79856 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 

F. Environment 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Department of Homeland Security 

Directive 023–01, Rev. 1, associated 

implementing instructions, and 

Environmental Planning COMDTINST 

5090.1 (series), which guide the Coast 

Guard in complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and have 

determined that this action is one of a 

category of actions that do not 

individually or cumulatively have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. This rule involves a safety 

zone that will prohibit entry on a onemile stretch of the Lower Mississippi 

River for three hours on one evening. It 

is categorically excluded from further 

review under paragraph L60(a) of 

Appendix A, Table 1 of UDHS 

Instruction Manual 023–01–001–01, 

Rev. 1. A Record of Environmental 

Consideration supporting this 

determination is available in the docket. 

For instructions on locating the docket, 

see the ADDRESSES section of this 

preamble. 

G. Protest Activities 

The Coast Guard respects the First 

Amendment rights of protesters. 

Protesters are asked to call or email the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

coordinate protest activities so that your 

message can be received without 

jeopardizing the safety or security of 

people, places or vessels. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165 

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation 

(water), Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Security measures, 

Waterways. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 165 as follows: 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS 

AREAS. 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051; 33 CFR 

1.05–1; 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5; 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Add § 165.T08–0641 to read as 

follows: 

§ 165.T08–0641 Safety Zone; Lower 

Mississippi River, Natchez, MS. 

(a) Location. The following area is a 

safety zone: All navigable waters of the 

Lower Mississippi River from Mile 

Marker (MM) 364.5 through MM 365.5. 

(b) Regulations. (1) Under the general 

safety zone regulations in subpart C of 

this part, you may not enter the safety 

zone described in paragraph (a) of this 

section unless authorized by the Captain 

of the Port Sector Lower Mississippi 

River (COTP) or the COTP’s designated 

representative. 

(2) To seek permission to enter, 

contact the COTP or the COTP’s 

representative via VHF–FM channel 16 

or by telephone at 901–521–4822. Those 

in the safety zone must comply with all 

lawful orders or directions given to 

them by the COTP or the COTP’s 

designated representative. 

(c) Enforcement period. This section 

will be enforced 4 p.m. through 7 p.m. 

on December 31, 2020. Periods of 

activation will be promulgated by 

Broadcast Notice to Mariners. 

Dated: December 2, 2020. 

R.S. Rhodes, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Sector Lower Mississippi River. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26866 Filed 12–10–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR parts 600, 602, 668, 673, 674, 

682, and 685 

Federal Student Aid Programs 

(Student Assistance General 

Provisions, Federal Perkins Loan 

Program, William D. Ford Federal 

Direct Loan Program, and FederalWork Study Programs) 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Updated waivers and 

modifications of statutory and 

regulatory provisions. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary is issuing 

updated waivers and modifications of 

statutory and regulatory provisions 

governing the Federal student financial 

aid programs under the authority of the 

Higher Education Relief Opportunities 

for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act 

or Act). The HEROES Act requires the 

Secretary to publish, in a document in 

the Federal Register, the waivers or 

modifications of statutory or regulatory 

provisions applicable to the student 

financial assistance programs under title 

IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 

as amended (HEA), to assist individuals 

who are performing qualifying military 

service, and individuals who are 

affected by a disaster, war, or other 

military operation or national 

emergency, as described in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. On March 13, 2020, 

President Trump declared a national 

emergency based on the COVID–19 

outbreak. (Proclamation on Declaring a 

National Emergency Concerning the 

Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID–19) 

Outbreak, available at https://

www.whitehouse.gov/presidentialactions/proclamation-declaringnational-emergency-concerning-novelcoronavirus-disease-covid-19-

outbreak/). 

DATES: Effective December 11, 2020. The 

waivers and modifications in this 

document expire as noted within each 

of the provisions below, unless 

extended by the Secretary in a 

document published in the Federal 

Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barbara Hoblitzell, by telephone: (202) 

453–7583 or by email: 

Barbara.Hoblitzell@ed.gov, or Gregory 

Martin, by telephone: (202) 453–7535 or 

by email: Gregory.Martin@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

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

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Secretary is issuing these waivers 

and modifications under the authority 

of the HEROES Act, as codified at 20 

U.S.C. 1098bb(a)(2), which authorizes 

the Secretary to waive or modify any 

statutory or regulatory provision 

applicable to the Federal student 

financial assistance programs under title 

IV of the HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., 

as the Secretary deems necessary in 

connection with a war or other military 

operation or national emergency to 

affected individuals who are recipients 

of Federal student financial assistance 

under title IV of the HEA, institutions of 

higher education (IHEs), eligible 

lenders, guaranty agencies, and other 

entities participating in the Federal 

student assistance programs under title 

IV of the HEA that are located in areas 

that are declared disaster areas by any 

Federal, State, or local official in 

connection with a national emergency, 

or whose operations are significantly 

affected by such a disaster. These 

entities may be granted temporary relief 

from requirements that are rendered 

infeasible or unreasonable by a national 

emergency, including due diligence 

requirements and reporting deadlines. 

In 20 U.S.C. 1098bb(b)(1), the 

HEROES Act further provides that 

section 437 of the General Education 

Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232) and 

section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) do not 

apply to the contents of this document. 


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1https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/ 

house-bill/748/text. 

2https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidentialactions/memorandum-continued-student-loanpayment-relief-covid-19-pandemic/. 

The terms ‘‘institution of higher 

education’’ and ‘‘institution of higher 

education for purposes of title IV 

programs’’ (IHE) used in this document 

are defined in sections 101 and 102 of 

the HEA. 

In 20 U.S.C. 1098ee, the HEROES Act 

provides definitions critical to 

determining whether a person is an 

‘‘affected individual’’ under the Act 

and, if so, which waivers and 

modifications apply to the affected 

individual. However, because these 

definitions do not include the specific 

circumstances under which these 

waivers and modifications are provided 

under the HEROES Act, we provide 

these definitions below. 

For purposes of this document, 

‘‘affected individual’’ means a student 

enrolled in a postsecondary institution. 

An ‘‘affected borrower’’ is one whose 

Federal student loans provided under 

title IV are in repayment. These 

definitions are in keeping with 20 

U.S.C. 1098bb(a)(2) that establishes that 

statutory and regulatory provisions can 

be waived or modified ‘‘as necessary to 

ensure that recipients of student 

financial assistance under title IV of the 

[HEAb who are affected individuals are 

not placed in a worse position 

financially in relation to that financial 

assistance because of their status as 

affected individuals’’. The statute also 

provides that administrative 

requirements placed on affected 

individuals who are recipients of 

student financial assistance are 

minimized, to the extent possible 

without impairing the integrity of the 

student financial assistance programs, to 

ease the burden on such students and 

avoid inadvertent, technical violations, 

or defaults. 

In accordance with the HEROES Act, 

the Secretary is providing the following 

waivers and modifications of statutory 

and regulatory provisions applicable to 

the student assistance general 

provisions and student financial 

assistance programs under title IV of the 

HEA that the Secretary believes are 

necessary to ensure that, during and in 

response to the COVID–19 pandemic— 

• Accrediting agencies and 

associations are permitted to conduct 

virtual site visits of institutions or 

programs currently under review, 

scheduled for initial or renewal of 

accreditation, or in a show-cause or 

probationary status; 

• IHEs may ensure continuity of 

instruction and learning by employing 

distance education to protect the health 

of their students, faculty, and staff; 

• IHEs that are undergoing a change 

of ownership are provided additional 

time to gather the records, data, 

financial information, and approvals 

necessary to support their change of 

ownership application, and their 

temporary program participation 

agreements are extended while the 

application is pending; 

• Foreign graduate medical schools 

that participate in the Federal Direct 

Loan Program are not required to obtain 

and report test results from the Medical 

College Admission Test (MCAT) from 

applicants during admission years in 

which the COVID–19 national 

emergency is in effect; 

• Entities not submitting single audits 

in accordance with the audit 

requirements of 2 CFR 200, subpart F, 

are provided an additional six months 

to submit their annual compliance and 

financial statement audits; 

• IHEs that resume offering 

educational programs after temporarily 

closing or suspending their educational 

programs due to COVID–19 are not 

considered to have ended their 

participation in the title IV, HEA 

programs; 

• IHEs that offer existing short-term 

programs that qualify for Federal Direct 

Loans, or began offering a short-term 

program prior to the COVID emergency, 

are given some flexibility for programs 

affected by COVID–19; 

• IHEs are provided additional 

flexibility to approve leaves of absence 

for students whose coursework is 

suspended due to the COVID–19 

pandemic; 

• IHEs are provided additional time 

to comply with deadlines for campus 

security, fire safety, and equity in 

athletics disclosures; 

• IHEs are permitted to waive the 

requirement for a parental signature in 

the event that it cannot be obtained, or 

accept a document signed and 

photographed and sent by email or text 

message attachment, on any verification 

documentation required to validate a 

student’s title IV eligibility; 

• IHEs that participate in the Federal 

student financial aid programs under 

the heightened cash monitoring one 

(HCM1) status are provided flexibility to 

pay student credit balances after 

drawing down title IV funds; 

• IHEs are provided alternative 

methods for disbursing title IV, HEA 

credit balance funds to students; 

• IHEs that were experiencing 

challenges accessing data and preparing 

their cohort default rate (CDR) appeals 

during the national emergency were 

permitted to submit appeals to the draft 

fiscal year (FY) 2017 CDRs on or before 

June 30, 2020; 

• IHEs are provided additional time 

to complete and submit their Fiscal 

Operations Report and Application to 

Participate (FISAP); 

• IHEs that participate in the Federal 

Work-Study (FWS) programs are not 

subject to the FWS community service 

requirements during the national 

emergency; 

• Perkins Loan and HEAL borrowers 

whose loans are held by the Department 

of Education (Department) are afforded 

the same benefits extended to Direct 

Loan borrowers in the Coronavirus Aid, 

Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) 

Act; 1

• Borrowers with loans under the 

Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), 

Federal Perkins Loan, HEAL, and Direct 

Loan programs that are held by the 

Department, did not accrue interest on 

those loans from March 13, 2020 to 

March 27, 2020. Borrowers were also 

permitted to suspend payment on their 

loans without any penalties during this 

period. The automatic suspension of 

payment and the application of a zero 

percent interest rate on loans held by 

the Department was extended to 

October 1, 2020, under the CARES Act. 

Those benefits were further extended 

through December 31, 2020, by the 

President through the Presidential 

Memorandum issued on August 8, 

2020; 2

• Borrowers who, prior to July 1, 

2020, submitted an application for 

borrower defense to repayment (BD) 

relief that included a FFEL or Perkins 

loan and who would need to 

consolidate those loans into a Direct 

Consolidation Loan (DCL) to receive BD 

relief will have their eligibility for relief 

be adjudicated under the standards for 

Direct Loans disbursed between July 1, 

2017, and July 1, 2020. 

• Borrowers participating in incomedriven repayment plans are not required 

to recertify their income or family size 

until after the administrative 

forbearance period extended by the 

August 8, 2020, Presidential 

Memorandum expires, and will be 

notified of a new certification deadline 

thereafter; 

• Borrowers participating in incomecontingent repayment plans who do not 

make payments during the COVID–19 

emergency will generally not have any 

interest capitalized upon the conclusion 

of the COVID–19-related administrative 

forbearance period; and 

• IHEs are provided academic 

calendar flexibility to address 

scheduling complications that have 


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79858 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 

arisen as a result of the COVID–19 

national emergency. 

Prior waivers granted by the Secretary 

under this Act remain in effect for 

affected individuals, as defined in those 

waivers. 

Statutory Waiver Granted Under the 

Heroes Act in Response to the Covid– 

19 Pandemic 

Recognition of Accrediting Agency or 

Association (HEA § 496, 20 U.S.C. 

1099b) 

HEA § 496(c)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

1099b(c)(1)) provides that a recognized 

accrediting agency or association must 

perform, at regularly established 

intervals, on-site inspections and 

reviews of IHEs (which may include 

unannounced site visits) with particular 

focus on educational quality and 

program effectiveness, and ensures that 

accreditation team members are welltrained and knowledgeable with respect 

to their responsibilities, including those 

regarding distance education. 

HEA § 496(c)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

1099b(c)(5)) provides that an accrediting 

agency or association must agree to 

conduct, as soon as practicable, but 

within a period of not more than six 

months of the establishment of a new 

branch campus or a change of 

ownership of an IHE, an on-site visit of 

that branch campus or of the institution 

after a change of ownership. 

The Secretary is waiving these 

requirements, for the duration of the 

national emergency declaration and 180 

days following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, to provide 

accrediting agencies and associations 

the flexibility to develop, adopt, modify, 

and implement temporary virtual site 

visit policies. Virtual site visits should 

rely on an engaged, interactive format 

(e.g., telephonic meetings, video 

conference calls), rather than solely 

relying upon document reviews or 

exchanges of emails. 

However, if a site visit within six 

months after a change of ownership is 

conducted virtually, a follow up inperson visit must be conducted within 

90 days following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded. 

Regulatory Waivers Granted Under the 

Heroes Act in Response to the Covid– 

19 Pandemic Distance Education (34 

CFR 600.9, 602.16, 602.18, 602.19, and 

602.27) 

Section 600.9(c) requires IHEs to 

obtain State authorization to provide 

postsecondary educational programs 

through distance education. The 

Secretary is waiving this requirement 

for payment periods that overlap March 

5, 2020, or begin after March 5, 2020, 

through the end of the payment period 

that begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded. 

This waiver applies only to the 

Department’s requirements; IHEs will 

need to determine whether the distance 

education being provided meets the 

applicable State requirements. 

The Secretary is providing this waiver 

so that IHEs may provide programs 

using distance education to 

accommodate students without 

requiring such institutions to obtain 

Department approval to provide the 

program through distance education. If 

an IHE chooses to continue offering a 

program or use distance education in a 

manner requiring the Department’s 

approval after the waiver period ends, it 

must obtain approval under the 

Department’s normal process. 

Section 602.16 provides that an 

accrediting agency or association that 

has within its scope of recognition the 

evaluation of the quality of institutions 

or programs offering distance education, 

correspondence courses, or direct 

assessment education, must have 

standards that effectively address the 

quality of an institution’s distance 

education, correspondence courses, or 

direct assessment education. The 

Secretary is waiving, for the duration of 

the national emergency declaration and 

180 days following the date on which 

the COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, this 

requirement so that accreditors may 

waive their distance education review 

requirements for institutions working to 

accommodate students whose 

enrollment is otherwise interrupted as a 

result of COVID–19. This waiver is 

limited to distance learning 

opportunities developed specifically for 

the purpose of serving students who 

were already in attendance, and whose 

attendance was interrupted by COVID– 

19. 

Section 602.16(a)(2)(ii) limits to five 

years the duration of preaccreditation 

status that can be granted by an 

accrediting agency before a final 

determination can be made. The 

Secretary is waiving, for the duration of 

the national emergency declaration and 

180 days following the date on which 

the COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, this 

requirement to enable accrediting 

agencies sufficient opportunity to 

complete their assessment of a 

preaccredited institution for a final 

accreditation determination. 

Section 602.19(a) requires accrediting 

agencies to reevaluate, at regularly 

established intervals, the institutions or 

programs it has accredited or 

preaccredited. The Secretary is waiving 

this requirement, for the duration of the 

national emergency declaration and 180 

days following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, to provide 

accrediting agencies the flexibility to 

develop, adopt, modify, and implement 

temporary virtual site visit policies. 

With the approval of the accrediting 

agency’s board, or other decisionmaking body, during a telephonic or 

video conference meeting, accrediting 

agencies may adopt or modify 

temporary virtual site visit policies 

without a public comment period. 

Because these policies would be 

temporary and arise from the unique set 

of circumstances and challenges 

presented by the COVID–19 pandemic, 

this approval would not require a vote 

of the full membership of the 

accrediting agency. Should an 

accrediting agency desire to make a 

temporary virtual site visit policy or 

policy modification permanent after the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, it must adhere 

to applicable statutory and regulatory 

requirements. 

The Secretary is also waiving the 

requirements under § 602.21(c), for the 

duration of the national emergency 

declaration and 180 days following the 

date on which the COVID–19 national 

emergency declaration is rescinded, to 

enable accrediting agencies to expedite 

the development of temporary standards 

to approve distance learning programs 

or courses, including agencies that did 

not previously have distance learning in 

their scope and for institutions that did 

not previously offer distance learning 

opportunities. However, in accrediting 

clock-hour programs for which 

licensure boards approved the use of 

distance learning to meet the ‘‘clockhour of instruction’’ requirements, 

agencies must continue to meet the 

requirements under § 602.21(c). 

On September 2, 2020, the Secretary 

amended the Department’s regulations 

to permanently permit the use of 

synchronous and asynchronous distance 

learning in the delivery of clock-hour 

programs by distance learning if the 

relevant licensure body will accept 

distance learning hours to meet 

licensure requirements. Institutions are 

permitted to implement this new 

regulation immediately; otherwise, the 

new regulation goes into effect on July 

1, 2021. 

The Secretary is also waiving the 

requirement in § 602.27(a)(4) that an 


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 79859 

accrediting agency must expand its 

scope of recognition by notifying the 

Secretary prior to accrediting programs 

and institutions that provide education 

through distance learning. During the 

COVID–19 national emergency, an 

accrediting agency need not expand its 

scope of recognition to include distance 

learning in order to approve its member 

programs or institutions to offer 

distance learning. 

Notice and Application Procedures for 

Establishing, Reestablishing, 

Maintaining, or Expanding Institutional 

Eligibility and Certification (34 CFR 

600.20) 

Section 600.20(h)(3)(iii) provides that 

the Secretary will extend an 

institution’s provisional Program 

Participation Agreement (PPA) on a 

month-to-month basis after the 

expiration date if, prior to that 

expiration date, the institution provides 

the Secretary with approval of the 

change of ownership from the 

institution’s accrediting agency. 

In keeping with the waivers provided 

in § 600.31, the Secretary is waiving, 

through the end of the payment period 

that begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded, the 

requirement to provide approval of the 

change of ownership from the 

institution’s accrediting agency within 

the time period set forth in 

600.20(h)(3)(iii). 

Institutional Eligibility—Change of 

Ownership (34 CFR 600.31) 

The Secretary is waiving 

§ 600.31(a)(2) and providing an 

additional six months for IHEs to 

provide the approvals from the 

institution’s accrediting agency and 

State, and the same-day balance sheet or 

statement of financial position prepared 

under required financial standards 

pursuant to § 600.20(h)(3), that is 

ordinarily due by the end of the month 

following the change of ownership. The 

Secretary will accept unaudited 

financial statements for the IHE’s and 

new owner’s most recently completed 

fiscal year within the time frame 

established under § 600.20(g)(1), 

provided that the submission includes 

the engagement letters for the audited 

financial statements under § 600.20(g)(2) 

to be completed for submission to the 

Department the earlier of six months 

after the change in ownership or 30 days 

after the date of the auditor’s report with 

the financial statements. This waiver is 

in effect for the duration of the national 

emergency declaration and 180 days 

following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded. 

Medical College Admissions Test 

(MCAT) (34 CFR 600.55) 

Section 600.55(c) requires a foreign 

graduate medical school having a postbaccalaureate or equivalent medical 

program that participates in the Federal 

Direct Loan program to require students 

accepted for admission who are U.S. 

citizens, nationals, or permanent 

residents to have taken the MCAT and 

to have reported their scores to the 

foreign graduate medical school. 

The Secretary is waiving, for the 

duration of admissions years in which 

the COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is in effect, the requirement 

that to participate in the Federal Direct 

Loan program, a foreign medical school 

must require students to take the MCAT. 

Application of Standards in Reaching 

an Accrediting Decision (34 CFR 602.17) 

As a result of travel restrictions, Statemandated campus closures, and 

administrative decisions to move 

instruction to distance learning, 

accrediting agencies may need to 

perform required site visits virtually. 

Therefore, beginning on March 13, 2020, 

for the duration of the national 

emergency declaration and 180 days 

following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, the Secretary is 

waiving the provisions of § 602.17(c) 

that require accrediting agencies to 

conduct at least one on-site review of 

the institution or program during which 

it obtains sufficient information to 

determine if the institution or program 

complies with the agency’s standards. 

Accrediting agencies may conduct 

required site visits for monitoring 

performance virtually at regularly 

scheduled intervals or renewal of 

accreditation. 

The Secretary continues to require 

that in the case such a site visit is 

associated with making an award of 

accreditation or preaccreditation, the 

agency must perform a limited inperson site visit as soon as practicable. 

This limited in-person site visit need 

not replicate the virtual visit, or 

elements thereof, and need not include 

the full team that participated in the 

virtual site visit, but could be conducted 

through a limited visit performed by 

agency staff or a single site visitor. 

Virtual site visits should rely on an 

engaged, interactive format (e.g., 

telephonic meetings, video conference 

calls), rather than solely relying upon 

document reviews or exchanges of 

emails. 

Substantive Changes and Other 

Reporting Requirements (34 CFR 602.22) 

Section 602.22(d) requires accrediting 

agencies to have an effective mechanism 

for conducting, at reasonable intervals, 

visits to a representative sample of 

additional locations they have 

approved. 

Section 602.22(f)(1) requires an 

accrediting agency to conduct a site 

visit, within six months, to each 

additional location an institution 

establishes (when the total number of 

additional locations, where at least 50 

percent of an educational program is 

offered, is three or fewer and the 

locations are not considered to be 

branch campuses). 

Section 602.22(f)(2) requires an 

accrediting agency to have a mechanism 

for conducting, at reasonable intervals, 

visits to a representative sample of 

additional locations an institution 

establishes (when the total number of 

additional locations, where at least 50 

percent of an educational program is 

offered, is more than three and the 

locations are not considered to be 

branch campuses). 

The Secretary is waiving these 

requirements for the duration of the 

national emergency declaration and 180 

days following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded and permitting 

accrediting agencies to conduct these 

visits virtually. Virtual site visits should 

rely on an engaged, interactive format 

(e.g., telephonic meetings, video 

conference calls), rather than solely 

relying upon document reviews or 

exchanges of emails. 

Additional Procedures Certain 

Institutional Agencies Must Have (34 

CFR 602.24) 

Section 602.24(b) provides that an 

accrediting agency must undertake a site 

visit to a new branch campus, or 

following a change of ownership or 

control, as soon as practicable, but no 

later than six months, after the 

establishment of that campus or the 

change of ownership or control. 

The Secretary is waiving these 

requirements, for the duration of the 

national emergency declaration and 180 

days following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded, to permit 

accrediting agencies to conduct these 

visits virtually. Virtual site visits should 

rely on an engaged, interactive format 

(e.g., telephonic meetings, video 

conference calls), rather than solely 

relying upon document reviews or 

exchanges of emails. 

However, if a site visit within six 

months after a change of ownership is 


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79860 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 

conducted virtually, a follow up inperson visit must be conducted within 

90 days following the date on which the 

COVID–19 national emergency 

declaration is rescinded. 

Program Eligibility (34 CFR 668.8) 

Short-Term Programs 

Sections 668.8(d)(3) and (e) provide 

that proprietary IHEs and postsecondary 

vocational institutions that offer shortterm programs must demonstrate in 

their annual compliance audits that 

students enrolled in the programs had 

completion and job placement rates of at 

least 70 percent before those programs 

qualify, or continue to qualify, as 

eligible programs for Federal Direct 

Loans (the ‘‘70/70 qualifying 

requirements’’). 

The Secretary waives the 70/70 

qualifying requirements for any award 

year in which the COVID–19 national 

emergency declaration was in place for 

at least one day during the award year. 

Institutions must continue to report 

completion and placement rates for 

short-term programs for such award 

years in compliance audits, but the 

programs will remain eligible even if 

they do not meet the 70/70 

requirements. Short-term programs will 

once again be required to meet the 70/ 

70 qualifying requirements for any 

future award year in which the COVID– 

19 national emergency declaration is not 

in effect. 

New Distance Education Programs 

Section 668.8(m) provides that an 

otherwise eligible program that is 

offered in whole or in part through 

telecommunications is eligible for title 

IV, HEA program purposes if the 

program is offered by an institution, 

other than a foreign institution, that has 

been evaluated and is accredited for its 

effective delivery of distance education 

programs by an accrediting agency or 

association that is recognized by the 

Secretary under subpart 2 of part H of 

the HEA, and has accreditation of 

distance education within the scope of 

its recognition. 

In recognition that many 

postsecondary institutions needed to 

implement distance learning solutions 

to continue educating students in 

response to campus interruptions or the 

unexpected return of students from 

travel abroad experiences, the Secretary 

is waiving, through the end of the 

payment period that begins after the 

date on which the Federally-declared 

national emergency related to COVID– 

19 is rescinded, the requirement that 

these IHEs must have obtained 

accreditation to offer distance education 

programs. 

Approved Leaves of Absence (34 CFR 

668.22) 

Under § 668.22(d), an IHE is not 

permitted to place students on a leave 

of absence during the suspension of 

coursework, including clinicals or 

internships/externships. However, if the 

coursework suspension results from a 

COVID–19 related circumstance, IHEs 

may grant an approved leave of absence 

to affected students. Approved leaves of 

absence granted due to COVID–19- 

related concerns or limitations are 

considered to fall under the exception 

provided in § 668.22(d)(3)(iii)(B) 

permitting, in the case of unforeseen 

circumstances, an IHE to grant such 

leave prior to the student’s request. A 

written request for leave of absence for 

that period must subsequently be 

obtained from the student. These 

flexibilities apply to all leaves of 

absence granted through the end of the 

payment period that begins after the 

date on which the Federally-declared 

national emergency related to COVID– 

19 is rescinded. 

Section 668.22(d)(1)(vi) provides that 

the maximum number of days in an 

approved leave of absence, when added 

to the number of days in all other 

approved leaves of absence, may not 

exceed 180 in any 12-month period. The 

Secretary modifies this requirement and 

extends the maximum number of days 

from 180 (in any 12-month period) to 

allow a leave of absence to be extended 

to December 31, 2020. 

Treatment of Direct Loan Funds if a 

Student Does Not Begin Attendance (34 

CFR 668.21(a)(2)(ii)) 

The Secretary is waiving the 

requirement in § 668.21(a)(2)(ii) that an 

institution notify the Direct Loan 

Servicer when a borrower who has 

received a credit balance payment 

composed of Federal Direct Loan funds 

will not or has not begun attendance, so 

that the servicer will issue a final 

demand letter. Under this waiver, in 

such circumstances, the institution 

should not notify the servicer. The 

amount of the Direct Loan credit 

balance will be the borrower’s 

responsibility to repay under the terms 

of the promissory note. This waiver 

expires at the end of the payment period 

that begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded. 

Annual Compliance and Financial 

Statement Audit Submission Deadlines 

(34 CFR 668.23) 

For IHEs and other entities subject to 

the Single Audit Act and the 

implementing regulations at 2 CFR 

Subpart F that submit an audit under 

the Single Audit Act, the Department 

will consider the audit submission of 

the IHE or other entity timely if it is 

submitted to the Department through 

eZ-Audit or as directed by the 

Department at the same time it is timely 

submitted to the Federal Audit Clearing 

House under Office of Management and 

Budget guidance M 20–26 for COVID–19 

audit submissions and any future 

extensions provided by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

IHEs and other entities that do not 

submit audits under the Single Audit 

Act are required under § 668.23 to 

submit their annual compliance audit 

and financial statements no later than 

six months after the last day of their 

fiscal year. For any such audits that are 

due to be submitted to the Department 

no later than March 1, 2020, through 

December 31, 2020, or other periods 

specified by the Secretary, the Secretary 

is extending the submission deadline up 

to an additional six months t and other 

entities to provide more time for the IHE 

auditors to complete those audits. For 

IHEs and other entities choosing to 

submit their audits after the normal due 

date, the Department will consider the 

audits to be submitted timely if they are 

submitted to eZ-audit or as directed by 

the Department no later than 30 

calendar days after the date of the audit 

report. If date of the audit report is prior 

to the date of this notice, IHEs and other 

entities have 30 calendar days from the 

date of this notice to submit their 

required audits. 

End of an Institution’s Participation in 

the Title IV, HEA Programs (34 CFR 

668.26(a)(1) and (2)) 

Section 668.26 provides that an IHE’s 

participation in a title IV, HEA program 

ends on the date that the IHE closes or 

stops providing educational programs 

for a reason other than a normal 

vacation period or a natural disaster that 

directly affects the IHE or the IHE’s 

students, or on the date it loses its 

institutional eligibility under part 600. 

The Secretary is waiving this 

requirement in recognition that some 

IHEs are unable to convert their 

programs to an alternative instructional 

modality during the COVID–19 

pandemic. IHEs that have interrupted 

their on-campus instruction without 

converting to an alternative 

instructional modality, either on-ground 


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 79861 

or online, must resume instruction by 

the start of the institution’s scheduled 

payment period, as published in the 

institution’s academic calendar, one 

payment period after the payment 

period in which the COVID–19 national 

emergency is lifted to continue their 

participation in the title IV, HEA 

programs. 

The Department retains the discretion 

to determine that an institution has 

closed based on its assessment of the 

institution’s capacity to reopen at the 

end of the COVID–19 national 

emergency. 

Campus Security, Fire Safety, and 

Equity in Athletics Disclosures (34 CFR 

668.41) 

The Secretary extends the October 1 

deadline in § 668.41(e)(1) for IHEs to 

distribute their Annual Security Reports 

and Annual Fire Safety Reports 

(required under § 668.46(b) and 

§ 668.49(b), respectively) to required 

recipients to December 31, 2020. 

Likewise, the October 15 deadline 

established in § 668.41(g)(1) for IHEs to 

distribute their annual Equity in 

Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) 

disclosures (required under § 668.47(c)) 

to required recipients is extended to 

December 31, 2020. 

Acceptable Documentation (34 CFR 

668.57(b), (c), and (d)) 

Sections 668.57(b) and (c) require a 

statement signed by both the applicant 

and one of the applicant’s parents if the 

applicant is a dependent student, or 

only the applicant if the applicant is an 

independent student, to verify the 

number of family members in the 

household and the number of family 

members enrolled in IHEs. Pursuant to 

§ 668.57(d), an applicant may also be 

required to verify other information 

specified in the annual Federal Register 

document that announces the Free 

Application for Federal Student Aid 

(FAFSA) information as well as the 

acceptable documentation for verifying 

that FAFSA information. IHEs are 

permitted to waive the requirement for 

a parental signature in the event that it 

cannot be obtained, or accept a 

document signed and photographed and 

sent by email or text message 

attachment, on any verification 

documentation required to validate a 

student’s title IV eligibility;. This waiver 

expires at the end of the payment period 

that begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded. 

Cash Management Regulations (34 CFR 

668.161 and 162) 

Payment Methods 

Under § 668.161(a)(2)(iv), an IHE may 

disburse title IV, HEA program funds by 

electronic funds transfer (EFT) if the 

EFT is an automated clearing house 

transaction, meaning that the EFT must 

be a direct deposit transaction. The 

Secretary waives the requirement that 

the EFT be a direct deposit transaction 

to allow IHEs and third-party servicers 

to use any type of EFT under the 

Treasury Department regulations in 31 

CFR 208.2, including person-to-person 

payment methods such as Zelle and 

PayPal, or to enable an IHE to use a 

student’s debit card number to transfer 

a title IV credit balance to the student’s 

checking account using an original 

credit transaction. This waiver expires 

at the end of the payment period that 

begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded. 

An IHE or third-party servicer must 

ensure that any payment method used 

complies with the disbursement 

requirements in the Cash Management 

regulations, and that the institution 

notifies its auditor of the alternative 

method used as part of its annual 

compliance audit for any fiscal year that 

alternative is used. We note that 

regardless of whether any audit 

deficiencies are identified, the IHE or 

servicer must disclose in the 

compliance audit the alternative method 

used and how it was used to make title 

IV disbursements. 

Credit Balances 

For IHEs that are on HCM1 under 

§ 668.162(d)(1), the Secretary is 

temporarily modifying the cash 

management requirements to permit 

those institutions to submit a request for 

funds without first paying the credit 

balances due to the students for whom 

those funds were requested. For 

requests submitted between March 2020 

and the end of the payment period that 

begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded, IHEs 

must pay the credit balances no later 

than three calendar days after receiving 

the funds for those students. 

Cohort Default Rate (CDR) Appeals (34 

CFR 668.204) 

Section 668.204(b) provides that an 

IHE may challenge the accuracy of the 

data included on the loan record detail 

report by sending a challenge to the 

relevant data manager, or data 

managers, within 45 days after receiving 

the data. 

On February 24, 2020, the Department 

posted an Electronic Announcement 

that draft CDRs for FY 2017 had been 

distributed to institutions and that 

included information about the process 

for appealing those draft rates. 

In recognition that IHEs have 

encountered many difficulties and 

interruptions in day-to-day operations 

during the COVID–19 pandemic, the 

Secretary extended to June 30, 2020, the 

deadline for IHEs to appeal the draft 

CDRs that were distributed on or about 

February 24, 2020. 

Deadline for Submission of Fiscal 

Operations Report and Application To 

Participate (34 CFR 673.7) 

The Secretary extended until 

November 1, 2020, the October 1, 2020, 

deadline established in the Federal 

Register on January 3, 2020 (85 FR 303) 

for submission of the 2020–2021 Fiscal 

Operations Report and Application to 

Participate (FISAP). 

Federal Work–Study (34 CFR 673.7) 

The Secretary is waiving the Federal 

Work-Study (FWS) community service 

requirements in § 675.18(g) for all FWSparticipating schools for at least the 

2019–20 and 2020–21 award years. 

Schools do not need to apply for the 

waiver for either award year. The 

Department will administratively grant 

waivers to all schools. This waiver 

expires at the end of the award year that 

begins after the date on which the 

Federally-declared national emergency 

related to COVID–19 is rescinded. 

Perkins Loans (34 CFR 674.2(b)) 

Under sections 428F(b) and 464(h)(2) 

of the HEA and under the definition of 

‘‘satisfactory repayment arrangement’’, a 

defaulted Perkins Loan borrower may 

make six consecutive, on-time, 

voluntary, full, monthly payments to 

reestablish eligibility for title IV Federal 

student financial assistance. To assist 

Perkins Loan borrowers who are 

affected by the COVID–19 pandemic, 

the Secretary is waiving, through 

December 31, 2020, the statutory and 

regulatory provisions that require the 

borrower to make consecutive payments 

to reestablish eligibility. Loan holders 

are encouraged not to treat any payment 

missed during the time that a borrower 

is an affected individual in this category 

as an interruption in the six 

consecutive, on-time, voluntary, full, 

monthly payments required for 

reestablishing title IV eligibility. If there 

is an arrangement or agreement in place 

between the borrower and loan holder 

and the borrower makes a payment 

during this period, the loan holder must 

treat the payment as an eligible payment 


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79862 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 

3 /www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/ 

memorandum-continued-student-loan-paymentrelief-covid-19-pandemic/. 

4www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/deliveringpresident-trumps-promise-secretary-devossuspends-federal-student-loan-payments-waivesinterest-during-national-emergency. 

in the required series of payments even 

if the borrower did not make additional 

payments during this period. At the 

conclusion of this waiver period, the 

required sequence of qualifying 

payments may resume at the point they 

were discontinued because of the 

borrower’s status as an affected 

individual. The Secretary will apply the 

waivers described in this paragraph to 

loans held by the Department. 

Loan Rehabilitation (34 CFR 674.39) 

Federal Perkins Loan borrowers must 

make nine consecutive, on-time 

monthly payments to rehabilitate a 

defaulted Federal Perkins Loan in 

accordance with § 464(h)(1)(A) of the 

HEA and § 674.39. To assist title IV 

borrowers who are affected by the 

COVID–19 pandemic, the Secretary is 

waiving, through December 31, 2020, 

the statutory and regulatory loan 

rehabilitation requirements that eligible 

payments must be made over no more 

than 10 consecutive months, as follows. 

Loan holders other than the Department 

are encouraged to treat any payment 

missed during the time that a borrower 

is an affected individual in this category 

as a payment that counts toward a 

rehabilitation agreement. If there is an 

arrangement or agreement in place 

between the borrower and loan holder 

and the borrower makes a payment or 

payments during this period, the loan 

holder must treat the payment as an 

eligible payment in the required series 

of payments. When the borrower is no 

longer an affected individual in this 

category, the required sequence of 

qualifying payments may resume at the 

point they were discontinued because of 

the borrower’s status as an affected 

individual to successfully rehabilitate a 

Perkins Loan. The Department will 

apply the waivers described in this 

paragraph to loans held by the 

Department. 

Repayment of a Loan (34 CFR 682.209) 

Section 682.209 provides that interest 

accrues on an FFEL loan during the 

interval between scheduled payments. 

On March 13, 2020, the President 

announced 3 that the interest on all 

FFEL loans held by the Department and 

on all Direct Loans would be waived 

amid the coronavirus outbreak. On 

March 20, 2020, the Secretary 

announced 4 that interest rates for such 

loans would be set to zero percent (0%) 

for a period of at least 60 days, during 

which time borrowers would have the 

option to suspend their monthly loan 

payments. On March 27th, 2020, the 

CARES Act was signed into law and 

provided that interest would not be 

charged on Perkins, HEAL, FFEL, or 

Direct Loans held by the Department 

through September 30, 2020. Following 

the President’s Memorandum of August 

8, 2020, the Secretary is further 

extending until December 31, 2020, in 

accordance with the prior 

announcement, the waivers of the 

regulatory provisions in §§ 682.202 and 

682.209 that require that interest be 

charged on FFEL loans held by the 

Department from March 13, 2020, 

through March 27, 2020, and from 

October 1, 2020 through December 31, 

2020. The affected loans include FFEL 

Program Loans that the Department 

acquired pursuant to the Ensuring 

Continued Access to Student Loans Act 

of 2008 (ECASLA), through the 

assignment of defaulted loans under 

§ 682.409, and rehabilitated loans for 

which a guaranty agency could not 

secure a purchaser and assigned to the 

Department under § 682.405(a)(2)(ii). 

This does not apply to defaulted FFEL 

Program Loans for which a guaranty 

agency has paid a claim to the FFEL 

Program lender and on which the 

guaranty agency is pursuing the 

borrower for collection. However, the 

guaranty agencies may voluntarily 

provide interest or payment waivers, for 

the duration of the COVID–19 national 

emergency, to borrowers of loans on 

which collection activity continues. 

Obligation To Repay (34 CFR 685.207) 

Section 685.207 provides that a 

borrower is required to pay any interest 

not subsidized by the Secretary unless 

the borrower is relieved of the 

obligation to repay. On March 13, 2020, 

the President announced that the 

interest on all student loans held by the 

Department would be waived amid the 

coronavirus outbreak. On March 20, 

2020, the Secretary announced that 

interest rates for such loans would be 

set to zero percent for a period of at least 

60 days, during which time borrowers 

would have the option to suspend their 

monthly loan payments. On March 27th, 

2020, the CARES Act was signed into 

law and extended this same benefit 

through September 30, 2020. The period 

of this benefit was further extended to 

December 31, 2020 by the President’s 

Memorandum of August 8, 2020. 

Accordingly, Direct Loans are 

automatically placed in an 

administrative forbearance status that is 

currently scheduled to be in effect from 

March 13, 2020, through December 31, 

2020. 

Borrower Defense to Repayment (34 CFR 

685.206 & 685.222) 

When the Department expanded the 

utilization of the Borrower Defense to 

Repayment (BD) provision to provide 

potential loan forgiveness to borrowers 

who had enrolled in certain programs, 

during certain periods of time, it offered 

to review BD applications submitted by 

students who had FFEL or Perkins 

loans, and other loans that were not 

Direct Loans (non-Direct Loans), and 

notify the borrower of their eligibility 

for full or partial loan relief in the event 

that such students elected to consolidate 

those loans into a Direct Consolidation 

Loan. If the Department determined that 

the borrower had successfully 

established a defense to repayment, the 

borrower could apply for a Direct 

Consolidation Loan to receive the 

discharge. On July 1, 2020, new 

regulations regarding BD went into 

effect. In the months prior to July 1, 

2020, BD applicants were not 

specifically notified that they would 

need to take action to consolidate the 

non-Direct loans included in their 

borrower defense applications into a 

Direct Consolidation Loan prior to July 

1, 2020, to ensure that the Direct 

Consolidation Loan would be 

adjudicated under the 2016 BD 

regulations, which includes the 

standards under which the Department 

would make the determination of 

eligibility for BD relief on FFEL or 

Perkins loans, or other non-Direct 

Loans, in the event that the borrower 

chose to consolidate his or her eligible 

loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. 

Applications for relief on Direct 

Consolidation Loans that include FFEL 

or Perkins loans originally included in 

BD applications received by the 

Department prior to July 1, 2020, will 

therefore be adjudicated under the 

standards for Direct Loans, including 

Direct Consolidation loans, disbursed 

between July 1, 2017, and July 1, 2020. 

Recertification of Income-Driven 

Repayment Plans (34 CFR 685.209 & 

685.221) 

Sections 685.209 and 685.221 provide 

that a borrower participating in an 

income-driven repayment plan is 

required to provide documentation, 

acceptable to the Secretary, that enables 

the annual calculation of the borrower’s 

payment amount for each year that the 

borrower remains on the plan. The 

Secretary is waiving §§ 685.209(a)(5)(i) 

and 685.221(e)(1) for one calendar year 

from the date on which a borrower 

would have been required to provide 


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 239 / Friday, December 11, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 79863 

5https://ifap.ed.gov/sites/default/files/ 

attachments/2019-09/1920FSAHbkVol3Master.pdf. 

recertification documentation in 2020. 

Borrowers will be notified by their loan 

servicer of their new recertification date, 

in advance of the deadline on which 

such documentation is required. 

Capitalization of Interest Under the 

Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (34 

CFR 685.209) 

Section 685.209(a)(2)(iv)(A) provides 

that interest is capitalized on a 

borrower’s loans that are being repaid 

under the income-contingent repayment 

plan when a borrower is determined to 

no longer have a partial financial 

hardship or at the time a borrower 

chooses to leave the Pay As You Earn 

repayment plan. As noted above, all 

Direct Loans in repayment or default 

have been placed in an administrative 

forbearance status and interest has been 

suspended. If the borrower’s loan 

payments were current before the 

administrative forbearance period 

began, interest accrued prior to March 

13, 2020, will not capitalize at the end 

of the coronavirus-related 

administrative forbearance period. 

However, if the borrower’s loans were 

in the type of deferment or forbearance 

in which interest would normally 

capitalize before the coronavirus-related 

administrative forbearance period 

began, interest accrued prior to March 

13, 2020, will capitalize when the 

borrower’s original deferment or 

forbearance ends, or on January 1, 2021, 

whichever is later. 

For borrowers whose loans were in a 

grace period before the coronavirusrelated administrative forbearance 

period began, any outstanding or unpaid 

interest on a borrower’s account will 

capitalize as it usually does when the 

loan(s) enter repayment. 

This waiver expires on December 31, 

2020. 

Academic Calendar Flexibility (34 CFR 

690.63) 

Section 690.63(a)(3) requires, as a 

condition of calculating Pell grant 

eligibility under Formula 1,5 that 

students not be allowed ‘‘to be enrolled 

simultaneously in overlapping terms 

. . .’’. The Secretary is waiving this 

requirement for academic years that 

include the latter of December 31, 2020, 

or the last date of the COVID–19 

national emergency. All standard terms 

will be permitted to overlap with an 

adjacent term without the program 

being considered non-term. 

Additionally, a standard semester or 

trimester may consist of as few as 13 

weeks of instructional time and a 

standard quarter as few as nine weeks 

of instructional time without the 

program being considered a nonstandard term program. 

The Secretary is waiving the 

provisions of § 690.63(a)(1)(ii)(B)(3) and 

permitting IHEs to treat as standard term 

any academic calendar comprised of 

semesters, trimesters, or quarters that 

overlap. For all academic years that 

include the later of December 31, 2020, 

or the end date for the COVID–19 

Federally declared emergency, the 

existence of overlapping standard terms 

will not result in a program being 

considered non-term. 

Section 3513 of the CARES Act 

Section 3513 of the CARES Act 

directs the Secretary to: (1) Suspend all 

payments due, (2) cease interest accrual, 

and (3) suspend involuntary collections 

for loans made under part D and part B 

(that are held by the Department) of title 

IV of the HEA through September 30, 

2020. The section also directs the 

Secretary to deem each month for which 

a loan payment was suspended as if the 

borrower of the loan had made a 

payment for the purpose of any loan 

forgiveness program or loan 

rehabilitation program authorized under 

part D or B for which the borrower 

would have otherwise qualified. Lastly, 

this section directs the Secretary to 

ensure that, for the purpose of reporting 

information about the loan to a 

consumer reporting agency, any 

payment that has been suspended is 

treated as if it were a regularly 

scheduled payment made by a borrower. 

On August 8, 2020, the President 

issued a memorandum directing the 

Secretary to continue to waive interest 

and payments on such loans until 

December 31, 2020. Therefore, in 

accordance with the prior 

announcement, the Secretary is using 

her authority under the HEROES Act to 

modify the terms of the benefits 

provided under section 3513 of the 

CARES Act such that they will continue 

to be provided to borrowers until 

December 31, 2020. 

Accessible Format: On request to Mr. 

Jean-Didier Gaina, by telephone: (202) 

502–7526 or by email: JeanDidier.Gaina@ed.gov, individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an accessible format (such as braille, 

large print, audiotape, or compact disc), 

to the extent reasonably practicable. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or 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. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Numbers: 84.007 Federal Supplemental 

Educational Opportunity Grant Program; 

84.032 Federal Family Education Loan 

Program; 84.032 Federal PLUS Program; 

84.033 Federal Work-Study Program; 84.038 

Federal Perkins Loan Program; 84.063 

Federal Pell Grant Program; and 84.268 

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan 

Program.) 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071, 1082, 

1087a, 1087aa, Part F–1. 

Robert King, 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27042 Filed 12–10–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 82 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2003–0118; FRL–10016–19– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AG12 

Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: 

Determination 36 for Significant New 

Alternatives Policy Program 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Determination of acceptability. 

SUMMARY: This determination of 

acceptability expands the list of 

acceptable substitutes pursuant to the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) Significant New Alternatives 

Policy (SNAP) program. This action lists 

as acceptable additional substitutes for 

use in the refrigeration and air 

conditioning, foam blowing, and fire 

suppression sectors. 

DATES: This determination is applicable 

on December 11, 2020. 

ADDRESSES: The EPA established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2003–0118 

(continuation of Air Docket A–91–42). 

All electronic documents in the docket 


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