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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

84.295:  Ready-To-Learn Television

Objectives:  To develop educational programming for preschool and early elementary school children and their families. To develop educational television, programming and ancillary materials to increase school readiness for young children in limited English proficient households and to increase family literacy. To develop support materials and services that promote effective use of educational programming.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

84.295 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  To be eligible to receive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under Subsection (a) an entity shall be: 1) A nonprofit entity (including a public telecommunications entity) able to demonstrate a capacity for the development and distribution of educational and instructional television programming of high quality for preschool and elementary school children; and 2) able to demonstrate a capacity to contract with the producers of children's television programming for the purpose of developing educational television programming of high quality for preschool and elementary school children. In fiscal year 1995, Congress required that funds be awarded to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the amount that the Secretary determines appropriate.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  Programming is to be made widely available, with support materials as appropriate, to young children, their parents, child care workers, and Head Start providers.

Credentials/Documentation:  None.

84.295 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or the official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Application Procedure:  This procedure is described in the application notice published annually in the Federal Register. Contact the headquarters office listed below for application packages containing the announcement, application, and forms.

Award Procedure:  Applications are reviewed and evaluated by outside experts and program staff, in accordance with the Evaluation of Applications for Grants and Cooperative Agreements (34 CFR 700). The Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement approves the selection of applications for negotiation.

Deadlines:  Application deadlines and other information for applicants are published in the Federal Register.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  About 2 months.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  As required by the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) for direct grant program (see 34 CFR 75.253). Generally, for multiple-year awards, continuation awards after the first budget period are made if: sufficient funds have been appropriated; the recipient has either made substantial progress in meeting the goals of the project or obtaining approval for changes in the project; the recipient has submitted all required reports; and continuation is in the best interest of the government.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  The criteria for selecting applications under this program are contained in 34 CFR 700, Evaluation of Applications for Grants and Cooperative Agreements. The specific criteria to be used for a particular grant competition are selected from among those in 34 CFR 700, and announced in the application package or the application notice in the Federal Register.

Examples of Funded Projects:  The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) awarded $4.2 million to the Children's Television Workshop and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution in 1995. They will use the funds to develop and produce 40 episodes of Dragon Tales, a daily animated half-hour preschool series which will help children develop life skills necessary for learning. The series will feature Max and his big sister Margarita whose parents came to the U.S. from Latin America. The series will encourage children to face new experiences with confidence by helping them to pursue challenges, overcome fears, and make difficult tasks easier through teamwork. Targeted to children between 2 to 5 years of age, it is anticipated that over 6 million children will view the series on a regular basis. Show and Tell Me, is a related weekly designed to educate parents to and caregivers about ways they can help children become ready to learn. It is anticipated that 4.5 million adults will tune into this series on PBS. Children's Television Workshop will also produce an interactive Internet component for children, parents, and other caregivers. CPB is also providing $4.2 million to public broadcaster WGBH Boston, in partnership with Sirius Thinking, Inc., to develop and co-produce 40 episodes of an innovative half-hour daily literacy series, Between the Lions, for 4 to 7 year-olds. WGBH will produce a related 13 part weekly half-hour series Kids and How to Grow Them for parents and caregivers, along with an interactive online component for the Internet. CPB has also used funds to expand CPB's "First Book" a free book program, from three PBS stations to 120 stations. These stations have distributed more than 650,000 books to disadvantaged children who would not otherwise own them. In addition to providing a regular allotment for free books to these stations on a monthly basis, a matching book fund has been established to encourage the stations to purchase additional books. Many stations have ordered these books in Spanish, English, and other languages. The Educational Publishing Group, Inc., of Boston, Massachusetts, in association with WBGH, a Boston a public television station, received an award to create and publish ten issues of PTV Families and Para la Familia through December 1997.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  All funds are awarded under a single grant.

84.295 RELATED PROGRAMS:

84.295 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

84.295 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH, STATISTICS AND IMPROVEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Type of Assistance:  Project Grants; Project Grants (Contracts); Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements).

Obligations:  (Grants) FY 99 $11,000,000; FY 00 est $16,000,000; and FY 01 est $16,000,000.

Budget Account Number:  18-0500-2-1-501.

Authorization:  Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title III, Part C, 20 U.S.C. 6921.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  The regulations applicable to this program are in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations 34 CFR, 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, and 86.

84.295 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  None.

Headquarters Office:  National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education, Office of Education Research and Improvement, Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20208-5524. Contact: Joe Caliguro: Phone: (202) 219-1596.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

84.295 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  None.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Following an initial award of 12 months, four additional 1-year, non-competing continuation awards may be made, for a total term of 5 years.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Administrative costs are limited by the authorizing statute. Entities receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement from the Secretary, may not use more than five percent of the amounts received under this Section for the normal and customary expenses of administering the grant.

84.295 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  The recipient must submit an annual report. At a minimum, the report must describe the program activities including: 1) Programming that has been developed directly or indirectly and the target population of the programs developed; 2) supporting materials that have been developed to accompany the programming and the method by which materials are distributed to consumers and users of the programming; 3) the means by which programming developed under this Section has been distributed, including the distinct learning technologies that have been utilized to make programming available and the geographic distribution achieved through such technologies; and 4) the initiatives undertaken to develop public or private partnerships to secure nonfederal support to develop and distribute the broadcasting of educational and instructional programming.

Audits:  See 34 CFR 74.26. Institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations are subject to the audit requirements of OMB Circular No. A-133. State and local governments are subject to the requirements in the Single Audit Act and ED regulations implementing OMB Circular No. A-133 (see 34 CFR 80).

Records:  As required by EDGAR for direct grant programs (34 CFR 75). Generally, records related to grant funds, compliance, and performance must be maintained for a period of five years after completion.