[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 17072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7590]



[[Page 17071]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part VIII





Department of Education





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Training and Information for Parents of Children with 
Disabilities; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 66 , No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 17072]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Training and Information for Parents of Children with 
Disabilities

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of waiver.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Effective February 28, 2001, the Secretary waived the 
requirements in Education Department General Administrative Regulations 
(EDGAR) at 34 CFR 75.261(a) that generally prohibit project extensions 
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds to enable twelve 
(12) Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) to receive funding 
through the end of fiscal year 2001. This action allows services 
provided by these grantees to continue uninterrupted until the grants 
are recompeted with the starting date of October 1, 2001. The Secretary 
intends to have October 1 to be the start date for all PTI project 
periods.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 28, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the waiver 
under the Training and Information for Parents of Children with 
Disabilities Program contact Debra Sturdivant or Donna Fluke, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3527, Switzer 
Building, Washington, DC 20202-2641. Telephone: (202) 205-8038 and 205-
9161, respectively. FAX: (202) 205-8105. Internet: 
[email protected] and [email protected]
    If you use a telecommunication 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 in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The following PTI grants expire before the end of fiscal year 2001:

AL  H029M960028
CO  H029M960026
KY  H029M960013
ME  H029M960029
MD  H029M960015
NY  H029M960020
PR  H029M960024
MI  H029M960022
CA  H029M960006
CA  H029M960007
CA  H029M960036
CA  H029M960039

    In order to foster more efficient use of the Federal funds 
committed to the PTI program, the Secretary intends to start the 
project period for all PTI grants on October 1 of each year. In 
attaining this objective and avoiding any lapse in service to the 
intended beneficiaries, the Secretary must extend all of the above-
referenced projects until September 30 so that the new project periods 
can begin October 1. However, to do so, the Secretary waived the 
requirement in 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), which prohibits project period 
extensions that involve the obligation of additional Federal funds.
    Also, because one of the project periods ended as early as February 
28, the Secretary did not have sufficient time to obtain public comment 
on his intent to continue funding for all of these grants until the end 
of the fiscal year. It would be contrary to the public interest to have 
any service lapses for the beneficiaries currently being served by the 
affected PTI grants.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), 
it is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, the waiver of 
the requirements in section 75.261 applicable to extension of project 
periods for the grants referred to above on a one-time only basis is 
procedural and does not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), proposed rulemaking is not required. In 
addition, for these reasons and those stated elsewhere in this 
Supplementary Information section, the Secretary has determined that 
proposed rulemaking on this waiver is unnecessary and contrary to the 
public interest. Thus, proposed rulemaking also is not required under 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B).

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    We certify that the waiver and the activities required to extend 
the projects to the end of the fiscal year would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The only 
small entities that would be affected by this proposal are the 12 PTI 
Centers currently receiving Federal funds whose awards expire before 
the end of the fiscal year.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

    This proposal has been examined under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1980 and has been found to contain no 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. In accordance with the order, we 
intend that this document provide early notification of the 
Department's 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 the following site:

www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free 
at the previous site. 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 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

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.328, Training and 
Information for Parents of Children with Disabilities.)

    Dated: March 22, 2001.
Andrew J. Pepin,
Executive Administrator, for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. 01-7590 Filed 3-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U