FR Doc 2010-18520
[Federal Register: July 28, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 144)]
[Notices]
[Page 44233-44234]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28jy10-51]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.326J]
Notice of Proposed Extension of Project Period and Waiver for the
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center
AGENCY: Office of Special Education Programs, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed extension of project period and waiver for
the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (CFDA No.
84.326J).
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), in 34
CFR 75.250 and 75.261(a) and (c), respectively, that generally prohibit
project periods exceeding five years and extensions of project periods
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. This extension of
project period and waiver would enable the currently funded National
Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center to receive funding
from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before August 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed extension of
project period and waiver to Michael Slade, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4083, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-7527.
If you prefer to send your comments by e-mail, use the following
address: michael.slade@ed.gov. You must include the phrase ``proposed
extension of project period and waiver'' in the subject line of your
message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Slade at the address listed in
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Telephone: (202) 245-7527. If you
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal
Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in this section.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed extension
of project period and waiver.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this proposed extension of project period and waiver in
Room 4083, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC,
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record:
On request, we will supply 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 extension of project period and waiver. If you
want to schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or
auxiliary aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
On March 8, 2005, the Department published a notice in the Federal
Register (70 FR 11214), inviting applications for new awards for fiscal
year (FY) 2005 under the Technical Assistance and Dissemination to
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities (TA&D)
program, authorized under section 663 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to support a Secondary Transition
Technical Assistance Center. Based on that notice, the Department made
one award for a period of 60 months to the University of North Carolina
at Charlotte to carry out the National Secondary Transition Technical
Assistance Center (NSTTAC). Currently, the Office of Special Education
Programs (OSEP) funds NSTTAC to support the improvement of transition
planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities by
disseminating information and providing technical assistance (TA) on
evidence-based practices with an emphasis on building and sustaining
State-level infrastructures of support and building district-level
demonstrations of effective transition methods. NSTTAC has demonstrated
significant progress in disseminating information on evidence-based
practices and providing TA to States and local educational agencies
(LEAs) to advance implementation of effective transition planning and
services.
NSTTAC's current project period is scheduled to end on December 31,
2010. We do not believe it would be in the public interest to hold new
competitions under the TA&D program until the Department has considered
changes being made to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
during the process of reauthorizing that Act and the Department has
developed a coordinated strategy for the provision of technical
assistance that is designed to help States, LEAs, and schools
effectively implement key provisions of the ESEA and IDEA and improve
educational results for all students. We also have concluded that it
would be contrary to the public interest to have a lapse in the
provision of technical assistance provided under the TA&D program
pending the reauthorization of the ESEA. For these reasons, the
Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, which
prohibit project periods exceeding five years, and the requirements in
34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c), which limit the extension of a project period
if the extension involves the obligation of additional Federal funds,
and issue a continuation award in the amount of $1,100,000 to the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (H326J050004) for an
additional twelve-month period.
Waiving these regulations and issuing this continuation award would
ensure that continued technical assistance is available to assist
States and LEAs with effective transition planning and services, as the
Department works on reauthorization of the ESEA and designs TA&D
competitions that are coordinated
[[Page 44234]]
and aligned with the Department's technical assistance priorities.
During the next fiscal year, NSTTAC would continue, update, and
expand its work to (1) identify evidence-based practices that provide a
foundation for States to improve transition planning and services that
enhance post-school outcomes; (2) disseminate information to State
personnel, practitioners, researchers, parents, and students regarding
effective transition planning and services that improve post-school
outcomes; (3) build the capacity of States and LEAs to implement
effective transition planning and services that improve post-school
outcomes; and (4) assist State educational agencies with collecting
data on IDEA Part B State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report
Indicator 13, which assesses States' implementation of comprehensive
transition planning and services, and using these data to guide
improvement activities.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that the proposed extension of project
period and waiver would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The only entity that would be
affected is NSTTAC.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed extension of project period and waiver does not
contain any information collection requirements.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to the requirements of 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.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister. To
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
this site.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: July 22, 2010.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2010-18520 Filed 7-27-10; 8:45 am]
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