[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 164 (Friday, August 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49663-49664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19563]



[[Page 49663]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Extension of Project Period and Waiver for the 
Puerto Rico State Technical Assistance (TA) Project To Improve Services 
and Results for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed extension of project period and waiver for 
the Puerto Rico State Technical Assistance (TA) Project to Improve 
Services and Results for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), in 34 
CFR 75.250 and 75.261(a), respectively, that generally prohibit project 
periods exceeding five years and extensions of project periods 
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. This extension of 
project period and waiver will enable the currently funded Puerto Rico 
State TA Project to Improve Services and Results for Children Who Are 
Deaf-Blind to receive funding from October 1, 2008 through September 
30, 2009.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 8, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this proposed extension and 
waiver to Anne Smith, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Room 4086, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-
2641. Telephone: (202) 245-7529. If you prefer to send your comments 
through the Internet, use the following address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Smith. Telephone: (202) 245-7529.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, 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 extension 
of project period and waiver.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed extension of project period and waiver in 
Room 4086, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street, 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.

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 this proposed extension of project period and 
waiver. If you want to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, 
please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    The Department published a notice in the Federal Register on July 
3, 2003 (68 FR 39902), inviting applications for awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 2003. Based on that notice, the Department made 48 awards, 
including one award for a period of 60 months to the Puerto Rico 
Department of Education, in order to build the capacity of the State, 
parents, and professionals to improve outcomes for children and young 
adults who are deaf-blind and their families by providing TA, 
information, and training on early intervention, special education, 
related services, and transitional services. The Department published a 
notice inviting applications for awards for FY 2008 on March 25, 2008 
(73 FR 15444). The Puerto Rico Department of Education submitted an 
application, but the budget request was above the maximum amount 
allocated to them, and, therefore, the application was ineligible for 
review. Given the severity of deaf-blindness and the low incidence of 
this population, it is important to ensure continuation of State TA 
services for children who are deaf-blind in Puerto Rico. Therefore, the 
Department proposes to extend the current grant to the Puerto Rico 
Department of Education (H326C030042) for a sixth year and award an 
additional $65,000 to that agency. The Department also intends to 
announce a competition to permit Puerto Rico to apply for four 
additional years of funding. The Puerto Rico Department of Education 
Deaf-Blind TA project has demonstrated significant progress in 
providing TA services to families, educators, and other service 
providers since it was funded in 2003. The Puerto Rico Department of 
Education's current project period for its Deaf-Blind TA Project is 
scheduled to end on September 30, 2008. Deaf-blindness is a severe and 
complex disability. In order to ensure that continued TA is available 
to assist Puerto Rican families, educators, and other professionals who 
work with children who are deaf-blind, the Secretary proposes to waive 
the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250 and 75.261(a) and proposes to issue a 
continuation award to the existing grantee for an additional twelve-
month period.
    The Puerto Rico Department of Education will continue to build the 
capacity of the State, parents, and professionals to improve outcomes 
for children and young adults who are deaf-blind and their families by 
providing TA, information, and training on early intervention, special 
education, related services, and transitional services.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed extension of the project 
period and waiver will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The only entity that would be 
affected is the Puerto Rico Department of Education.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This proposed extension of project period and waiver does not 
contain any 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.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.
    Electronic Access to This Document:
    You can view this document, as well as all other documents of this 
Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable 
Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/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 (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.


[[Page 49664]]


    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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: August 18, 2008.
Tracy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
 [FR Doc. E8-19563 Filed 8-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P