21280 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 78 / Friday, April 23, 2010 / Notices 

and State vocational rehabilitation 

agencies. 

In addition, this RRTC must 

collaborate with relevant Rehabilitation 

Services Administration grantees, such 

as the 10 regional Technical Assistance 

and Continuing Education projects. 

Types of Priorities 

When inviting applications for a 

competition using one or more 

priorities, we designate the type of each 

priority as absolute, competitive 

preference, or invitational through a 

notice in the Federal Register. The 

effect of each type of priority follows: 

Absolute priority: Under an absolute 

priority, we consider only applications 

that meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3)). 

Competitive preference priority: 

Under a competitive preference priority, 

we give competitive preference to an 

application by (1) awarding additional 

points, depending on the extent to 

which the application meets the priority 

(34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting 

an application that meets the priority 

over an application of comparable merit 

that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(ii)). 

Invitational priority: Under an 

invitational priority, we are particularly 

interested in applications that meet the 

priority. However, we do not give an 

application that meets the priority a 

preference over other applications (34 

CFR 75.105(c)(1)). 

This notice does not preclude us from 

proposing additional priorities, 

requirements, definitions, or selection 

criteria, subject to meeting applicable 

rulemaking requirements. 

Note: This notice does not solicit 

applications. In any year in which we choose 

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. 

Discussion of 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 a new RRTC 

will improve the lives of individuals 

with disabilities. The new RRTC will 

disseminate and promote the use of new 

information that will improve the 

options for individuals with disabilities 

to obtain, retain, and advance in 

employment. 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

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: 

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) on the Internet at the 

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

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

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: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: April 20, 2010. 

Alexa Posny, 

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services. 

[FR Doc. 2010–9506 Filed 4–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

National Advisory Committee on 

Institutional Quality and Integrity 

(NACIQI) Meeting 

AGENCY: National Advisory Committee 

on Institutional Quality and Integrity, 

Office of Postsecondary Education, 

Department of Education. 

What is the purpose of this notice? 

The purpose of this notice is two-fold. 

It is to: 

(1) Announce the public meeting of 

the NACIQI to be held TuesdayThursday, September 14–16, 2010, in 

Washington, D.C., at the U.S. 

Department of Education, which is 

predicated on the appointment of 

members prior to that date; and 

(2) Invite written comments 

concerning the recognition of any 

agency published in this notice. 

This notice presents the proposed 

meeting agenda and informs the public 

of its opportunity to attend this meeting. 

The notice of this meeting is required 

under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, section 

114(d)(1)(B) of the Higher Education 

Opportunity Act, and section 

114(d)(1)(B) and (D) of the Higher 

Education Act, as amended. 

In all instances, written comments 

about agencies seeking initial 

recognition, continued recognition, and/ 

or an expansion of an agency’s scope of 

recognition must relate to the Criteria 

for Recognition found at section 496 of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended, and 34 CFR parts 602 and 

603. In addition, comments for any 

agency whose interim report/ 

compliance report is proposed for 

review must relate to the issues raised 

within the letter that requested the 

report. 

When and where will the meeting take 

place? 

Depending on when the appointment 

of members is made to the NACIQI, the 

public meeting will be held on TuesdayThursday, September 14–16, 2010, from 

8:30 a.m. until approximately 5:00 p.m., 

at the U.S. Department of Education, 

Eighth Floor Conference Center, 1990 K 

Street, NW., Washington, DC. 

What assistance will be provided to 

individuals with disabilities? 

The meeting site is accessible to 

individuals with disabilities. If you will 

need an auxiliary aid or service to 

participate in the meeting (e.g., 

interpreting service, assistive listening 

device, or materials in an alternate 

format), contact Melissa Lewis at 

melissa.lewis@ed.gov at least four weeks 

before the scheduled meeting date. 

Although we will attempt to meet a 

request received after that date, we may 

not be able to make available the 

requested auxiliary aid or service 

because of insufficient time to arrange 

it. 

What is the role of the NACIQI? 

The NACIQI is established under 

Section 114 of the Higher Education Act 

(HEA), as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1011c. 

Congress created NACIQI to assess the 

process of accreditation and the 

institutional eligibility and certification 

of institutions of higher education under 

Title IV of the HEA. 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 78 / Friday, April 23, 2010 / Notices 21281 

What are the functions of the NACIQI? 

The NACIQI advises the Secretary of 

Education about: 

• The establishment and enforcement 

of the Criteria for Recognition of 

accrediting agencies or associations 

under Subpart 2 of Part H of Title IV, 

HEA. 

• The recognition of specific 

accrediting agencies or associations. 

• The preparation and publication of 

the list of nationally recognized 

accrediting agencies and associations. 

• The eligibility and certification 

process for institutions of higher 

education under Title IV, HEA. 

• The relationship between: (1) 

Accreditation of institutions of higher 

education and the certification and 

eligibility of such institutions, and (2) 

State licensing responsibilities with 

respect to such institutions. 

• Any other advisory functions 

relating to accreditation and 

institutional eligibility that the 

Secretary may prescribe. 

What items are on the proposed agenda 

for discussion at the meeting? 

Proposed agenda topics include the 

review of nationally recognized 

accrediting agencies and State approval 

agencies for nurse education that have 

submitted petitions for renewal of 

recognition and/or an expansion of an 

agency’s scope of recognition, or a 

compliance report, formerly an interim 

report. 

What agencies does the department 

propose NACIQI will review at the 

meeting? 

The Secretary of Education recognizes 

accrediting agencies and State approval 

agencies for nurse education if the 

Secretary determines that they meet the 

Criteria for Recognition. Recognition 

means that the Secretary considers the 

agency to be a reliable authority as to 

the quality of education offered by 

institutions or programs it accredits that 

are encompassed within the scope of 

recognition he grants to the agency. As 

part of the recognition process, agencies 

are sometimes asked to submit a 

compliance report. A compliance report, 

formerly an interim report, means a 

written report that the Department 

requires an agency to file to demonstrate 

that the agency has addressed 

deficiencies specified in a decision 

letter from the senior Department 

official or the Secretary, per 34 CFR 

602.3. There may also be other reports 

due that were previously requested by 

the NACIQI prior to August 14, 2008, 

when the Higher Education Opportunity 

Act was enacted. 

The following agencies are proposed 

to be reviewed during the September 

14–16, 2010 NACIQI meeting: 

Nationally Recognized Accrediting 

Agencies 

Compliance Reports 

1. Association of Advanced 

Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools, 

Accreditation Commission. 

2. Commission on Accreditation of 

Healthcare Management Education. 

3. Council on Accreditation of Nurse 

Anesthesia Educational Program. 

4. Council on Education for Public 

Health. 

5. Northwest Commission on Colleges 

and Universities (progress report). 

6. The Higher Learning Commission 

of the North Central Association of 

Colleges and Schools. 

Petition for Initial Recognition 

1.AdvancED. 

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition 

1. American Academy for Liberal 

Education. 

2. American Board of Funeral Service 

Education. 

3. American Speech Language 

Hearing Association, Council on 

Academic Accreditation in Audiology 

and Speech-Language Pathology. 

4. Commission on Massage Therapy 

Accreditation. 

5. Council on Naturopathic Medical 

Education. 

6. Midwifery Education Accreditation 

Council. 

7. Montessori Accreditation Council 

for Teacher Education, Commission on 

Accreditation. 

8. National Accrediting Commission 

of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences. 

9. New England Association of 

Schools and Colleges, Commission on 

Technical and Career Institutions. 

10. Western Association of Schools 

and Colleges Accrediting Commission 

for Schools. 

Request for an Expansion of Scope and 

Name Change 

1. North Central Association 

Commission on Accreditation and 

School Improvement, Board of Trustees. 

State Agencies Recognized for the 

Approval of Nurse Education 

Compliance Report 

1. Missouri State Board of Nursing. 

Petition for Renewal of Recognition 1. 

1. Montana State Board of Nursing. 

When, where, and how should I submit 

my written comments? 

Submit your written comments by email no later than May 23, 2010, to the 

Accreditation and State Liaison (ASL) 

Records Manager at 

aslrecordsmanager@ed.gov with the 

subject line listed ‘‘Written Comments 

re: (agency name).’’ In all instances, your 

comments about agencies seeking 

continued recognition and/or an 

expansion of an agency’s scope of 

recognition must relate to the Criteria 

for Recognition. 

Do Not Send Material Directly to 

NACIQI Members 

Only materials submitted by the 

deadline to the e-mail address listed in 

this notice, and in accordance with 

these instructions, become part of the 

official record and are considered by the 

Department and the NACIQI in their 

deliberations. 

Will this be my only opportunity to 

submit written comments regarding 

agencies listed in this notice that are 

proposed to be reviewed by NACIQI at 

the meeting? 

Yes. This notice announces the only 

opportunity you will have to submit 

written comments on those agencies for 

this meeting. However, a subsequent 

Federal Register notice will publish 

another meeting notice and invite 

individuals and groups to submit 

requests to make oral presentations 

before the NACIQI on the agencies 

proposed for review. That notice, 

however, does not offer a second 

opportunity to submit written 

comments. If other agencies are added 

to the agenda when it is finalized, an 

additional notice will be published 

soliciting written comment on those 

agencies. 

What happens to the written comments 

that I submit? 

Any third-party written comments 

regarding an agency received by May 23, 

2010, in accordance with this Federal 

Register notice, will become part of the 

official record. Those comments will be 

considered by the Department in its 

review of the agency’s submission and 

by the NACIQI when it the agency’s 

submission at the September 2010 

meeting. 

Where can I inspect petitions and thirdparty comments before the meeting and 

the meeting records? 

The redacted versions of all materials 

submitted by agencies and any thirdparty comments received in advance of 

the meeting will be available for public 

inspection and copying, concurrently 

with their availability to the NACIQI, 

which we anticipate will be in mid-tolate July. The materials will be available 

at the U.S. Department of Education, 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES

21282 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 78 / Friday, April 23, 2010 / Notices 

Office of Postsecondary Education, 

Room 7126, 1990 K Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20006, telephone 202 

219–7011, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays; and at the National Library of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Plaza Level (Level B), Washington, DC 

20202, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. It is preferred that an 

appointment be made in advance of an 

inspection. 

What happens to comments received 

after the deadline? 

Department staff will review any 

comments received after the deadline. If 

such comments, upon investigation, 

reveal that the agency is not acting in 

accordance with the Criteria for 

Recognition, we will take action either 

before or after the meeting, as 

appropriate. Documents responsive to 

this notice but received after May 23, 

2010, will not be distributed to the 

NACIQI for its consideration. 

Individuals making oral presentations 

may not distribute written materials at 

the meeting. 

How do I request to make an oral 

presentation? 

On or before August 14, 2010, the 

Department of Education will publish 

another notice of the meeting in the 

Federal Register and will invite 

interested parties, including those who 

submitted third-party written comments 

concerning agencies’ compliance with 

the criteria for Recognition, to make oral 

presentations before the NACIQI. 

How do I request to present comments 

regarding general issues rather than 

specific accrediting agencies? 

Also, in the same Federal Register 

notice inviting oral comments 

concerning the agencies’ compliance 

with the Criteria for Recognition, the 

public will be invited to make general 

comments pertaining to the functions of 

the NACIQI. 

How may I obtain access to the records 

of the meeting? 

We will record the meeting, and the 

meeting transcript will be available for 

public inspection on the NACIQI Web 

site: http://www.ed.gov/about/ 

bdscomm/list/naciqi.html, for up until 

approximately a year after the meeting. 

How may I obtain 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 the following site: http://www.ed.gov/ 

legislation/FedRegister. 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 1–888–293–6498; or, in the 

Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530. 

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: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

index.html. 

Delegation of Authority: The Secretary 

of Education has delegated authority to 

Daniel T. Madzelan, Director, 

Forecasting and Policy Analysis for the 

Office of Postsecondary Education, to 

perform the functions and duties of the 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2. 

Dated: April 20, 2010. 

Daniel T. Madzelan, 

Director, Forecasting and Policy Analysis. 

[FR Doc. 2010–9516 Filed 4–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

National Institute on Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)— 

Disability and Rehabilitation Research 

Projects and Centers Program— 

Rehabilitation Research and Training 

Centers (RRTCs)—Improved Outcomes 

for Individuals With Serious Mental 

Illness and Co-Occurring Conditions 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.133B–5. 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services proposes a funding priority for 

the Disability and Rehabilitation 

Research Projects and Centers Program 

administered by NIDRR. Specifically, 

this notice proposes a priority for an 

RRTC on Improved Outcomes for 

Individuals with Serious Mental Illness 

and Co-Occurring Conditions. The 

Assistant Secretary may use this priority 

for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2010 

and later years. We take this action to 

focus research attention on areas of 

national need. We intend this priority to 

improve rehabilitation services and 

outcomes for individuals with 

disabilities. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before May 24, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about 

this notice to Donna Nangle, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., room 5142, Potomac 

Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC 

20202–2700. 

If you prefer to send your comments 

by e-mail, use the following address: 

donna.nangle@ed.gov. You must 

include the term ‘‘Proposed Priority for 

an RRTC on Improved Outcomes for 

Individuals with Serious Mental Illness 

and Co-Occurring Conditions’’ in the 

subject line of your electronic message. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 245– 

7462 or by e-mail: 

donna.nangle@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: 

This notice of proposed priority is in 

concert with NIDRR’s Final Long-Range 

Plan for FY 2005–2009 (Plan). The Plan, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register on February 15, 2006 (71 FR 

8165), can be accessed on the Internet 

at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/ 

about/offices/list/osers/nidrr/ 

policy.html. 

Through the implementation of the 

Plan, NIDRR seeks to: (1) Improve the 

quality and utility of disability and 

rehabilitation research; (2) foster an 

exchange of expertise, information, and 

training to facilitate the advancement of 

knowledge and understanding of the 

unique needs of traditionally 

underserved populations; (3) determine 

best strategies and programs to improve 

rehabilitation outcomes for underserved 

populations; (4) identify research gaps; 

(5) identify mechanisms of integrating 

research and practice; and (6) 

disseminate findings. 

This notice proposes a priority that 

NIDRR intends to use for RRTC 

competitions in FY 2010 and possibly 

later years. However, nothing precludes 

NIDRR from publishing additional 

priorities, if needed. Furthermore, 

NIDRR is under no obligation to make 

an award for this priority. The decision 

to make an award will be based on the 

quality of applications received and 

available funding. 

Invitation to Comment: We invite you 

to submit comments regarding this 

notice. To ensure that your comments 

have maximum effect in developing the 

notice of final priority, we urge you to 

identify clearly the specific topic that 

each comment addresses. 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES