[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38840-38842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15605]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter III
Final Priority--National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research--Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Final priority.
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[CFDA Number: 84.133B-8]
SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services announces a priority for the Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program administered by
the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
(NIDRR). Specifically, we announce a priority for a Rehabilitation
Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Disability in Rural Areas. The
Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal
year (FY) 2013 and later years. We take this action to focus research
attention on areas of national need. We intend this priority to improve
outcomes among individuals with disabilities in rural areas.
DATES: This priority is effective July 29, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marlene Spencer, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5133, Potomac Center Plaza
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2700. Telephone: (202) 245-7532 or by
email: [email protected].
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:
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program is to plan and
conduct research, demonstration projects, training, and related
activities, including international activities, to develop methods,
procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full
inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living,
family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals
with disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe
disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized
under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act).
Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers
The purpose of the RRTCs, which are funded through the Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, is to achieve
the goals of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, through advanced
research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities
in general problem areas, as specified by NIDRR. These activities are
designed to benefit rehabilitation service providers, individuals with
disabilities, and the family members or other authorized
representatives of individuals with disabilities. Additional
information on the RRTC program can be found at: www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/res-program.html#RRTC.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(b)(2).
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
We published a notice of proposed priority (NPP) in the Federal
Register on May 7, 2013 (78 FR 26560). That notice contained background
information and our reasons for proposing the particular priority.
Except for minor technical revisions, there are no differences
between the proposed priority and the final priority.
Public Comment: In response to our invitation in the NPP, we did
not receive any comments on the proposed priority.
Final Priority
RRTC on Disability in Rural Areas.
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services establishes a priority for a Rehabilitation Research and
Training Center (RRTC) on Disability in Rural Areas. This RRTC must
conduct rigorous research, and provide training, technical assistance,
and information to improve the outcomes of individuals with
disabilities who live in rural areas. The RRTC must:
(a) Conduct research that examines experiences and outcomes of
individuals with disabilities who live in rural areas and apply the
research findings to develop interventions that improve those outcomes.
Applicants must focus their research activities on topics that fall
under at least one of the following major life domains identified in
NIDRR's Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Years 2013-2017 (78 FR 20299):
Employment, Community Living and Participation, or Health and Function;
(b) Serve as a national resource center for individuals with
disabilities living in rural areas, their families, service and support
providers, and other stakeholders by conducting knowledge translation
activities that include, but are not limited to:
(1) Providing information and technical assistance to service
providers, individuals with disabilities living in rural areas and
their representatives, and other key stakeholders;
(2) Providing training, including graduate, pre-service, and in-
service training, to rehabilitation service providers and other
disability service
[[Page 38841]]
providers, to facilitate more effective delivery of services to
individuals with disabilities living in rural areas. This training may
be provided through conferences, workshops, public education programs,
in-service training programs, and similar activities;
(3) Disseminating research-based information and materials related
to living with a disability in rural areas; and
(c) Involve individuals with disabilities who live in rural areas
in planning and implementing the RRTC's activities, and in evaluating
the RRTC's work.
Types of Priorities:
When inviting applications for a competition using one or more
priorities, we designate the type of each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in the Federal
Register. The effect of each type of priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by (1)
awarding additional points, depending on the extent to which the
application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2)
selecting an application that meets the priority over an application of
comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the priority.
However, we do not give an application that meets the priority a
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
This notice does not preclude us from proposing additional
priorities, requirements, definitions, or selection criteria, subject
to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use this priority, we invite applications through
a notice in the Federal Register.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Regulatory Impact Analysis
Under Executive Order 12866, the Secretary must determine whether
this regulatory action is ``significant'' and, therefore, subject to
the requirements of the Executive order and subject to review by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive Order
12866 defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action likely
to result in a rule that may--
(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more,
or adversely affect a sector of the economy, productivity, competition,
jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local or
tribal governments or communities in a material way (also referred to
as an ``economically significant'' rule);
(2) Create serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an
action taken or planned by another agency;
(3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants,
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients
thereof; or
(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles stated in the
Executive order.
This final regulatory action is not a significant regulatory action
subject to review by OMB under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866.
We have also reviewed this final regulatory action under Executive
Order 13563, which supplements and explicitly reaffirms the principles,
structures, and definitions governing regulatory review established in
Executive Order 12866. To the extent permitted by law, Executive Order
13563 requires that an agency--
(1) Propose or adopt regulations only upon a reasoned determination
that their benefits justify their costs (recognizing that some benefits
and costs are difficult to quantify);
(2) Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden on society,
consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives and taking into
account--among other things and to the extent practicable--the costs of
cumulative regulations;
(3) In choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, select
those approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential
economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other
advantages; distributive impacts; and equity);
(4) To the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, rather
than the behavior or manner of compliance a regulated entity must
adopt; and
(5) Identify and assess available alternatives to direct
regulation, including economic incentives--such as user fees or
marketable permits--to encourage the desired behavior, or provide
information that enables the public to make choices.
Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency ``to use the best
available techniques to quantify anticipated present and future
benefits and costs as accurately as possible.'' The Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these
techniques may include ``identifying changing future compliance costs
that might result from technological innovation or anticipated
behavioral changes.''
We are issuing this final priority only on a reasoned determination
that its benefits justify its costs. In choosing among alternative
regulatory approaches, we selected those approaches that maximize net
benefits. Based on the analysis that follows, the Department believes
that this regulatory action is consistent with the principles in
Executive Order 13563.
We also have determined that this regulatory action does not unduly
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of
their governmental functions.
In accordance with both Executive orders, the Department has
assessed the potential costs and benefits, both quantitative and
qualitative, of this regulatory action. The potential costs are those
resulting from statutory requirements and those we have determined as
necessary for administering the Department's programs and activities.
The benefits of the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects
and Centers Program have been well established over the years, as
projects similar to the one envisioned by the final priority have been
completed successfully. The new RRTC will generate and promote the use
of new knowledge that will improve the options for individuals with
disabilities to perform regular activities of their choice in the
community.
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print,
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person
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. Free
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the
Code of Federal Regulations is available 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 Adobe 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
[[Page 38842]]
search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents
published by the Department.
Dated: June 25, 2013.
Michael K. Yudin,
Delegated the authority to perform the functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2013-15605 Filed 6-27-13; 8:45 am]
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