[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25773-25776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11592]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2019-OCTAE-0007]


Final Requirements and Definitions--Tribally Controlled 
Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions Program

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

ACTION: Final requirements and definitions.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult 
Education announces requirements and definitions under the Tribally 
Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions Program 
(TCPCTIP), Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.245. 
The Assistant Secretary may use these requirements and definitions for 
a competition in fiscal year (FY) 2019 and in later years. We take this 
action to clarify the circumstances under which stipends may be paid to 
students attending tribally controlled postsecondary career and 
technical institutions and to establish requirements that applicants 
must meet to demonstrate that they: (1) Are eligible for assistance 
under TCPCTIP, and (2) will use grant funds in accordance with 
statutory requirements.

DATES: Effective Date: These requirements and definitions are effective 
July 5, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kiawanta Hunter-Keiser, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, room 11-119, PCP, 
Washington, DC 20202-7241. Telephone: (202) 245-7724. 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:
    Purpose of Program: Section 117 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
Technical Education Act of 2006, as amended by the Strengthening Career 
and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Pub. L. 115-224) 
(Perkins V or the Act) authorizes the Secretary to make grants to 
tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions 
that do not receive Federal support under Title I of the Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 
1802, et seq.) or the Navajo Community College Act (Pub. L. 92-189; 85 
Stat. 646) for career and technical education programs for Indian 
students and for the institutional support costs of the grant.

    Program Authority:  Section 117 of Perkins V (20 U.S.C. 2327).

    We published a notice of proposed requirements and definitions for 
this program in the Federal Register on April 3, 2019 (84 FR 13012). 
That notice contained background information and our reasons for 
proposing the particular requirements and definitions for the TCPCTIP 
program.
    There are no differences between the proposed requirements and 
definitions and these final requirements and definitions.
    Tribal Consultation: On March 22, 2019, the Department solicited 
tribal input on the proposed requirements and definitions for the 
TCPCTIP prior to starting the rulemaking process, pursuant to Executive 
Order 13175 (``Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal 
Governments''). Tribal members participated in person and by virtual 
media. A total of 18 tribal members and no tribal leaders participated. 
None of the participants raised objections to the proposed requirements 
and definitions during the consultation.
    Public Comment: In response to our invitation in the notice of 
proposed requirements and definitions, we did not receive any 
substantive comments that were directly related to the proposed 
requirements and definitions.

Final Requirements

    Application Requirements: The Assistant Secretary announces the 
following application requirements for this program. We may apply one 
or more of these requirements in any year in which this program is in 
effect.
    Final Application Requirements: To receive a TCPCTIP grant, an 
applicant must include one or more of the following in its application:
    (a) Documentation showing that the applicant is eligible, according 
to each of the requirements in the Eligible Applicants section of this 
notice (and pursuant to sections 117(a) and (d) of Perkins V), 
including meeting the definition of the terms ``tribally controlled 
postsecondary career and technical institution'' and ``institution

[[Page 25774]]

of higher education'' (e.g., proof of the institution's accreditation 
status) and certification that the institution does not receive Federal 
support under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance 
Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.) or the Navajo Community College 
Act (Pub. L. 92-189; 85 Stat. 646).
    (b) Descriptions of the career and technical education programs, 
including academic courses, to be supported under the proposed TCPCTIP 
project. Projects funded under this competition must propose organized 
educational activities that meet the definition of career and technical 
education, as that term is defined in section 3(5) of the Act.
    (c) The estimated number of students to be served by the proposed 
project in each career and technical education program in each year of 
the project.
    (d) Goals and objectives for the proposed project, including how 
the attainment of the goals and objectives would further Tribal 
economic development plans, if any.
    (e) A detailed budget identifying the costs to be paid with funds 
under this program for each year of the project period, and resources 
available from other Federal, State, and local sources, including any 
student financial aid, that will be used to achieve the goals and 
objectives of the proposed project.
    (f) A description of the procedure the applicant intends to use to 
determine student eligibility for stipends and stipend amounts, and its 
oversight procedures for the awarding and payment of stipends.
    Program Requirements: The Assistant Secretary announces the 
following program requirements for this program. We may apply one or 
more of these requirements in any year in which this program is in 
effect.
    Final Program Requirements: (a) Stipends may be paid to enable 
students to participate in a TCPCTIP career and technical education 
program.
    (1) To be eligible for a stipend, a student must--
    (i) Be enrolled in a career and technical education project funded 
under this program;
    (ii) Be in regular attendance in a TCPCTIP project and meet the 
training institution's attendance requirement;
    (iii) Maintain satisfactory progress in his or her program of study 
according to the training institution's published standards for 
satisfactory progress; and
    (iv) Have an acute economic need that prevents participation in a 
project funded under this program without a stipend and that cannot be 
met through a work-study program.
    (b) The amount of a stipend is based on the greater of either the 
minimum hourly wage prescribed by State or local law or the minimum 
hourly wage established under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
    (c) A grantee may only award a stipend if the stipend combined with 
other resources the student receives does not exceed the student's 
financial need. A ``student's financial need'' is the difference 
between the student's cost of attendance and the financial aid or other 
resources available to defray the student's cost of participating in a 
TCPCTIP project.
    (d) To calculate the amount of a student stipend, a grantee would 
multiply the number of hours a student actually attends career and 
technical education instruction by the greater of the amount of the 
minimum hourly wage that is prescribed by State or local law or by the 
minimum hourly wage that is established under the Fair Labor Standards 
Act.
    Example: If a grantee uses the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum 
hourly wage of $7.25 and a student attends classes for 20 hours a week, 
the student's stipend would be $145 for the week during which the 
student attends classes ($7.25 x 20 = $145).
    (e) Grantees must maintain records that fully support their 
decisions to award stipends and the amounts that are paid, such as 
proof of a student's enrollment in a TCPCTIP, stipend applications, 
timesheets showing the number of attendance hours confirmed in writing 
by an instructor, student financial status information, and evidence 
that a student would not be able to participate in the TCPCTIP project 
without a stipend. (20 U.S.C. 1232f; 34 CFR 75.700-75.702, 75.730, and 
75.731)
    (f) An eligible student may receive a stipend when taking a course 
for the first time. However, a stipend may not be provided to a student 
who has already taken, completed, and had the opportunity to benefit 
from a course and is merely repeating the course.

Final Definitions

    Final Definitions: The Assistant Secretary announces the following 
definitions for this program. We may apply one or both of these 
definitions in any year in which this program is in effect.
    Institutional support of career and technical education means 
administrative expenses incurred by an eligible institution that are 
related to conducting a career and technical education program for 
Indian students that is assisted under section 117 of the Act and 
administering a grant awarded under section 117.
    Stipend means a subsistence allowance for a student that is 
necessary for the student to participate in a project funded under this 
program.
    This document does not preclude us from proposing additional 
priorities, requirements, definitions, or selection criteria, subject 
to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.

    Note:  This document does not solicit applications. In any year 
in which we choose to use one or more of these requirements and 
definitions, we invite applications through a notice in the Federal 
Register.

Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 13771

Regulatory Impact Analysis

    Under Executive Order 12866, it must be determined whether this 
regulatory action is ``significant'' and, therefore, subject to the 
requirements of the Executive order and subject to review by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 
defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action likely to 
result in a rule that may--
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, 
or adversely affect a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, 
jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or 
Tribal governments or communities in a material way (also referred to 
as an ``economically significant'' rule);
    (2) Create serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles stated in the 
Executive order.
    This final regulatory action is not a significant regulatory action 
subject to review by OMB under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866.
    Under Executive Order 13771, for each new regulation that the 
Department proposes for notice and comment or otherwise promulgates 
that is a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866, 
and that imposes total costs greater than zero, it must identify two 
deregulatory actions. For FY 2019, any new incremental costs associated 
with a new regulation must be fully offset by the elimination of 
existing costs through deregulatory actions. However, Executive Order 
13771 does not apply to ``transfer rules''

[[Page 25775]]

that cause only income transfers between taxpayers and program 
beneficiaries, such as those regarding discretionary grant programs. 
The final requirements and definitions would be utilized in connection 
with a discretionary grant program and, therefore, Executive Order 
13771 is not applicable.
    We have also reviewed this final regulatory action under Executive 
Order 13563, which supplements and explicitly reaffirms the principles, 
structures, and definitions governing regulatory review established in 
Executive Order 12866. To the extent permitted by law, Executive Order 
13563 requires that an agency--
    (1) Propose or adopt regulations only upon a reasoned determination 
that their benefits justify their costs (recognizing that some benefits 
and costs are difficult to quantify);
    (2) Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden on society, 
consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives and taking into 
account--among other things and to the extent practicable--the costs of 
cumulative regulations;
    (3) In choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, select 
those approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential 
economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other 
advantages; distributive impacts; and equity);
    (4) To the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, rather 
than the behavior or manner of compliance a regulated entity must 
adopt; and
    (5) Identify and assess available alternatives to direct 
regulation, including economic incentives--such as user fees or 
marketable permits--to encourage the desired behavior, or provide 
information that enables the public to make choices.
    Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency ``to use the best 
available techniques to quantify anticipated present and future 
benefits and costs as accurately as possible.'' The Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these 
techniques may include ``identifying changing future compliance costs 
that might result from technological innovation or anticipated 
behavioral changes.''
    We are issuing these final requirements and definitions only on a 
reasoned determination that their benefits justify their costs. In 
choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, we selected those 
approaches that maximize net benefits. Based on the analysis that 
follows, the Department believes that this regulatory action is 
consistent with the principles in Executive Order 13563.
    We also have determined that this regulatory action would not 
unduly interfere with State, local, and Tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.
    In accordance with these Executive orders, the Department has 
assessed the potential costs and benefits, both quantitative and 
qualitative, of this regulatory action. The potential costs associated 
with this regulatory action are those resulting from regulatory 
requirements and those we have determined are necessary for 
administering the Department's programs and activities.
    Summary of Costs and Benefits: The Department believes that these 
final requirements and definitions would not impose significant costs 
on tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions 
eligible for assistance under section 117 of Perkins V. We also believe 
that the benefits of implementing the final requirements and 
definitions justify any associated costs.
    The Department believes that the final application requirements 
would help to ensure that: Only institutions eligible for assistance 
under section 117 of the Act receive such assistance; grants provided 
under section 117 of the Act are awarded only for allowable, 
reasonable, and necessary costs; and eligible applicants consider 
carefully in preparing their applications how the grants may be used to 
improve career and technical education programs and the outcomes of the 
students who enroll in them. The program requirements and related 
definitions are necessary to ensure that taxpayer funds are expended 
appropriately.
    The Department further believes that the costs imposed on an 
applicant by the final requirements and definitions would be largely 
limited to the paperwork burden related to meeting the application 
requirements and that the benefits of preparing an application and 
receiving an award would justify any costs incurred by the applicant. 
Entities selected for awards under section 117 of the Act would be able 
to pay the costs associated with implementing the program requirements 
related to student stipends with grant funds. Thus, the costs of these 
final requirements and definitions would not be a significant burden 
for any eligible applicant.
    Elsewhere in this section under Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we 
identify and explain burdens specifically associated with information 
collection requirements.
    Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA): These final requirements and 
definitions do not contain any information collection requirements 
subject to the PRA. The Department is aware of fewer than nine tribally 
controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions that meet 
the eligibility requirements of section 117 of the Act and could thus 
be expected to apply in a response to a notice inviting applications. 
Information collection requirements imposed on nine or fewer 
individuals or entities are not subject to the PRA.
    Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification: The Secretary certifies 
that this final regulatory action would not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The U.S. Small 
Business Administration Size Standards define ``small entities'' as 
for-profit or nonprofit institutions with total annual revenue below 
$7,000,000 or, if they are institutions controlled by small 
governmental jurisdictions (that are comprised of cities, counties, 
towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special districts), 
with a population of less than 50,000.
    The small entities that this final regulatory action would affect 
are institutions of higher education. We believe that the costs imposed 
on an applicant by the final requirements and definitions would be 
limited to paperwork burden related to preparing an application and 
that the benefits of implementing these final requirements and 
definitions would outweigh any costs incurred by the applicant.
    Participation in TCPCTIP is voluntary. For this reason, the final 
application requirements would impose no burden on small entities 
unless they applied for funding under TCPCTIP. We expect that in 
determining whether to apply for TCPCTIP funds, an eligible entity 
would evaluate the requirements of preparing an application and any 
associated costs, and weigh them against the benefits likely to be 
achieved by receiving a TCPCTIP grant. An eligible entity would 
probably apply only if it determines that the likely benefits exceed 
the costs of preparing an application. The likely benefits of applying 
for a TCPCTIP grant include the potential receipt of a grant as well as 
other benefits that may accrue to an entity through its development of 
an application, such as the identification of long- and short-range 
plans for the institution and its career and technical education 
programs. Additionally, final application requirement (a), which would 
direct applicants to document their eligibility under section 117 of 
the

[[Page 25776]]

Act, would focus the attention of all prospective applicants on the 
eligibility requirements in section 117 of the Act and help discourage 
entities that do not meet them from incurring the time and expense of 
preparing a full application. The costs of meeting the other final 
requirements related to student stipends could be paid with grant funds 
and entities that do not receive a grant would not be required to meet 
them.
    We believe that the final requirements and definitions would not 
impose any additional burden on a small entity applying for a grant 
than the entity would face in the absence of the final action. That is, 
the length of the applications those entities would submit in the 
absence of the final regulatory action and the time needed to prepare 
an application would likely be the same.
    This final regulatory action would not have a significant economic 
impact on a small entity once it receives a grant because it would be 
able to meet the costs of compliance using the funds provided under 
this program.
    Intergovernmental Review: This program 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 program 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. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. 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.

Scott Stump,
Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2019-11592 Filed 6-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P