[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21659-21661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07480]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Regional Advisory Committees

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

ACTION: Request for nominations to serve on the Regional Advisory 
Committees.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education (Secretary) invites interested 
parties to submit nominations for individuals for appointment to serve 
on the Regional Advisory Committees (RACs).

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DATES: Nominations for appointment of individuals to serve on the RACs 
must be submitted by May 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit nominations, including attachments, to the 
Secretary by the following method:
     Electronically via electronic mail to [email protected] 
(please indicate ``Regional Advisory Committee Nomination'' in the 
email subject line and specify the specific Region to which you are 
nominating, e.g., ``Regional Advisory Committee Nomination: 
Appalachia'').

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Daley, Group Leader, 
Comprehensive Centers Group, Office of Program and Grantee Support 
Services, U.S. Department of Education. Telephone: 202-987-1057. Email: 
[email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

Privacy Act Statement

    Purpose: The purpose of collecting nomination information is for 
the Secretary to consult with and seek nomination recommendations from 
the chief executive officers of States, chief State school officers, 
and education stakeholders within the Regional Advisory Committee's 
region on individuals for appointment for membership on a RAC. The 
nomination information will be used to evaluate, select, and appoint 
individuals for membership on RACs and to conduct necessary ethics 
vetting and ethics training for nominees who are appointed to the RAC. 
Finally, the nomination information will be used to communicate with 
nominees and, if appointed, with appointees to conduct the business of 
the RACs.
    Authorities: The collection of the nomination information is 
authorized by the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (ETAA) 
(Pub. L. 107-279; 20 U.S.C. 9605); 5 U.S.C. 301; Public Law 95-521, 
Ethics in Government Act of 1978; Public Law 101-194, Ethics Reform Act 
of 1989, as amended; and Executive Orders 12674, 12565, and 11222, as 
amended. The (RACs) are also governed by the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 
chapter 10 (Federal Advisory Committees).
    Routine Use Disclosures: Although the Department does not otherwise 
anticipate nonconsensually disclosing the information you provide 
outside of the Department, the Department may nonconsensually disclose 
such information pursuant to the published routine uses described in 
the following System of Records Notices: ``Secretary's Communications 
Control System'' (18-01-01), ``Employee Conduct--Government Ethics'' 
(18-09-03), and ``Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure 
Reports'' (OGE/GOVT-2), the most recent versions of which are located 
on the Department's ``Privacy Act System of Record Notice Issuances 
(SORN)'' web page at www2.ed.gov/notices/ed-pia.html.
    Consequences of Failure to Provide Information: Submitting 
nominations with the requested information in response to this notice 
is voluntary. You are not required to provide the personally 
identifiable information requested; however, if you do not, then the 
Department may not be able to consider the nominee for membership on a 
RAC.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary is establishing the RACs, one 
for each region served by the Regional Educational Laboratories, in 
order to collect information on the education needs of each region and 
how those needs may be addressed through technical assistance 
activities provided by comprehensive centers described in section 203 
of the Educational Technical Assistance Act (ETAA). Comprehensive 
centers provide training, professional development, and technical 
assistance to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational 
agencies (LEAs), regional educational agencies, and schools in the 
region where the center is located for assistance with school 
improvement activities and to disseminate and provide information, 
reports, and publications that can be used for improving academic 
achievement, closing achievement gaps, and encouraging and sustaining 
school improvement (as described in section 1111(d) of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6311(d))), 
to schools, educators, parents, and policymakers within the region in 
which the center is located.
    In choosing individuals for membership on the RACs, the Secretary 
is also seeking recommendations from the chief executive officers of 
States, chief State school officers, and education stakeholders within 
each region served by the Regional Educational Laboratories.
    The RACs will seek input regarding the need for the technical 
assistance activities described in section 203 of the ETAA and how 
those needs would be most effectively addressed. In order to achieve 
this purpose, the RACs will seek input from chief executive officers of 
States; chief State school officers; and, through processes which may 
include open hearings to solicit the views and needs of schools 
(including public charter schools), educators, parents, teachers, 
administrators, members of the Regional Educational Laboratory 
Governing Board, LEAs, librarians, businesses, SEAs, and other 
customers (such as adult education programs) within the region 
regarding the need for the activities described in 20 U.S.C. 9564 and 
9602 and how those needs would be most effectively addressed.
    Not later than 6 months after each RAC is first convened, it will 
submit a report to the Secretary based on the assessment of education 
needs within each region to be served. Each report will contain an 
analysis of the needs of the region and technical advice to the 
Secretary regarding how those needs would be most effectively 
addressed. Under section 207 of the ETAA, the Secretary shall establish 
priorities for the comprehensive centers to address, taking into 
account these regional assessments and other relevant regional surveys 
of education needs to the extent the Secretary deems appropriate.
    Section 206(b) of the ETAA requires that the membership of each RAC 
contain a balanced representation of States in the region and include 
not more than one representative of each SEA geographically located in 
the region. The membership of each RAC may include the following: 
representatives of LEAs, both rural and urban; representatives of 
institutions of higher education, including those that represent 
university-based research on education and subjects other than 
education; parents; practicing educators, including classroom teachers, 
principals, administrators, school board members, and other local 
school officials; representatives of business; and researchers. Each 
RAC will be comprised of not more than 25 members.

Nomination Process

    Any interested person or organization may nominate one or more 
qualified individuals for membership. Please be sure to use the 
information noted in the ADDRESSES section of this notice and include 
the name of the RAC to which the nomination applies in the subject 
line. If you would like to nominate an individual or yourself for 
appointment to one of the RACs listed below, please submit the 
following information:
    (a) A cover letter addressed to Honorable Miguel Cardona, Secretary 
of Education. Please provide in the cover letter, the reason(s) the 
nominated

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individual is interested in being selected as a nominee for appointment 
by the Secretary to serve on a RAC.
    Attachments:
    (b) A copy of the nominee's resume/curriculum vitae;
    (c) Contact information for the nominee (name, title, mailing 
address, phone number, and email address); and
    (d) The group(s) the nominee may qualify to represent from the 
following categories (list all that apply):
    (1) SEA.
    (2) LEA, including:
    (i) Rural LEA.
    (ii) Urban LEA.
    (3) Practicing educator.
    (i) Classroom teacher.
    (ii) School principal.
    (iii) Other school administrator.
    (iv) School board member.
    (v) Other local school official.
    (4) Parent.
    (5) Institution of higher education.
    (i) University-based education research.
    (ii) University-based research on subjects other than education.
    (6) Business.
    (7) Researcher.
    In addition, the cover letter must state that the nominee (if you 
are nominating someone other than yourself) has agreed to be nominated 
and is willing to serve, if appointed, on one of the RACs.
    Nominees will be appointed based on technical qualifications, 
professional experience, demonstrated knowledge of issues, demonstrated 
experience, integrity, impartiality, and good judgment.
    The RAC regions are:
    1. Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia);
    2. Central (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, 
South Dakota, and Wyoming);
    3. Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New 
Jersey, and Pennsylvania);
    4. Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and 
Wisconsin);
    5. Northeast and Islands (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New 
Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Virgin 
Islands);
    6. Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington);
    7. Pacific (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Palau, and 
Republic of the Marshall Islands);
    8. Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, and South Carolina);
    9. Southwest (Arkansas, Bureau of Indian Education, Louisiana, New 
Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas); and
    10. West (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah).

Appointment

    The Secretary will appoint members for the life of the committee, 
which will span not more than 6 months. The committee will meet at 
least two times during this period. In the event an individual is 
appointed by the Secretary to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the 
expiration of the full term, the RAC member will be appointed to 
complete the remaining term of service of the former RAC member. All 
appointed RAC members will serve without compensation.
    Each RAC may be comprised of both representatives of organizations 
or recognizable groups of persons and Special Government Employees 
(SGEs). Representative members will not provide their own personal or 
independent advice based on their own individual expertise and 
experience, but rather, gather and synthesize information and the views 
of stakeholders they represent. SGE members will be chosen for their 
individual expertise, qualifications, and experiences; they will 
provide technical advice and recommendations based on their independent 
judgment and will not be speaking for, or representing the views of, 
any nongovernmental organization or recognizable group of persons.
    Accessible Format: Upon request to the program contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with 
disabilities can obtain this document 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 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 other documents of this Department published in 
the Federal Register, in text or 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.

Miguel A. Cardona,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2023-07480 Filed 4-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P