83_FR_24855 83 FR 24751 - Intent To Award Grantback Funds to the Pennsylvania Department of Education

83 FR 24751 - Intent To Award Grantback Funds to the Pennsylvania Department of Education

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 104 (May 30, 2018)

Page Range24751-24754
FR Document2018-11592

Under section 459 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), the Secretary of Education (Secretary) intends to repay to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) an amount that represents approximately 75 percent of the amount of funds recovered by the Department of Education (Department) under Title I, Part A and Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.010A. This notice describes PDE's plans for the use of the repaid funds and the terms and conditions under which the Secretary intends to make grantback funds available. This notice invites comments on the proposed grantback.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24751-24754]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11592]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2018-OESE-0048]


Intent To Award Grantback Funds to the Pennsylvania Department of 
Education

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

[[Page 24752]]


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under section 459 of the General Education Provisions Act 
(GEPA), the Secretary of Education (Secretary) intends to repay to the 
Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) an amount that represents 
approximately 75 percent of the amount of funds recovered by the 
Department of Education (Department) under Title I, Part A and Title 
IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as 
amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.010A. This notice describes PDE's 
plans for the use of the repaid funds and the terms and conditions 
under which the Secretary intends to make grantback funds available. 
This notice invites comments on the proposed grantback.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before June 29, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand 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 ``Help.''
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: The 
Department strongly encourages commenters to submit their comments 
electronically. However, if you mail or deliver your comments about 
this proposed grantback, address them to James Butler, U.S. Department 
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W246, Washington, DC 20202-
4260.
    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: James Butler, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W246, Washington, DC 20202-
4260. Telephone: 202-260-9737. Email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), you may 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 notice. To ensure that your comments have maximum effect on the 
Secretary's decision regarding awarding this grantback, we urge you to 
identify clearly the specific proposal that each comment addresses.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this notice in 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W246, 
Washington, DC 20202 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays. If you want to schedule time to inspect comments, please 
contact the 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 notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

A. Background

    In March 2017, the Department recovered $7,186,222 from PDE 
relating to findings in a March 29, 2011, program determination letter 
(PDL) issued by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and 
the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. The PDL followed an audit 
report by the Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the 
School District of Philadelphia's (SDP) control over Federal 
expenditures, covering the audit period July 1, 2005, through June 30, 
2006 (Audit Control Number ED-OIG-A03H0010). The PDL sustained certain 
audit findings and disallowed a total of $9,968,423. Through settlement 
negotiations, the Department and PDE agreed that $2,782,201 was barred 
from recovery by the statute of limitations. PDE appealed the remaining 
$7,186,222 liability to an Administrative Law Judge, the Secretary, and 
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The Third Circuit 
denied PDE's petition for review, and sustained the remaining 
liability. PDE filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. 
Supreme Court, which was denied on October 3, 2016. SDP paid the full 
liability to PDE, and in turn, PDE has paid the full liability to the 
Department.
    The claims arose under the ESEA, as amended by NCLB (Pub. L. 107-
110), 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.\1\ Of the total amount recovered, 
$7,074,599 resolved findings related to Title I, Part A of the ESEA, 
and $111,007 resolved findings related to Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, 
also referred to as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Community Act 
(SDFSCA). In its grantback application, PDE requests repayment in the 
amount of $5,389,204, representing approximately 75 percent of the 
total amount related to Title I, Part A and SDFSCA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In 2015, the ESEA was amended by the Every Student Succeeds 
Act (Pub. L. 114-95).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department's claims of $7,074,599 related to Title I, Part A 
were contained in Findings 2, 4, and 5 of the March 29, 2011 PDL, and 
the claims of $111,007 related to SDFSCA were contained in Findings 4 
and 5. As for Title I, Part A, the Department found that SDP had 
violated section 1120A(b) of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB, by using 
Title I, Part A funds to supplant non-Federal funds in payments for 
certain consulting contracts, and that SDP had charged the full cost, 
rather than the incremental cost, as allowed, of transporting students 
to the school of their choice. In addition, the Department found that 
SDP had inadequate procedures for processing transportation costs for 
afterschool programs, resulting in overcharges to Title I, Part A and 
violations of 34 CFR 76.731, 80.20, and 80.22(b), and OMB Circular A-
87, Attachment A, Section C.\2\ For both Title I, Part A and SDFSCA, 
the Department found that SDP had inadequate procedures for charging 
indirect costs to Federal programs and for processing journal voucher 
transfers for staff salaries and fringe benefits, resulting in 
overcharging costs to both ESEA programs and violations of 34 CFR 
76.731, 80.20, and 80.22(b), and OMB Circular A-87, Attachment A, 
Section C.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ In 2014, the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost 
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 
200) replaced 34 CFR part 80 and OMB Circular A-87, among other 
provisions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Following the release of the OIG Audit Report, PDE and SDP 
immediately took steps to ensure that the practices that led to the 
audit findings would not reoccur. In collaboration with PDE and the 
Department's Risk Management Service, SDP developed and began 
implementing five corrective action initiatives directly

[[Page 24753]]

responsive to the audit findings and has been implementing these 
procedures since that time. PDE assures that SDP, with the oversight of 
PDE, has fully resolved the findings from the OIG audit report.

B. Authority for Awarding a Grantback

    Section 459(a) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1234h(a), provides that, whenever 
the Secretary has recovered funds under an applicable program because 
the recipient made an expenditure of funds that was not allowable, the 
Secretary may consider those funds to be additional funds available for 
the program and may arrange to repay to the grantee affected by that 
determination an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the recovered 
funds. The Secretary may enter into this grantback requested by PDE if 
the Secretary determines that--
    (a) The practices and procedures that resulted in the audit 
findings in question have been corrected, and the recipients are in 
compliance with the requirements of the applicable programs;
    (b) PDE has submitted to the Secretary a plan for the use of the 
funds to be awarded under the grantback arrangement that meets the 
requirements of the program and, to the extent possible, benefits the 
population that was affected by the failure to comply or by 
misexpenditures that resulted in the recovery; and
    (c) The use of funds to be awarded under the grantback arrangement 
in accordance with that plan would serve to achieve the purposes of the 
program under which the funds were originally granted.

C. Plan for Use of Funds Awarded Under a Grantback Arrangement

    Pursuant to section 459(a)(2) of GEPA, PDE has applied for a 
grantback totaling $5,389,204, which is approximately 75 percent of the 
principal amount of the recovered Title I, Part A and SDFSCA funds, and 
has submitted a plan outlining the activities that would be supported 
with the grantback funds. While the ESSA amendments to the ESEA 
eliminated SDFSCA, activities formerly authorized under SDFSCA can 
currently be supported through Title I, Part A of the ESEA, as amended 
by ESSA, and PDE plans to use $85,000 in grantback funds--slightly more 
than the proportion of grantback funds related to SDFSCA--for 
activities that would have been authorized under SDFSCA.
    SDP plans to use grantback funds for three activities in the 2018-
19 school year. First, SDP proposes a math initiative to improve 
teaching skills and student learning. As proposed, SDP would provide 
approximately 1,000 kindergarten through 12th grade math teachers with 
a week-long professional learning institute in the summer of 2018. 
Additionally, SDP would provide designated math lead teachers in 
participating schools with compensation for leading planning and 
professional development sessions outside of the school day. Finally, 
SDP would provide eligible schools that participated in the summer 
institute with funds for extracurricular salary support for 
facilitating before and after school sessions for students, and give 
preference for those funds to low-performing schools.
    Next, SDP plans to use grantback funds to provide seven full-time 
reading specialists to support kindergarten through third grade 
students who are significantly behind their expected reading level. The 
specialists would work with targeted students at least weekly in small 
groups using specially designed lesson plans that use best practices to 
scaffold student learning.
    Finally, SDP plans to use grantback funds to support a school 
climate initiative in five schools. A coach would provide participating 
schools with training on how to implement a curriculum centered on 
social and emotional learning as well as bullying prevention. The coach 
would work with each school to develop a training plan, provide 
technical assistance in implementing and teaching the lessons, and 
monitor implementation.

D. The Secretary's Determinations

    The Secretary has carefully reviewed the plan submitted by PDE. 
Based upon that review, the Secretary has determined that the 
conditions under section 459(a) of GEPA have been met.
    This determination is based upon the best information available to 
the Secretary at the present time. If this information is not accurate 
or complete, the Secretary is not precluded from taking appropriate 
administrative action. In finding that the conditions of section 459(a) 
of GEPA have been met, the Secretary makes no determination concerning 
any pending audit recommendations or final audit determinations.
    The Secretary also has concluded that, to the extent possible, this 
grantback award would support the provision of services to the 
population of intended beneficiaries of the program under which the 
Title I, Part A and SDFSCA grants were originally made. The population 
of intended beneficiaries may not have received the full benefit of the 
services intended by the Title I, Part A and SDFSCA grant awards, due 
to the problems that gave rise to the audit recovery described in 
Section A of this notice. However, the Secretary has determined that if 
awarded, this grantback would advance and support the same policy goals 
and purposes of the statutory provisions that authorized the Title I, 
Part A and SDFSCA programs, and would be used in compliance with all 
current statutory and regulatory program requirements.

E. Notice of the Secretary's Intent To Enter Into a Grantback 
Arrangement With PDE

    Section 459(d) of GEPA requires that, at least 30 days before 
entering into an arrangement to award funds under a grantback, the 
Secretary publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to do so, 
and the terms and conditions under which the payment would be made. In 
accordance with section 459(d) of GEPA, notice is hereby given that the 
Secretary intends to make funds available to PDE under a grantback 
arrangement. The grantback award would be in the amount of $5,389,204, 
which is approximately 75 percent of the principal amount recovered.

F. Terms and Conditions Under Which Payments Under a Grantback 
Arrangement With PDE Would Be Made

    PDE agrees to comply with the following terms and conditions under 
which payments under a grantback arrangement would be made:
    (a) The funds awarded under the grantback must be spent in 
accordance with--
    (1) All applicable statutory and regulatory requirements;
    (2) The submitted plan and any amendments to the plan that are 
approved in advance by the Secretary; and
    (3) The budget submitted with the approved plan and any amendments 
to the budget that are approved in advance by the Secretary.
    (b) All funds received under the grantback arrangement must be 
obligated by September 30, 2020, in accordance with section 459(c) of 
GEPA and PDE's approved plan.
    (c) PDE must, no later than December 31 of each year for which it 
has funds under this grantback, submit a report to the Secretary that 
documents the expenditure of funds and progress of activities under the 
grantback arrangement.
    (d) PDE must, no later than December 31, 2020, submit a report to 
the Secretary that--
    (1) Indicates that the funds awarded under the grantback have been 
spent in

[[Page 24754]]

accordance with the proposed plan and any amendments that have been 
approved in advance by the Secretary; and
    (2) Describes the results and effectiveness of the project for 
which the funds were spent.
    (e) PDE must maintain separate accounting records documenting the 
expenditures of funds awarded under the grantback arrangement.
    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 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. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations 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.

    Dated: May 24, 2018.
Jason Botel,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Delegated the authority to perform 
the functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary of Elementary and 
Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2018-11592 Filed 5-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P



                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Notices                                                   24751

                                                regulations and Federal laws. This                      DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION                               Education is especially interested in
                                                information will be used by DoD                                                                               public comment addressing the
                                                                                                        [Docket No.: ED–2018–ICCD–0020]
                                                medical and public health officials to (1)                                                                    following issues: (1) Is this collection
                                                ensure Ebola exposure risk is evaluated,                Agency Information Collection                         necessary to the proper functions of the
                                                (2) proper prevention and quarantine                    Activities; Submission to the Office of               Department; (2) will this information be
                                                efforts are implemented, (3) appropriate                Management and Budget for Review                      processed and used in a timely manner;
                                                medical care is provided, (4) medical                   and Approval; Comment Request;                        (3) is the estimate of burden accurate;
                                                surveillance programs are robust and (5)                Migrant Student Information Exchange                  (4) how might the Department enhance
                                                the spread of Ebola beyond area of                      User Application Form                                 the quality, utility, and clarity of the
                                                concern is minimized. The DoD has                                                                             information to be collected; and (5) how
                                                                                                        AGENCY: Office of Elementary and                      might the Department minimize the
                                                consulted with the Centers for Disease
                                                                                                        Secondary Education (OESE),                           burden of this collection on the
                                                Control and Prevention, the Department                  Department of Education (ED).                         respondents, including through the use
                                                of State, the Agency for International
                                                                                                        ACTION: Notice.                                       of information technology. Please note
                                                Development, and several Defense
                                                                                                                                                              that written comments received in
                                                Agencies regarding disease control                      SUMMARY:    In accordance with the                    response to this notice will be
                                                efforts and health surveillance in                      Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is                considered public records.
                                                response to the public health emergency                 proposing an extension of an existing                   Title of Collection: Migrant Student
                                                in West Africa and worldwide. DoD has                   information collection.                               Information Exchange User Application
                                                also specifically discussed these new                   DATES: Interested persons are invited to              Form.
                                                information collections with                            submit comments on or before June 29,                   OMB Control Number: 1810–0686.
                                                representatives of the various Military                 2018.                                                   Type of Review: An extension of an
                                                Services, representing deploying                        ADDRESSES: To access and review all the               existing information collection.
                                                military members who have participated                  documents related to the information                    Respondents/Affected Public: State,
                                                in the development of the content of                    collection listed in this notice, please              Local, and Tribal Governments.
                                                these forms.                                            use http://www.regulations.gov by                       Total Estimated Number of Annual
                                                   Affected Public: Individuals or                      searching the Docket ID number ED–                    Responses: 420.
                                                Households.                                             2018–ICCD–0020. Comments submitted                      Total Estimated Number of Annual
                                                                                                        in response to this notice should be                  Burden Hours: 210.
                                                   Frequency: On occasion.                              submitted electronically through the                    Abstract: The Department requests to
                                                   Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.                  Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://                 extend the collection of the existing
                                                   OMB Desk Officer: Ms. Cortney                        www.regulations.gov by selecting the                  MSIX User Application. State
                                                Higgins.                                                Docket ID number or via postal mail,                  educational agencies (SEAs) with MEPs
                                                                                                        commercial delivery, or hand delivery.                will collect the information from state
                                                   You may also submit comments and                     Please note that comments submitted by                and local education officials who desire
                                                recommendations, identified by Docket                   fax or email and those submitted after                access to the MSIX system. The
                                                ID number and title, by the following                   the comment period will not be                        collection instrument verifies the
                                                method:                                                 accepted. Written requests for                        applicant’s need for MSIX data and
                                                   • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://                information or comments submitted by                  authorizes the user’s access to that data.
                                                www.regulations.gov. Follow the                         postal mail or delivery should be                     The burden hours associated with the
                                                instructions for submitting comments.                   addressed to the Director of the                      data collection are required to meet the
                                                                                                        Information Collection Clearance                      statutory mandate in Sec. 1308(b) of
                                                   Instructions: All submissions received               Division, U.S. Department of Education,               Elementary and Secondary Education
                                                must include the agency name, Docket                    400 Maryland Avenue SW, LBJ, Room                     Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every
                                                ID number, and title for this Federal                   216–44, Washington, DC 20202–4537.                    Student Succeeds Act, which is to
                                                Register document. The general policy                   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For                  facilitate the electronic exchange by the
                                                for comments and other submissions                      specific questions related to collection              SEAs of a set of minimum data elements
                                                from members of the public is to make                   activities, please contact Maria                      to address the educational and related
                                                these submissions available for public                  Hishikawa, 202–260–1473.                              needs of migratory children.
                                                viewing on the internet at http://                      SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The                          Dated: May 23, 2018.
                                                www.regulations.gov as they are                         Department of Education (ED), in                      Tomakie Washington,
                                                received without change, including any                  accordance with the Paperwork
                                                personal identifiers or contact                                                                               Acting Director, Information Collection
                                                                                                        Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C.                Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy
                                                information.                                            3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general                  Officer, Office of Management.
                                                   DoD Clearance Officer: Mr. Frederick                 public and Federal agencies with an                   [FR Doc. 2018–11505 Filed 5–29–18; 8:45 am]
                                                Licari.                                                 opportunity to comment on proposed,                   BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
                                                   Requests for copies of the information               revised, and continuing collections of
                                                                                                        information. This helps the Department
                                                collection proposal should be sent to
                                                                                                        assess the impact of its information                  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                                                Mr. Licari at whs.mc-alex.esd.mbx.dd-
                                                                                                        collection requirements and minimize
                                                dod-information-collections@mail.mil.                                                                         [Docket ID ED–2018–OESE–0048]
                                                                                                        the public’s reporting burden. It also
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                  Dated: May 24, 2018.                                  helps the public understand the                       Intent To Award Grantback Funds to
                                                Shelly E. Finke,                                        Department’s information collection                   the Pennsylvania Department of
                                                Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison                  requirements and provide the requested                Education
                                                Officer, Department of Defense.                         data in the desired format. ED is
                                                [FR Doc. 2018–11554 Filed 5–29–18; 8:45 am]             soliciting comments on the proposed                   AGENCY: Office of Elementary and
                                                                                                        information collection request (ICR) that             Secondary Education, Department of
                                                BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
                                                                                                        is described below. The Department of                 Education.


                                           VerDate Sep<11>2014   17:04 May 29, 2018   Jkt 244001   PO 00000   Frm 00035   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\30MYN1.SGM   30MYN1


                                                24752                       Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Notices

                                                ACTION:   Notice.                                       4260. Telephone: 202–260–9737. Email:                 Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court,
                                                                                                        James.Butler@ed.gov.                                  which was denied on October 3, 2016.
                                                SUMMARY:   Under section 459 of the                        If you use a telecommunications                    SDP paid the full liability to PDE, and
                                                General Education Provisions Act                        device for the deaf (TDD) or a text                   in turn, PDE has paid the full liability
                                                (GEPA), the Secretary of Education                      telephone (TTY), you may call the                     to the Department.
                                                (Secretary) intends to repay to the                     Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1–                  The claims arose under the ESEA, as
                                                Pennsylvania Department of Education                    800–877–8339.                                         amended by NCLB (Pub. L. 107–110), 20
                                                (PDE) an amount that represents                         SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                            U.S.C. 6301 et seq.1 Of the total amount
                                                approximately 75 percent of the amount                    Invitation to Comment: We invite you                recovered, $7,074,599 resolved findings
                                                of funds recovered by the Department of                 to submit comments regarding this                     related to Title I, Part A of the ESEA,
                                                Education (Department) under Title I,                   notice. To ensure that your comments                  and $111,007 resolved findings related
                                                Part A and Title IV, Part A of the                      have maximum effect on the Secretary’s                to Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, also
                                                Elementary and Secondary Education                      decision regarding awarding this                      referred to as the Safe and Drug-Free
                                                Act (ESEA), as amended by the No                        grantback, we urge you to identify                    Schools and Community Act (SDFSCA).
                                                Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Catalog                   clearly the specific proposal that each               In its grantback application, PDE
                                                of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)                   comment addresses.                                    requests repayment in the amount of
                                                number 84.010A. This notice describes                     During and after the comment period,                $5,389,204, representing approximately
                                                PDE’s plans for the use of the repaid                   you may inspect all public comments                   75 percent of the total amount related to
                                                funds and the terms and conditions                      about this notice in 400 Maryland                     Title I, Part A and SDFSCA.
                                                under which the Secretary intends to                    Avenue SW, Room 3W246, Washington,                       The Department’s claims of
                                                make grantback funds available. This                    DC 20202 between the hours of 8:30                    $7,074,599 related to Title I, Part A were
                                                notice invites comments on the                          a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time,                     contained in Findings 2, 4, and 5 of the
                                                proposed grantback.                                     Monday through Friday of each week                    March 29, 2011 PDL, and the claims of
                                                DATES: We must receive your comments                    except Federal holidays. If you want to               $111,007 related to SDFSCA were
                                                on or before June 29, 2018.                             schedule time to inspect comments,                    contained in Findings 4 and 5. As for
                                                                                                        please contact the person listed under                Title I, Part A, the Department found
                                                ADDRESSES: Submit your comments
                                                                                                        FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.                      that SDP had violated section 1120A(b)
                                                through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
                                                                                                           Assistance to Individuals with                     of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB, by
                                                or via postal mail, commercial delivery,
                                                                                                        Disabilities in Reviewing the                         using Title I, Part A funds to supplant
                                                or hand delivery. We will not accept
                                                                                                        Rulemaking Record: On request, we will                non-Federal funds in payments for
                                                comments submitted by fax or by email
                                                                                                        provide an appropriate accommodation                  certain consulting contracts, and that
                                                or those submitted after the comment
                                                                                                        or auxiliary aid to an individual with a              SDP had charged the full cost, rather
                                                period. To ensure that we do not receive
                                                                                                        disability who needs assistance to                    than the incremental cost, as allowed, of
                                                duplicate copies, please submit your
                                                                                                        review the comments or other                          transporting students to the school of
                                                comments only once. In addition, please                 documents in the public rulemaking                    their choice. In addition, the
                                                include the Docket ID at the top of your                record for this notice. If you want to                Department found that SDP had
                                                comments.                                               schedule an appointment for this type of              inadequate procedures for processing
                                                   • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to                  accommodation or auxiliary aid, please                transportation costs for afterschool
                                                www.regulations.gov to submit your                      contact the person listed under FOR                   programs, resulting in overcharges to
                                                comments electronically. Information                    FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.                          Title I, Part A and violations of 34 CFR
                                                on using Regulations.gov, including                                                                           76.731, 80.20, and 80.22(b), and OMB
                                                instructions for accessing agency                       A. Background
                                                                                                                                                              Circular A–87, Attachment A, Section
                                                documents, submitting comments, and                        In March 2017, the Department                      C.2 For both Title I, Part A and SDFSCA,
                                                viewing the docket, is available on the                 recovered $7,186,222 from PDE relating                the Department found that SDP had
                                                site under ‘‘Help.’’                                    to findings in a March 29, 2011,                      inadequate procedures for charging
                                                   • Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery,                  program determination letter (PDL)                    indirect costs to Federal programs and
                                                or Hand Delivery: The Department                        issued by the Office of Elementary and                for processing journal voucher transfers
                                                strongly encourages commenters to                       Secondary Education and the Office of                 for staff salaries and fringe benefits,
                                                submit their comments electronically.                   Safe and Drug-Free Schools. The PDL                   resulting in overcharging costs to both
                                                However, if you mail or deliver your                    followed an audit report by the                       ESEA programs and violations of 34
                                                comments about this proposed                            Department’s Office of Inspector                      CFR 76.731, 80.20, and 80.22(b), and
                                                grantback, address them to James Butler,                General (OIG) of the School District of               OMB Circular A–87, Attachment A,
                                                U.S. Department of Education, 400                       Philadelphia’s (SDP) control over                     Section C.
                                                Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W246,                         Federal expenditures, covering the audit                 Following the release of the OIG
                                                Washington, DC 20202–4260.                              period July 1, 2005, through June 30,                 Audit Report, PDE and SDP
                                                   Privacy Note: The Department’s                       2006 (Audit Control Number ED–OIG–                    immediately took steps to ensure that
                                                policy is to make all comments received                 A03H0010). The PDL sustained certain                  the practices that led to the audit
                                                from members of the public available for                audit findings and disallowed a total of              findings would not reoccur. In
                                                public viewing in their entirety on the                 $9,968,423. Through settlement                        collaboration with PDE and the
                                                Federal eRulemaking Portal at                           negotiations, the Department and PDE                  Department’s Risk Management Service,
                                                www.regulations.gov. Therefore,                         agreed that $2,782,201 was barred from                SDP developed and began implementing
                                                commenters should be careful to                         recovery by the statute of limitations.
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                                                                                                                                                              five corrective action initiatives directly
                                                include in their comments only                          PDE appealed the remaining $7,186,222
                                                information that they wish to make                      liability to an Administrative Law                      1 In 2015, the ESEA was amended by the Every
                                                publicly available.                                     Judge, the Secretary, and the U.S. Court              Student Succeeds Act (Pub. L. 114–95).
                                                                                                                                                                2 In 2014, the Uniform Administrative
                                                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                        of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The
                                                                                                                                                              Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
                                                James Butler, U.S. Department of                        Third Circuit denied PDE’s petition for               Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR part 200)
                                                Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,                      review, and sustained the remaining                   replaced 34 CFR part 80 and OMB Circular A–87,
                                                Room 3W246, Washington, DC 20202–                       liability. PDE filed a Petition for Writ of           among other provisions.



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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Notices                                             24753

                                                responsive to the audit findings and has                student learning. As proposed, SDP                    the Title I, Part A and SDFSCA grant
                                                been implementing these procedures                      would provide approximately 1,000                     awards, due to the problems that gave
                                                since that time. PDE assures that SDP,                  kindergarten through 12th grade math                  rise to the audit recovery described in
                                                with the oversight of PDE, has fully                    teachers with a week-long professional                Section A of this notice. However, the
                                                resolved the findings from the OIG audit                learning institute in the summer of                   Secretary has determined that if
                                                report.                                                 2018. Additionally, SDP would provide                 awarded, this grantback would advance
                                                                                                        designated math lead teachers in                      and support the same policy goals and
                                                B. Authority for Awarding a Grantback
                                                                                                        participating schools with                            purposes of the statutory provisions that
                                                  Section 459(a) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C.                     compensation for leading planning and                 authorized the Title I, Part A and
                                                1234h(a), provides that, whenever the                   professional development sessions                     SDFSCA programs, and would be used
                                                Secretary has recovered funds under an                  outside of the school day. Finally, SDP               in compliance with all current statutory
                                                applicable program because the                          would provide eligible schools that                   and regulatory program requirements.
                                                recipient made an expenditure of funds                  participated in the summer institute
                                                that was not allowable, the Secretary                   with funds for extracurricular salary                 E. Notice of the Secretary’s Intent To
                                                may consider those funds to be                          support for facilitating before and after             Enter Into a Grantback Arrangement
                                                additional funds available for the                      school sessions for students, and give                With PDE
                                                program and may arrange to repay to the                 preference for those funds to low-                       Section 459(d) of GEPA requires that,
                                                grantee affected by that determination                  performing schools.                                   at least 30 days before entering into an
                                                an amount not to exceed 75 percent of                      Next, SDP plans to use grantback                   arrangement to award funds under a
                                                the recovered funds. The Secretary may                  funds to provide seven full-time reading              grantback, the Secretary publish in the
                                                enter into this grantback requested by                  specialists to support kindergarten                   Federal Register a notice of intent to do
                                                PDE if the Secretary determines that—                   through third grade students who are                  so, and the terms and conditions under
                                                  (a) The practices and procedures that                 significantly behind their expected                   which the payment would be made. In
                                                resulted in the audit findings in                       reading level. The specialists would                  accordance with section 459(d) of
                                                question have been corrected, and the                   work with targeted students at least                  GEPA, notice is hereby given that the
                                                recipients are in compliance with the                   weekly in small groups using specially                Secretary intends to make funds
                                                requirements of the applicable                          designed lesson plans that use best                   available to PDE under a grantback
                                                programs;                                               practices to scaffold student learning.               arrangement. The grantback award
                                                  (b) PDE has submitted to the Secretary                   Finally, SDP plans to use grantback                would be in the amount of $5,389,204,
                                                a plan for the use of the funds to be                   funds to support a school climate                     which is approximately 75 percent of
                                                awarded under the grantback                             initiative in five schools. A coach would             the principal amount recovered.
                                                arrangement that meets the                              provide participating schools with
                                                requirements of the program and, to the                 training on how to implement a                        F. Terms and Conditions Under Which
                                                extent possible, benefits the population                curriculum centered on social and                     Payments Under a Grantback
                                                that was affected by the failure to                     emotional learning as well as bullying                Arrangement With PDE Would Be Made
                                                comply or by misexpenditures that                       prevention. The coach would work with                   PDE agrees to comply with the
                                                resulted in the recovery; and                           each school to develop a training plan,               following terms and conditions under
                                                  (c) The use of funds to be awarded                    provide technical assistance in                       which payments under a grantback
                                                under the grantback arrangement in                      implementing and teaching the lessons,                arrangement would be made:
                                                accordance with that plan would serve                   and monitor implementation.                             (a) The funds awarded under the
                                                to achieve the purposes of the program                                                                        grantback must be spent in accordance
                                                under which the funds were originally                   D. The Secretary’s Determinations
                                                                                                                                                              with—
                                                granted.                                                  The Secretary has carefully reviewed                  (1) All applicable statutory and
                                                                                                        the plan submitted by PDE. Based upon                 regulatory requirements;
                                                C. Plan for Use of Funds Awarded                        that review, the Secretary has                          (2) The submitted plan and any
                                                Under a Grantback Arrangement                           determined that the conditions under                  amendments to the plan that are
                                                  Pursuant to section 459(a)(2) of GEPA,                section 459(a) of GEPA have been met.                 approved in advance by the Secretary;
                                                PDE has applied for a grantback totaling                  This determination is based upon the                and
                                                $5,389,204, which is approximately 75                   best information available to the                       (3) The budget submitted with the
                                                percent of the principal amount of the                  Secretary at the present time. If this                approved plan and any amendments to
                                                recovered Title I, Part A and SDFSCA                    information is not accurate or complete,              the budget that are approved in advance
                                                funds, and has submitted a plan                         the Secretary is not precluded from                   by the Secretary.
                                                outlining the activities that would be                  taking appropriate administrative                       (b) All funds received under the
                                                supported with the grantback funds.                     action. In finding that the conditions of             grantback arrangement must be
                                                While the ESSA amendments to the                        section 459(a) of GEPA have been met,                 obligated by September 30, 2020, in
                                                ESEA eliminated SDFSCA, activities                      the Secretary makes no determination                  accordance with section 459(c) of GEPA
                                                formerly authorized under SDFSCA can                    concerning any pending audit                          and PDE’s approved plan.
                                                currently be supported through Title I,                 recommendations or final audit                          (c) PDE must, no later than December
                                                Part A of the ESEA, as amended by                       determinations.                                       31 of each year for which it has funds
                                                ESSA, and PDE plans to use $85,000 in                     The Secretary also has concluded                    under this grantback, submit a report to
                                                grantback funds—slightly more than the                  that, to the extent possible, this                    the Secretary that documents the
                                                                                                        grantback award would support the
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                                                proportion of grantback funds related to                                                                      expenditure of funds and progress of
                                                SDFSCA—for activities that would have                   provision of services to the population               activities under the grantback
                                                been authorized under SDFSCA.                           of intended beneficiaries of the program              arrangement.
                                                  SDP plans to use grantback funds for                  under which the Title I, Part A and                     (d) PDE must, no later than December
                                                three activities in the 2018–19 school                  SDFSCA grants were originally made.                   31, 2020, submit a report to the
                                                year. First, SDP proposes a math                        The population of intended                            Secretary that—
                                                initiative to improve teaching skills and               beneficiaries may not have received the                 (1) Indicates that the funds awarded
                                                                                                        full benefit of the services intended by              under the grantback have been spent in


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                                                24754                       Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 104 / Wednesday, May 30, 2018 / Notices

                                                accordance with the proposed plan and                   can take effect. The revised HAVA State                 Dated: May 23, 2018.
                                                any amendments that have been                           Plan will be posted on the EAC website                Bryan Whitener,
                                                approved in advance by the Secretary;                   and available for review.                             Director of National Clearinghouse on
                                                and                                                                                                           Elections, U.S. Election Assistance
                                                   (2) Describes the results and                        DATES:  Revisions become applicable                   Commission.
                                                effectiveness of the project for which the              after 30-day publication in the Federal               [FR Doc. 2018–11498 Filed 5–29–18; 8:45 am]
                                                funds were spent.                                       Register.                                             BILLING CODE 4810–71–P
                                                   (e) PDE must maintain separate                       FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                accounting records documenting the                      Mark Abbott, Telephone 301–563–3956
                                                expenditures of funds awarded under                     or 1–866–747–1471 (toll-free).
                                                the grantback arrangement.                                                                                    DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
                                                   Accessible Format: Individuals with                     Submit Comments: Any comments
                                                disabilities can obtain this document in                regarding the plans published herewith                [Case No. 2017–008]
                                                an accessible format (e.g., braille, large              should be made in writing to the chief
                                                print, audiotape, or compact disc) by                   election official of the individual State             Notice of Petition for Waiver of
                                                contacting the person listed under FOR                  at the address listed below.                          National Comfort Products, Inc. (NCP)
                                                FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.                                                                                  From the Department of Energy
                                                   Electronic Access to This Document:                  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:       The EAC              Central Air Conditioners and Heat
                                                The official version of this document is                in accordance with the Help America                   Pumps Test Procedure, and Notice of
                                                the document published in the Federal                   Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) (52 U.S.C.                    Grant of Interim Waiver
                                                Register. You may access the official                   21005(b)) published in the Federal
                                                                                                        Register the original HAVA State plans                AGENCY:   Office of Energy Efficiency and
                                                edition of the Federal Register and the                                                                       Renewable Energy, Department of
                                                Code of Federal Regulations via the                     filed by the fifty States, the District of
                                                                                                                                                              Energy.
                                                Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/                 Columbia and the territories of
                                                                                                        American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico,                    ACTION: Notice of petition for waiver,
                                                fdsys. At this site you can view this
                                                document, as well as all other                          and the U.S. Virgin Islands (hereinafter,             grant of an interim waiver, and request
                                                documents of this Department                            the States). See 69 FR 14002. HAVA                    for comments.
                                                published in the Federal Register, in                   anticipated that States would change or               SUMMARY:    This notice announces receipt
                                                text or Portable Document Format                        update their plans from time to time                  of and publishes a petition for waiver
                                                (PDF). To use PDF you must have                         pursuant to Section 254(a)(11) through                from NCP seeking an exemption from
                                                Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is                          (13) and, thus, requires the EAC to                   the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
                                                available free at the site.                             publish such updates in the Federal                   test procedure for determining the
                                                   You may also access documents of the                 Register. In accordance with HAVA                     efficiency of central air conditioners and
                                                Department published in the Federal                     Section 254(a)(12), all the State plans               heat pumps. NCP seeks to use an
                                                Register by using the article search                    submitted for publication provide                     alternate test procedure to address
                                                feature at: www.federalregister.gov.                    information on how the respective State               issues involved in testing certain basic
                                                Specifically, through the advanced                      succeeded in carrying out its previous                models identified in its petition.
                                                search feature at this site, you can limit              State plan.                                           According to NCP, the basic models of
                                                your search to documents published by                                                                         space constrained central air
                                                the Department.                                            West Virginia confirms that its
                                                                                                        amendments to the State plan were                     conditioner and heat pump units listed
                                                  Dated: May 24, 2018.                                                                                        in its petition are designed and intended
                                                                                                        developed and submitted to public
                                                Jason Botel,                                                                                                  to be sold exclusively with NCP’s
                                                                                                        comment in accordance with HAVA
                                                Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary                                                                          NCPAH–A series or other blower-coil
                                                                                                        Sections 254(a)(11), 255, and 256. (52                indoor units with electronically
                                                Delegated the authority to perform the
                                                functions and duties of the Assistant                   U.S.C. 21004–21006).                                  commutated (‘‘ECM’’) motors. These
                                                Secretary of Elementary and Secondary                      Upon the expiration of thirty days                 efficient blower-coil indoor units
                                                Education.                                              from May 30, 2018, the State is eligible              operate at much lower wattage than the
                                                [FR Doc. 2018–11592 Filed 5–29–18; 8:45 am]             to implement the changes addressed in                 default required by the DOE test
                                                BILLING CODE 4000–01–P                                  the plan that is published herein, in                 procedure. As such, the current DOE
                                                                                                        accordance with HAVA Section                          test procedure does not result in
                                                                                                        254(a)(11)(C). EAC wishes to                          representative ratings for these basic
                                                ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION                          acknowledge the effort that went into                 models. NCP seeks to use an alternate
                                                                                                        revising this State plan and encourages               test procedure to test and rate their basic
                                                Publication of State Plan Pursuant to                   further public comment, in writing, to                models paired only with air handler
                                                the Help America Vote Act                               the State election official listed below.             indoor units (i.e., blower coil indoor
                                                AGENCY: U.S. Election Assistance                                                                              units). This notice also announces that
                                                                                                        Chief State Election Official                         DOE grants NCP an interim waiver from
                                                Commission (EAC).
                                                                                                                                                              the DOE central air conditioners and
                                                ACTION: Notice.                                           Mr. Donald Kersey, III, Elections                   heat pumps test procedure for its
                                                                                                        Director & Deputy Legal Counsel, 1900                 specified basic models, subject to use of
                                                SUMMARY:   The U.S. Election Assistance
                                                                                                        Kanawha Boulevard E, State Capital                    the alternative test procedure as set
                                                Commission (EAC) received a revised
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                                                                                                        Room 157–K, Charleston, West Virginia                 forth in the Order. DOE solicits
                                                HAVA State Plan from the State of West
                                                Virginia in accordance with the Help                    25305–0770. (304) 558–6000 Fax: (304)                 comments, data, and information
                                                America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).                        588–0900.                                             concerning NCP’s petition and its
                                                Pursuant to HAVA, the EAC is required                     Thank you for your interest in                      suggested alternate test procedure.
                                                to publish the revised HAVA State Plan                  improving the voting process in                       DATES: DOE will accept comments, data,
                                                in the Federal Register for a 30-day                    America.                                              and information with respect to the NCP
                                                period before the proposed revisions                                                                          Petition until June 29, 2018.


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Document Created: 2018-05-30 01:01:34
Document Modified: 2018-05-30 01:01:34
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
DatesWe must receive your comments on or before June 29, 2018.
ContactJames Butler, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W246, Washington, DC 20202- 4260. Telephone: 202-260-9737. Email: [email protected]
FR Citation83 FR 24751 

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