8236 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 

to use this priority, we invite applications 

through a notice in the Federal Register. 

Executive Order 12866: This notice 

has been reviewed in accordance with 

Executive Order 12866. Under the terms 

of the order, we have assessed the 

potential costs and benefits of this final 

regulatory action. 

The potential costs associated with 

this final regulatory action are those 

resulting from statutory requirements 

and those we have determined as 

necessary for administering this 

program effectively and efficiently. 

In assessing the potential costs and 

benefits—both quantitative and 

qualitative—of this final regulatory 

action, we have determined that the 

benefits of the final priority justify the 

costs. 

Summary of potential costs and 

benefits: 

The benefits of the Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research Projects and 

Centers Programs have been well 

established over the years in that similar 

projects have been completed 

successfully. This final priority will 

generate new knowledge through 

research and development. Another 

benefit of this final priority is that the 

establishment of new DRRPs will 

improve the lives of individuals with 

disabilities. The new DRRP will provide 

support and assistance for NIDRR 

grantees as they generate, disseminate, 

and promote the use of new information 

that will improve the options for 

individuals with disabilities to perform 

activities of their choice in the 

community. 

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, 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: http://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: http:// 

www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, 

through the advanced search feature at 

this site, you can limit your search to 

documents published by the 

Department. 

Dated: February 9, 2012. 

Alexa Posny, 

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3416 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

National Assessment Governing 

Board; Meeting 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education, 

National Assessment Governing Board. 

ACTION: Notice of open and closed 

meeting sessions. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed agenda for the 

upcoming meeting of the National 

Assessment Governing Board (Board) 

and also describes the specific functions 

of the Board. Notice of this meeting is 

required under Section 10(a)(2) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act. This 

notice is issued to provide members of 

the general public with an opportunity 

to attend and/or provide comments. 

Individuals who will need special 

accommodations in order to attend the 

meeting (e.g. interpreting services, 

assistive listening devices, materials in 

alternative format) should notify Munira 

Mwalimu at 202–357–6938 or at 

Munira.Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than 

February 17, 2012. We will attempt to 

meet requests after this date but cannot 

guarantee availability of the requested 

accommodation. The meeting site is 

accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. 

DATES: February 29, 2012 and March 1– 

3, 2012. 

Times: February 29: Committee 

Meeting: Assessment Development 

Committee (ADC): Closed Session: 9 

a.m.–3 p.m. 

Open Session: 3 p.m.–5 p.m. 

March 1 

Committee Meetings 

Ad Hoc Committee: Open Session 

2:30 p.m.–4 p.m. 

Executive Committee: Open Session: 

4:30 p.m.–5 p.m.; Closed Session: 5 

p.m.–6 p.m. 

March 2 

Full Board: Open Session: 8:15 a.m.– 

9:30 a.m.; Closed Session: 12:15 p.m.– 

1:30 p.m.; Open Session: 1:45 p.m.–4:30 

p.m. 

Committee Meetings 

Assessment Development Committee 

(ADC): Open Session: 9:45 a.m.–11:30 

a.m.; Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.–12:15 

p.m. 

Committee on Standards, Design and 

Methodology (COSDAM): Open Session: 

9:45 a.m. –11:30 a.m. Closed Session: 

11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m. 

Reporting and Dissemination 

Committee (R&D): Open Session: 9:45 

a.m.–12:15 p.m. 

March 3 

Nominations Committee: Closed 

Session: 7:30 a.m.–8:15 a.m. 

Full Board: Closed Session: 8:30 a.m.– 

9 a.m.; Open Session: 9 a.m.–11:30 a.m. 

Location: Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 

601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 

70113. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Munira Mwalimu, Operations Officer, 

National Assessment Governing Board, 

800 North Capitol Street NW., Suite 825, 

Washington, DC, 20002–4233, 

Telephone: (202) 357–6938. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Assessment Governing Board 

(Board) is established under section 412 

of the National Education Statistics Act 

of 1994, as amended. 

The Board is established to formulate 

policy guidelines for the National 

Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP). The Board’s responsibilities 

include the following: selecting subject 

areas to be assessed, developing 

assessment frameworks and 

specifications, developing appropriate 

student achievement levels for each 

grade and subject tested, developing 

standards and procedures for interstate 

and national comparisons, developing 

guidelines for reporting and 

disseminating results, and releasing 

initial NAEP results to the public. 

On February 29, 2012, the Assessment 

Development Committee (ADC) will 

meet in closed session from 9 a.m. to 3 

p.m. to review secure items for three 

NAEP assessments—the NAEP 2013 

NAEP operational Reading assessment 

at grades 4 and 8; secure items for the 

NAEP 2014 Pilot Civics Assessment at 

grades 4, 8, and 12; and computer-based 

tasks for the NAEP 2014 Technology 

and Engineering Literacy Assessment. 

During the closed session, ADC 

members will be provided specific test 

materials for review which are not yet 

releasable to the general public. 

Premature disclosure of these secure test 

items and materials would compromise 

the integrity and substantially impede 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 8237 

implementation of the NAEP 

assessments and is therefore protected 

by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of 

Title 5 of the United States Code. This 

same committee will meet in an open 

session from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to review 

background questions for the NAEP 

2014 pilot tests in U.S. History, 

Geography, and Civics at grades 4, 8, 

and 12 

On March 1, 2012, two committee 

meetings will occur. 

From 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. the Ad Hoc 

Committee on NAEP Parent Engagement 

will meet in open session. The 

Executive Committee will meet in open 

session from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 

thereafter in closed session from 5 p.m. 

to 6 p.m. During the closed session, the 

Executive Committee will receive a 

briefing on government cost estimates 

for the NAEP budget during FY 2013 

and beyond for various options for the 

NAEP schedule of assessments, and the 

impact of these options on the NAEP 

contracts. The discussion of assessment 

schedules and costs will address the 

congressionally mandated goals and 

Board policies on NAEP assessments. 

This portion of the meeting will be 

conducted in closed session because 

public discussion of this information 

would disclose independent 

government cost estimates and 

contracting options, adversely 

impacting the confidentiality of the 

contracting process. In addition, public 

disclosure of information discussed 

would reduce future contract 

competition and significantly impede 

implementation of the NAEP contracts 

and is therefore protected by exemption 

9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 of the 

United States Code. 

On March 2, 2012 the full Board will 

meet in open session from 8:15 a.m. to 

10 a.m. The Board will review and 

approve the meeting agenda and 

meeting minutes from the December 

2011 Board meeting, followed by the 

Chairman’s remarks and a welcome 

from New Orleans Board member Doris 

Hicks and Patrick Dobard, 

Superintendent, Recovery School 

District of Louisiana. On March 2, from 

9 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. the Executive 

Director of the Governing Board will 

provide a report to the Board, followed 

by updates from the Commissioner of 

the National Center for Education 

Statistics (NCES) and the Director of the 

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) 

from 9:10 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Following 

these sessions, the Board will recess for 

Committee meetings from 9:45 a.m. to 

12:15 p.m. 

The Reporting and Dissemination 

Committee will meet in open session 

from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. 

The Assessment Development 

Committee (ADC) will meet in open 

session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 

thereafter in closed session from 11:30 

a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the closed 

session, the ADC will receive a briefing 

on preliminary findings from the NAEP 

2011 computer-based mathematics 

special study. The Board will be 

provided with study results that cannot 

be discussed/disclosed in an open 

meeting prior to public release. 

Premature disclosure of these findings 

would significantly compromise the 

integrity and significantly impede 

implementation of the NAEP 

assessments, and is therefore protected 

by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of 

Title 5 United States Code. 

The Committee on Standards, Design 

and Methodology will meet in open 

session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 

in closed session from 11:30 a.m. to 

12:15 p.m. During the closed session, 

the Committee will receive a briefing on 

secure data collected from the NAEP 

writing achievement levels-setting pilot 

study, second field trial, and operational 

studies. The Board will be provided 

with specific assessment data and 

achievement levels results that have not 

been approved for release by the NCES 

Commissioner and therefore cannot be 

disclosed to the public at this time. 

Premature disclosure of these secure test 

results would significantly impede 

implementation of the NAEP 

assessments and reporting, and is 

therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of 

section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C. 

On March 2, 2012 from 12:15 p.m. to 

1:30 p.m. the full Board will meet in 

closed session to receive a briefing from 

NCES and engage in discussions on the 

Hands-On and Interactive Computer 

Tasks from the 2009 NAEP Science 

Assessment. The Board will be provided 

with embargoed data and results that 

cannot be discussed in an open meeting 

prior to their official release by the 

National Center for Education Statistics 

on a date to be determined. Premature 

disclosure of these results would 

significantly impede implementation of 

the NAEP assessment program, and is 

therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of 

section 552b(c) of Title 5 United States 

Code. 

Following the closed session, the 

Board will meet in open sessions as 

follows: From 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the 

Board will receive a briefing on NCES’s 

initiative on the Future of NAEP. From 

2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ., the Board will 

receive a report of the Expert Panel on 

NAEP Background Questions. The 

Board will receive a report from the Ad 

Hoc Committee on Parent Engagement 

from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., followed by a 

discussion session on Board initiatives 

on Making a Difference from 4 p.m. to 

4:30 p.m. The March 2, 2012 session of 

the Board meeting is scheduled to 

conclude at 4:30 p.m. 

On March 3, 2011, the Nominations 

Committee will meet in closed session 

from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 a.m. to review the 

proposed slates of finalists for Board 

terms beginning in October 2012. 

Thereafter, the full Board will meet in 

closed session from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. 

to receive and take action on the 

recommendations from the Nominations 

Committee on final candidates for Board 

vacancies for submission to the Office of 

Secretary of Education. Both the 

Committee and full Board discussions 

pertain solely to internal personnel 

rules and practices of an agency and 

will disclose information of a personal 

nature where disclosure would 

constitute an unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy. As such, the 

discussions are protected by exemptions 

2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of Title 5 of 

the United States Code. 

On March 3, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. 

the Board will receive a briefing on the 

Program for International Student 

Assessment. From 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

the Board will receive briefings and 

discuss 12th grade Preparedness 

Reporting. The Board will receive 

Committee reports and take action on 

Committee recommendations from 11 

a.m. to 11:30 a.m. upon which the 

March 3, 2011 meeting will conclude. 

Detailed minutes of the meeting, 

including summaries of the activities of 

the closed sessions and related matters 

that are informative to the public and 

consistent with the policy of section 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c) will be available to the 

public within 14 days of the meeting. 

Records are kept of all Board 

proceedings and are available for public 

inspection at the U.S. Department of 

Education, National Assessment 

Governing Board, Suite #825, 800 North 

Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC, 

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 

Monday through Friday. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You may 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) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister/index.html. To use PDF you 

must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, 

which is available free at this site. If you 

have questions about using PDF, call the 

U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), 

toll free at 1–866–512–1800; or in the 

Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–0000. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

8238 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 

1For editorial reasons, upon codification in the 

U.S. Code, Part B was re-designated Part A. 

Note: 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 on GPO 

Access at: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated:February 8, 2011. 

Cornelia S. Orr, 

Executive Director, National Assessment 

Governing Board, U.S. Department of 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3314 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

[Case No. RF–023] 

Notice of Petition for Waiver of GE 

Appliances From the Department of 

Energy Residential Refrigerator and 

Refrigerator-Freezer Test Procedure, 

and Grant of Interim Waiver 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of petition for waiver, 

notice of grant of interim waiver, and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt 

of and publishes the GE Appliances 

(GE) petition for waiver (hereafter, 

‘‘petition’’) from specified portions of 

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 

test procedure for determining the 

energy consumption of certain specific 

electric refrigerators and refrigeratorfreezers. In its petition, GE provides an 

alternate test procedure and DOE 

solicits comments, data, and 

information concerning GE’s petition 

and the suggested alternate test 

procedure. Today’s notice also grants 

GE an interim waiver from the electric 

refrigerator and refrigerator-freezer test 

procedure, subject to use of the 

alternative test procedure set forth in 

this notice. 

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, 

and information with respect to the GE 

Petition until March 15, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by case number ‘‘RF–023,’’ by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: 

AS_Waiver_Requests@ee.doe.gov. 

Include the case number [Case No. RF– 

023] in the subject line of the message. 

• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J/ 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–2945. Please 

submit one signed original paper copy. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 950 

L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600, 

Washington, DC 20024. Please submit 

one signed original paper copy. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

review the background documents 

relevant to this matter, you may visit the 

U.S. Department of Energy, 950 L’Enfant 

Plaza SW., Washington, DC, 20024; 

(202) 586–2945, between 9 a.m. and 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. Available documents 

include the following items: (1) This 

notice; (2) public comments received; 

(3) the petition for waiver and 

application for interim waiver; and (4) 

prior DOE waivers and rulemakings 

regarding similar refrigerator-freezer 

products. Please call Ms. Brenda 

Edwards at the above telephone number 

for additional information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Building Technologies Program, 

Mail Stop EE–2J, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–0371. E-mail: 

AS_Waiver_Requests@ee.doe.gov. 

Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

Mail Stop GC–71, Forrestal Building, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103. 

Telephone: (202) 586–7796. E-mail: 

Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Authority 

Title III, Part B of the Energy Policy 

and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), 

Public Law 94–163 (42 U.S.C. 6291– 

6309, as codified), established the 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products Other Than 

Automobiles, a program covering most 

major household appliances, which 

includes the electric refrigerators and 

refrigerator-freezers that are the focus of 

this notice.1 Part B includes definitions, 

test procedures, labeling provisions, 

energy conservation standards, and the 

authority to require information and 

reports from manufacturers. Further, 

Part B authorizes the Secretary of 

Energy to prescribe test procedures that 

are reasonably designed to produce 

results that measure the energy 

efficiency, energy use, or estimated 

annual operating costs of a covered 

product, and that are not unduly 

burdensome to conduct. (42 U.S.C. 

6293(b)(3)) The test procedure for 

automatic electric refrigerators and 

refrigerator-freezers is contained in 10 

CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix A1. 

The regulations set forth in 10 CFR 

430.27 contain provisions that enable a 

person to seek a waiver from the test 

procedure requirements for covered 

products under certain conditions. In 

particular, the Assistant Secretary for 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (the Assistant Secretary) may 

grant a waiver if it is determined that (1) 

the basic model for which the petition 

for waiver was submitted contains one 

or more design characteristics that 

prevents testing of the basic model 

according to the prescribed test 

procedures, or (2) the prescribed test 

procedures may evaluate the basic 

model in a manner so unrepresentative 

of its true energy consumption 

characteristics as to provide materially 

inaccurate comparative data. 10 CFR 

430.27(l). Petitioners must include in 

their petition any alternate test 

procedures known to the petitioner to 

evaluate the basic model in a manner 

representative of its energy 

consumption. 10 CFR 430.27(b)(1)(iii). 

The Assistant Secretary may grant the 

waiver subject to conditions, including 

adherence to alternate test procedures. 

10 CFR 430.27(l). Waivers remain in 

effect pursuant to the provisions of 10 

CFR 430.27(m). 

Any interested person who has 

submitted a petition for waiver may also 

file an application for interim waiver of 

the applicable test procedure 

requirements. 10 CFR 430.27(a)(2). The 

Assistant Secretary may grant an interim 

waiver request if it is determined that 

the applicant will experience economic 

hardship if the interim waiver is denied, 

if it appears likely that the petition for 

waiver will be granted, and/or the 

Assistant Secretary determines that it 

would be desirable for public policy 

reasons to grant immediate relief 

pending a determination on the petition 

for waiver. 10 CFR 430.27(g). If granted, 

an interim waiver remains in effect for 

180 days or until DOE issues its 

determination on the petition for 

waiver, whichever is sooner. DOE may 

extend an interim waiver for an 

additional 180 days. 10 CFR 430.27(h). 

II. Petition for Waiver of Test Procedure 

and Application for Interim Waiver 

On January 26, 2012, GE submitted a 

petition for waiver from the test 

procedure applicable to residential 

electric refrigerators and refrigeratormstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES