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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 31, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 107000-107001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31217]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 685

[Docket ID ED-2023-OPE-0004]
RIN 1840-AD81

Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal 
Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) 
Program; Correction

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On July 10, 2023, the Department of Education (Department) 
published in the Federal Register final regulations amending 
regulations related to income-driven repayment.

[[Page 107001]]

This document corrects a technical error in the regulations. This 
document does not contain any substantive changes to the regulations.

DATES: Effective December 31, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Honer, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 987-0750. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 10, 2023, the Department published 
in the Federal Register a final rule amending regulations related to 
income-driven repayment (88 FR 43820). Those final regulations 
contained a technical error, which we are correcting. Specifically, 
with respect to 34 CFR 685.209(k)(6)(i), we indicated in the preamble 
to the final rule in a response to public comment that we were 
modifying the regulations to exclude periods in which a borrower is in 
an in-school deferment from counting toward the borrower's time to 
forgiveness, and we explained our reasons for doing so, see, e.g., 88 
FR 43855, but we inadvertently omitted that change in the regulatory 
text. This notice corrects that inadvertent omission.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking, Negotiated Rulemaking, and Delayed 
Effective Date

    In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 
553, the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity 
to comment on proposed regulations. However, the APA provides that an 
agency is not required to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking when 
the agency, for good cause, finds that notice and public comment 
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). There is good cause to waive rulemaking 
here as unnecessary.
    Rulemaking is ``unnecessary'' in those situations in which ``the 
administrative rule is a routine determination, insignificant in nature 
and impact, and inconsequential to the industry and to the public.'' 
Utility Solid Waste Activities Group v. EPA, 236 F.3d 749, 755 (D.C. 
Cir. 2001), quoting U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General's 
Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 31 (1947) and South Carolina 
v. Block, 558 F. Supp. 1004, 1016 (D.S.C. 1983). The regulatory change 
in this document is necessary to properly and accurately reflect the 
outcome of the rulemaking process, by correcting a technical error: 
regulatory text that was proposed and explained but inadvertently was 
omitted from the final regulatory text. It reflects the substantive 
rule stated in the preamble, which was the product of the notice and 
comment process and does not establish any new substantive rule. 
Therefore, the Department has determined that publication of a proposed 
rule is unnecessary under 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
    In addition, under section 492 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 
as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1098a), all regulations proposed by the 
Department for programs authorized under title IV of the HEA are 
subject to negotiated rulemaking requirements. Section 492(b)(2) of the 
HEA provides that negotiated rulemaking may be waived for good cause 
when doing so would be ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the 
public interest.'' There is likewise good cause to waive the negotiated 
rulemaking requirement in this case, since, as explained above, notice 
and comment rulemaking is unnecessary and has already been conducted.
    The APA generally requires that regulations be published at least 
30 days before their effective date, unless the agency has good cause 
to implement its regulations sooner (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)). As previously 
stated, because the regulatory change corrects an error, there is good 
cause to waive the delayed effective date in the APA and make the 
correction effective as of the date of publication.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site 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). To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 
available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 685

    Administrative practice and procedure; Colleges and universities; 
Education; Loan programs--education; Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements; Student aid; Vocational education.

Nasser Paydar,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
    Accordingly, the Secretary corrects 34 CFR part 685 by making the 
following correcting amendment:

PART 685--WILLIAM D. FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM

0
1. The authority citation for part 685 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  20 U.S.C. 1070g, 1087a, et seq., unless otherwise 
noted.

0
2. Section 685.209 is amended by revising paragraph (k)(6)(i) to read 
as follows:

685.209  Income-driven repayment plans.

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (i) A borrower may obtain credit toward forgiveness as defined in 
paragraph (k) of this section for any months in which a borrower was in 
a deferment or forbearance not listed in paragraph (k)(4)(iv) of this 
section, other than periods in an in-school deferment, by making an 
additional payment equal to or greater than their current IDR payment, 
including a payment of $0, for a deferment or forbearance that ended 
within 3 years of the additional repayment date and occurred after July 
1, 2024.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 2024-31217 Filed 12-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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