9216 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 

1Section 116(a)(2) of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

and Technical Education Act of 2006 defines the 

term ‘‘Bureau-funded school’’ as having the 

meaning given the term in section 1141 of the 

Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 

narratives, and performance reports, and 

based on the regulations in 34 CFR 

75.253. We would award continuation 

grants based on information provided to 

us by each grantee, indicating that it is 

making substantial progress performing 

its NHCTEP grant activities based on the 

requirements in the March 24, 2009, 

notice inviting applications. Any 

activities to be carried out during the 

continuation year must be consistent 

with, or be a logical extension of the 

scope, goals, and objectives of each 

grantee’s application as approved in the 

2009 NHCTEP competition. Under this 

proposed waiver and extension, the 

project period for current NHCTEP 

grantees would be extended through FY 

2013. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

The Secretary certifies that the 

proposed waiver and extension and the 

activities required to support additional 

year of funding would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The small entities that would be 

affected by this proposed waiver and 

extension are the eight currently-funded 

NHCTEP grantees. 

The Secretary certifies that the 

proposed waiver and extension would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on these NHCTEP entities because the 

proposed waiver and extension impose 

minimal compliance costs to extend 

projects already in existence, and the 

activities required to support the 

additional year of funding would not 

impose additional regulatory burdens or 

require unnecessary Federal 

supervision. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This notice of proposed waiver and 

extension does not contain any 

information collection requirements. 

Intergovernmental Review 

The NHCTEP is not subject to 

Executive Order 12372 and the 

regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 

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 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 this 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. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2326(h). 

Dated: February 13, 2012. 

Brenda Dann-Messier, 

Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3673 Filed 2–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Native American Career and Technical 

Education Program; Proposed Waivers 

and Extension of the Project Period; 

CFDA Number 84.101A 

AGENCY: Office of Vocational and Adult 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: For 60-month projects funded 

in fiscal year (FY) 2007 under the Native 

American Career and Technical 

Education Program (NACTEP), the 

Secretary proposes to waive the 

regulations that generally restrict project 

periods to 60 months and that restrict 

project period extensions involving the 

obligation of additional Federal funds. 

The Secretary also proposes to extend 

the current NACTEP project periods 

through FY 2013. These proposed 

waivers and extension of the project 

period would enable the 30 current 

NACTEP grantees to request and 

continue to receive Federal funding 

beyond the 60-month limitation 

contained in the Department’s 

regulations. Further, the waivers and 

extension, as proposed, would mean 

that we would not announce new 

awards in FY 2012. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before March 19, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Submit all comments on 

this notice to Gwen Washington, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue SW., room 11076, Potomac 

Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202– 

7241; or Linda Mayo, U.S. Department 

of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue 

SW., Room 11075, Potomac Center 

Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–7241. 

If you prefer to send your comments 

by email, use one of the following 

addresses: gwen.washington@ed.gov or 

linda.mayo@ed.gov. You must include 

the term ‘‘Proposed Waivers and 

Extension for NACTEP’’ in the subject 

line of your message. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gwen Washington, by telephone: (202) 

245–7790, or by email: 

gwen.washington@ed.gov; or Linda 

Mayo, by telephone: (202) 245–7792, or 

by email: linda.mayo@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 

1–800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation to Comment: We invite you 

to submit comments regarding this 

notice. We are particularly interested in 

receiving comments on the potential 

impact that these proposed waivers and 

extension may have on NACTEP and on 

potential applicants that would be 

eligible to apply for grant awards under 

any new NACTEP notice inviting 

applications, should there be one. 

Eligible applicants for NACTEP are: 

(a) Federally-recognized Indian tribes. 

(b) Tribal organizations. 

(c) Alaska Native entities. 

(d) Bureau-funded schools,1 except 

for Bureau-funded schools proposing to 

use their awards to support secondary 

school career and technical education 

programs. 

(e) Consortia of one or more eligible 

tribes, tribal organizations, Alaska 

Native entities, or eligible Bureaufunded schools. 

During and after the comment period, 

you may inspect all public comments 

about these proposed waivers and 

extension in room 11076 or room 11075, 

Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street 

SW., Washington, DC, between the 

hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, Monday through 

Friday of each week, except Federal 

holidays. 

Assistance to Individuals with 

Disabilities in Reviewing the 

Rulemaking Record: On request, we will 

provide an appropriate accommodation 

or auxiliary aid to an individual with a 

disability who needs assistance to 

review the comments or other 

documents in the public rulemaking 

record for this notice of proposed 

waivers and extension. If you want to 

schedule an appointment for this type of 

aid, please contact the person listed 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 32 / Thursday, February 16, 2012 / Notices 9217 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Background 

Current NACTEP grantees, selected 

based on the March 23, 2007, NACTEP 

notice inviting applications published 

in the Federal Register (72 FR 13770) 

(March 23, 2007, notice), operate career 

and technical education programs, as 

authorized by section 116(a) through (g) 

of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

Technical Education Act of 2006 

(Perkins Act or Act) (20 U.S.C. 2326(a)– 

(g)). The project period for the 30 

NACTEP grantees is scheduled to end in 

FY 2012. For these projects, the 

Secretary proposes to waive the 

requirements of 34 CFR 75.250 and 34 

CFR 75.261(c)(2), which limit project 

periods extending beyond 60 months 

and restrict project period extensions 

that involve the obligation of additional 

Federal funds. The Secretary also 

proposes to extend the current project 

period through FY 2013. The proposed 

waivers and extension would enable the 

30 current NACTEP grantees to request 

and continue to receive Federal funds 

beyond the 60-month limitation set by 

34 CFR 75.250, for one more year, 

through FY 2013. 

The Secretary makes these proposals 

because section 9 of the Perkins Act 

authorizes appropriations for activities 

under section 116 of the Act through FY 

2012 (20 U.S.C. 2307). With the 

potential for changes in the authorizing 

legislation for NACTEP beyond 2012, 

we do not believe it would be advisable 

to hold a new competition for multiyear awards under NACTEP in FY 2012 

for projects that may then operate for 

just one year. We are generally reluctant 

to announce a competition under which 

eligible entities would be expected to 

proceed through the application process 

while lacking critical information about 

the future of the program, and we do not 

think that it would be in the public 

interest to do so in this case. 

Rather than holding a new 

competition in FY 2012, we believe that 

it would be in the public interest and 

preferable for NACTEP for us to review 

requests for FY 2012 continuation 

awards from the 30 current grantees 

selected based on the March 23, 2007, 

notice and to extend currently funded 

projects, for one more year, through FY 

2013. In lieu of announcing a new 

competition for this program in 2012, 

the Secretary proposes to waive the 

requirement in 34 CFR 75.250, which 

limits project periods to 60 months, and 

in 34 CFR 75.261(c)(2), which restricts 

project period extensions involving the 

obligation of additional Federal funds. 

With these proposed waivers and 

extension of the project period, 

currently-funded NACTEP grantees 

selected based on the March 23, 2007, 

notice inviting applications could be 

continued through the FY 2013 budget 

and project period and we would not 

announce a new NACTEP competition 

in 2012. 

If these proposed waivers and 

extension of the project period are 

announced by us in a final notice, the 

requirements applicable to continuation 

awards for current NACTEP grantees 

selected based on the March 23, 2007, 

notice inviting applications and the 

requirements in 34 CFR 75.253 would 

apply to any continuation awards 

sought by current NACTEP grantees. If 

we announce these waivers and 

extension as final, we will base our 

decisions regarding continuation awards 

on the program narratives, budgets, 

budget narratives, and program 

performance reports submitted by 

current grantees, and the requirements 

in 34 CFR 75.253. Any activities to be 

carried out during the year of the 

continuation award would have to be 

consistent with, or be a logical 

extension of, the scope, goals, and 

objectives of each grantee’s application 

as approved in the 2007 NACTEP 

competition. If we publish these 

proposed waivers and extension as 

final, we would award continuation 

grants based on information provided to 

us by each grantee, indicating that it is 

making substantial progress performing 

its NACTEP grant activities. 

The proposed extension of the project 

period and waivers of 34 CFR 75.250 

and 75.261(c)(2) would not exempt the 

current NACTEP grantees from the 

appropriation account-closing 

provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1552(a), nor 

would they extend the availability of 

funds previously awarded to current 

NACTEP grantees. As a result of 31 

U.S.C. 1552(a), appropriations available 

for a limited period may be used for 

payment of valid obligations for only 

five years after the expiration of their 

period of availability for Federal 

obligation. After that time, the 

unexpended balance of those funds is 

canceled and returned to the U.S. 

Treasury Department and is unavailable 

for restoration for any purpose (31 

U.S.C. 1552(b)). 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

The Secretary certifies that the 

proposed waivers and extension would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

The small entities that would be 

affected by these proposed waivers and 

extension are the 30 grantees selected 

based on the March 23, 2007, notice 

currently receiving Federal funds. 

The Secretary certifies that the 

proposed waivers and extension would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on these entities because the proposed 

waivers and extension impose minimal 

compliance costs to extend projects 

already in existence, and the activities 

required to support the additional year 

of funding would not impose additional 

regulatory burdens or require 

unnecessary Federal supervision. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This notice of proposed waivers and 

extension does not contain any 

information collection requirements. 

Intergovernmental Review 

The NACTEP is not subject to 

Executive Order 12372 and the 

regulations in 34 CFR part 79. 

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 either of the contact persons 

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 this 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. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 2326(a) 

through (g). 

Dated: February 13, 2012. 

Brenda Dann-Messier, 

Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3676 Filed 2–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 


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