[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 244 (Thursday, December 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 88381-88383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28127]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2023-OCTAE-0193]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the 
Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions 
Program

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

ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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. Under 
the proposed waiver and extension, for projects funded in fiscal year 
(FY) 2019 under the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and 
Technical Institutions Program (TCPCTIP), Assistance Listing Number 
84.245A, the project period would be extended through FY 2027, if 
Congress continues to appropriate funds under the existing program 
authority.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail or commercial 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 ``FAQ.''
     Postal Mail or Commercial Delivery: If you mail or deliver 
your comments, address them to Hugh Reid, U.S. Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 4A-172, Washington, DC 20202-7241.
    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: Hugh Reid. Telephone: (202) 245-7491. 
Email: ed.gov">hugh.reid@ed.gov.
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
this proposed waiver and extension. We are particularly interested in 
receiving comments on the potential impact that the proposed waiver and 
extension may have on TCPCTIP and on potential applicants that may be 
eligible to apply for grant awards under any new TCPCTIP notice 
inviting applications, should there be one. Eligible applicants for 
TCPCTIP are Tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical 
institutions that do not receive Federal support under Title I of the 
Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978 (25 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or the Navajo Community College Act (25 U.S.C. 
640a et seq.).
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094 and their

[[Page 88382]]

overall requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result 
from the 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 
public comments about the proposed waiver and extension by accessing 
Regulations.gov. To inspect the public comments in person, please 
contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    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

    Section 117 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 115-224) (Perkins V or the Act), authorizes the 
Secretary to make grants to Tribally controlled postsecondary career 
and technical institutions that do not receive Federal support under 
Title I of the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance 
Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1802, et seq.) or the Navajo Community College 
Act (Pub. L. 92-189; 85 Stat. 646) for career and technical education 
programs for Native American students and for the institutional support 
costs of the grant.
    Current TCPCTIP grantees, selected based on the TCPCTIP notice 
inviting applications published in the Federal Register (84 FR 29854) 
on June 25, 2019 (NIA), operate career and technical education programs 
for Native American students as authorized by section 117 of Perkins V 
(20 U.S.C. 2327). The budget and project period for the two TCPCTIP 
grantees is scheduled to end with funds awarded in FY 2023.
    For these projects, the Secretary proposes to waive the 
requirements of 34 CFR 75.250 and 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), which limit 
project periods to 60 months and restrict project period extensions 
that involve the obligation of additional Federal funds. The Secretary 
makes these proposals because section 117(i) of Perkins V authorizes 
appropriations for activities under section 117 of the Act, through FY 
2024 (20 U.S.C. 2327(i)). The Secretary also proposes to extend the 
project period for the two current TCPCTIP grantees (20 U.S.C. 2327(a)) 
through FY 2027, if Congress continues to appropriate funds under the 
existing program authority. The proposed waiver and extension would 
enable the two current TCPCTIP grantees to request and continue to 
receive Federal funds beyond the 60-month limitation set by 34 CFR 
75.250.
    Moreover, with the proposed waiver and extension, the Department 
would not announce a new competition or make new awards until FY 2027, 
if Congress continues to authorize and appropriate funds under the 
existing program authority. Instead, current TCPCTIP projects funded 
under the NIA could be continued at least through the FY 2027 budget 
and project period, if Congress continues to appropriate funds for 
TCPCTIP under the existing program authority.
    We believe that the proposed waiver and extension is in the public 
interest, given that the Navajo Technical University and the United 
Tribes Technical College are the only two eligible entities for the 
TCPCTIP program, and those entities are the current grantees. Running 
another competition in which the same entities would receive awards is 
not an effective use of Department and grantee resources. Further, 
allowing these grantees to continue their projects would provide 
continuity in the current projects and resources for the current 
beneficiaries of the grantees' programs.
    If we announce the proposed waiver and extension as final, we will 
base our decisions regarding annual continuation awards on the program 
narratives, budgets, budget narratives, and program performance 
reports, submitted by current grantees, and the requirements in 34 CFR 
75.253. Any activities to be carried out during the year or years of 
continuation awards would have to be consistent with, or be a logical 
extension of, the scope, goals, and objectives of each grantee's 
application, as approved following the 2019 TCPCTIP competition. If we 
publish the proposed waiver and extension as final, we would award 
continuation grants based on information provided to us by each 
grantee, indicating that it is making substantial progress performing 
its TCPCTIP grant activities.
    The proposed extension of the project period and waiver of 34 CFR 
75.250 and 75.261(c)(2) would not exempt the current TCPCTIP grantees 
from the appropriation account-closing provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), 
nor would they extend the availability of funds previously awarded to 
current TCPCTIP grantees. As a result of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), 
appropriations available for a limited period may be used for payment 
of valid obligations for only five years after the expiration of their 
period of availability for Federal obligation. After that time, the 
unexpended balance of those funds would be canceled and returned to the 
U.S. Treasury Department and be unavailable for restoration for any 
purpose (31 U.S.C. 1552(b)).
    Tribal Consultation: On September 5, 2023, the Department solicited 
Tribal input \1\ on the proposed waiver and extension for TCPCTIP, 
pursuant to Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments. Tribal members participated by a video 
conference platform. A total of 66 Tribal members and eight Tribal 
leaders participated. None of the participants raised objections to the 
proposed waiver and extension during the consultation or its written 
comment period that ended October 5, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Tribal Consultation on Tribally Controlled Postsecondary 
Career and Technical Institutions Program 
(TribalConsultationNotice_08172023.pdf (ed.gov)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.
    The only small entities that would be affected by the proposed 
waiver and extension are the two grantees selected based on the NIA 
currently receiving Federal funds. These are the only entities eligible 
to receive a grant under this program.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because 
the proposed waiver and extension would impose minimal compliance costs 
to extend projects already in existence, and the activities required to 
support the additional year or years of funding would not impose 
additional regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal 
supervision.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    The proposed waiver and extension do not contain any information 
collection requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    The TCPCTIP is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR

[[Page 88383]]

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 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 Adobe 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.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2327.

Amy Loyd,
Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2023-28127 Filed 12-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P