Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; National Interpreter Education Center for the Training of Interpreters for Individuals Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Individuals Who Are Deaf-Blind, 21196-21198 [2015-08909]
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asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
21196
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 74 / Friday, April 17, 2015 / Proposed Rules
practices in their pedagogy and skill
development training in order to meet
the current and future needs of VR
consumers who are deaf, hard of
hearing, or deaf-blind so that they can
obtain competitive integrated
employment. We also plan to use online
forums to collect input and feedback
from local and national partner
networks, including consumer and
professional organizations for
interpreting and interpreter training.
These activities will inform our
development of new funding priorities
for publication in FY 2016.
We have also concluded that it would
be contrary to the public interest to have
a lapse in the provision of the training
currently provided by the Regional
Centers. Allowing funding to lapse
before a new interpreter education
delivery system can be implemented
would leave individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing and individuals who are
deaf-blind without necessary supports
in the event that critical needs arise.
For these reasons, 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 limits the extension of a project
period if the extension involves the
obligation of additional Federal funds,
and to issue continuation awards to the
five current grantees. Under this
proposal, the five current grantees with
project periods ending on September 30,
2015, would receive funding to operate
for an additional 12 months.
Consequently, the expiration date for all
five grants would be September 30,
2016. With this proposed waiver and
extension of the project period, each
Regional Center will be required to
develop a plan to demonstrate how it
will continue to carry out activities
during the year of the continuation
award consistent with the scope, goals,
and objectives of the grantee’s
application as approved in the 2010
competition. Such plans should be
submitted to RSA for review and
approval by September 1, 2015.
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 2010 notice
inviting applications and the
requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 would
apply to any continuation awards
sought by the current grantees. If we
announce the waiver and extension as
final, we will base our decisions
regarding continuation awards on the
program narratives, budgets, budget
narratives, and program performance
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:22 Apr 16, 2015
Jkt 235001
reports submitted by the current
grantees, and the requirements in 34
CFR 75.253.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this
proposed waiver and extension of the
project period would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The only entities that would be affected
are the five current grantees receiving
Federal funds to serve as the Regional
Centers and any other potential
applicants.
The Secretary certifies that the
proposed waiver and extension would
not have a significant economic impact
on these entities because the extension
of an existing 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 the requirements
of 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
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.
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
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: April 13, 2015.
Sue Swenson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2015–08912 Filed 4–16–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 396
[Docket ID ED–2015–OSERS–0022]
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the
Project Period; National Interpreter
Education Center for the Training of
Interpreters for Individuals Who Are
Deaf and Hard of Hearing and
Individuals Who Are Deaf-Blind
Rehabilitation Services
Administration (RSA), Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension
of the project period.
AGENCY:
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) Number: 84.160B
The Secretary proposes to
waive the requirements that generally
prohibit project periods exceeding five
years and extensions of project periods
involving the obligation of additional
Federal funds for a 60-month project
initially funded in fiscal year (FY) 2010.
The Secretary also proposes to extend
the project period for one year. The
proposed waiver and extension would
enable the currently funded National
Interpreter Education Center to receive
funding through September 30, 2016.
DATES: We must receive your comments
on or before May 18, 2015.
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
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\17APP1.SGM
17APP1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 74 / Friday, April 17, 2015 / Proposed Rules
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 Kristen
Rhinehart-Fernandez, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue
SW., Room 5027, Potomac Center Plaza
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202–2800.
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:
Kristen Rhinehart-Fernandez.
Telephone: (202) 245–6103 or by email:
Kristen.rhinehart@ed.gov.
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.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you
to submit comments about 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 of the project
period by accessing Regulations.gov.
You may also inspect all public
comments about this proposal in Room
5027, Potomac Center Plaza, 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
supply 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 of the project period. 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
On May 17, 2010, the Department
published a notice inviting applications
for new awards for FY 2010 (75 FR
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:22 Apr 16, 2015
Jkt 235001
27539) for a National Interpreter
Education Center (National Center) to be
funded under the Rehabilitation
Training Program, authorized under
section 302 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act).
The purpose of the National Center is to
assist Regional Interpreter Education
Centers (Regional Centers) to train a
sufficient number of qualified
interpreters to meet the communications
needs of individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing and individuals who are
deaf-blind. The Department awarded a
grant to one National Center in FY 2010
for a period of 60 months. This project
is scheduled to end on September 30,
2015.
We have determined that it would not
be in the public interest to run a
competition under this program in FY
2015 for a new National Center. RSA
has funded interpreter training
programs since 1964 to meet the needs
of its vocational rehabilitation (VR)
consumers who are deaf, hard of
hearing, and deaf-blind. At each critical
juncture RSA has re-evaluated its
interpreter training program to
determine how to best meet the evolving
needs of consumers of interpreting
services. In the course of this ongoing
re-evaluation, we have concluded that,
since 2005, when the current priority
was established for the National Center,
the training needs of interpreters have
changed as a result of new and emerging
issues facing VR consumers who are
deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind.
Conducting a competition before the
Department has had an opportunity to
engage in strategic planning activities
for the current program could result in
(1) an ineffective or poorly targeted
investment that would not meet the
training needs of qualified interpreters
and (2) the inability to sufficiently meet
the communication needs of individuals
who are deaf or hard of hearing and
individuals who are deaf-blind. We
intend to use the remainder of FY 2015
and part of FY 2016 to consider how a
National Center can best support the
work of the Regional Centers; influence
the field of interpreter education; and
ultimately meet the current and future
needs of VR consumers who are deaf,
hard of hearing, and deaf-blind so that
they can obtain competitive integrated
employment. We also plan to engage
consumers, consumer organizations,
community resources, service providers
(especially VR agencies), VR State
coordinators for the deaf, rehabilitation
counselors for the deaf, and other
appropriate individuals and entities
about their ongoing and projected needs
for a National Center, as well as gather
examples of how they might utilize a
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
21197
National Center in the future. These
activities will inform new funding
priorities planned in FY 2016 for this
program.
We have also concluded that it would
be contrary to the public interest to have
a lapse in the provision of the training
currently provided by the National
Center. Allowing funding to lapse before
a new interpreter education delivery
system can be implemented would leave
individuals who are deaf or hard of
hearing and individuals who are deafblind without necessary supports in the
event that critical needs arise.
For these reasons, 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 the extension involves the
obligation of additional Federal funds,
and to issue a continuation award to the
current National Center. Under this
proposal, the current grantee with a
project period ending on September 30,
2015, would receive funding to operate
for an additional 12 months.
Consequently, the expiration date for
this grant would be September 30, 2016.
With this proposed waiver and
extension of the project period, the
National Center will be required to
develop a plan to demonstrate how it
will continue to carry out activities
during the year of the continuation
award consistent with the scope, goals,
and objectives of the grantee’s
application as approved in the 2010
competition. Such a plan should be
submitted to RSA for review and
approval by September 1, 2015.
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 2010 notice
inviting applications and the
requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 would
apply to any continuation award sought
by the current grantee. If we announce
the waiver and extension as final, we
will base our decision regarding a
continuation award on the program
narrative, budget, budget narrative, and
program performance reports submitted
by the current grantee, and the
requirements in 34 CFR 75.253.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this
proposed waiver and extension of the
project period would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The only entities that would be affected
are the current grantee receiving Federal
E:\FR\FM\17APP1.SGM
17APP1
21198
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 74 / Friday, April 17, 2015 / Proposed Rules
funds to serve as the National Center
and any other potential applicants.
The Secretary certifies that the
proposed waiver and extension would
not have a significant economic impact
on these entities because the extension
of an existing project 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.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
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 the requirements
of 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
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: April 13, 2015.
Sue Swenson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2015–08909 Filed 4–16–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:22 Apr 16, 2015
Jkt 235001
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R05–OAR–2014–0188; FRL–9926–30–
Region 5]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans;
Michigan; SO2 Rules
Environmental Protection
Agency.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
request by the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality (MDEQ)
submitted on February 14, 2014, and
supplemented on October 27, 2014, to
revise the Michigan state
implementation plan (SIP) to
incorporate sulfur dioxide (SO2) limits
found in ‘‘Part 4: Emissions Limitations
and Prohibitions—Sulfur Bearing
Compounds’’ of Michigan’s Air
Pollution Control Rules. EPA is
proposing to take no action on the
provisions pertaining to the Federal
Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) SO2
trading program because CAIR is no
longer in effect.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before May 18, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05–
OAR–2014–0188 by one of the following
methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
2. Email: blakley.pamela@epa.gov.
3. Fax: (312) 692–2450.
4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief,
Control Strategies Section (AR–18J),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago,
Illinois 60604.
5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley,
Chief, Control Strategies Section (AR–
18J), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such deliveries
are only accepted during the Regional
Office normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made
for deliveries of boxed information. The
Regional Office official hours of
business are Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding
Federal holidays.
Please see the direct final rule which
is located in the Rules section of this
Federal Register for detailed
instructions on how to submit
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Charles Hatten, Environmental
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR–18J),
Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886–6031,
hatten.charles@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the
Final Rules section of this Federal
Register, EPA is approving a portion of
the State’s SIP submittal as a direct final
rule without prior proposal because the
Agency views this as a noncontroversial
submittal and anticipates no adverse
comments. A detailed rationale for the
approval is set forth in the direct final
rule. If EPA does not receive adverse
comments in response to this rule, no
further activity is contemplated. If EPA
receives adverse comments, EPA will
withdraw the direct final rule and will
address all public comments received in
a subsequent final rule based on this
proposed rule. EPA will not institute a
second comment period. Any parties
interested in commenting on this action
should do so at this time. Please note
that if EPA receives adverse comment
on an amendment, paragraph, or section
of this rulemaking, and if that provision
can be severed from the remainder of
the rule, EPA may adopt as final those
provisions of the rule that are not the
subject of an adverse comment. For
additional information, see the direct
final rule which is located in the Rules
section of this Federal Register.
Dated: April 2, 2015.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2015–08889 Filed 4–16–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R05–OAR–2014–0294; FRL–9926–28–
Region–5]
Approval and Promulgation of Air
Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana;
CO Monitoring
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a
revision to Indiana’s monitoring
requirements as a revision to the State
Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP
revision was submitted by Indiana to
EPA on January 22, 2014. Once
approved, the SIP would authorize
emission units that combust sewage
sludge to continuously monitor carbon
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\17APP1.SGM
17APP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 74 (Friday, April 17, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21196-21198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08909]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 396
[Docket ID ED-2015-OSERS-0022]
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; National
Interpreter Education Center for the Training of Interpreters for
Individuals Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Individuals Who Are
Deaf-Blind
AGENCY: Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education.
ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.160B
SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements that
generally prohibit project periods exceeding five years and extensions
of project periods involving the obligation of additional Federal funds
for a 60-month project initially funded in fiscal year (FY) 2010. The
Secretary also proposes to extend the project period for one year. The
proposed waiver and extension would enable the currently funded
National Interpreter Education Center to receive funding through
September 30, 2016.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 18, 2015.
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
[[Page 21197]]
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 Kristen Rhinehart-Fernandez,
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5027,
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2800.
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: Kristen Rhinehart-Fernandez.
Telephone: (202) 245-6103 or by email: Kristen.rhinehart@ed.gov.
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 about 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 of the project period by accessing
Regulations.gov. You may also inspect all public comments about this
proposal in Room 5027, Potomac Center Plaza, 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 supply 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 of the
project period. 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
On May 17, 2010, the Department published a notice inviting
applications for new awards for FY 2010 (75 FR 27539) for a National
Interpreter Education Center (National Center) to be funded under the
Rehabilitation Training Program, authorized under section 302 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act). The
purpose of the National Center is to assist Regional Interpreter
Education Centers (Regional Centers) to train a sufficient number of
qualified interpreters to meet the communications needs of individuals
who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are deaf-blind. The
Department awarded a grant to one National Center in FY 2010 for a
period of 60 months. This project is scheduled to end on September 30,
2015.
We have determined that it would not be in the public interest to
run a competition under this program in FY 2015 for a new National
Center. RSA has funded interpreter training programs since 1964 to meet
the needs of its vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers who are deaf,
hard of hearing, and deaf-blind. At each critical juncture RSA has re-
evaluated its interpreter training program to determine how to best
meet the evolving needs of consumers of interpreting services. In the
course of this ongoing re-evaluation, we have concluded that, since
2005, when the current priority was established for the National
Center, the training needs of interpreters have changed as a result of
new and emerging issues facing VR consumers who are deaf, hard of
hearing, and deaf-blind.
Conducting a competition before the Department has had an
opportunity to engage in strategic planning activities for the current
program could result in (1) an ineffective or poorly targeted
investment that would not meet the training needs of qualified
interpreters and (2) the inability to sufficiently meet the
communication needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and
individuals who are deaf-blind. We intend to use the remainder of FY
2015 and part of FY 2016 to consider how a National Center can best
support the work of the Regional Centers; influence the field of
interpreter education; and ultimately meet the current and future needs
of VR consumers who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind so that
they can obtain competitive integrated employment. We also plan to
engage consumers, consumer organizations, community resources, service
providers (especially VR agencies), VR State coordinators for the deaf,
rehabilitation counselors for the deaf, and other appropriate
individuals and entities about their ongoing and projected needs for a
National Center, as well as gather examples of how they might utilize a
National Center in the future. These activities will inform new funding
priorities planned in FY 2016 for this program.
We have also concluded that it would be contrary to the public
interest to have a lapse in the provision of the training currently
provided by the National Center. Allowing funding to lapse before a new
interpreter education delivery system can be implemented would leave
individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are
deaf-blind without necessary supports in the event that critical needs
arise.
For these reasons, 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 the extension involves the obligation of
additional Federal funds, and to issue a continuation award to the
current National Center. Under this proposal, the current grantee with
a project period ending on September 30, 2015, would receive funding to
operate for an additional 12 months. Consequently, the expiration date
for this grant would be September 30, 2016. With this proposed waiver
and extension of the project period, the National Center will be
required to develop a plan to demonstrate how it will continue to carry
out activities during the year of the continuation award consistent
with the scope, goals, and objectives of the grantee's application as
approved in the 2010 competition. Such a plan should be submitted to
RSA for review and approval by September 1, 2015.
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
2010 notice inviting applications and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253
would apply to any continuation award sought by the current grantee. If
we announce the waiver and extension as final, we will base our
decision regarding a continuation award on the program narrative,
budget, budget narrative, and program performance reports submitted by
the current grantee, and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this proposed waiver and extension of
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The only entities that would be
affected are the current grantee receiving Federal
[[Page 21198]]
funds to serve as the National Center and any other potential
applicants.
The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because
the extension of an existing project 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 the
requirements of 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 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: April 13, 2015.
Sue Swenson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-08909 Filed 4-16-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
