Department of Education January 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) is adopting as a final requirement, without change, the interim final requirement for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program that extended to January 31, 2012, the deadline by which States must collect and publicly report data and other information on various SFSF indicators and descriptors.

The Secretary announces the 2012-2013 award year deadline dates for the submission of requests and documents from postsecondary institutions for the Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs (collectively, the ``campus-based programs'').

The Secretary of Education (Secretary) invites institutions of higher education (IHEs), non-profit organizations, States, systems of higher education, adult education providers, researchers, and institutional faculty and staff, or consortia of such entities, to provide the Department of Education (Department) with information about promising and practical strategies, practices, programs, and activities (promising and practical strategies) that have improved rates of postsecondary success, transfer, and graduation. The Department believes this information will be of interest to others in situations similar to those described in the submissions, and useful during future deliberations, possibly including discussions concerning improvements to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), and other legislative proposals to the Congress. We are most interested in obtaining information about strategies that emphasize the quality of what students learn and timely or accelerated attainment of postsecondary degrees or certificates, including industry-recognized credentials that lead to improved learning and employment outcomes. Information provided in response to this RFI will be posted on the Department's postsecondary completion Web site (Postsecondary Completion Web site) in a form that will allow information about promising and practical strategies to be shared, commented on, and discussed by interested parties, including employees of IHEs, State officials, students, and members of the general public.

The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13).

The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13).

The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13).

The Department of Education (Department) gives notice that on August 29, 2011, an arbitration panel rendered a decision in the matter of the Oregon Commission for the Blind v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Case no. R-S/09-2. This panel was convened by the Department under the Randolph-Sheppard Act (Act) after the Department received a complaint filed by the Oregon Commission for the Blind.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), the Department of Education (Department) publishes this notice of a new system of records entitled ``Migrant Education Bypass Program Student Database (MEBPSD)'' (18-14-06). The Secretary has awarded a contract to the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU) to identify, recruit, and serve migratory children in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and West Virginia (collectively, the ``target States''), three states that no longer choose to receive Migrant Education Program (MEP) funding to provide educational programs to migratory children. The MEBPSD consists of records that the contractor needs to collect on eligible migrant students in order to carry out migrant education activities that the target States no longer provide.

The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education (Assistant Secretary) proposes priorities, requirements, and selection criteria under the Comprehensive Centers program. The Assistant Secretary may use these priorities, requirements, and selection criteria for competitions in fiscal year (FY or fiscal year) 2012 and later years. We intend to use the priorities, requirements, and selection criteria to provide Federal financial assistance to eligible applicants seeking to provide technical assistance to help State educational agencies (SEAs) build their capacity to implement State- level initiatives and to support district- and school-level initiatives that improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, and improve the quality of instruction.

The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L.104-13).

On January 5, 2012, the Office for Civil Rights published in the Federal Register (FR Doc. 2011-33800 Filed 1-4-12; 8:45 a.m.) a notice of open meeting on January 23, 2012 for the Equity and Excellence Commission. This notice amends the January 5, 2012 notice by providing notice of a closed session from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in which the Commissioners will participate in an Ethics briefing prior to the start of the January 23rd meeting This notice sets forth the revised schedule and proposed agenda of this meeting. The original January 5th notice describes the functions of the Commission. Notice of this meeting is required by section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and is intended to notify the public of their opportunity to attend. This notice is appearing in the Federal Register less than 15 days before the meeting due to a last minute decision to include the Ethics briefing for Commissioners.

The Department of Education (Department) gives notice that on September 18, 2010, an arbitration panel rendered a decision in the matter of John Bell, et al. v. New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Case no. R-S/07-14.

The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13).

The Secretary announces dates for the submission by State educational agencies (SEAs) of expenditure and revenue data and average daily attendance statistics on ED Form 2447 (the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS)) for FY 2011. The Secretary sets these dates to ensure that data are available to serve as the basis for timely distribution of Federal funds. The U.S. Census Bureau is the data collection agent for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The data will be published by NCES and will be used by the Secretary in the calculation of allocations for FY 2013 appropriated funds.

The Department of Education (Department) gives notice that on August 29, 2011, an arbitration panel rendered a decision in the matter of Judy A. Davis-Perry v. Missouri Department of Social Services Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, Case no. R-S/10-1. The Department convened this panel after receiving a complaint filed by the Complainant, Judy A. Davis-Perry.

On September 20, 2011, we published in the Federal Register (76 FR 58252) a notice inviting applications for the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems FY 2012 competition. That notice established a December 15, 2012, deadline date for eligible applicants to apply for funding under this program. As a result of the notice published on September 20, 2011, 31 eligible entities submitted applications. In order to ensure fairness and afford as many eligible applicants as possible an opportunity to be considered for funding under this program, we are reopening the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems FY 2012 competition to eligible applicants that were not able to submit applications by the original deadline date. Thus, we will consider as received timely, all of the applications we received through Grants.gov by December 15, 2011 (referred to as ``previously submitted applications'' in this notice), and will consider as timely any additional applications or revisions to any previously submitted application submitted by the new deadline date established in this notice. All information in the September 20, 2011 notice remains the same for new applications and revisions to previously submitted applications submitted in response to this reopening notice, except for the following updates to the Dates section and section V. Submission of Applications.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of an up-coming meeting of the Equity and Excellence Commission (Commission). The notice also describes the functions of the Commission. Notice of this meeting is required by section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and is intended to notify the public of their opportunity to attend.