63438 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 229 / Friday, November 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 675

RIN 1840–AC50

Federal Work-Study Programs

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary

Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Final regulations.

SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the

regulations governing the Federal WorkStudy (FWS) Program authorized under

title IV of the Higher Education Act of

1965, as amended (title IV, HEA

programs). The Secretary makes these

changes in response to the President’s

‘‘America Reads Challenge’’ by

providing for an additional waiver of

the FWS institutional-share requirement

for tutors in a family literacy program

that provides services to families with

preschool age children or children who

are in elementary school.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These regulations take

effect on July 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nancy Adams, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue

SW., Regional Office Building 3, Room

3045, Washington, DC 20202–5447.

Telephone: (202) 708–8242. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8

p.m., Eastern time, Monday through

Friday.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternate

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Part 675—Federal Work-Study Programs

The Secretary is providing for an

additional waiver of the FWS

institutional-share requirement in

§ 675.26. The Secretary will authorize a

Federal share of up to 100 percent of the

compensation earned by a student

during an award year if all of the

following criteria are met—

1. The work performed by the student

is for the institution itself, for a Federal,

State, or local public agency, or for a

private nonprofit organization; and

2. The student is employed as a tutor

in a family literacy program that

provides services to families with

preschool age children or children who

are in elementary school. ‘‘Preschool age

children’’ means children from infancy

to the time at which the State provides

elementary education.

This regulatory change will provide

an institution with additional flexibility

needed to respond to the President’s

‘‘America Reads Challenge,’’ which is

mobilizing resources to ensure that all

children can read independently and

well by the end of the third grade. The

‘‘America Reads Challenge’’ seeks to

reinforce the importance of skillbuilding activities for children starting

at infancy and of programs that

encourage and support parent or

caregiver involvement in these

activities.

The Secretary previously added a

waiver of the FWS institutional-share

requirement for reading tutors of

children that is effective for the 1997–

98 award year. That previous change

was made to provide institutions with

the flexibility necessary to respond to

the ‘‘America Reads Challenge.’’ The

new FWS waiver will provide a greater

ability for institutions to help children

achieve the reading goal by waiving the

FWS institutional-share requirement for

tutors, working in family literacy

programs, who are providing literacy

services to children from infancy

through elementary school, or to their

parents or caregivers. These literacy

services may include helping parents or

caregivers who need assistance with

their own literacy skills.

This new waiver for tutors working in

family literacy programs is based on

research that shows that children whose

parents work with them on literacy

skills during early childhood have a

significantly better chance of meeting

the reading goal for children.

Unfortunately, not all parents or

caregivers have the literacy skills

necessary to work with their children to

ensure that each child has the proper

foundation for reading skills.

The Secretary is pleased with the

positive feedback received from many

institutions indicating that they intend

to use the FWS Program to respond to

the ‘‘America Reads Challenge.’’ This

investment in our youth is an

investment in this country’s future. The

Secretary has also received comments

from organizations that focus on family

literacy indicating that the expansion of

the waiver of the FWS institutionalshare requirement to tutors involved in

family literacy programs is very

important in meeting the goal of

children reading independently and

well by the end of the third grade. This

regulatory change responds to these

requests.

The Secretary strongly encourages all

institutions to employ FWS students as

reading tutors for children and as tutors

in family literacy programs that provide

services to families with preschool age

children or children who are in

elementary school. The placement of

students in these jobs is, in many

instances, an important way for

institutions to meet the community

service expenditure requirement under

the FWS Program, serve the needs of the

community, and give the FWS students

a rewarding and enriching experience.

The new waiver of the FWS

institutional-share requirement in

§ 675.26 for tutors in family literacy

programs that provide services to

families with preschool age children or

children who are in elementary school

does not require the institution to make

a request for a waiver. Also, the

institution has the option of still

providing an institutional share and

determining the amount of that share.

It is important to note that the

Secretary continues the current

exceptions that authorize a Federal

share of 100 percent of the

compensation earned by students

employed as reading tutors of preschool

age children or children who are in

elementary school as well as students

enrolled at eligible institutions under

the Strengthening Institutions Program,

the Strengthening Historically Black

Colleges and Universities Program, or

the Strengthening Historically Black

Graduate Institutions Program.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act

(Goals 2000) focuses the Nation’s

education reform efforts on the eight

National Education Goals and provides

a framework for meeting them. Goals

2000 promotes new partnerships to

strengthen schools and expands the

Department’s capacities for helping

communities to exchange ideas and

obtain information needed to achieve

the goals.

These regulations address the

National Education Goals that call for

increasing the rate at which students

graduate from high school and pursue

high quality postsecondary education

and for supporting life-long learning.

These regulations further address the

National Education Goal that every

adult American will be literate and will

possess the knowledge and skills

necessary to compete in a global

economy and exercise the rights and

responsibilities of citizenship.

Executive Order 12866

These final regulations have been

reviewed in accordance with Executive

order 12866. Under the terms of the

order the Secretary has assessed the

potential costs and benefits of this

regulatory action.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 229 / Friday, November 28, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 63439

The potential costs associated with

the final regulations are those resulting

from statutory requirements and those

determined by the Secretary to be

necessary for administering this

program effectively and efficiently.

In assessing the potential costs and

benefits—both quantitative and

qualitative—of these final regulations,

the Secretary has determined that the

benefits of the final regulations justify

the costs.

Potential costs and benefits of the

final regulations are discussed

elsewhere in this preamble under the

following headings: Supplementary

Information and Goals 2000: Educate

America Act.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

In accordance with the

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.

553), it is the practice of the Secretary

to offer interested parties the

opportunity to comment on proposed

regulations. However, the Secretary is

specifically authorized under section

443(b)(5) of the Higher Education Act of

1965, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2753(b)(5))

to determine, through the promulgation

of regulations, that the Federal share of

compensation for FWS students may

exceed 75 percent if required in

furtherance of the purposes of the

program. The Secretary has made such

a determination in this case. Revising

§ 675.26(d) will increase institutional

flexibility and help to meet an

important educational need for tutors in

family literacy programs without

imposing any burden on the affected

parties. For these reasons, the Secretary

has determined, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(B), that public comment on the

amendment to § 675.26(d) is

unnecessary and contrary to the public

interest.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

The Secretary certifies that these

regulations would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. Small entities

affected by these regulations are small

institutions of postsecondary education.

The provisions of these regulations

provide added flexibility to institutions.

Thus, no significant adverse economic

impacts on small entities are expected

to occur.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

These regulations have been

examined under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 and have been

found to contain no information

collection requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

The Federal Work-Study Program is

not subject to the requirements of

Executive Order 12372 and the

regulations in 34 CFR part 79.

Assessment of Educational Impact

Based on its own review, the

Department has determined that the

regulations in this document do not

require transmission of information that

is being gathered by or is available from

any other agency or authority of the

United States.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may review this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the

Federal Register, in text or portable

document format (pdf) on the World

Wide Web at either of the following

sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with

Search, which is available free at either

of the previous sites. If you have

questions about using the pdf, call the

U.S. Government Printing Office toll

free at 1–888–293–6498.

Anyone may also view these

documents in text copy only on an

electronic bulletin board of the

Department. Telephone: (202) 219–1511

or, toll free, 1–800–222–4922. The

documents are located under Option

G—Files/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 675

Loan programs—education, Student

aid.

Dated: November 20, 1997.

Richard W. Riley,

Secretary of Education.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number: 84.033 Federal Work-Study

Program)

The Secretary amends chapter VI of

Title 34 of the Code of Federal

Regulations as follows:

PART 675—FEDERAL WORK-STUDY

PROGRAMS

1. The authority citation for part 675

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2751–2756b, unless

otherwise noted.

2. Section 675.26 is amended by

revising paragraph (d) to read as

follows:

§ 675.26 FWS Federal share limitations.

* * * * *

(d) For each award year, the Secretary

authorizes a Federal share of 100

percent of the compensation earned by

a student under this part if—

(1) The work performed by the

student is for the institution itself, for a

Federal, State or local public agency, or

for a private nonprofit organization; and

(2)(i) The institution in which the

student is enrolled—

(A) Is designated as an eligible

institution under the Strengthening

Institutions Program (34 CFR part 607),

the Strengthening Historically Black

Colleges and Universities Program (34

CFR part 608), or the Strengthening

Historically Black Graduate Institutions

Program (34 CFR part 609); and

(B) Requests that increased Federal

share as part of its regular FWS funding

application for that year;

(ii) The student is employed as a

reading tutor for preschool age children

or children who are in elementary

school; or

(iii) The student is employed as a

tutor in a family literacy program that

provides services to families with

preschool age children or children who

are in elementary school.

[FR Doc. 97–31169 Filed 11–26–97; 8:45 am]

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