[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7397-7398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02712]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 75


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

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.259A.

AGENCY: Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.

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SUMMARY: For the Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program 
(NHCTEP), the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements that 
generally prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation 
of additional Federal funds and extend the project periods of the seven 
current NHCTEP grants for up to an additional 24 months. This proposed 
waiver and extension would allow the seven current NHCTEP grantees to 
seek continuation awards annually through fiscal year (FY) 2016 and 
possibly through FY 2017.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before March 12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments regarding this proposed extension and 
waiver to Linda Mayo, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue 
SW., Room 11075, Potomac Center Plaza (PCP), 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 or a text 
telephone, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
this proposed waiver and extension of the project period.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed waiver and extension in Room 11075, PCP, 
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 notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    NHCTEP, authorized by section 116 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
Technical Education Act of 2006 (Act), supports grants to community-
based organizations primarily serving and representing Native 
Hawaiians.\1\ Under this program, grantees carry out projects that 
provide organized educational

[[Page 7398]]

activities offering a sequence of courses that--
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    \1\ For purposes of NHCTEP, ``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.
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    (a) Provides individuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned 
with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge 
and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in 
current or emerging professions;
    (b) Provides technical skill proficiency, an industry-recognized 
credential, a certificate, or an associate degree; and
    (c) Includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to 
the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving 
skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical and 
occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an 
industry, including entrepreneurship, of an individual. Projects may 
include prerequisite courses (other than remedial courses) that meet 
the definitional requirements of section 3(5)(A) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 
2302(5)(A)).
    On June 14, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR 
35877) a notice inviting applications for NHCTEP grants (2013 NIA). 
Although the Secretary invited applications with a proposed project 
period of five years in previous NHCTEP competitions, in 2013, in 
anticipation of congressional reauthorization of the Act, the 
Department invited applications with proposed project periods of 24 
months. The project periods for the NHCTEP projects funded under the 
2013 NIA are scheduled to end in 2015. Because there is the potential 
for changes in the authorizing legislation for NHCTEP beyond 2015, we 
do not believe it would be in the public interest to hold a new NHCTEP 
competition in FY 2015 for projects that may then operate for just one 
year or 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. Further, we do not think that it would be in the public 
interest to have a lapse in the services currently provided by the 
NHCTEP grantees.
    For these reasons, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements 
of 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2) that generally prohibit project period 
extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The 
Secretary also proposes to extend the NHCTEP project period for up to 
24 months. The proposed waiver and extension would allow the current 
NHCTEP grantees to request and continue to receive Federal funding 
annually for project periods through FY 2016 and possibly through FY 
2017. We intend to fund the extended project period by using funds 
appropriated for FY 2015 or FY 2016, depending on whether the grants 
are extended for one or two years.
    If the waiver of the requirements of 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2) 
that we propose in this notice is announced by a notice of final waiver 
and extension of the project period published in the Federal Register: 
(1) The requirements applicable to continuation awards for current 
NHCTEP grantees set forth in the 2013 NIA and the requirements in 34 
CFR 75.253 would apply to any continuation awards sought by current 
NHCTEP grantees; (2) we will make decisions regarding annual 
continuation awards based on grantee program narratives, budgets and 
budget narratives, and performance reports and the requirements in 34 
CFR 75.253; and (3) we will not announce a new competition or make new 
awards in FY 2015.
    The proposed waiver and project period extension would not exempt 
the current NHCTEP grantees from the appropriation account closing 
provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), nor would they extend the availability 
of funds previously awarded to current NHCTEP grantees. As a result of 
31 U.S.C. 1552(a), appropriations available for a limited period may be 
used for payment of valid obligations for only five years after the 
expiration of their period of availability for Federal obligation. 
After that time, the unexpended balance of those funds is canceled and 
returned to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is unavailable for 
restoration for any purpose (31 U.S.C. 1552(b)).

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension and 
the activities required to support additional years 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 seven currently funded NHCTEP grantees and 
any other potential applicants.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because 
the extension of an existing project imposes minimal compliance costs, 
and the activities required to support the additional years 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.

    Dated: February 4, 2015.
Johan E. Uvin,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2015-02712 Filed 2-9-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P