69620 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Parent Training and Information

Centers Programs

AGENCY: Department of Education,

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

ACTION: Notice of proposed waiver.

SUMMARY: We are proposing to waive the

requirements in EDGAR at 34 CFR

75.261 as applied to the Parent Training

and Information Centers (PTIs) funded

in FY 1999 and to authorize the Centers

to carry out additional activities to

support fifth year funding. Section

75.261 sets forth the conditions for

extending a project period, including

the general prohibition against

extending projects that involve the

obligation of additional Federal funds.

We also propose to issue one year

continuation awards in FY 2003 to 15

Parent Training and Information Centers

project funded in FY 1999 in order to

ensure the most efficient use of Federal

funds. Only those grantees who

currently hold the FY 1999 four year

grant awards under the Parent Training

and Information Centers projects would

be eligible to apply for the funds. The

Department is therefore soliciting public

comment on the proposed waiver.

DATES: Comments must be received on

December 18, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning

this proposal should be addressed to

Debra Sturdivant or Donna Fluke, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland

Avenue, SW., Room 3527, Switzer

Building, Washington, DC 20202–2641.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Debra Sturdivant, Telephone: (202) 205–

8038, or Donna Fluke, Telephone: (202)

205–9161. If you use a

telecommunication device for the deaf

(TDD), you may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.

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:

Invitation To Comment

We invite you to submit comments

regarding this proposed waiver.

We invite you to assist us in

complying with the specific

requirements of Executive Order 12866

and its overall requirement of reducing

regulatory burden that might result from

this proposed waiver. Please let us

know of any further opportunities we

should take to reduce potential costs or

increase potential benefits while

preserving the effective and efficient

administration of the program.

During and after the comment period,

you may inspect all public comments

about this proposed waiver in Room

3414, Switzer Building, 330 C Street

SW., Washington, D.C., between the

hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,

Eastern time, Monday through Friday of

each week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With

Disabilities in Reviewing the

Rulemaking Record

On request, we will supply an

appropriate aid, such as a reader or

print magnifier, to an individual with a

disability who needs assistance to

review the comments or other

documents in the public rulemaking

record for this proposed waiver. If you

want to schedule an appointment for

this type of aid, you may call (202) 205–

8113 or (202) 260–9895. If you use a

TDD, you may call the Federal

Information Relay Service at 1–800–

877–8339.

Background

On June 9, 1999, we issued a Notice

Inviting Applications for New Awards

under the Parent Training and

Information Centers Program for Fiscal

Year 1999. In this notice the Department

announced that it would make fifteen

awards of up to 48 months (four-year

cycle awards) under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)

and the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act (IDEA), which directed

us to support the establishment of

Parent Training and Information Centers

that provide training and information to

parents of children with disabilities to

help improve results for their children.

The fifteen Centers affected by this

notice include thirteen State awards and

two other awards, one that focuses on

the needs of Native Americans families,

and one that focuses on military

families. The grant period for these

centers extends for four years until May

31, 2003.

Reasons

Beginning with the awards made

under this program in FY 2000, we have

determined that five years provides a

more appropriate funding cycle in order

to foster more efficient use of Federal

funds. On this basis, we believe that it

makes the most programmatic sense to

issue continuation awards to the

existing fiscal year 1999 grantees in

order to make their award cycle

consistent with the fiscal year 2000 fiveyear cycle awards. However, to do so,

we must waive the requirement in 34

CFR 75.261(c)(2), which prohibits

project period extensions that involve

the obligation of additional Federal

funds. We are proposing this waiver at

this time in order to give the affected

grantees early notice of the availability

of a fifth year of funding.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

We certify that the proposed waiver

and the activities required to support

fifth year funding would not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The small entities that would be

affected by this proposal are the fiscal

year 1999 PTI Centers currently

receiving Federal funds. However, the

proposal would not have a significant

economic impact on the Centers because

the waiver and activities required to

support fifth year funding would not

impose excessive regulatory burdens or

require unnecessary Federal

supervision. The proposal would

impose minimal requirements to ensure

the proper expenditure of program

funds, including requirements that are

standard to continuation awards.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

This proposal has been examined

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1980 and has been found to contain no

information collection requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to the

requirements of 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 early

notification of the Department’s specific

plans and actions for this program.

Assessment of Educational Impact

We particularly request comments on

whether this proposed waiver would

require transmission of information that

any other agency or authority of the

United States gathers or makes

available.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register, in text or Adobe Portable

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet

at either of the following sites:

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

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

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 223 / Friday, November 17, 2000 / Notices 69621

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Note: The official version of this document

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Internet access to the official edition of the

Federal Register and the Code of Federal

Regulations is available on GPO Access at:

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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.328, Training and Information for

Parents of Children with Disabilities.)

Dated: November 13, 2000.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 00–29451 Filed 11–16–00; 8:45 am]

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