Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, 3336-3338 [2018-01307]

Download as PDF daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES 3336 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices and postdoctoral residency programs in health service psychology. 2. American Bar Association Compliance report includes the following: (1) Findings identified in the October 28, 2016 letter from the senior Department official following the June 23, 2016 NACIQI meeting available at: https://opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/ finalstaffreports.cfm, (2) Review under 34 CFR 602.15(a)(1), § 602.15(a)(2), § 602.15(a)(3), § 602.16(a)(1)(viii), and § 602.17(b). Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the United States of programs in legal education that lead to the first professional degree in law as well as freestanding law schools offering such programs. This recognition also extends to the Accreditation Committee of the Section of Legal Education (Accreditation Committee) for decisions involving continued accreditation (referred to by the agency as ‘‘approval’’) of law schools. 3. American Osteopathic Association, Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation Compliance report includes the following: (1) Findings identified in the October 28, 2016 letter from the senior Department official following the June 23, 2016 NACIQI meeting available at: https:// opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/ finalstaffreports.cfm, (2) Review under 34 CFR 602.11, § 602.13, § 602.15(a)(3), § 602.16(a)(1)(i), § 602.16(a)(1)(ii), § 602.16(a)(1)(iii), § 602.16(a)(1)(iv) § 602.16(a)(1)(v), § 602.16(a)(1)(vi), § 602.16(a)(1)(vii) § 602.16(a)(1)(viii) § 602.16(a)(1)(ix) § 602.16(a)(1)(x), § 602.16(a)(2), § 602.17(a), § 602.19(b), § 602.20(a), and § 602.26(b). 4. Transnational Association Of Christian Colleges and Schools Compliance report includes the following: (1) Findings identified in the October 28, 2016 letter from the senior Department official following the June 23, 2016 NACIQI meeting available at: https://opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/ finalstaffreports.cfm, (2) Review under 34 CFR 602.15(a)(2), and § 602.19(b). Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (‘‘Candidate’’ Status) of Christian postsecondary institutions in the United States that offer certificates, diplomas, and associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degrees, including institutions that offer distance education. Application for an Expansion of Scope Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools, Accreditation Commission. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (‘‘Correspondent’’ and ‘‘Candidate’’) VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:25 Jan 23, 2018 Jkt 244001 within the United States of advanced rabbinical and Talmudic schools. Requested Scope: The accreditation of advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic institutions in the United States which grant postsecondary degrees such as Associate, Baccalaureate, Masters, Doctorate, First Rabbinic and First Talmudic degrees. Renewal—State Agency for the Approval of Public Postsecondary Vocational Education Puerto Rico State Agency for the Approval of Public Postsecondary Vocational, Technical Institutions and Programs Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting Agency or State Approval Agency Under Review Written comments about the recognition of a specific accrediting or State agency must be received by February 16, 2018, in the ThirdPartyComments@ed.gov mailbox and include the subject line ‘‘Written Comments: (agency name).’’ The email must include the name(s), title, organization/affiliation, mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the person(s) making the comment. Comments should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document or in a medium compatible with Microsoft Word (not a PDF file) that is attached to an electronic mail message (email) or provided in the body of an email message. Comments about an agency’s recognition after review of a compliance report must relate to issues identified in the compliance report and the criteria for recognition cited in the senior Department official’s letter that requested the report, or in the Secretary’s appeal decision, if any. Comments about the renewal of an agency’s recognition based on a review of the agency’s petition must relate to its compliance with the Criteria for the Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, or the Criteria and Procedures for Recognition of State Agencies for Approval of Nurse Education as appropriate, which are available at https://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/ accred/. Only written material submitted by the deadline to the email address listed in this notice, and in accordance with these instructions, become part of the official record concerning agencies scheduled for review and are considered by the Department and NACIQI in their deliberations. A later Federal Register Notice will describe how to register to provide oral comments at the meeting about the PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 recognition of a specific accrediting agency or State approval agency. 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. Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1011c. Lynn B. Mahaffie, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Policy, and Innovation. [FR Doc. 2018–01220 Filed 1–23–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [ED–2018–OII–0003] Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; DC Opportunity Scholarship Program Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period. AGENCY: For projects funded under the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. A waiver would allow the three-year grant funded with fiscal year (FY) 2015 funds under the OSP to be continued beyond its original project period with FY 2018 and FY 2019 funds. DATES: The Department must receive your comments on or before February 23, 2018. 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 SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\24JAN1.SGM 24JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices 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 ‘‘Help.’’ • 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 Justis Tuia, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4W251, Washington, DC 20202. 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: Anna Hinton, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4W229, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 260–1816 or by email: anna.hinton@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. daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Invitation to Comment: The Department invites you to submit comments regarding 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 by accessing Regulations.gov. You may also inspect all public comments about this proposal in Room 4W229, 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, the Department 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 notice. If you want to schedule an appointment for VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:25 Jan 23, 2018 Jkt 244001 this type of aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Background On February 23, 2015, the Department of Education (Department) published in the Federal Register (80 FR 9448) a notice inviting applications (2015 NIA) for a new award for FY 2015 under the OSP. The OSP provides low-income students residing in Washington, DC with an opportunity to receive a scholarship to attend a participating private school of their choice. The OSP was established in 2004 under the DC School Choice Incentive Act. In 2011, Congress reauthorized the OSP through FY 2016 under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR Act) (Pub. L. 112–10); and, in FY 2017, the SOAR Act was reauthorized through FY 2019 by the FY 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 115–31). Under the SOAR Act, the Department awards one grant to an eligible applicant to administer the OSP. The grant awarded is in the form of a cooperative agreement between the Department and the grantee. The grantee is required to recruit and make scholarship awards to eligible scholarship applicants; support and serve scholarship students and their families in making school choice decisions; identify and work with participating schools; monitor compliance of participating schools with program and reporting requirements; maintain reliable data regarding the operation of the program; and ensure appropriate coordination with the other entities that conduct activities related to program operations. The SOAR Act also provides for a performance period of up to five years for the OSP grant award. The current OSP grantee was awarded with a three-year grant from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2018. The Department would typically conduct a new grant competition in FY 2018. Proposed Waiver of 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2) The Department seeks to extend the period of performance of the existing OSP grant for up to two more years and waive the provisions of 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2) so that the current grantee may continue to receive additional funds to serve students in FY 2018 and FY 2019. The Department proposes this waiver based primarily on four factors. First, extending the current grantee’s project would create stability and continuity as the program enters the final two years of the current SOAR Act authorization. Second, few PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 3337 organizations are eligible for and have the capacity to administer this program, which is evident by the small number of eligible applications that have been submitted under past OSP competitions. Third, extending the current grantee’s project would permit the current grantee to fully implement the new recruitment and marketing strategies designed to significantly increase scholarship usage rates. The Department believes it is unlikely that a new program administrator could expeditiously and effectively implement the newly designed outreach efforts of the current grantee. Fourth, extending the current grantee’s project would align the next OSP competition with the next anticipated reauthorization of the SOAR Act. Accordingly, the Department does not believe it would be in the public interest to hold a competition for a new OSP administrator before FY 2020. If this proposed waiver becomes final through a notice of final waiver and extension of the project period published in the Federal Register— • Any activities carried out during the extended project period would have to be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the scope, goals, and objectives of the grantee’s application as approved in the 2015 competition; • The requirements applicable to continuation awards for this competition set forth in the 2015 NIA and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 would apply to any continuation award sought by the current grantee. We will base our decision regarding a continuation award on the program narrative, budget, budget narrative, and program performance report submitted by the current grantee for FY 2018, and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253; and • The Department would not announce a new competition or make a new award under the OSP in FY 2018 or FY 2019. The proposed waiver and project period extension would not exempt the current OSP grantee from the accountclosing provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a). Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension and the activities required to support additional months of funding would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The small entity that would be affected by this proposed waiver and extension is the FY 2015 grantee, the non-profit organization currently receiving Federal funds under the OSP. The proposed waiver and extension would not have a significant economic impact on this entity because the E:\FR\FM\24JAN1.SGM 24JAN1 3338 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices activities required to support the additional year(s) of funding would not impose excessive regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal supervision. The waiver would impose minimal requirements to ensure the proper expenditure of program funds, including requirements that are standard for continuation awards. This notice of proposed waiver and extension does not contain any information collection requirements. daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES Intergovernmental Review This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 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 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. [FR Doc. 2018–01307 Filed 1–23–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:25 Jan 23, 2018 Jkt 244001 Electricity Advisory Committee; Notice of Open Meeting Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. AGENCY: This notice announces a meeting of the Electricity Advisory Committee. The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that public notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 12:00 p.m.–5:55 p.m. EST; Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 8:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. EST. ADDRESSES: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Rosenbaum, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 8G–017, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585; Telephone: (202) 586–1060 or Email: matthew.rosenbaum@ hq.doe.gov. SUMMARY: Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Dated: January 18, 2018. Margo K. Anderson, Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Committee: The Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC) was re-established in July 2010, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. 2, to provide advice to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005, executing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and modernizing the nation’s electricity delivery infrastructure. The EAC is composed of individuals of diverse background selected for their technical expertise and experience, established records of distinguished professional service, and their knowledge of issues that pertain to electricity. Tentative Agenda: The meeting of the EAC is expected to include panels or presentations on rates, tariffs, and market design for energy storage; mutual assistance agreements; and emergency response and resilience in recovery efforts. The meeting is also expected to include a discussion on regulatory reform and an update on FERC activities presented by Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur. Additionally, the meeting is expected to include an update on the programs and initiatives of the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and a discussion of the plans and activities of the Smart Grid PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Subcommittee, Power Delivery Subcommittee, and Energy Storage Subcommittee. Tentative Agenda: February 20, 2018 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Registration 1:00 p.m.–1:15 p.m. Welcome, Introductions, Developments since the September 2017 Meeting 1:15 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Update on the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Programs and Initiatives 1:30 p.m.–2:25 p.m. Regulatory Reform 2:25 p.m.–2:35 p.m. EAC Smart Grid Subcommittee Update 2:35 p.m.–2:50 p.m. EAC Power Delivery Subcommittee Update 2:50 p.m.–3:30 p.m. EAC Energy Storage Subcommittee Update 3:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m. Break 3:45 p.m.–5:45 p.m. Panel Session: Rate, Tariff, and Market Design for Energy Storage 5:45 p.m.–5:55 p.m. Wrap-up and Adjourn Day 1 Tentative Agenda: February 21, 2018 8:00 a.m.–8:30 a.m. Presentation on Mutual Assistance Agreements 8:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Panel Session: Emergency Response and Resilience in Recovery Efforts 10:30 a.m.–10:45 a.m. Break 10:45 a.m.–11:45 a.m. Presentation: FERC Update 11:45 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Reflections on Today’s Panel and Presentations 12:00 p.m.–12:05 p.m. Public Comments 12:05 p.m.–12:15 p.m. Wrap-up and Adjourn The meeting agenda may change to accommodate EAC business. For EAC agenda updates, see the EAC website at: https://energy.gov/oe/services/electricityadvisory-committee-eac. Public Participation: The EAC welcomes the attendance of the public at its meetings. Individuals who wish to offer public comments at the EAC meeting may do so on Wednesday, February 21, 2018, but must register at the registration table in advance. Approximately five minutes will be reserved for public comments. Time allotted per speaker will depend on the number who wish to speak but is not expected to exceed three minutes. Anyone who is not able to attend the meeting, or for whom the allotted public comments time is insufficient to address pertinent issues with the EAC, is invited to send a written statement to Mr. Matthew Rosenbaum. You may submit comments, identified by ‘‘Electricity Advisory Committee Open Meeting,’’ by any of the following methods: E:\FR\FM\24JAN1.SGM 24JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3336-3338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01307]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[ED-2018-OII-0003]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period; DC 
Opportunity Scholarship Program

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

ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------[
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.370A]

SUMMARY: For projects funded under the DC Opportunity Scholarship 
Program (OSP), the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements of the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally 
prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation of 
additional Federal funds. A waiver would allow the three-year grant 
funded with fiscal year (FY) 2015 funds under the OSP to be continued 
beyond its original project period with FY 2018 and FY 2019 funds.

DATES: The Department must receive your comments on or before February 
23, 2018.

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

[[Page 3337]]

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 ``Help.''
     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 Justis Tuia, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4W251, Washington, DC 20202.
    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: Anna Hinton, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4W229, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 260-1816 or by email: [email protected].
    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: The Department invites you to submit 
comments regarding 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 by accessing 
Regulations.gov. You may also inspect all public comments about this 
proposal in Room 4W229, 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, the Department 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 notice. If you want 
to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    On February 23, 2015, the Department of Education (Department) 
published in the Federal Register (80 FR 9448) a notice inviting 
applications (2015 NIA) for a new award for FY 2015 under the OSP.
    The OSP provides low-income students residing in Washington, DC 
with an opportunity to receive a scholarship to attend a participating 
private school of their choice. The OSP was established in 2004 under 
the DC School Choice Incentive Act. In 2011, Congress reauthorized the 
OSP through FY 2016 under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results 
Act (SOAR Act) (Pub. L. 112-10); and, in FY 2017, the SOAR Act was 
reauthorized through FY 2019 by the FY 2017 Consolidated Appropriations 
Act (Pub. L. 115-31).
    Under the SOAR Act, the Department awards one grant to an eligible 
applicant to administer the OSP. The grant awarded is in the form of a 
cooperative agreement between the Department and the grantee. The 
grantee is required to recruit and make scholarship awards to eligible 
scholarship applicants; support and serve scholarship students and 
their families in making school choice decisions; identify and work 
with participating schools; monitor compliance of participating schools 
with program and reporting requirements; maintain reliable data 
regarding the operation of the program; and ensure appropriate 
coordination with the other entities that conduct activities related to 
program operations. The SOAR Act also provides for a performance period 
of up to five years for the OSP grant award.
    The current OSP grantee was awarded with a three-year grant from 
October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2018. The Department would typically 
conduct a new grant competition in FY 2018.

Proposed Waiver of 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2)

    The Department seeks to extend the period of performance of the 
existing OSP grant for up to two more years and waive the provisions of 
34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2) so that the current grantee may continue to 
receive additional funds to serve students in FY 2018 and FY 2019. The 
Department proposes this waiver based primarily on four factors. First, 
extending the current grantee's project would create stability and 
continuity as the program enters the final two years of the current 
SOAR Act authorization. Second, few organizations are eligible for and 
have the capacity to administer this program, which is evident by the 
small number of eligible applications that have been submitted under 
past OSP competitions. Third, extending the current grantee's project 
would permit the current grantee to fully implement the new recruitment 
and marketing strategies designed to significantly increase scholarship 
usage rates. The Department believes it is unlikely that a new program 
administrator could expeditiously and effectively implement the newly 
designed outreach efforts of the current grantee. Fourth, extending the 
current grantee's project would align the next OSP competition with the 
next anticipated reauthorization of the SOAR Act. Accordingly, the 
Department does not believe it would be in the public interest to hold 
a competition for a new OSP administrator before FY 2020.
    If this proposed waiver becomes final through a notice of final 
waiver and extension of the project period published in the Federal 
Register--
     Any activities carried out during the extended project 
period would have to be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the 
scope, goals, and objectives of the grantee's application as approved 
in the 2015 competition;
     The requirements applicable to continuation awards for 
this competition set forth in the 2015 NIA and the requirements in 34 
CFR 75.253 would apply to any continuation award sought by the current 
grantee. We will base our decision regarding a continuation award on 
the program narrative, budget, budget narrative, and program 
performance report submitted by the current grantee for FY 2018, and 
the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253; and
     The Department would not announce a new competition or 
make a new award under the OSP in FY 2018 or FY 2019.
    The proposed waiver and project period extension would not exempt 
the current OSP grantee from the account-closing provisions of 31 
U.S.C. 1552(a).

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension and 
the activities required to support additional months of funding would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    The small entity that would be affected by this proposed waiver and 
extension is the FY 2015 grantee, the non-profit organization currently 
receiving Federal funds under the OSP. The proposed waiver and 
extension would not have a significant economic impact on this entity 
because the

[[Page 3338]]

activities required to support the additional year(s) of funding would 
not impose excessive regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal 
supervision. The 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 of 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 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 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.

    Dated: January 18, 2018.
Margo K. Anderson,
Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2018-01307 Filed 1-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P


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