Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period with Funding for Rehabilitation Long-Term Training Grants, 67953-67955 [2023-21853]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67953-67955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21853]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter III

[ED-2023-OSERS-0175]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period with Funding 
for Rehabilitation Long-Term Training Grants

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 
(OSERS), Department of Education.

ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of project period with funding.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally 
prohibit project periods exceeding five years and project period 
extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The 
proposed waiver and extension would enable 51 projects under Assistance 
Listing Numbers (ALN) 84.129B, 84.129H, 84.129P, and 84.129Q to receive 
funding for an additional period, not to exceed September 30, 2025.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 2, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at www.regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation 
or cannot otherwise submit your comments via www.regulations.gov, 
please contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments submitted 
after the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate 
copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition, please 
include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under ``FAQ.''
    Privacy Note: OSERS's policy is generally to make 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: Karen Holliday Young, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, room 4A111, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: 202-245-7318. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
this proposed waiver and extension. To ensure that your comments have 
maximum effect in developing the notice of final waiver and extension, 
we urge you to identify clearly the specific grantee or grantees 
(listed in the table under the Background section) that each comment 
addresses.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094 and their 
overall requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result 
from these proposed waivers and extensions. Please let us know of any 
further ways we could reduce potential costs or increase potential 
benefits while preserving the effective and efficient administration of 
the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect public 
comments about this proposed waiver and extension of the project period 
by accessing Regulations.gov.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this proposed waiver and extension. If you 
want to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Background:
    On July 5, 2019, the Department of Education (Department) published 
in the Federal Register (84 FR 32144) a notice inviting applications in 
four specialty areas of the Rehabilitation Long-Term Training program. 
Applications specifically were sought under Assistance Listing Number 
(ALN) 84.129B (Rehabilitation Counseling), 84.129H (Rehabilitation of 
Individuals Who Are Mentally Ill), 84.129P (Rehabilitation of 
Individuals Who Are Blind or Have Vision Impairments), and 84.129Q 
(Rehabilitation of Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing). In the 
notice inviting applications, the Rehabilitation Services 
Administration included two absolute priorities and one invitational 
priority. The first absolute priority addressed programs leading to a 
master's degree in rehabilitation counseling. The goal of this priority 
is to increase the skills of vocational rehabilitation counseling 
scholars so that upon successful completion they are prepared to 
effectively meet the needs and demands of consumers with disabilities 
and employers. The second absolute priority addressed programs leading 
to a master's degree or certificate in one of three specialty areas: 
(1) Rehabilitation of Individuals Who Are Mentally Ill; (2) Specialized 
Personnel for Rehabilitation of Individuals Who Are Blind or Have 
Vision Impairments; and (3) Rehabilitation of Individuals Who Are Deaf 
or Hard of Hearing. The goal of this priority is to increase the skills 
of scholars in these rehabilitation specialty areas so that upon 
successful completion of their master's degree or certificate programs 
they are prepared to effectively meet the needs and demands of 
consumers with disabilities. The invitational priority noted the 
Department's interest in applications that demonstrate that the 
training to VR counselors includes information related to providing VR 
services to individuals with disabilities pursuing self-employment, 
business ownership, and telecommuting. The funds were awarded to 
colleges and universities that in turn award scholarships to students 
enrolled in rehabilitation training programs.
    A table listing the FY 2019 grantees follows along with their 
geographical location.

[[Page 67954]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Grantee name
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    FY 2019 Awards under ANL 84.129B
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H129B190001..........................  South Dakota State University,
                                        Brookings, SD.
H129B190003..........................  The Board of Regents of the
                                        University of Wisconsin System,
                                        Madison, WI.
H129B190004..........................  Springfield College, Springfield,
                                        MA.
H129B190005..........................  Georgia State University Research
                                        Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, GA.
H129B190007..........................  The University of Texas Rio
                                        Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX.
H129B190008..........................  San Diego State University
                                        Foundation, San Diego, CA.
H129B190009..........................  Utah State University, Logan, UT.
H129B190011..........................  The Corporation of Mercer
                                        University, Atlanta, GA.
H129B190012..........................  St. Cloud State University, St.
                                        Cloud, MN.
H129B190013..........................  University of Iowa, Iowa City,
                                        IA.
H129B190014..........................  University of Memphis, Memphis,
                                        TN.
H129B190015..........................  University of Massachusetts
                                        Boston, Boston, MA.
H129B190019..........................  Western Washington University,
                                        Everett, WA.
H129B190021..........................  The Florida International Board
                                        of Trustees, Miami, FL.
H129B190022..........................  Portland State University,
                                        Portland, OR.
H129B190023..........................  University of Hawaii, Honolulu,
                                        HI.
H129B190026..........................  Western Oregon University,
                                        Monmouth, OR.
H129B190028..........................  Virginia Commonwealth University,
                                        Richmond, VA.
H129B190032..........................  Drake University, Des Moines, IA.
H129B190034..........................  Winston Salem State University,
                                        Winston-Salem, NC.
H129B190035..........................  The University of Texas at El
                                        Paso, El Paso, TX.
H129B190036..........................  The Pennsylvania State
                                        University, University Park, PA.
H129B190039..........................  The University of North Carolina
                                        at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
H129B190041..........................  Rutgers, The State University of
                                        New Jersey, RBHS-SHP,
                                        Piscataway, NJ.
H129B190045..........................  University of Puerto Rico-Rio
                                        Piedras, San Juan, PR.
H129B190046..........................  Michigan State University, East
                                        Lansing, MI.
H129B190047..........................  The Research Foundation for SUNY
                                        on behalf of U. at Buffalo,
                                        Buffalo, NY.
H129B190051..........................  University of North Texas,
                                        Denton, TX.
H129B190052..........................  Hofstra University, Hempstead,
                                        NY.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    FY 2019 Awards under ANL 84.129H
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H129H190001..........................  Thomas University, Thomasville,
                                        GA.
H129H190002..........................  Georgia State University Research
                                        Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, GA.
H129H190003..........................  Arizona Board of Regents,
                                        University of Arizona, Tucson,
                                        AZ.
H129H190004..........................  San Diego State University
                                        Foundation, San Diego, CA.
H129H190005..........................  Virginia Commonwealth University,
                                        Richmond, VA.
H129H190006..........................  The George Washington University,
                                        Washington, DC.
H129H190008..........................  The University of North Carolina
                                        at Chapel Hill ,Chapel Hill, NC.
H129H190012..........................  University of Massachusetts,
                                        Boston, MA.
H129H190015..........................  University of Arkansas,
                                        Fayetteville, AR.
H129H190016..........................  San Francisco State University,
                                        San Francisco, CA.
H129H190018..........................  Marquette University, Milwaukee,
                                        WI.
H129H190019..........................  Illinois Institute of Technology,
                                        Chicago, IL.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    FY 2019 Awards under ANL 84.129P
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H129P190002..........................  Louisiana Tech University,
                                        Ruston, LA.
H129P190005..........................  Mississippi State University,
                                        Mississippi State, MS.
H129P190012..........................  Northern Illinois University,
                                        DeKalb, IL.
H129P190009..........................  Salus University, Elkins Park,
                                        PA.
H129P190011..........................  San Francisco State University,
                                        San Francisco, CA.
H129P190004..........................  University of Massachusetts
                                        Boston, Boston, MA.
H129P190001..........................  Western Michigan University,
                                        Kalamazoo, MI.
H129P190007..........................  Western Michigan University,
                                        Kalamazoo, MI.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    FY 2019 Awards under ANL 84.129Q
------------------------------------------------------------------------
H129Q190001..........................  Emporia State University,
                                        Emporia, KS.
H129Q190003..........................  Winston-Salem State University,
                                        Winston-Salem, NC.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Waivers and Extensions:
    The Department proposes to extend these 51 projects to align with 
the 33 ALN 84.129B grant projects funded in FY 2020. Like the FY 2019 
84.129 grant projects, the FY 2020 84.129B projects were funded to 
provide academic training in areas of personnel shortages as identified 
by the Secretary to increase the number of personnel trained in 
providing Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services to individuals with 
disabilities. The FY 2020 84.129B grantees will receive their final 
year of funding in FY 2024 with a September 30, 2025 performance period 
ending date. The Department does not believe that it would be in the 
public interest to run a competition for ALNs 84.129B, 84.129H, 84.129P 
and 84.129Q in FY 2024. Rather, aligning the projects' period of 
performance end dates for all four ALNs would allow the Department to 
reduce the financial and

[[Page 67955]]

administrative burden by conducting a single competition for 84.129B, 
84.129H, 84.129P and 84.129Q grants in FY 2025, with a five-year 
performance period that would run from October 1, 2025, through 
September 30, 2030.
    For this reason, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements 
in 34 CFR 75.250, which prohibit project periods exceeding five years, 
as well as the requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2), which allow 
the extension of a project period only if the extension does not 
involve the obligation of additional Federal funds. This waiver would 
allow the Department to issue a one-year FY 2024 continuation award to 
each of the 51 currently funded FY 2019 84.129B, 84.129H, 84.129P and 
84.129Q projects up to the amount awarded to the projects in FY 2023 
and subject to the ability of the projects to use the funds.
    Any activities carried out during the year of this continuation 
award must be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the scope, 
goals, and objectives of the grantees' applications as approved in the 
FY 2019 competition. The requirements for continuation awards are set 
forth in 34 CFR 75.253.

Intergovernmental Review

    These programs are subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension of 
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The only entities that would be 
affected by the proposed waiver and extension of the project period are 
the 51 grants that were awarded in FY 2019 under ALN 84.129B, 84.129H, 
84,129P, and 84.129Q.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities, because 
the extension of an existing project period imposes minimal compliance 
costs, and the activities required to support the additional year of 
funding would not impose additional regulatory burdens or require 
unnecessary Federal supervision.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This notice of proposed waiver and extension of the project period 
does not contain any information collection requirements.
    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.

Glenna Wright-Gallo,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2023-21853 Filed 9-29-23; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P