[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13110-13111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5978]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Proposed Waivers for the Comprehensive Centers Program and
Funding of Continuation Grants
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR
75.250 and 75.261(c)(2) of the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) that, respectively, generally
prohibit project periods exceeding five years and project period
extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The
proposed waivers would enable the 21 current eligible grantees under
the Comprehensive Centers program to continue to receive Federal
funding beyond the five-year limitation contained in 34 CFR 75.250.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 19, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed waivers to Frances
Walter, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW., Room
3W113, Washington, DC 20202-2800. You may provide comments by e-mail
addressed to [email protected]. You must include the term
``Comprehensive Centers Program Waivers'' in the subject line of your
electronic message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frances Walter. Telephone: (202) 205-
9198 or via Internet: [email protected].
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 under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this notice of proposed
waivers.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice of proposed waivers in Room 3W113, 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m.
and 4:00 p.m., Washington, DC 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 aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for these proposed waivers. If you want to schedule
an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
Under the Comprehensive Centers program, the Department supports
grants to operate regional technical assistance centers and national
content centers as authorized by sections 203 through 207 of the
Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (ETAA) (20 U.S.C. 9602).
The purpose of these centers is to provide technical assistance to
States as States work to help local educational agencies (LEAs) and
schools to close achievement gaps in core content areas and raise
student achievement in schools, especially to help those in need of
improvement (as defined by section 1116(b) of the Elementary and
Secondary Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA)) in implementing the school
improvement provisions under section 1116 of the ESEA.
Eligible applicants for Comprehensive Center grants are research
organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher
education, partnerships among such entities, or individuals, with the
demonstrated ability or capacity to carry out the activities described
in the notice inviting applications published in the Federal Register
on June 3, 2005 (70 FR 53283) and corrected on June 20, 2005 (70 FR
35415).
We do not believe it would be in the public interest to hold new
[[Page 13111]]
competitions under the Comprehensive Centers program until after the
Congress has completed the process of reauthorizing the ESEA and the
ETAA since the primary work of the Comprehensive Centers is to help
States, LEAs, and schools implement key school improvement provisions
of the ESEA. We also have concluded that it would be contrary to the
public interest to have a lapse in Comprehensive Centers projects
pending these reauthorizations. 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(c)(2), which limit the extension of a project period if the
extension involves the obligation of additional Federal funds. With
these waivers: (1) Current Comprehensive Centers grantees would receive
FY 2010 funds and continue to operate through FY 2011 and possibly
beyond, if Congress continues to appropriate funds for that purpose,
and (2) we would not announce a new competition or make new awards
under the Comprehensive Centers program in FY 2010.
The proposed waivers of 34 CFR 75.250 and 75.261(c)(2) would not
affect the applicability of the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253
(continuation of a multi-year project after the first budget period) to
any current Comprehensive Centers grantee that receives a continuation
award as a result of the waivers.
In addition, these proposed waivers would not exempt current
Comprehensive Centers grantees from the account-closing provisions in
31 U.S.C. 1552(a), nor would they extend the availability of funds
previously awarded to current Comprehensive Centers grantees. Under 31
U.S.C. 1552(a), appropriated funds may be used for payment of valid
obligations for only five years after the expiration of their period of
availability for Federal obligation. After that time, the unexpended
balance of those funds is canceled and returned to the U.S. Treasury
Department and is unavailable for restoration for any purpose. The
waivers proposed in this notice would not change this requirement.
Making these waivers, therefore, would ensure that the important
services provided by the current Comprehensive Centers grantees can be
continued, as the Department works on reauthorization of the ETAA and
ESEA and designs a Comprehensive Centers program that is clearly
aligned with the Department's technical assistance priorities. During
this interim period the activities of the current Comprehensive Centers
grantees would be modified to support the Department's technical
assistance priorities.
We will announce the final waivers, if any, in a notice in the
Federal Register. We will determine the final waivers after considering
responses to this notice and other information available to the
Department.
Proposed Waivers--Comprehensive Centers Program
The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250
and 75.261(c)(2), which prohibit project periods exceeding five years
and extensions of project periods that involve the obligation of
additional Federal funds, for the current Comprehensive Centers
grantees.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that these proposed waivers would not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
The small entities that would be affected by these proposed waivers
are:
(a) The FY 2005 grantees currently receiving Federal funds; and
(b) The entities that are eligible for an award under the
Comprehensive Centers program (i.e., research organizations,
institutions, agencies, institutions of higher education, partnerships
among such entities, or individuals, with the demonstrated ability or
capacity to carry out the activities described in the notice inviting
applications published in the Federal Register on June 3, 2005 (70 FR
53283) and corrected on June 20, 2005 (70 FR 35415)).
The Secretary certifies that the proposed waivers would not have a
significant economic impact on these entities because the proposed
waivers and the activities required to support the additional years of
funding would not impose excessive regulatory burdens or require
unnecessary Federal supervision. The proposed waivers would impose
minimal requirements to ensure the proper expenditure of program funds,
including requirements that are standard for continuation awards.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This notice of proposed waivers does not contain any information
collection requirements.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR 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 may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html.
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: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.283B,
Comprehensive Centers Program).
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C 99601-99608.
Dated: March 12, 2010.
Thelma Mel[eacute]ndez de Santa Ana,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2010-5978 Filed 3-17-10; 8:45 am]
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