Admission and Training of Midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy; Amendment Providing an Emergency Waiver for Scholastic Requirements, 67299-67302 [2020-23493]

Agencies

• Maritime Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 205 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67299-67302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23493]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

46 CFR Part 310

[Docket No. MARAD-2020-0142]
RIN 2133-AB92


Admission and Training of Midshipmen at the United States 
Merchant Marine Academy; Amendment Providing an Emergency Waiver for 
Scholastic Requirements

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This interim final rule amends Maritime Administration (MARAD) 
regulations governing admission to the United States Merchant Marine 
Academy (USMMA). These amendments allow the MARAD Administrator to 
waive the requirement for USMMA applicants to have taken the College 
Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Testing 
Program (ACT) examination in the event of a State or national 
emergency. The ability to waive SAT and ACT requirements for 
prospective students is necessary to address testing disruptions caused 
by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency.

DATES: This interim final rule is effective October 22, 2020. Comments 
on this interim final rule must be received on or before November 23, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in 
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Search using docket number MARAD-2020-0142. Follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Docket Management Facility, West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is 
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9322 before coming.
    Regardless of how you submit your comments, please be sure to 
identify your submission by including the docket number.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public 
Participation section below.

    Note:  All comments received will be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading under Rulemaking 
Notices and Analyses regarding documents submitted to the Agency's 
dockets.

    Docket: For access to the online docket to read background 
documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and 
search ``MARAD-2020-0142.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mitch Hudson, Office of the Chief 
Counsel, at (202) 366-9373 or [email protected]. The mailing address 
for the Maritime Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel is 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary
II. Background
III. United States Merchant Marine Academy Request
IV. Agency's Response
    a. Exemption to Admission Requirements
V. Comments and Immediate Effective Date
VI. Regulatory Analyses and Notices
VII. Public Participation

I. Executive Summary

    Institutions of higher education across the Nation have been 
severely impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public 
health emergency, which has not only required them to adapt teaching 
methods and practices, but also admissions processes and criteria. 
USMMA is only one institution among the many faced with the dilemma of 
how to ensure the selection of qualified candidates given the current 
situation. The USMMA admissions policy is currently governed by 46 CFR 
310.55--Scholastic requirements, which provides in subsection (b)(1) 
that ``[a]pplicants shall qualify in either the College Board's 
Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or the American College Testing Program 
(ACT) examinations, administered nationally on scheduled dates at 
convenient testing centers.'' Subsection (d) further provides that 
``[n]o waivers of scholastic requirements will be granted.''
    Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, student access to test 
centers and the opportunity to take the SAT and ACT have been greatly 
reduced in the United States. Requiring SAT or ACT test scores from 
students in this admissions cycle by strictly adhering to the 
regulation as currently written will significantly affect the 
application process, selection, and appointment of prospective 
candidates, and may negatively impact enrollment numbers for the Class 
of 2025 at USMMA.
    This interim final rule responds to an emergency waiver request 
submitted by USMMA seeking a revision to its governing regulations that 
would provide for a waiver of the scholastic requirements in an 
emergency situation. After considering the issues raised in the USMMA 
request, the Agency agrees that the unprecedented disruptions caused by 
the public health emergency make compliance by prospective candidates 
with the regulations as presently styled impracticable and warrant 
appropriate regulatory relief. Accordingly, MARAD is revising the 
regulations to give the MARAD Administrator the ability to issue a 
waiver of the scholastic requirements in the event of a State or 
national emergency that significantly limits the ability of applicants 
to take either the SAT or ACT. To ensure the proper implementation of 
this revision, MARAD is seeking comments on the USMMA request and the 
Agency's Interim Final Rule.

II. Background

    USMMA operates on a rolling admissions cycle. The cycle for the 
future Class of 2025 began on May 1, 2020 when applications were first 
accepted. Each candidate must first obtain a Congressional nomination 
to receive an appointment to the Academy. The nomination process is 
independent from the application process; each member of Congress 
decides what requirements they deem appropriate. However, many members 
of Congress take into consideration a candidate's standardized test 
scores. Therefore, the lack of ACT/SAT standardized testing

[[Page 67300]]

availability could prevent candidates from even receiving a nomination.
    An application is considered complete when all required documents 
are submitted, the required standardized test scores are received, and 
the Candidate Fitness Assessment has been passed. USMMA's current 
deadline for applications is February 1, 2021. After February 1, USMMA 
will review applications for completeness, evaluate candidates, and 
make selections. Only then will candidates be offered an appointment. 
The process will end when the candidate submits acceptance of the offer 
in late Spring.
    As of September 1, 2020, USMMA had received over 700 applications, 
with a majority not including ACT or SAT scores. According to the ACT 
website, there will be continued limitations in test center capacity 
and inevitable cancellations throughout the remainder of the 2020-2021 
test dates.\1\ The College Board, which administers the SAT, also 
reports that a substantial number students who register have been 
unable to take the test as a result of testing center closure or 
reduction in capacity due to COVID-19 mitigation measures.\2\ This is 
on top of the College Board cancelling SAT administrations from March 
through May.\3\ As the USMMA admissions process advances into Fall, it 
is unclear whether applicants will be afforded the opportunity to take 
the SAT or ACT exam. The deadline for completed applications for USMMA 
Class of 2025 candidates is February 1, 2021 and therefore, students 
who are unable to take the SAT or ACT until 2021 may not be able to 
complete their applications in time for this deadline. Even if the 
February 1, 2021 deadline were to be postponed and if the public health 
emergency were to wane sufficiently in the Spring of 2021 to allow the 
re-opening of test centers, there may still be problems with requiring 
SAT and ACT test scores for all applicants in this admissions cycle. 
Test sites may be faced with issues of capacity in Spring of 2021, as 
they would need to test all students whose testing was postponed due to 
COVID-19 plus all future high school graduates who will require scores 
for college entrance in 2022.
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    \1\ Rescheduled Test Centers. (September 19, 2020). www.ACT.org. 
Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-day/rescheduled-test-centers.html.
    \2\ What to Know Before the September and October SAT 
Administration, (September 22, 2020). www.collegeboard.org. https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2020/what-to-know-sept-oct-sat-admins.
    \3\ College Board Cancels May SAT in Response to Coronavirus, 
(March 16, 2020), www.collegeboard.org, https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2020/college-board-cancels-may-sat-response-coronavirus.
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III. Agency Response

    After considering the information provided in the request, 
evaluating the risks posed to maintaining a vibrant and qualified 
merchant marine, and assessing the ongoing hardships stemming from the 
public health emergency, the Agency has decided that there exists a 
need to add flexibility to MARAD's regulations governing USMMA 
admissions by giving the MARAD Administrator the ability to waive SAT 
and ACT testing requirements in emergency situations.
    The College Board states that this year, many schools and test 
centers will have reduced capacity because of social distancing 
guidelines and may encounter unexpected closures.\4\ ACT rescheduled 
its April national and international tests in response to concerns 
about the spread of the coronavirus.\5\ All students registered for 
April 2020 test dates were notified of the postponement with 
instructions for rescheduling to future test dates.\6\ Both the ACT and 
SAT websites currently show many postponed/cancelled exams across the 
50 States. These exams are conducted in high schools and other public 
buildings, some of which are not yet re-opened and many of which when 
re-opened have reduced capacity.
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    \4\ College Board Asks Colleges to Show Flexibility in 
Admissions This Year to Reduce Stress for Students, Citing 
Challenges in Providing Universal Access to the SAT During the 
Coronavirus Pandemic. (2020, June 2). www.College Board.org. 
Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2020/cb-asks-colleges-show-flexibility-admissions-reduce-stress-students-challenges-universal-access-sat-coronavirus-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR3SbHTa4VIKpryc95KqFDeOTnCktwy0q4NOlcd8StS3Wrx1Bj6MOzFkAy0.
    \5\ ACT Reschedules April 2020 National ACT Test Date to June. 
(2020, March 16). ACT News Room and Blog. Retrieved September 22, 
2020 from https://leadershipblog.act.org/2020/03/act-reschedules-april-2020-national-act.html.
    \6\ Id.
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    The SAT and ACT are typically taken in the Spring, but due to the 
COVID-19 public health emergency, Spring test dates in 2020 were 
canceled and rescheduled for the Summer or Fall. As of September 2020, 
there are continued limitations in test center capacity, and there are 
likely to be additional cancellations throughout the remainder of the 
2020-2021 test dates. The decision on whether a test center closes 
rests largely within a State's own discretion, based on guidelines set 
forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Simply stated, 
the availability of testing this year is highly unpredictable.
    In response, many colleges and universities have now resorted to 
making the SAT/ACT test optional for admissions. More than 60% of 4-
year colleges and universities in the U.S. will not require applicants 
to submit ACT or SAT scores for Fall 2021 admission.\7\ All of the 
Federal service academies are confronted with this situation brought on 
by the COVID-19 public health emergency, and none have reached a 
conclusive answer on how to address admissions standards and criteria 
effectively. United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), United States 
Military Academy (USMA) and United States Naval Academy (USNA) are 
considering the waiver of their own requirements for standardized tests 
from applicants.
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    \7\ Three-Fifths of Four-Year Colleges and Universities Are 
Test-Optional for Fall 2021 Admission; Total of Schools Not 
Requiring ACT/SAT Exceeds 1,450. (2020, August 12). www.fairtest.org 
Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://www.fairtest.org/threefifths-fouryear-colleges-and-universities-are.
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    Based on the foregoing, MARAD concludes that there is a need to 
revise its regulations governing USMMA scholastic requirements by 
giving the MARAD Administrator the ability to waive SAT and ACT testing 
requirements for USMMA applicants in emergency situations. Due to 
forces beyond the control of prospective students, the uniform 
availability of standardized testing is not possible, and therefore, 
the strict requirement to include such test scores is detrimental to 
USMMA's ability to offer admission to worthy student candidates.

IV. Comments and Immediate Effective Date

    Because the student application dates are fast approaching, MARAD 
finds good cause to issue this interim final rule providing an 
exemption to the scholastic requirements. There is good cause to make 
this rule effective immediately so as to provide needed relief to 
prospective students due to the effects of the COVID-19 public health 
emergency. Pursuant to DOT's regulation on rulemaking procedures, 49 
CFR 5.13(j)(2), MARAD seeks to replace this interim final rule with a 
final rule, which may differ from today's rule in response to comments 
received. Accordingly, MARAD is accepting comments on this interim 
final rule. The Agency is seeking comments on whether the emergency 
waiver for scholastic requirements is appropriate under the 
circumstances. In particular, MARAD is interested in information

[[Page 67301]]

concerning whether any other steps could be taken to ensure that all 
qualified candidates for admission may overcome any regulatory 
obstacles to admission. Given the narrow focus of this rule and its 
near-term effects, the Agency has provided an expedited comment period, 
which the Agency believes will allow commenters sufficient time to 
address the issues in this rule. See ``Public Participation'' section 
below.
    The Agency is issuing this interim final rule without prior notice 
and the opportunity for public comment and the 30-day delayed effective 
date ordinarily prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). 
Pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of the APA, general notice and the 
opportunity for public comment are not required with respect to a 
rulemaking when an ``agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the 
finding and a brief statement of reasons therefor in the rules issued) 
that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' As discussed above 
in this document, the intent of this action is to provide relief to 
prospective student candidates for admission to USMMA who, due to the 
COVID-19 public health emergency, are finding it either impossible or 
impractical to sit for the SAT or ACT standardized tests. Since dates 
for submitting admission applications are imminent, the Agency finds it 
impracticable to seek public comment prior to the effective date of the 
rule. MARAD seeks to issue this rule to provide relief before it is too 
late for applicants to be apprised of an emergency waiver to the 
scholastic requirements and to take action accordingly.
    Though this interim final rule is effective immediately, comments 
are solicited from interested members of the public on all aspects of 
the interim final rule. These comments must be submitted on or before 
the date indicated in the DATES section at the beginning of this 
document. MARAD will consider these comments in deciding any next steps 
following this interim final rule.

V. Regulatory Analyses and Notices

a. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, 13771 and DOT Rulemaking Procedures

    Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, E.O. 13563, and the Department of 
Transportation's administrative rulemaking procedures set forth in 49 
CFR part 5, subpart B, provide for determining whether a regulatory 
action is ``significant'' and therefore subject to Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) review and to the requirements of E.O. 12866.
    Today's interim final rule is not significant and has not been 
reviewed by OMB under E.O. 12866. This rule is limited to giving the 
MARAD Administrator the ability to waive the regulatory requirement to 
include SAT or ACT scores for admission to USMMA in emergency 
situations. This rule does not actually waive any regulatory 
requirements.\8\ Therefore, this rule does not result in any costs or 
benefits.
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    \8\ MARAD will separately issue the pertinent waiver once this 
rule becomes effective.
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    Executive Order 13771, titled ``Reducing Regulation and Controlling 
Regulatory Costs,'' directs that, unless prohibited by law, whenever an 
executive department or agency publicly proposes for notice and comment 
or otherwise promulgates a new regulation, it shall identify at least 
two existing regulations to be repealed. In addition, any new 
incremental costs associated with new regulations shall, to the extent 
permitted by law, be offset by the elimination of existing costs. Only 
those rules deemed significant under section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' are subject to these 
requirements. Per OMB Memo M-17-21, E.O. 13771 applies to a rulemaking 
action that is ``a significant regulatory action as defined in Section 
3(f) of E.O. 12866 that has been finalized and that imposes total costs 
greater than zero.'' As discussed above, this rule adds flexibility to 
MARAD's regulations by giving the MARAD Administrator the ability to 
waive SAT/ACT testing requirements in emergency situations. 
Accordingly, this action is a deregulatory rule under Executive Order 
13771. However, this action does not result in any quantified cost 
savings because it does not actually waive any regulatory requirements.

b. Executive Order 13924

    On May 19, 2020, the President issued E.O. 13924, ``Regulatory 
Relief to Support Economic Recovery,'' as part of the country's ongoing 
recovery effort to the national COVID-19 public health emergency. The 
Order directs agencies to address the current economic emergency by 
using to the fullest extent possible any available emergency 
authorities to support the economic response to the COVID-19 public 
health emergency. It also directs agencies to provide relief through 
rescinding, modifying, waiving, or providing exemptions from 
regulations and other requirements that may inhibit economic recovery 
or by issuing new proposed rules as necessary. This interim final rule 
is consistent with E.O. 13924 by providing prospective candidates for 
admission to USMMA adversely affected by the inability to take the SAT 
or ACT caused by the national health emergency the opportunity to apply 
for and to be considered for admission.

c. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), MARAD has 
considered the impacts of this rulemaking action on small entities (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Rules that are exempt from notice and comment are 
also exempt from the RFA requirements, including conducting a 
regulatory flexibility analysis, when among other things the agency for 
good cause finds that notice and public procedure are impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. See 5 U.S.C. 603(a). 
Because, as discussed above, this rule is exempt from the APA notice 
and comment requirements, MARAD is not required to conduct a regulatory 
flexibility analysis.

d. Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    MARAD has examined today's interim final rule pursuant to E.O. 
13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999) and concluded that no additional 
consultation with States, local governments, or their representatives 
is mandated beyond the rulemaking process. The Agency has concluded 
that the rulemaking would not have sufficient federalism implications 
to warrant consultation with State and local officials or the 
preparation of a federalism summary impact statement. The interim final 
rule will not have ``substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government.''

e. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) requires 
agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits, and 
other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate 
likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than 
$100 million annually. This action will not result in additional 
expenditures by State, local, or tribal governments or by any members 
of the private sector. Therefore, the Agency has not prepared an 
economic assessment pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

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f. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), a person is not 
required to respond to a collection of information by a Federal agency 
unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. This final 
rule includes no new collection of information and will not change any 
existing collections of information as it does not actually waive any 
regulatory requirements.

g. Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into 
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477-78), or you may visit https://dms.dot.gov.

VII. Public Participation

How long do I have to submit comments?

    MARAD is providing a 30-day comment period.

How do I prepare and submit comments?

    Your comments must be written in English.
    To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, 
please include the Docket Number shown at the beginning of this 
document in your comments.
    If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) 
File, MARAD asks that the documents be submitted using the Optical 
Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing MARAD to search and 
copy certain portions of your submissions. Comments may be submitted to 
the docket electronically by logging onto the Docket Management System 
website at https://www.regulations.gov. Search using the MARAD docket 
number and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    You may also submit two copies of your comments, including the 
attachments, to Docket Management at the address given above under 
ADDRESSES.
    Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, for substantive 
data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the 
information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data Quality 
Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines 
in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. DOT's guidelines may 
be accessed at https://www.bts.gov/programs/statistical_policy_and_research/data_quality_guidelines.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    Confidential business information (CBI) is commercial or financial 
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by 
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), 
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to 
the interim final rule contain commercial or financial information that 
is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, 
and that is relevant or responsive to this interim final rule, it is 
important that you clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. 
Please mark each page of your submission that constitutes CBI as 
``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains proprietary information. MARAD will 
treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they 
will not be placed in the public docket of this interim final rule. 
Submissions containing CBI should be sent to the email address provided 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. In addition, you should 
submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential 
business information, to Docket Management at the address given above 
under ADDRESSES. Any comments MARAD receives which are not specifically 
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this 
rulemaking.

Will the Agency consider late comments?

    We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives 
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated 
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider 
comments that Docket Management receives after that date. If Docket 
Management receives a comment too late for us to consider in developing 
any follow-on action, we will consider that comment as an informal 
suggestion for future rulemaking action.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are 
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on 
the internet. To read the comments on the internet, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.
    Please note that, even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 310

    Grant programs--education, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Schools, Seamen.
    In consideration of the foregoing, MARAD amends 46 CFR part 310 as 
follows:

PART 310--MERCHANT MARINE TRAINING

0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 310 to read as follows:

    Authority:  46 U.S.C. Chapter 515; 49 U.S.C. 322(a); 49 CFR 
1.93.

Subpart C--Admission and Training of Midshipmen at the United 
States Merchant Marine Academy

0
2. Amend Sec.  310.55 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  310.55   Scholastic requirements.

* * * * *
    (d) Waivers. No waivers of scholastic requirements will be granted, 
except in the event of a State or national emergency that significantly 
limits the ability of applicants to take either the SAT or ACT, as 
determined by the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: October 20, 2020.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-23493 Filed 10-20-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P