Proposed Rule2026-07504
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period With Funding-Title I, Part C Consortium Incentive Grant Program
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Published
April 17, 2026
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) that generally prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The proposed waiver and extension would enable 39 projects under Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.144F to receive funding for up to two additional 12-month periods, not to exceed September 30, 2028.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 74 (Friday, April 17, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 74 (Friday, April 17, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20607-20610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07504]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter II
[ED-2026-OESE-0826]
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period With
Funding--Title I, Part C Consortium Incentive Grant Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Department
of Education.
[[Page 20608]]
ACTION: Proposed waiver and extension of project period with funding.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) that
generally prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation
of additional Federal funds. The proposed waiver and extension would
enable 39 projects under Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.144F to
receive funding for up to two additional 12-month periods, not to
exceed September 30, 2028.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 18, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. However, if you require an accommodation
or cannot otherwise submit your comments via <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>,
please contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments 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.
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://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>,
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under
``FAQ.''
Privacy Note: OESE's policy is generally to make 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 include in their comments only information
about themselves that they wish to make publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Meltzer, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-5076.
Telephone: (202) 453-6068. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7934101a11181c1557341c150d031c0b391c1d571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0b466268636a6e6725466e677f716e794b6e6f256c647d">[email protected]</span></a>.
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:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
this proposed waiver and extension. To ensure that your comments have
maximum effect in developing the notice of final waiver and extension,
we urge you to identify clearly the specific grantee or grantees
(listed in the table under the Background section) that each comment
addresses.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14192 and their
overall requirement of reducing regulatory burden that might result
from the proposed waiver and extension. 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
the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice of proposed waiver and extension by
accessing <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>.
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 waiver and extension. 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.
Background
Title I, Part C, authorized under sections 1301-1309 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, is a
State-operated and State-administered formula grant program for the
education of migratory children--i.e., children of migratory
agricultural workers and migratory fishers. One component of the Title
I, Part C program is the Consortium Incentive Grant (CIG) program,
authorized in section 1308(d) of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6398(d)). Through
the CIG program, the Department of Education (Department) may set aside
up to $3,000,000 from the annual Title I, Part C appropriation to award
grants on a competitive basis to State educational agencies (SEAs) to
participate in consortia with another State or appropriate entity that
will improve the delivery of services to migratory children whose
education is interrupted.
The Department published a notice of final requirements for the CIG
program in the Federal Register on March 3, 2004 (69 FR 10110) (2004
Notice), a notice of final priority on March 12, 2008 (73 FR 13217),
and a notice of final requirement on December 31, 2013 (78 FR 79613),
in which we increased the maximum project period for the CIG program to
three years.
On February 23, 2023, the Department published in the Federal
Register (88 FR 11422) a notice inviting applications for the CIG
program. A table listing the 39 FY 2023 grantees follows. One grantee
declined to participate in the CIG program immediately after receiving
the FY 2023 award and one grantee declined to participate in the Title
I, Part C program, including the CIG program, after receiving FY 2024
awards. These two grantees would not be eligible for an extension and
are therefore not included in the table below.
FY 2023 Awards Under ALN 84.144F
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PR Award No. Grantee name
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S144F230001....................... Kansas State Department of
Education.
S144F230003....................... Utah State Board of Education.
S144F230004....................... Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of Education.
S144F230005....................... Nebraska Department of Education.
S144F230006....................... Colorado Board of Education.
S144F230008....................... Delaware Department of Education.
S144F230011....................... Georgia Department of Education.
S144F230012....................... Idaho State Board of Education.
S144F230013....................... Illinois State Board of Education.
S144F230014....................... Indiana Department of Education.
S144F230015....................... Iowa Department of Education.
S144F230017....................... Kentucky Department of Education.
S144F230018....................... Louisiana Department of
Administration.
S144F230019....................... Maine Department of Education.
[[Page 20609]]
S144F230021....................... Massachusetts Department of
Elementary & Secondary Education.
S144F230022....................... Michigan Department of Education.
S144F230023....................... Minnesota Department of Education.
S144F230024....................... Mississippi Department of Education.
S144F230025....................... Missouri Department of Elementary &
Secondary Education.
S144F230026....................... Montana Office of Public
Instruction.
S144F230028....................... Nevada Department of Education.
S144F230030....................... New Jersey Department of Education.
S144F230031....................... State of New Mexico Public Education
Department.
S144F230032....................... New York State Education Department.
S144F230033....................... North Carolina Department of Public
Instruction.
S144F230034....................... North Dakota Department of Public
Instruction.
S144F230035....................... Ohio Department of Education.
S144F230037....................... Oregon Department of Education.
S144F230041....................... South Carolina Department of
Education.
S144F230042....................... South Dakota Department of
Education.
S144F230044....................... Texas Education Agency.
S144F230046....................... Vermont State Agency of Education.
S144F230047....................... Commonwealth of Virginia State Board
of Education.
S144F230048....................... Washington Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
S144F230050....................... Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction.
S144F230052....................... Hawaii State Department of
Education.
S144F230054....................... Alabama State Department of
Education.
S144F230055....................... Arizona Department of Education.
S144F230056....................... Arkansas Department of Education.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The current project period for these grantees ends on September 30,
2026.
Waivers and Extensions
The Department proposes to extend the project period for the 39
current CIG program grantees for up to two additional 12-month periods.
We are proposing to extend the project period to allow grantees' work
to continue as the Department considers changes to the priorities and
structure of the CIG program. Specifically, the Secretary will consider
the CIG program in the context of the Administration's priorities. An
extension would allow current grantees to plan for potential future
changes to their Title I, Part C funding and best align their work to
the Administration's priorities.
We have concluded that it would be contrary to the public interest
to have a lapse in the work of current CIG program grantees while the
Department considers changes to the CIG program. As such, the Secretary
proposes to waive the requirement in 34 CFR 75.261(b)(2), which limits
the extension of a project period if the extension involves the
obligation of additional Federal funds. The waiver would allow the
Department to issue continuation awards to current CIG grantees in FY
2026 and potentially, in FY 2027, at the Department's discretion and
pending availability of FY 2027 funds.
Any activities carried out under these continuation awards must be
consistent with, or a logical extension of, the scope, goals, and
objectives of the grantee's application as approved in the FY 2023
competition. The requirements for continuation awards are set forth in
34 CFR 75.253 and the 2004 Notice. Specifically, in making a
continuation award, the Secretary considers, among other things:
whether a grantee has made substantial progress in achieving the goals
and objectives of the project; whether the grantee has expended funds
in a manner that is consistent with its Title I Part C program; whether
the grantee has made substantial progress in achieving the performance
targets in the grantee's approved application; or whether the
continuation of the project is in the best interest of the Federal
Government.
In making a continuation award, the Secretary also considers
whether the grantee is operating in compliance with the assurances in
its approved application, including those applicable to Federal civil
rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities
receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department (34 CFR
100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
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.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this proposed waiver and extension of
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The entities that would be affected by this proposed waiver and
extension are:
(a) The FY 2023 SEA grantees currently receiving Federal funds; and
(b) SEAs that otherwise would have been eligible to apply for an
award in FY 2026 under the CIG program if the Department had held that
competition.
The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension
would not have a significant economic impact on these entities because
the extension of an existing project period imposes minimal compliance
costs, and the activities required to support the additional year(s) of
funding would not impose additional regulatory burdens or require
unnecessary Federal supervision.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This notice of proposed waiver and extension of the project period
does not contain any information collection requirements.
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.
[[Page 20610]]
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 via the Federal Digital System at: <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>.
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>.
Kirsten Baesler,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2026-07504 Filed 4-16-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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