Secretarial Determination To Lower Head Start Center-Based Service Duration Requirement, 2743-2744 [2018-00897]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
§ 381.7
*
Recording rights, rates and terms.
*
*
(b) * * *
(1)(i) * * *
*
*
2018–2022
(A) Feature ...............................
(B) Concert feature (per
minute) ..................................
(C) Background ........................
(D) Theme:
(1) Single program or first series program ......................
(2) Other series program ......
$118.70
35.65
59.99
59.99
24.36
(ii) * * *
2018–2022
(1) The change in the cost of living
determined as provided in paragraph (a)
of this section; or
(2) One-and-a-half percent (1.5%).
(3) Such royalty rates shall be fixed at
the nearest dollar.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: December 12, 2017.
Suzanne M. Barnett,
Chief U.S. Copyright Royalty Judge.
Jesse M. Feder,
U.S. Copyright Royalty Judge.
David R. Strickler,
U.S. Copyright Royalty Judge.
Carla D. Hayden,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 2018–00735 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am]
(A) Feature ...............................
(B) Concert feature (per
minute) ..................................
(C) Background ........................
(D) Theme:
(1) Single program or first series program ......................
(2) Other series program ......
*
*
*
(2) * * *
*
$9.81
2.58
4.26
4.26
1.69
*
*
*
*
(4) * * *
*
$12.85
18.86
6.44
Administration for Children and
Families
RIN 0970–AC63
Secretarial Determination To Lower
Head Start Center-Based Service
Duration Requirement
Office of Head Start (OHS),
Administration for Children and
6.44
2.57 Families (ACF), Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Secretarial determination on
Head Start center-based service duration
requirements; waiver.
AGENCY:
*
2018–2022
With this document, the
Secretary exercises his authority to
waive the August 1, 2019 Head Start
1.69 center-based service duration
.41 requirements, effectively lowering this
requirement from 50 percent to 0
*
*
*
*
*
percent. However, the requirement that
■ 7. Amend § 381.10 as follows:
Early Head Start programs provide 1,380
■ a. In paragraph (a), remove ‘‘2013’’
annual hours of planned class
everywhere it appears and in its place
operations for all center-based
add ‘‘2018’’ and remove ‘‘2012’’ and in
enrollment by August 1, 2018 remains
its place add ‘‘2017’’; and
in effect.
■ b. Revise paragraph (b).
DATES: This waiver is effective January
The revision reads as follows:
19, 2018.
§ 381.10 Cost of living adjustment.
ADDRESSES: Office of Head Start, Mary
Switzer Bldg., 330 C Street SW,
*
*
*
*
*
(b) On the same date of the notices
Washington, DC.
published pursuant to paragraph (a) of
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
this section, the Copyright Royalty
Colleen Rathgeb, Division Director for
Judges shall publish in the Federal
Planning, Oversight and Policy, Office
Register a revised schedule of the rates
Head Start, OHS_duration@acf.hhs.gov,
for § 381.5(c)(3), the rate to be charged
(202) 358–3263 (not a toll-free call).
for compositions in the repertory of
Deaf and hearing impaired individuals
SESAC, which shall adjust the royalty
may call the Federal Dual Party Relay
amounts established in a dollar amount
Service at 1–800–877–8339 between 8
according to the greater of:
a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
(i) Feature .................................
(ii) Feature (concert) (per half
hour) ......................................
(iii) Background .........................
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
45 CFR Part 1302
2018–2022
(i) Feature .................................
(ii) Concert feature (per minute)
(iii) Background .........................
(iv) Theme:
(A) Single program or first
series program ..................
(B) Other series program ......
BILLING CODE 1410–72–P
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16:04 Jan 18, 2018
SUMMARY:
$.81
Jkt 244001
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
2743
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information
In the Improving Head Start for
School Readiness Act of 2007, Congress
instructed the Office of Head Start to
update its Head Start Program
Performance Standards (HSPPS) by
regulation and ensure that any such
revisions in the standards do not result
in the elimination of or any reduction in
the quality, scope, or types of health,
educational, parental involvement,
nutritional, social, or other social
services. We published a final rule to
complete this revision at 45 CFR chapter
XIII, subchapter B, on September 6,
2016. This final rule included a
provision at § 1302.21(c)(2)(iii) that
would require each Head Start centerbased program, by August 1, 2019, to
provide 1,020 annual hours of planned
class operations over the course of at
least eight months per year for at least
50 percent of its Head Start center-based
funded enrollment. This requirement
represents an increase from the existing
minimum requirement of 3.5 hours per
day, 4 days per week, for 128 days per
year, which is equivalent to 448 annual
hours. The longer 1,020 annual hour
service duration requirement was based
on a body of research that suggests
individual disadvantaged children
benefit from longer exposure to
enriching early learning programs than
what is provided by the part-day, partyear programs. Research on full-day
programs, instructional time, summer
learning loss, and attendance all
indicate longer service duration is
linked with improved child outcomes.
Moreover, increased service duration
allows teachers more time to provide
individualized and content-rich
learning that is important for positive
child outcomes. However, the research
does not provide clarity on an exact
threshold or combination of hours and
days needed to achieve positive child
outcomes.
We also recognize extended services
come at a significant cost for Head Start
programs. Without additional funding
from Congress to support longer hours
of program operations, a requirement to
increase service duration so that 50
percent of Head Start center-based slots
in each program operate for 1,020
annual hours would result in the Head
Start program serving significantly
fewer children. Although research
points to the benefits of increased
service duration for an individual child,
research has not answered whether the
population as a whole benefits more
when fewer children are served for a
longer time as compared to more
children being served for a shorter time.
E:\FR\FM\19JAR1.SGM
19JAR1
2744
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
Because future appropriations levels
were not known when the HSPPS final
rule was published in September 2016,
the final rule provided authority for the
Secretary to lower the increased Head
Start center-based service duration
requirements based on an assessment of
available funding closer to the
requirement’s effective date in order to
prevent thousands of disadvantaged
children not having access to Head
Start.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
Authority
Section 1302.21(c)(3)(i) of the HSPPS
final rule allows the Secretary to lower
the required percentage of funded
enrollment slots for which programs
must provide 1,020 annual hours of
planned class operations from the 50
percent required in § 1302.21(c)(2)(iii),
on or before February 1, 2018, based on
an assessment of the availability of
sufficient funding to mitigate a
substantial reduction in funded
enrollment.
Funding Assessment
The Secretary has made an
assessment that Head Start
appropriations are not sufficient to
allow the requirement at
§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), for 50 percent of
each program’s Head Start center-based
slots to operate for 1,020 annual hours,
to go into effect without resulting in a
substantial reduction in funded
enrollment.
Prior to publication of the HSPPS
final rule, Congress appropriated $294
million in fiscal year (FY) 2016 to
support an increase in hours of program
operations across Head Start and Early
Head Start. At the time of the FY 2016
funding to support and increased
duration, the regulatory requirements
were not in effect. Programs that wished
to voluntarily increase hours of program
operations to 1,020 annual hours for up
to 40 percent of their Head Start centerbased slots or to 1,380 annual hours for
their Early Head Start center-based slots
were eligible to submit an application
by June 2016 to receive additional
funds. Some eligible programs chose not
to apply for additional funding. There
are programs that currently operate
none of their Head Start center-based
funded enrollment for 1,020 annual
hours. There are also programs that
currently operate all of their Head Start
center-based funded enrollment for
1,020 hours or longer. These
requirements are minimums, and
programs could choose to operate some
slots longer each day and/or for more
days per year.
In the HSPPS final rule, we estimated
the cost for programs to implement the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:04 Jan 18, 2018
Jkt 244001
50 percent service duration requirement
to be $535 million. Since the
publication of the final rule in
September 2016, when Head Start
programs were notified of the future
requirements to increase center-based
service duration to 1,020 annual hours,
no additional funds have been
appropriated to support increases in
service duration. While we requested
funds to support additional increases in
service duration in FY 2017, Congress
did not further increase Head Start
appropriations for this purpose.
HHS has conducted an assessment of
available funding and the current
percentages of slots individual programs
currently operate at 1,020 annual hours.
Based on this assessment, we estimate
that without additional funding,
implementation of the requirement at
§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iii) for each program to
operate 50 percent of its Head Start
center-based slots for 1,020 annual
hours would result in a loss of
approximately 41,000 Head Start slots,
which represents roughly five percent of
existing Head Start slots. The FY 2018
President’s Budget did not request an
increase in appropriations to support
increases in service duration. We do not
expect sufficient funding to become
available in time for grantees to meet the
current HSPPS standard.
Conclusion
Under § 1302.21(c)(3)(i), the Secretary
has made a determination that there is
not sufficient funding available to
mitigate a substantial reduction in
funded enrollment resulting from the
requirement described in
§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), and hereby waives
the requirement that 50 percent of a
program’s Head Start center-based
program’s funded enrollment that must
operate for 1,020 annual hours of
planned class operations by August 1,
2019, effectively lowering the
percentage to 0. This determination is
effective immediately. Because the
HSPPS final rule governs the Secretary’s
discretion in this matter, the public
comment process is not required.
The service duration requirements for
Head Start center-based programs
described in § 1302.21(c)(2)(i) and (ii)
remain in effect. Under these
requirements, a Head Start center-based
program must provide, at a minimum, at
least 160 days per year of planned class
operations if it operates for five days per
week, or at least 128 days per year if it
operates four days per week. Classes
must operate for a minimum of 3.5
hours per day. These requirements are
minimums, and programs could choose
to operate some slots longer each day
and/or for more days per year. The Head
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
Start Act allows programs to request to
convert part-day slots to full-day or fullworking-day slots. This determination
by the Secretary provides local Head
Start programs maximum flexibility to
determine program schedules that best
meet the demonstrated needs in their
communities, and ensures low-income
children will not lose access to Head
Start’s comprehensive services and a
preschool experience before entering
Kindergarten because of a federal
requirement. Additionally, the
requirement under § 1302.21(c)(1)(i) that
Early Head Start programs provide 1,380
annual hours of planned class
operations for all center-based
enrollment by August 1, 2018 also
remains in effect.
The Secretary’s determination under
§ 1302.21(c)(3)(i) does not affect the
Secretary’s authority to make a separate
determination under § 1302.21(c)(3)(ii)
on or before February 1, 2020, to
maintain or lower the service duration
requirement described in
§ 1302.21(c)(2)(iv) based on an
assessment of the availability of
sufficient funding to mitigate a
substantial reduction in funded
enrollment resulting from that
requirement.
In addition, the Secretary’s
determination under § 1302.21(c)(3)(i)
does not change or affect current
processes that allow grantees to request
to serve children for longer service
duration within existing funding levels
as part of the grantee’s annual service
and enrollment negotiations with the
Office of Head Start.
Dated: January 16, 2018.
Eric D. Hargan,
Acting Secretary, Department of Health and
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2018–00897 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
49 CFR Part 395
Hours of Service of Drivers; Electronic
Logging Devices; Limited 90-Day
Waiver for Old Dominion and Other
Motor Carriers Experiencing Problems
Integrating PeopleNet ELD System
Updates Into Their Fleet Management
Systems
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
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ACTION: Grant of waiver.
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\19JAR1.SGM
19JAR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2743-2744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00897]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
45 CFR Part 1302
RIN 0970-AC63
Secretarial Determination To Lower Head Start Center-Based
Service Duration Requirement
AGENCY: Office of Head Start (OHS), Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Secretarial determination on Head Start center-based service
duration requirements; waiver.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: With this document, the Secretary exercises his authority to
waive the August 1, 2019 Head Start center-based service duration
requirements, effectively lowering this requirement from 50 percent to
0 percent. However, the requirement that Early Head Start programs
provide 1,380 annual hours of planned class operations for all center-
based enrollment by August 1, 2018 remains in effect.
DATES: This waiver is effective January 19, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Office of Head Start, Mary Switzer Bldg., 330 C Street SW,
Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colleen Rathgeb, Division Director for
Planning, Oversight and Policy, Office Head Start,
[email protected], (202) 358-3263 (not a toll-free call). Deaf
and hearing impaired individuals may call the Federal Dual Party Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background Information
In the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007,
Congress instructed the Office of Head Start to update its Head Start
Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) by regulation and ensure that any
such revisions in the standards do not result in the elimination of or
any reduction in the quality, scope, or types of health, educational,
parental involvement, nutritional, social, or other social services. We
published a final rule to complete this revision at 45 CFR chapter
XIII, subchapter B, on September 6, 2016. This final rule included a
provision at Sec. 1302.21(c)(2)(iii) that would require each Head
Start center-based program, by August 1, 2019, to provide 1,020 annual
hours of planned class operations over the course of at least eight
months per year for at least 50 percent of its Head Start center-based
funded enrollment. This requirement represents an increase from the
existing minimum requirement of 3.5 hours per day, 4 days per week, for
128 days per year, which is equivalent to 448 annual hours. The longer
1,020 annual hour service duration requirement was based on a body of
research that suggests individual disadvantaged children benefit from
longer exposure to enriching early learning programs than what is
provided by the part-day, part-year programs. Research on full-day
programs, instructional time, summer learning loss, and attendance all
indicate longer service duration is linked with improved child
outcomes. Moreover, increased service duration allows teachers more
time to provide individualized and content-rich learning that is
important for positive child outcomes. However, the research does not
provide clarity on an exact threshold or combination of hours and days
needed to achieve positive child outcomes.
We also recognize extended services come at a significant cost for
Head Start programs. Without additional funding from Congress to
support longer hours of program operations, a requirement to increase
service duration so that 50 percent of Head Start center-based slots in
each program operate for 1,020 annual hours would result in the Head
Start program serving significantly fewer children. Although research
points to the benefits of increased service duration for an individual
child, research has not answered whether the population as a whole
benefits more when fewer children are served for a longer time as
compared to more children being served for a shorter time.
[[Page 2744]]
Because future appropriations levels were not known when the HSPPS
final rule was published in September 2016, the final rule provided
authority for the Secretary to lower the increased Head Start center-
based service duration requirements based on an assessment of available
funding closer to the requirement's effective date in order to prevent
thousands of disadvantaged children not having access to Head Start.
Authority
Section 1302.21(c)(3)(i) of the HSPPS final rule allows the
Secretary to lower the required percentage of funded enrollment slots
for which programs must provide 1,020 annual hours of planned class
operations from the 50 percent required in Sec. 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), on
or before February 1, 2018, based on an assessment of the availability
of sufficient funding to mitigate a substantial reduction in funded
enrollment.
Funding Assessment
The Secretary has made an assessment that Head Start appropriations
are not sufficient to allow the requirement at Sec.
1302.21(c)(2)(iii), for 50 percent of each program's Head Start center-
based slots to operate for 1,020 annual hours, to go into effect
without resulting in a substantial reduction in funded enrollment.
Prior to publication of the HSPPS final rule, Congress appropriated
$294 million in fiscal year (FY) 2016 to support an increase in hours
of program operations across Head Start and Early Head Start. At the
time of the FY 2016 funding to support and increased duration, the
regulatory requirements were not in effect. Programs that wished to
voluntarily increase hours of program operations to 1,020 annual hours
for up to 40 percent of their Head Start center-based slots or to 1,380
annual hours for their Early Head Start center-based slots were
eligible to submit an application by June 2016 to receive additional
funds. Some eligible programs chose not to apply for additional
funding. There are programs that currently operate none of their Head
Start center-based funded enrollment for 1,020 annual hours. There are
also programs that currently operate all of their Head Start center-
based funded enrollment for 1,020 hours or longer. These requirements
are minimums, and programs could choose to operate some slots longer
each day and/or for more days per year.
In the HSPPS final rule, we estimated the cost for programs to
implement the 50 percent service duration requirement to be $535
million. Since the publication of the final rule in September 2016,
when Head Start programs were notified of the future requirements to
increase center-based service duration to 1,020 annual hours, no
additional funds have been appropriated to support increases in service
duration. While we requested funds to support additional increases in
service duration in FY 2017, Congress did not further increase Head
Start appropriations for this purpose.
HHS has conducted an assessment of available funding and the
current percentages of slots individual programs currently operate at
1,020 annual hours. Based on this assessment, we estimate that without
additional funding, implementation of the requirement at Sec.
1302.21(c)(2)(iii) for each program to operate 50 percent of its Head
Start center-based slots for 1,020 annual hours would result in a loss
of approximately 41,000 Head Start slots, which represents roughly five
percent of existing Head Start slots. The FY 2018 President's Budget
did not request an increase in appropriations to support increases in
service duration. We do not expect sufficient funding to become
available in time for grantees to meet the current HSPPS standard.
Conclusion
Under Sec. 1302.21(c)(3)(i), the Secretary has made a
determination that there is not sufficient funding available to
mitigate a substantial reduction in funded enrollment resulting from
the requirement described in Sec. 1302.21(c)(2)(iii), and hereby
waives the requirement that 50 percent of a program's Head Start
center-based program's funded enrollment that must operate for 1,020
annual hours of planned class operations by August 1, 2019, effectively
lowering the percentage to 0. This determination is effective
immediately. Because the HSPPS final rule governs the Secretary's
discretion in this matter, the public comment process is not required.
The service duration requirements for Head Start center-based
programs described in Sec. 1302.21(c)(2)(i) and (ii) remain in effect.
Under these requirements, a Head Start center-based program must
provide, at a minimum, at least 160 days per year of planned class
operations if it operates for five days per week, or at least 128 days
per year if it operates four days per week. Classes must operate for a
minimum of 3.5 hours per day. These requirements are minimums, and
programs could choose to operate some slots longer each day and/or for
more days per year. The Head Start Act allows programs to request to
convert part-day slots to full-day or full-working-day slots. This
determination by the Secretary provides local Head Start programs
maximum flexibility to determine program schedules that best meet the
demonstrated needs in their communities, and ensures low-income
children will not lose access to Head Start's comprehensive services
and a preschool experience before entering Kindergarten because of a
federal requirement. Additionally, the requirement under Sec.
1302.21(c)(1)(i) that Early Head Start programs provide 1,380 annual
hours of planned class operations for all center-based enrollment by
August 1, 2018 also remains in effect.
The Secretary's determination under Sec. 1302.21(c)(3)(i) does not
affect the Secretary's authority to make a separate determination under
Sec. 1302.21(c)(3)(ii) on or before February 1, 2020, to maintain or
lower the service duration requirement described in Sec.
1302.21(c)(2)(iv) based on an assessment of the availability of
sufficient funding to mitigate a substantial reduction in funded
enrollment resulting from that requirement.
In addition, the Secretary's determination under Sec.
1302.21(c)(3)(i) does not change or affect current processes that allow
grantees to request to serve children for longer service duration
within existing funding levels as part of the grantee's annual service
and enrollment negotiations with the Office of Head Start.
Dated: January 16, 2018.
Eric D. Hargan,
Acting Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-00897 Filed 1-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
