Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 115 / Friday, June 14, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 35761 

techniques may include ‘‘identifying 

changing future compliance costs that 

might result from technological 

innovation or anticipated behavioral 

changes.’’ 

We are issuing this final priority only 

on a reasoned determination that its 

benefits 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 does 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 new RRTC have been 

completed successfully, and the new 

RRTC, established consistently with this 

final priority, is expected to improve the 

lives of individuals with disabilities 

from minority backgrounds; generate 

through research and development, 

disseminate, and promote the use of 

new information that will improve the 

outcomes for individuals with 

disabilities; and increase the capacity of 

minority entities to conduct disability 

and rehabilitation research and develop 

rehabilitation research professionals. 

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: June 11, 2013. 

Michael K. Yudin, 

Delegated the authority to perform the 

functions and the duties of the Assistant 

Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2013–14227 Filed 6–13–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter III 

Final Priority; National Institute on 

Disability and Rehabilitation 

Research—Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research Projects and 

Centers Program—Rehabilitation 

Engineering Research Centers 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Final priority. 

[CFDA Number: 84.133E–4.] 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services announces a priority for a 

Rehabilitation Engineering Research 

Center (RERC) on Universal Interfaces 

and Information Technology Access 

under the Disability and Rehabilitation 

Research Projects and Centers Program 

administered by the National Institute 

on Disability and Rehabilitation 

Research (NIDRR). The Assistant 

Secretary may use this priority for a 

competition in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and 

later years. We take this action to focus 

research attention on areas of national 

need. We intend to use this priority to 

improve outcomes for individuals with 

disabilities. 

DATES: Effective Date: This priority is 

effective July 15, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marlene Spencer, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., 

room 5133, Potomac Center Plaza (PCP), 

Washington, DC 20202–2700. 

Telephone: (202) 245–7532 or by email: 

marlene.spencer@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: This 

notice of final priority is in concert with 

NIDRR’s Long-Range Plan (Plan) for 

Fiscal Years 2013–2017. The Plan, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register on April 4, 2013 (78 FR 20299), 

can be accessed on the Internet at the 

following site: www.ed.gov/about/ 

offices/list/osers/nidrr/policy.html. 

Through the implementation of the 

Plan, NIDRR seeks to improve the health 

and functioning, employment, and 

community living and participation of 

individuals with disabilities through 

comprehensive programs of research, 

engineering, training, technical 

assistance, and knowledge translation 

and dissemination. The Plan reflects 

NIDRR’s commitment to quality, 

relevance, and balance in its programs 

to ensure appropriate attention to all 

aspects of well-being of individuals 

with disabilities and to all types and 

degrees of disability, including lowincidence and severe disabilities. 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the Disability and Rehabilitation 

Research Projects and Centers Program 

is to plan and conduct research, 

demonstration projects, training, and 

related activities, including 

international activities, to develop 

methods, procedures, and rehabilitation 

technology that maximize the full 

inclusion and integration into society, 

employment, independent living, family 

support, and economic and social selfsufficiency of individuals with 

disabilities, especially individuals with 

the most severe disabilities; and to 

improve the effectiveness of services 

authorized under the Rehabilitation Act 

of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation 

Act). 

Rehabilitation Engineering Research 

Centers Program 

The purpose of NIDRR’s RERCs 

program, which is funded through the 

Disability and Rehabilitation Research 

Projects and Centers Program, is to 

improve the effectiveness of services 

authorized under the Rehabilitation Act. 

It does so by conducting advanced 

engineering research, developing and 

evaluating innovative technologies, 

facilitating service delivery system 

changes, stimulating the production and 

distribution of new technologies and 

equipment in the private sector, and 

providing training opportunities. RERCs 

seek to solve rehabilitation problems 

and remove environmental barriers to 

improvements in employment, 

community living and participation, 

and health and function outcomes of 

individuals with disabilities. 

The general requirements for RERCs 

are set out in subpart D of 34 CFR part 

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35762 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 115 / Friday, June 14, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

350 (What Rehabilitation Engineering 

Research Centers Does the Secretary 

Assist?). 

Additional information on the RERCs 

program can be found at: www.ed.gov/ 

rschstat/research/pubs/index.html. 

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 

764(b)(3). 

Applicable Program Regulations: 34 

CFR part 350. 

We published a proposed priority for 

this program in the Federal Register on 

April 17, 2013 (78 FR 22817). That 

notice contained background 

information and our reasons for 

proposing the particular priority. 

Public Comment: In response to our 

invitation in the notice of proposed 

priority, we did not receive any 

comments on the proposed priority. 

Final Priority 

Universal Interfaces and Information 

Technology Access 

Under this priority, the RERC must 

research, develop, and evaluate 

innovative solutions to the problem of 

inaccessibility of current and emerging 

information technologies and 

technology interfaces for individuals 

with disabilities. These solutions may 

include cloud computing applications 

that allow for personalized accessible 

interfaces. The RERC must focus its 

research and development activities on 

promoting access for individuals with 

disabilities to the multiple technologies 

used in the home, the community, and 

the workplace. The RERC must research, 

develop, and evaluate built-in 

accessibility and flexibility features in 

interfaces of mainstream products. The 

technical approaches developed by the 

RERC must have the following 

characteristics: (i) They must make it 

possible for people with disabilities to 

access and use the same mainstream IT 

products as consumers generally, to the 

greatest extent achievable, rather than 

requiring people with disabilities to use 

specialized products; (ii) They must 

support access and use by people with 

the widest achievable range of 

disabilities, rather than being limited 

only to particular disability groups; (iii) 

They must provide as much as possible 

a consistent user interface, when 

applied to different products; (iv) They 

must be designed to be extensible, so as 

to be applicable to new IT products as 

they emerge; and (v) They must be 

developed along with methods that 

would enable developers of IT products 

to incorporate the new approaches into 

IT products at reasonable cost. In 

addition, this RERC must research, 

develop, and evaluate simple and 

inexpensive ways to activate and 

control IT access features for use by 

individuals with disabilities. This RERC 

must work collaboratively with the 

RERC on Telecommunication Access 

and the RERC on Mobile Wireless 

Technologies. 

General RERC Requirements 

Under this priority, the RERC must be 

designed to contribute to the following 

outcomes: 

(1) Increased technical and scientific 

knowledge relevant to its priority 

research area. The RERC must 

contribute to this outcome by 

conducting high-quality, rigorous 

research and development projects. 

(2) Increased innovation in 

technologies, products, environments, 

performance guidelines, and monitoring 

and assessment tools applicable to its 

priority research area. The RERC must 

contribute to this outcome through the 

development and testing of these 

innovations. 

(3) Improved research capacity in its 

priority research area. The RERC must 

contribute to this outcome by 

collaborating with the relevant industry, 

professional associations, institutions of 

higher education, health care providers, 

or educators, as appropriate. 

(4) Improved usability and 

accessibility of products and 

environments in the RERC’s priority 

research area. The RERC must 

contribute to this outcome by 

emphasizing the principles of universal 

design in its product research and 

development. For purposes of this 

section, the term ‘‘universal design’’ 

means the design of products and 

environments to be usable by all people, 

to the greatest extent possible, without 

the need for adaptation or specialized 

design. 

(5) Improved awareness and 

understanding of cutting-edge 

developments in technologies within its 

priority research area. The RERC must 

contribute to this outcome by 

identifying and communicating with 

relevant stakeholders, including NIDRR; 

individuals with disabilities and their 

representatives; disability organizations; 

service providers; editors of professional 

journals; manufacturers; and other 

interested parties regarding trends and 

evolving product concepts related to its 

priority research area. 

(6) Increased dissemination of 

research in the priority research area. 

The RERC must contribute to this 

outcome by providing technical 

assistance to relevant public and private 

organizations, individuals with 

disabilities, employers, and schools on 

policies, guidelines, and standards 

related to its priority research area. 

(7) Increased transfer of RERCdeveloped technologies to the 

marketplace. The RERC must contribute 

to this outcome by developing and 

implementing a plan for ensuring that 

all technologies developed by the RERC 

are made available to the public. The 

technology transfer plan must be 

developed in the first year of the project 

period in consultation with the NIDRRfunded Disability Rehabilitation 

Research Project, Center on Knowledge 

Translation for Technology Transfer. 

In addition, under this priority, the 

RERC must— 

• Have the capability to design, build, 

and test prototype devices and assist in 

the technology transfer and knowledge 

translation of successful solutions to 

relevant production and service delivery 

settings; 

• Evaluate the efficacy and safety of 

its new products, instrumentation, or 

assistive devices; 

• Provide as part of its proposal, and 

then implement, a plan that describes 

how it will include, as appropriate, 

individuals with disabilities or their 

representatives in all phases of its 

activities, including research, 

development, training, dissemination, 

and evaluation; 

• Provide as part of its proposal, and 

then implement, a plan to disseminate 

its research results to individuals with 

disabilities and their representatives; 

disability organizations; service 

providers; professional journals; 

manufacturers; and other interested 

parties. In meeting this requirement, 

each RERC may use a variety of 

mechanisms to disseminate information, 

including state-of-the-science 

conferences, webinars, Web sites, and 

other dissemination methods; and 

• Coordinate research projects of 

mutual interest with relevant NIDRRfunded projects, as identified through 

consultation with the NIDRR project 

officer. 

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)). 

Competitive preference priority: 

Under a competitive preference priority, 

we give competitive preference to an 

application by (1) awarding additional 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 115 / Friday, June 14, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 35763 

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)). 

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 final 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 final 

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 

upon 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 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 final priority only 

upon a reasoned determination that its 

benefits 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 does 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, as projects 

similar to the one envisioned by the 

final priority have been completed 

successfully. Establishing a new RERC 

based on the final priority will generate 

new knowledge through research and 

development and improve the lives of 

individuals with disabilities. The new 

RERC will generate, disseminate, and 

promote the use of new information that 

will improve the options for individuals 

with disabilities to fully participate in 

their communities. 

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: June 11, 2013. 

Michael K. Yudin, 

Delegated the authority to perform the 

functions and the duties of the Assistant 

Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2013–14219 Filed 6–13–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES