Proposed Waivers and Extensions of Project Periods: Presidential Academies and Congressional Academies, 37780-37781 [2010-15921]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37780-37781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15921]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Proposed Waivers and Extensions of Project Periods: Presidential 
Academies and Congressional Academies

AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed waiver and extension of project period.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 
75.250 and 75.261(c)(2) of the Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), as they apply to projects funded 
under the Presidential Academies for American History and Civics 
Education, and 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), as it applies to the project funded 
under the Congressional Academies for Students of American History and 
Civics Education. These regulations, respectively, generally prohibit 
project periods exceeding five years and any project period extensions 
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. A waiver as 
proposed would mean that (1) the project period for the two current 
five-year grants funded under the Presidential Academies for American 
History and Civics Education would be extended through fiscal year (FY) 
2012, for up to an additional 24-month budget period, instead of ending 
in FY 2010, and these grantees could thus receive additional Federal 
funding (out of FY 2010 funds) beyond the five-year limitation 
contained in 34 CFR 75.250 and notwithstanding the limitation in 34 CFR 
75.261(c)(2) that prohibits extension of a project period if it 
involves the obligation of additional Federal funds; and (2) the 
project period of the one current three-year grantee funded under the 
Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics 
Education would be extended through FY 2012, for up to an additional 
24-month budget period, instead of ending in FY 2010, and this grantee 
would continue to receive additional Federal funds (out of FY 2010 
funds) notwithstanding the limitation in 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2) that 
prohibits extension of a project period if it involves the obligation 
of additional Federal funds.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before July 30, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this notice to Kelly O'Donnell, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W253, 
Washington, DC 20202-5960. If you prefer to send your comments by e-
mail, use the following address: Academies@ed.gov. You must include the 
term ``Waiver'' in the subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly O'Donnell. Telephone: (202) 205-
5231.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), 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 notice.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice of proposed waiver and extension of project 
period in room 4W335, 400 Maryland Avenue, 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 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 accommodation or auxiliary aid, please contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    The Presidential Academies for American History and Civics 
Education (Presidential Academies) program funds projects that offer 
workshops for both veteran and new teachers of American history and 
civics to strengthen their knowledge of, and preparation for, teaching 
these subjects. The Congressional Academies for Students of American 
History and Civics Education (Congressional Academies) program funds 
projects that help students to develop a broader and deeper 
understanding of these subjects. Currently, the Presidential Academies 
program funds two grantees, and the Congressional Academies program 
funds one grantee.
    Entities that have been historically eligible for these programs 
are: Institutions of higher education (IHEs), museums, libraries, and 
other public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions 
(including for-profit institutions) and consortia of such agencies, 
organizations, and institutions. Applicants must provide evidence of 
their organization's demonstrated expertise in historical methodology 
or the teaching of history.
    We seek this waiver and extension of project period in order to 
enable each of the current grantees to strengthen the quality of its 
evaluation and other data collection and reporting, and to conduct one 
additional round of academy activities as approved in each grant award. 
We believe the additional time and resources will provide information 
to strengthen this grant competition as well as similar professional 
development grant programs in coming years.
    The Presidential and Congressional Academies projects are 
relatively small, with defined intervention strategies consisting of 
summer workshops and seminars. The small number of grants and the focus 
of the projects provide a confined and structured environment in which 
to collect data. Grantees will evaluate the effect of their new and 
previous activities on teacher content knowledge and student 
achievement in American history.
    The additional budget period will provide resources and time for 
the grantees to: (1) Collect information about the components and 
design of their new and previous activities, (2) analyze their 
intervention strategies to identify the components of each, (3) develop 
data collection rubrics to determine if and the extent to which one or 
more of the components are integrated into the participants' classroom 
teaching, (4) collect data from the participating teachers on whether 
and what specific components of the professional development 
intervention are linked to improved content knowledge and student 
achievement, (5) conduct an additional round of academies in 2011 (but 
not in 2012), and (6) prepare and submit to the Department a final 
report. Although the budget periods will be extended for up to 24 
months to allow for completion of the evaluation activities, grantees 
would receive only one additional year's worth of funds out of the FY 
2010 appropriation.
    In the case of these projects we believe it is preferable to review 
requests for continuation awards from the current grantees and extend 
currently funded projects, rather than

[[Page 37781]]

hold a new competition in FY 2010. Authorizing current grantees to 
request additional funds would be a more appropriate and effective 
means of continuing current projects and would result in a more cost-
effective use of Federal funds.
    Therefore, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 
CFR 75.250, 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 it involves the obligation of additional Federal 
funds. With this waiver and extension of project period: (1) Current 
Presidential Academies and Congressional Academies grantees would 
receive FY 2010 funds and continue to operate through FY 2012 to 
implement an additional budget period of up to 24 months; and (2) we 
would not announce a new competition or make new awards under the 
Presidential Academies or Congressional Academies programs in FY 2010.
    If the waiver of 34 CFR 75.250 and 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2) proposed in 
this notice is made, the requirements applicable to continuation awards 
for current Presidential Academies and Congressional Academies grantees 
in 34 CFR 75.253 would apply to any continuation awards sought by 
eligible current grantees under these programs.
    The waiver of 34 CFR 75.250 and 75.261(c)(2) would not exempt 
current Presidential Academies and Congressional Academies grantees 
from the account-closing provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), nor would it 
extend the availability of funds previously awarded to current 
grantees. As a result of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), appropriations available 
for a limited period 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.
    We will announce the final waiver and extension of project period, 
if any, in a notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the 
final waiver and extension of project period after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to the 
Department.

Proposed Waiver and Extension of Project Period--Presidential Academies 
and Congressional Academies

    The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250 
and 75.261(c)(2), which prohibit project periods exceeding five years 
and extensions of project periods that involve the obligation of 
additional Federal funds, for the current Presidential Academies and 
Congressional Academies grantees.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that this proposed waiver and extension of 
project period would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    The small entities that would be affected by this notice are those 
that have been historically eligible to receive an award under a 
competition for the Presidential Academies and Congressional Academies 
programs:
    (1) Institutions of higher education.
    (2) Museums.
    (3) Libraries.
    (4) Other public and private agencies, organizations and 
institutions (including for-profit institutions).
    (5) Consortia of such agencies, organizations, and institutions 
that show their organizations' demonstrated expertise in historical 
methodology or the teaching of history.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension of 
project period would not have a significant economic impact on these 
entities because the proposed waivers 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 would impose minimal requirements to ensure the proper 
expenditure of program funds, including requirements that are standard 
for continuation awards.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This notice does not contain any information collection 
requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    These programs are 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 these programs.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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) on the 
Internet at the following site: https://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister. To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
this site.


    Note: 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 on GPO Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers 84.215A, 
Presidential Academies for American History and Civics Education, 
and 84.215D, Congressional Academies for Students of American 
History and Civics Education)

    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 6713.

    Dated: June 25, 2010.
James H. Shelton, III,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2010-15921 Filed 6-29-10; 8:45 am]
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