82 FR 13452 - Notice of Waivers; Comprehensive Centers Program

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 47 (March 13, 2017)

The Secretary waives the requirements that generally prohibit project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. These waivers enable the 22 current grantees under the Comprehensive Centers program to continue to receive Federal funding for up to an additional 24 months through September 30, 2019.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 47 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13452-13454]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04906]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Waivers; Comprehensive Centers Program

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

ACTION: Notice of waivers.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary waives the requirements that generally prohibit 
project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions 
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. These waivers 
enable the 22 current grantees under the Comprehensive Centers program 
to continue to receive Federal funding for up to an additional 24 
months through September 30, 2019.

DATES: These waivers are effective April 12, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britt Jung, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3E206, Washington, DC 20202-
6400. Telephone: (202) 205-4513 or by email: [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: 

Background

    Under the Comprehensive Centers program, the Department of 
Education (Department) supports grants to operate regional technical 
assistance centers and national content centers as authorized by 
sections 203 through 207 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 
2002 (ETAA) (20 U.S.C. 9602-9606). The purpose of these centers is to 
provide technical assistance to States as States work to help local 
educational agencies (LEAs) and schools close achievement gaps in core 
content areas and raise student achievement in schools.
    Eligible applicants for Comprehensive Center grants are research 
organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher 
education, partnerships among these types of entities, or individuals 
with the demonstrated ability or capacity to carry out the activities 
described in the notice inviting applications published in the Federal 
Register on June 6, 2012 (77 FR 33564)

[[Page 13453]]

(2012 NIA) and corrected on August 15, 2012 (77 FR 48974). In FY 2012, 
the Department made five-year awards to 22 Comprehensive Centers. The 
project period for these Comprehensive Centers is currently scheduled 
to end on September 30, 2017.
    On January 9, 2017, the Department published a notice in the 
Federal Register (82 FR 2335) (January 2017 notice) proposing waivers 
of the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250(a) and 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2) 
(proposed waivers). Respectively, these provisions generally prohibit 
project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions 
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. Waiving these 
provisions will enable the Secretary to provide additional funds to the 
22 Comprehensive Center grantees for up to 24 months, from October 1, 
2017, through September 30, 2019. The January 2017 notice also invited 
public comment on the proposed waivers.

Public Comment

    No parties submitted comments regarding the proposed waivers. There 
are no differences between the proposed and the final waivers.

Final Waivers

    In the January 2017 notice, we discussed the background and 
purposes of the Comprehensive Centers program and our reasons for 
proposing the waivers. As outlined in that notice, it would not be in 
the public interest to hold a new competition under the Comprehensive 
Centers program until after the Department has finalized its guidance 
on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as 
amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and until all the new 
statutory requirements under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, have 
gone into effect. One of the primary purposes of the Comprehensive 
Centers program is to help States, LEAs, and schools implement key 
school improvement provisions of the ESEA. Delaying the competition 
until after the Department and States have begun to implement the new 
provisions under the ESEA, as amended by the ESSA, would allow 
applicants to familiarize themselves with the new statutory 
requirements and submit proposals that will best serve States under the 
new law. In addition, it would be contrary to the public interest to 
have a lapse in Comprehensive Centers' services pending the 
implementation of new provisions of the ESSA. Implementing these 
waivers will ensure that the important services provided by the current 
Comprehensive Centers can continue uninterrupted as States transition 
to the ESSA.
    The Secretary waives the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250(a), which 
prohibit project periods exceeding five years, and the requirements in 
34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), which limit the extension of a project period if 
the extension involves the obligation of additional Federal funds.
    Under these waivers--
    (1) Current grantees are authorized to receive continuation awards 
annually for up to two fiscal years.
    (2) The Department will not announce a new competition or make new 
awards under the Comprehensive Centers program in FY 2017.
    (3) During the extension period, any activities carried out must be 
consistent with, or be a logical extension of, the scope, goals, and 
objectives of the grantees' approved applications from the 2012 
Comprehensive Centers competition.
    (4) Each grantee that receives a continuation award must also 
continue to comply with the requirements established in the program 
regulations and the 2012 NIA (77 FR 33564).
    The waivers of 34 CFR 75.250(a) and 75.261(c)(2) do not affect the 
applicability of the requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 (continuation of a 
multi-year project after the first budget period) to any current 
Comprehensive Centers grantee that receives a continuation award as a 
result of the waivers.
    In addition, these waivers do not exempt current Comprehensive 
Centers grantees from the account-closing provisions in 31 U.S.C. 
1552(a), nor do they extend the availability of funds previously 
awarded to current Comprehensive Centers grantees. Under 31 U.S.C. 
1552(a), appropriated funds 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 is canceled and returned to the U.S. Treasury 
Department and is unavailable for restoration for any purpose. These 
waivers do not change this requirement.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that these waivers will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The small entities that will be affected are:
    (a) The FY 2012 grantees currently receiving Federal funds; and
    (b) The entities that are eligible for an award under the 
Comprehensive Centers program (i.e., eligible applicants as described 
in the 2012 NIA).
    The Secretary certifies that the waivers will not have a 
significant economic impact on these entities because the waivers and 
the activities required to support the additional years of funding 
impose minimal compliance costs to extend projects already in 
existence, and the activities required to support the additional year 
of funding will not impose additional regulatory burdens or require 
unnecessary Federal supervision. The waivers will impose minimal 
requirements to ensure the proper expenditure of program funds, 
including requirements that are standard for continuation awards.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    These waivers do 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 Federal financial 
assistance. This document provides notification of 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) by contacting the program contact person listed in this notice.

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 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. 9602-9606.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.283B.


[[Page 13454]]


    Dated: March 8, 2017.
Monique M. Chism,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2017-04906 Filed 3-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P