[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46858-46860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18529]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter III
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Partnership Project
AGENCY: Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Department of Education.
ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.
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[Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.326A.]
SUMMARY: For the currently funded IDEA Partnership Project (Partnership
Project) grantee, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements that
generally prohibit project periods exceeding five years and project
period extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds.
The Secretary also proposes to extend current project period for one
year. The proposed waiver and extension of the project period would
enable the currently funded Partnership Project grantee to receive
funding from October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 3, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed waiver and
extension of the project period to Renee Bradley, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 4103, Potomac Center Plaza
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2600.
If you prefer to send your comments by email, use the following
address: [email protected]. You must include the phrase ``Proposed
waiver and extension of the project period'' in the subject line of
your message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Renee Bradley. Telephone: (202) 245-
7277, 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.
[[Page 46859]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
this proposed waiver and extension. During and after the comment
period, you may inspect all public comments about this proposed waiver
and extension of the project period in room 4103, PCP, 550 12th Street,
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 provide 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 notice. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
On July 15, 2008, the Department published a notice in the Federal
Register (73 FR 40548) inviting applications for new awards for fiscal
year (FY) 2008 for the Partnership Project funded under the Technical
Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for
Children with Disabilities (TA&D) program, authorized under section 663
of IDEA. The Partnership Project is intended to provide opportunities
for national associations to collaborate with each other and with their
collective State and local affiliates to improve the implementation of
education policies and practices in States. The goal of the Partnership
Project is also intended to bridge the gap between research, policy,
and practice in both special education and general education so that
the needs of all students can be meaningfully addressed. The
Partnership Project has worked to unite multiple national associations,
and their State and local affiliates, representing policymakers,
service providers, local-level administrators, and families to improve
the implementation of IDEA and outcomes for students with disabilities.
These associations and their State and local affiliates need continued
support to engage in meaningful dialogue, continual learning, and
problem solving that will improve the implementation of IDEA and
outcomes for students with disabilities.
The Department made one award for a period of 60 months to the
National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
to establish the Partnership Project. The current project period is
scheduled to end on September 30, 2013.
The Partnership Project links the expertise and resources available
through the OSEP Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network with
stakeholder organizations to build innovative dissemination strategies.
The Partnership Project has developed and enhanced tools and strategies
to improve the collaboration and engagement of stakeholder
organizations linked with State improvement efforts to implement
evidence-based practices, improve the implementation of IDEA, and
improve outcomes for children with disabilities within general
education reform efforts. Engagement tools and strategies include: (1)
Various Dialogue Guides, focused on education reform efforts such as
standards-based assessment, college- and career-readiness, and the
school-to-prison pipeline; (2) communities of practice development and
implementation; and (3) stakeholder engagement protocols.
At this time, we do not believe that it would be in the public
interest to run a competition for a new Partnership Project because the
Department is planning to change the organization of its technical
assistance (TA) activities to better meet the needs of States and local
affiliates and families. We also have concluded that it would be
contrary to the public interest to have a lapse in the provision of the
TA services currently provided by the Partnership Project pending the
changes to the organization of the Department's TA activities.
For these reasons, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements
in 34 CFR 75.250, which prohibit project periods exceeding five years,
and waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2), which allow
the extension of a project period only if the extension does not
involve the obligation of additional Federal funds. The Secretary
further proposes to issue a continuation award in the amount of
$1,699,000 to NASDSE for an additional 12-month period. This
continuation award should ensure that the Partnership Project's TA,
coordinated training, outreach, and dissemination of information to the
partners' State and local affiliates and families will not be
interrupted.
Any activities to be carried out during the year of the
continuation award would have to be consistent with, or be a logical
extension of, the scope, goals, and objectives of the grantee's
application as approved in the 2008 Partnership Project competition.
If the proposed waiver and extension of the project period are
announced in a final notice in the Federal Register, the requirements
applicable to continuation awards for this competition set forth in the
July 15, 2008, notice inviting applications and the requirements in 34
CFR 75.253 would apply to any continuation awards sought by the current
IDEA Partnership grantee. If we announce the waiver and extension as
final, we will base our decisions regarding a continuation award on the
program narrative, budget, budget narrative, and program performance
report submitted by the current grantee, as well as the requirements in
34 CFR 75.253.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Department certifies that the proposed waiver and extension of
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The only entity that would be
affected by the proposed waiver and extension of the project period is
the current grantee.
The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension
would not have a significant economic impact on this entity because the
proposed waiver and extension of the project period imposes minimal
compliance costs, and the activities required to support the additional
year of funding would not impose additional regulatory burdens or
require unnecessary Federal supervision.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This notice of proposed waiver and extension of the project period
does not contain any information collection requirements.
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
provides early notification of our specific plans and actions for this
program.
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 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
[[Page 46860]]
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 search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Dated: July 29, 2013.
Michael K. Yudin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 2013-18529 Filed 8-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P