[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 81 (Monday, April 27, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23270-23272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08172]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter III

[Docket ID ED-2019-OSERS-0044]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for a Grant 
That Provides Rehabilitation Short-Term Training to the Client 
Assistance Program (CAP)

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 
(OSERS), Department of Education.

ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of project period.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally 
prohibit project periods exceeding five years and project period 
extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The 
proposed waiver and extension would enable the Rehabilitation Short-
Term Training to the CAP under Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 
(CFDA) number 84.246K to receive funding for an additional performance 
period of one year, not to exceed September 30, 2021.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. 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

[[Page 23271]]

your comments about the proposed waiver and extension, address them to 
Felipe Lulli, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 
Room 5101, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2800.
    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:  Contact Felipe Lulli, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 5101, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2800. Telephone: 202-245-7425. 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: 
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
this proposed waiver and extension.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 13771 and their 
overall requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result 
from this proposed waiver and extension. Please let us know of any 
further ways we could reduce potential costs or increase potential 
benefits while preserving the effective and efficient administration of 
the program.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed waiver and extension in Room 5059, 550 
12th Street SW, Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 
p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday of each week, except Federal 
holidays.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this proposed waiver and extension. If you 
want to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, please contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    We are proposing to extend the Rehabilitation Short-Term Training--
Client Assistance Program (CAP) for an additional year to assess and 
enhance the Department's CAP training and technical assistance 
approaches in light of (a) the expanded quality employment 
opportunities for individuals with disabilities promoted by the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 
seq.); (b) promising employment initiatives advanced by the 
Rehabilitation Service Administration's (RSA's) Vocational 
Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Centers, consistent with WIOA; and 
(c) new training delivery platforms and methodologies that could be 
applied to this CAP training program. In short, the waiver and 
extension will allow RSA to design a new, innovative training program 
that, consistent with WIOA, would maximize the capacity of CAP 
personnel to inform, advise, and advocate for individuals with 
disabilities and facilitate their access to expanded quality employment 
opportunities in their States through services and supports available 
under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA 
(Rehabilitation Act). These services and supports may include (a) pre-
employment transition services and the limitations on the use of 
subminimum wages under sections 113 and 511 of the Rehabilitation Act; 
(b) career-focused credentials attainment and measurable skill gains; 
and (c) career exploration and career advancement strategies such as 
work-based learning, apprenticeships, customized employment, and career 
pathways.
    The Rehabilitation Act authorizes the Short-Term Training Program 
under section 302 (29 U.S.C. 772) to train CAP personnel authorized 
under section 112 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 732).
    In September 2015, RSA awarded a 60-month grant to the National 
Disability Rights Network under the Rehabilitation Short-Term Training 
to the CAP to provide training and technical instruction to the 57 CAP 
grantees on the statutory and regulatory requirements governing the 
provision of vocational rehabilitation (VR) and other services under 
the Rehabilitation Act. The National Disability Rights Network's 
capacity-building activities address CAP management and operations, 
individual and systems advocacy, data collection and reporting, and 
specific provisions such as pre-employment transition services and 
limitations on the use of subminimum wages. Its training and technical 
instruction vehicles include an annual VR orientation meeting, a fiscal 
management conference, webinars, on-site visits, ongoing web resources 
and alerts, specialized institutes, and an annual conference, among 
other activities. The current project period ends on September 30, 
2020.

Waivers and Extensions

    The Department will not be running a Rehabilitation Short-Term 
Training to the CAP competition in FY 2020. Rather, the Department will 
be including the CAP as one of the topic areas under the Innovative 
Rehabilitation Training program. The Department has concluded that it 
would not be in the public interest to have a lapse in the critically 
needed resources currently provided by the Rehabilitation Short-Term 
Training to the CAP. Allowing training and technical instruction to 
lapse while the Department establishes its innovative CAP training 
program would reduce the capacity of the 57 CAP grantees nationwide to 
provide information to, and advocate on behalf of, individuals with 
disabilities seeking or receiving services from the VR and other 
programs under the Rehabilitation Act critical to their achievement of 
high-quality employment, independent living, and self-sufficiency.
    For these reasons, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements 
in 34 CFR 75.250, which prohibit project periods exceeding five years, 
and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2), which allow the 
extension of a project period only if the extension does not involve 
the obligation of additional Federal funds. The waiver would allow the 
Department to issue a one-time FY 2020 continuation award to the 
Rehabilitation Short-Term Training to the CAP, as follows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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84.246K..................  Rehabilitation Short-Term           $200,000
                            Training to the CAP.
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    Any activities carried out during the year of this continuation 
award must be consistent with the scope, goals, and objectives of the 
grantee's application as approved in the FY 2015 competition.

[[Page 23272]]

The requirements for continuation awards are set forth in 34 CFR 
75.253.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension of 
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The only entity that would be 
affected by the proposed waiver and extension of the project period is 
the current grantee and any other potential applicant.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because 
the extension of an existing project period imposes minimal compliance 
costs, and the activities required to support the additional year of 
funding would not impose additional regulatory burdens or require 
unnecessary Federal supervision.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

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

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is 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 this program.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. 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.

Mark Schultz,
Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Delegated the 
authority to perform the functions and duties of the Assistant 
Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. 2020-08172 Filed 4-22-20; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P