[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32969-32971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14019]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.326T]


National Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for 
Children Who Are Deaf-Blind; Proposed Extension of Project Period and 
Waiver

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 Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center 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) 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 
Technical Assistance and Dissemination Center for Children Who Are 
Deaf-Blind to receive funding from October 1, 2011 through September 
30, 2013.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before July 7, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed extension of 
project period and waiver to Ingrid Oxaal, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4154, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2600.
    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: Ingrid Oxaal at the address listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Telephone: (202) 245-7471. 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.

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

[[Page 32970]]

about this proposed extension of project period and waiver in room 
4154, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC, 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Washington, DC 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

    On December 22, 2005, the Department published a notice in the 
Federal Register (70 FR 76039) inviting applications for new awards for 
fiscal year (FY) 2006 for a National Technical Assistance and 
Dissemination Center for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind (Center). The 
purpose of the Center, which was funded 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), is to provide 
specialized technical assistance, training, dissemination, and 
informational services to States, families, and agencies and 
organizations that are responsible for the provision of early 
intervention, special education, and related and transitional services 
for children through age 21 who are deaf-blind. For purposes of this 
notice, the term ``individuals who are deaf-blind'' refers to infants, 
toddlers, children, youth and young adults through age 21 who are deaf-
blind.
    Based on the 2005 notice inviting applications, the Department made 
one award for a period of 60 months to Western Oregon University to 
establish the Center, which is currently known as the National 
Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB). The major goals of the NCDB are 
three-fold. The first goal is to increase the capacity of State 
educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), early 
intervention programs, and other agencies to improve policies and 
practices that will result in appropriate assessment, planning, 
placement, and services for individuals who are deaf-blind. The second 
goal is to increase the capacity of State deaf-blind projects as well 
as State and local agencies to use evidence-based practices to improve 
outcomes for individuals who are deaf-blind. The third goal is to 
collaborate with Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) to 
build the capacity of families of individuals who are deaf-blind to 
build relationships with family, peers, service providers, employers, 
and others and develop their knowledge about and skills in self-
advocacy and self-empowerment.
    The NCDB accomplishes this mission through a combination of 
activities in the following areas: (1) Technical assistance to SEAs, 
LEAs, families, and organizations that are responsible for the 
provision of early intervention, special education, and related and 
transitional services for individuals who are deaf-blind, (2) 
collection and dissemination of information related to improving 
outcomes for individuals who are deaf-blind, and (3) training to 
address gaps in the knowledge of service providers, including gaps in 
the knowledge of evidence-based practices, to improve outcomes for 
individuals who are deaf-blind.
    The NCDB's current project period is scheduled to end on September 
30, 2011. At this time, we do not believe that it would be in the 
public interest to run a competition under this program for a new 
Center. This extension will align the end of the NCDB's project period 
with the end of the grants funded under the Projects for Children and 
Young Adults who are Deaf-Blind program (CFDA Number 84.326C). This 
alignment will enable the Department to develop a technical assistance 
strategy for individuals who are deaf-blind that maximizes the 
effectiveness and efficiency of the services provided. We also have 
concluded that it would be contrary to the public interest to have a 
lapse in the provision of technical assistance services currently 
provided by the NCDB pending the development of a coordinated strategy 
for technical assistance for individuals who are deaf-blind. 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 
$4,200,000 to Western Oregon University (H326T060002) for an additional 
twenty-four-month period.
    Waiving these regulations and issuing this continuation award would 
ensure that technical assistance, training, and dissemination of 
information to multiple recipients, including families, individuals who 
are deaf-blind, State projects for deaf-blind services, SEAs, LEAs, 
lead agencies under Part C of the IDEA, and other State agencies, will 
not be interrupted during this period of time.
    With this proposed extension of project period and waiver, the NCDB 
will be required to conduct the following activities:
    (a) Continue identifying State project needs in order to provide 
universal, targeted, and intensive technical assistance and training, 
as appropriate.
    (b) Assist State deaf-blind projects (1) to increase collaboration 
among State deaf-blind projects, the PTIs, and other OSEP Technical and 
Assistance projects (2) to improve early intervention, instructional 
and behavioral practices by providing universal, targeted, and 
intensive technical assistance and training, as appropriate.
    (c) Provide information to SEAs to aid in policy development 
related to services to individuals who are deaf-blind, as appropriate.
    (d) Assist families and individuals who are deaf-blind to increase 
their capacity to build relationships with family, peers, service 
providers, employers, and others; and develop their knowledge about and 
skills in self-advocacy and self-empowerment.
    (e) Assist personnel preparation training programs to work 
collaboratively with each other to increase the number of teachers and 
paraprofessionals who are prepared to provide effective services and 
implement evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for individuals 
who are deaf-blind.
    (f) Collaborate with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of 
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, other Federal technical 
assistance projects, and State agencies to improve practices and 
services in early intervention, special education, related services, 
and transitional services by facilitating inclusion of individuals who 
are deaf-blind in SEA and LEA initiatives, as appropriate.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that this proposed extension of project 
period and waiver would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The only entities that would be 
affected are the current grantee serving as the National Consortium on 
Deaf-Blindness and any other potential applicant.

[[Page 32971]]

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: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site 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). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site. You may also access documents of the Department published in 
the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: http://www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: June 2, 2011.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary, for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2011-14019 Filed 6-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P