[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30461-30462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11127]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 200


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 solicit public comment on proposed 
regulations.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education 
(Assistant Secretary) of the Department of Education (Department) will 
convene five regional meetings to solicit additional public comment on 
the Department's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published 
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The NPRM would 
implement recent changes made by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 
(NCLB Act) to the standards and assessment requirements under Title I 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended 
(ESEA). The proposed regulations were subjected to a negotiated 
rulemaking process, and we invited the public to submit comments on 
them. The Assistant Secretary is convening these regional meetings to 
provide the public additional opportunities to comment on the proposed 
regulations.

DATES: We will hold five regional meetings as listed in the Schedule of 
Regional Meetings under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: We will hold the five regional meetings at the locations 
listed in the Schedule of Regional Meetings under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

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 under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The meeting sites are accessible to individuals with disabilities. 
If you need an auxiliary aid or service to participate in the meetings 
(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 regional meetings are open to the public.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Schedule of Regional Meetings

    We will hold five regional meetings to solicit public comment on 
the NPRM on the following dates at the following locations:
    1. May 6, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Holiday Inn Cincinnati 
Airport, 1717 Airport Exchange Boulevard, Erlanger, Kentucky.
    2. May 7, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Sheraton Atlanta, 165 
Courtland Street, Atlanta, Georgia.
    3. May 13, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., The Westgate Hotel, 1055 
Second Avenue, San Diego, California.
    4. May 16, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Doubletree Hotel Little Rock, 
424 West Markham, Little Rock, Arkansas.
    5. May 30, 2002, 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., LaGuardia Marriott, 102-05 
Ditmars Boulevard, East Elmhurst, New York.

Background

    On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the NCLB Act, 
amending the ESEA. The NCLB Act incorporated major education reforms 
proposed by the President in his No Child Left Behind initiative, 
particularly in the areas of assessment, accountability, and school 
improvement. Among other things, the NCLB Act reauthorizes--for a six-
year period--the programs under Title I of the ESEA (Title I programs), 
which are designed to help disadvantaged children reach high academic 
standards.
    Section 1901 of Title I of the ESEA contains procedures that the 
Department must follow in developing and issuing regulations to govern 
the Title I programs. Consistent with those requirements, the Secretary 
obtained the advice and recommendations of representatives of Federal, 
State, and local administrators; parents; teachers; paraprofessionals; 
members of local boards of education; and other organizations involved 
with the implementation and operation of the Title I programs. After 
obtaining this advice, the Secretary conducted a negotiated rulemaking 
process on issues relating to Title I standards and assessment 
requirements. The negotiated rulemaking process produced proposed 
regulations on these issues that the Secretary is publishing without 
change in the NPRM. The preamble to the NPRM describes in more thorough 
detail this regulatory process.

Regional Meetings

    In addition to the invitation to comment contained in the NPRM, the 
Assistant Secretary is offering an opportunity for the public to 
provide

[[Page 30462]]

input regarding the proposed regulations at the scheduled regional 
meetings.
    During the morning of each meeting, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, 
representatives of the Department will provide background information 
on the statutory context for the NPRM, the negotiated rulemaking 
process, and the major issues that the proposed regulations are 
designed to address. Expert educators will also present their findings 
and experiences in the field of standards and assessments. During the 
afternoon of each meeting, from 1 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., the public will 
have the opportunity to offer oral or written comments, or both, on the 
NPRM.

Public Comments

    The Department will consider all comments obtained during these 
regional meetings, along with all other comments submitted to the 
Department in response to the NPRM. During and after the comment 
period, you may inspect all public comments about these proposed 
regulations in room 3W204, FB-6, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern time, Monday 
through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, in Text or Adobe Portable Document 
Format (PDF), on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
    To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, 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:  20 U.S.C. 6301-6578.

    Dated: May 1, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-11127 Filed 5-1-02; 2:00 pm]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U