[Federal Register: April 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 64)]
[Notices]
[Page 17398]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02ap04-46]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Migrant Education Formula Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of interpretation.
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SUMMARY: Section 1303(a) and (b) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (NCLB), provides for the allocation of Migrant Education
Program (MEP) funds to States, the District of Columbia, and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico). The Department announces
that the interpretations of these provisions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003,
published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2003 (68 FR 34911), shall
continue to apply for FY 2004 and those subsequent fiscal years in
which the amount of funds appropriated for the MEP does not exceed the
amount appropriated in FY 2002.
DATES: Effective date: April 2, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James English, Office of Migrant
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room
3E315, Washington, DC 20202-6135. Telephone: (202) 260-1394, or via
Internet: james.english@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The MEP, authorized in Title I, part C, of the ESEA, as amended by
NCLB, is a State-operated and State-administered formula grant program.
It provides assistance to State educational agencies (SEAs) to support
high-quality and comprehensive educational programs that provide
migratory children appropriate educational and supportive services that
address their special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner, and
give migratory children the opportunity to meet the same challenging
State academic content and student academic achievement standards that
all children are expected to meet. Funds are allocated to SEAs under a
formula authorized under section 1303 of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB.
Through this notice, the Department announces that its
interpretations of the formula for awarding FY 2003 MEP funds to
States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as
published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2003 (68 FR 34911), shall
apply to the Department's allocation of MEP funds in FY 2004 and those
succeeding fiscal years in which the amount of funds appropriated for
the MEP does not exceed the amount appropriated in FY 2002. The
Department continues to apply these interpretations for the reasons
identified in the June 11, 2003, notice.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to
comment on proposed regulations. However, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) the
Secretary is generally not required to offer the public an opportunity
to comment on an interpretative rule. These rules advise the public of
our interpretation of sections 1303(a) and (b) of the ESEA, as amended
by NCLB. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has
determined that proposed rulemaking is not required. For the same
reason, a delayed effective date is not required under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(2).
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed federal
financial assistance.
This document is intended to provide early notification of our
specific plans and actions for this program.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may 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) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister
.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: 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 on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.011: Title I,
Education of Migrant Children.)
Dated: March 29, 2004.
Raymond Simon,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 04-7508 Filed 4-1-04; 8:45 am]
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