[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1442-1443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-407]



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Part III





Department of Education





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Rehabilitation Services Administration Recreational Program; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1820-ZA12


Rehabilitation Services Administration Recreational Program

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority for fiscal year (FY) 2001 and later 
years.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education 
and Rehabilitative Services proposes a priority under the Recreational 
Program. The Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions 
in FY 2001 and later years. We take this action to provide individuals 
with disabilities recreational activities and related experiences to 
aid in their employment, mobility, socialization, independence, and 
community integration.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Mary E. 
Chambers, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 
3320, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2649. If you prefer to 
send your comments through the Internet, use the following address:


[email protected]
    You must include the term ``Recreational Program'' in the subject 
line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary E. Chambers. Telephone: (202) 
205-8435 or via Internet:

[email protected]
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation To Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority. 
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific requirements 
of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of reducing 
regulatory burden that might result from this proposed priority. Please 
let us know of any further opportunities we should take to reduce 
potential costs or increase potential benefits while preserving the 
effective and efficient administration of the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed priority in room 3420, Switzer Building, 
330 C Street SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 
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 aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for the proposed priority. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or (202) 
260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339.
    We will announce the final priority in a notice in the Federal 
Register. We will determine the final priority after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to the 
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding 
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking 
requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which the Assistant Secretary chooses to use this proposed priority, 
we invite applications through a notice in the Federal Register.

Priority

Background

    Authority for the Recreational Program is contained in section 305 
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 
775). This proposed priority would support projects that provide 
individuals with disabilities with recreational activities and 
experiences that aid in their employment, mobility, socialization, 
independence, and community integration.

Proposed Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Assistant Secretary proposes to give 
an absolute preference to applications that meet the following 
priority. The Assistant Secretary proposes to fund under this 
competition only applications that meet this absolute priority.
    Projects must provide recreational services to individuals with 
disabilities. Recreational services include, but are not limited to, 
vocational skills development, leisure education, leisure networking, 
leisure resource development, physical education and sports, scouting 
and camping, 4-H activities, music, dancing, handicrafts, art, and 
homemaking. Recreational services do not include the construction of 
facilities for aquatic rehabilitation therapy.
    Projects must provide recreational services to individuals with 
disabilities in settings with peers who are not individuals with 
disabilities.

Statutory Requirements

    All applicants seeking funding under this competition must--
    (a) Describe the manner in which the applicant will address the 
needs of individuals with disabilities from minority backgrounds 
(section 21(c) of the Act);
    (b) Describe the manner in which the findings and results of the 
project to be funded under the grant, particularly information that 
facilitates the replication of the results of that project, will be 
made generally available (section 305(a)(4)(A) of the Act);
    (c) Demonstrate ways in which recreational activities assist in 
maximizing the independence and integration of individuals with 
disabilities into community-based recreational programs (section 
305(a)(1)(C) of the Act);
    (d) Assure that the project will maintain, at a minimum, the same 
level of services over the three-year project period (section 305(a)(5) 
of the Act);
    (e) Assure that the service program funded under the grant will be 
continued after Federal assistance ends (section 305(a)(4)(B) of the 
Act); and
    (f) Provide non-Federal resources (in cash or in-kind) to pay the 
non-Federal share cost of the project in year two at 25 percent of year 
one Federal grant and year three at 50 percent of year one Federal 
grant (section 305(a)(3)(B) of the Act).

National Education Goals

    The eight National Education Goals focus the Nation's education 
reform efforts and provide a framework for improving teaching and 
learning.
    This proposed priority would address the National Education Goal 
that every American will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to 
compete in a global economy

Executive Order 12866

    This notice of proposed priority has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order the Assistant 
Secretary has

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assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with the notice of proposed priority 
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have 
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and 
efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this notice of proposed priority, we have 
determined that the benefits of the proposed priority justify the 
costs.
    We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly 
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of 
their governmental functions.
    Elsewhere in this notice we discuss the potential costs and 
benefits of this proposed priority under the following heading: 
Background.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to 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 may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at either of the preceding sites. If you have questions about 
using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, 
at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

    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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 775.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.128J Recreational 
Program.)

    Dated: December 1, 2000.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 01-407 Filed 1-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U