[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 47 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13452-13454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04906]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Waivers; Comprehensive Centers Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of waivers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Secretary waives the requirements that generally prohibit
project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. These waivers
enable the 22 current grantees under the Comprehensive Centers program
to continue to receive Federal funding for up to an additional 24
months through September 30, 2019.
DATES: These waivers are effective April 12, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britt Jung, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E206, Washington, DC 20202-
6400. Telephone: (202) 205-4513 or by email: [email protected].
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf or a text
telephone, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the Comprehensive Centers program, the Department of
Education (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. 9602-9606). The purpose of these centers is to
provide technical assistance to States as States work to help local
educational agencies (LEAs) and schools close achievement gaps in core
content areas and raise student achievement in schools.
Eligible applicants for Comprehensive Center grants are research
organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher
education, partnerships among these types of 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 6, 2012 (77 FR 33564)
[[Page 13453]]
(2012 NIA) and corrected on August 15, 2012 (77 FR 48974). In FY 2012,
the Department made five-year awards to 22 Comprehensive Centers. The
project period for these Comprehensive Centers is currently scheduled
to end on September 30, 2017.
On January 9, 2017, the Department published a notice in the
Federal Register (82 FR 2335) (January 2017 notice) proposing waivers
of the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250(a) and 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2)
(proposed waivers). Respectively, these provisions generally prohibit
project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. Waiving these
provisions will enable the Secretary to provide additional funds to the
22 Comprehensive Center grantees for up to 24 months, from October 1,
2017, through September 30, 2019. The January 2017 notice also invited
public comment on the proposed waivers.
Public Comment
No parties submitted comments regarding the proposed waivers. There
are no differences between the proposed and the final waivers.
Final Waivers
In the January 2017 notice, we discussed the background and
purposes of the Comprehensive Centers program and our reasons for
proposing the waivers. As outlined in that notice, it would not be in
the public interest to hold a new competition under the Comprehensive
Centers program until after the Department has finalized its guidance
on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as
amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and until all the new
statutory requirements under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, have
gone into effect. One of the primary purposes of the Comprehensive
Centers program is to help States, LEAs, and schools implement key
school improvement provisions of the ESEA. Delaying the competition
until after the Department and States have begun to implement the new
provisions under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, would allow
applicants to familiarize themselves with the new statutory
requirements and submit proposals that will best serve States under the
new law. In addition, it would be contrary to the public interest to
have a lapse in Comprehensive Centers' services pending the
implementation of new provisions of the ESSA. Implementing these
waivers will ensure that the important services provided by the current
Comprehensive Centers can continue uninterrupted as States transition
to the ESSA.
The Secretary waives the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250(a), 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.
Under these waivers--
(1) Current grantees are authorized to receive continuation awards
annually for up to two fiscal years.
(2) The Department will not announce a new competition or make new
awards under the Comprehensive Centers program in FY 2017.
(3) During the extension period, any activities carried out must be
consistent with, or be a logical extension of, the scope, goals, and
objectives of the grantees' approved applications from the 2012
Comprehensive Centers competition.
(4) Each grantee that receives a continuation award must also
continue to comply with the requirements established in the program
regulations and the 2012 NIA (77 FR 33564).
The waivers of 34 CFR 75.250(a) and 75.261(c)(2) do 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 waivers do not exempt current Comprehensive
Centers grantees from the account-closing provisions in 31 U.S.C.
1552(a), nor do 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. These
waivers do not change this requirement.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that these waivers will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The small entities that will be affected are:
(a) The FY 2012 grantees currently receiving Federal funds; and
(b) The entities that are eligible for an award under the
Comprehensive Centers program (i.e., eligible applicants as described
in the 2012 NIA).
The Secretary certifies that the waivers will not have a
significant economic impact on these entities because the waivers and
the activities required to support the additional years of funding
impose minimal compliance costs to extend projects already in
existence, and the activities required to support the additional year
of funding will not impose additional regulatory burdens or require
unnecessary Federal supervision. The waivers will impose minimal
requirements to ensure the proper expenditure of program funds,
including requirements that are standard for continuation awards.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
These waivers do 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 Federal financial
assistance. This document provides 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) by contacting the program contact person listed in this notice.
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 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.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9602-9606.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.283B.
[[Page 13454]]
Dated: March 8, 2017.
Monique M. Chism,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2017-04906 Filed 3-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P