Proposed Rule2021-27108
Proposed Definition-Supporting Effective Educator Development Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 15, 2021
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
The Department of Education (Department) proposes to establish a definition for the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program, Assistance Listing Number 84.423A. We propose to define "national nonprofit entity," for the purpose of clarifying the SEED program eligibility requirements.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71207-71209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27108]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter II
[Docket ID ED-2021-OESE-0148]
Proposed Definition--Supporting Effective Educator Development
Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Proposed definition.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) proposes to establish
a definition for the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED)
program, Assistance Listing Number 84.423A. We propose to define
``national nonprofit entity,'' for the purpose of clarifying the SEED
program eligibility requirements.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 14, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies,
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> to
submit your comments electronically. Information on using
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>, including instructions for accessing agency documents,
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site
under ``Help.''
<bullet> Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you
mail or deliver your comments about the proposed definition, address
them to Christine Miller, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue SW, Room 3C152 Washington, DC 20202.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing in
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly
available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Miller, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3C152, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202)260-7350. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c2f243e253f382522296221252020293e0c2928622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fe9d968c978d8a97909bd0939792929b8cbe9b9ad0999188">[email protected]</span></a>.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
the proposed definition. To ensure that your comments have maximum
effect in developing the final definition, we urge you to identify
clearly the specific section of the proposed definition that each
comment addresses.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 and their overall
requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result from the
proposed definition. Please let us know of any further ways we could
reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while preserving
the effective and efficient administration of our programs.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about the proposed definition by accessing <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>.
You may also inspect the comments in person. Please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to make arrangements to
inspect the comments in person.
Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request we will provide an appropriate
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the
public rulemaking record for the proposed definition. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary
aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Program Authority: Section 2242 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6672).
Proposed Definition:
Background: Section 2242 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), provides that eligible entities for
awards under the SEED program include national nonprofit entities with
a demonstrated record of raising student academic achievement,
graduation rates, and rates of higher education attendance,
matriculation, or completion, or of effectiveness in providing
preparation and professional development activities and programs for
teachers, principals, or other school leaders. We propose to define
``national nonprofit entity,'' for purposes of this eligibility
requirement, to allow potential applicants to determine their
eligibility for a grant under this program more readily, have a clear
understanding of the information they must provide to establish
eligibility, and allow the Department to make decisions on applicant
eligibility more effectively and efficiently. Our experience with
administering the fiscal year (FY) 2018 and FY 2020 SEED competitions,
including feedback from applicants and funded grantees, demonstrates
the need to define the term ``national nonprofit entity'' and provide
more transparency regarding applicant eligibility requirements. The
proposed definition incorporates the definition of ``nonprofit'' under
34 CFR 77.1(c) but also clarifies how an entity would demonstrate that
its work is ``national'' in scope. The proposed definition
[[Page 71208]]
specifies that the nonprofit organization must provide services in
three or more States. We believe that, if an entity is providing
services in three or more States, its work is of sufficient breadth to
be considered ``national'' in scope.
Proposed Definition: The Department proposes the following
definition for use in any SEED competition in which the term ``national
nonprofit entity'' is used in connection with the eligibility
requirement in section 2242 of the ESEA:
National nonprofit entity means an entity--
(a) That meets the definition of ``nonprofit'' under 34 CFR
77.1(c); and
(b) Is of national scope, which requires that the entity--
(1) Provides services in three or more States; and
(2) Demonstrates a proven record of serving or benefitting
teachers, principals, and school leaders across these States.
Final Definition: We will announce the final definition in a
document in the Federal Register. We will determine the final
definition after considering responses to the proposed definition and
other information available to the Department. This document does not
preclude us from proposing additional priorities, requirements,
definitions, or selection criteria, subject to meeting applicable
rulemaking requirements.
Note: This document does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use the proposed definition, we invite applications
through a notice in the Federal Register.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Regulatory Impact Analysis
Under Executive Order 12866, it must be determined whether this
regulatory action is ``significant'' and, therefore, subject to the
requirements of the Executive order and subject to review by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB). Section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866
defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action likely to
result in a rule that may--
(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more,
or adversely affect a sector of the economy, productivity, competition,
jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or
Tribal governments or communities in a material way (also referred to
as an ``economically significant'' rule);
(2) Create serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an
action taken or planned by another agency;
(3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants,
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients
thereof; or
(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles stated in the
Executive order.
This proposed regulatory action is not a significant regulatory
action subject to review by OMB under section 3(f) of Executive Order
12866.
We have also reviewed this proposed regulatory action under
Executive Order 13563, which supplements and explicitly reaffirms the
principles, structures, and definitions governing regulatory review
established in Executive Order 12866. To the extent permitted by law,
Executive Order 13563 requires that an agency--
(1) Propose or adopt regulations only upon a reasoned determination
that their benefits justify their costs (recognizing that some benefits
and costs are difficult to quantify);
(2) Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden on society,
consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives and taking into
account--among other things and to the extent practicable--the costs of
cumulative regulations;
(3) In choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, select
those approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential
economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other
advantages; distributive impacts; and equity);
(4) To the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, rather
than the behavior or manner of compliance a regulated entity must
adopt; and
(5) Identify and assess available alternatives to direct
regulation, including economic incentives--such as user fees or
marketable permits--to encourage the desired behavior, or provide
information that enables the public to make choices.
Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency ``to use the best
available techniques to quantify anticipated present and future
benefits and costs as accurately as possible.'' The Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these
techniques may include ``identifying changing future compliance costs
that might result from technological innovation or anticipated
behavioral changes.''
We are issuing the proposed definition only on a reasoned
determination that the benefits would justify the costs. In choosing
among alternative regulatory approaches, we selected those approaches
that would maximize net benefits. Based on an analysis of anticipated
costs and benefits, we believe that the proposed definition is
consistent with the principles in Executive Order 13563.
We also have determined that this regulatory action would not
unduly interfere with State, local, and Tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
Potential Costs and Benefits
The Department believes that this proposed regulatory action would
not impose significant costs on eligible entities, whose participation
in our programs is voluntary, and costs can generally be covered with
grant funds. As a result, the proposed definition would not impose any
burden except when an entity voluntarily elects to apply for a grant.
The benefits of the proposed definition would outweigh any associated
costs because they would help clarify applicant eligibility.
Clarity of the Regulations
Executive Order 12866 and the Presidential memorandum ``Plain
Language in Government Writing'' require each agency to write
regulations that are easy to understand.
The Secretary invites comments on how to make the proposed
definition easier to understand, including answers to questions such as
the following:
<bullet> Do the proposed regulations contain technical terms or
other wording that interferes with their clarity?
<bullet> Could the description of the proposed regulations in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this preamble be more helpful in
making the proposed regulations easier to understand? If so, how?
<bullet> What else could we do to make the proposed regulations
easier to understand?
<bullet> Are the requirements in the proposed regulations clearly
stated?
<bullet> Does the format of the proposed regulations (grouping and
order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce
their clarity?
<bullet> Would the proposed regulations be easier to understand if
we divided them into more (but shorter) sections?
To send any comments that concern how the Department could make the
proposed definition easier to understand, see the instructions in the
ADDRESSES section.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this proposed regulatory action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The U.S. Small Business Administration Size Standards define
proprietary institutions as small businesses if they are independently
owned and operated,
[[Page 71209]]
are not dominant in their field of operation, and have total annual
revenue below $7,000,000. Nonprofit institutions are defined as small
entities if they are independently owned and operated and not dominant
in their field of operation. Public institutions are defined as small
organizations if they are operated by a government overseeing a
population below 50,000.
Of the impacts we estimate accruing to grantees or eligible
entities, all are voluntary and related mostly to an increase in the
number of applications prepared and submitted annually for competitive
grant competitions. Therefore, we do not believe that the proposed
definition would significantly impact small entities beyond the
potential for increasing the likelihood of their applying for, and
receiving, competitive grants from the Department.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The proposed definition does not contain any information collection
requirements.
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.
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 <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. 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 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
<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Ian Rosenblum,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs Delegated the
Authority to Perform the Functions and Duties of the Assistant
Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-27108 Filed 12-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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