[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 115 (Friday, June 16, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27640-27641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12555]



[[Page 27640]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter VI

[Docket ID ED-2017-OPE-0076]


Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; Public Hearings

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Intent to establish negotiated rulemaking committees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish two negotiated 
rulemaking committees to prepare proposed regulations for the Federal 
Student Aid programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The committees will include 
representatives of organizations or groups with interests that are 
significantly affected by the subject matter of the proposed 
regulations. We also announce two public hearings at which interested 
parties may comment on the topics suggested by the Department and may 
suggest additional topics that should be considered for action by the 
negotiating committees. In addition, we announce that the Department 
will accept written comments on the topics suggested by the Department 
and suggestions for additional topics that should be considered for 
action by the negotiating committees.

DATES: The dates, times, and locations of the public hearings are 
listed under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. We 
must receive written comments on the topics suggested by the Department 
and additional topics that should be considered for action by the 
negotiating committees on or before July 12, 2017.

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 once. 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 documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under ``How to use Regulations.gov'' in the Help section.
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery. If you 
mail or deliver your comments, address them to Wendy Macias, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW., Room 6C111, Washington, 
DC 20202.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public (including those comments submitted 
by postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery) 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: For information about the public 
hearings, go to www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/index.html or contact: Wendy Macias, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Ave. SW., Room 6C111, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 
203-9155 or by email: [email protected].
    For information about negotiated rulemaking in general, see The 
Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title IV Regulations, Frequently 
Asked Questions at www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/neg-reg-faq.html or contact: Wendy Macias, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW., Room 6C111, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 203-9155 or by email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 492 of the HEA requires that, before 
publishing any proposed regulations to implement programs authorized 
under title IV of the HEA, the Secretary obtain public involvement in 
the development of the proposed regulations. After obtaining advice and 
recommendations from the public, the Secretary conducts negotiated 
rulemaking to develop the proposed regulations. We announce our intent 
to develop proposed title IV regulations by following the negotiated 
rulemaking procedures in section 492 of the HEA.
    We intend to select participants for the negotiated rulemaking 
committees from nominees of the organizations and groups that represent 
the interests significantly affected by the proposed regulations. To 
the extent possible, we will select from the nominees individual 
negotiators who reflect the diversity among program participants, in 
accordance with section 492(b)(1) of the HEA.

Regulatory Issues

    We intend to convene a committee to develop proposed regulations to 
revise the gainful employment regulations published by the Department 
on October 31, 2014 (79 FR 64889). We intend to convene a second 
committee to develop proposed regulations to revise the regulations on 
borrower defenses to repayment of Federal student loans and other 
matters, published November 1, 2016 (81 FR 75926), and the authority of 
guaranty agencies in the Federal Family Education Loan Program to 
charge collection costs under 34 CFR 682.410(b)(6) to a defaulted 
borrower who enters into a repayment agreement with the guaranty 
agency.
    After a complete review of the public comments presented at the 
public hearings and in the written submissions, we will publish a 
document (or documents) in the Federal Register announcing the specific 
topics for which we intend to establish the negotiated rulemaking 
committees and a request for nominations for individual negotiators for 
the committees who represent the communities of interest that would be 
significantly affected by the proposed regulations. This document will 
also be posted on the Department's Web site at: www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/index.html.

Public Hearings

    We will hold two public hearings for interested parties to discuss 
the rulemaking agenda. The public hearings will be held:
     July 10, 2017, at the U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Ave. SW., Barnard Auditorium, Washington, DC 20202.
     July 12, 2017, at Southern Methodist University, Underwood 
Law Library-Walsh Classroom, 6550 Hillcrest Ave., Dallas, TX 75275.
    The public hearings will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., local time. 
Further information on the public hearing sites is available at 
www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/index.html.
    Individuals who would like to present comments at the public 
hearings must register by sending an email to [email protected]. The 
email should include the name of the presenter along with the public 
hearing at which the individual would like to speak, the general 
topic(s) the individual would like to address, and a general timeframe 
during which the individual would like to speak (for example, a 
presenter could indicate

[[Page 27641]]

morning or afternoon, or before 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m.). We will 
attempt to accommodate each speaker's preference, but, if we are unable 
to do so, we will make the determination on a first-come first-served 
basis, based on the time and date the email was received. It is likely 
that each participant will be limited to five minutes. The Department 
will notify registrants of the location and time slot reserved for 
them. An individual may make only one presentation at the public 
hearings. If we receive more registrations than we are able to 
accommodate, the Department reserves the right to reject the 
registration of an entity or individual that is affiliated with an 
entity or individual that is already scheduled to present comments, and 
to select among registrants to ensure that a broad range of entities 
and individuals is allowed to present. We will accept walk-in 
registrations for any remaining time slots on a first-come first-served 
basis, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the public hearing at the 
Department's on-site registration table. Registration is not required 
to observe the public hearings; however, space may be limited.
    The Department will post transcripts of the hearings to 
www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/index.html. Although 
the Department will not be videoing the hearings, as this is a public 
meeting, speakers should be aware that they may be filmed or recorded 
by members of the public.
    Speakers may submit written comments at the public hearings. In 
addition, the Department will accept written comments via the Federal 
eRulemaking portal, and by postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand 
delivery, through July 12, 2017. (See the ADDRESSES section of this 
document for submission information.)

Schedule for Negotiations

    We anticipate that any committees established after the public 
hearings will begin negotiations in November or December of 2017, with 
the committees meeting for up to three sessions of three to four days 
each at roughly five- to eight-week intervals. The committees will meet 
in the Washington, DC area. The dates and locations of these meetings 
will be published in a subsequent notice in the Federal Register, and 
will be posted on the Department's Web site at: www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2017/index.html.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) by contacting Wendy Macias, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW., Room 6C111, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 203-9155 or by email: [email protected].
    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 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.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a.

    Dated: June 13, 2017.
Kathleen A. Smith,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2017-12555 Filed 6-14-17; 11:15 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P