89306 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

are met in a timely and efficient 

manner, thus mitigating potential 

program and financial risk. 

Change: None. 

Final Waiver and Extension of the 

Project Period With Funding 

The Department believes aligning the 

projects’ period of performance for 

ALNs 84.263C, 84.263E, and 84.263F is 

in the best interest of the public, as the 

extension reduces the financial and 

administrative burden by allowing the 

Department to conduct a single 

competition for 84.263C, 84.263E, and 

84.263F in FY 2025, with a five-year 

performance period that would run from 

October 1, 2025, through September 30, 

2030. 

Consequently, the Secretary waives 

the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, 

which prohibit project periods 

exceeding five years, as well as the 

requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and 

(c)(2), which allow the extension of a 

project period only if the extension does 

not involve the obligation of additional 

Federal funds. This waiver allows the 

Department to issue a one-year FY 2024 

continuation award to each of the seven 

currently funded FY 2019 84.263C 

projects. Any activities carried out 

during the year of this continuation 

award must be consistent with the 

scope, goals, and objectives of the 

grantees’ applications as approved in 

the FY 2019 competition. The 

requirements for continuation awards 

are set forth in 34 CFR 75.253. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

The Secretary certifies that the final 

waiver and extension of the project 

period with funding would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The only entities that would be affected 

by the final waiver and extension of the 

project period with funding are the 

seven grants that were awarded in FY 

2019 under ALN 84.263C. 

The Secretary certifies that the final 

waiver and extension would not have a 

significant economic impact on these 

entities, because the extension of an 

existing project period imposes minimal 

compliance costs, 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 final waiver and 

extension of the project period with 

funding does not contain any 

information collection requirements. 

Intergovernmental Review 

These programs are subject to 

Executive Order 12372 and the 

regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of 

the objectives of the Executive order is 

to foster an intergovernmental 

partnership and a strengthened 

federalism. The Executive order relies 

on processes developed by State and 

local governments for coordination and 

review of proposed Federal financial 

assistance. 

This document provides final 

notification of our specific plans and 

actions for this program. 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under 

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. 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 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. 

Dante ́ Allen, 

Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services 

Administration, Office of Special Education 

and Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28375 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter III 

[ED–2023–OSERS–0175] 

Final Waiver and Extension of the 

Project Period With Funding for 

Rehabilitation Long-Term Training 

Grants 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), 

Department of Education. 

ACTION: Final waiver and extension of 

project period with funding. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary waives the 

requirements in the Education 

Department General Administrative 

Regulations that generally prohibit 

project periods exceeding five years and 

project period extensions involving the 

obligation of additional Federal funds. 

The waiver and extension enables 51 

projects under Assistance Listing 

Numbers (ALN) 84.129B, 84.129H, 

84.129P, and 84.129Q to receive funding 

for an additional period, not to exceed 

September 30, 2025. 

DATES: The waiver and extension of the 

project periods are effective December 

27, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Holliday Young, U.S. Department 

of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue 

SW, Room 4A10, Washington, DC 

20202. Telephone: 202–245–7318. 

Email: Karen.Holliday@ed.gov. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability and wish to 

access telecommunications relay 

services, please dial 7–1–1. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

October 3, 2023, the Department 

published in the Federal Register (88 

FR 67953) a proposal to waive and 

extend the project period with funding 

in order to enable 51 projects under 

Assistance Listing Numbers (ALN) 

84.129B, 84.129H, 84.129P, and 

84.129Q to receive continuation funding 

for an additional 12-month period, not 

to exceed September 30, 2025. The 

proposed waiver and extension of the 

project period with funding would 

allow the Department to align with the 

33 ALN 84.129B grant projects funded 

in FY 2020 that will receive their final 

year of funding in FY 2024 with a 

September 30, 2025, performance period 

ending date. There are no differences 

between the proposed waiver and 

extension of the project period with 

funding and this final waiver and 

extension of the project period with 

funding. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 89307 

Public Comment 

In response to our invitation in the 

proposed waiver and extension of the 

project period with funding, one party 

submitted comments. Although the 

commenter expressed strong support for 

the proposed waiver and the extension 

of the project period with funding, the 

discussion the commenter provided 

relates to the Innovation Rehabilitation 

Training grants, which fund projects 

that develop training products and 

programs in providing rehabilitation 

services to individuals with disabilities, 

rather than the Rehabilitation LongTerm Training grants, which are the 

subject of this notice, under which 

projects are funded to provide stipend 

support to scholars pursuing a degree or 

certificate in the field of rehabilitation 

counseling. 

Generally, we do not address 

technical and other minor changes or 

suggested changes the law does not 

authorize us to make under the 

applicable statutory authority. In 

addition, we do not address general 

comments that raise concerns not 

directly related to the proposed waiver 

and extension with funding. 

Final Waiver and Extension of the 

Project Period With Funding 

The Department believes aligning the 

projects’ period of performance for 

ALNs 84.129B, 84.129H, 84.129P, and 

84.129Q is in the best interest of the 

public, as the extension reduces 

financial and administrative burden by 

allowing the Department to conduct a 

single competition for ALNs 84.129B, 

84.129H, 84.129P and 84.129Q grants in 

FY 2025, with a five-year performance 

period that would run from October 1, 

2025, through September 30, 2030. 

Consequently, the Secretary waives 

the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, 

which prohibit project periods 

exceeding five years, as well as the 

requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and 

(c)(2), which allow the extension of a 

project period only if the extension does 

not involve the obligation of additional 

Federal funds. This waiver allows the 

Department to issue a one-year FY 2024 

continuation award to each of the 51 

currently funded FY 2019 84.129B, 

84.129H, 84.129P, and 84.129Q projects. 

Any activities carried out during the 

year of this continuation award must be 

consistent with the scope, goals, and 

objectives of the grantees’ applications 

as approved in the FY 2019 

competition. The requirements for 

continuation awards are set forth in 34 

CFR 75.253. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

The Secretary certifies that the 

proposed waiver and extension of the 

project period with funding would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The only entities that would be affected 

by the proposed waiver and extension of 

the project period are the 51 grants that 

were awarded in FY 2019 under ALNs 

84.129B, 84.129H, 84.129P, and 

84.129Q. 

The Secretary certifies that the 

proposed waiver and extension of the 

project period with funding would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

these entities because the extension of 

an existing project period imposes 

minimal compliance costs, 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 final waiver and extension of the 

project period with funding does not 

contain any information collection 

requirements. 

Intergovernmental Review 

These programs are subject to 

Executive Order 12372 and the 

regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of 

the objectives of the Executive order is 

to foster an intergovernmental 

partnership and a strengthened 

federalism. The Executive order relies 

on processes developed by State and 

local governments for coordination and 

review of proposed Federal financial 

assistance. 

This document provides final 

notification of our specific plans and 

actions for these programs. 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under 

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. 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 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. 

Dante ́ Allen, 

Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services 

Administration, Office of Special Education 

and Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28490 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 4 

RIN 2900–AR51 

Exceptions to Applying the Bilateral 

Factor in VA Disability Calculations 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) adopts as final, without 

changes, an interim final rule that 

amended the regulation governing the 

bilateral factor for diseases and injuries 

of both arms, both legs, or paired 

skeletal muscles. 

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is 

effective December 27, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Howard McCuien, Jr., Regulations 

Analyst, VA Schedule for Rating 

Disabilities (VASRD) Regulations Staff 

(218A), Compensation Service, Veteran 

Benefits Administration, Department of 

Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461– 

9700. (This is not a toll-free telephone 

number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

14, 2023, VA published the interim final 

rule in the Federal Register to allow VA 

adjudicators to exclude certain 

disabilities that would be calculated 

using the bilateral factor to determine 

the combined evaluation if, by their 

exclusion, a higher combined evaluation 

can be achieved. See 88 FR 22914. VA 

received one comment during the 60- 

day public comment period. The 

commenter agreed with VA’s 

amendment but offered two 

considerations for how VA implements 

it. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1