Proposed Rule2026-10620
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period With Funding for Arts in Education National Program
Primary source
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Published
May 28, 2026
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
The Secretary proposes to waive the requirements in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The proposed waiver and extension would enable one project under Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.351A to receive funding for one additional period, not to exceed September 30, 2027.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 102 (Thursday, May 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 102 (Thursday, May 28, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31682-31683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10620]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter III
[ED-2026-OESE-1783]
Proposed Waiver and Extension of the Project Period With Funding
for Arts in Education National Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
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 that generally
prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation of
additional Federal funds. The proposed waiver and extension would
enable one project under Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.351A to
receive funding for one additional period, not to exceed September 30,
2027.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before June 29, 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://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a>,
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under
``FAQ.''
Privacy Note: The Department'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: Simon Earle. Telephone: (202) 453-
7923. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#741507071d0700151a1711121b06150600071110011715001d1b1a3411105a131b02"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="38594b4b514b4c59565b5d5e574a594a4c4b5d5c4d5b594c515756785d5c165f574e">[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.
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 public
comments about the proposed priority and definition 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: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as
amended (ESEA) authorizes awards under the Assistance for Arts
Education (AAE) program to promote arts education for students,
including disadvantaged students and students who are children with
disabilities.
In the FY 2022 competition for the Arts in Education National
Program (AENP), the Department utilized the rulemaking waiver provided
under the General Education Provisions Act
[[Page 31683]]
(GEPA) section 437(d)(1) to waive a rulemaking that governs ``the first
grant competition under a new or substantially revised program
authority.'' (See 87 FR 32399 at 32402, May 31, 2022). Through that
waiver, the Department established a priority and competition for a
national nonprofit organization that has previously implemented a
large-scale AENP project. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026
(Pub. L. 119-75, February 3, 2026), directs the Department to use funds
appropriated for AAE ``. . . for grants for eligible national nonprofit
organizations, as described in the Applications for New Awards;
Assistance for Arts Education Program published in the Federal Register
on May 31, 2022, for activities described under section
4642(a)(1)(C).'' The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 further
directs the Department to give competitive preference ``. . . only to
an eligible national nonprofit organization that previously received
the competitive preference priority pursuant to such notice.'' However,
at this time, there are no valid priorities that comply with the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. The Department would be required
to engage in notice-and-comment rulemaking to redevelop and republish
such a priority in keeping with the directive because the GEPA
rulemaking waiver is not available. Because the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2026, was enacted later than expected, the
Department has determined there is not enough time in FY 2026 to
develop a new priority and carry out a full, robust competitive
process.
Thus, the Department is proposing to waive the requirements in the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations that generally
prohibit project period extensions involving the obligation of
additional Federal funds in order to provide a continuation grant for
the AENP grantee first awarded in FY 2022. This would provide the
Department with sufficient time to develop the priority for a 2027
competition.
In FY 2022 the Department made one 36-month award under the AENP as
follows:
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FY 2022 award under ALN 84.351A Grantee and project name/topic area
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S351A220007....................... John F Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts: Kennedy Center
National Arts Education Program.
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In FY 2025, the Department published a Proposed Waiver and
Extension of the Project Period in the Federal Register on May 20, 2025
(90 FR 21441) and a Final Waiver and Extension of the Project Period in
the Federal Register on July 28, 2025 (90 FR 35439), which extended the
project period for this grantee to September 30, 2026. The Department
has verified that the grantee, if the grant is extended, would be able
to continue to support the educational activities within the scope and
objectives of its approved grant application.
Waivers and Extensions: The Department proposes to extend the
project end date of the current FY 2022 84.351A AENP grant by one
additional year. As a result, for this project, the Secretary proposes
to waive the requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (b)(2), which allow
the extension of a project period only if the extension does not
involve the obligation of additional Federal funds. The waiver will
allow the Department to issue a continuation award in FY 2026,
consistent with the directive from Congress, to the currently funded
84.351A AENP project at an amount consistent with the amount awarded in
the FY 2025 extension.
Any activities carried out during the year of this continuation
award must be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the scope,
goals, and objectives of the grantee's application as approved in the
FY 2022 competition. The requirements for continuation awards are set
forth in 34 CFR 75.253.
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 the proposed waiver and extension of
the project period would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The only entity that would be
affected by the proposed waiver and extension of the project period is
the current AENP grantee.
The Secretary certifies that the proposed waiver and extension
would not have a significant economic impact on this entity, because
the extension of an existing project period imposes minimal compliance
costs, and the activities required to support the additional year 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. 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.
Kirsten Baesler,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2026-10620 Filed 5-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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