PROGRAM MEMORANDUM OCTAE/DAEL 15-2

TO: State Directors of Adult Education

FROM: Johan E. Uvin /s/

Acting Assistant Secretary for

Career, Technical, and Adult Education

RE: Announcing the Release of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

(WIOA) Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) on Federal Register

Public Inspection

The purpose of this memorandum is to announce the release of five notices of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRMs) related to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), 

enacted on July 22, 2014, made available for public inspection on the Federal Register 

Public Inspection Web site at: https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-05540.

The five NPRMs include:

• Joint NPRM—The U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) 

developed a joint NPRM to implement jointly-administered activities under title I 

of WIOA regarding Unified and Combined State Plans, performance 

accountability, and the one-stop system. The joint NPRM applies to all core 

programs, including the State Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the Adult 

Education program.

• DOL-only NPRM—This NPRM will implement changes made to the adult, 

dislocated worker, and youth programs authorized under title I of WIOA.

Three ED-only NPRMs:

• Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)—This NPRM will implement 

changes to programs authorized under AEFLA, which is contained in title II of 

WIOA.

• Rehabilitation Act of 1973—Two NPRMs will implement changes made to the 

programs authorized under the Rehabilitation Act, which is contained in title IV 

of WIOA, as well as new provisions added:

o State Vocational Rehabilitation Services program and the State Supported 

Employment Services program, as well as new provisions in Section 511

(Limitations on the Use of Subminimum Wages); and

o All other Rehabilitation Act programs administered by ED—Client 

Assistance, American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services, 

Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights, Independent Living 

Services for Older Individuals Who Are Blind programs, and the 
discretionary grant programs authorized under title III of the 

Rehabilitation Act.

The NPRMs will be published in the Federal Register soon, at which time the official 60-

day comment period will begin. Until the time of publication, the NPRMs are available 

for unofficial viewing only. You may use this time to become familiar with the content 

of the NPRMs and to begin to prepare your comments for submission after publication 

and during the 60-day comment period.

Once the NPRMs are published in the Federal Register and the 60-day public comment 

period begins, you can submit your written comments online through Regulations.gov at: 

www.regulations.gov. At this website, you will also find instructions for accessing 

agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket. You may also submit 

hard copy comments via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Each 

NPRM contains specific instructions for submitting hard copy comments related to that 

proposed regulations in that particular NPRM in the “Addresses” section.

For more information, please visit www.ed.gov/aefla for additional resources, as it 

becomes available.