[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18808-18818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07354]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Parts 612 and 686

RIN 1840-AD07
[Docket ID ED-2014-OPE-0057]


Teacher Preparation Issues

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking; re-opening of the 
comment period for specific issues.

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SUMMARY: On December 3, 2014, the Department published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to implement requirements for the teacher 
preparation program accountability system under title II of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), and also to amend the 
regulations governing the Teacher Education Assistance for College and 
Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program under title IV of the HEA. The 
comment period closed on February 2, 2015.
    The Department received over 4,800 comments in response to the 
NPRM. Some commenters requested clarification regarding how the 
proposed State reporting requirements would affect teacher preparation 
programs provided through distance education and TEACH Grant 
eligibility for students enrolled in teacher preparation programs 
provided through distance education. In response to these comments, the 
Department is considering revising the proposed regulations to clarify 
these areas.
    This supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (supplemental NPRM) 
therefore reopens the public comment period on the Teacher Preparation 
Issues proposed rule for 30 days solely to seek comment on these 
specific issues. The Department is not soliciting comments on any other 
issues related to the December 3, 2014, NPRM, and the Department will 
not consider public comments that address issues other than those 
specific to reporting by States on teacher preparation programs 
provided through distance education and TEACH Grant eligibility 
requirements for teacher preparation programs provided through distance 
education.

DATES: The comment period for a specific topic in the NPRM published on 
December 3, 2014 (79 FR 71820), is reopened. The due date for comments 
discussed in this supplemental NPRM is May 2, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments by fax or by email. To ensure that we do not receive 
duplicate copies, please submit your comments only one time. In 
addition, please include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency

[[Page 18809]]

documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on 
the site under ``How to use Regulations.gov.''
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about these proposed regulations, address 
them to Sophia McArdle, Ph.D., U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW., room 6W256, Washington, DC 20202.

    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to 
include in their comments only information that they wish to make 
publicly available.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sophia McArdle, Ph.D., U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 6W256, Washington, DC 
20202. Telephone: (202) 453-6318 or by email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 3, 2014, the Department published an NPRM in the 
Federal Register (79 FR 71820) proposing requirements for the teacher 
preparation program accountability system under title II of the HEA 
(title II reporting system) that would result in the development and 
distribution of more meaningful data on teacher preparation program 
quality. That NPRM also included amendments to the regulations 
governing the TEACH Grant Program under title IV of the HEA that would 
condition TEACH Grant program funding on teacher preparation program 
quality, as well as update, clarify, and improve the current 
regulations to align them with the title II reporting system. The 
Department received over 4,800 comments in response to the proposed 
regulations.
    The NPRM contained proposed requirements for State reporting on 
teacher preparation programs provided through distance education under 
the title II reporting system, as well as proposed regulations 
governing TEACH Grant eligibility for teacher preparation programs 
provided through distance education. Some commenters expressed concern 
that the proposed regulations did not provide enough clarity with 
respect to the requirements for teacher preparation programs provided 
through distance education. These commenters expressed concern about 
two specific areas in the proposed regulations related to teacher 
preparation programs offered through distance education.
    The first area of concern was State reporting on teacher 
preparation programs provided through distance education. In the NPRM, 
we included requirements for States to report on certain metrics 
(student learning outcomes, employment outcomes, survey outcomes, and 
program characteristics) for teacher preparation programs in the State, 
including distance education programs. The NPRM proposed that the State 
reporting requirements would apply to all teacher preparation programs, 
including those offered through distance education. Our intent was to 
ensure that the State reporting requirements were consistent across 
teacher preparation programs, including teacher preparation programs 
provided through distance education. Commenters questioned which State 
would be responsible for reporting on, and determining the performance 
level for, teacher preparation programs provided through distance 
education.
    Commenters stated that the proposed requirement was unclear. They 
specifically asked for clarification on whether only one State would be 
responsible for reporting on, and determining the performance level of, 
teacher preparation programs offered through distance education, or 
whether any State in which a teacher preparation program provided 
through distance education that enrolled students would do so. For 
example, according to some commenters, the proposed regulations could 
be interpreted as requiring a State to report: (a) Only if students 
enrolled in that program resided or become certified in the State; or 
(b) only if the teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education is physically headquartered in the State. The commenters 
asked us to clarify which of these alternatives would apply. Commenters 
also asked whether States would have to report on teacher preparation 
programs provided through distance education if those programs 
generated fewer than 25 teachers in a given State.
    The second area of concern expressed by some commenters relates to 
TEACH Grant eligibility for students enrolling in teacher preparation 
programs offered through distance education. Commenters noted that 
there are teacher preparation programs offered through distance 
education that are available in multiple States, and, therefore, the 
same program could be rated as effective by one State and low-
performing or at-risk of being low- performing by another. Commenters 
stated that the proposed regulations were unclear regarding both how 
TEACH Grant eligibility would be determined for students enrolled in a 
teacher preparation program offered through distance education, and, 
specifically, in instances where different States provide conflicting 
ratings. Commenters asked the Department to clarify these points in the 
regulations.

Provisions Under Consideration

    In light of these comments, we are seeking comment on the proposals 
in this supplemental NPRM that would amend the proposed regulations. In 
particular, the Department seeks comments and recommendations on ways 
to improve, and alternatives to, these proposed amendments to the 
proposed regulations included in this supplemental NPRM.
    In this regard, we note that while our NPRM proposed to incorporate 
the definition of ``distance education'' in 34 CFR 600.2, we know that 
some teacher preparation programs combine aspects of distance education 
with aspects of preparation that occur in a ``brick and mortar'' 
setting. While we solicit comments and recommendations on any aspect of 
this NPRM, we specifically solicit comments and recommendations on--
    (1) Under what circumstances, for purposes of both reporting and 
determining the teacher preparation program's level of overall 
performance, a State should use procedures applicable to teacher 
education programs offered through distance education and when it 
should use procedures for teacher preparation programs provided at 
brick and mortar institutions, and
    (2) For a single program, if one State uses procedures applicable 
to teacher preparation programs offered through distance education, and 
another State uses procedures for teacher preparation programs provided 
at brick and mortar, what are the implications, especially for TEACH 
Eligibility, and how these inconsistencies should be addressed.

Section 612.4--What are the regulatory reporting requirements for the 
State report card?

    In the December 2014 NPRM, proposed Sec.  612.4 requires that each 
State report to the Secretary, using a State report card (SRC) that is 
prescribed by the Secretary, on the quality of all approved teacher 
preparation programs in the State (both traditional teacher preparation 
programs and alternative routes to State certification or licensure 
programs), including distance education programs.

[[Page 18810]]

We also proposed that this reporting would occur regardless of whether 
or not those programs enroll students receiving Federal assistance 
under the HEA. As previously noted, although the Department intended 
that our proposed State reporting requirements apply to all teacher 
preparation programs, including those provided through distance 
education, we received comments asking for clarification on how and 
when States would need to report on teacher preparation programs 
provided through distance education.
    To clarify how States must report on the quality of all teacher 
preparation programs provided through distance education in the State, 
we are proposing to amend the proposed regulations by striking the 
words ``including distance education programs'' from proposed Sec.  
612.4(a)(1)(1); redesignating proposed Sec.  612.4(a)(1)(ii) as 
proposed Sec.  612.4(a)(1)(iii); and adding new proposed Sec.  
612.4(a)(1)(ii). This new provision would require States to report on 
the quality of all teacher preparation programs provided through 
distance education in the State in ways that meet the reporting and 
aggregation requirements proposed in Sec.  612.4(b)(4); however, rather 
than determine that the program produces 25 new teachers as set forth 
in our proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4), for teacher preparation programs 
provided through distance education, a State would determine whether 
there are at least 25 new teachers from that program who become 
certified in the State in a given title II reporting year.
    Under Sec.  612.4(b)(4) as proposed in the December 2014 NPRM, 
except for certain programs subject to proposed Sec.  
612.4(b)(4)(ii)(D) or (E), each State would ensure that all of its 
teacher preparation programs are represented in the SRC. Consistent 
with the NPRM, States would report on a teacher preparation program 
provided through distance education individually if the program 
produced at least 25 new teachers in the State, and would report 
through different aggregation methods if it produced fewer than 25 new 
teachers in the State.
    In contrast, under new proposed Sec.  612.4(a)(1)(ii), which 
applies to teacher preparation programs provided through distance 
education, consistent with the reporting threshold of 25 or more new 
teachers for reporting in previously proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4)(1), 
each State would be required to report annually and separately on the 
performance of each teacher preparation program provided through 
distance education if at least 25 graduates of that program become 
certified in the State in a title II reporting year. For teacher 
preparation programs provided through distance education, if fewer than 
25 graduates of that program become certified in the State in a given 
title II reporting year, reporting would be accomplished consistent 
with the methods of reporting addressed in proposed Sec.  
612.4(b)(4)(ii). These proposed regulations would also permit a State, 
at its discretion, to establish a program size threshold lower than 25.
    Thus, for a distance education program that produces fewer than 25 
new teachers whom the State has certified to teach in a given title II 
reporting year, the State would use the same procedures for data 
aggregation in proposed Sec.  612.4(a)(1)(ii)(A)-(C) as the State would 
use for all other small teacher preparation programs. Under proposed 
Sec.  612.4(a)(1)(ii)(D) and (E), the State would be permitted to 
exclude from reporting distance education programs that are 
particularly small, for which aggregation procedures cannot be applied, 
or where reporting on those programs would be inconsistent with State 
or Federal privacy or confidentiality laws and regulations.
    We are now proposing this regulation because of the inherent 
differences between ``brick and mortar'' teacher preparation programs 
and teacher preparation programs provided through distance education. 
Unlike teacher preparation programs physically located in a State that 
produce new teachers whom a State may easily confirm as completers of 
that program, a teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education generally does not have a physical location in the State, and 
its students could be participating in the program from anywhere. Any 
State would have great difficulty identifying and tracking new teachers 
the distance education program produces, much less new teachers it 
produces who plan to teach in the State.
    Because we understand that States track individuals whom they 
certify as teachers in the State and collect what teacher preparation 
programs they have completed, it seems reasonable to apply the same 
State reporting requirements for distance education programs as we have 
proposed for ``brick and mortar'' programs that are physically located 
in the State with the one modification described above. That is, 
instead of the State reporting on the program based on the number of 
new teachers it produced in a given title II reporting year, for 
distance education programs the State would report using the procedures 
in proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4) based on whether the distance education 
program produced at least 25 teachers or fewer than 25 whom the State 
had certified to teach in the State in the title II reporting year. 
Where these teachers resided when they took the program would not 
matter.

Section 686.2 Definitions

High-Quality Teacher Preparation Program Provided Through Distance 
Education

    For purposes of TEACH Grant eligibility, in the NPRM we proposed 
that, to be eligible for a TEACH Grant, an otherwise eligible student 
must, in part, be enrolled in a high-quality teacher preparation 
program. As previously noted, we received comments asking us to clarify 
how TEACH Grant eligibility would be determined for a student enrolled 
in a teacher preparation program offered through distance education, 
and specifically how TEACH Grant eligibility would be determined for a 
student if one State rates a teacher preparation program offered 
through distance education as ineffective and another State rates it as 
effective.
    To clarify how TEACH Grant eligibility would be determined for a 
teacher preparation program provided through distance education, in 
this supplemental NPRM we are proposing to add a definition for the 
term ``high-quality teacher preparation program provided through 
distance education.'' We would also make corresponding changes to the 
definitions of TEACH Grant-eligible institution and TEACH Grant-
eligible program.
    The proposed definition of a high-quality teacher preparation 
program in the December 2014 NPRM links a State's classification of a 
teacher preparation program as being of effective or exceptional to an 
institution physically located in the State; this classification is 
thus made on a State-by-State basis. We believe this proposed 
definition works well for ``brick and mortar'' teacher preparation 
programs offered by an institution physically located in a State, but 
not for teacher preparation programs provided through distance 
education as individuals may take those programs anywhere.
    Furthermore, the types of teacher preparation programs provided 
through distance education that are offered by institutions vary. Some 
teacher preparation programs provided through distance education are 
State-specific, meaning that they are designed to prepare individuals 
to serve in a specific State, (e.g., an Elementary Education program 
directed at teachers in California), while others are offered in 
multiple States and are not tailored to any specific State. We believe 
that,

[[Page 18811]]

just as with ``brick and mortar'' teacher preparation programs, it is 
important to establish a feedback loop between teacher preparation 
programs provided through distance education and States, schools, and 
the public to inform the State that certifies its graduates as new 
teachers, the school districts in that State that hire them, and the 
general public. Additionally, all States should be able to assess, and 
hold accountable, the teacher preparation programs from which their 
teachers graduated according to their own standards and expectations. 
Institutions providing teacher preparation programs through distance 
education in multiple States should have an incentive to adapt those 
programs to be State-specific so that they can be responsive to the 
needs of that State and receive ratings that reflect performance only 
in that specific State.
    Thus, the new proposed definition for a high-quality teacher 
preparation program provided through distance education would require 
that no single State has classified the program as low-performing or 
at-risk of being low- performing.
    More specifically, we are proposing to define a high-quality 
teacher preparation program provided through distance education as a 
teacher preparation program provided through distance education that: 
(a) For TEACH Grant program purposes in the 2021-2022 title IV award 
year, is not classified by any State as low-performing or at-risk of 
being low performing under 34 CFR 612.4(b) in either or both the April 
2020 and/or April 2021 SRCs; and (b) for TEACH Grant program purposes 
in the 2022-2023 title IV award year and subsequent award years, is not 
classified by any State as low-performing or at-risk of being low-
performing under 34 CFR 612.4(b) for two out of the previous three 
years, with the earliest year being the April 2020 SRC. Taking into 
consideration that we have not yet published final regulations, we are 
proposing to move the implementation dates for these proposed 
regulations back by one year to account for the delay.
    Thus, as with students enrolled in ``brick and mortar'' teacher 
preparation programs for the 2021-2022 title IV award year, no student 
enrolled in a teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education would be able to receive a TEACH Grant, regardless of their 
State of residence, if the program is classified by any State as low-
performing or at-risk of being low-performing under 34 CFR 612.4(b) in 
either or both the April 2020 and/or April 2021 SRC. For TEACH Grant 
program purposes in the 2022-2023 title IV award year, students in the 
distance education program would not be able to receive TEACH Grants in 
any State if it is classified by any State as low-performing or at-risk 
of being low-performing under 34 CFR 612.4(b), in any two of the April 
2020, 2021, or 2022 SRCs.
    In other words, if one State classified a teacher preparation 
program provided through distance education as low-performing or at-
risk of being low-performing in April 2020 and a different State 
classified the program as low-performing or at-risk in April of 2021, 
no student in any State who participates in that same distance 
education program would be able to receive a TEACH Grant in the 2021-
2022 title IV award year because the program had been classified as 
low-performing or at-risk in both years by at least one State. 
Similarly, beginning with the April 2020 State Report Card, for the 
2022-2023 title IV award year and subsequent award years, if one State 
classified a teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education as low-performing or at-risk for one year under 34 CFR 
612.4(b), and another State classified the same distance education 
program as low-performing or at-risk of being low-performing in at 
least one of the next two years, no student in any State enrolled in 
that distance education program would be able to receive a TEACH Grant 
in the 2022-2023 title IV HEA award year.
    We are confident that a State that has granted teacher 
certification to graduates of a teacher preparation program provided 
through distance education, and then found the program to be low-
performing or at-risk of being low-performing, will want to work 
proactively with the program to improve its performance and to ensure 
that, when next evaluated, the State is able to report an acceptable 
level of performance. Moreover, even if only one State were to classify 
a teacher preparation program provided through distance education as 
low-performing or at-risk, this fact should raise great concern. Given 
that prospective teachers in teacher preparation programs provided 
through distance education may be seeking teaching positions in any of 
a number of States, they should be aware that one or more States have 
deemed that certain teacher preparation programs provided through 
distance education were classified as less than effective. We strongly 
believe that the States that rated the teacher preparation program 
provided through distance education as effective will want to work with 
the program in question to ensure that the program would maintain its 
effective or better classification, and the States that found the 
performance of the program to be less than effective would want to work 
with the program to ensure that the poor performance rating does not 
recur. Finally, we believe that this proposed provision will help 
ensure that eligibility to award TEACH grants is limited to IHEs that 
the Secretary determines provide high-quality teacher preparation, 
pursuant to HEA section 420L(1)(A).

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)

Discussion of Costs, Benefits, and Transfers

    The Department has analyzed the costs of complying with the 
proposed regulations in this supplemental NPRM. Due to uncertainty 
about the total number of distance education programs in the country 
that would be subject to reporting under these proposed regulations, 
the current capacity of States in some relevant areas, and the 
considerable discretion the regulations would provide States (e.g., the 
flexibility States would have in determining who conducts the teacher 
and employer surveys), we cannot evaluate the costs of implementing the 
regulations with absolute precision. However, based on the assumptions 
discussed below, we estimate that these proposed regulations would have 
a total annualized cost of approximately $234 thousand over ten years 
above those costs calculated for the remainder of the proposed 
regulations in the December 3, 2014 NPRM. We note that the analysis of 
costs, benefits, and transfers that follows uses the same categories of 
analysis as those included in the NPRM. For example, in the NPRM, the 
Department estimated cost and burden associated with the SRC based on a 
number of categories including, but not limited to, completing the SRC, 
posting the SRC on the State's Web site, and ensuring meaningful 
differentiation of programs. In this analysis, we use the same 
categories, though our estimates for each category have been revised in 
many instances to reflect public comment and current information and 
thinking. For example, we have updated the applicable wage rates to 
reflect the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics and have increased the estimated time it would take to post 
the SRC to the State Web site from 0.25 hours to 0.5 hours. In this 
supplemental NPRM, the Department does not discuss or provide our 
responses to public comment on the estimates in our original NPRM but

[[Page 18812]]

simply uses the revised estimated burden hours for our calculations. We 
will discuss public comment to all estimates in both NPRMs in our 
notice of final rulemaking. Additionally, we note that our estimates 
also have been revised to reflect updated wage rate data.\1\
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    \1\ Unless otherwise specified, all hourly wage estimates for 
particular occupation categories were taken from the May 2014 
National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for Federal, 
State, and local government published by the Department of Labor's 
Bureau of Labor Statistics and available online at www.bls.gov/oes/current/999001.htm.
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    The following is a detailed analysis of the estimated costs of 
implementing the specific requirements, including the costs of 
complying with paperwork-related requirements, followed by a discussion 
of the anticipated benefits. The burden hours of implementing specific 
paperwork-related requirements are also shown in the tables in the 
Paperwork Reduction Act section of this supplemental NPRM.

Number of Distance Education Programs

    As noted elsewhere in this supplemental NPRM, these proposed 
regulations clarify States' responsibilities regarding reporting on 
teacher preparation programs offered through distance education. 
Reporting and accountability for such programs were not directly 
discussed in the original NPRM, and, therefore, were not explicitly 
included in our original cost estimates. However, upon review of prior 
State submissions under title II of the HEA, it is clear that at least 
some States have been reporting on distance education programs, though 
it is unclear to what extent such reporting was systematic either 
within or across States. As such, we believe that there will be an 
increase in the costs and burdens associated with reporting and 
accountability for such programs relative to our initial estimates.
    In order to quantify the extent of these costs and burdens, the 
Department must first estimate the total number of teacher preparation 
programs provided through distance education on which reporting will be 
required. However, this is not a simple task. As noted above, States 
have not been systematically reporting on such programs, and it is 
possible that, under the proposed regulations, multiple States will be 
required to report on the same program (if, for example, a single 
distance education program produces 25 new teachers who become 
certified in each of multiple States). To estimate the total number of 
distance education teacher preparation programs nationwide, we used 
publicly available data from the Department's Integrated Postsecondary 
Education Data System (IPEDS).
    In the IPEDS Completions survey component, IHEs identify programs 
of study at their institutions using Classification of Instructional 
Programs (CIP) codes that correspond to the particular subject area or 
focus of coursework. For each six-digit CIP code, the first two digits 
reference a broad area of study (e.g., CIP codes beginning ``13'' are 
all education-focused programs). The next two digits of a CIP code 
reference a more specific, but still somewhat broad category of study 
within the broader subject area (e.g., CIP codes beginning with 
``13.12'' are all ``Teacher Education and Professional Development, 
Specific Levels and Methods'' programs). The final two digits of a six-
digit CIP code reference the specific course of study that is being 
undertaken (e.g., the CIP code ``13.1202'' references a course of study 
in ``Elementary Education and Teaching''). To be clear, these CIP codes 
do not directly align to a ``teacher preparation program'' as defined 
in the proposed regulations. However, we believe that the use of these 
CIP codes approximates those teacher preparation programs as close as 
is possible using available data in IPEDS. We note that the use of CIP 
codes will result in collapsing multiple teacher preparation programs 
(as defined in the proposed regulations) that focus on the same area 
into a single ``program'' as we are able to capture it through IPEDS. 
For example, if an IHE has both traditional and alternative route 
teacher preparation programs in Elementary Education and Teaching, both 
teacher preparation programs (as defined in the proposed regulation) 
will be collapsed into one reporting instance under CIP code 13.1202. 
As such, it is possible that we may end up underestimating the total 
number of programs or overestimating the size of individual programs. 
However, we believe that, because we are using these data to identify 
distance education programs, we are unlikely to have major issues 
underestimating the number of such programs due to the aggregation 
within CIP codes, as we believe it is highly unlikely that an 
individual IHE would have multiple teacher preparation programs (as 
defined in the proposed regulations) offered through distance education 
within the same CIP code (e.g., an IHE is unlikely to have two distance 
education teacher preparation programs in Elementary Education and 
Teaching leading to a Master's degree). Additionally, we believe that 
the use of other data points within the IPEDS system can help mitigate 
any issues related to the overestimate of the number of students in 
each program.
    We first identified education programs nationwide that corresponded 
to CIP codes (either four or six digits) reported to the Department in 
the most recent title II reporting period. We then used additional 
information available in IPEDS to determine whether each of these 
programs were offered through distance education, the total number of 
program completers with the specific CIP code in the past year, and 
their award level (bachelors, Masters, etc.). For purposes of our final 
analysis, we only included awards of a Bachelor's degree, post-
baccalaureate certificate, Master's degree, or post-Master's 
certificate. This was based on our belief that programs offering other 
types of academic awards (e.g., Associate's degrees and doctorates) 
were unlikely to be programs leading to an initial teacher 
certification or licensure. Using this procedure, we identified 18,196 
programs in IPEDS, where a program is a unique combination of 
institution, six-digit CIP code, and award level.\2\ Of these 18,196 
programs, 2,158 had a distance education component. This sub-set of 
distance education programs provided our base dataset for this 
analysis.
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    \2\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education 
Statistics. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 
Completions component (2013 final data).
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    As noted elsewhere in this supplemental NPRM, States are required 
to report in their SRCs on all programs provided through distance 
education that produce teachers to whom the State has granted State 
certification; consistent with proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4), how a State 
reports depends on whether or not the State certifies at least 25 or 
more new teachers in any given title II reporting year. However, the 
IPEDS dataset does not provide the specific number of students in each 
program who completed the program via distance education, only the 
total number of completers and whether or not each program is offered 
via distance education. However, there are several ways to estimate the 
number of individuals who completed these programs through distance 
education.\3\
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    \3\ We focus on distance education program completers because we 
cannot use these IPEDS data (or any other data readily available to 
the Department) to determine the number of individuals (by program) 
who ultimately became certified new teachers. As such, and because 
we know that not all program completers ultimately become certified 
new teachers, our approach will likely generate an over-estimate of 
the actual number of new teachers and therefore of the number of 
programs that meet the minimum size requirements.

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[[Page 18813]]

    One way of estimating the number of individuals who complete 
teacher preparation programs offered through distance education is to 
assume that all individuals who complete a program that has a distance 
education component did so using the distance education option. This 
would, of course, provide the highest estimate for the total number of 
distance education students. However, it would fail to account for 
programs (unique CIP code/degree level/institution combinations) that 
are offered both on-site and through distance education and offer only 
a single degree (e.g., a post-baccalaureate certificate program that 
can be taken online or in person, with half of graduates using each 
option). As such, we believe this methodology would result in an 
overestimate of the actual number of new distance education programs on 
which reporting would be required, particularly given the low level of 
distance education enrollment across institutions in this analytical 
sample (over 45 percent of institutions had a distance education 
enrollment rate of less than 10 percent).
    IPEDS does offer data on the total number of individuals enrolled 
in programs through distance education at the institution level, but 
does not do so at the program (CIP code) level. However, as an 
alternative to the first methodology, we could use the institution-wide 
distance education rate as a proxy for the percentage of students in 
the teacher preparation program enrolled via distance education (i.e., 
if 12 percent of an institution's students are enrolled in distance 
education, we would assume that 12 percent of the students in the 
teacher preparation program are also enrolled via distance education). 
While this approach would account for programs offered in multiple 
modalities (i.e., CIP codes that have aggregated teacher preparation 
programs, as defined in the proposed regulations, that are offered via 
distance education with those offered in person), such an estimate may 
or may not be reasonable depending on whether the enrollment patterns 
of the specific teacher preparation program mirror the enrollment 
patterns of the institution as a whole. If a particular teacher 
preparation degree program at College A (for instance, a Master's 
degree in Secondary Education and Teaching) were only offered via 
distance education while the majority of students enrolled in College A 
were not enrolled via distance education, this methodology would under-
estimate the size of the teacher preparation program in College A. 
However, while we believe this methodology may result in over- or 
under-estimates for individual programs, when aggregated across all 
programs, these individual errors will likely cancel each other out.\4\
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    \4\ We note that our estimates also assume that the percentage 
of distance education enrollment is also the same as the percentage 
of students completing programs via distance education. To the 
extent that distance education enrollees are more or less likely to 
complete their program of study, this assumption will result in an 
under- or over-estimate of the number of distance education program 
completers.
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    Despite the improvements that an enrollment rate for distance 
education programs may make to our estimates, the requirements on 
reporting of distance education programs apply, under existing 
regulations, and these proposed regulations, to all teacher preparation 
programs in the State. As such, we assume that States would have 
already reported on such programs operating in their State in the 
current Title II data collection. In that instance, costs associated 
with these programs would have been included in the regulatory impact 
analysis in the December 3, 2014 NPRM. For example, if 70 percent of 
students in a teacher preparation program in Ohio are enrolled in a 
distance education program, and all of the program graduates become 
newly certified teachers in Ohio, the status of those recent graduates 
as distance education graduates would not result in any additional cost 
or burden on Ohio or other States because Ohio would have already been 
responsible for reporting on the program under the existing Title II 
data collection, and therefore costs related to implementing our 
proposed regulations are already a part of the cost estimates in our 
December 2014 NPRM (which used the current number of programs reported 
under title II of the HEA as a baseline).
    Therefore, we believe that the best approach to estimating the 
costs of the regulations proposed in this supplemental NPRM is to use 
the number of students enrolled via distance education who, during the 
time they are enrolled, are located in a State or jurisdiction other 
than the one in which the institution is located.\5\ In this instance, 
the State or States in which these ``out of State'' individuals are 
located (and, we will assume, the State(s) in which they will 
ultimately become new teachers), is the one with the reporting burden 
generated by the proposed regulations. Thus, in addition to the two 
methodologies described above, as another approach, we can also use the 
percentage of students enrolled via distance education outside of the 
State in which the institution is located as a proxy for the percentage 
of students who will become new teachers in another State. While we 
believe that this is the best estimation methodology of the three, for 
transparency purposes, in Table 1 below, we provide estimates using all 
three methodologies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education 
Statistics. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 
Fall enrollment survey component (2014 provisional data).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Once we have developed an estimate of the number of program 
completers for each program (unique CIP code/degree/institution 
combination), we must calculate the total number of programs on which 
States will be reporting. As provided in proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4), a 
State would be required to report on any teacher preparation program 
that produces 25 or more new teachers in a given reporting year and 
smaller programs, subject to a number of aggregation methods. While we 
do not have data on the number of new teachers produced by each of the 
distance teacher preparation programs in our database for this 
analysis, as stated above, we will assume that all program completers 
become new teachers in the State where they were located when 
completing the course. This will result in an overestimate of the 
reporting burden on States, as not all individuals completing such 
distance education programs will become new teachers. Using our 
dataset, we determined that 710 programs nationally had at least 25 
program completers. Using the out-of-State distance education estimate 
as described above, there would only be 109 programs that required 
annual reporting beyond those in our initial estimates (which included 
26,589 programs \6\).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ The estimates included in our original NPRM used 25,000 
programs. However, since that time, more recent data are available 
from Title II reporting, which shows that there were 26,589 programs 
during the 2012-2013 academic year, spread across 2,171 providers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to having States report on those programs that produce 
25 or more new teachers in a given reporting year, proposed Sec.  
612.4(b)(4)(ii) provides options for aggregating smaller programs that 
produce fewer teachers each year. Beginning with Sec.  
612.4(b)(4)(ii)(A), one option a State has is to aggregate data across 
programs operated by the same teacher preparation entity that are 
similar to or broader than the program in content. In order to estimate 
the number of additional programs that this provision would add to the 
calculations, we aggregated data for programs with fewer than 25 
program completers with

[[Page 18814]]

other programs at the same institution with the same four-digit CIP 
code. This procedure not only collapsed programs across award levels 
(e.g., counting Bachelor's degrees and post-baccalaureate certificates 
together), but also instructional programs that were largely similar to 
one another (e.g., counting ``Special Education and Teaching, General'' 
and ``Special Education and Teaching, Other'' together). In doing so, 
we identified an additional 25 programs that could meet the program 
size threshold when assuming all program completers were distance 
education students (150 programs when not using any distance education 
proxies).
    Under proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4)(ii)(B), States could alternatively 
aggregate small programs across reporting years (not to exceed four) 
until a sufficient program size was reached. In order to estimate the 
number of additional distance programs that this clause would generate, 
we determined the number of programs that generated fewer than 25 
program completers in a given year that would, if aggregated across no 
more than four years, generate the required program size. In doing so, 
we identified a total of only 253 teacher preparation programs provided 
through distance education nationwide that had 25 or more program 
completers in a given year or, if aggregated across four years, would 
have at least 25 program completers.
    Under proposed Sec.  612.4(b)(4)(ii)(C), a State may use a 
combination of the two methods described above in order to meet the 
program size thresholds. For this estimate, the Department began by 
determining those programs that either did not have 25 program 
completers in a given year or would not generate 25 new teachers when 
aggregated across a number of years, not to exceed four. We then 
determined how many of the remaining programs could generate the 
required program size if aggregated with programs at the same 
institution with similar CIP codes (four digits) and with program 
completers aggregated across multiple years, not to exceed four. In 
using all of these combinations, the Department developed an estimate 
of 295 teacher preparation programs offered through distance education.
    To provide upper-bound estimates of the burden these proposed 
distance education requirements would place on States, the Department 
used a different methodology to create proxy ``programs''--groups of 25 
program completers regardless of their actual course of study. First, 
the Department estimated the maximum number of ``programs'' on which a 
State would have to report if students at each institution were divided 
into the smallest possible programs that met the reporting thresholds 
(e.g., if there were 100 program completers from University A, then 
States would have to report on a maximum of four ``programs'' of 25 
completers each). Using this method, the Department developed an upper 
bound estimate of 3,013 programs. Similarly, if the Department did not 
consider either institution- or program-level information and divided 
the total number of program completers for all programs nationally in 
which distance education was an option, the Department estimates a 
maximum number of programs on which States would be required to report 
of 3,266. Obviously, the Department believes that these represent 
extreme upper bounds, as State-, institution-, and program-level 
differentiation would stop such a high level of reporting from being 
required.
    As stated above, because the proposed regulations would only 
require additional reporting insofar as students are new teachers 
certified in States other than the one in which the institution is 
located, the Department believes that 295 is a reasonable estimate for 
the total number of additional teacher preparation programs provided 
through distance education on which States will be required to report 
beyond the reporting included in our initial estimates contained in the 
December 2014 NPRM. However, to further capture the maximum increased 
burden associated with this estimate, the Department further determined 
the maximum number of reporting instances that these 295 programs could 
generate. If new teachers from these 295 programs were divided into as 
many groups of 25 new teachers as possible (thus mandating reporting by 
the State), we estimate that there would be as many as 812 reporting 
instances from these 295 programs. As such, in the estimates that 
follow, we will calculate burden based on 812 additional reports 
required by States.

  Table 1--Estimates of the Number of Teacher Preparation Programs Provided Through Distance Education on Which
                                 Reporting Would Be Required Under Sec.   612.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  All completers
                                                                   from programs  Total distance   Out-of-state
                                                                    offered via      proxy \1\    distance proxy
                                                                     distance                           \2\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Program-dependent calculations \3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programs with 25+ completers....................................             710             203             109
Programs with 25+ completers plus programs with 25+ completers               860             250             134
 in programs with similar CIP codes \4\.........................
Programs with 25+ completers plus programs with 25+ completers             1,387             552             253
 over 4 years \5\...............................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programs with 25+ completers plus programs with 25+ completers             1,501             654             295
 over 4 years plus programs with 25+ completers across 4 years
 in programs with similar CIP codes.............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Institution-dependent calculations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dividing total number of completers across all programs into               3,013           1,118             727
 proxy ``programs'' of 25.......................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Institution-independent calculations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dividing all completers across all programs and institutions               3,266           1,271             798
 into proxy ``programs'' of 25..................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Department used the percentage of students across the institution as a whole enrolled exclusively via
  distance education as a proxy for the percentage of program completers in each program who were enrolled via
  distance education.
\2\ The Department used the percentage of students across the institution as a whole enrolled via distance
  education in a State or jurisdiction other than the State or jurisdiction of the institution as a proxy for
  the percentage of program completers in each program who were enrolled via distance education.

[[Page 18815]]

 
\3\ For purposes of this table, a ``program'' is defined using a six-digit CIP code and award level at a
  particular institution of higher education.
\4\ The Department first determined programs with fewer than 25 program completers and then summed the
  completers across programs at the same institution with the same four-digit CIP code. This total was summed
  with the count in the ``Programs with 25+ completers'' row.
\5\ The Department first determined programs with fewer than 25 completers and then multiplied the number of
  completers by 4 to determine whether a four-year aggregation of data would generate a sufficient program size.
  This total was summed with the count in the ``Programs with 25+ completers'' row.

Institutional Report Card Reporting Requirements

    The proposed regulations would require that each IHE that conducts 
a traditional teacher preparation program or alternative route to State 
certification or licensure program and enrolls students who receive 
title IV, HEA funds, report to the State on the quality of its program 
using an institutional report card (IRC) prescribed by the Secretary. 
While the proposed regulations would shift the data IHEs report from 
the institutional level to the program level, the IRC would continue to 
be compiled, reported, and posted by the IHE. Given that the proposed 
regulations would not change the IHEs that are subject to IRC reporting 
requirements, we do not believe that there would be any increased costs 
associated with these proposed regulations above those already included 
in our estimates. Regardless of whether individual programs are offered 
via distance or not, we assume that those programs are already included 
in IRCs. Rather, the impact of the proposed regulations will be to 
increase the burden on States to report on additional programs that are 
not located in their States, not to increase the number of programs on 
which institutions are required to report.

State Report Card Reporting Requirements

    Section 205(b) of the HEA requires each State that receives funds 
under the HEA to report annually to the Secretary on the quality of 
teacher preparation in the State, both for traditional teacher 
preparation programs and for alternative routes to State certification 
or licensure programs, and to make this report available to the general 
public. In the cost estimates included in the December 3, 2014 NPRM, 
the Department assumed it would take the 50 States, the District of 
Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 
the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States, which include the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 
and the Republic of Palau 235 hours each to report the required data 
under the SRC. We estimate that the 812 additional instances of 
reporting that States would be required to report on under these 
proposed regulations would result in an 8 hour increase in the time it 
would take to complete such reports at an annual cost of $12,170. This 
8 hour estimate is based on an increase in the time to complete the SRC 
proportional to the increase in the number of programs on which States 
will be required to report.
    In the original NPRM, the Department also estimated costs 
associated with States' providing assurances whether each teacher 
preparation program in the State either: (a) Is accredited by a 
specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary for 
accreditation of professional teacher education programs, or (b) 
provides teacher candidates with content and pedagogical knowledge and 
quality clinical preparation, and has rigorous teacher candidate entry 
and exit standards. See proposed Sec.  612.5(a)(4)(i) and (ii), 
respectively. Using data from the Council for Accreditation of Educator 
Preparation (CAEP), the Department estimated that States would have to 
provide the assurances described in proposed Sec.  612.5(a)(4)(ii) for 
10,716 programs based at IHEs nationwide in addition to 2,688 programs 
not associated with IHEs. For purposes of determining the impact that 
the inclusion of distance education programs would have on this cost, 
we assume that distance education programs are just as likely as other 
IHE-based programs to be located at an IHE with specialized 
accreditation. As such, we estimate that States will have to provide 
these assurances on 390 of the 812 reporting instances for a total cost 
of $20,110 (2 hours per reporting instance for 390 reporting instances 
at $25.78 per hour). Further, we estimate that the annual reporting 
burden associated with this provision would cost approximately $2,510 
(0.25 hours per reporting instance for 390 reporting instances at 
$25.78 per hour).
    States would also be required to annually report on their 
classification of teacher preparation programs. We estimate that the 
inclusion of distance education programs in such reporting would 
increase the cost to States of reporting the classification they had 
determined for each distance education program by $10,470 (0.5 hours 
per reporting instance for 812 reporting instances at $25.78 per hour). 
Additionally, in response to public comment, we have included an 
additional item of cost in its estimates of the burden associated with 
the SRCs under the proposed regulations. The Department's estimates now 
include one hour per program annually for teacher preparation programs 
to review and verify the data that States will use for accountability 
purposes. We estimate that this review and verification for distance 
education programs will increase costs by $20,930 (1 hour per reporting 
instance for 812 reporting instances at $25.78 per hour).
    The Department does not estimate any increase in costs (above those 
outlined in the December 2014 NPRM) associated with other elements of 
our initial estimates of the costs of the SRC related to the inclusion 
of distance education programs as all other estimated costs were flat 
costs associated with Statewide activities regardless of the number of 
programs being reported on.

Reporting Student Learning Outcomes

    The Department's original estimates calculated the burden 
associated with reporting on student learning outcomes at the program 
level. We estimate that such reporting would take approximately 2.5 
hours per program per State for a total additional annual cost of 
$52,330 to report on distance education programs.

Reporting Employment Outcomes

    In the December 2014 NPRM, we also estimated costs associated with 
reporting employment outcomes at the program level. Assuming that such 
reporting would take 3.5 hours per program for 812 reporting instances, 
we estimate that such reporting would cost approximately $73,270.

Reporting Survey Results

    Our December 2014 NPRM also proposed that States annually report on 
the results of teacher and employer surveys. At 1 hour per program, we 
estimate that such reporting on the 812 reporting instances would cost 
approximately $20,930 per year.

Reporting on Other Indicators

    In the original NPRM, the Department did not account for costs 
associated with reporting on other indicators that the State may use to 
assess a program's performance beyond those that would be required by 
the proposed regulations. Our revised estimates include such

[[Page 18816]]

costs. We now assume that such reporting will take, on average, 1 hour 
per program for an annual cost of approximately $20,930 for reporting 
on distance education programs.
    We do not estimate that any other elements of our initial cost 
estimates not outlined above will increase as a result of these 
supplemental proposed regulations.

Accounting Statement

    In the following table, we have prepared an accounting statement 
showing the classification of the expenditures associated with the 
provisions of these proposed regulations. This table provides our best 
estimate of the changes in annual monetized costs, benefits, and 
transfers as a result of the proposed regulations.

                      Table 2--Accounting Statement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category                                             Benefits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Better and more publicly available
 information on the effectiveness of
 teacher preparation programs...........          Not Quantified
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distribution of TEACH Grants to better
 performing programs....................          Not Quantified
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Category                               Costs
                                         -------------------------------
                                                7%              3%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Institutional Report Card (set-up,                    $0              $0
 annual reporting, posting on website)..
State Report Card (Statutory                      66,190          66,190
 requirements: Annual reporting, posting
 on website; Regulatory requirements:
 Meaningful differentiation, consulting
 with stakeholders, aggregation of small
 programs, assurance of accreditation,
 other annual reporting costs)..........
Reporting Student Learning Outcomes               52,330          52,330
 (develop model to link aggregate data
 on student achievement to teacher
 preparation programs, modifications to
 student growth models for non-tested
 grades and subjects, and measuring
 student growth)........................
Reporting Employment Outcomes (placement          73,270          73,270
 and retention data collection directly
 from IHEs or LEAs).....................
Reporting Survey Results (developing              20,930          20,930
 survey instruments, annual
 administration, and response costs)....
Reporting other indicators..............          20,930          20,930
Identifying TEACH Grant-eligible                       0               0
 Institutions...........................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Category                             Transfers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reduced costs to the Federal government               $0              $0
 from TEACH Grants to prospective
 students at teacher preparation
 programs found ineligible..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1965

    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, the Department provides the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections 
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps ensure that: the public 
understands the Department's collection instructions, respondents can 
provide the requested data in the desired format, reporting burden 
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are 
clearly understood, and the Department can properly assess the impact 
of collection requirements on respondents.
    Sections 612.3, 612.4, 612.5, 612.6, 612.7, 612.8, and 686.2 
contain information collection requirements. Under the PRA, the 
Department has submitted a copy of these sections to OMB for its 
review. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless OMB approves the collection under the PRA and the 
corresponding information collection instrument displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to comply with, or is subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a 
collection of information if the collection instrument does not display 
a currently valid OMB control number.
    In the final regulations, we will display the control numbers 
assigned by OMB to any information collection requirements proposed in 
this NPRM and adopted in the final regulations.

Start-Up and Annual Reporting Burden

    These proposed regulations execute a statutory requirement that 
IHEs and States establish an information and accountability system 
through which IHEs and States report on the performance of their 
teacher preparation programs. Parts of the proposed regulations in the 
original NPRM would require IHEs and States to establish or scale up 
certain systems and processes in order to collect information necessary 
for annual reporting. As such, IHEs and States may incur one-time 
start-up costs for developing those systems and processes associated 
with those proposed regulations. However, nothing in the proposed 
regulations in this supplemental NPRM would institute any such new 
requirements beyond those already contemplated in the original NPRM. We 
therefore do not report any start-up burdens associate with these 
proposed regulations.

Section 612.4--Reporting Requirements for the State Report Card

    As outlined in the ``Discussion of Costs, Benefits, and Transfers'' 
section of this supplemental NPRM, the Department estimates that the 
inclusion of reporting on distance education programs in SRCs under 
Sec.  612.4(a) will increase the reporting burden on States by 
approximately 8 hours each, for a total burden increase of 472 hours.
    Under the proposed regulations, States would be required to 
classify teacher preparation programs each year. We estimate that such 
classification, using already-gathered indicator data and existing 
program classification methodologies would take approximately 0.5 hours 
per program. Applying such estimates to the 812 distance education 
programs, the total burden associated with classification of distance 
education programs would be 406 hours (812 programs multiplied by 0.5 
hours per program). Aggregating the burdens calculated above, the 
Department estimates the total annual burden associated with these 
proposed rules under proposed Sec.  612.4 to be 878 hours.

[[Page 18817]]

Section 612.5--Indicators a State Must Use To Report on Teacher 
Preparation Program Performance

    The Department estimates that each State will require approximately 
2.5 hours per program to gather and report data on student learning 
outcomes for distance education programs, for a total burden of 2,030 
hours.
    The Department estimates that each State will require 3.5 hours to 
compile, calculate, and transmit data on the employment outcomes of 
recent graduates of distance education programs, for a burden of 2,842 
hours.
    The Department estimates that each State will require 1 hour to 
report the results of their surveys of new teachers and their 
employers, for a total burden of 812 hours.
    States would also be required to report on whether programs that do 
not have specialized accreditation meet certain program 
characteristics. The Department believes that it will take 
approximately 2 hours per program for a State to make such 
determinations and an additional 0.25 hours to report on such findings. 
As discussed in this Supplemental NPRM, the Department estimates that 
States will only have to do such reviews for 390 distance education 
programs, for a total of 878 hours.
    The Department also estimates that each distance education program 
will require approximately 1 hour to review and verify State data 
regarding their program's performance, for a total of 812 hours.
    Aggregating the calculated burdens in this section, the Department 
estimates that these proposed regulations will increase the calculated 
reporting burden associated with Sec.  612.5 by 7,374 hours.

Total Reporting Burden Under Part 612

    Aggregating the total burdens calculated under the preceding 
sections of part 612 results in the following burdens: total burden 
incurred under Sec.  612.4 is 878 hours and under Sec.  612.5 is 7,374 
hours. This totals 8,252 hours nationwide.
    We have prepared an Information Collection Request (ICR) for OMB 
collection 1840-0744. If you want to review and comment on the ICR 
[ICRs], please follow the instructions in the ADDRESSES section of this 
supplemental NPRM.

    Note:  The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Department of 
Education review all comments posted at www.regulations.gov.

    In preparing your comments you may want to review the ICR, which is 
available at www.regulations.gov by using the Docket ID number 
specified in this supplemental NPRM and for which the comment period 
will run concurrently with the comment period of the NPRM.
    We consider your comments on these proposed collections of 
information in--
     Deciding whether the proposed collections are necessary 
for the proper performance of our functions, including whether the 
information will have practical use;
     Evaluating the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collections, including the validity of our methodology and 
assumptions;
     Enhancing the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
information we collect; and
     Minimizing the burden on those who must respond.

This includes exploring the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques.
    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collections of 
information contained in these proposed regulations between 30 and 60 
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. 
Therefore, to ensure that OMB gives your comments full consideration, 
it is important that OMB receives your comments by May 2, 2016. This 
does not affect the deadline for your comments to us on the proposed 
regulations.

Intergovernmental Review

    These programs are 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 these programs.

Assessment of Educational Impact

    In accordance with section 411 of the General Education Provisions 
Act, 20 U.S.C. 1221e-4, the Secretary particularly requests comments on 
whether these proposed regulations would require transmission of 
information that any other agency or authority of the United States 
gathers or makes available.

Federalism

    Executive Order 13132 requires us to ensure meaningful and timely 
input by State and local elected officials in the development of 
regulatory policies that have federalism implications. ``Federalism 
implications'' means substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. The proposed regulations in Sec.  612.4 may have federalism 
implications, as defined in Executive Order 13132. We encourage State 
and local elected officials and others to review and provide comments 
on these proposed regulations.
    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 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 the 
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.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply.)

List of Subjects

34 CFR Part 612

    Administrative practice and procedure, Colleges and universities, 
Education, Elementary and secondary education, Grant programs--
education, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Student aid.

34 CFR Part 686

    Administrative practice and procedure, Colleges and universities, 
Education, Elementary and secondary education, Grant programs--
education, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Student aid.


[[Page 18818]]


    Dated: March 28, 2016.
John B. King, Jr.,
Secretary of Education.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Secretary proposes 
to amend 34 CFR part 612, as proposed to be added at 79 FR 71885, 
December 3, 2014, and part 686, as proposed to be amended at 79 FR 
71889, December 3, 2014, as follows:

PART 612--TITLE II REPORTING SYSTEM

0
1. The authority citation for part 612 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1022d, unless otherwise noted.

0
2. Section 612.4 is amended by:
0
A. In paragraph (a)(1)(i), removing the words ``including distance 
education programs'' that appear after the punctuation ``,'';
0
B. Redesignating paragraph (a)(1)(ii) as paragraph (a)(1)(iii); and
0
C. Adding new paragraph (a)(1)(ii).
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  612.4  What are the regulatory reporting requirements for the 
State Report Card?

    (a) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) The quality of all teacher preparation programs provided 
through distance education in the State, using procedures for reporting 
that are consistent with paragraph (b)(4) of this section, but based on 
whether the program produces at least 25 or fewer than 25 new teachers 
whom the State certified to teach in a given reporting year; and
* * * * *

PART 686--TEACHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR COLLEGE AND HIGHER 
EDUCATION (TEACH) GRANT PROGRAM

0
3. The authority citation for part 686 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070g, et seq., unless otherwise noted.

0
4. Section 686.2 is amended by:
0
A. Adding in alphabetical order a definition of ``High-quality teacher 
preparation program provided through distance education'' to paragraph 
(e);
0
B. Revising the proposed definition of ``TEACH Grant-eligible 
institution'' in paragraph (e); and
0
C. Revising the proposed definition of ``TEACH Grant-eligible program'' 
in paragraph (e).
    The additions and revisions read as follows:


Sec.  686.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    High-quality teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education: A teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education that--
    (i) For TEACH Grant program purposes in the 2021-2022 Title IV HEA 
award year, is not classified by any State as low-performing or at-risk 
of being low-performing under 34 CFR 612.4(b) in either or both the 
April 2020 and/or April 2021 State Report Cards, and for TEACH Grant 
program purposes in the 2022-2023 Title IV HEA award year and 
subsequent award years, is not classified by any State as low-
performing or at-risk of being low-performing under 34 CFR 612.4(b), 
beginning with the April 2020 State Report Card, for two out of the 
previous three years; or
    (ii) Meets the exception from State reporting of teacher 
preparation program performance under 34 CFR 612.4(b)(4)(ii)(D) or (E).
* * * * *
    TEACH Grant-eligible institution: An eligible institution as 
defined in 34 CFR part 600 that meets financial responsibility 
standards established in 34 CFR part 668, subpart L, or that qualifies 
under an alternative standard in 34 CFR 668.175 and provides--
    (i) At least one high-quality teacher preparation program or high-
quality teacher preparation program provided through distance education 
at the baccalaureate or master's degree level that also provides 
supervision and support services to teachers, or assists in the 
provision of services to teachers, such as--
    (A) Identifying and making available information on effective 
teaching skills or strategies;
    (B) Identifying and making available information on effective 
practices in the supervision and coaching of novice teachers; and
    (C) Mentoring focused on developing effective teaching skills and 
strategies;
    (ii) A two-year program that is acceptable for full credit in a 
TEACH Grant-eligible program or a TEACH Grant-eligible STEM program 
offered by an institution described in paragraph (i) of this definition 
or a TEACH Grant-eligible STEM program offered by an institution 
described in paragraph (iii) of this definition, as demonstrated by the 
institution that provides the two year program;
    (iii) A TEACH Grant-eligible STEM program and has entered into an 
agreement with an institution described in paragraph (i) or (iv) of 
this definition to provide courses necessary for its students to begin 
a career in teaching; or
    (iv) A high-quality teacher preparation program or high-quality 
teacher preparation program provided through distance education that is 
a post-baccalaureate program of study.
    TEACH Grant-eligible program: An eligible program, as defined in 34 
CFR 668.8, that meets paragraph (i) of the definition of ``high-quality 
teacher preparation program'' or the definition of ``high-quality 
teacher preparation program provided through distance education'' and 
that is designed to prepare an individual to teach as a highly-
qualified teacher in a high-need field and leads to a baccalaureate or 
master's degree, or is a post-baccalaureate program of study. A two-
year program of study that is acceptable for full credit toward a 
baccalaureate degree in a high-quality teacher preparation program or a 
high-quality teacher preparation program provided through distance 
education is considered to be a program of study that leads to a 
baccalaureate degree.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2016-07354 Filed 3-31-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P