[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17516-17518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08281]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter II
[Docket ID: ED-2018-OESE-0017; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) Number 84.144F]
Proposed Waiver--Migrant Education Program Consortium Incentive
Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirement in the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally
prohibits project period extensions involving the obligation of
additional Federal funds. The proposed waiver and extension of the
project period would enable the 34 grantees under the Migrant Education
Program (MEP) Consortium Incentive Grant (CIG) Program that received
awards in the fiscal year (FY) 2015 grant competition to continue to
receive Federal funding for up to 24 additional months.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 21, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies,
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to
submit your comments electronically. Information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents,
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site
under ``Are you new to the site?''
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you
mail or deliver your comments about this proposed waiver and extension
of the project period, address them to Jennifer Rodriguez, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E323,
Washington, DC 20202.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing in
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly
available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Rodriguez. Telephone: (202)
453-6670 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:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
this proposed waiver and extension of the project period.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this proposed waiver and extension by accessing
Regulations.gov. You may also inspect the comments in person in Room
3E323, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC, between the hours of
8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday of each
week, except Federal holidays. Please contact the person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 proposed waiver and extension. If you
want to schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or
auxiliary aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background: The MEP CIG program is authorized in section 1308(d) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA)
(20 U.S.C. 6398(d)). Through the MEP CIG program, the U.S. Department
of Education (Department) provides financial incentives to State
educational agencies (SEAs) to participate in high-quality consortia
that improve the interstate or intrastate coordination of migrant
education programs by addressing key needs of migratory children who
have their education interrupted.
The Department published a notice of final requirements for the MEP
CIG program in the Federal Register on March 3, 2004 (69 FR 10109)
(2004 Notice), and we have used these final requirements for CIG
program competitions since FY 2004.
The 2004 Notice established a project period of up to two years for
grants awarded under the MEP CIG program. We subsequently published a
notice of
[[Page 17517]]
final requirement for the MEP CIG program in the Federal Register on
December 31, 2013 (78 FR 79613) (2013 Notice), in which we increased
the CIG project period to three years.
The Department last awarded CIG program grants in FY 2015.
Currently, 34 SEAs (out of a total of 46 SEAs that receive MEP formula
grant program funds) participate in CIG program-funded consortia.
We are proposing to waive the requirement in 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2),
which limits the extension of a project period if the extension
involves the obligation of additional Federal funds. If finalized, this
waiver would allow the 34 current CIG program grantees to continue to
receive Federal funding for up to two additional years through FY 2019.
We are proposing to provide up to two years of additional funding
to current CIG grantees for several reasons. The additional project
years proposed by this waiver would allow grantees' work to continue as
the Secretary considers changes to the priorities, structure, and
duration of the CIG program.
Providing up to two additional years of funding would permit
grantees to continue coordinating with one another and achieving the
goals and objectives of their consortium applications. Based on the
progress SEAs generally have made on consortium projects, we believe
that current grantees could benefit from a fourth and fifth year in
which to continue working on and implementing their CIG program
projects.
Moreover, implementing this waiver and extension would ensure that
the services provided by the current CIG program grantees continue
uninterrupted as the Department supports States in their transition to
implement requirements under the ESEA as amended by the Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA). During this extension period, the activities of
the current CIG program grantees would be modified through work plans,
as necessary, to continue the implementation of consortium activities
and to support States as they implement requirements under the ESSA.
For all of these reasons, we have concluded that it would be
contrary to the public interest to have a lapse in the work of current
CIG program grantees while the Secretary considers changes to the CIG
program and while the Department implements the components of the ESSA
as described above.
We intend to fund the extended project period for either one or two
years by using the FY 2018 and, if necessary, FY 2019 funds that
Congress appropriates under the current statutory authority. Funding
for the extended project period would follow the two-tiered funding
formula established by the 2004 Notice.
If this proposed waiver and extension becomes final--
(1) Current grantees will be authorized to receive continuation
awards annually for up to two years.
(2) We would not announce a new competition or make new awards
under the MEP CIG program in FY 2018 (if the project period is extended
for one year) or in FY 2019 (if the project period is extended for two
years).
(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 grantee's approved application from the FY 2015 CIG
program competition.
(4) Each grantee who receives a continuation award must also
continue to comply with the requirements established in the program
regulations, the 2004 and 2013 Notices, and the 2015 notice inviting
applications for the MEP CIG program (80 FR 6502).
The proposed waiver of 34 CFR 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 CIG
program grantee that receives a continuation award as a result of the
waiver.
We will announce the final waiver and extension, if any, in a
document in the Federal Register. We will determine the final waiver
and extension after considering responses to this proposed waiver and
extension and other information available to the Department.
Proposed Waiver--CIG Program
For the 34 CIG program grantees that received awards in the FY 2015
competition, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirement in 34 CFR
75.261(c)(2) that prohibits extensions of project periods that involve
the obligation of additional Federal funds.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this proposed waiver and extension
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
The entities that would be affected by this proposed waiver are:
(a) The FY 2015 grantees currently receiving Federal funds; and
(b) Entities not currently receiving Federal funds through the CIG
program that would have been eligible to apply for an award in FY 2018
or in FY 2019 under the CIG program if the Department were to hold a
competition in either year.
The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because
the proposed waiver and extension and the activities required to
support the additional years of funding would not impose excessive
regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal supervision. The
proposed waiver and extension would impose minimal requirements to
ensure the proper expenditure of program funds, including requirements
that are standard for continuation awards. In addition, none of those
entities are small entities; this program makes awards to SEAs.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed waiver and extension 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) by contacting the 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. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations 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
[[Page 17518]]
your search to documents published by the Department.
Dated: April 17, 2018.
Jason Botel,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Delegated the authority to
perform the functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary of
Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2018-08281 Filed 4-19-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P