[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9223-9224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4862]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter II


Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Title I of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended (ESEA); 
Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of meetings to conduct a negotiated rulemaking process.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education 
(Assistant Secretary) of the U.S. Department of Education (Department) 
will convene a negotiating group--including Federal, State, and local 
education administrators, parents, teachers, and members of local 
boards of education--to participate in a negotiated rulemaking process 
prior to publishing proposed regulations to implement part A of Title 
I, Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies, of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as recently amended 
by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Title I is designed to help 
disadvantaged children meet high academic standards. The negotiating 
committee will review draft proposed regulations developed on statutory 
provisions involving standards and assessments.

DATES: We will hold five meetings of the negotiating group. The dates 
and times of the meetings are in the Schedule of Negotiations.

ADDRESSES: The five meetings to conduct the negotiated rulemaking 
process will be held at the U.S. Department of Education, Barnard 
Auditorium, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Wilhelm, Compensatory Education 
Programs, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W202, Washington, DC 
20202-6132. Telephone (202) 260-0826.
    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 in the preceding 
paragraph.
    The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities. If 
you need an auxiliary aid or service to participate in the meeting 
(e.g., interpreting service, assistive listening device, or materials 
in alternative format), notify the contact person listed in this notice 
in advance of the scheduled meeting date. We will make every effort to 
meet any request we receive.
    The meetings are open to the public for individuals who wish to 
observe the process. The Department anticipates publishing a Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking no later than May 1, 2002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Schedule of Negotiations

    We will hold five meetings of the negotiating group to review the 
draft proposed regulations:
    1. March 11, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    2. March 12, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    3. March 13, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    4. March 19, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    5. March 20, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Background

    On January 8, 2002, the President signed Pub. L. 107-110, the No 
Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, amending the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Among other things, the NCLB 
Act reauthorizes--for a six-year period--programs under Title I of the 
ESEA designed to help disadvantaged children reach high academic 
standards.
    Section 1901 of Title I requires that, before publishing any 
proposed regulations to implement programs under Title I, the 
Department obtain the advice and recommendations of representatives of 
State and local administrators, parents, teachers and 
paraprofessionals, members of local school boards, and other 
organizations involved with the implementation and operation of Title I 
programs. On January 18, 2002, the U.S. Secretary of Education 
published a notice in the Federal Register (67 FR 2770) requesting 
advice and recommendations on regulatory issues under Title I. In 
response to that notice, the Assistant Secretary received comments from 
more than 100 individuals and organizations. Section 1901 also requires 
the Department, after obtaining advice and recommendations and before 
publishing proposed regulations, to establish a negotiated rulemaking 
process on, at a minimum, issues relating to standards and assessments 
under Title I, Part A. The statute requires that the negotiators 
represent all geographic regions of the United States and an equitable 
balance between representatives of parents and students and 
representatives of educators and education officials. To convene a 
diverse negotiating group that represents a wide range of interests, 
the Assistant Secretary asked more than 70 organizations to submit 
nominations with their comments on regulatory issues. In addition, the 
Department received nominations from individuals and organizations that 
participated in focus groups held to solicit advice or who commented 
independently in response to the Federal Register notice.
    The Assistant Secretary has selected individuals to participate in 
the negotiated rulemaking process from among the individuals and 
organizations providing advice and recommendations in response to the 
Federal Register notice, including representation form all geographic 
regions of the United States and an equitable balance between 
representatives of parents and students and representatives of 
educators and education officials. The Assistant Secretary has also 
considered negotiators who would contribute to the diversity and 
expertise of the group. The following are the individuals who will 
participate in negotiated rulemaking and the interests they represent:

[[Page 9224]]

Representing State Administrators and State Boards of Education

    Judy Catchpole, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Wyoming 
Department of Education Jim Horne, Secretary of Education, Florida 
Department of Education Dr. Bob Harmon, Assistant State Superintendent 
for Special Programs, Washington Department of Public Instruction 
Rodney Watson, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Student and School 
Standards, Louisiana Department of Education Lou Fabrizio, Director, 
Division of Accountability Services, North Carolina Department of 
Education Rae Belisle, Chief Counsel, California State Board of 
Education

Representing Local Administrators and Local School Boards

    Charlotte Harris, Senior Director of Program Development, Boston 
(MA) Public Schools, J. Alvin Wilbanks, Superintendent, Gwinnett County 
(GA), Public Schools, Beverly Carroll, Alachua County (FL) School 
Board, Nelson Smith, charter schools, Washington, DC.

Representing Principals and Teachers

    Avis Cotton, Principal, Dardanelle (AR) Middle School, Enedelia 
Scholfield, Principal, W.L. Henry Elementary School, Hillsboro (OR), 
Patricia Fisher, Title I teacher, Hooker Public Schools (OK).

Representing Students (Including At-risk Students, Migrant Students, 
Limited-English-Proficient Students, Students With Disabilities, and 
Private School Students):

    Tasha Tillman, parent, Colorado Springs (CO).
    Minnie Pearce, parent, Detroit (MI).
    Arturo Abarca, teacher, Helitrope Elementary School, Los Angeles 
Unified School District (CA).
    Maria Seidner, Director, Bilingual Education, Texas Education 
Agency.
    Dr. Alexa Pochowski, Associate Commissioner, Kansas Department of 
Education.
    Myrna Toney, Director of Migrant Education, Wisconsin Department of 
Education.
    John R. Clark, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Education, 
Diocese of Allentown (PA).

Representing Business Interests

    John Stevens, Director, Texas Business and Education Coalition.

Representing the U.S. Department of Education

    Susan B. Neuman, Ed.D., Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 
Secondary Education.
    Dr. Joseph F. Johnson, Director, Compensatory Education Programs.
    If an individual feels that his or her interests are not adequately 
represented by this diverse group, the individual may petition, at the 
initial meeting on March 11, to be seated as a negotiator. The 
negotiating group will determine whether that individual should be 
added to the group. The negotiating group will make that decision based 
on factors such as whether the individual--
    (1) Would be substantially affected by the rule;
    (2) Has interests not already adequately represented by the group; 
and
    (3) Meets the requirements of section 1901 of the ESEA.

Topics Selected for Negotiation

    The issues selected for negotiated rulemaking are the Title I, Part 
A requirements pertaining to standards and assessments. As the January 
18 notice indicated, the Department also considered including in the 
negotiations issues pertaining to adequate yearly progress. Based on 
significant concerns raised during the public comment period, and given 
the statutory time constraints discussed in the section on ``Regional 
Meetings'' below, however, the Department is not subjecting it to 
negotiated rulemaking. That issue, as well as other Title I issues, 
will be addressed through the regular rulemaking process (including the 
regional meetings discussed below). The draft of the proposed 
regulations that the negotiators will review is available on the 
Department's Web site at www.ed.gov/nelb/.

Facilitator

    The Department has retained the services of an assessment expert 
and a facilitator for the negotitated rulemaking process. The 
assessment expert will be available as a resource to the negotiators on 
assessments issues. The facilitator will serve as a neutral convenor 
for the negotiations. Neither the assessment expert nor the facilitator 
will be involved with the substantive development of the regulations. 
The facilitator's role is to--
    (1) Chair negotiating sessions;
    (2) Help the negotiating process run smoothly and
    (3) Help participants define issues and reach consensus.
    The facilitator will keep a record of the negotiated rulemaking 
meetings, which will be placed in the Department's rulemaking docket 
for this regulatory action.

Regional Meetings

    The Department has developed this process and scheduled negotiated 
rulemaking very expeditiously, since the NCLB Act was enacted on 
January 8, and the Department hopes to issue these regulations on a 
timely basis so that they will be in place as early as possible this 
year, and issued in accordance with the requirements of section 1908 of 
the Act. That section requires that regulations to implement sections 
1111 and 1116 of this Act be issued within six months of enactment. 
Recognizing that many interested parties may not yet have an 
opportunity to provide input or may not be able to attend the 
negotiated rulemaking meetings, the Department intends to convene four 
regional meetings during the public comment period after publishing 
proposed regulations in accordance with section 1901 of the Act. At 
these meetings, interested parties can provide input regarding the 
proposed regulations. The Department will announce these meetings in a 
notice in the Federal Register in the near future.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, in Text or Abobe Portable Document 
Format (PDF), on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
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call the U.S. Government Printing Office 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


(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.010, Improving 
Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies)


    Program Authority: Public Law 107-110.

    Dated: February 25, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary, Education.
[FR Doc. 02-4862 Filed 2-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-M