28756 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 100 /Tuesday, May 26, 1998 / Notice

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Regional Resource and Federal Center

Programs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of waiver and additional

activities.

SUMMARY: The Secretary waives the

requirements in EDGAR at 34 CFR

75.261 as applied to the currentlyfunded Regional Resource Centers to

require the Centers to carry out certain

additional activities. 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. The Secretary will issue

continuation awards to the Regional

Resource Center Programs in order to

ensure the most efficient use of Federal

funds.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This waiver takes effect

on June 25, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Debra Sturdivant, Telephone: (202) 205–

8038, or Marie Roane, Telephone: (202)

205–8451. Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

may call the Federal Information Relay

Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M.

Eastern Standard Time, Monday

through Friday.

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: On

December 10, 1992 (57 FR 58474), the

Department issued a Notice Inviting

Applications for New Awards under the

Regional Resource Center Program for

Fiscal Year 1992. In this notice the

Department announced that it would

make six awards of up to 60 months

under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and the

Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act (IDEA), which directed the

Secretary to support the establishment

of Regional Centers that provide

consultation, technical assistance and

training to State educational agencies

and, through those State educational

agencies, to local educational agencies

and to other appropriate public agencies

providing special education and related

services and early intervention services.

The grant period for the six centers

ends May 31, 1998. In order to carry out

activities relating to implementation of

the IDEA Amendments of 1997 as stated

by the Senate Appropriations

Committee in its report accompanying

the Department’s fiscal year 1998

appropriations act, it is necessary to

issue continuation awards to the

existing grantees. Specifically, the

Senate report states that the Secretary

should provide training and disseminate

information to State and local

administrators, teachers, related services

personnel, parents of children with

disabilities, and other appropriate

parties on the implementation of the

1997 amendments.

The Department is utilizing a number

of strategies to carry out this directive.

Because the Regional Resource Centers

(RRCs) have a primary role in assisting

States in implementing the IDEA

Amendments of 1997, these

organizations are well-positioned to

play a key part in this training and

information effort. In particular, the

Secretary plans for the RRCs to conduct

a series of regional institutes for

educational excellence. The purposes of

the regional institutes are:

(1) To ensure that State education

agency personnel, local school

personnel and parents receive highquality, accurate training on the IDEA

Amendments of 1997 in order to

improve results for students with

disabilities through improved teaching

and learning;

(2) To build field support as part of

the implementation of the IDEA

Amendments of 1997 that is

community-based and grounded in the

context of improving schooling and

results for children; and

(3) To ensure the involvement of State

education agencies, local school

personnel, parents, Office of Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services

(OSERS)—supported technical

assistance and dissemination services,

State technical assistance providers, and

topical research centers in the

development of strategies and models to

implement the IDEA Amendments of

1997.

Because the regional institutes would

be held during the summer of 1998, the

project period for the current Regional

Resource Centers must be extended to

enable the RRCs to both plan and

conduct the institutes. The Secretary

believes that it is essential that the RRCs

conduct the institutes given the RRCs

technical assistance expertise and

experience in carrying out similar

activities.

Based on the foregoing, the Secretary

believes that it makes the most

programmatic sense and is the most

efficient use of Federal funds to issue

continuation awards. However, to do so,

the Department must waive the

requirements in EDGAR at 34 CFR

75.261 as well as provide for the new

activities stated in this notice. That

provision includes a prohibition against

project period extensions that involve

the obligation of additional Federal

funds.

Reasons

There is an immediate need to

provide training and information to the

populations that will be targeted by the

regional institutes. Waiting until after a

new RRC competition to hold the

institutes would severely hinder the

Department’s efforts to address the

critical needs that are now present in

the regions. The current RRCs have

already conducted extensive training

and information activities related to

State implementation of the

Amendments and are best suited to

conduct the regional institutes.

Therefore, the Department will issue

continuation awards to the current

grantees for four (4) months.

Public Comment

On March 26, 1998, the Secretary

published a notice of proposed waiver

for the current RRCs in the Federal

Register (63 FR 14790). In the notice of

proposed waiver the Secretary invited

public comments. The Secretary did not

receive any comments.

Waiver

The Secretary waives the application

of 34 CFR 75.261 to the RRCs authorized

under Part C of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act. Thus, the

Department will issue four (4) month

continuation awards to the current

grantees consistent with the standards

for continuation in 34 CFR 75.253.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.

The objective of the Executive order is

to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and a strengthened

federalism by relying on processes

developed by State and local

governments for coordination and

review of proposed Federal financial

assistance.

In accordance with the order, this

document is intended to provide early

notification of the Department’s specific

plans and actions for this program.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as

well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the

Federal Register, in text or portable

document format (pdf) on the World

Wide Web at either of the following

sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 100 /Tuesday, May 26, 1998 / Notice 28757

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

To use the pdf you must have the

Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with

Search, which is available free at either

of the preceding sites. If you have

questions about using the pdf, call the

U.S. Government Printing Office toll

free at 1–888–293–6498.

Anyone may also view these

documents in text copy only on an

electronic bulletin board of the

Department. Telephone: (202) 219–1511

or, toll free, 1–800–222–4922. The

documents are located under Option

G—Files/Announcements, Bulletins and

Press Releases.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register.

Dated: May 19, 1998.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.028, Technical Assistance and

Dissemination to Improve Services and

Results for Children with Disabilities)

[FR Doc. 98–13808 Filed 5–22–98; 8:45 am]

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