[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 26, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31372-31374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10147]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 222

[Docket ID ED-2015-OESE-0109]
RIN 1810-AB24


Impact Aid Program; Extension of the Application Amendment 
Deadline

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Final rule; Extension of the application amendment deadline.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) extends the Fiscal 
Year (FY) 2021 application amendment period for Impact Aid program 
(IAP) applications, CFDA number 84.041, under sections 7002 and 7003 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). 
We extend the application amendment deadline from June 30, 2020, to 
August 31, 2020, by 11:59:59 p.m., to allow local educational agencies 
(LEAs) impacted by the extraordinary circumstances related to the 
COVID-19 pandemic additional time to submit their amended applications.

DATES: Effective Date of Extension: May 26, 2020.

[[Page 31373]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Cox, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3e207, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202)453-6886. 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: On September 20, 2016, the Department 
published final regulations in the Federal Register to amend the IAP 
regulations issued under title VII of the ESEA (84 FR 64727), which 
govern Impact Aid payments to LEAs. The program, in general, provides 
assistance to LEAs that are affected by Federal activities.
    Under 34 CFR 222.5(a), LEAs must submit any amendments to their FY 
2021 IAP applications by June 30, 2020. This document announces that 
the Department is extending the June 30, 2020, deadline for submitting 
amendments to the FY 2021 applications to August 31, 2020. The 
Department is extending this deadline to allow LEAs impacted by the 
extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic additional 
time to submit their amended applications. Applicants submitting 
amendments under 34 CFR 222.5(b) are not required to submit a written 
request prior to submitting their application amendments, nor are they 
required to submit a copy to their State educational agency, through 
August 31, 2020.

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 entitlements, 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)(1) 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 2020, any new incremental costs associated 
with a new regulation must be fully offset by the elimination of 
existing costs through deregulatory actions. Because this final rule is 
not a significant regulatory action, Executive Order 13771 does not 
apply.
    We have also reviewed this regulation 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 on 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 this final regulation only on a reasoned 
determination that its benefits justify its 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 final regulation is consistent with the 
principles in Executive Order 13563.
    We also have determined that this regulatory action does not unduly 
interfere with State, local, and Tribal governments in the exercise of 
their governmental functions.
    In accordance with the Executive orders, the Department has 
assessed the potential costs and benefits, both quantitative and 
qualitative, of this regulatory action. This extension of the 
application amendment deadline is not expected to have any costs 
because it is designed to merely allow additional time for LEAs to 
submit their FY 2021 application amendments to their Impact Aid 
applications under 34 CFR 222.5 in light of the extraordinary 
circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This extension relates 
to the procedure we use for administering the Impact Aid program; there 
is no additional burden on our stakeholders but rather a benefit, and 
the additional burden on the Department, if any, is minor.

Waiver of Rulemaking

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed regulations. However, the APA provides that an 
agency is not required to conduct notice and comment rulemaking when 
the agency for good cause finds that notice and public comment thereon 
are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B). Here, there is good cause to waive rulemaking under 
the public interest exception of the APA.
    ``The public interest prong of the good cause exception to the APA 
notice and comment requirement is met only in the rare circumstance 
when ordinary procedures--generally presumed to serve the public 
interest--would in fact harm that interest.'' Mack Trucks Inc. v. 
E.P.A., 682 F.3d 87, (D.C. App. 2012) (citing Util. Solid Waste 
Activities Grp., 236 F.3d, 749, 755 (D.C. Cir. 2001). ``It is 
appropriately invoked when the

[[Page 31374]]

timing and disclosure requirements of the usual procedures would defeat 
the purpose of the proposal--if, for example, announcement of a 
proposed rule would enable the sort of financial manipulation the rule 
sought to prevent, and in such a circumstance, notice and comment could 
be dispensed with in order to prevent the amended rule from being 
evaded.'' Id. at 95. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in 
extraordinary circumstances including widespread school closures. The 
IAP regulations govern Impact Aid payments to LEAs that are affected by 
Federal activities; these payments are designed to help replace local 
tax revenue. LEAs rely on Impact Aid for maintenance and operations 
costs. Many LEAs are experiencing great difficulties and delays in 
conducting normal operations, and we have had numerous requests for an 
extension of the amendment deadline. There is not time for public 
notice and comment prior to the existing June 30 deadline. By extending 
the date for LEAs to amend their IAP applications under 34 CFR 222.5, 
this final regulation ensures that the LEAs are not cut off from IAP 
funding, which would be contrary to the public interest.
    The APA also authorizes agencies to make a rule effective 
immediately, upon a showing of good cause, instead of imposing a 30-day 
delay. 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). For the reasons stated above, the Department 
has concluded it has good cause, under the public interest exception, 
to make this rule effective immediately.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply to this rulemaking 
because there is good cause to waive notice and comment under 5 U.S.C. 
553.
    Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
    The final regulations do not create any new information collection 
requirements.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer disk) 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.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 222

    Administrative practice and procedure, Education of individuals 
with disabilities, Elementary and secondary education, Federally 
affected areas, Grant programs-education, Indians-education, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, School construction.

Betsy DeVos,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-10147 Filed 5-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P