[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44234-44235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18524]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.326G]


Notice of Proposed Extension of Project Period and Waiver for the 
National Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota

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 Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of 
Minnesota (CFDA No. 84.326G).

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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 
Center on Educational Outcomes at the University of Minnesota 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 David Malouf, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 4114, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2600. Telephone: (202) 245-6253.
    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: David Malouf at the address listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Telephone: (202) 245-6253. 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 4114, 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 August 8, 2005, the Department published a notice in the Federal 
Register (70 FR 45712), 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 program 
(TA&D), authorized under section 663 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Act (IDEA), to support a National Technical Assistance 
Center on Assessment for Children with Disabilities. Based on that 
notice, the Department made one award for a period of 60 months to the 
University of Minnesota, National Center on Educational Outcomes 
(NCEO). Under this award, the Office of Special Education Programs 
(OSEP) funds NCEO to address national, State, and local assessment 
issues related to students with disabilities. NCEO also assists OSEP 
with analyzing State assessment data submitted in the State Performance 
Plan/Annual Performance Reports (SPP/APR) required under the IDEA.
    NCEO's current project period is scheduled to end on September 30, 
2010. We do not believe it would be in the public interest to hold new

[[Page 44235]]

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, local educational agencies 
(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 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 $1,000,000 to the 
University of Minnesota (H326G050007) 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 with developing and implementing appropriate assessments of 
students with disabilities, as well as emerging issues related to the 
inclusion of children with disabilities in assessments, as the 
Department works on reauthorization of the ESEA and designs IDEA 
technical assistance competitions that are coordinated and aligned with 
the Department's technical assistance priorities.
    During the next fiscal year, NCEO would (1) provide, upon request, 
technical assistance to States regarding the inclusion of students with 
disabilities as they develop new academic assessments, including 
assessments that consortia of States may develop under the Race to the 
Top Assessment Program, and assessments associated with other Federal 
laws (e.g., the ESEA and IDEA); (2) develop and implement national and 
regional activities to ensure that students with disabilities are 
included in and benefit from emerging approaches to assessment (e.g., 
supporting communities of practice and convening national forums); (3) 
continue, update, and expand analyses of State SPP/APR assessment data; 
(4) collect, analyze, synthesize, and disseminate relevant information 
related to the assessment of students with disabilities, as 
appropriate; and (5) serve as a national resource for policymakers, 
administrators, teachers, advocates, and parents on the assessment of 
students with disabilities.

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 NCEO.

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. 2010-18524 Filed 7-27-10; 8:45 am]
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