[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28299-28300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11120]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter VI

[Docket ID ED-2021-OPE-0077]


Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; Public Hearings

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Intent to establish negotiated rulemaking committees.

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SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish negotiated rulemaking 
committees to prepare proposed regulations for programs authorized 
under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). 
The Department is committed to advancing equitable outcomes for all 
students and invites comments from organizations or groups with 
interests that are significantly affected by the subject matter of the 
proposed regulations being considered by the particular committee. We 
also announce public hearings at which interested parties may comment 
on the topics for regulation suggested by the Department and 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 for regulation suggested by 
the Department and additional topics that should be considered for 
action by the negotiating committees on or before July 1, 2021.

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. 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 ``FAQ.''
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments, address them to Vanessa Gomez, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 2C179, 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 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. For information 
about the public hearings, or for additional information about 
negotiated rulemaking, contact: Vanessa Gomez, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 2C179, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 453-6708. 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.
    We intend to convene multiple committees to develop proposed 
regulations on the affordability of postsecondary education, 
institutional accountability, and Federal student loans. Each committee 
will be comprised of a unique set of negotiators. The public will be 
made aware of the schedule and topics of each committee meeting in 
subsequent Federal Register notice(s).

Regulatory Issues

    The Department suggests the following topics for regulation:
    (1) Change of ownership and change in control of institutions of 
higher education under 34 CFR 600.31;

[[Page 28300]]

    (2) Certification procedures for participation in title IV, HEA 
programs under 34 CFR 668.13;
    (3) Standards of administrative capability under 34 CFR 668.16;
    (4) Ability to benefit under 34 CFR 668.156;
    (5) Borrower defense to repayment under 34 CFR 682.410, 682.411, 
685.206, and 685.222;
    (6) Discharges for borrowers with a total and permanent disability 
under 34 CFR 674.61, 682.402, and 685.213;
    (7) Closed school discharges under 34 CFR 685.214 and 682.402;
    (8) Discharges for false certification of student eligibility under 
34 CFR 685.215(a)(1) and 682.402;
    (9) Loan repayment plans under 34 CFR 682.209, 682.215, 685.208, 
and 685.209;
    (10) The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program under 34 CFR 
685.219;
    (11) Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration and prohibition of class 
action lawsuits provisions in institutions' enrollment agreements 
(formerly under 34 CFR 685.300) and associated counseling about such 
arrangements under 34 CFR 685.304;
    (12) Financial responsibility for participating institutions of 
higher education under 34 CFR subpart L, such as events that indicate 
heightened financial risk;
    (13) Gainful employment (formerly located in 34 CFR subpart Q); and
    (14) Pell Grant eligibility for prison education programs under 34 
CFR part 690.
    We also invite public input on how the Department could address, 
through its title IV regulations, gaps in postsecondary outcomes such 
as retention, completion, loan repayment, and student loan default by 
race, ethnicity, gender, and other key student characteristics.
    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 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 website at: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2021/index.html.

Public Hearings

    We will hold virtual public hearings for interested parties to 
comment on the rulemaking agenda from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 
p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on the following dates:
     June 21, 2021;
     June 23, 2021; and
     June 24, 2021.
    Further information on the public hearings is available at: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2021/index.html.
    Individuals who would like to present comments at the public 
hearings must register by sending an email message to 
[email protected] no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern time on the 
business day prior to the public hearing at which they want to speak. 
The message should include the name of the speaker, the email address 
of the speaker, the general topic(s) the individual would like to 
address, and one or more dates and times during which the individual 
would be available to speak. We will attempt to accommodate each 
speaker's preference for date and time; however, 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 we received the message. We will limit each 
participant's comments to five minutes.
    The Department will notify speakers of the time slot reserved for 
them and provide information on how to log in to the hearing as a 
speaker. An individual may make only one presentation at the public 
hearings. If we receive more registrations than we can accommodate, the 
Department reserves the right to reject the registration of an entity 
or individual affiliated with an entity or individual that is already 
scheduled to present comments to ensure that a broad range of entities 
and individuals are able to present. Unique speaker access to the 
meetings will be through Microsoft Teams.
    In part due to increased cybersecurity concerns, individuals who 
want to observe the public hearing, but who do not want present 
comments, are required to register. We will post registration links for 
attendees who wish to observe on our website at: www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2021/index.html. There will be a unique link 
each day for attendees who wish to observe. Non-speaking attendees will 
join the public hearings through Microsoft Teams Live and will be muted 
with no option to unmute for the duration of each public hearing. The 
Department will also post transcripts of the hearings on that site.
    The Department will accept written comments via the Federal 
eRulemaking portal, and by postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand 
delivery, through July 1, 2021. (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 no earlier than August 2021, with the 
committees meeting for up to three sessions of approximately five days 
each at roughly four-week intervals. The committees will meet 
virtually. We may adjust the number of days of each session and time 
between sessions to adapt to the virtual environment. 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 website at: 
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2021/index.html.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document and a copy of the application package in an 
accessible format. The Department will provide the requestor with an 
accessible format that may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or text 
format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible format.
    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 for 
free on 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.

Michelle Asha Cooper,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-11120 Filed 5-25-21; 8:45 am]
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