[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 157 (Monday, August 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50474-50476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20708]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Special Demonstration Programs--National Technical Assistance 
Projects To Improve Employment Outcomes for Individuals With 
Disabilities

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.235M.

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

ACTION: Notice of final priority.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education 
and Rehabilitative Services announces a priority under the Special 
Demonstration Programs authorized under section 303(b) of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act). The 
Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal 
year (FY) 2011 and later years. We take this action to focus technical 
assistance (TA) on areas of national need identified by the 
Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) through analyses of 
information obtained during monitoring and oversight of its vocational 
rehabilitation (VR) programs. We intend the priority to increase the 
transfer, utilization, and dissemination of information on promising 
practices and knowledge from research on topics in the field of 
rehabilitation that have national significance and to improve the 
performance of State VR agencies.

DATES: Effective Date: This priority is effective September 14, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Finch, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 5147, Potomac Center Plaza 
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2800. Telephone: (202) 245-7343 or by e-
mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to expand and 
improve the provision of rehabilitation and other services authorized 
under the Rehabilitation Act, or to support activities that increase 
the provision, extent, availability, scope, and quality of 
rehabilitation services provided under the Rehabilitation Act.
    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 773(b).
    We published a notice of proposed priority for this program in the 
Federal Register on June 20, 2011 (76 FR 35864). The notice contained 
background information and our reasons for proposing the particular 
priority.
    There are differences between the notice of proposed priority and 
this notice of final priority as discussed in the Analysis of Comments 
and Changes section below.
    Public Comment: In response to our invitation in the notice of 
proposed priority, two parties submitted comments on the proposed 
priority.
    Generally, we do not address technical and other minor changes. In 
addition, we do not address general comments that raise concerns not 
directly related to the proposed priority.
    However, as a result of our further review of the proposed priority 
since publication of the notice of proposed priority, we have made 
minor changes for purposes of clarification.
    Analysis of Comments and Changes: An analysis of the comments and 
of any changes in the priority since publication of the notice of 
proposed priority follows.
    Comment: One commenter asserted that the purposes of the priority 
would be best served by building on the existing capacity of grantees 
funded under RSA's Training programs, such as current partnerships with 
the National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials 
(NCRTM), the regional Technical Assistance and Continuing Education 
(TACE) centers, and State VR agencies. For example, the commenter 
stated that the NCRTM currently collaborates with the 10 regional TACE 
centers to support a centralized resource for training materials. This 
commenter also emphasized the need to tailor technical assistance to 
the unique needs and demands of customers.
    Discussion: It is our intention that the applicant funded under 
this priority build upon the work of, and collaborate with, current 
providers of training and technical assistance in the field of 
rehabilitation, including the TACE centers and the NCRTM.
    As stated in the June 20, 2011, notice of proposed priority, the 
activities conducted under this priority would supplement the TA 
provided by the TACE centers by supporting cost-effective and efficient 
mechanisms for delivering TA at the national level. For example, prior 
to developing its annual work plan for the provision of TA and 
continuing education (CE), each regional TACE center conducts an annual 
needs assessment of State VR agencies and agency partners in its region 
to identify TA topics. The grantee under this priority would work with 
the TACE centers to identify topics that would be most appropriately 
addressed nationally.

[[Page 50475]]

    The role of the NCRTM is to identify and gather rehabilitation 
information and training materials for use in conducting pre-service 
and in-service education and training for rehabilitation personnel and 
to disseminate rehabilitation information and state-of-the-art training 
materials and methods. The grantee funded under this priority would be 
responsible for organizing and making readily available TA materials 
used and developed under this priority and would not duplicate the work 
of the NCRTM. We do believe, however, that the expertise of the NCRTM 
would be of value in assisting the grantee to carry out the activities 
under this priority.
    Finally, while we would expect the successful applicant selected to 
carry out this priority to have sufficient expertise to appropriately 
tailor the TA and materials to the unique needs of its audience, we 
agree that clarifying language would be beneficial.
    Changes: We have inserted language in paragraph (c) of the priority 
to clarify that formats that best meet the needs of the target audience 
must be used by the grantee in preparing for and conducting TA. In 
addition, we have revised paragraph (g) of the priority to require the 
grantee to collaborate with the NCRTM.
    Comment: This commenter also encouraged RSA to standardize measures 
of effectiveness across the providers of training and technical 
assistance so that quality outcomes can be consistently measured by 
users or customers.
    Discussion: While we recognize that the development of standardized 
measures of effectiveness that could be used across RSA's TA 
investments would be beneficial, such an effort is not consistent with 
the intended scope and resources available for this priority. However, 
we have added a paragraph to the priority in order to clarify the 
intent of the requirement in proposed paragraph (c) of the priority to 
conduct evaluations of the national TA that has been provided.
    Change: We have deleted the language at the end of paragraph (c) of 
the priority describing the grantee's responsibility to conduct 
evaluations of the technical assistance provided, and have included 
this requirement in a new paragraph (f) of the priority that clarifies 
what elements the evaluation must address.
    Comment: One commenter applauded the Department for its emphasis on 
national training programs. This commenter stated that in addition to 
the value of the information obtained from presentations, national 
conferences provide networking opportunities for VR professionals who 
are working in specialized program areas, such as vocational 
rehabilitation of individuals who are deaf or deaf-blind.
    This commenter also expressed the value of having a mechanism for 
housing and making available TA products. Finally, the commenter 
emphasized the need to ensure that sufficient funds are available under 
this grant to support accommodations that may be necessary for VR 
professionals to fully participate and to support stipends for 
professionals who otherwise would not be able to attend presentations 
and national conferences because of State travel and funding 
restrictions.
    Discussion: While we generally agree with these comments, we would 
like to emphasize that the purpose of this priority is to provide 
technical assistance in areas of national need and it is not our intent 
to establish another training program. The Department provides support 
for the training of VR professionals through the Training programs 
under section 302 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 772).
    Change: None.
    Comment: None.
    Discussion: In reviewing the proposed priority further, we decided 
that it would be important to clarify that the TA products and 
materials to be organized and archived by the grantee are those that 
are developed or used in providing TA conducted under this priority. We 
also wanted to emphasize that the Web site developed by the grantee 
needs to be easily accessed and used by RSA, the TACE centers, and 
other RSA grantees.
    Changes: As a result of our review, we added clarifying language in 
paragraphs (d) and (e) of the priority to address these concerns.
    Final Priority:
    National Technical Assistance.
    The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services establishes a priority to support a grant under the Special 
Demonstration Programs to fund a project to provide national technical 
assistance (TA) to State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies and 
other entities that carry out VR-related programs administered by the 
Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to increase the transfer, 
utilization, and dissemination of current promising practices and 
knowledge in VR and the employment of individuals with disabilities. 
The Department intends to award this grant as a cooperative agreement 
to ensure that there is substantial involvement, communication, and 
collaboration between RSA and the grantee in carrying out the 
activities of the grant. (34 CFR 75.200(b)(4)).
    In coordination with the Department, the grantee must--
    (a) Consult with RSA staff and staff from the Technical Assistance 
and Continuing Education (TACE) centers to identify issues that may 
affect State VR agency service delivery, as well as TA needs that are 
most appropriately addressed on a national basis;
    (b) Develop a proposed two-year plan for delivering national TA to 
VR professionals through conferences, webinars, or other mechanisms, 
based on the activities conducted under paragraph (a) of this priority. 
The proposed two-year plan must be developed and approved by RSA within 
the first three months of the project period and include a schedule for 
delivering high priority TA activities, recommended methods of 
delivery, and the estimated costs of providing such TA;
    (c) Organize and provide national TA in accordance with the two-
year plan approved by RSA, including overseeing all activities related 
to preparing for and conducting national TA. These activities include, 
but are not limited to, the following: Determining the target audience 
for the TA; organizing conferences, webinars, and other national TA; 
identifying presenters; providing TA and preparing materials in formats 
that best meet the needs of the target audience; arranging for 
reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities; making 
logistical arrangements for the national TA; providing travel 
reimbursement and stipends, where appropriate, to State VR personnel; 
and providing for continuing education credits;
    (d) Organize and archive all TA products and materials developed or 
used in providing TA conducted under this priority for use by RSA, the 
TACE centers, and other TA providers, as needed;
    (e) Develop and maintain a Web site to make available the products 
and materials that are developed and/or used in providing TA conducted 
under this priority so that they can be easily accessed and used by 
RSA, the TACE centers, and other RSA grantees. The Web site must be 
capable of supporting other features including, but not limited to, 
conference and webinar registration, a calendar of events, and links to 
other related Web sites and resources;
    (f) Conduct an evaluation of the national TA provided under this 
priority, including, at a minimum, the following: The number of TA 
activities conducted, the identified needs to which these activities 
responded, and

[[Page 50476]]

the target audience for each activity; the number and types of TA 
products organized and archived; the number of visits to the grantee's 
Web site on a monthly and annual basis; and a quantitative analysis of 
any customer satisfaction survey findings including information derived 
from questions about product quality, relevance, and utility; and
    (g) Collaborate with other RSA-funded TA providers, including, but 
not limited to, the TACE centers, the National Clearinghouse of 
Rehabilitation Training Materials, the American Indian Vocational 
Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center, and the Independent Living 
Training and Technical Assistance Center, in the provision and support 
of TA activities.
Types of Priorities:
    When inviting applications for a competition using one or more 
priorities, we designate the type of each priority as absolute, 
competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in the Federal 
Register. The effect of each type of priority follows:
    Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only 
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
    Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference 
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by (1) 
awarding additional points, depending on the extent to which the 
application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) 
selecting an application that meets the priority over an application of 
comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
    Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are 
particularly interested in applications that meet the priority. 
However, we do not give an application that meets the priority a 
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
    This notice does not preclude us from proposing additional 
priorities, requirements, definitions, or selection criteria, subject 
to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in 
which we choose to use this priority, we invite applications through 
a notice in the Federal Register.

    Executive Order 12866: This notice has been reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms of the order, we have 
assessed the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with this regulatory action are 
those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have 
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and 
efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this regulatory action, we have determined that the 
benefits of the priority justify the costs.
    We have determined, also, that this final regulatory action does 
not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
Summary of potential costs and benefits:
    TA targeted to the specific needs of grantees helps them to improve 
their performance and to achieve their objectives. Specifically, the 
provision of cost effective TA to State VR agencies in areas of 
national need should result in higher quality employment outcomes for 
the individuals with disabilities whom these agencies serve.
    Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to 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.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) by contacting the Grants and Contracts 
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
room 5075, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550.
    Telephone: (202) 245-7363. If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 
free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    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: August 10, 2011.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2011-20708 Filed 8-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P