[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9214-9216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3673]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Waiver and Extension of Project Period for the 
Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program

AGENCY: Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.

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ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: For 36-month projects funded in fiscal year (FY) 2009 under 
the Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program (NHCTEP), 
CFDA Number: 84.259A, the Secretary proposes to waive the regulation 
that restricts project period extensions involving the obligation of 
additional Federal funds. The Secretary also proposes to extend the 
project period of these grants for an additional 12 months. This would 
enable the eight current NHCTEP grantees to seek FY 2012 continuation 
awards for project periods through FY 2013. Further, the waiver and 
extension, as proposed, would mean that we would not announce new 
awards in FY 2012.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before March 19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit all comments on this notice to Linda Mayo, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 11075, Potomac 
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-7241.
    If you prefer to send your comments by email, use the following 
address: [email protected]. You must include the term ``Proposed Waiver 
and Extension for NHCTEP'' in the subject line of your message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Mayo by telephone at (202) 245-
7792 or by email at: [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:

Invitation to Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding this notice. We are 
particularly interested in receiving comments on the potential impact 
that this proposed project period waiver and extension might have on 
NHCTEP and on potential applicants that would be eligible to apply for 
grant awards under any new NHCTEP notice inviting applications, should 
there be one.
    Eligible applicants are:
    (1) Community-based organizations primarily serving and 
representing Native Hawaiians. For purposes of NHCTEP, a community-
based organization means a public or private organization that provides 
career and technical education, or related services, to individuals in 
the Native Hawaiian community.
    (2) Consortia of community-based organizations primarily serving 
and representing Native Hawaiians (34 CFR 75.127).
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed waiver and extension in room 11075, 
Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street SW., Washington, DC, between the 
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 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 provide 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 waiver and extension. If you 
want to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact 
one of the persons listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    NHCTEP supports grants to community-based organizations primarily 
serving and representing Native Hawaiians to plan, conduct, and 
administer career and technical education programs, as authorized by 
section 116(h) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (Perkins Act or Act) (20 U.S.C. 2326(h)). The eight current 
NHCTEP grantees were selected based on the March 24, 2009, notice 
inviting applications published in the Federal Register (74 FR 12333) 
(March 24, 2009 notice).
    In FY 2009, the Department funded NHCTEP projects that are 
scheduled to end in FY 2012. For those projects, the Secretary proposes 
to waive the requirement of 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2) of the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), which generally 
prohibits project period extensions involving the obligation of 
additional Federal funds. The Secretary also proposes to extend the 
current NHCTEP project period for 12 months. This would allow the eight 
current NHCTEP grantees to seek continuation awards in FY 2012 for 
project periods through FY 2013.
    The Secretary makes these proposals because section 9 of the 
Perkins Act, which includes authorization for NHCTEP at section 116(h), 
authorizes appropriations for NHCTEP through FY 2012 (20 U.S.C. 2307). 
With the potential for changes in the authorizing legislation for 
NHCTEP beyond 2012, we do not believe it would be advisable to hold a 
new NHCTEP competition in FY 2012 for projects that may then operate 
for just one year. We are generally reluctant to announce a competition 
under which eligible entities would be expected to proceed through the 
application preparation and submission process while lacking critical 
information about the future of the program, and we do not think that 
it would be in the public interest to do so in this case.
    Rather than holding a new competition in FY 2012, we believe that 
it would be in the public interest and preferable for NHCTEP for us to 
review requests for FY 2012 continuation awards from the eight current 
grantees selected based on the March 24, 2009, notice and to extend 
currently funded projects, for one more year, through FY 2013.
    The extension of the project period and waiver of 34 CFR 
75.261(c)(2) we are proposing would mean that: (1) Current grantees 
would be authorized to request and receive NHCTEP continuation awards 
in FY 2012 for project periods through FY 2013, (2) we would not 
announce a new competition or make new awards in FY 2012, (3) the March 
24, 2009, notice would continue to govern current projects during the 
extension year, and (4) the eight currently-approved applications 
selected based on the March 24, 2009, notice would govern continuation 
activities.
    The March 24, 2009, notice: (1) Established a project period of up 
to 36 months and reiterated that funding for multi-year awards would be 
dependent on a grantee meeting the requirements of 34 CFR 75.253 
(continuation of a multi-year project after the first budget period); 
(2) explained the requirements of the program; (3) described the 
evaluation and reporting requirements; and (4) established the 
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) indicators for NHCTEP.
    With this proposed extension of the project period and waiver of 34 
CFR 75.261(c)(2), we propose to extend the project period of the eight 
current NHCTEP grantees that received grants under the FY 2009 
competition for one additional year through FY 2013 with FY 2012 funds 
Congress has appropriated under the current statutory authority. If the 
waiver of 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2) that we propose in this notice is 
announced by us in a final notice, the requirements applicable to 
continuation awards for current NHCTEP grantees and the requirements in 
section 75.253 of EDGAR would apply to any continuation awards sought 
by current NHCTEP grantees.
    If we announce this proposed waiver and extension as final, we will 
make decisions regarding annual continuation awards based on grantee 
program narratives, budgets and budget

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narratives, and performance reports, and based on the regulations in 34 
CFR 75.253. We would award continuation grants based on information 
provided to us by each grantee, indicating that it is making 
substantial progress performing its NHCTEP grant activities based on 
the requirements in the March 24, 2009, notice inviting applications. 
Any activities to be carried out during the continuation year must be 
consistent with, or be a logical extension of the scope, goals, and 
objectives of each grantee's application as approved in the 2009 NHCTEP 
competition. Under this proposed waiver and extension, the project 
period for current NHCTEP grantees would be extended through FY 2013.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension and 
the activities required to support additional year of funding would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The small entities that would be affected by this proposed 
waiver and extension are the eight currently-funded NHCTEP grantees.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on these NHCTEP entities 
because the proposed waiver and extension impose minimal compliance 
costs to extend projects already in existence, and the activities 
required to support the additional year of funding would not impose 
additional regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal 
supervision.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This notice of proposed waiver and extension does not contain any 
information collection requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    The NHCTEP is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    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: 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 this 
site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 2326(h).

    Dated: February 13, 2012.
Brenda Dann-Messier,
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2012-3673 Filed 2-15-12; 8:45 am]
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