[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 170 (Friday, September 1, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45707-45710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21920]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Intent To Repay to the Washington State Board for Vocational 
Education Funds Recovered as a Result of Two Final Audit Determinations

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of intent to award grantback funds.

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SUMMARY: Under section 459 of the General Education Provisions Act 

[[Page 45708]]
(GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1234h, the Secretary of Education (Secretary) intends 
to repay to the Washington State Board for Vocational Education 
(Washington), under a grantback arrangement, an amount equal to 75 
percent of the principal amount of funds recovered by the U.S. 
Department of Education (Department) as a result of the final audit 
determinations in this matter. The Department's recovery of funds 
followed settlements reached between the parties under which Washington 
refunded $49,500 (ACN: 10-03372G) and $50,000 (ACN: 10-13343G), 
equalling a total of $99,500 in principal, to the Department in full 
resolution of the Department's final audit determinations for fiscal 
years (FYs) 1989 and 1990. This notice describes Washington's plan for 
the use of the repaid funds and the terms and conditions under which 
the Secretary intends to make those funds available. This notice 
invites comments on the proposed grantback.

DATES: All comments must be received on or before October 2, 1995.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be addressed to Dr. Marcel R. 
DuVall, Chief, Finance Branch, Division of Vocational-Technical 
Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW., (Mary E. Switzer Building, room 
4320, MS-7324), Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marcel R. DuVall, (202) 205-9502. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8239 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

A. Background

    Under settlement agreements between the Department and Washington, 
the Department recovered $49,500 (ACN: 10-03372G) and $50,000 (ACN: 10-
13343G) from Washington in full resolution of all claims arising from 
audits of Washington's State Division of Vocational Education, covering 
FYs 1989 and 1990, respectively.
    The Department's original claims of $192,354 (ACN: 10-03372G (FY 
1989)) and $135,248 (ACN: 10-13343G (FY 1990)) were contained in final 
letters of determination issued by the Assistant Secretary on March 29, 
1991, and March 31, 1993, respectively. These claims arose from 
findings related to Washington's administration of its vocational 
education program under the provisions of the Carl D. Perkins 
Vocational Education Act. 20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq. (1988)(Perkins I).
    In the March 29, 1991 letter for FY 1989, the Assistant Secretary 
determined that Washington violated the Federal regulations governing 
funds set aside for disabled and disadvantaged students awarded under 
Title II, Part A, of Perkins I. Specifically, Washington used funds to 
pay for salaries and instructional programs that served students who 
were not enrolled in vocational education programs, thus violating 
provisions implemented at 34 CFR 401.52(a) and 401.53(a)(1) and 
401.58(a)(1)(1989). In addition, Washington violated the requirement, 
implemented at 34 CFR 401.52(a) and 401.53(a)(1), that funds allocated 
for disabled and disadvantaged individuals be used only for the excess 
costs incurred as a result of serving those populations. The Assistant 
Secretary further determined that Washington violated the requirement 
at 20 U.S.C. 2323(b)(16)(1988) that Perkins I funds be used to 
supplement and not supplant State and local funds.
    In the March 31, 1993 letter, the Assistant Secretary determined 
that Washington awarded funds reserved for disabled and disadvantaged 
under Title II, Part A, of Perkins I to 11 community colleges based on 
applications proposing services that were not allowable under Perkins 
I. The Assistant Secretary determined that the colleges used these 
funds to pay for salaries and instructional programs that either served 
disadvantaged and disabled individuals who were not enrolled in 
vocational education programs or that served students who were not 
members of those special populations. 34 CFR 401.52(a) and 
401.53(a)(1)(1990).
    The settlement negotiations resulting from Washington's appeal of 
the Assistant Secretary's March 29, 1991 and March 31, 1993 
determinations culminated in settlement agreements. The settlement 
agreement for the March 29, 1991 determination (ACN: 10-03372G) was 
executed on June 5, 1992. The Department received full payment of 
$49,500 for this determination in August 1992. The settlement agreement 
for the March 31, 1993 determination (ACN: 10-13343G) was executed on 
May 10, 1995. The Department received full payment of $50,000 for this 
determination on August 8, 1994.

B. Authority for Awarding a Grantback

    Section 459(a) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1234(h), provides that 
whenever the Secretary has recovered funds following a final audit 
determination with respect to any applicable program, the Secretary may 
consider those funds to be additional funds available for the program 
and may arrange to repay to the State or local educational agency 
affected by that determination an amount not to exceed 75 percent of 
the recovered funds. The Secretary may enter into this grantback 
arrangement if the Secretary determines that--
    (1) The practices or procedures of the recipient that resulted in 
the violation of law have been corrected, and that the recipient is in 
all other respects in compliance with the requirements of that program;
    (2) The recipient has submitted to the Secretary a plan for the use 
of those funds pursuant to the requirements of that program and, to the 
extent possible, for the benefit of the population that was affected by 
the failure to comply or by the misuse of funds that resulted in the 
recovery; and
    (3) The use of the funds in accordance with that plan would serve 
to achieve the purposes of the program under which the funds were 
originally paid.

C. Plan for Use of Funds Awarded Under a Grantback Arrangement

    Pursuant to section 459(a)(2) of GEPA, Washington has applied for a 
grantback of $74,625, or 75 percent of the $99,500 total amount repaid 
to the Department under the FY 1989 and FY 1990 settlement agreements, 
and has submitted a plan for use of the proposed grantback funds, 
consistent with the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology 
Education Act of 1990 (Perkins II), which is currently in effect. 
Washington plans to use the FY 1989 funds to purchase equipment to 
assist disabled and disadvantaged populations enrolled in remedial 
vocational programs. Utilizing the FY 1990 funds, Washington plans to 
hire personnel and to purchase equipment to develop a communication 
system for the State and postsecondary institutions involved in 
vocational-technical programs.
    Specifically, Washington plans to utilize the requested FY 1989 
grantback funds, totaling $37,125, to--
    (1) Purchase updated adaptive equipment to assist disabled and 
disadvantaged students enrolled in remedial and vocational training 
programs at South Seattle Community College, so that these students can 
fully participate in vocational programs. This equipment will include 
four G.E. Fastrac speed listening cassette recorders and adapters, two 
Sharp Talking Clock calculators, three adjustable computer tables for 
wheelchair users, four Language Masters, one personal FM Loop system, 

[[Page 45709]]
and one portable disk drive for Type 'n Speak equipment ($3,958);
    (2) Purchase adaptive equipment to assist vocational education 
students enrolled at Spokane Community College including: four high-
back stools designed to accommodate students with physical disabilities 
(including back injuries), six portable spell checkers for the learning 
disabled, and one computer workstation specially designed for the 
disabled ($9,119);
    (3) Purchase equipment to assist vocational education students with 
disabilities at Shoreline Community College, including: five micro tape 
recorders, one computer station that utilizes speech recognition for 
text input, one Dragon Dictate that also uses speech recognition input, 
and one Laserjet 4M+ printer to permit special population students to 
print from laptop computers ($6,330);
    (4) Purchase and enhance adaptive equipment for disabled students 
enrolled in vocational education programs at Everett Community College, 
including: four wrist rests, two ergonomic keyboards, two FM Comtrex 
systems, four 4-track recorders, two 2MG memory computer boards, one 
4MG memory computer board, and four ergonomic chairs ($6,715);
    (5) Purchase a laptop computer and related software for hearing-
impaired vocational education students at Green River Community College 
($3,291);
    (6) Purchase adaptive equipment for disabled students enrolled in 
vocational education at Wenatchee Valley Community College, including: 
one Vista VGA system to provide computer magnification capability for 
the visually impaired, and one door to provide disabled access into the 
Student Services facility ($7,712).
    Washington also plans to utilize the requested FY 1990 grantback 
funds, totaling $37,500, to--
    (1) Purchase one Hewlett Packard NetServer and related equipment to 
provide an effective communication system between the State Board and 
local community and technical colleges. Washington plans to establish 
an accurate and consistent method of exchange for data related to 
Perkins II, its rules and regulations, especially as it relates to 
disadvantaged and disabled populations. The information would be 
available for special population coordinators, counselors, teachers and 
local administrators. The system would share information about ``best 
practices'', providing examples of exemplary utilization of Perkins 
funds for disabled and disadvantaged students. It would also provide E-
mail access between the State and the local college community, 
permitting a question and answer dialog to be established ($10,000);
    (2) Purchase hardware and software needed to support the user 
network and to provide applicable data. The system information would 
serve as a clearinghouse resource for disadvantaged and disabled 
populations, providing data related to career guidance and counseling, 
job placement, and employment assistance. The system would also be 
utilized to contact and aid employers interested in hiring disabled or 
disadvantaged vocational education students. It would provide 
assistance and information about job restructuring and adaptive 
modifications needed to accommodate the employment of special needs 
students ($7,500);
    (3) Retain the services, by contract, of a computer project 
technician, who would develop and implement the communication system 
($18,000); and
    (4) Conduct a pilot testing and dissemination program of the 
completed computer network system ($2,000).
    Washington plans to use the FY 1989 grantback funds to enhance 
access to vocational education programs for disabled and disadvantaged 
students. As is indicated in Washington's grantback plan, the 
additional equipment Washington plans to purchase will serve to advance 
the quality of programs delivered by, and coordinated through, the 
postsecondary State system, resulting in Statewide benefit to 
vocational education, and maximizing the impact of the grantback funds.
    Washington plans to use the FY 1990 grantback funds to enable an 
accurate and efficient exchange of information about vocational 
education, especially as it relates to disadvantaged and disabled 
populations, to local administrators, teachers, and students within the 
community and technical college system. It will further allow 
disadvantaged and disabled vocational students to access quickly and 
easily a broad range of information relevant to their particular needs.

D. The Secretary's Determination

    The Secretary has carefully reviewed the plan submitted by 
Washington and other relevant documentation. Based upon that review, 
the Secretary has determined that the conditions under section 459 of 
GEPA have been met.
    These determinations are based upon the best information available 
to the Secretary at the present time. If this information is not 
accurate or complete, the Secretary is not precluded from taking 
appropriate administrative action at a later date. In finding that the 
conditions of section 459 of GEPA have been met, the Secretary makes no 
determination concerning any pending audit recommendations or final 
audit determinations.

E. Notice of the Secretary's Intent To Enter into a Grantback 
Arrangement

    Section 459(d) of GEPA requires that, at least 30 days before 
entering into an arrangement to award funds under a grantback, the 
Secretary must publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to do 
so, and the terms and conditions under which the payment will be made.
    In accordance with section 459(d) of GEPA, notice is hereby given 
that the Secretary intends to make funds available to the Washington 
State Division of Vocational Education under a grantback arrangement. 
The grantback award would be in the amount of $74,625, which is 75 
percent--the maximum percentage authorized by the statue--of the 
principal recovered to date by the Department as a result of the final 
audit determinations and the settlements in this matter.

F. Terms and Conditions Under Which Payments Under a Grantback 
Arrangement Would Be Made

    Washington agrees to comply with the following terms and conditions 
under which payment under a grantback arrangement would be made:
    (1) Washington will expend the funds awarded under the grantback in 
accordance with--
    (a) All applicable statutory and regulatory requirements;
    (b) The plan that was submitted and any amendments in that plan 
that are approved in advance of the grantback by the Secretary; and
    (c) The budget that was submitted with the plan and any amendments 
to the budget that are approved in advance of the grantback by the 
Secretary.
    (2) All funds received under the grantback arrangement must be 
obligated by September 30, 1995 for ACN: 10-03372G and September 30, 
1998 for ACN: 10-13343G, in accordance with section 459(c) of GEPA and 
Washington's plan.
    (3) Washington will, no later than January 1, 1996, submit a report 
to the Secretary which--
    (a) Indicates that the funds awarded under the grantback have been 
spent in accordance with the proposed plan and approved budget; and
    (b) Describes the results and effectiveness of the project for 
which the funds were spent.
    (4) Separate accounting records must be maintained documenting the 

[[Page 45710]]
    expenditures of funds awarded under the grantback arrangement.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.048, Basic State 
Grants for Vocational Education).

    Dated: August 24, 1995.
Patricia W. McNeil,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 95-21920 Filed 8-31-95; 8:45 am]
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