[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44234-44235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18524]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.326G]
Notice of Proposed Extension of Project Period and Waiver for the
National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota
AGENCY: Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed extension of project period and waiver for
the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of
Minnesota (CFDA No. 84.326G).
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), in 34
CFR 75.250 and 75.261(a) and (c), respectively, that generally prohibit
project periods exceeding five years and extensions of project periods
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. This extension of
project period and waiver would enable the currently funded National
Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota to
receive funding from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before August 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed extension of
project period and waiver to David Malouf, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4114, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-6253.
If you prefer to send your comments by e-mail, use the following
address: [email protected]. You must include the phrase ``proposed
extension of project period and waiver'' in the subject line of your
message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Malouf at the address listed in
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Telephone: (202) 245-6253. If you
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal
Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in this section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed extension
of project period and waiver.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this proposed extension of project period and waiver in
room 4114, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC,
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record:
On request, we will supply an appropriate accommodation or
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who needs assistance
to review the comments or other documents in the public rulemaking
record for this proposed extension of project period and waiver. If you
want to schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or
auxiliary aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
On August 8, 2005, the Department published a notice in the Federal
Register (70 FR 45712), inviting applications for new awards for fiscal
year (FY) 2005 under the Technical Assistance and Dissemination to
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities program
(TA&D), authorized under section 663 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Act (IDEA), to support a National Technical Assistance
Center on Assessment for Children with Disabilities. Based on that
notice, the Department made one award for a period of 60 months to the
University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes
(NCEO). Under this award, the Office of Special Education Programs
(OSEP) funds NCEO to address national, State, and local assessment
issues related to students with disabilities. NCEO also assists OSEP
with analyzing State assessment data submitted in the State Performance
Plan/Annual Performance Reports (SPP/APR) required under the IDEA.
NCEO's current project period is scheduled to end on September 30,
2010. We do not believe it would be in the public interest to hold new
[[Page 44235]]
competitions under the TA&D program until the Department has considered
changes being made to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
during the process of reauthorizing that Act and the Department has
developed a coordinated strategy for the provision of technical
assistance that is designed to help States, local educational agencies
(LEAs), and schools effectively implement key provisions of the ESEA
and IDEA and improve educational results for all students. We also have
concluded that it would be contrary to the public interest to have a
lapse in the provision of technical assistance provided under the TA&D
program pending the reauthorization of ESEA. For these reasons, the
Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, which
prohibit project periods exceeding five years, and the requirements in
34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c), which limit the extension of a project period
if the extension involves the obligation of additional Federal funds,
and issue a continuation award in the amount of $1,000,000 to the
University of Minnesota (H326G050007) for an additional twelve-month
period.
Waiving these regulations and issuing this continuation award would
ensure that continued technical assistance is available to assist
States with developing and implementing appropriate assessments of
students with disabilities, as well as emerging issues related to the
inclusion of children with disabilities in assessments, as the
Department works on reauthorization of the ESEA and designs IDEA
technical assistance competitions that are coordinated and aligned with
the Department's technical assistance priorities.
During the next fiscal year, NCEO would (1) provide, upon request,
technical assistance to States regarding the inclusion of students with
disabilities as they develop new academic assessments, including
assessments that consortia of States may develop under the Race to the
Top Assessment Program, and assessments associated with other Federal
laws (e.g., the ESEA and IDEA); (2) develop and implement national and
regional activities to ensure that students with disabilities are
included in and benefit from emerging approaches to assessment (e.g.,
supporting communities of practice and convening national forums); (3)
continue, update, and expand analyses of State SPP/APR assessment data;
(4) collect, analyze, synthesize, and disseminate relevant information
related to the assessment of students with disabilities, as
appropriate; and (5) serve as a national resource for policymakers,
administrators, teachers, advocates, and parents on the assessment of
students with disabilities.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that the proposed extension of project
period and waiver would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The only entity that would be
affected is NCEO.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed extension of project period and waiver does not
contain any information collection requirements.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to the requirements of 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 provides early
notification of our specific plans and actions for this program.
Electronic Access to This Document: 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) 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.
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.
Dated: July 22, 2010.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2010-18524 Filed 7-27-10; 8:45 am]
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