Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the Training and Advisory Services-Equity Assistance Centers Program, 23335-23336 [2014-09603]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 81 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23335-23336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09603]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Number: 84.004D.]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the 
Training and Advisory Services--Equity Assistance Centers 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: For 36-month projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2011 under 
the Training and Advisory Services--Equity Assistance Centers (EACs) 
program, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 
75.261(c)(2), which prohibits the extension of project periods 
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The Secretary 
also proposes to extend the project period of these grants for up to an 
additional 24 months. This would enable the 10 current EAC grantees to 
continue to receive Federal funding annually for project periods 
through FY 2015 and possibly through FY 2016. Further, the waiver and 
extension, as proposed, would mean that we would not announce a new 
competition or make new awards in FY 2014. We intend to announce a new 
competition in either FY 2015 or FY 2016.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 28, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit all comments on this proposed waiver and extension to 
Jenelle Leonard, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 
Room 3W203, Washington, DC 20202-6400.
    If you prefer to send your comments by email, use the following 
address: EACcomments@ed.gov. You must include the term ``Proposed 
Waiver and Extension for EACs'' in the subject line of your message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jenelle Leonard. Telephone: (202) 401-
0039 or by email at: EACcomments@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 regarding 
this proposed waiver and extension. We are particularly interested in 
receiving comments on the potential impact that this proposed project 
period waiver and extension might have on EACs and on potential 
applicants that would be eligible to apply for grant awards in any new 
EAC competition, should there be one.
    Eligible applicants for the EACs program are public agencies (other 
than State educational agencies or school boards) or private, non-
profit organizations.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed waiver and extension in room 3W209, 400 
Maryland Ave 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 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 aid, please contact 
one of the persons listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    The EACs program awards grants through cooperative agreements to 
eligible entities to operate 10 regional EACs. The EACs provide 
technical assistance and training at the request of school boards and 
other responsible governmental agencies on the preparation, adoption, 
and implementation of plans for the desegregation of public schools and 
the development of effective methods of coping with unique educational 
problems occasioned by desegregation. In this context, 
``desegregation'' refers to equity--including segregation based on 
race, sex, and national origin. The EACs (formerly the Desegregation 
Assistance Centers) assist States, districts, and public schools in 
providing effective instruction to all students and specifically to 
those students for whom disparities in achievement persist.
    The EACs are authorized by title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
(42 U.S.C. 2000c) and operate under the implementing regulations at 34 
CFR parts 270 and 272. These regulations identify, among other 
components of the program, the 10 regions to be served by the EACs, 
eligible recipients of EAC assistance, the criteria used to make a 
grant, how the amount of the grant is determined, and the conditions 
that must be met by the grant recipient.
    The geographic regions served by the EACs are:
    Region I: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 
Island, and Vermont.
    Region II: New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands.
    Region III: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, and West Virginia.
    Region IV: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
    Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and 
Wisconsin.
    Region VI: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
    Region VII: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
    Region VIII: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, 
and Wyoming.
    Region IX: Arizona, California, and Nevada.
    Region X: Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Northern 
Mariana Islands, Oregon, The Federated States of Micronesia, The 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, The Republic of Palau, and 
Washington.
    On March 10, 2011, we published in the Federal Register a notice 
inviting applications for new awards under the FY 2011 EACs program 
competition (2011 EAC NIA) (76 FR 13137). In FY 2011, the Department 
made three-year awards to 10 EAC projects. The project period for these 
EACs is currently scheduled to end on September 30, 2014.
    For those EACs, the Secretary now proposes to waive the 
requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), which prohibits the extension of 
project periods involving the obligation of additional Federal funds, 
and proposes to extend the project period for the current EACs for up 
to 24 months. This would allow the 10 current EAC grantees to continue 
to receive Federal funding annually for project periods through FY 2015 
and possibly through FY 2016.
    We are proposing this waiver and project period extension because 
we have concluded it would not be in the public interest to incur the 
disruption in services associated with holding a new EAC competition in 
FY 2014. It would be more effective to maintain continuity of the high-
quality services offered by

[[Page 23336]]

these grantees to their clients rather than transition to new grantees 
every three years. These services include disseminating information on 
successful education practices and legal requirements related to 
nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, and national origin in 
educational programs; training designed to develop educators' skills in 
specific areas such as identification of race and sex bias in 
instructional materials; technical assistance in the identification and 
selection of appropriate educational programs to meet the needs of 
limited English proficient students; addressing disproportionality in 
schools among students and/or teachers; and instructing school 
officials on how to prevent sexual harassment and combat biases. In 
addition, issuing continuation awards, instead of holding a new 
competition, will also allow the current grantees to continue to serve 
as a resource for the Office for Civil Rights in working with school 
districts that have achieved unitary status. The grantees would 
continue to offer technical assistance to school districts, State 
education agencies, and others who seek to resolve civil rights 
conflicts and promote social justice and equity. Further, the current 
grantees would continue to provide resources and training in the areas 
of hate crimes, racial prejudice, and bullying.
    We intend to fund the extended project period by using the FY 2014 
and FY 2015 funds, depending on whether the grants are extended for one 
or two years, that Congress appropriates under the current statutory 
authority.
    Under this proposed waiver and extension of the project period--
    (1) Current grantees will be authorized to receive EAC continuation 
awards annually for up to two years.
    (2) We will not announce a new EAC competition or make new EAC 
grant awards in FY 2014.
    (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 each grantee's approved application from the 2011 EAC 
competition.
    (4) Each grantee who receives a continuation award must also 
continue to comply with the requirements established in the program 
regulations and the 2011 EAC NIA.
    Furthermore, all requirements applicable to continuation awards for 
current EAC grantees and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 will apply 
to any continuation awards received by current EAC grantees.
    If we announce this proposed waiver and extension as final, we will 
make decisions regarding annual continuation awards based on each 
grantee demonstrating substantial progress performing its approved 
grant activities, as evidenced through program narratives, budgets and 
budget narratives, and performance reports, and based on the 
regulations in 34 CFR 75.253.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension and 
the activities required to support additional years of funding would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The entities that would be affected by this proposed waiver 
and extension are the 10 current EAC grantees receiving Federal funds 
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 proposed waiver and extension impose minimal compliance costs to 
extend projects already in existence, and the activities required to 
support the additional years of funding would not impose additional 
regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal supervision.

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 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 this 
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:  42 U.S.C. 2000c--2000c-2, 2000c-5.

    Dated: April 23, 2014.
Deborah S. Delisle,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2014-09603 Filed 4-25-14; 8:45 am]
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