[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 236 (Friday, December 9, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30387]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 9, 1994]


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Part IV





Department of Education





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34 CFR Part 75




Direct Grant Programs; Proposed Rule
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 75

RIN 1880-AA61

 
Direct Grant Programs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to amend the Education Department 
General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) to permit the Department to 
consider for funding, under appropriate discretionary grant programs 
administered by the Department, unsolicited grant applications. The 
Secretary takes this action as part of the Department's overall effort 
at re-invention. The authority to consider unsolicited applications 
would allow the Department to respond to truly exceptional proposals of 
national significance that might not conform to the Department's 
announced annual competitions.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 9, 1995.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed regulations should be 
addressed to Sherlyn Taylor, Director, Grants Division, GCS, U.S. 
Department of Education, (Room 3636, ROB-3), 600 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC, 20202-4700. Comments may also be sent through the 
internet to ``Unsolicited--A[email protected].''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory A. Vick, Grants Division, GCS, 
U.S. Department of Education, (Room 3636, ROB-3), 600 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, 20202-4700. Telephone: (202) 708-8199. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary proposes to amend EDGAR to 
make a change in the procedures for selecting applications for new 
grants. The Secretary continues to believe that the vast majority of 
discretionary grant funds should be awarded on the basis of 
competition, and that for some of these competitions the Department 
should establish funding priorities in order to focus limited resources 
on critical issues and problems. However, the Secretary is also 
concerned that the constraints of the Department's grant schedules and 
funding priorities may preclude the Department's consideration of truly 
exceptional proposals representing novel approaches to issues facing 
the nation or other groundbreaking ideas or methods appropriate to 
Department of Education programs.
    Under the proposed amendments to EDGAR, the Department would 
continue to use existing procedures for announcing grant competitions 
and selecting applications for new grants. On what the Secretary 
expects to be rare occasions, the Department would also consider 
unsolicited applications that were not submitted in response to an 
application notice published in the Federal Register. However, the 
Secretary would not consider unsolicited applications under a program 
if the program office had published a notice in the Federal Register 
indicating that unsolicited applications would not be considered for 
that year.
    Any unsolicited applications that met the requirements for existing 
or upcoming competitions of the Department would be considered under 
those competitions. Applications that could have been considered under 
competitions for which deadlines had passed would not be considered for 
funding as unsolicited applications unless the Secretary determined on 
an individual basis that, because of an exceptional circumstance, 
consideration of an application was warranted. Inability to meet a 
deadline for submitting an application under a grant competition, by 
itself, would not be such a circumstance.
    If an unsolicited application could not be considered under a 
competition announced by the Department, the Secretary would determine 
whether there was substantial likelihood that the application was of 
exceptional quality and national significance and met all of the 
requirements of the applicable statutes and codified regulations for a 
Department program. If these criteria were met and funding of the 
application would not have an adverse impact on the funds available for 
other awards planned for the program, the Secretary would assemble a 
panel of experts to review the application. An adverse impact would 
occur if funding an unsolicited application would require the 
Department to cancel a competition or significantly limit the amount of 
funds available for competition. The panel of experts would not include 
employees of the Department and, consistent with law and the 
Department's longstanding practice, no expert could participate on a 
panel if their participation created a conflict of interest or the 
appearance of a conflict of interest. The experts would rate the 
application based on the selection criteria that apply to the program. 
Beyond that, the experts would determine whether the application was of 
such exceptional quality and national significance that it should be 
funded as an unsolicited application. If the experts determined that 
the application met these criteria, the Secretary could select it for 
funding. No unsolicited application could be selected for funding 
unless the panel of experts recommended that it be funded.
    The Secretary believes that the procedures that would be 
established under this NPRM--including review of proposals by an 
independent panel of experts--would ensure that the unsolicited 
application authority would be used only to capitalize on outstanding 
proposals from the field and not to circumvent competitions announced 
by the Department. The Secretary is aware that other Federal agencies 
accept applications without first soliciting those applications through 
a notice or notices in the Federal Register. These agencies also 
subject applications to outside peer review.

Executive Order 12866

1. Assessment of Costs and Benefits

    These proposed regulations have been reviewed in accordance with 
Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order the Secretary has 
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with the proposed regulations are 
those resulting from statutory requirements and those determined by the 
Secretary to be necessary for administering this program effectively 
and efficiently. Burdens specially associated with information 
collection requirements, if any, are identified and explained elsewhere 
in this preamble under the heading Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of these proposed regulations, the Secretary has 
determined that the benefits of the proposed regulations justify the 
costs.
    The Secretary has also determined that this regulatory action does 
not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
    To assist the Department in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866, the Secretary invites comment on 
whether there may be further opportunities to reduce any potential 
costs or increase potential benefits resulting from these proposed 
regulations without impeding the effective and efficient administration 
of the program.

2. Clarity of the Regulations

    Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations 
that are easy to understand.
    The Secretary invites comments on how to make these proposed 
regulations easier to understand, including answers to questions such 
as the following: (1) Are the requirements in the proposed regulations 
clearly stated? (2) Do the regulations contain technical terms or other 
wording that interferes with their clarity? (3) Does the format of the 
regulations (grouping and order of sections, use of headings, 
paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce their clarity? Would the regulations 
be easier to understand if they were divided into more (but shorter) 
sections? (A ``section'' is preceded by the symbol ``Sec. '' and a 
numbered heading; for example, Sec. 75.219 Exceptions to the procedures 
under Sec. 75.217. (4) Is the description of the regulations in the 
``Supplementary Information'' section of this preamble helpful in 
understanding the regulations? How could this description be more 
helpful in making the regulations easier to understand? (5) What else 
could the Department do to make the regulations easier to understand?
    A copy of any comments that concern how the Department could make 
these proposed regulations easier to understand should be sent to 
Stanley M. Cohen, Regulations Quality Officer, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 5100, FB-10, Washington, 
DC 20202-2241.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that these proposed regulations would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    The small entities affected would be those that submitted 
unsolicited applications for grants under discretionary grant programs 
of the Department. The Department does not receive a large number of 
unsolicited applications, and these regulations do not impose any 
unnecessary or overly burdensome requirements.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

    These proposed regulations have been examined under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1980 and have been found to contain no information 
collection requirements.

Invitation to Comment

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments and 
recommendations regarding these proposed regulations.
    All comments submitted in response to these proposed regulations 
will be available for public inspection, during and after the comment 
period, in Room 3636, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 
20202-4700 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 75

    Education Department, Grant programs--education, Grant 
administration, Incorporation by reference.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)

    Dated: November 1, 1994.
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.

    The Secretary proposes to amend part 75 of title 34 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 75--DIRECT GRANT PROGRAMS

    1. The authority citation for part 75 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3(a)(1) and 3474, unless otherwise 
noted.

    2. Section 75.219 is amended by removing the word ``or'' at the end 
of paragraph (a), removing the period at the end of paragraph (b)(3) 
and adding, in its place, ``; or'' and adding a new paragraph (c) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 75.219  Exceptions to the procedures under Sec. 75.217.

* * * * *
    (c) The Secretary receives an unsolicited application that meets 
the requirements of Sec. 75.222.


Sec. 75.222  [Redesignated as Sec. 75.221]

    3. Section 75.222 is redesignated as Sec. 75.221.
    4. A new Sec. 75.222 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 75.222  Procedures the Department uses under Sec. 75.219(c).

    If the Secretary receives an unsolicited application, the Secretary 
may consider the application under the following procedures unless the 
Secretary has published a notice in the Federal Register stating that 
the program that would fund the application would not consider 
unsolicited applications:
    (a)(1) The Secretary determines whether the application could be 
funded under a competition planned or conducted for the fiscal year 
under which funds would be used to fund the application.
    (2)(i) If the application could be funded under a competition 
described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section and the deadline for 
submission of applications has not passed, the Secretary refers the 
application to the appropriate competition for consideration under the 
procedures in Sec. 75.217.
    (ii) If the application could have been funded under a competition 
described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section and the deadline for 
submission of applications has passed, the Secretary may consider the 
application only in exceptional circumstances, as determined by the 
Secretary.
    (iii) If the application could not be funded under a competition 
described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the Secretary considers 
the application under paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section.
    (b) If an application may be considered under paragraphs (a)(2)(ii) 
or (iii) of this section, the Secretary determines if----
    (1) There is a substantial likelihood that the application is of 
exceptional quality and national significance for a program 
administered by ED;
    (2) The application meets the requirements of all applicable 
statutes and codified regulations that apply to the program; and
    (3) Selection of the project will not have an adverse impact on the 
funds available for other awards planned for the program.
    (c) If the Secretary determines that the criteria in paragraph (b) 
of this section have been met, the Secretary assembles a panel of 
experts that does not include any employees of the Department to review 
the application.
    (d) The experts----
    (1) Evaluate the application based on the selection criteria; and
    (2) Determine whether the application is of such exceptional 
quality and national significance that it should be funded as an 
unsolicited application.
    (e) If the application is highly rated and the experts determine 
that the application is of such exceptional quality and national 
significance that it should be funded as an unsolicited application, 
the Secretary may fund the application.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3(a)(1) and 3474)

[FR Doc. 94-30387 Filed 12-8-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P