37016 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 130 /Wednesday, July 8, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1820–ZA11

Systems-Change Projects To Expand

Employment Opportunities for

Individuals With Mental or Physical

Disabilities, or Both, Who Receive

Public Support

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services, Department of

Education.

ACTION: Notice of a final priority and

definitions for fiscal year (FY) 1998 and

subsequent years.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a

final priority and definitions for

Systems-Change Projects To Expand

Employment Opportunities for

Individuals With Mental or Physical

Disabilities, or Both, Who Receive

Public Support. The Secretary may use

this priority and these definitions for

competitions in FY 1998 and

subsequent fiscal years. The Secretary

takes this action to focus attention on an

area of national need. The priority is

intended to enhance collaboration in

existing systems to increase competitive

employment opportunities for

individuals with disabilities who are

participants in public support programs

funded by Federal, State, and local

agencies.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority and

definitions take effect August 7, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Pedro Romero, U.S. Department of

Education, 600 Independence Avenue,

S.W., Room 3316, MES Building,

Washington, D.C. 20202–2650.

Telephone: (202) 205–9797. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

notice contains a final priority and

definitions for Systems-Change Projects

To Expand Employment Opportunities

for Individuals With Mental or Physical

Disabilities, or Both, Who Receive

Public Support. The authority for these

projects is contained in section 12(a)(3)

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as

amended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3)).

Under this competition the Secretary

makes awards to consortiums consisting

of, at a minimum, the State vocational

rehabilitation agency, the State welfare

agency, the State educational agency,

the State agency responsible for

administering the Medicaid program,

and an agency administering an

employment or employment training

program supported by the U.S.

Department of Labor.

On May 20, 1998, the Secretary

published a notice of a proposed

priority and definitions for this program

in the Federal Register (63 FR 27806).

Analysis of Comments and Changes

In response to the Secretary’s

invitation in the notice of proposed

priority and definitions, 14 parties

submitted comments. An analysis of the

comments and of the changes in the

priority since publication of the notice

of proposed priority and definitions

follows. Technical and other minor

changes—and suggested changes the

Secretary is not legally authorized to

make under the applicable statutory

authority—are not addressed.

Comment: Two commenters stated

that the priority should target specific

sub-groups of individuals with

disabilities. One commenter suggested

that the priority specifically target

adults with disabilities who are on

public assistance but not eligible for

assistance under Temporary Assistance

to Needy Families (TANF). The other

commenter recommended that the

priority target hard-to-employ recipients

of TANF.

Discussion: The Secretary believes

that applicants should have the

flexibility to identify the specific groups

they wish to target under their proposed

project as long as the targeted

populations are comprised of

individuals with disabilities who

participate in public support programs

funded by Federal, State, and local

agencies.

Changes: None.

Comment: Two commenters stated

that coordination between the

Department of Education and both the

Social Security Administration and the

Department of Labor would enhance the

priority. One of the commenters stated

that there is a need for coordination

between these projects and similar

systems-change projects that will be

funded by the Social Security

Administration.

Discussion: The Office of Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services,

Department of Education (ED/OSERS),

the Social Security Administration,

Office of Disability (SSA/OD), the

Department of Labor, and other Federal

agencies are members of the SystemsChange Interagency Workgroup, which

was established by ED/OSERS in

accordance with Executive Order 13078,

to develop barrier removal strategies

and assist in the preparation of this

priority. Additionally, SSA/OD is using

this same priority language in a SSA/OD

priority to support similar systemschange projects. ED/OSERS, SSA/OD,

Labor, and the other Interagency

Workgroup members will provide both

the ED/OSERS and SSA/OD projects

with ongoing technical assistance to

ensure their success. Finally, projects

supported by either agency will be

required to develop partnership

agreements with the local district offices

of SSA and must participate in meetings

of the Federal Interagency Workgroup—

activities that will foster further

coordination and collaboration between

the projects and the Federal agencies.

Changes: None.

Comment: Two commenters suggested

that educational institutions be involved

in project activities.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

input provided by the educational

community is essential to any systemschange effort.

For that reason the priority as written

requires that consortiums include a

State’s educational agency. In addition,

consortiums have the discretion to

include educational institutions as

consortium members or partners, if

those institutions would be able to

effectively assist in removing barriers to

employment for individuals with

disabilities.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter stated that

a consortium of non-profit organizations

representing all individuals with

disabilities should be empowered to

lead projects funded under this priority.

Discussion: The Secretary believes

that the State agencies administering

public support programs and identified

in this priority as required consortium

members are most able to effectuate

systems-change across State programs.

Still, the Secretary encourages project

participation by non-profit

organizations that represent individuals

with disabilities. Such organizations

may assist consortiums, either as

members or partners, in identifying

systemic barriers and in developing and

implementing strategies to remove those

barriers.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter suggested

that the Secretary clarify the reference to

‘‘employment and training organizations

funded by the U.S. Department of

Labor’’ under paragraph C(1) by

requiring projects to develop

partnership agreements specifically

with community-based and other non-
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 130 /Wednesday, July 8, 1998 / Notices 37017

profit employment and training

organizations supported by the U.S.

Department of Labor.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

the suggested change is warranted.

Changes: The Secretary has revised

paragraph C(1) by clarifying that

projects may develop partnership

agreements with community-based and

other non-profit employment and

training organizations funded by the

U.S. Department of Labor.

Comment: Two commenters indicated

that consumer involvement must be

required in order to achieve meaningful

and lasting results.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

consumer involvement is essential to

the success of projects funded under

this priority and that the priority should

better reflect the need for individuals

with disabilities to participate in the

development of project activities.

Changes: The Secretary has amended

paragraph A to require that consortiums

establish a Consumer Advisory Board

consisting of individuals with

disabilities and their representatives.

This Board shall assist the consortiums

in developing, implementing, and

evaluating appropriate barrier-removal

strategies.

Comment: One commenter expressed

skepticism that the limited length of

time that will likely be available for

preparing project applications would

allow for meaningful participation in

the development of applications by

Advisory Councils to consortium

members.

Discussion: The Secretary agrees that

meaningful participation in the

development of the application by the

Consortium members’ Advisory

Councils may be hindered by limited

preparation time.

Nevertheless, the Secretary expects

Advisory Councils to participate in

developing applications to the extent

possible and intends to facilitate their

involvement by directly mailing

applications to State agencies that have

been identified as required consortium

members once the final priority is

published and by providing

approximately two months for the

development and submission of the

application. Moreover, the final priority

will require that Consumer Advisory

Councils assist in developing barrierremoval strategies and in implementing

and evaluating those strategies

throughout the project period.

Changes: The Secretary has revised

paragraph A(3) to require consortiums

to seek consumer input during

development of the application to the

extent possible. In addition, paragraph

A(5) requires consortiums to establish a

Consumer Advisory Board that will

assist in the development,

implementation, and evaluation of

barrier-removal strategies.

Comment: Two commenters believed

that projects should be required to

identify Federal-level barriers to

employment and that the Federal

Government should address these

barriers to facilitate the projects’

systems-change activities.

Discussion: Projects are not limited to

identifying only State or local agency

policies, practices, procedures, or rules

that inhibit individuals with disabilities

from becoming competitively employed.

Pursuant to Executive Order 13078,

members of the Systems-Change

Interagency Workgroup will be working

together to address Federal-level

barriers, including those identified by

funded projects. Thus, the Secretary

encourages projects to identify Federallevel barriers to employment for people

with disabilities and present relevant

information to the Systems-Change

Interagency Workgroup. Nevertheless,

the priority requires that projects focus

on those policies and practices with

which the project can readily effectuate

systems-change, i.e., State or local

policies within the control of

consortium members.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter indicated

that, although multiple State

involvement may be feasible in some

regions, submissions should not be

given preference based on the number of

States included in a given proposal.

Discussion: The Secretary does not

propose to give preference to

applications that serve multiple States.

Changes: None.

Comment: One commenter stated that

the projects’ focus on ‘‘employment’’

should include self-employment and

small business ownership for adults and

youths.

Discussion: The Secretary emphasizes

that projects are expected to focus on

increasing ‘‘competitive employment’’

opportunities for individuals with

disabilities. Accordingly, projects may

assist individuals with disabilities to

achieve self-employment and small

business employment outcomes, as long

as those outcomes would be considered

competitive, i.e., the individual earns at

least minimum wage and works in an

integrated setting. The Secretary also

believes that the priority should be

amended to better reflect the required

emphasis on competitive employment.

Changes: The Secretary has clarified

the priority to require that projects focus

on increasing competitive employment

opportunities for individuals with

disabilities. In addition the Secretary

has added the term competitive

employment, as defined in 34 CFR

361.5(b)(10), to the definition section of

the priority.

Comment: One commenter stated that

the external evaluation of funded

projects needs to focus intently on

improvements in practices by State

agency staff.

Discussion: Projects funded under this

priority must participate in an external

evaluation at the Federal level that,

among other things, will examine the

effect of specific innovative systemschange approaches and strategies on

State or local agency policies, practices,

including staff practices across involved

programs, and rules affecting the

employment of individuals with

disabilities.

Changes: None.

Note: This notice of final priority does not

solicit applications. In any year in which the

Secretary chooses to use this priority, the

Secretary invites applications through a

notice in the Federal Register. A notice

inviting applications under this competition

is published elsewhere in this issue of the

Federal Register.

Priority

Background

According to the 1994 Harris Survey

of Americans with Disabilities, twothirds of individuals with disabilities

between the ages of 16 and 64 are not

working. Many of these individuals

receive financial support or services

through programs funded by Federal,

State, and local agencies. Examples of

these programs include Temporary Aid

to Needy Families (TANF),

Supplemental Security Income (SSI),

Social Security Disability Income

(SSDI), Medicaid (including Medicaid

waiver programs), Medicare, subsidized

housing, and food stamps.

Statistical data reveal that of the 32

percent of adult recipients of Aid to

Families with Dependent Children

(AFDC) who had a work or functional

disability, 15 percent were able to work

despite their functional limitations

(National Health Interview Survey on

Disability, U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, 1994). Studies

conducted in Kansas and Washington

indicate that up to 60 percent of the

current TANF recipients in those States

have some type of disability. At the

same time, the TANF program requires

recipients to work and also limits the

length of TANF assistance—recent

developments that further underscore

the need to reduce barriers to

employment confronted by individuals

with disabilities on public support.
37018 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 130 /Wednesday, July 8, 1998 / Notices

In addition, the proportion of

individuals with disabilities receiving

public support through SSI or SSDI

continues to increase. Over the past

decade, the total number of SSI and

SSDI beneficiaries has doubled, and

cash payments for these individuals

increased to over $55 billion (World

Institute on Disability, 1996). Social

Security recipients often do not work

since they would lose their Social

Security and Medicaid benefits if their

earnings increased beyond a threshold

level. Thus, few individuals leave the

Social Security system. New adult SSI

recipients receive benefits for an average

of 10 years, whereas individuals who

receive SSI benefits as children remain

on the rolls for an average of

approximately 27 years (Rupp and

Scott, 1995).

Many individuals participating in

public support programs, including the

programs discussed previously, are

unable to obtain the services or supports

they need to become competitively

employed and achieve economic

independence. Employment training

programs that serve the general

population, as well as employers

themselves, are often unable to meet the

specialized needs of these individuals.

In addition, individuals with disabilities

who are not eligible for State vocational

rehabilitation services, or who do not

believe that they need a comprehensive

rehabilitation program, are still unlikely

to receive work-related services from

employment training programs that

serve the general population.

Consequently, many individuals with

disabilities who are capable of working

essentially ‘‘fall between the cracks.’’

The Secretary expects that the models

developed under the priority will

demonstrate how employment training

and other related programs can more

effectively coordinate services so that

individuals with disabilities can obtain

competitive employment.

Seventy-nine percent of unemployed

individuals with disabilities have

indicated that they would prefer to be

working (Harris Survey, 1994). The

combination of the high costs associated

with living with a disability, workrelated expenses, and the reduction in

public supports available to persons

once they become employed often

dissuade individuals with disabilities

from pursuing competitive work. Some

of the specific barriers to the

employment that individuals with

disabilities commonly confront

include—

• Lack of adequate health insurance

(e.g., individuals’ fear of losing public

health care coverage, inability to obtain

private medical insurance, or limited

access to treatment and prescription

services)

• Underutilization of existing work

incentives from Social Security and

other State and local agencies (e.g., Plan

for Achieving Self Support (PASS), and

Impairment Related Work Expenses,

section 1619 a and b of the Social

Security Act)

• Lack of affordable, accessible

housing and transportation

• Insufficient education and training

services

• Lack of child care;

• Inadequate supports for employees

with disabilities (e.g., onsite and offsite

job accommodations and long-term

follow-along services)

• Inadequate supports for employers

(e.g., incentives for hiring, retaining,

and promoting individuals with

disabilities and technical assistance and

follow-along consultation to assist

employers in addressing the ongoing

needs of employees with disabilities

and to clarify employer misperceptions

and misinformation).

Lack of information and coordination

of public support programs can cause

program-related barriers that inhibit

individuals with disabilities from

effectively using available services. In

many instances, individuals with

disabilities are simply unaware of

existing employment-related programs,

work incentives, or available services.

Another common barrier is the lack of

coordination between separate programs

with separate eligibility criteria even

though the same individuals often

require services from each program. The

Secretary expects projects to address

these types of program-related barriers,

as well as any other type of barrier that

impedes individuals with disabilities

from becoming employed and selfsufficient.

There is a critical need for greater

coordination between multiple public

programs that support individuals with

disabilities that would foster increased

economic self-sufficiency and a more

efficient use of public resources. In an

effort to address this need, the Secretary

announces the following priority in

order to provide a framework for

assisting individuals with disabilities to

reduce their reliance on various public

support programs and obtain and

maintain employment in the

competitive labor market.

The requirements in the priority are

designed to facilitate systems-change

projects that eliminate barriers to

employment for individuals with

disabilities and are based on existing

studies and reports, the experiences of

State vocational rehabilitation agencies

in working with individuals

participating in other public support

programs, and on information provided

by other Federal agencies that

administer disability-related programs.

These Federal agencies were

particularly helpful in assisting the

Secretary to identify the employmentrelated barriers confronted by

individuals with disabilities that the

Secretary is targeting through this

priority and to identify the types of

State agencies whose participation in

the project would be most critical to

eliminating those barriers. The

identified State agencies serve as

members of a consortium that the

systems-change project establishes

under paragraph (A) of the priority.

The Secretary emphasizes that the

model systems-change projects

supported under this priority are part of

a larger effort on the part of the Federal

Government to create a coordinated and

aggressive national policy to reduce the

unemployment rate of individuals with

disabilities and to assist those

individuals in obtaining competitive

jobs. This effort is directly reflected in

Executive Order 13078, signed on

March 13, 1998, entitled ‘‘Increasing

Employment of Adults With

Disabilities’’ (63 FR 13111, March 18,

1998). For example, Executive Order

13078, in part, calls for an analysis of

existing programs and policies to

determine what modifications and

innovations may be necessary to remove

work-related barriers experienced by

individuals with disabilities; the

development and recommendation of

options for eliminating barriers to health

insurance coverage for those with

disabilities; and an analysis of workrelated youth programs and the

outcomes of these programs for young

people with disabilities. The Secretary

announces the following priority as one

means of addressing the purposes of

Executive Order 13078. As other Federal

agencies design and carry out activities

in response to the Executive order, it is

expected that many of those activities

will complement the systems-change

projects funded under this priority.

The Secretary also emphasizes the

need for projects supported under this

priority to begin implementing

strategies for removing barriers early in

the project period in order for the

project to have a measurable effect on

the rate by which individuals with

disabilities become competitively

employed. For that reason, the Secretary

expects project recipients to work with

Rehabilitation Services Administration

staff to ensure that planning steps,

including development of partnership
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 130 /Wednesday, July 8, 1998 / Notices 37019

agreements and, if appropriate,

submission of Medicaid waiver requests

under paragraph (C) of the priority, are

promptly completed and that projects

begin implementing their barrierremoval strategies as soon as possible.

The purpose of the absolute priority is

to establish five-year model

demonstration projects that stimulate

and advance systems change in order to

expand competitive employment

outcomes for individuals with mental or

physical disabilities, or both, who are

participants in Federal, State, and local

public support programs (e.g., TANF,

SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare,

subsidized housing, and food stamps,

etc.)

Absolute Priority

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and

section 12(a)(3) of the Act, the Secretary

gives an absolute preference to

applications that meet the following

priority. The Secretary funds under this

competition only applications that meet

this absolute priority:

A. General Requirements for Applicants

Applicants under this priority shall

satisfy the following requirements:

(1) Applicants shall form a

consortium of, at a minimum, the State

vocational rehabilitation agency, the

State welfare agency, the State

educational agency, the State agency

responsible for administering the

Medicaid program, and an agency

administering an employment or

employment training program

supported by the U.S. Department of

Labor. Additional entities (e.g., public

and private non-profit organizations)

that could effectively assist in removing

barriers to employment for individuals

with disabilities also may be included

as part of the consortium.

(2) The members of the consortium

shall either designate one of their

members to apply for the grant or

establish a separate, eligible legal entity

to apply for the grant. The designated

applicant shall serve as the grantee and

be legally responsible for the use of all

grant funds, overall fiscal and

programmatic oversight of the project,

and for ensuring that the project is

carried out by consortium members in

accordance with Federal requirements.

(3) Consortium members shall be

substantially involved in the

development of the application. To the

extent possible, consortiums also shall

involve consumers in the development

of the application.

(4) The members of the consortium

shall enter into an agreement that

details the activities that each member

plans to perform and that binds each

member to the statements and

assurances included in the application.

Each member is legally responsible for

carrying out the activities it agrees to

perform and for using the funds that it

receives under the agreement in

accordance with Federal requirements

that apply to the grant. The agreement

must be submitted as part of the

application.

(5) Consortiums shall establish a

Consumer Advisory Board consisting of

individuals with disabilities and, as

appropriate, their representatives that

will assist in the development,

implementation, and evaluation of

barrier-removal strategies.

(6) The application submitted under

this priority also must identify the

specific locality or region that would be

served by the project.

B. Project Objectives

Projects supported under this priority

must—

(1) Identify systemic barriers,

including State or local agency policies,

practices, procedures, or rules that

inhibit individuals with disabilities who

are participants in public support

programs from becoming competitively

employed.

(2) Develop and implement replicable

strategies to remove identified barriers,

including, at a minimum, strategies

for—

(a) Establishing effective collaborative

working relationships among project

consortium members and their partners

as described in paragraph (C)(1) of this

priority (e.g., providing interagency staff

training and technical assistance on

program requirements and services or

collaboratively using labor market and

job vacancy information);

(b) Establishing coordinated service

delivery systems (e.g., common intake

and referral procedures, customer

databases, and resource information)

and developing innovative services and

service approaches that address service

gaps (e.g., developing employee and

employer support networks);

(c) Improving access to health

insurance for individuals with

disabilities who become employed;

(d) Increasing the use of existing

resources by State and local agencies

(e.g., Medicaid waivers, Home

Community Based Services waivers, Job

Training Partnership Act income

exemptions, and work incentive

provisions such as Plan for Achieving

Self Support);

(3) Design and implement an internal

evaluation plan for which—

(a) The methods of evaluation are

thorough, feasible, and appropriate to

the goals, objectives, and outcomes of

the project;

(b) The methods of evaluation provide

for examining the effectiveness of

project implementation strategies;

(c) The methods of evaluation include

the use of objective performance

measures that are clearly related to the

intended outcomes of the project and

will produce quantitative and

qualitative data to the extent possible;

(d) The methods of evaluation will

provide performance feedback and

permit periodic assessment of progress

toward achieving intended outcomes;

and

(e) The evaluation will provide

guidance about effective strategies

suitable for replication or testing in

other settings; and

(4) Disseminate information on

effective systems-change approaches

developed under these projects to

Federal, State, and local stakeholders

and facilitate the use of systems-change

models in other geographic areas. As

examples, consortiums may make

presentations before national, State, or

local conferences, consult with and

provide technical assistance to other

States or localities, develop Internet web

sites, and distribute project

publications.

C. Project Requirements

In carrying out the priority, the

projects must—

(1) Develop partnership agreements,

as described under DEFINITIONS, with

the local district offices of the Social

Security Administration; the State

agency or agencies responsible for

mental retardation, developmental

disabilities, and mental health services;

existing transportation or paratransit

service providers; and appropriate

public and private sector employers.

Partnerships also may be formed with

other appropriate entities identified by

the consortium, including but not

limited to, Centers for Independent

Living, consumer advocacy

organizations, economic development

councils, Private Industry Councils,

Governor’s committees on the

employment of persons with

disabilities, developmental disabilities

councils, mental health centers,

community rehabilitation programs,

Indian Tribes, labor unions, and

community-based and other non-profit

employment and training organizations

funded by the U.S. Department of Labor;

(2) Make timely, formal requests for

Medicaid waivers if necessary for

projects to be able to implement

developed strategies;

(3) Implement, in a timely manner,

the strategies developed by the project
37020 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 130 /Wednesday, July 8, 1998 / Notices

to expand employment outcomes for

individuals with mental or physical

disabilities, or both;

(4) Participate, as appropriate, in

meetings of a Federal Interagency

Employment Initiative Workgroup and

inform workgroup members of project

activities; and

(5) Participate in, and provide data

for, an external evaluation of the

systems-change projects as directed by

the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation

Services Administration. The evaluation

would examine—

(a) The effect of specific innovative

systems-change approaches and

strategies on State or local agency

policies, practices, or rules affecting the

employment of individuals with

disabilities;

(b) The effect of specific innovative

systems-change approaches and

strategies on increasing the number of

individuals with disabilities who obtain

competitive employment, including job

retention, promotion, and satisfaction,

and wage growth; and

(c) The cost effectiveness of

employment supports and services

implemented by the project.

Definitions

Competitive employment, as defined

in 34 CFR 361.5(b)(10), means work in

the competitive labor market that is

performed on a full-time or part-time

basis in an integrated setting, and for

which an individual is compensated at

or above the minimum wage, but not

less than the customary wage and level

of benefits paid by the employer for the

same or similar work performed by

individuals who are not disabled.

Consortium means a group of eligible

parties formed by the applicant seeking

a Federal award under this priority.

Members of the consortium shall enter

into an agreement and carry out their

responsibilities consistent with the

requirements in paragraph (A) of the

priority. Members of the consortium

shall also ensure that project partners

carry out their agreed-upon activities.

Disability with respect to an

individual means a physical or mental

impairment that substantially limits one

or more of the major life activities of

that individual, having a record of such

an impairment, or being regarded as

having such an impairment.

Locality means specific geographical

areas within a State or States.

Partner means an entity with which

the consortium has entered into an

agreement to carry out specific

activities, goals, and objectives of the

project.

Partnership agreement means a

written arrangement between a

consortium and its partners to carry out

specific activities related to the project.

Public support means Federal, State,

and local public programs that provide

resources or services to individuals with

disabilities. These programs include,

but are not limited to, Temporary Aid to

Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental

Security Income (SSI), Social Security

Disability Income (SSDI), Medicaid

(including Medicaid waiver programs),

Medicare, subsidized housing, and food

stamps.

Region means two or more States

participating in the project.

Selection Criteria

In evaluating an application for a new

grant under this competition, the

Secretary uses selection criteria chosen

from the general selection criteria in

§ 75.210 of the Education Department

General Administrative Regulations.

The selection criteria to be used for this

competition will be provided in the

application package for this

competition.

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

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.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act

(Goals 2000) focuses the Nation’s

education reform efforts on the eight

National Education Goals and provides

a framework for meeting them. Goals

2000 promotes new partnerships to

strengthen schools and expands the

Department’s capacities for helping

communities to exchange ideas and

obtain information needed to achieve

the goals.

This final priority addresses the

National Education Goal that every

adult American, including individuals

with disabilities, will possess the

knowledge and skills necessary to

compete in a global economy and

exercise the rights and responsibilities

of citizenship.

Executive Order 12866

This final priority has been reviewed

in accordance with Executive Order

12866. Under the terms of the order the

Secretary has assessed the potential

costs and benefits of this regulatory

action.

The Secretary has determined that

there are no costs associated with this

priority. Announcement of this priority

will not result in costs to State and local

governments, recipients of grant funds,

or to individuals with disabilities and

their families. The benefit from this

priority will be to focus activities and

Federal assistance on increasing

competitive employment outcomes for

individuals with disabilities who are

participants in public support programs

through enhanced collaboration and

coordination.

The Secretary has also determined

that this regulatory action does not

unduly interfere with State, local, and

tribal governments in the exercise of

their governmental functions.

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.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(b)(3).

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number 84.811A, Systems-Change Projects to

Expand Employment Opportunities for

Individuals With Mental or Physical

Disabilities, or Both, Who Receive Public

Support)

Dated: July 1, 1998.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 98–18057 Filed 7–7–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P