (APR) in
compliance with Higher Education Act
of 1965, as amended, Title IV, Sec.
418A; 20 U.S.C. 1070d–2 (special
programs for students whose families
are engaged in migrant and seasonal
farmwork), and the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), 2 CFR 200.238. CFR
states that recipients of multi-year
discretionary grants must submit an
APR demonstrating that that substantial
progress has been made towards
meeting the approved objectives. The
HEP office staff requests to continue a
customized APR that goes beyond the
generic 524B APR to facilitate the
collection of more standardized and
comprehensive data to inform GPRA, to
improve the overall quality of data
collected, and to increase the quality of
data that can be used to inform policy
decisions.
Dated: June 22, 2018.
Tomakie Washington,
Acting Director, Information Collection
Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy
Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2018–13823 Filed 6–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; Native
Hawaiian Career and Technical
Education Program (NHCTEP)
Office of Career, Technical, and
Adult Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of Education
(Department) is issuing a notice inviting
applications for new awards for fiscal
year (FY) 2018 for the Native Hawaiian
Career and Technical Education
Program (NHCTEP), Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number
84.259A.

SUMMARY:

DATES:

Applications Available: June 27, 2018.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:
July 9, 2018. We will be able to develop
a more efficient process for reviewing
grant applications if we can anticipate
the number of applicants that intend to
apply for funding under this
competition. Therefore, we strongly
encourage each potential applicant to
notify us of the applicant’s intent to
submit an application for funding by
sending a short email message. This
short email should provide the
applicant organization’s name and
address. Please send this email
notification to NHCTEPgrant@ed.gov
with ‘‘Intent to Apply’’ in the email
subject line. Applicants that do not
provide this email notification may still
apply for funding.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: July 27, 2018.
Pre-Application Teleconference
Information: The Department will hold
a pre-application meeting via
teleconference for prospective
applicants on July 9, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Eastern Time. The teleconference is
intended to provide technical assistance
to all interested grant applicants.
Information regarding the
teleconference can be found on the
Perkins Collaborative Resource Network
at http://cte.ed.gov/.
ADDRESSES: For the addresses for
obtaining and submitting an
application, please refer to our Common
Instructions for Applicants to
Department of Education Discretionary
Grant Programs, published in the
Federal Register on February 12, 2018
(83 FR 6003) and available at
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/
pdf/2018-02558.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Linda Mayo, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,
Potomac Center Plaza, Room 11075,

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Washington, DC 20202–7241.
Telephone: (202) 245–7792. Email:
linda.mayo@ed.gov.
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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Native
Hawaiian Career and Technical
Education Program (NHCTEP) provides
grants to eligible community-based
organizations to plan, conduct, and
administer programs, or portions of
programs, that are for the benefit of
Native Hawaiians and authorized by
and consistent with the purposes of
section 116 of the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act of 2006
(Act). Section 116(e) of the Act provides
that programs, services, and activities
funded under NHCTEP must support
and improve career and technical
education programs. (20 U.S.C. 2326(e))
Background: Under section 116(h) of
the Act, eligible community-based
organizations receive NHCTEP grants to
plan, conduct, and administer programs,
or portions thereof that are consistent
with the purposes of section 116 of the
Act, for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.
Section 116(e) of the Act provides that
educational programs, services, and
activities funded under NHCTEP must
support and help to improve career and
technical education programs. (20
U.S.C. 2326(e)). This requirement, along
with the statutory definition of ‘‘career
and technical education,’’ aligns
NHCTEP with other programs
authorized under the Act that offer a
sequence of courses that provides
individuals with coherent and rigorous
content.
Under section 3(5)(A) of the Act (20
U.S.C. 2302(5)(A)), the Department
awards grants under this competition to
carry out career and technical education
projects that provide organized
educational activities offering a
sequence of courses that—
(a) Provides individuals with coherent
and rigorous content aligned with
challenging academic standards and
relevant technical knowledge and skills
needed to prepare for further education
and careers in current or emerging
professions;
(b) Provides technical skill
proficiency, an industry-recognized
credential, a certificate, or an associate
degree; and
(c) Includes competency-based
applied learning that contributes to the

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academic knowledge, higher-order
reasoning and problem-solving skills,
work attitudes, general employability
skills, technical skills, and occupationspecific skills, and knowledge of all
aspects of an industry, including
entrepreneurship, of an individual.
Projects may include prerequisite
courses (other than remedial courses)
that meet the definition of ‘‘career and
technical education,’’ in section 3(5)(A)
of the Act. (20 U.S.C. 2302(5)(A)). In
addition, at the secondary level,
coherent and rigorous academic
curriculum in reading or language arts
and in mathematics must be aligned
with challenging academic content
standards and student academic
achievement standards that the State in
which the applicant is located has
established under the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA).

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Note: Contacts for State ESEA programs
may be found on the internet at: www.ed.gov/
about/contacts/state/index.html.

Priority: This notice contains one
invitational priority. The invitational
priority is from the Secretary’s Final
Supplemental Priorities and Definitions
for Discretionary Grant Programs,
published on March 2, 2018 (83 FR
9096) (Secretary’s Supplemental
Priorities).
Invitational Priority: For FY 2018 and
any subsequent year in which we make
awards from the list of unfunded
applications from this competition, this
priority is an invitational priority.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not
give an application that meets this
invitational priority a competitive or
absolute preference over other
applications.
This priority is:
Creating or expanding opportunities
for students to obtain recognized
postsecondary credentials in science,
technology, engineering, mathematics,
or computer science.
For the purposes of this invitational
priority, computer science means the
study of computers and algorithmic
processes and includes the study of
computing principles and theories,
computational thinking, computer
hardware, software design, coding,
analytics, and computer applications.
Computer science often includes
computer programming or coding as a
tool to create software, including
applications, games, websites, and tools
to manage or manipulate data; or
development and management of
computer hardware and the other
electronics related to sharing, securing,
and using digital information.

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In addition to coding, the expanding
field of computer science emphasizes
computational thinking and
interdisciplinary problem-solving to
equip students with the skills and
abilities necessary to apply computation
in our digital world.
Computer science does not include
using a computer for everyday activities,
such as browsing the internet; use of
tools like word processing,
spreadsheets, or presentation software;
or using computers in the study and
exploration of unrelated subjects. (See
definition of ‘‘computer science’’ in the
Secretary’s Supplemental Priorities)
Requirements: Requirements 1–6 are
from the notice of final requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria for
this program (notice of final
requirements), published in the Federal
Register on March 24, 2009 (74 FR
12341). Requirement 7 is from section
315 of the Act.
Requirement 1—Authorized
Programs:
(a) In accordance with section 116(e)
of the Act, under this program, NHCTEP
projects must—
(1) Develop new programs, services,
or activities or improve or expand
existing programs, services, or activities
that are consistent with the purposes of
the Act. In other words, the Department
will support ‘‘expansions’’ or
‘‘improvements’’ that include, but are
not necessarily limited to, the expansion
of effective programs or practices;
upgrading of activities, equipment, or
materials; increasing staff capacity;
adoption of new technology;
modification of curriculum; or
implementation of new policies to
improve program effectiveness and
outcomes; and
(2) Fund a CTE program, service, or
activity that—
(i) Is a new program, service, or
activity that was not provided by the
applicant during the instructional term
(a defined period, such as a semester,
trimester, or quarter, within the
academic year) that preceded the
request for funding under NHCTEP;
(ii) Will improve or expand an
existing CTE program; or
(iii) Inherently improves CTE. A
program, service, or activity ‘‘inherently
improves CTE’’ if it—
(A) Develops new CTE programs of
study for approval by the appropriate
accreditation agency;
(B) Strengthens the rigor of the
academic and career and technical
components of funded programs;
(C) Uses curriculum that is aligned
with industry-recognized standards and
will result in students attaining

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industry-recognized credentials,
certificates, or degrees;
(D) Integrates academics (other than
remedial courses) with CTE programs
through a coherent sequence of courses
to help ensure learning in the core
academic and career and technical
subjects;
(E) Links CTE at the secondary level
with CTE at the postsecondary level and
facilitates students’ pursuit of a
baccalaureate degree;
(F) Expands the scope, depth, and
relevance of curriculum, especially
content that provides students with a
comprehensive understanding of all
aspects of an industry and a variety of
hands-on, job-specific experiences; or
(G) Offers—
(1) Work-related experience,
internships, cooperative education,
school-based enterprises, studies in
entrepreneurship, community service
learning, and job shadowing that are
related to CTE programs;
(2) Coaching/mentoring, support
services, and extra help for students
after school, on the weekends, or during
the summer, so they can meet higher
standards;
(3) Career guidance and academic
counseling for students participating in
CTE programs under NHCTEP;
(4) Placement services for students
who have successfully completed CTE
programs and attained a technical skill
proficiency that is aligned with
industry-recognized standards;
(5) Professional development
programs for teachers, counselors, and
administrators;
(6) Strong partnerships among
grantees and local educational agencies,
postsecondary institutions, community
leaders, adult education providers, and,
as appropriate, other entities, such as
employers, labor organizations, parents,
and local partnerships, to enable
students to achieve State academic
standards and attain career and
technical skills;
(7) The use of student assessment and
evaluation data to improve continually
instruction and staff development; or
(8) Research, development,
demonstration, dissemination,
evaluation and assessment, capacitybuilding, and technical assistance,
related to CTE programs.
Requirement 2—Evaluation:
To help ensure the high quality of
NHCTEP projects and the achievement
of the goals and purposes of section
116(h) of the Act, each grantee must
budget for and conduct an ongoing
evaluation of the effectiveness of its
project. An independent evaluator must
conduct the evaluation. The evaluation
must—

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(a) Be appropriate for the project and
be both formative and summative in
nature; and
(b) Include—
(1) Collection and reporting of the
performance measures for NHCTEP that
are identified in the Performance
Measures section of this notice; and
(2) Qualitative and quantitative data
with respect to—
(i) Academic and career and technical
competencies demonstrated by the
participants and the number and kinds
of academic and work credentials
acquired by individuals, including their
participation in programs providing
skill proficiency assessments, industry
certifications, or training at the associate
degree level that is articulated with an
advanced degree option;
(ii) Enrollment, completion, and
placement of participants by gender, for
each occupation for which training was
provided;
(iii) Job or work skill attainment or
enhancement, including participation in
apprenticeship and work-based learning
programs, and student progress in
achieving technical skill proficiencies
necessary to obtain employment in the
field for which the student has been
prepared, including attainment or
enhancement of technical skills in the
industry the student is preparing to
enter;
(iv) Activities, during the formative
stages of the project, to help guide and
improve the project, as well as a
summative evaluation that includes
recommendations for disseminating
information on project activities and
results;
(v) The number and percentage of
students who obtained industryrecognized credentials, certificates, or
degrees;
(vi) The outcomes of students’
technical assessments, by type and
scores, if available;
(vii) The rates of attainment of a
proficiency credential or certificate, in
conjunction with a secondary school
diploma;
(viii) The effectiveness of the project,
including a comparison between the
intended and observed results and a
demonstration of a clear link between
the observed results and the specific
treatment given to project participants;
(ix) The extent to which information
about or resulting from the project was
disseminated at other sites, such as
through the grantee’s development and
use of guides or manuals that provide
step-by-step directions for practitioners
to follow when initiating similar efforts;
and
(x) The impact of the project, e.g.,
follow-up data on students’

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employment, sustained employment,
promotions, further and continuing
education or training, or the impact the
project had on Native Hawaiian
economic development or career and
technical education activities.
Requirement 3—Student Stipends:
A portion of an award under this
program may be used to provide
stipends (as defined in the Definitions
section of this notice) to help students
meet the costs of participation in a
NHCTEP project.
(1) To be eligible for a stipend a
student must—
(i) Be enrolled in a CTE project
funded under this program;
(ii) Be in regular attendance in a
NHCTEP project and meet the training
institution’s attendance requirement;
(iii) Maintain satisfactory progress in
his or her program of study according to
the training institution’s published
standards for satisfactory progress; and
(iv) Have an acute economic need
that—
(A) Prevents participation in a project
funded under this program without a
stipend; and
(B) Cannot be met through a workstudy program.
(2) The amount of a stipend is the
greater of either the minimum hourly
wage prescribed by State or local law or
the minimum hourly wage established
under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(3) A grantee may award a stipend
only if the stipend combined with other
resources the student receives does not
exceed the student’s financial need. A
student’s financial need is the difference
between the student’s cost of attendance
and the financial aid or other resources
available to defray the student’s cost of
attending a NHCTEP project.
(4) To calculate the amount of a
student’s stipend, a grantee must
multiply the number of hours a student
actually attends CTE instruction by the
amount of the minimum hourly wage
that is prescribed by State or local law,
or by the minimum hourly wage that is
established under the Fair Labor
Standards Act. The grantee must reduce
the amount of a stipend if necessary to
ensure that it does not exceed the
student’s financial need.
Example: If a grantee uses the Fair
Labor Standards Act minimum hourly
wage of $7.25 and a student attends
classes for 20 hours a week, the
student’s stipend would be $145 for the
week during which the student attends
classes ($7.25 × 20 = $145.00). If the
program lasts 16 weeks and the
student’s total financial need is $2,000,
the grantee must reduce the weekly
stipend to $125, because the total
stipend for the course would otherwise

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exceed the student’s financial need by
$320 (or $20 a week).
Note: Grantees must maintain records that
fully support their decisions to award
stipends to students, as well as the amounts
that are paid, such as proof of a student’s
enrollment in a NHCTEP project, stipend
applications, timesheets showing the number
of hours of student attendance that are
confirmed in writing by an instructor,
student financial status information, and
evidence that a student could not participate
in the NHCTEP project without a stipend.
(See generally 20 U.S.C. 1232f; 34 CFR
75.700–75.702; 75.730; and 75.731.)

(5) An eligible student may receive a
stipend when taking a course for the
first time. However, generally a stipend
may not be provided to a student who
has already taken, completed, and had
the opportunity to benefit from a course
and is merely repeating the course.
(6) An applicant must include in its
application the procedure it intends to
use to determine student eligibility for
stipends and stipend amounts, and its
oversight procedures for the awarding
and payment of stipends.
Requirement 4—Direct Assistance to
Students:
A grantee may provide direct
assistance (as defined elsewhere in this
notice under the heading Definitions) to
a student only if the following
conditions are met:
(1) The recipient of the direct
assistance is an individual who is a
member of a special population (as
defined in section 3(29) of the Act) and
who is participating in a NHCTEP
project.
(2) The direct assistance is needed to
address barriers to the individual’s
successful participation in a NHCTEP
project.
(3) The direct assistance is part of a
broader, more generally focused
program or activity for addressing the
needs of an individual who is a member
of a special population.
Note: Direct assistance to individuals who
are members of special populations is not, by
itself, a ‘‘program or activity for special
populations.’’

(4) The grant funds used for direct
assistance must be expended to
supplement, and not supplant,
assistance that is otherwise available
from non-Federal sources. For example,
generally, a community-based
organization could not use NHCTEP
funds to provide child care for single
parents if non-Federal funds previously
were made available for this purpose, or
if non-Federal funds are used to provide
child care services for single parents
participating in non-career and
technical education programs and these
services otherwise (in the absence of

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NHCTEP funds) would have been
available to CTE students.
(5) In determining how much of the
NHCTEP grant funds it will use for
direct assistance to an eligible student,
a grantee—
(i) May only provide assistance to the
extent that it is needed to address
barriers to the individual’s successful
participation in CTE; and
(ii) Considers whether the specific
services to be provided are a reasonable
and necessary cost of providing career
and technical education programs for
special populations. However, the
Secretary does not envision a
circumstance in which it would be a
reasonable and necessary expenditure of
NHCTEP project funds for a grantee to
utilize a majority of a project’s budget to
pay direct assistance to students, in lieu
of providing the students served by the
project with CTE.
Requirement 5—Career and Technical
Education Agreement:
Any applicant that is not proposing to
provide CTE directly to Native
Hawaiian students and proposes instead
to pay one or more qualified educational
entities to provide such CTE to Native
Hawaiian students must include with its
application a written CTE agreement
between the applicant and the
educational entity. The written
agreement must describe the
commitment between the applicant and
the educational entity and must include,
at a minimum, a statement of the
responsibilities of the applicant and the
entity. The agreement must be signed by
the appropriate individuals on behalf of
each party, such as the authorizing
official or administrative head of the
applicant Native Hawaiian communitybased organization.
Requirement 6: Supplement-NotSupplant:
Grantees may not use funds under
NHCTEP to replace otherwise available
non-Federal funding for ‘‘direct
assistance to students’’ (as defined
elsewhere in this notice under the
heading Definitions) and family
assistance programs. For example,
NHCTEP funds must not be used to
supplant non-Federal funds to pay the
costs of students’ tuition, dependent
care, transportation, books, supplies,
and other costs associated with
participation in a CTE program.
Further, funds under NHCTEP may
not be used to replace Federal student
financial aid. The Act does not
authorize the Secretary to fund projects
that serve primarily as entities through
which students may apply for and
receive tuition and other financial
assistance.

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Requirement 7—Additional Statutory
Requirement Limiting Services:
Section 315 of the Act prohibits the
use of funds received under the Act to
provide vocational and technical
education programs to students prior to
the seventh grade, except that
equipment and facilities purchased with
funds under the Act may be used by
such students. (20 U.S.C. 2395)
Definitions: These definitions are
from the Act and the notice of final
requirements. The source of each
definition is noted after the definition.
Acute economic need means an
income that is at or below the national
poverty level according to the latest
available data from the U.S. Department
of Commerce or the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services Poverty
Guidelines. (Notice of Final
Requirements)
Career and technical education (CTE)
means organized educational activities
that—
(a) Offer a sequence of courses that—
(1) Provides individuals with
coherent and rigorous content aligned
with challenging academic standards
and relevant technical knowledge and
skills needed to prepare for further
education and careers in current or
emerging professions;
(2) Provides technical skill
proficiency, an industry-recognized
credential, a certificate, or an associate
degree; and
(3) May include prerequisite courses
(other than a remedial course) that meet
the requirements of this definition; and
(b) Include competency-based applied
learning that contributes to the
academic knowledge, higher-order
reasoning and problem-solving skills,
work attitudes, general employability
skills, technical skills, and occupationspecific skills, and knowledge of all
aspects of an industry, including
entrepreneurship, of an individual. (20
U.S.C. 2302(5))
Coherent sequence of courses means a
series of courses in which career and
academic education is integrated, and
that directly relates to, and leads to,
both academic and occupational
competencies. The term includes
competency-based education and
academic education, and adult training
or retraining, including sequential units
encompassed within a single adult
retraining course, that otherwise meets
the requirements of this definition.
(Notice of Final Requirements)
Direct assistance to students means
tuition, dependent care, transportation,
books, and supplies that are necessary
for a student to participate in a project
funded under this program. (Notice of
Final Requirements)

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Individual with a disability means an
individual with any disability (as
defined in section 12102 of title 42) (20
U.S.C. 2302(17)
Individual with limited English
proficiency means a secondary school
student, an adult, or an out-of-school
youth, who has limited ability in
speaking, reading, writing, or
understanding the English language,
and—
(a) Whose native language is a
language other than English; or
(b) Who lives in a family or
community environment in which a
language other than English is the
dominant language. (20 U.S.C. 2302(16))
Native Hawaiian means any
individual any of whose ancestors were
natives, prior to 1778, of the area which
now comprises the State of Hawaii. (20
U.S.C. 2326(a)(4))
Special populations means—
(a) Individuals with disabilities;
(b) Individuals from economically
disadvantaged families, including foster
children;
(c) Individuals preparing for
nontraditional fields;
(d) Single parents, including single
pregnant women;
(e) Displaced homemakers; and
(f) Individuals with limited English
proficiency. (20 U.S.C. 2302(29))
Stipend means a subsistence
allowance—
(a) For a student who is enrolled in a
CTE program funded under the
NHCTEP;
(b) For a student who has an acute
economic need that cannot be met
through work-study programs; and
(c) That is necessary for the student to
participate in a project funded under
this program. (Notice of Final
Requirements)
Support services means services
related to curriculum modification,
equipment modification, classroom
modification, supportive personnel, and
instructional aids and devices. (20
U.S.C. 2302(31))
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2301, et
seq., particularly 2326(a)–(g).
Applicable Regulations: (a) The
Education Department General
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR
parts 75, 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and
99. (b) The Office of Management and
Budget Guidelines to Agencies on
Governmentwide Debarment and
Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR
part 180, as adopted and amended as
regulations of the Department in 2 CFR
part 3485. (c) The Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for
Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as
adopted and amended as regulations of

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the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. (d)
The notice of final requirements
published in the Federal Register on
March 24, 2009 (74 FR 12341). (e) The
Secretary’s Supplemental Priorities
published on March 2, 2018 (83 FR
9096).
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds:
$2,753,000, for the first 12 months of the
project period. Funding for years two
and three is subject to the availability of
funds and to a grantee meeting the
requirements of 34 CFR 75.253.
Contingent upon the availability of
funds and the quality of applications,
we may make additional awards in FY
2019 or in subsequent years from the list
of unfunded applications from this
competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $250,000
to $500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards:
$276,000.
Maximum Award: We will not make
an award exceeding $500,000 for a
single budget period of 12 months.
Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
Note: The Department is not bound by any
estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months. The
Secretary may extend the performance
periods of funded NHCTEP grantees for
an additional two years, should
Congress continue to appropriate funds
under the Act.

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III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: The following
entities are eligible to apply under this
competition:
(a) Community-based organizations
primarily serving and representing
Native Hawaiians. For purposes of the
NHCTEP, a community-based
organization means a public or private
organization that provides career and
technical education, or related services,
to individuals in the Native Hawaiian
community.
(b) Any community-based
organization may apply individually or
as part of a consortium with one or more
eligible community-based organizations.
(Eligible applicants seeking to apply for
funds as a consortium must meet the
requirements in 34 CFR 75.127–75.129.)
2. (a) Cost Sharing or Matching: This
program does not require cost sharing or
matching.
(b) Supplement-Not-Supplant: This
program involves supplement-notsupplant funding requirements. In
accordance with section 311(a) of the
Act, funds under this program may not
be used to supplant non-Federal funds

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used to carry out CTE activities. Further,
the prohibition against supplanting also
means that grantees are required to use
their negotiated restricted indirect cost
rates under this program. (34 CFR
75.563)
We caution applicants not to plan to
use funds under NHCTEP to replace
otherwise available non-Federal funding
for direct assistance to students and
family assistance programs. For
example, NHCTEP funds must not be
used to supplant non-Federal funds
with Federal funds in order to pay the
costs of students’ tuition, dependent
care, transportation, books, supplies,
and other costs associated with
participation in a CTE program.
Funds under NHCTEP should not be
used to replace Federal student
financial aid. The Act does not
authorize the Secretary to fund projects
that serve primarily as entities through
which students may apply for and
receive tuition and other financial
assistance.
(c) Limitation on Services: Section 315
of the Act prohibits the use of funds
received under the Act to provide CTE
programs to students prior to the
seventh grade.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
1. Application Submission
Instructions: For information on how to
submit an application please refer to our
Common Instructions for Applicants to
Department of Education Discretionary
Grant Programs, published in the
Federal Register on February 12, 2018
(83 FR 6003) and available at
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/
pdf/2018-02558.pdf.
2. Intergovernmental Review: This
program is not subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34
CFR part 79.
3. Funding Restrictions: We reference
regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
4. Notice of Intent to Apply: The
Department will be able to review grant
applications more efficiently if we know
the approximate number of applicants
that intend to apply. Therefore, we
strongly encourage each potential
applicant to notify us of their intent to
submit an application. To do so, please
email NHCTEPgrant@ed.gov with the
subject line ‘‘Intent to Apply,’’ and
include the applicant’s name and a
contact person’s name and email
address. Applicants that do not submit
a notice of intent to apply may still
apply for funding; applicants that do
submit a notice of intent to apply are

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not bound to apply or bound by the
information provided.
V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria: The selection
criteria for this program are from the
notice of final requirements, and are as
follows.
The maximum possible score for
addressing each criterion is indicated in
parentheses.
(a) Quality of the Project Design (35
points). In determining the quality of the
design of the proposed project, we
consider the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the design of
the proposed project is appropriate to
and will successfully address the needs
of the target population or other
identified needs (as evidenced by such
data as local labor market demand,
occupational trends, and surveys). (Up
to 5 points)
(2) The extent to which goals,
objectives, and outcomes are clearly
specified and measurable. (For example,
we look for clear descriptions of
proposed student career and technical
education activities; recruitment and
retention strategies; expected student
enrollments, completions, and
placements in jobs, military specialties,
and continuing education/training
opportunities; the number of teachers,
counselors, and administrators to be
trained; and identification of
requirements for each program of study
to be provided under the project,
including related training areas and a
description of performance outcomes.)
(Up to 10 points)
(3) The extent to which the proposed
project will establish linkages with
other appropriate agencies (e.g.,
community, State, and other Federal
resources) and organizations providing
services to the target population in order
to improve services to students and
strengthen outcomes for the proposed
project. (Up to 5 points)
(4) The extent to which the services
to be provided by the proposed project
will create and offer activities that focus
on enabling participants to obtain the
skills necessary to gain employment in
high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand
occupations in emerging fields or in a
specific career field. (Up to 5 points)
(5) The extent to which the services
to be provided by the proposed project
will create opportunities for students to
acquire skills identified by the State at
the secondary level or by industryrecognized career and technical
education programs for licensure,
degree, certification, or as required by a
career or profession. (Up to 5 points)
(6) The extent to which the proposed
project will provide opportunities for

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high-quality training or professional
development services that—
(i) Are of sufficient quality, intensity,
and duration to lead to improvements in
practice among instructional personnel;
(ii) Will improve and increase
instructional personnel’s knowledge
and skills to help students meet
challenging and rigorous academic and
career and technical skill proficiencies;
(iii) Will advance instructional
personnel’s understanding of effective
instructional strategies that are
supported by scientifically based
research; and
(iv) Include professional development
plans that clearly address ways in
which learning gaps will be addressed
and how continuous review of
performance will be conducted to
identify training needs. (Up to 5 points)
(b) Quality of the Management Plan
(15 points). In determining the quality of
the management plan for the proposed
project, we consider the following
factors:
(1) 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 the
milestones and performance standards
for accomplishing project tasks. (Up to
5 points)
(2) The extent to which the time
commitments of the project director and
other key project personnel, including
instructors, are appropriate and
adequate to meet the objectives of the
proposed project. (Up to 5 points)
(3) The adequacy of procedures for
ensuring feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the
proposed project. (Up to 5 points)
(c) Quality of Project Personnel (25
points). In determining the quality of
project personnel, we consider the
following factors:
(1) 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. (Up to 5 points)
(2) The qualifications, including
relevant training, expertise, and
experience, of the project director. (Up
to 10 points)
(3) The qualifications, including
relevant training, expertise, and
experience, of key project personnel,
especially the extent to which the
project will use instructors who are
certified to teach in the field in which
they will provide instruction. (Up to 5
points)

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(4) The qualifications, including
training, expertise, and experience, of
project consultants. (Up to 5 points)
(d) Adequacy of Resources (20
points). In determining the adequacy of
resources for the proposed project, we
consider the following factors:
(1) The adequacy of support,
including facilities, equipment,
supplies, and other resources, from the
applicant organization(s) and the
entities to be served, including the
evidence and relevance of commitments
(e.g., articulation agreements,
memoranda of understanding, letters of
support, or commitments to employ
project participants) of the applicant,
local employers, or entities to be served
by the project. (Up to 10 points)
(2) The extent to which the budget is
adequate and costs are reasonable in
relation to the objectives and design of
the proposed project. (Up to 5 points)
(3) The potential for continued
support of the project after Federal
funding ends. (Up to 5 points)
(e) Quality of the Project Evaluation
(25 points). In determining the quality of
the evaluation, we consider the
following factors:
(1) The extent to which the methods
of evaluation proposed by the grantee
are thorough, feasible, and appropriate
to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of
the proposed project.1 (Up to 10 points)
(2) 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 the performance
measures discussed elsewhere in this
notice and will produce quantitative
and qualitative data, to the extent
possible. (Up to 5 points)
(3) The extent to which the methods
of evaluation will provide performance
feedback and continuous improvement
toward achieving intended outcomes.
(Up to 5 points)
(4) The quality of the proposed
evaluation to be conducted by an
external evaluator with the necessary
background and technical expertise to
carry out the evaluation. (Up to 5
points)
2. Review and Selection Process: 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
1 This

may include the Government Performance
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measures.

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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 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 (34 CFR
100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
3. Risk Assessment and Specific
Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR
200.205, before awarding grants under
this competition, the Department
conducts a review of the risks posed by
applicants. Under 2 CFR 3474.10, the
Secretary may impose specific
conditions and, in appropriate
circumstances, high-risk 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 2
CFR part 200, subpart D; has not
fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant;
or is otherwise not responsible.
4. Integrity and Performance System:
If you are selected under this
competition to receive an award that
over the course of the project period
may exceed the simplified acquisition
threshold (currently $150,000), under 2
CFR 200.205(a)(2) we must make a
judgment about your integrity, business
ethics, and record of performance under
Federal awards—that is, the risk posed
by you as an applicant—before we make
an award. In doing so, we must consider
any information about you that is in the
integrity and performance system
(currently referred to as the Federal
Awardee Performance and Integrity
Information System (FAPIIS)),
accessible through the System for
Award Management. You may review
and comment on any information about
yourself that a Federal agency
previously entered and that is currently
in FAPIIS.
Please note that, if the total value of
your currently active grants, cooperative
agreements, and procurement contracts
from the Federal Government exceeds
$10,000,000, the reporting requirements
in 2 CFR part 200, Appendix XII,
require you to report certain integrity
information to FAPIIS semiannually.
Please review the requirements in 2 CFR
part 200, Appendix XII, if this grant
plus all the other Federal funds you
receive exceed $10,000,000.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application
is successful, we notify your U.S.

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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. Open Licensing Requirements:
Unless an exception applies, if you are
awarded a grant under this competition,
you will be required to openly license
to the public grant deliverables created
in whole, or in part, with Department
grant funds. When the deliverable
consists of modifications to pre-existing
works, the license extends only to those
modifications that can be separately
identified and only to the extent that
open licensing is permitted under the
terms of any licenses or other legal
restrictions on the use of pre-existing
works. Additionally, a grantee or
subgrantee that is awarded competitive
grant funds must have a plan to
disseminate these public grant
deliverables. This dissemination plan
can be developed and submitted after
your application has been reviewed and
selected for funding. For additional
information on the open licensing
requirements please refer to 2 CFR
3474.20.
4. 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 should you receive
funding under the competition. This
does 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. If you
receive a multiyear 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

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75.720(c). For specific requirements on
reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/
fund/grant/apply/appforms/
appforms.html.
5. Performance Measures: Under the
Government Performance and Results
Act of 1993 (GPRA), Federal
departments and agencies must clearly
describe the goals and objectives of their
programs, identify resources and actions
needed to accomplish these goals and
objectives, develop a means of
measuring progress made, and regularly
report on their achievement. One
important source of program
information on successes and lessons
learned is the project evaluation
conducted under individual grants. The
Department has established the
following core factors and measures for
evaluating the overall effectiveness of
the NHCTEP and projects supported
under this program. Consequently, we
advise an applicant for a grant under
this program to give careful
consideration to these core factors and
measures.
(a) Number of Secondary,
Postsecondary, and Adult Projects. The
number of secondary, postsecondary,
and adult projects that—
(1) Apply industry-recognized skill
standards so that students can earn skill
certificates in those projects; and
(2) Offer skill competencies, related
assessments, and industry-recognized
skill certificates in an area of study
offered by secondary and postsecondary
institutions.
(b) Secondary Projects. The
percentage of participating secondary
career and technical education students
who—
(1) Meet or exceed State proficiency
standards in reading/language arts and
mathematics;
(2) Attain a secondary school diploma
or its State-recognized equivalent, or a
proficiency credential in conjunction
with a secondary school diploma;
(3) Attain career and technical
education skill proficiencies aligned
with industry-recognized standards; and
(4) Are placed in postsecondary
education, advanced training, military
service, or employment in high-skill,
high-wage, and high-demand
occupations or in current or emerging
occupations.
(c) Postsecondary Projects. The
percentage of participating
postsecondary students in career and
technical education programs who—
(1) Receive postsecondary degrees,
certificates, or credentials;
(2) Attain career and technical
education skill proficiencies aligned
with industry-recognized standards;

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(3) Receive industry-recognized
credentials, certificates, or degrees;
(4) Are retained in postsecondary
education or transfer to a baccalaureate
degree program; and
(5) Are placed in military service or
apprenticeship programs, or are placed
in employment, receive an employment
promotion, or retain employment.
Note: All grantees must submit an annual
performance report addressing these
performance measures, to the extent feasible
and to the extent that they apply to each
grantee’s NHCTEP project.

6. Continuation Awards: In making a
continuation award under 34 CFR
75.253, the Secretary considers, among
other things: Whether a grantee has
made substantial progress in achieving
the goals and objectives of the project;
whether the grantee has expended funds
in a manner that is consistent with its
approved application and budget; and,
if the Secretary has established
performance measurement
requirements, the performance targets in
the grantee’s approved application.
In making a continuation award, the
Secretary also considers whether the
grantee is operating in compliance with
the assurances in its approved
application, including those applicable
to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit
discrimination in programs or activities
receiving Federal financial assistance
from the Department (34 CFR 100.4,
104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
VII. 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 persons
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Electronic Access to This Document:
The official version of this document is
the document published in the Federal
Register. You may access the official
edition of the Federal Register and the
Code of Federal Regulations 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 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

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your search to documents published by
the Department.
Dated: June 22, 2018.
Michael E. Wooten,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Career,
Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2018–13856 Filed 6–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; Training
Program for Federal TRIO Programs
Office of Postsecondary
Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of Education
is issuing a notice inviting applications
for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2018
for the Training Program for Federal
TRIO Programs (Training Program),
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) number 84.103A.
DATES:
Applications Available: June 27, 2018.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: July 27, 2018.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: September 25, 2018.
ADDRESSES: For the addresses for
obtaining and submitting an
application, please refer to our Common
Instructions for Applicants to
Department of Education Discretionary
Grant Programs, published in the
Federal Register on February 12, 2018
(83 FR 6003) and available at
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/
pdf/2018-02558.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Suzanne Ulmer or, if unavailable,
Carmen Gordon, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,
Room 278–44, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 453–7700. Email:
TRIO@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
telephone (TTY), contact the Federal
Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–
877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

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Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Training
Program provides grants to train the
staff and leadership personnel
employed in, participating in, or
preparing for employment in, projects
funded under the Federal TRIO
Programs, so as to improve the
operation of these projects.
Priorities: This notice contains six
absolute priorities and three invitational

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priorities. In accordance with 34 CFR
75.105(b)(2)(iv) and 34 CFR
75.105(b)(2)(ii), the absolute priorities
are selected from section 402G(b) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as
amended (HEA), and the regulations for
this program at 34 CFR 642.24.
Absolute Priorities: For FY 2018 and
any subsequent year in which we make
awards from the list of unfunded
applications from this competition,
these priorities are absolute priorities.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider
only applications that meet these
absolute priorities.
In accordance with 34 CFR 642.7,
each application must clearly identify
the specific absolute priority for which
a grant is requested. An applicant must
submit a separate application for each
absolute priority it proposes to address.
If an applicant submits more than one
application for the same absolute
priority, we will accept only the
application with the latest ‘‘date/time
received’’ validation.
These priorities are:
Absolute Priority 1. Training to
improve reporting of student and project
performance and the evaluation of
project performance in order to design
and operate a model project funded
under the Federal TRIO Programs.
Estimated number of awards: 2.
Maximum award amount: $265,764.
Absolute Priority 2. Training on
budget management and the statutory
and regulatory requirements for
operation of projects funded under the
Federal TRIO Programs.
Estimated number of awards: 2.
Maximum award amount: $265,764.
Absolute Priority 3. Training on
assessment of student needs; retention
and graduation strategies; and the use of
appropriate educational technology in
the operation of projects funded under
the Federal TRIO programs.
Estimated number of awards: 1.
Maximum award amount: $344,945.
Absolute Priority 4. Training on
assisting students in receiving adequate
financial aid from programs assisted
under title IV of the HEA and from other
programs, on college and university
admissions policies and procedures,
and on proven strategies to improve the
financial literacy and economic literacy
of students, including topics such as
basic personal finance information,
household money management and
financial planning skills, and basic
economic decision making skills.
Estimated number of awards: 2.
Maximum award amount: $265,764.
Absolute Priority 5. Training on
strategies for recruiting and serving hard
to reach populations, including students
who are limited English proficient,

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students from groups that are
traditionally underrepresented in
postsecondary education, students with
disabilities, students who are homeless
children and youths (as this term is
defined in section 725 of the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 11434a)), students who are in
foster care or are aging out of the foster
care system, or other disconnected
students.
Estimated number of awards: 1.
Maximum award amount: $344,945.
Absolute Priority 6. Training on
general project management for new
project directors who have been in their
positions less than two years, including
training on the content of absolute
priorities 1 through 5. The training
should provide new directors with the
basic tools required to be a successful
TRIO project director.
Estimated number of awards: 2.
Maximum award amount: $294,464.
Under this competition we are
particularly interested in applications
that address the following priorities.
Invitational Priorities: For FY 2018
and any subsequent year in which we
make awards from the list of unfunded
applications for this competition, these
priorities are invitational priorities.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), we do not
give an application that meets these
invitational priorities a competitive or
absolute preference over other
applications.
These priorities are:
Invitational Priority 1:
Applications that propose projects
designed to address one or more of the
following priority areas:
(a) Implementing strategies that
ensure education funds are spent in a
way that increases their efficiency and
cost-effectiveness, including by
reducing waste or achieving better
outcomes.
(b) Supporting training toward
innovative strategies or research that
have the potential to lead to significant
and wide-reaching improvements in the
delivery of educational services.
(c) Reducing compliance burden
within the grantee’s operations
(including on partners working to
achieve grant objectives or being served
by the grant) in a manner that decreases
paperwork or staff time spent on
administrative functions, or other
measurable ways that help education
providers to save money, benefit more
students, or improve results.
Invitational Priority 2:
Applications that propose projects
designed to assist TRIO grantees with
the ongoing implementation of the
evidence-based strategies for which they

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