[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29719-29720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14427]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.033]


Office of Postsecondary Education; Federal Work-Study Programs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of the closing date for institutions to submit a request 
for a waiver of the requirement that an institution shall use at least 
five percent of the total amount of its Federal Work-Study (FWS) 
Federal funds granted for the 1998-99 award year to compensate students 
employed in community service jobs.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary gives notice to institutions of higher education 
of the deadline for an institution to submit a written request for a 
waiver of the statutory requirement that an institution shall use at 
least five percent of its total FWS Federal funds granted for the 1998-
99 award year (July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999) to compensate 
students employed in community service jobs.


[[Page 29720]]


DATES: Closing Date for submitting a Waiver Request and any Supporting 
Information or Documents. To request a waiver of the requirement that 
an institution use at least five percent of the total amount of its FWS 
Federal funds granted for the 1998-99 award year to compensate students 
employed in community service jobs, an institution must mail or hand-
deliver its waiver request and any supporting information or documents 
to the Department on or before June 19, 1998. The Department will not 
accept a waiver request submitted by facsimile transmission. The waiver 
request must be submitted to the Institutional Financial Management 
Division at one of the addresses indicated below.

ADDRESSES: Waiver Request and any Supporting Information or Documents 
Delivered by Mail. The waiver request and any supporting information or 
documents delivered by mail must be addressed to Ms. Sandra Donelson, 
Institutional Financial Management Division, U.S. Department of 
Education, P.O. Box 23781 Washington, D.C. 20026-0781.
    An applicant must show proof of mailing its waiver request by June 
19, 1998. Proof of mailing consists of one of the following: (1) A 
legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. 
Postal Service, (2) a legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark, (3) a 
dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier, or 
(4) any other proof of mailing acceptable to the U.S. Secretary of 
Education.
    If a waiver request is sent through the U.S. Postal Service, the 
Secretary does not accept either of the following as proof of mailing: 
(1) A private metered postmark, or (2) a mail receipt that is not dated 
by the U.S. Postal Service. An institution should note that the U.S. 
Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before 
relying on this method, an institution should check with its local post 
office. An institution is encouraged to use certified or at least 
first-class mail. Institutions that submit waiver requests and any 
supporting information or documents after the closing date will not be 
considered for a waiver.
    Waiver Requests and any Supporting Information or Documents 
Delivered by Hand. A waiver request and any supporting information or 
documents delivered by hand must be taken to Ms. Sandra Donelson, 
Campus-Based Financial Operations Branch, Institutional Financial 
Management Division, Accounting and Financial Management Service, 
Student Financial Assistance Programs, U.S. Department of Education, 
Room 4714, Regional Office Building 3, 7th and D Streets, S.W., 
Washington, D.C.
    Hand-delivered waiver requests will be accepted between 8:00 a.m. 
and 4:30 p.m. daily (Eastern time), except Saturdays, Sundays, and 
Federal holidays. A waiver request for the 1998-99 award year that is 
hand-delivered will not be accepted after 4:30 p.m. on June 19, 1998.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 443(b)(2)(A) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), an institution must use at 
least five percent of the total amount of its FWS Federal funds granted 
for an award year to compensate students employed in community service, 
except that the Secretary may waive this requirement if the Secretary 
determines that enforcing it would cause hardship for students at the 
institution. The institution must submit a written waiver request and 
any supporting information or documents by the established June 19, 
1998 closing date.
    The waiver request must be signed by an appropriate institutional 
official and above the signature the official must include the 
statement: ``I certify that the information the institution provided in 
this waiver request is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I 
understand that the information is subject to audit and program review 
by representatives of the Secretary of Education.'' If the institution 
submits a waiver request and any supporting information or documents 
after June 19, 1998, the request will not be considered.
    To receive a waiver, an institution must demonstrate that complying 
with the five percent requirement would cause hardship for students at 
the institution. To allow flexibility to consider factors that may be 
valid reasons for a waiver, the Secretary is not specifying the 
particular circumstances that would support granting a waiver. However, 
the Secretary does not foresee many instances in which a waiver will be 
granted. The fact that it may be difficult for the institution to 
comply with this provision of the HEA is not a basis for granting a 
waiver.

Applicable Regulations

    The following regulations apply to the Federal Work-Study program:
    (1) Student Assistance General Provisions, 34 CFR Part 668.
    (2) General Provisions for the Federal Perkins Loan Program, 
Federal Work-Study Program, and Federal Supplemental Educational 
Opportunity Grant Program, 34 CFR Part 673.
    (3) Federal Work-Study Programs, 34 CFR Part 675.
    (4) Institutional Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act of 
1965, as amended, 34 CFR Part 600.
    (5) New Restrictions on Lobbying, 34 CFR Part 82.
    (6) Government Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and 
Government Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants), 34 CFR Part 
85.
    (7) Drug-Free Schools and Campuses, 34 CFR Part 86.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To receive information, contact Ms. 
Sandra Donelson, Institutional Financial Management Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, P.O. Box 23781 Washington, D.C. 20026-0781. 
Telephone (202) 708-9751. Individuals who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 
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.

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 the text or 
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites:

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

(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2753)

    Dated: May 11, 1998.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-14427 Filed 5-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P