27236 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 92 / Tuesday, May 13, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

environmental, public health and safety, 

and other advantages; distributive 

impacts; and equity); 

(4) To the extent feasible, specify 

performance objectives, rather than the 

behavior or manner of compliance a 

regulated entity must adopt; and 

(5) Identify and assess available 

alternatives to direct regulation, 

including economic incentives—such as 

user fees or marketable permits—to 

encourage the desired behavior, or 

provide information that enables the 

public to make choices. 

Executive Order 13563 also requires 

an agency ‘‘to use the best available 

techniques to quantify anticipated 

present and future benefits and costs as 

accurately as possible.’’ The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs of 

OMB has emphasized that these 

techniques may include ‘‘identifying 

changing future compliance costs that 

might result from technological 

innovation or anticipated behavioral 

changes.’’ 

We are issuing this proposed priority 

only upon a reasoned determination 

that its benefits would justify its costs. 

In choosing among alternative 

regulatory approaches, we selected 

those approaches that would maximize 

net benefits. Based on the analysis that 

follows, the Department believes that 

these proposed priorities are consistent 

with the principles in Executive Order 

13563. 

We also have determined that this 

regulatory action would not unduly 

interfere with State, local, and tribal 

governments in the exercise of their 

governmental functions. 

In accordance with both Executive 

orders, the Department has assessed the 

potential costs and benefits, both 

quantitative and qualitative, of this 

regulatory action. The potential costs 

are those resulting from statutory 

requirements and those we have 

determined as necessary for 

administering the Department’s 

programs and activities. 

The benefits of the Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research Projects and 

Centers Program have been well 

established over the years. Projects 

similar to the RRTCs have been 

completed successfully, and the 

proposed priorities will generate new 

knowledge through research. The new 

RRTCs will generate, disseminate, and 

promote the use of new information that 

would improve outcomes for 

individuals with disabilities in the areas 

of community living and participation, 

employment, and health and function. 

Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is not subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. 

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 Grants and Contracts 

Services Team, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 

Room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC 

20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 245– 

7363. If you use a TDD or TTY, call the 

FRS, toll free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

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.gpo.gov/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: May 8, 2014. 

Michael K. Yudin, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–10957 Filed 5–12–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter III 

[Docket ID ED–2014–OSERS–0068] 

Proposed Priority—Rehabilitation 

Training: Rehabilitation Long-Term 

Training Program—Rehabilitation 

Specialty Areas 

[CFDA Number: 84.129C, E, F, H, J, P, Q, R, 

and W.] 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Proposed priority. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services proposes a priority under the 

Rehabilitation Training: Rehabilitation 

Long-Term Training program. The 

Assistant Secretary may use this priority 

for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2014 

and later years. This priority is designed 

to ensure that the Department funds 

high-quality rehabilitation programs in 

the following nine rehabilitation 

specialty areas of national need: (1) 

Rehabilitation Administration 

(84.129C); (2) Rehabilitation Technology 

(84.129E); (3) Vocational Evaluation and 

Work Adjustment (84.129F); (4) 

Rehabilitation of Individuals Who Are 

Mentally Ill (84.129H); (5) 

Rehabilitation Psychology (84.129J); (6) 

Rehabilitation of Individuals Who are 

Blind or Have Vision Impairments 

(84.129P); (7) Rehabilitation of 

Individuals Who are Deaf or Hard of 

Hearing (84.129Q); (8) Job Development 

and Job Placement Services (84.129R); 

and (9) Comprehensive System of 

Personnel Development (84.129W). 

These programs must meet rigorous 

standards in order to provide scholars 

with the training necessary to become 

qualified rehabilitation professionals 

who are capable of meeting the current 

challenges facing State vocational 

rehabilitation (VR) agencies and related 

agencies and who can assist individuals 

with disabilities in achieving highquality employment outcomes. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before June 12, 2014. 

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 ‘‘Are you new to the site?’’ 

• Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, 

or Hand Delivery: If you mail or deliver 

your comments about these proposed 

regulations, address them to RoseAnn 

Ashby, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5055, 

Potomac Center Plaza (PCP), 

Washington, DC 20202–2800. 

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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 92 / Tuesday, May 13, 2014 / Proposed Rules 27237 

1Specifically, the new priority is being proposed 

for the following specialty areas: (1) Rehabilitation 

Administration; (2) Rehabilitation Technology; (3) 

Vocational Evaluation and Work Adjustment; (4) 

Rehabilitation of Individuals Who Are Mentally Ill; 

(5) Rehabilitation Psychology; (6) Rehabilitation of 

Individuals Who are Blind or have Vision 

Impairments; (7) Rehabilitation of Individuals Who 

are Deaf or Hard of Hearing; (8) Job Development 

and Job Placement Services; and (9) Comprehensive 

System of Personnel Development. 

information that they wish to make 

publicly available. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

RoseAnn Ashby. Telephone: (202) 245– 

7258 or by email: roseann.ashby@

ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation to Comment: We invite you 

to submit comments regarding this 

priority. To ensure that your comments 

have maximum effect in developing the 

final priority, we urge you to identify 

clearly the specific section of the 

proposed priority that each comment 

addresses. 

We invite you to assist us in 

complying with the specific 

requirements of Executive Orders 12866 

and 13563 and their overall requirement 

of reducing regulatory burden that 

might result from this proposed priority. 

Please let us know of any further ways 

we could reduce potential costs or 

increase potential benefits while 

preserving the effective and efficient 

administration of the program. 

During and after the comment period, 

you may inspect all public comments 

about this notice in Room 5055, 550 

12th Street SW., PCP, Washington, DC 

20202–2800, 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 

accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 

contact the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Purpose of Program: The 

Rehabilitation Long-Term Training 

program provides financial assistance 

for— 

(1) Projects that provide basic or 

advanced training leading to an 

academic degree in areas of personnel 

shortages in rehabilitation as identified 

by the Secretary; 

(2) Projects that provide a specified 

series of courses or program of study 

leading to the award of a certificate in 

areas of personnel shortages in 

rehabilitation as identified by the 

Secretary; and 

(3) Projects that provide support for 

medical residents enrolled in residency 

training programs in the specialty of 

physical medicine and rehabilitation. 

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 772(b). 

Applicable Program Regulations: 34 

CFR parts 385 and 386. 

Proposed Priority: 

This notice contains one proposed 

priority. 

Rehabilitation Specialty Areas. 

Background: 

The Rehabilitation Services 

Administration (RSA) recently 

redesigned its funding priority for the 

Rehabilitation Long-Term Training 

program, Vocational Rehabilitation 

Counseling; the final priority was 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 5, 2013 (78 FR 66271). The 

goal of this priority was to support highquality master’s level programs that 

would produce qualified and effective 

vocational rehabilitation (VR) 

counselors to meet the identified needs 

of State VR agencies and to assist 

individuals with disabilities in 

achieving high-quality employment 

outcomes. 

In redesigning that priority, the 

Department was particularly concerned 

with increasing the rigor of training 

programs for prospective VR counselors 

to ensure that they had the knowledge 

and skills necessary to provide effective 

services to consumers in State VR 

agencies. In particular, the revisions 

were designed to ensure that (1) 

program curricula are developed to 

prepare scholars to meet the needs of 

State VR agency consumers; (2) 

programs recruit high-quality scholars 

and support them through the program, 

including through the provision of 

career counseling to program graduates; 

(3) programs maintain strong 

relationships with State VR agencies to 

promote employment and internship 

opportunities for scholars; and (4) 

programs are continuously evaluated 

using feedback from State VR agencies 

and consumers of VR services. 

RSA has not yet made its first awards 

under the revised priority for Vocational 

Rehabilitation Counseling. However, we 

believe it has the potential to 

dramatically improve the caliber of 

programs and scholars we support and, 

by extension, the employment outcomes 

for State VR agency consumers. 

Although scholars receiving support 

under the Vocational Rehabilitation 

Counseling priority are expected to 

develop the knowledge and skills to 

meet the needs of the majority of VR 

consumers, there will always be a need 

for counselors with specialized skills to 

meet the unique needs of individuals 

with specific disabilities, e.g., 

individuals who are blind or deaf or 

who have a serious mental illness. In 

fact, in response to a request for 

information (RFI) published in the 

Federal Register on November 8, 2012 

(77 FR 66959), a number of commenters 

made exactly this case. Even in his 

Presidential Memorandum on JobDriven Training for Workers, issued on 

January 30, 2014, the President noted 

that ‘‘job seekers must have access to 

education and training that meets their 

unique needs and the requirements for 

good jobs and careers.’’ 

In response to these insights, the 

Department plans to make new awards 

in several specialty areas under the 

Long-Term Training program in FY 

2014. However, in order to ensure the 

same level of rigor in specialty areas as 

we will require from our Vocational 

Rehabilitation Counseling grantees, we 

propose a new priority for specialty 

areas under the Long-Term Training 

program.1 Although the Department 

does not plan on making awards in all 

of these specialty areas in FY 2014, we 

are drafting this priority for all specialty 

areas to reduce the burden on the 

Department and commenters in future 

years should we opt to support projects 

under a different specialty area than 

those for which awards are made in FY 

2014. 

In FY 2014, the Department plans to 

make new awards in the following 

specialty areas only: 

(1) Vocational Evaluation and Work 

Adjustment: Many who commented on 

the RFI and on the notice of proposed 

priority for Vocational Rehabilitation 

Counseling, published in the Federal 

Register on June 14, 2013 (78 FR 35808), 

strongly urged RSA to continue support 

for vocational evaluation programs. 

They stressed the critical importance of 

VR professionals’ understanding of the 

individual skills needed in today’s labor 

market and how best to align those 

skills with the changing demands of the 

labor market so that consumers with 

disabilities can achieve high-quality 

employment outcomes. 

Vocational evaluators are trained to 

use labor market reviews, analyze job 

and training programs, assess work site 

accommodations, and conduct 

vocational profiles and reports. 

Evaluators examine the details of 

specific work opportunities for an 

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individual with a disability, including 

the physical, academic, social, and 

emotional demands of the work 

environment in order to maximize the 

potential for an individual’s long-term 

career success. 

Although VR counselors receiving a 

master’s degree in VR counseling may 

possess some of these specialized skills, 

they do not receive the breadth and 

depth of training in these skill sets that 

an individual receiving a specialized 

degree or certificate in vocational 

evaluation does. 

(2) Rehabilitation of Individuals Who 

Are Mentally Ill: Mental illness has a 

pronounced negative effect on 

employment. Both internal and external 

factors (e.g., stigma, discrimination, cooccurring conditions such as substance 

abuse, and medications used in treating 

mental health conditions) contribute to 

poor employment outcomes. Data from 

RSA’s 2012 Case Service Report show 

that approximately 25 percent of the 

individuals whose case records were 

closed in that year had a primary 

disabling condition of mental illness 

(e.g., anxiety disorders, mood disorders, 

personality disorders, schizophrenia), 

with an additional 15 percent having a 

secondary co-occurring disabling 

condition of mental illness. Individuals 

with mental illness represent the largest 

disability group receiving public income 

support and they are the least likely to 

achieve successful employment 

outcomes after VR (Cook, 2006). For 

those individuals with mental illness 

who are employed, mental illness is 

associated with decreased productivity 

and job retention (Lerner, et al., 2012). 

State VR agency staff providing services 

to these consumers need specialized 

training in order to improve the 

likelihood that these consumers will 

achieve quality employment outcomes. 

(3) Rehabilitation of Individuals Who 

are Blind or Have Vision Impairments: 

There is a great need for more highly 

trained rehabilitation professionals who 

understand the specific needs of 

individuals who are blind or have 

vision impairments. Data from RSA’s 

Case Service Report indicate that, from 

2007 to 2012, the number of case 

records closed after receiving services 

with an employment outcome for 

individuals with visual disabilities 

decreased by 17 percent. This lack of 

success was particularly acute in 

General and Combined State VR 

agencies, which saw a 24 percent 

reduction in the number of records of 

individuals with visual disabilities 

closed with an employment outcome. 

We believe that increasing the number 

of training programs supported by the 

Long-Term Training program that are 

focused on the unique needs of 

individuals who are blind or have 

vision impairments can help to reverse 

this trend by ensuring that personnel 

have the specialized knowledge and 

skills to provide high-quality services to 

these VR consumers. Specifically, 

rehabilitation professionals are needed 

who can provide individuals with 

training necessary for adjustment to 

blindness or vision loss, including 

training in reading braille, orientation 

and mobility, independent/daily living, 

and use of assistive technology for both 

blindness and low vision-related 

applications (e.g., screen-reading speech 

software or large-print magnification 

devices). 

(4) Rehabilitation of Individuals Who 

are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: There is 

also a need for more professionals 

trained in the needs of individuals who 

are deaf or hard of hearing. According 

to the ACS (2012), approximately 2.1 

percent (3.9 million) of American adults 

between the ages of 18–64 report 

hearing difficulty. Hearing loss can pose 

significant challenges to obtaining and 

retaining competitive employment, and 

individuals with these disabling 

conditions often need additional, 

specialized supports to be successful in 

the workforce. 

Rehabilitation professionals working 

with this population should have the 

following competencies: (1) knowledge 

of the medical, psychological, and social 

impact of hearing loss; (2) knowledge of 

VR counseling and assessment strategies 

appropriate for this population; (3) 

knowledge of sign language, 

communication strategies, hearing aids, 

cochlear implants, hearing 

rehabilitation, and assistive 

technologies (e.g., assistive listening 

devices, speech-to-text software and 

devices, telephone technologies, etc.); 

and (4) knowledge of education, career, 

and employment opportunities. 

References: 

Cook, J. (2006). Employment Barriers for 

Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities: 

Update of a Report for the President’s 

Commission. Psychiatric Services, 

57(10), 1391–1405. Retrieved from 

http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/data/

Journals/PSS/3777/06ps1391.pdf. 

Lerner, D., Adler, D., Hermann, R. C., Chang, 

H., Ludman, E. J., Greenhill, A., Perch, 

K., McPeck, W. C., & Rogers, W. H. 

(2012). Impact of a Work-Focused 

Intervention on the Productivity and 

Symptoms of Employees with 

Depression. Journal of Occupational and 

Environmental Medicine, 54(2), 128. 

Obama, B.H. Presidential Memorandum on 

Job-Driven Training for Workers. The 

White House, Office of the Press 

Secretary. 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 8 April 

2014. 

Rehabilitation Services Administration. 

(2012). Case Service Report. RSA 911. 

United States Census Bureau. (2012). S1819 

Disability Characteristics, 2008–2012 

American Community Survey (ACS) 5- 

year Estimates. American Fact Finder. 

2012. Web. Feb. 2014. 

Proposed Priority: 

The Assistant Secretary for Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services 

proposes a priority to fund programs 

leading to a master’s degree or 

certificate in one of nine specialty areas: 

(1) Rehabilitation Administration; (2) 

Rehabilitation Technology; (3) 

Vocational Evaluation and Work 

Adjustment; (4) Rehabilitation of 

Individuals Who Are Mentally Ill; (5) 

Rehabilitation Psychology; (6) 

Specialized Personnel for Rehabilitation 

of Individuals Who Are Blind or Have 

Vision Impairments; (7) Rehabilitation 

of Individuals Who Are Deaf or Hard of 

Hearing; (8) Job Development and Job 

Placement Services; and (9) 

Comprehensive System of Personnel 

Development. The goal of this priority is 

to increase the skills of scholars in these 

rehabilitation specialty areas so that, 

upon successful completion of their 

master’s degree or certificate programs, 

they are prepared to effectively meet the 

needs and demands of consumers with 

disabilities. 

Under this priority, applicants must: 

(a) Provide data on the current and 

projected employment needs and 

personnel shortages in the specialty area 

in State VR agencies and other related 

agencies as defined in 34 CFR 386.4 in 

their local area, region, and State, and 

describe how the proposed program will 

address those employment needs and 

personnel shortages. 

(b) Describe how the proposed 

program will provide rehabilitation 

professionals with the skills and 

knowledge that will help ensure that the 

individuals with disabilities whom they 

serve can meet current demands and 

emerging trends in the labor market, 

including how: 

(1) The curriculum provides a breadth 

of knowledge, experience, and rigor that 

will adequately prepare scholars to meet 

the employment needs and goals of VR 

consumers and aligns with evidencebased and competency-based practices 

in the rehabilitation specialty area; 

(2) The curriculum prepares scholars 

to meet all applicable certification 

standards; 

(3) The curriculum addresses new or 

emerging consumer needs or trends at 

the national, State, and regional levels 

in the rehabilitation specialty area; 

(4) The curriculum teaches scholars to 

address the needs of individuals with 

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disabilities who are from diverse 

cultural backgrounds; 

(5) The curriculum trains scholars to 

assess the assistive technology needs of 

consumers, identify the most 

appropriate assistive technology 

services and devices for assisting 

consumers to obtain and retain 

employment, and train consumers to 

use such technology; 

(6) The curriculum teaches scholars to 

work with employers effectively in 

today’s economy, including by teaching 

strategies for developing relationships 

with employers in their State and local 

areas, identifying employer needs and 

skill demands, making initial employer 

contacts, presenting job-ready clients to 

potential employers, and conducting 

follow-up with employers; and 

(7) The latest technology is 

incorporated into the methods of 

instruction (e.g., the use of distance 

education to reach scholars who live far 

from the university and the use of 

technology to acquire labor market 

information). 

(c) Describe their methods to: 

(1) Recruit highly capable prospective 

scholars who have the potential to 

successfully complete the academic 

program, all required practicum and 

internship experiences, and the required 

service obligation; 

(2) Educate potential scholars about 

the terms and conditions of the service 

obligation under 34 CFR 386.4, 386.34, 

and 386.40 through 386.43 so that they 

will be fully informed before accepting 

a scholarship; 

(3) Maintain a system that ensures 

that scholars sign a payback agreement 

and an exit form when they exit the 

program, regardless of whether they 

drop out, are removed, or successfully 

complete the program; 

(4) Provide academic support and 

counseling to scholars throughout the 

course of the academic program to 

ensure successful completion; 

(5) Ensure that all scholars complete 

an internship in a State VR agency or a 

related agency as a requirement for 

completion of a program leading to a 

master’s degree. The internship must be 

in a State VR agency unless the VR 

agency does not directly perform work 

related to the scholar’s course of study 

or an applicant can provide sufficient 

justification that it is not feasible for all 

students receiving scholarships to 

complete an internship in a State VR 

agency. In such cases, the applicant may 

require scholars to complete an 

internship in a related agency, as 

defined in 34 CFR 386.4. Circumstances 

that would constitute sufficient 

justification may include, but are not 

limited to, a lack of capacity at the State 

VR agency to provide adequate 

supervision of scholars during their 

internship experience and the physical 

distance between scholars and the 

nearest office of the State VR agency 

(e.g., for scholars enrolled in distancelearning programs or at rural 

institutions). Applicants should include 

a written justification in the application 

or provide it to RSA for review and 

approval by the appropriate RSA Project 

Officer no later than 30 days prior to a 

scholar beginning an internship in a 

related agency. For applicants proposing 

a certificate program, the requirement 

for an internship in a State VR agency 

or a related agency is waived unless the 

certificate program has an internship 

requirement. 

(6) Provide career counseling, 

including informing scholars of 

professional contacts and networks, job 

leads, and other necessary resources and 

information to support scholars in 

successfully obtaining and retaining 

qualifying employment; 

(7) Maintain regular contact with 

scholars upon successful program 

completion to ensure that they have 

support during their search for 

qualifying employment as well as 

support during the initial months of 

their employment (e.g., by matching 

scholars with mentors in the field); 

(8) Maintain regular communication 

with scholars after program exit to 

ensure that their contact information is 

current and that documentation of 

employment is accurate and meets the 

regulatory requirements for qualifying 

employment; and 

(9) Maintain accurate information on, 

while safeguarding the privacy of, 

current and former scholars from the 

time they are enrolled in the program 

until they successfully meet their 

service obligation. 

(d) Describe a plan for developing and 

maintaining partnerships with State VR 

agencies and community-based 

rehabilitation service providers that 

includes: 

(1) Coordination between the grantee 

and the State VR agencies and 

community-based rehabilitation service 

providers that will promote qualifying 

employment opportunities for scholars 

and formalized on-boarding and 

induction experiences for new hires; 

(2) Formal opportunities for scholars 

to obtain work experiences through 

internships, practicum agreements, job 

shadowing, and mentoring 

opportunities; and 

(3) When applicable, a scholar 

internship assessment tool that is 

developed to ensure a consistent 

approach to the evaluation of scholars 

in a particular program. The tool should 

reflect the specific responsibilities of the 

scholar during the internship. The 

grantee and worksite supervisor are 

encouraged to work together as they see 

fit to develop the assessment tool. 

Supervisors at the internship site will 

complete the assessment detailing the 

scholar’s strengths and areas for 

improvement that must be addressed 

and provide the results of the 

assessment to the grantee. The grantee 

should ensure that (i) scholars are 

provided with a copy of the assessment 

and all relevant rubrics prior to 

beginning their internship, (ii) 

supervisors have sufficient technical 

support to accurately complete the 

assessment, and (iii) scholars receive a 

copy of the results of the assessment 

within 90 days of the end of their 

internship. 

(e) Describe how scholars will be 

evaluated throughout the entire program 

to ensure that they are proficient in 

meeting the needs and demands of 

today’s consumers and employers, 

including the steps that will be taken to 

provide assistance to a scholar who is 

not meeting academic standards or who 

is performing poorly in a practicum or 

internship setting. 

(f) Describe how the program will be 

evaluated. Such a description must 

include: 

(1) How the program will determine 

its effect over a period of time on filling 

vacancies in the State VR agency with 

qualified rehabilitation professionals 

capable of providing quality services to 

consumers; 

(2) How input from State VR agencies 

and community-based rehabilitation 

service providers will be included in the 

evaluation; 

(3) How feedback from consumers of 

VR services and employers (including 

the assessments described in paragraph 

(d)(3)) will be included in the 

evaluation; 

(4) How data from other sources, such 

as those from the Department on the 

State VR program, will be included in 

the evaluation; and 

(5) How the data and results from the 

evaluation will be used to make 

necessary adjustments and 

improvements to the program. 

Types of Priorities: 

When inviting applications for a 

competition using one or more 

priorities, we designate the type of each 

priority as absolute, competitive 

preference, or invitational through a 

notice in the Federal Register. The 

effect of each type of priority follows: 

Absolute priority: Under an absolute 

priority, we consider only applications 

that meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3)). 

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27240 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 92 / Tuesday, May 13, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

Competitive preference priority: 

Under a competitive preference priority, 

we give competitive preference to an 

application by (1) awarding additional 

points, depending on the extent to 

which the application meets the priority 

(34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting 

an application that meets the priority 

over an application of comparable merit 

that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(ii)). 

Invitational priority: Under an 

invitational priority, we are particularly 

interested in applications that meet the 

priority. However, we do not give an 

application that meets the priority a 

preference over other applications (34 

CFR 75.105(c)(1)). 

Final Priority: 

We will announce the final priority in 

a notice in the Federal Register. We will 

determine the final priority after 

considering responses to this notice and 

other information available to the 

Department. This notice does not 

preclude us from proposing additional 

priorities, requirements, definitions, or 

selection criteria, subject to meeting 

applicable rulemaking requirements. 

Note: This notice does not solicit 

applications. In any year in which we choose 

to use this priority, we invite applications 

through a notice in the Federal Register. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Regulatory Impact Analysis 

Under Executive Order 12866, the 

Secretary must determine whether this 

regulatory action is ‘‘significant’’ and, 

therefore, subject to the requirements of 

the Executive order and subject to 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866 defines a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ as an action likely to 

result in a rule that may— 

(1) Have an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more, or 

adversely affect a sector of the economy, 

productivity, competition, jobs, the 

environment, public health or safety, or 

State, local, or tribal governments or 

communities in a material way (also 

referred to as an ‘‘economically 

significant’’ rule); 

(2) Create serious inconsistency or 

otherwise interfere with an action taken 

or planned by another agency; 

(3) Materially alter the budgetary 

impacts of entitlement grants, user fees, 

or loan programs or the rights and 

obligations of recipients thereof; or 

(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues 

arising out of legal mandates, the 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

stated in the Executive order. 

This proposed regulatory action is not 

a significant regulatory action subject to 

review by OMB under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. 

We have also reviewed this proposed 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

13563, which supplements and 

explicitly reaffirms the principles, 

structures, and definitions governing 

regulatory review established in 

Executive Order 12866. To the extent 

permitted by law, Executive Order 

13563 requires that an agency— 

(1) Propose or adopt regulations only 

on a reasoned determination that their 

benefits justify their costs (recognizing 

that some benefits and costs are difficult 

to quantify); 

(2) Tailor its regulations to impose the 

least burden on society, consistent with 

obtaining regulatory objectives and 

taking into account—among other things 

and to the extent practicable—the costs 

of cumulative regulations; 

(3) In choosing among alternative 

regulatory approaches, select those 

approaches that would maximize net 

benefits (including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety, 

and other advantages; distributive 

impacts; and equity); 

(4) To the extent feasible, specify 

performance objectives, rather than the 

behavior or manner of compliance a 

regulated entity must adopt; and 

(5) Identify and assess available 

alternatives to direct regulation, 

including economic incentives—such as 

user fees or marketable permits—to 

encourage the desired behavior, or 

provide information that enables the 

public to make choices. 

Executive Order 13563 also requires 

an agency ‘‘to use the best available 

techniques to quantify anticipated 

present and future benefits and costs as 

accurately as possible.’’ The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs of 

OMB has emphasized that these 

techniques may include ‘‘identifying 

changing future compliance costs that 

might result from technological 

innovation or anticipated behavioral 

changes.’’ 

We are issuing this proposed priority 

only on a reasoned determination that 

its benefits would justify its costs. In 

choosing among alternative regulatory 

approaches, we selected those 

approaches that maximize net benefits. 

Based on the analysis that follows, the 

Department believes that this regulatory 

action is consistent with the principles 

in Executive Order 13563. 

We also have determined that this 

regulatory action would not unduly 

interfere with State, local, and tribal 

governments in the exercise of their 

governmental functions. 

In accordance with both Executive 

orders, the Department has assessed the 

potential costs and benefits, both 

quantitative and qualitative, of this 

regulatory action. The potential costs 

are those resulting from statutory 

requirements and those we have 

determined as necessary for 

administering the Department’s 

programs and activities. 

The benefits of the Rehabilitation 

Long-Term Training program have been 

well established over the years through 

the successful completion of similar 

projects. This proposed priority would 

promote rehabilitation programs that 

will better prepare scholars to assist 

individuals with disabilities achieve 

employment in today’s challenging 

economy. 

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 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 program 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.gpo.gov/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: May 7, 2014. 

Michael K. Yudin, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–10958 Filed 5–12–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

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