[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44233-44234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18520]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.326J]


Notice of Proposed Extension of Project Period and Waiver for the 
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center

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 National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (CFDA No. 
84.326J).

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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) and (c), 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 would enable the currently funded National 
Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center to receive funding 
from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before August 12, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed extension of 
project period and waiver to Michael Slade, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4083, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-7527.
    If you prefer to send your comments by e-mail, use the following 
address: [email protected]. You must include the phrase ``proposed 
extension of project period and waiver'' in the subject line of your 
message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Slade at the address listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Telephone: (202) 245-7527. 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 can obtain this document in an 
accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in this section.

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 4083, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC, 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 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 accommodation or 
auxiliary aid 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 accommodation or 
auxiliary aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    On March 8, 2005, the Department published a notice in the Federal 
Register (70 FR 11214), inviting applications for new awards for fiscal 
year (FY) 2005 under the Technical Assistance and Dissemination to 
Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities (TA&D) 
program, authorized under section 663 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to support a Secondary Transition 
Technical Assistance Center. Based on that notice, the Department made 
one award for a period of 60 months to the University of North Carolina 
at Charlotte to carry out the National Secondary Transition Technical 
Assistance Center (NSTTAC). Currently, the Office of Special Education 
Programs (OSEP) funds NSTTAC to support the improvement of transition 
planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities by 
disseminating information and providing technical assistance (TA) on 
evidence-based practices with an emphasis on building and sustaining 
State-level infrastructures of support and building district-level 
demonstrations of effective transition methods. NSTTAC has demonstrated 
significant progress in disseminating information on evidence-based 
practices and providing TA to States and local educational agencies 
(LEAs) to advance implementation of effective transition planning and 
services.
    NSTTAC's current project period is scheduled to end on December 31, 
2010. We do not believe it would be in the public interest to hold new 
competitions under the TA&D program until the Department has considered 
changes being made to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 
during the process of reauthorizing that Act and the Department has 
developed a coordinated strategy for the provision of technical 
assistance that is designed to help States, LEAs, and schools 
effectively implement key provisions of the ESEA and IDEA and improve 
educational results for all students. We also have concluded that it 
would be contrary to the public interest to have a lapse in the 
provision of technical assistance provided under the TA&D program 
pending the reauthorization of the ESEA. For these reasons, the 
Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, which 
prohibit project periods exceeding five years, and the requirements in 
34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c), which limit the extension of a project period 
if the extension involves the obligation of additional Federal funds, 
and issue a continuation award in the amount of $1,100,000 to the 
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (H326J050004) for an 
additional twelve-month period.
    Waiving these regulations and issuing this continuation award would 
ensure that continued technical assistance is available to assist 
States and LEAs with effective transition planning and services, as the 
Department works on reauthorization of the ESEA and designs TA&D 
competitions that are coordinated

[[Page 44234]]

and aligned with the Department's technical assistance priorities.
    During the next fiscal year, NSTTAC would continue, update, and 
expand its work to (1) identify evidence-based practices that provide a 
foundation for States to improve transition planning and services that 
enhance post-school outcomes; (2) disseminate information to State 
personnel, practitioners, researchers, parents, and students regarding 
effective transition planning and services that improve post-school 
outcomes; (3) build the capacity of States and LEAs to implement 
effective transition planning and services that improve post-school 
outcomes; and (4) assist State educational agencies with collecting 
data on IDEA Part B State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report 
Indicator 13, which assesses States' implementation of comprehensive 
transition planning and services, and using these data to guide 
improvement activities.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

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

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.

    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: July 22, 2010.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2010-18520 Filed 7-27-10; 8:45 am]
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