[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35773-35774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15181]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests.

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SUMMARY: The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, 
Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, 
invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507(j)), since public harm is reasonably likely 
to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by July 15, 
2010. A regular clearance process is also beginning. Interested persons 
are invited to submit comments on or before August 23, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Education Desk Officer, 
Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New 
Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, be faxed to (202) 395-
5806 or e-mailed to [email protected] with a cc: to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB 
provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity 
to comment on information collection requests. The Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive the requirement for public 
consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval 
process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate 
State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's 
ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Information 
Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management 
Services, Office of Management, publishes this notice containing 
proposed information collection requests at the beginning of the 
Departmental review of the information collection. Each proposed 
information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) 
Type of review requested, e.g., new, revision, extension, existing or 
reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) 
Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) 
Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or 
Recordkeeping burden. ED invites public comment.
    The Department of Education is especially interested in public 
comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection 
necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this 
information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the 
estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on 
respondents, including through the use of information technology.

    Dated: June 18, 2010.
Darrin A. King,
Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory 
Information Management Services, Office of Management.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

    Type of Review: New.
    Title: Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Grant 
Reallotment Form.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or 
Tribal Gov't, SEAs or LEAs.
    Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:

Responses: 402.
Burden Hours: 12.

    Abstract: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, authorizes 
the commissioner to reallot to other grant recipients that portion of a 
recipient's annual grant that cannot be used. To maximize the use of 
appropriated funds under the formula grant programs, The Office of 
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services has established a 
reallotment process for the Basic Vocational Rehabilitation State 
Grants; Supported Employment State Grants; Independent Living State 
Grants, Part B (IL-Part B); Independent Living Services for Older 
Individuals Who Are Blind (IL-OB); Client Assistance (CAP) and 
Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) Programs. The 
authority for the Rehabilitation Services Administration to reallot 
formula grant funds is found at sections 110(b)(2) (VR), 622(b) (SE), 
711(c) (IL-Part B), 752(j)(4) (IL-OB), 112(e)(2) (CAP), and 509(e) 
(PAIR) of the act. The information will be used by the Rehabilitation 
Services Administration State Monitoring and Program Improvement 
Division to reallot formula grant funds for the awards mentioned above. 
Currently, the information is collected through the issuance of an 
annual Information Memorandum. For each grant award, the grantee will 
be required to enter the amount of funds being relinquished and/or any 
additional funds being requested.
    Additional Information: The Rehabilitation Services Administration 
(RSA), within the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office of Special 
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), has developed an online 
submission process for formula grant recipients to indicate the amount 
of funds they wish to relinquish during the reallotment process and/or 
the amount of funds they wish to request during this process. In 
previous years, this reallotment process was initiated through an 
Information Memorandum that RSA issued asking grantees to indicate the 
amount of funds being relinquished and/or requested. The reallotment 
process is based upon both statute and regulation and allows funds 
unused by some grantees receiving funds under the Rehabilitation Act of

[[Page 35774]]

1973, as amended, to be used by other grantees, thus eliminating the 
reversion of Federal funds to the U.S. Treasury.
    Grantees in six of RSA's formula grant programs are subject to a 
reallotment process. These programs include the Vocational 
Rehabilitation State Grants, the Supported Employment State Grants, the 
Independent Living Part B, the Independent Living for Older Individuals 
Who Are Blind, the Client Assistance, and the Protection and Advocacy 
of Individual Rights programs. Specifically, for the Vocational 
Rehabilitation State Grants Program, RSA's largest formula grant 
program, 34 CFR 361.65(b) requires that: (1) ``The Secretary determines 
no later than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year which States, 
if any, will not use their full allotment. (2) As soon as possible, but 
not later than the end of the fiscal year, the Secretary reallots these 
funds to other States that can use those additional funds during the 
current or subsequent year, provided the State can meet the matching 
requirement by obligating the non-Federal share of any realloted funds 
in the fiscal year for which the funds were appropriated.''
    ED is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
clear the application on an emergency basis because many States are 
experiencing challenging economic circumstances. We anticipate that 
they may not be able to match funds received under the Rehabilitation 
Act and that the reallotment process will be more critical this year 
than in years past. The online process we have developed is less 
burdensome to grantees, since the electronic system automatically 
generates much of the information that is required in the reallotment 
process.
    As stated in the aforementioned citation, this reallotment process 
is required by regulation to be completed before September 30 of this 
year in order for States to obligate the reallotted funds and meet the 
matching requirements. Therefore, ED is requesting OMB approval of this 
online process by July 15, 2010. This timeframe will allow us 
sufficient time to: (1) Notify States about the new system for online 
submission of grant relinquishments or requests; (2) receive all 
necessary information from the State agencies by August 15, which meets 
the minimum 45 day requirement in 34 CFR 361.65(b)(1); and (3) to 
process the requests received no later than September 30, 2010, per 34 
CFR 361.65(b)(2).
    Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request 
may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse 
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 4342. When 
you access the information collection, click on ``Download Attachments 
'' to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically mailed 
to the Internet address [email protected] or faxed to 202-401-0920. 
Please specify the complete title of the information collection when 
making your request.
    Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity 
requirements should be electronically mailed to [email protected]. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

[FR Doc. 2010-15181 Filed 6-22-10; 8:45 am]
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