80 FR 12370 - Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the Community Parent Resource Centers

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 45 (March 9, 2015)

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. We take this action because this proposed waiver and extension of the project period would enable nine currently funded Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) to receive funding from October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 45 (Monday, March 9, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12370-12372]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05280]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter III

[Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.328C.]


Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period for the 
Community Parent Resource Centers

AGENCY: Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Office of Special 
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Department of Education.

ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of the project period.

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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. We 
take this action because this proposed waiver and extension of the 
project period would enable nine currently funded Community Parent 
Resource Centers (CPRCs) to receive funding from October 1, 2015, 
through September 30, 2016.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 8, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed waiver and 
extension of the project period to Carmen Sanchez, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 4057, Potomac Center Plaza 
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2600.
    If you prefer to send your comments by email, use the following 
address: [email protected]. You must

[[Page 12371]]

include the phrase ``Proposed waiver and extension of the project 
period'' in the subject line of your message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmen Sanchez. Telephone: (202) 245-
6595, or by email at: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf or a text 
telephone, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding 
this proposed waiver and extension. During and after the comment 
period, you may inspect all public comments about this proposed waiver 
and extension of the project period in room 4057, PCP, 550 12th Street 
SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 
Washington, DC time, Monday through Friday of each week, except Federal 
holidays.
    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 notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    On May 3, 2010, the Department of Education (Department) published 
in the Federal Register (75 FR 23254) a notice inviting applications 
(2010 NIA) for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2010 for up to 10 CPRCs. 
The CPRCs were funded under the Parent Training and Information (PTI) 
Program, authorized under sections 672 and 673 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
    The purpose of CPRCs is to provide underserved parents of children 
with disabilities in targeted communities--including low-income 
parents, parents of limited English proficient children, and parents 
with disabilities--with the training and information they need to 
enable them to participate cooperatively and effectively in helping 
their children with disabilities to--
    (1) Meet developmental and functional goals, as well as challenging 
academic achievement standards that have been established for all 
children; and
    (2) Be prepared to lead the most productive, independent adult 
lives possible.
    The CPRCs provide training and information to parents of infants, 
toddlers, and children, from birth through age 26, with the full range 
of disabilities described in section 602(3) of IDEA by: (a) Responding 
to individual requests for information and support from parents of 
children with disabilities, including parents of children who may be 
inappropriately identified in their targeted communities; (b) providing 
training to parents of children with disabilities; (c) supporting 
parents of children with disabilities, as needed, such as helping them 
to prepare for individualized education program or individualized 
family service plan meetings; and (d) maintaining a Web site and social 
media presence, as appropriate, to inform parents in their targeted 
communities of appropriate resources.
    Based on the selection criteria published in the 2010 NIA, the 
Department made awards for a period of 60 months to 10 organizations, 
nine of which have received FY 2014 continuation funding: Fiesta 
Educativa in California; Parent to Parent of Miami, Inc. in Florida; 
Agenda for Children/Pyramid Parent Training in Louisiana; Urban PRIDE 
in Massachusetts; SPEAKS Education, Inc. in Michigan; Education for 
Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs (EPICS) in New Mexico; 
Palau Parents Empowered in Palau; Philadelphia HUNE, Inc. in 
Pennsylvania; and Disabilities Information Coalition in Texas.
    The 2010 CPRC cohort's current project period is scheduled to end 
on September 30, 2015. We do not believe that it would be in the public 
interest to run a competition for new CPRCs this year because the 
Department is in the process of changing the competition schedule for 
the PTI Program to make better use of Department resources. Under the 
proposed CPRC competition schedule, instead of holding three 
competitions over five years, each for 10 CPRCs, we would hold one 
competition for 30 CPRCs for a project period of up to five years. We 
propose to fund 30 CPRCs in FY 2016. We also have concluded that it 
would be contrary to the public interest to provide services to fewer 
underserved families in order to change the Department's competition 
schedule.
    For these reasons, the Secretary proposes to waive the requirements 
in 34 CFR 75.250, which prohibit project periods exceeding five years, 
as well as the requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2), which allow 
the extension of a project period only if the extension does not 
involve the obligation of additional Federal funds. The waiver would 
allow the Department to issue FY 2015 continuation awards of $100,000 
to each of the nine centers in the FY 2010 cohort.
    Any activities carried out during the year of this continuation 
award would have to be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the 
scope, goals, and objectives of the grantee's application as approved 
in the FY 2010 CPRC competition.
    If the proposed waiver and extension of the project period are 
announced in a final notice in the Federal Register, the requirements 
applicable to continuation awards for this competition set forth in the 
2010 NIA and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 would apply to any 
continuation awards sought by the current CPRC grantees. We will base 
our decisions regarding continuation awards on the program narratives, 
budgets, budget narratives, and program performance reports submitted 
by the current grantees, and the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Department certifies that the proposed waiver and extension of 
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The only entities that would be 
affected by the proposed waiver and extension of the project period are 
the current grantees receiving Federal funds and any other potential 
applicants.
    The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension 
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because 
the extension of an existing project period imposes minimal compliance 
costs, and the activities required to support the additional year of 
funding would not impose additional regulatory burdens or require 
unnecessary Federal supervision.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This notice of proposed waiver and extension of the project period 
does not contain any information collection requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance. This document provides early notification of

[[Page 12372]]

our specific plans and actions for this program.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) 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. Free 
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the 
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys. 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.

    Dated: March 3, 2015.
Sue Swenson,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-05280 Filed 3-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P