Applications for Selection as a Performance Partnership Pilot; Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth, 33249-33255 [2021-13382]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 119 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33249-33255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13382]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Applications for Selection as a Performance Partnership Pilot; 
Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth

AGENCY: Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (ED or Department) is issuing a 
notice inviting applications for selection as a performance partnership 
pilot for fiscal year (FY) 2021 under the Performance Partnership 
Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) authority. This notice relates to 
the approved information collection under OMB control number 1830-0575.

DATES: 
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 23, 2021.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: October 22, 2021.
    Deadline for Requests for Technical Assistance (optional): July 26, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Braden Goetz, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue SW, Room 11141, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 245-7405. Email: [email protected]. Or Corinne 
Sauri, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 
10362, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 
245-6412.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Braden Goetz, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 10401, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 245-7405. Email: 
[email protected]. Or Corinne Sauri, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 10362, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 245-6412.
    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:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Pilot Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: P3 was first authorized by Congress in FY 2014 
by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (2014 Act), and the 
authority has been included by Congress in appropriations acts each 
year since FY 2014, most recently in the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260) (2021 Act). The FY 2021 P3 authority 
enables pilot sites to blend FY 2021 Federal funds and obtain waivers 
of program requirements, including statutory, regulatory, and 
administrative requirements that are barriers to achieving improved 
outcomes for youth-serving programs included in the authority. Under 
P3, pilots can test innovative strategies to achieve significant 
improvements in

[[Page 33250]]

educational, employment, and other key outcomes for disconnected youth 
using the flexibility provided by P3.
    Background:
    The economic crisis that has resulted from the coronavirus disease 
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic threatens to erase nearly a decade of progress 
in reducing the percentage of young people ages 16 to 24 in the United 
States who are neither employed nor enrolled in school, also known as 
disconnected youth. Between 2010 and 2018, the most recent year for 
which complete data are available, the percentage of youth who were 
disconnected dropped from 14.7 percent to 11.2 percent.\1\ However, the 
COVID-19 recession has had a severe impact on the employment of young 
adults ages 16 to 24, with one-quarter of them losing their jobs from 
February to May 2020.\2\ While the youth unemployment rate has declined 
somewhat since that time, it remains high. In April 2021, the 
unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds was 12.3 percent, while the 
unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds was 10.5 percent.\3\
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    \1\ Lewis, Kristen (2020), A Decade Undone: Youth Disconnection 
in the Age of Coronavirus. New York: Measure of America, Social 
Science Research Council. Retrieved from: https://ssrc-static.s3.amazonaws.com/moa/ADecadeUndone.pdf.
    \2\ Kochhar, Rakesh (June 9, 2020), Fact Tank News in Numbers: 
Hispanic women, immigrants, young adults, those with less education 
hit hardest by COVID-19 job losses. Washington, DC: Pew Research 
Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/09/hispanic-women-immigrants-young-adults-those-with-less-education-hit-hardest-by-covid-19-job-losses/www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/09/hispanic-women-immigrants-young-adults-those-with-less-education-hit-hardest-by-covid-19-job-losses/.
    \3\ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (May 7, 
2021), Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. 
Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htmwww.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htm.
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    Even prior to the current recession, however, large gaps in the 
percentage of young people ages 16 to 24 who were neither working nor 
enrolled in school persisted among young people of different racial and 
ethnic groups. In 2018, the disconnection rate for white youth was 9.2 
percent, while the disconnection rates for Black, Hispanic, and Native 
American youth were 17.4 percent, 12.8 percent, and 23.4 percent, 
respectively. While the overall disconnection rate was lowest for Asian 
youth, 6.2 percent, there were high rates of disconnection among some 
Asian subgroups, with 13.8 percent of Cambodian youth and 10.2 percent 
of Hmong youth disconnected in 2018.\4\
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    \4\ Lewis, op cit., p. 22.
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    President Biden has committed the full resources of the Federal 
government to reversing the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. In 
Executive Order 14002, Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 
Pandemic, he directed Federal agencies to consider actions that improve 
access to, reduce unnecessary barriers to, and improve coordination 
among programs funded in whole or in part by the Federal Government.\5\ 
In Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for 
Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, the President 
committed the Administration to a whole-of-government equity agenda to 
address inequities and systemic racism. Federal agencies were 
challenged to take a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for 
all, including people of color and others who have been historically 
underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty 
and inequality.\6\ P3 may be a useful tool for advancing policy 
objectives in both Executive orders.
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    \5\ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/27/2021-01923/economic-relief-related-to-the-covid-19-pandemicwww.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/27/2021-01923/economic-relief-related-to-the-covid-19-pandemicwww.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/27/2021-01923/economic-relief-related-to-the-covid-19-pandemicwww.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/27/2021-01923/economic-relief-related-to-the-covid-19-pandemic.
    \6\ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-governmentwww.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government.
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    P3 gives ED; the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human 
Services (HHS), and Justice (DOJ); \7\ the Corporation for National and 
Community Service (CNCS); and the Institute of Museum and Library 
Services (collectively, the Agencies) authority, provided certain 
conditions and requirements are met, to waive Federal statutory and 
regulatory requirements that inhibit access to assistance and effective 
service delivery for disconnected youth.
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    \7\ DOJ's Office of Justice Programs was first authorized to 
enter into performance agreements by the Consolidated and Further 
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015.
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    P3 authorizes the Agencies to enter into Performance Partnership 
Agreements (performance agreements) with State, local, or Tribal 
governments. The performance agreements provide pilots with additional 
flexibility in the use of certain of the Agencies' discretionary 
funds,\8\ including competitive and formula grant funds. Pilots must 
include two or more Federal programs (at least one of which is 
administered in whole or in part by a State, local, or Tribal 
government) that are targeted on disconnected youth, or designed to 
prevent youth from disconnecting from school or work, and that provide 
education, training, employment, and other related social services. 
Entities that seek to participate in these pilots should commit to 
achieving significant improvements in outcomes for disconnected youth 
in exchange for flexibility permitted under P3. The authorizing statute 
states that improving outcomes for disconnected youth means increasing 
the rate at which individuals between the ages of 14 and 24 (who are 
low-income and either homeless, in foster care, involved in the 
juvenile justice system, unemployed, or not enrolled in or at risk of 
dropping out of an educational institution) achieve success in meeting 
educational, employment, or other key goals (Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2014, Division H, Section 526(a)(2)).
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    \8\ For the purposes of P3, discretionary funds are funds that 
Congress appropriates on an annual basis, rather than through a 
standing authorization. They exclude ``entitlement'' (or mandatory) 
programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, most Foster 
Care IV-E programs, Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants, and 
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Discretionary programs 
administered by the Agencies support a broad set of public services, 
including education, workforce development, health and mental 
health, and other low-income assistance programs.
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    This notice invites applications for selection as FY 2021 pilots 
and offers opportunities for prospective applicants to obtain optional 
technical assistance from the Agencies prior to applying. The purpose 
of the pre-application technical assistance is to help prospective 
applicants identify and propose to address, through waivers, blending 
of funds, or other flexibilities, Federal barriers to effective and 
integrated service delivery that will improve the educational and 
employment outcomes of disconnected youth.
    If interest in technical assistance exceeds the Agencies' capacity 
to provide it, the Agencies will give first priority to assisting 
eligible entities that intend to serve communities that have 
experienced civil unrest because the statutory authority for FY 2021 
directs the Agencies to include such communities among the designated 
pilots. Second priority will be given to requests for technical 
assistance from applicants that propose to serve the highest numbers of 
disconnected youth.

Flexibilities Available Under P3

    P3 provides important opportunities to improve access to Federal 
programs

[[Page 33251]]

and their effectiveness in addressing the needs of disconnected youth. 
The Agencies have published on Youth.gov a list of the waivers 
previously granted to pilots under the prior rounds of P3 in which 
pilots were designated.\9\ These waivers were helpful to the pilots 
that received them, and, in this latest round, the Agencies hope that 
applicants propose even more ambitious and bold efforts to remove 
Federal constraints on effective and innovative service delivery for 
disconnected youth. We provide several examples below.
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    \9\ The list of previously granted waivers is available at 
https://youth.gov/sites/default/files/P3-Waiver-List-FINAL_2018-12-10.pdf.
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    These examples are provided for illustrative purposes only, and the 
allowability of specific proposals will depend on the unique 
circumstances of individual applicants. Any waivers must be consistent 
with the statutory safeguards that apply to P3, discussed below, and 
the Agencies will consider whether the inclusion of a program in a 
specific pilot is consistent with, or conflicts with, other significant 
legal or policy considerations. Also, the Agencies will review the 
blending of competitive grants on a case-by-case basis to consider how 
the scope, objectives, and target populations of the existing award 
align with the proposed pilot. Any changes in terms and conditions of 
the existing competitive grant awards required for pilot purposes must 
be justified by the applicant. In addition, the Agencies can only waive 
Federal statutory or regulatory requirements. The Agencies encourage 
applicants to analyze whether their request also requires State or 
local rule changes to implement, as those rules are not under the 
jurisdiction of the Agencies to waive for P3.
    Example A: P3 enables State, local, and Tribal governments to blend 
dollars from multiple Federal funding streams to provide more 
comprehensive, holistic services for youth without having to allocate 
costs among the contributing programs and separately track and report 
on each source of funding. For example, a State could propose to use P3 
to support a comprehensive education, training, and reentry services 
program for youthful offenders before, during, and after their 
confinement. Funding for the project could be contributed from the 
Governor's reserve of the State's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (WIOA) Title I Youth program grant, the State's Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention Act Title II State grant, and the State 
educational agency's Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(ESEA) Title I, Part D grant for Prevention and Intervention Programs 
for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk of 
Dropping Out. The State also could propose to use P3 to waive the 
statutory performance indicators and reporting requirements under the 
three programs, replacing them with one set of indicators tailored to 
match the objectives of the project that the State reports on annually. 
Funds available to the State for evaluation under section 116(e)(1) of 
WIOA could be used to evaluate the program.
    Example B: A number of Federal grant programs that award funds by 
formula to States, such as the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act of 2006, as amended by the Strengthening Career and 
Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), require or 
allow States to set aside funds for State-level activities. In most 
cases, program statutes specify through a list of authorized or 
required activities how States may or must use funds reserved for 
State-level activities. A State could request a waiver that would allow 
it to use State-level funds to support an activity that goes beyond the 
required and permissive activities set out in the relevant program 
statute. More specifically, a State might propose to use funds for an 
activity that, while not clearly included as an allowable use of funds 
under the relevant statutory list of authorized activities, is designed 
to improve outcomes for disconnected youth and is consistent with the 
statutory purposes of the program. For example, section 124 of Perkins 
V contains a list of allowable activities that States may use State-
level set-aside funds to support. Through P3, a State might seek a 
waiver to allow it to use State-level Perkins V set-aside funds to 
support an activity that is designed to improve career and technical 
education, even though that activity is not specifically included as an 
authorized activity under section 124 of Perkins V. A State could 
propose to blend State leadership funds available under section 124 of 
Perkins V with funds available to the State from its Student Support 
and Academic Enrichment Grant under Title IV, Part A of the ESEA to 
support career and technical education instruction for disconnected 
youth who are working in transitional \10\ jobs that are part of a 
construction project that aims to bring high-speed internet 
connectivity to six rural counties in a remote area of the State. The 
local workforce development boards that serve the six counties under 
WIOA could contribute funds for the project from their WIOA Title I 
Adult program grants, obtaining a waiver to increase the share of local 
WIOA Title I Adult funds that can be spent on transitional jobs from 10 
to 15 percent.
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    \10\ Transitional jobs are time-limited, subsidized paid work 
experiences that are provided in combination with education and 
training services for individuals who are chronically unemployed or 
have an inconsistent work history to establish a work history, 
demonstrate success in the workplace, and develop the skills that 
lead to entry into and retention in unsubsidized employment. See 
section 134(d)(5) of WIOA.
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    Example C: Some Federal programs contain statutory or regulatory 
requirements that limit the duration of an individual's participation 
in a program. Due to service interruptions and disruptions caused by 
the pandemic, participants may not have been able to take full 
advantage of the opportunities provided by a program over the last 
year. A P3 applicant could seek flexibility to waive eligibility 
requirements to extend the duration of an individual's participation in 
the program as part of a larger strategy to compensate for the time and 
learning that youth lost to the pandemic. For example, a State, local, 
or Tribal governmental unit administering a YouthBuild grant \11\ could 
seek to extend program services to individuals beyond 24 months; a 
State recipient of a 7-year Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for 
Undergraduate Programs grant \12\ could seek to extend services through 
a participant's second year of enrollment in an institution of higher 
education; and a private nonprofit organization managing a Transitional 
Living program grant \13\ for homeless youth could apply in partnership 
with a State, local, or Tribal government to extend the duration of its 
services beyond 540 days or to serve youth older than age 21.
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    \11\ The YouthBuild grant program is authorized by section 171 
of WIOA (29 U.S.C. 3226).
    \12\ The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate 
Programs grant program is authorized by section 404A of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a-21).
    \13\ The Transitional Living grant program is authorized by 
section 321 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 
(34 U.S.C. 11221). For this program, the term ``homeless youth'' is 
defined in 45 CFR 1351.1(f) as ``a person under 18 years of age who 
is in need of services and without a place of shelter where he or 
she receives supervision and care.''
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    Example D: P3 authority can also be used by applicants to propose 
changes to projects funded under multiple Federal grants that are each, 
separately, intended to support programs designed to help disconnected 
youth achieve greater success in meeting their educational and 
employment goals. A public college or university that is

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considered a unit of State or local government could request waivers to 
blend discretionary, non-entitlement student aid funds under Title IV 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), dollars received through 
various Federal formula programs, and competitive grant funds in ways 
that would achieve better outcomes for disconnected youth. For example, 
a public college or university might propose to increase the share of 
the Federal Work Study (FWS) program funds available for Job Location 
and Development programs and waive the 25 percent cap on the amount of 
the school's allocation that may be used to pay wages to students 
employed with private, for-profit organizations so that it could use 
all or more than 25 percent of its FWS funds to provide students who 
are at risk of dropping out with subsidized career internships in the 
private sector that are aligned with students' educational and career 
goals. To help students identify their career goals, the college or 
university could partner with a local American Job Center, which uses 
funds from the WIOA Title I Adult program, to provide students with 
intensive career counseling and information relating to local 
occupations in demand and their earnings and skill requirements. 
Similarly, a community college could request waivers to blend and use a 
portion of a TRIO Educational Opportunity Center grant and its WIOA 
Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy Act program subgrant to 
implement an intensive integrated education and training program for 
young adults who lack a high school credential.
    Example E: P3 waivers can help a State, local, or Tribal government 
and its partners use funds from multiple competitive and formula grants 
more cohesively and effectively and relieve some of the paperwork or 
reporting requirements associated with these grants. For example, a 
State or local government could establish a pilot in partnership with a 
community-based organization that serves Native Hawaiians that is the 
recipient of a Social and Economic Development Strategies grant from 
the Administration for Native Americans in HHS, a Native Hawaiian 
Education program grant under the ESEA and a Native Hawaiian Career and 
Technical Education grant from ED, and an Indian and Native American 
Program Employment and Training Grant from DOL. Under the pilot, this 
organization could work with its governmental partner to obtain P3 
waivers and other flexibilities that would enable it to blend these 
funds to carry out a pre-apprenticeship program for Native Hawaiian 
youth that prepares them for a Registered Apprenticeship. Through P3, 
it also could request to replace the reporting requirements associated 
with each of these grants with a single set of outcome goals that the 
governmental partner and the organization deem most critical for Native 
Hawaiian youth.
    Example F: P3 waivers can help programs reach currently unserved 
disconnected youth. Current ED regulations for the TRIO programs limit 
participation in these programs to citizens or permanent residents of 
the United States, or individuals who are in the United States for 
other than a temporary purpose who provide evidence from the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service of their intent to become a 
permanent resident.\14\ Applying in partnership with affiliated local 
public institutions of higher education that administer TRIO grants, a 
multi-State consortium of public college or university systems that are 
considered units of State government could seek a waiver of this 
requirement so that their affiliated schools could use TRIO funds to 
serve disconnected youth who qualify for the Deferred Action for 
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program \15\ or who have Temporary Protected 
Status.\16\
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    \14\ See 34 CFR 643.3 (Talent Search), 34 CFR 644.3 (Educational 
Opportunity Centers), 34 CFR 645.3 (Upward Bound), 34 CFR 646.3 
(Student Support Services), and 34 CFR 647.3 (Ronald E. McNair 
Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program).
    \15\ In 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began 
implementing the DACA policy, which allows youth who were brought to 
the United States as children and who meet certain criteria to 
request consideration for deferred action, involving a case-by-case 
determination by DHS not to pursue an individual's removal from the 
United States for an initial two-year period as a matter of 
prosecutorial discretion. DACA recipients can live and go to school 
in the United States and may be eligible to obtain work 
authorization while their deferred action remains in effect. For 
more information, see https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-dacawww.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-dacawww.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-dacawww.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-of-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca.
    \16\ The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign 
country for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) due to conditions in 
the country that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from 
returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is 
unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. United 
States Citizenship and Immigration Services may grant TPS to 
eligible nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries), who 
are already in the United States. During a designated period, 
individuals who are TPS beneficiaries are not removable from the 
United States and can obtain work authorization. For more 
information, see https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-statuswww.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-statuswww.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-statuswww.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status.
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    Example G: P3 waivers can make childcare more accessible for youth 
who are parents and pursuing a postsecondary degree or credential but 
at risk of leaving without a degree or credential or employment due to 
the lack of childcare. A public college or university that receives 
funds under the Strengthening Institutions program authorized by Title 
III, Part A of the HEA could obtain a waiver of the regulatory 
prohibition against using a portion of these funds for childcare 
services in order to augment the childcare services it provides with 
its Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program grant. Although 
the P3 authority provides broad waiver authority to increase 
flexibility and relieve burden in order to improve the effectiveness of 
Federal funding for disconnected youth, it is important to note that 
there are some limitations on the waivers. In particular, as stated in 
the original statutory authority for P3, the P3 waivers--
     May not involve any requirement related to 
nondiscrimination, wage and labor standards, or the allocation of funds 
to State and sub-State levels;
     Must be consistent with the statutory purposes of the 
Federal program for which such discretionary funds were appropriated;
     May not result in denying or restricting the eligibility 
of any individual for any of the services that (in whole or in part) 
are funded by the agency's programs and Federal discretionary funds 
that are involved in the pilot;
     Based on the best available information, may not otherwise 
adversely affect vulnerable populations that are the recipients of such 
services;
     Must be necessary to achieve the outcomes of the pilot as 
specified in the performance agreement, and no broader in scope than is 
necessary to achieve such outcomes; and
     Must result in either: (a) Realizing efficiencies by 
simplifying reporting burdens or reducing administrative barriers with 
respect to such discretionary funds; or (b) increasing the ability of 
individuals to obtain access to services that are provided by the 
discretionary funds.

FY 2021

    P3 was reauthorized for FY 2021 for programs administered by all of 
the six Agencies, and the Agencies may select up to 10 pilots.

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    An applicant must propose to include FY 2021 funds from at least 
one of the six Agencies.
    If Congress extends the P3 authority in future years, pilots may 
propose to amend the number of Federal programs supporting pilot 
activities using future funding appropriated. However, authority for 
pilots to expand in future years is subject to congressional action as 
well as agency discretion.
    Application Requirements:
    The application requirements for this opportunity are from the 
notice of final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection 
criteria for this program published on April 28, 2016, in the Federal 
Register (81 FR 25339) (P3 NFP) and are as follows:
    (a) Executive summary. The applicant must provide an executive 
summary that briefly describes the proposed pilot, the flexibilities 
being sought, and the interventions or systems changes that would be 
implemented by the applicant and its partners to improve outcomes for 
disconnected youth.
    (b) Flexibility, including waivers:
    Federal requests for flexibility, including waivers. For each 
program to be included in a pilot, the applicant must complete Table 1, 
Requested Flexibility. The applicant must identify two or more 
discretionary Federal programs that will be included in the pilot,\17\ 
at least one of which must be administered (in whole or in part) by a 
State, local, or Tribal government.\18\ In Table 1, the applicant must 
identify one or more program requirements that would inhibit 
implementation of the pilot and request that the requirement(s) be 
waived in whole or in part. Examples of potential waiver requests and 
other requests for flexibility include, but are not limited to, 
blending of funds and changes to align eligibility requirements, 
allowable uses of funds, and performance reporting.
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    \17\ Applicants are encouraged to consult the list of examples 
of programs that are potentially eligible for inclusion in pilots at 
https://youth.gov/youth-topics/reconnecting-youth/performance-partnership-pilots.
    \18\ Local governments that are requesting waivers of 
requirements in State-administered programs are strongly encouraged 
to consult with the State agencies that administer the programs in 
preparing their applications.

                                                             Table 1--Requested Flexibility
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                                                            Program requirements
           Program name                 Federal Agency     to be waived in whole       Statutory or         Name of program      Blending funds?  (yes/
                                                                 or in part        regulatory citation          grantee                    no)
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 Note: Please note in ``Name of Program Grantee'' if the grantee is a State, local, or Tribal government, or nongovernmental entity.

    Program Requirements:
    The program requirement for this opportunity is from the P3 NFP.
    Performance Agreement. Each P3 pilot, along with other non-Federal 
government entities involved in the partnership, must enter into a 
performance agreement that will include, at a minimum, the following 
(as required by section 526(c)(2) of Division H of the 2014 Act):
    (a) The length of the agreement;
    (b) The Federal programs and federally funded services that are 
involved in the pilot;
    (c) The Federal discretionary funds that are being used in the 
pilot;
    (d) The non[hyphen]Federal funds that are involved in the pilot, by 
source (which may include private funds as well as governmental funds) 
and by amount;
    (e) The State, local, or Tribal programs that are involved in the 
pilot;
    (f) The populations to be served by the pilot;
    (g) The cost-effective Federal oversight procedures that will be 
used for the purpose of maintaining the necessary level of 
accountability for the use of the Federal discretionary funds;
    (h) The cost-effective State, local, or Tribal oversight procedures 
that will be used for the purpose of maintaining the necessary level of 
accountability for the use of the Federal discretionary funds;
    (i) The outcome (or outcomes) that the pilot is designed to 
achieve;
    (j) The appropriate, reliable, and objective outcome measurement 
methodology that will be used to determine whether the pilot is 
achieving, and has achieved, specified outcomes;
    (k) The statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements 
related to Federal mandatory programs that are barriers to achieving 
improved outcomes of the pilot; and
    (l) Criteria for determining when a pilot is not achieving the 
specified outcomes that it is designed to achieve and subsequent steps, 
including:
    (1) The consequences that will result; and
    (2) The corrective actions that will be taken in order to increase 
the likelihood that the pilot will achieve such specified outcomes.
    Definitions: The following definitions are from the P3 NFP.
    Blended funding is a funding and resource allocation strategy that 
uses multiple existing funding streams to support a single initiative 
or strategy. Blended funding merges two or more funding streams, or 
portions of multiple funding streams, to produce greater efficiency 
and/or effectiveness. Funds from each individual stream lose their 
award-specific identity, and the blended funds together become subject 
to a single set of reporting and other requirements, consistent with 
the underlying purposes of the programs for which the funds were 
appropriated.
    An interim indicator is a marker of achievement that demonstrates 
progress toward an outcome and is measured at least annually.
    Outcomes are the intended results of a program or intervention. 
They are what applicants expect their projects to achieve. An outcome 
can be measured at the participant level (for example, changes in 
employment retention or earnings of disconnected youth) or at the 
system level (for example, improved efficiency in program operations or 
administration).
    A waiver provides flexibility in the form of relief, in whole or in 
part, from specific statutory, regulatory, or administrative 
requirements that have hindered the ability of a State, locality, or 
Tribe to organize its programs and systems or provide services in ways 
that best meet the needs of its target populations. Under P3, waivers 
provide flexibility in exchange for a pilot's commitment to improve 
programmatic outcomes for disconnected youth consistent with underlying 
statutory authorities and purposes.

    Program Authority:  Section 524 of Title III, Division H of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260).

    Note: Projects will be awarded and must be operated in a manner 
consistent with the nondiscrimination

[[Page 33254]]

requirements contained in Federal civil rights laws.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 86, 97, 
98, and 99, and such other regulations as the Agencies may apply based 
on the programs included in a particular pilot. (b) The Office of 
Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide 
Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted 
and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) 
The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 
Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and 
amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. (d) The P3 
NFP.
    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

II. Performance Pilot Designation Information

    Type of Award: Flexibility.
    Estimated Available Funds: None.
    Estimated Number of Designations: 10 pilots.
    Project Period: FY 2021 pilots may operate for as long as FY 2021 
appropriated funds remain available to pilots to obligate to support 
project activities, but not past September 30, 2025.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: The lead applicant must be a State, local, 
or Tribal government entity, represented by a chief executive, such as 
a governor, mayor, or other elected leader, or the head of a State, 
local, or Tribal agency.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Application Submission Instructions: Applicants must submit 
completed applications to [email protected] unless electronic 
submission is not possible. Where electronic submission is not possible 
(e.g., you do not have access to the internet), you must provide a 
written statement that you intend to submit a paper application. Send 
this written statement no later than two weeks before the application 
deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the 14th calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday). If you mail your written statement 
to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before 
the application deadline date. Please send this statement to the person 
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. 
If you submit a paper application, you must mail the original and two 
copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, 
to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of 
Education, Application Control Center, LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-4260. You must show proof of 
mailing consisting of one of the following: (1) A legibly dated U.S. 
Postal Service postmark. (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of 
mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service. (3) A dated shipping label, 
invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier. (4) Any other proof of 
mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 
Education. If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal 
Service, we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing: 
(1) A private metered postmark. (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by 
the U.S. Postal Service.
    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.
    We will not consider applications postmarked after the application 
deadline date.
    2. Submission of Proprietary Information: Given the types of 
projects that may be proposed in applications for the P3 opportunity, 
your application may include business information that you consider 
proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11 we define ``business information'' and 
describe the process we use in determining whether any of that 
information is proprietary and, thus, protected from disclosure under 
Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as 
amended).
    Because we plan to make successful applications available to the 
public, including performance agreements, and may make all applications 
available, you may wish to request confidentiality of business 
information.
    Consistent with Executive Order 12600, please designate in your 
application any information that you believe is exempt from disclosure 
under Exemption 4. In the appropriate appendix section of your 
application, please list the page number or numbers on which we can 
find this information. For additional information please see 34 CFR 
5.11(c).
    3. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive 
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    4. Recommended Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, 
the applicant, provide the information specified in the application 
requirements and address the selection criteria that reviewers use to 
evaluate your application. We recommend that you (1) limit the 
application narrative to no more than five pages and (2) use the 
following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5 x 11, on one side 
only, with 1 margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions.
     Use a font that is either 12 point or larger.
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial.
    5. Requests for Technical Assistance: For interested eligible 
entities, the Agencies are offering technical assistance over the next 
several months that will help prospective applicants to identify 
Federal impediments to effective and integrated service delivery for 
disconnected youth and flexibilities that can be removed under P3 and 
to develop an application submission for a P3 pilot. The Agencies want 
to engage with as many eligible entities as possible and will accept 
technical assistance requests on a rolling basis until July 26, 2021. 
If interest in technical assistance exceeds the Agencies' capacity to 
provide it, the Agencies will give first priority to assisting eligible 
entities that intend to serve communities that have experienced civil 
unrest, because the statutory authority for FY 2021 directs the 
Agencies to include such communities among the designated pilots.\19\ 
Second priority will be given to requests for technical assistance from 
applicants that propose to serve the highest numbers of disconnected 
youth. To request technical assistance, please email 
[email protected] with the subject line ``Request for Technical 
Assistance,'' and include the prospective applicant's name, a contact 
person's name and email address, and the names of the Federal programs 
that the prospective applicant is interested in including in a P3 
pilot. Applicants that do not request technical assistance

[[Page 33255]]

may still apply for designation as a pilot; applicants that do request 
technical assistance are not bound to apply or bound by the information 
provided in their initial request for technical assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ Section 524(a), Title III, Division H, Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications under this 
opportunity must be submitted electronically unless electronic 
submission is not possible.
    Please note the following:
     The Department is not publishing an application package 
for this program. To submit an application, provide all of the 
information specified in the application requirements. Additionally, 
complete and submit Standard Form 424B, Assurances for Non-Construction 
Programs (available at www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html) with your application.
     The Department must receive your application by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time on August 23, 2021. We will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was received after the 
application deadline date.
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Review and Selection Process: The Department will screen 
applications that are submitted in accordance with the requirements in 
this notice and will determine which applications are eligible to be 
read based on whether they have met the eligibility and application 
requirements.
    The Secretary of Education (Secretary) will also consider 
compliance with assurances, including those applicable to Federal civil 
rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities 
receiving Federal financial assistance (such as, for ED programs, 34 
CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
    2. Review of Requests for Flexibility, Including Blending of Funds 
and Other Waivers: Representatives of the Agencies that administer 
programs under which flexibility in Federal requirements is sought will 
evaluate whether the flexibility, including blending of funds and other 
waivers, requested by applicants meets the statutory requirements for 
P3 and is otherwise appropriate. For example, if an applicant is 
seeking flexibility under programs administered by HHS and DOL, its 
requests for flexibility will be reviewed by HHS and DOL officials. 
Applicants may be asked to participate in telephone calls at this point 
in the process in order to clarify requests for flexibility and other 
aspects of their proposals.
    3. Selecting Finalists: Agency officials may recommend projects for 
selection by the Secretary. In consultation with the other Agencies, 
the Secretary will select up to 10 finalists after considering the 
recommendations of the Agencies that administer the programs for which 
the applicants are seeking flexibility, and other information, 
including an applicant's performance and use of funds and compliance 
history under a previous award under any agency program. In selecting 
pilots, the Secretary will first give priority to applicants that will 
serve communities that have experienced civil unrest, to address the 
statutory requirement that designated pilots include communities that 
have experienced civil unrest, and will then select those applications 
that will serve the highest numbers of disconnected youth.
    For each finalist, ED and any other Agencies implicated in the 
pilot will negotiate the performance agreement. If a performance 
agreement cannot be finalized for an applicant, an alternative 
applicant may be selected as a finalist instead. The recommended 
projects will be considered finalists until performance agreements are 
signed by all parties, and pilot designation will be awarded only after 
finalization and approval of each finalist's performance agreement.

VI. Designation Administration Information

    1. Designation Notices: If your application is successful, we 
notify your U.S. Representative(s) and U.S. Senators and send you a 
letter notification of your selection as a pilot. We may notify you 
informally, also.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected as a pilot, we 
will notify you.
    2. Performance Measures: The performance agreement for each pilot 
will include outcome measures, interim indicators, and targets.

VII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. 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 
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.

    Dated: June 21, 2021.
Amy Loyd,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-13382 Filed 6-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P