1442 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1820–ZA12

Rehabilitation Services Administration

Recreational Program

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services, Department of

Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority for

fiscal year (FY) 2001 and later years.

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for

the Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services proposes a

priority under the Recreational Program.

The Assistant Secretary may use this

priority for competitions in FY 2001 and

later years. We take this action to

provide individuals with disabilities

recreational activities and related

experiences to aid in their employment,

mobility, socialization, independence,

and community integration.

DATES: We must receive your comments

on or before February 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about

this proposed priority to Mary E.

Chambers, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,

room 3320, Switzer Building,

Washington, DC 20202–2649. If you

prefer to send your comments through

the Internet, use the following address:

Mary_Chambers@ed.gov

You must include the term

‘‘Recreational Program’’ in the subject

line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary E. Chambers. Telephone: (202)

205–8435 or via Internet:

Mary_Chambers@ed.gov

If you use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD) you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternative

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation To Comment

We invite you to submit comments

regarding this proposed priority. We

invite you to assist us in complying

with the specific requirements of

Executive Order 12866 and its overall

requirement of reducing regulatory

burden that might result from this

proposed priority. Please let us know of

any further opportunities we should

take to reduce potential costs or increase

potential benefits while preserving the

effective and efficient administration of

the program.

During and after the comment period,

you may inspect all public comments

about this proposed priority in room

3420, Switzer Building, 330 C Street

SW., Washington, DC, between the

hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern

time, Monday through Friday of each

week except Federal holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With

Disabilities in Reviewing the

Rulemaking Record

On request, we will supply an

appropriate aid, such as a reader or

print magnifier, to an individual with a

disability who needs assistance to

review the comments or other

documents in the public rulemaking

record for the proposed priority. If you

want to schedule an appointment for

this type of aid, you may call (202) 205–

8113 or (202) 260–9895. If you use a

TDD, you may call the Federal

Information Relay Service at 1–800–

877–8339.

We will announce the final priority in

a notice in the Federal Register. We will

determine the final priority after

considering responses to this notice and

other information available to the

Department. This notice does not

preclude us from proposing or funding

additional priorities, subject to meeting

applicable rulemaking requirements.

Note: This notice does not solicit

applications. In any year in which the

Assistant Secretary chooses to use this

proposed priority, we invite applications

through a notice in the Federal Register.

Priority

Background

Authority for the Recreational

Program is contained in section 305 of

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as

amended (the Act) (29 U.S.C. 775). This

proposed priority would support

projects that provide individuals with

disabilities with recreational activities

and experiences that aid in their

employment, mobility, socialization,

independence, and community

integration.

Proposed Priority

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the

Assistant Secretary proposes to give an

absolute preference to applications that

meet the following priority. The

Assistant Secretary proposes to fund

under this competition only

applications that meet this absolute

priority.

Projects must provide recreational

services to individuals with disabilities.

Recreational services include, but are

not limited to, vocational skills

development, leisure education, leisure

networking, leisure resource

development, physical education and

sports, scouting and camping, 4-H

activities, music, dancing, handicrafts,

art, and homemaking. Recreational

services do not include the construction

of facilities for aquatic rehabilitation

therapy.

Projects must provide recreational

services to individuals with disabilities

in settings with peers who are not

individuals with disabilities.

Statutory Requirements

All applicants seeking funding under

this competition must—

(a) Describe the manner in which the

applicant will address the needs of

individuals with disabilities from

minority backgrounds (section 21(c) of

the Act);

(b) Describe the manner in which the

findings and results of the project to be

funded under the grant, particularly

information that facilitates the

replication of the results of that project,

will be made generally available

(section 305(a)(4)(A) of the Act);

(c) Demonstrate ways in which

recreational activities assist in

maximizing the independence and

integration of individuals with

disabilities into community-based

recreational programs (section

305(a)(1)(C) of the Act);

(d) Assure that the project will

maintain, at a minimum, the same level

of services over the three-year project

period (section 305(a)(5) of the Act);

(e) Assure that the service program

funded under the grant will be

continued after Federal assistance ends

(section 305(a)(4)(B) of the Act); and

(f) Provide non-Federal resources (in

cash or in-kind) to pay the non-Federal

share cost of the project in year two at

25 percent of year one Federal grant and

year three at 50 percent of year one

Federal grant (section 305(a)(3)(B) of the

Act).

National Education Goals

The eight National Education Goals

focus the Nation’s education reform

efforts and provide a framework for

improving teaching and learning.

This proposed priority would address

the National Education Goal that every

American will possess the knowledge

and skills necessary to compete in a

global economy

Executive Order 12866

This notice of proposed priority has

been reviewed in accordance with

Executive Order 12866. Under the terms

of the order the Assistant Secretary has

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 5 / Monday, January 8, 2001 / Notices 1443

assessed the potential costs and benefits

of this regulatory action.

The potential costs associated with

the notice of proposed priority 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 notice of proposed

priority, we have determined that the

benefits of the proposed priority justify

the costs.

We have also determined that this

regulatory action does not unduly

interfere with State, local, and tribal

governments in the exercise of their

governmental functions.

Elsewhere in this notice we discuss

the potential costs and benefits of this

proposed priority under the following

heading: Background.

Intergovernmental Review

This program is subject to Executive

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34

CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the

Executive order is to foster an

intergovernmental partnership and a

strengthened federalism. The Executive

order relies on processes developed by

State and local governments for

coordination and review of proposed

Federal financial assistance.

This document provides early

notification of our specific plans and

actions for this program.

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 either of the following sites:

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

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

To use PDF you must have Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at either of the preceding sites. 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 775.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Number: 84.128J Recreational Program.)

Dated: December 1, 2000.

Judith E. Heumann,

Assistant Secretary for Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 01–407 Filed 1–5–01; 8:45 am]

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