[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 172 (Thursday, September 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55001-55002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19445]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Waivers Granted Under Section 3511 of the Coronavirus 
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, we announce waivers that the U.S. Department 
of Education (Department) granted, within the last 30 days, under the 
CARES Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hugh Reid, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 11114, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 245-7491. 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: Section 3511(d)(3) of the CARES Act requires 
the Secretary to publish, in the Federal Register and on the 
Department's website, a notice of the Secretary's decision to grant a 
waiver. The Secretary must publish this notice no later than 30 days 
after granting the waiver and the notice must include which waiver was 
granted and the reason for granting the waiver. This notice is intended 
to fulfill the Department's obligation to publicize its waiver 
decisions by identifying the waivers granted under section 3511.
    The Department has approved waivers of the following requirement: 
Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to extend 
the period of availability of fiscal year (FY) 2018 funds for programs 
in which the State educational agency (SEA) participates as the 
eligible agency until September 30, 2021.
    On April 17, 2020, the Secretary delegated to the Assistant 
Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education (Assistant 
Secretary), for programs over which the Assistant Secretary has 
administrative authority, the authority to grant waivers under section 
3511 of the CARES Act. On May 15, 2020, the Office of Career, 
Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) published a notice in the 
Federal Register (85 FR 29440) announcing 41 waivers that were granted 
to SEAs. Twenty-eight of those waivers were for State grants authorized 
by Title I of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 
2006 (Perkins), and 13 of those waivers were for State grants 
authorized by Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
(WIOA) (i.e., the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)).
    On June 15, 2020, OCTAE published a notice in the Federal Register 
(85 FR 36195) announcing six waivers that were granted to SEAs. Three 
of those waivers were for State grants authorized by Title I of 
Perkins, and the remaining three waivers were for State grants 
authorized by Title II of WIOA (AEFLA).
    On August 6, 2020, OCTAE published a notice in the Federal Register 
(85 FR 47774) announcing two waivers that were granted to SEAs. One of 
those waivers was for a State grant authorized by Title I of Perkins, 
and the other waiver was for a State grant authorized by Title II of 
WIOA (AEFLA). In the last 30 days, OCTAE granted two waivers to SEAs.

Waiver Data

Extensions of the Obligation Period

    Two waivers were granted to SEAs for State grants authorized by 
Title II of WIOA (AEFLA).
    Provision waived: Tydings Amendment, section 421(b) of GEPA (20 
U.S.C. 1225(b)).\1\
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    \1\ Section 3511(b) of the CARES Act only authorizes the 
Secretary to grant waivers requested by SEAs of the Tydings 
Amendment, section 421(b) of GEPA, to extend the period of 
availability of State formula grant funds authorized by Perkins and 
AEFLA. The Department currently does not have the authority to grant 
a waiver of the Tydings Amendment with respect to Perkins or AEFLA 
to States in which the SEA is not the grantee for these State-
administered programs.
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    Reasons: These waivers were granted under section 421(b) of GEPA to 
extend the period of availability of FY 2018 funds until September 30, 
2021, pursuant to the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act (GEPA 
section 421(b) waivers). It is not possible to obligate funds on a 
timely basis, as originally planned, due to extensive school and 
program disruptions in the States. These disruptions are in response to 
extraordinary circumstances for which a national emergency related to 
the COVID-19 pandemic has been duly declared by the President of the 
United States under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207, and will 
protect the health and safety of students, staff, and our communities.
    Waiver Applicants: The SEA GEPA section 421(b) waiver applicants 
provided assurance that the SEA will: (1) Use, and ensure that its 
subgrantees will use, funds under the respective programs in accordance 
with the provisions of all applicable statutes, regulations, program 
plans, and applications not subject to these waivers; (2) work to 
mitigate, and ensure that its subgrantees will work to mitigate, any 
negative effects that may occur as a result of the requested waiver; 
and (3) provide the public and all subgrantees in the State with notice 
of, and the opportunity to comment on, this request by posting 
information regarding the waiver request and the

[[Page 55002]]

process for commenting on the State website.
    The Assistant Secretary reviewed the SEAs' requests for a GEPA 
section 421(b) waiver and determined that the following SEAs met the 
requirements for a GEPA section 421(b) waiver on the dates indicated 
below:
    State grants authorized by Title II of WIOA (AEFLA):
     District of Columbia State Board of Education, August 3, 
2020; and
     Pennsylvania Department of Education, August 12, 2020.
    The Assistant Secretary also announced the waiver decisions at: 
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/covid19/index.html.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package 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. 2020-19445 Filed 9-2-20; 8:45 am]
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