Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; Territories and Freely Associated States Education Grant Program, 22729-22730 [2015-09510]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22729-22730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09510]



[[Page 22729]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2015-OESE-0047]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; Territories 
and Freely Associated States Education 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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[CFDA Number: 84.256A]

SUMMARY: For 36-month projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2012 under 
the Territories and Freely Associated States Education Grant (T&FASEG) 
program, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirement that 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. The proposed waiver 
and extension would enable the five current T&FASEG grantees to 
continue to receive Federal funding annually for project periods 
through FY 2016 and possibly through FY 2017. In addition, during this 
period, the Pacific Regional Educational Laboratory (Pacific REL) would 
continue to receive funds set aside for technical assistance under the 
T&FASEG program.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 26, 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 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 Collette Fisher, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E231, Washington, DC 
20202-6400.
    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: Collette Fisher. Telephone: (202) 401-
0039 or by email at: collette.fisher@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 waiver 
and extension might have on the five current T&FASEG program grantees: 
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Republic of Palau. We note that these 
grantees also constitute the eligible applicants under the T&FASEG 
program.
    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 all public comments in Room 
3E231, 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 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    The T&FASEG program is authorized under section 1121(b) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). 
Under this program, the Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a 
competitive basis, to local educational agencies (LEAs) in the U.S. 
Territories--American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands--and one eligible Freely 
Associated State, the Republic of Palau. Through these grants, the 
T&FASEG program supports projects to raise student achievement through 
direct educational services.
    T&FASEG program grant funds may be used for activities authorized 
under the ESEA, including teacher training, curriculum development, 
development or acquisition of instructional materials, and general 
school improvement and reform. More specifically, under the T&FASEG 
program, grant funds may be used to--
    (a) Conduct activities consistent with the programs described in 
the ESEA, including the types of activities authorized under--
    (1) Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the 
Disadvantaged;
    (2) Title II--Preparing, Training, and Recruiting Highly-Quality 
Teachers and Principals;
    (3) Title III--Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient 
and Immigrant Students;
    (4) Title IV--21st Century Schools; and
    (5) Title V--Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative 
Programs; and
    (b) Provide direct educational services that assist all students 
with meeting challenging State academic content standards.
    In addition, section 1121(b)(3)(d) of the ESEA authorizes the 
Secretary to provide up to five percent of the amount reserved for 
T&FASEG program grants to pay the administrative costs of the Pacific 
REL, which provides technical assistance to grant recipients regarding 
the administration and implementation of their projects.
    On April 30, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 
25452) a notice inviting applications for new awards under the FY 2012 
T&FASEG program competition (2012 Notice Inviting Applications).
    In FY 2012, the Department made three-year awards to five T&FASEG 
projects. The project period for these T&FASEG program grants is 
currently scheduled to end on September 30, 2015. The Secretary 
proposes to waive the requirement 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 
current T&FASEG grant recipients for up to 24 months. This would allow 
the grantees to continue to receive Federal funding annually for 
project periods through FY 2016 and possibly FY 2017.
    We are proposing this waiver and extension because we have 
concluded

[[Page 22730]]

that it would not be in the public interest to incur a disruption in 
the services associated with holding a new T&FASEG competition in FY 
2015. Rather, it would be more effective to maintain the continuity of 
current projects by allowing grantees the opportunity to continue to 
provide high-quality direct educational services in support of the 
Secretary's priorities to students and teachers in the U.S. Territories 
and the Republic of Palau without interruption. Consistent with the 
scope, goals, and objectives of the current projects, grantees would 
continue to support initiatives on standards and assessments, effective 
teachers and leaders, and projects that are designed to improve student 
achievement or teacher effectiveness through the use of high-quality 
digital tools or materials, which include preparing teachers to use 
technology to improve instruction, as well as developing, implementing, 
or evaluating digital tools or materials. Moreover, we believe that a 
longer project period will better enable grantees to carry out project 
objectives and anticipate providing for longer project periods in 
future competitions. Additionally, given that all eligible applicants 
currently receive grant awards under the T&FASEG program, the proposed 
waiver and extension would have limited impact on those entities.
    We intend to fund the extended project period by using funds 
Congress appropriates under the current statutory authority, including 
FY 2014 funds available for awards made in FY 2015 and, if the grants 
are extended for two years, FY 2015 funds available for awards made in 
FY 2016.
    Under this proposed waiver and extension of the project period--
    (1) Current grantees would be authorized to receive T&FASEG 
continuation awards annually for up to two years through FY 2017;
    (2) We would not announce a new T&FASEG competition or make new 
T&FASEG grant awards in FY 2015;
    (3) During the extension period, any activities carried out would 
be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the scope, goals, and 
objectives of each grantee's approved application from the 2012 T&FASEG 
program competition;
    (4) The requirements established in the program regulations and the 
2012 Notice Inviting Applications would continue to apply to each 
grantee that receives a continuation award; and
    (5) All requirements applicable to continuation awards for current 
T&FASEG grantees and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 would apply to 
any continuation awards received by current T&FASEG grantees.
    If we announce this proposed waiver and extension as final, we will 
make decisions regarding annual continuation awards based on grantee 
performance as demonstrated through program narratives, budgets and 
budget narratives, and performance reports, and based on the 
regulations in 34 CFR 75.253. We intend to award continuation grants 
based on information provided to us annually by each grantee, 
indicating that it is making substantial progress performing its 
T&FASEG program activities based on substantial performance and 
progress.

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 five current T&FASEG program grantees receiving 
Federal funds. There are no 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 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 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.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6331.

    Dated: April 20, 2015.
Deborah S. Delisle,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2015-09510 Filed 4-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P