Department of Education April 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announces certain final priorities for the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program administered by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Specifically, this notice announces three prioritiesa priority for General DRRP Requirements, a priority for the National Data and Statistical Center for the SCI Model Systems and a priority for the National Data and Statistical Center for the TBI Model Systems. The Assistant Secretary may use these priorities for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and later years. We take this action to focus research attention on areas of national need. We intend that these priorities will improve rehabilitation services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations in 34 CFR part 76 governing State reporting requirements. States are required to submit their performance reports, financial reports, and any other required reports, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary, including through electronic submission, if the Secretary has obtained approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The amendments proposed in this notice would provide that: (1) Failure to submit these reports in the manner prescribed by the Secretary constitutes a failure, under section 454 of the General Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 1234c, to comply substantially with a requirement of law applicable to the funds made available under the program for which the reports are submitted; and (2) if the Secretary chooses to require submission of information electronically, the Secretary may establish a transition period during which a State would not be required to submit such information electronically in the format prescribed by the Secretary, if the State meets certain requirements. The Secretary proposes these changes to the regulations in 34 CFR part 76 to highlight that the U.S. Department of Education (Department) may require, through the PRA clearance process, that States report certain information electronically; and to establish that the Department may take administrative action against a State for failure to submit reports in the manner prescribed by the Secretary. The proposed changes will facilitate the use of the Department's electronic EDFacts data management system (EDFacts) (Approved under OMB Control No. 1880-0541) for electronic submission of certain reports and provide the Department with more timely and accessible data for accountability and decision-making. The Department's goal in requiring electronic submission of information is to reduce State reporting burden significantly and to streamline dozens of data collections currently required by the Department.

The Director, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) proposes priorities under the Special Demonstration Programs. The Assistant Secretary may use one or more of these priorities for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2006 and in later years. The purpose of Proposed Priority 1 is to support projects that will develop models of statewide assistive technology (AT) device reutilization systems to meet the AT needs of individuals with disabilities. The purpose of Proposed Priority 2 is to support the establishment of a National Device Reutilization Coordination and Technical Assistance Center (Center) to assist grantees funded under Proposed Priority 1 with the establishment or expansion of their statewide AT device reutilization systems. This Center would disseminate information about promising practices and successful models for AT device reutilization systems, facilitate information exchange among grantees, and address AT device reutilization issues at the national level. While funding for projects under Proposed Priority 1 would be for a three-year period only, this Center would be funded for five years in order to conduct follow-up activities.

The Director, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement proposes a priority under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). The Assistant Deputy Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2007 and in later years. We intend this priority to encourage eligible applicants to focus on expanding their capacity to provide public school choice by using magnet schools to provide public school choice options to parents whose children attend schools that have been identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA).

The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the National Board for Education Sciences. Notice of this meeting is required under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. This document is intended to notify the general public of their opportunity to attend the meeting. Individuals who will need accommodations for a disability (i.e., interpreting services, assistive listening devices, materials in alternative format) should notify Sonia Chessen at (202) 219-2195 by April 21, 2006. We will attempt to meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee availability of the requested accommodation. The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.