[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 144 (Monday, July 28, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43653-43655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17707]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter III
[Docket ID ED-2014-OSERS-0041]
Final Priority; National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research--Research Fellowships Program (Also Known as
the Mary E. Switzer Research Fellowships)
[CFDA Number: 84.133F-2.]
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Final priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services announces a priority for the Research
Fellowships Program administered by the National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Specifically, this
notice announces a priority for a Distinguished Residential Disability
and Rehabilitation Policy Fellowship. We take this action to focus
attention on an area of national need. We intend the priority to build
research capacity by providing support to highly qualified, experienced
researchers, including those who are individuals with disabilities, to
conduct policy research in the areas of disability and rehabilitation.
DATES: Effective Date: This priority is effective August 27, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Barrett, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5142, Potomac Center Plaza
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2700. Telephone: (202) 245-6211 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 Research Fellowships Program
is to build research capacity by providing support to experienced,
highly qualified individuals, including those who are individuals with
disabilities, to perform research on the rehabilitation of individuals
with disabilities.
Fellows must conduct original research in an area authorized by
section 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act).
Section 204 of the Act authorizes research, demonstration projects,
training, and related activities, the purposes of which are 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
significant disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services
authorized under the Act.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(e).
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
We published a notice of proposed priority (NPP) for this program
in the Federal Register on June 03, 2014 (79 FR 31898). That notice
contained background information and our reasons for proposing the
particular priority.
There are no differences between the proposed priority and this
final priority.
Public Comment: In response to our invitation in the NPP we did not
receive any comments on the proposed priority.
Final Priority:
The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services proposes a new priority for a Distinguished Residential
Disability and Rehabilitation Policy Fellowship as part of NIDRR's
Research Fellowship Program (also known as the Mary E. Switzer Research
Fellowships). The goals of this proposed priority are: (1) To provide
experienced disability and rehabilitation researchers with
opportunities to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the
public policy-making process and the effects of public policy on the
outcomes of individuals with disabilities; (2) to enhance the capacity
of disability and rehabilitation researchers to conduct and disseminate
relevant disability policy research; (3) to increase the integration
and use of research findings in shaping disability-related policy; and
4) to increase awareness of disability-related issues in public policy
discussions, formulations, and reviews.
Consistent with the goals of this program, an applicant for a
Distinguished Residential Disability and Rehabilitation Policy
Fellowship must include:
(a) An Eligibility Statement that demonstrates that you meet the
eligibility requirements in 34 CFR part 356.2(c)(1), including relevant
publications and prior research experience; and that provides
sufficient information in order to evaluate your qualifications
consistent with 34 CFR part 356.30(a).
(b) A plan for how you will fulfill the full-time equivalent
requirement for a Distinguished Residential Disability and
Rehabilitation Policy Fellowship and the requirement to work a minimum
of 50 percent of the time in an agency or office within the Executive
or Legislative branches of the Federal government, in the Washington,
DC metropolitan area.
Note: As described in 34 CFR 356.41, fellows will work full-time
on authorized fellowship activities. The application package for
this priority provides a thorough description of how NIDRR defines
and administers the full-time equivalent requirement for this
program, as well as the 50 percent residential requirement.
(c) A letter of support from a potential mentor at an agency or
office within the Executive or Legislative branches of the Federal
Government where your fellowship will be based. The letter of support
from the potential mentor should indicate the mentor's capacity and
willingness to facilitate your fellowship placement should you be
awarded the Distinguished Residential Disability and Rehabilitation
Policy Fellowship.
(d) An assurance that you will commit to spending at least 50
percent of the time during the period of the fellowship at an agency or
office within the Executive or Legislative branches of the Federal
government in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, receiving
orientation, conducting research, and providing expertise related to
disability and rehabilitation research.
(e) A description of a proposed Distinguished Residential
Disability and Rehabilitation Policy Fellowship research project that
includes the following:
(1) A brief history or literature review of the disability issue,
as appropriate; identification of the relevant recent legislative,
regulatory, or administrative actions and the policy options related to
this topic; and a rationale for the importance of the topic to
improving the well-being of individuals with disabilities in one or
more of NIDRR's primary outcome domains: Community Living and
Participation, Employment, and Health and Function.
(2) Specific objectives and research questions or hypotheses that
will guide the project, the methods you will use to conduct the
research, and the proposed timeline for implementing the project.
[[Page 43654]]
(3) A plan for how the results of the project will be disseminated
and used to influence policy.
Note: Fellows funded under this program are responsible for
ensuring that their conduct does not violate Federal anti-lobbying
requirements (see www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCODE-2011-title18/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap93-sec1913) during the period of their
fellowship.
Note: The costs associated with carrying out this residential
policy practicum are intended to be covered, in full or in part, by
the Distinguished Residential Disability and Rehabilitation Policy
Fellowship Award; however, the fellow is responsible for paying for
any costs that exceed the amount of the award.
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 Research Fellowships Program have been well
established over the years. Projects similar to the Research
Fellowships Program have been completed successfully, and the proposed
priority will generate new capacity in the area of rehabilitation and
disability policy research.
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
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as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
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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 43655]]
search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents
published by the Department.
Dated: July 23, 2014
Melody Musgrove,
Director, Office of Special Education Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-17707 Filed 7-25-14; 8:45 am]
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