Admission and Training of Midshipmen at the United States Merchant Marine Academy; Amendment Providing an Emergency Waiver for Scholastic Requirements
| Published date | 22 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 67299 |
| Record Number | 2020-23493 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Maritime Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 205 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 205 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67299-67302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23493]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
46 CFR Part 310
[Docket No. MARAD-2020-0142]
RIN 2133-AB92
Admission and Training of Midshipmen at the United States
Merchant Marine Academy; Amendment Providing an Emergency Waiver for
Scholastic Requirements
AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim final rule amends Maritime Administration (MARAD)
regulations governing admission to the United States Merchant Marine
Academy (USMMA). These amendments allow the MARAD Administrator to
waive the requirement for USMMA applicants to have taken the College
Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Testing
Program (ACT) examination in the event of a State or national
emergency. The ability to waive SAT and ACT requirements for
prospective students is necessary to address testing disruptions caused
by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency.
DATES: This interim final rule is effective October 22, 2020. Comments
on this interim final rule must be received on or before November 23,
2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Search using docket number MARAD-2020-0142. Follow
the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Docket Management Facility, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9322 before coming.
Regardless of how you submit your comments, please be sure to
identify your submission by including the docket number.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public
Participation section below.
Note: All comments received will be posted without change to
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading under Rulemaking
Notices and Analyses regarding documents submitted to the Agency's
dockets.
Docket: For access to the online docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov and
search ``MARAD-2020-0142.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mitch Hudson, Office of the Chief
Counsel, at (202) 366-9373 or [email protected]. The mailing address
for the Maritime Administration, Office of the Chief Counsel is 1200
New Jersey Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
II. Background
III. United States Merchant Marine Academy Request
IV. Agency's Response
a. Exemption to Admission Requirements
V. Comments and Immediate Effective Date
VI. Regulatory Analyses and Notices
VII. Public Participation
I. Executive Summary
Institutions of higher education across the Nation have been
severely impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public
health emergency, which has not only required them to adapt teaching
methods and practices, but also admissions processes and criteria.
USMMA is only one institution among the many faced with the dilemma of
how to ensure the selection of qualified candidates given the current
situation. The USMMA admissions policy is currently governed by 46 CFR
310.55--Scholastic requirements, which provides in subsection (b)(1)
that ``[a]pplicants shall qualify in either the College Board's
Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or the American College Testing Program
(ACT) examinations, administered nationally on scheduled dates at
convenient testing centers.'' Subsection (d) further provides that
``[n]o waivers of scholastic requirements will be granted.''
Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, student access to test
centers and the opportunity to take the SAT and ACT have been greatly
reduced in the United States. Requiring SAT or ACT test scores from
students in this admissions cycle by strictly adhering to the
regulation as currently written will significantly affect the
application process, selection, and appointment of prospective
candidates, and may negatively impact enrollment numbers for the Class
of 2025 at USMMA.
This interim final rule responds to an emergency waiver request
submitted by USMMA seeking a revision to its governing regulations that
would provide for a waiver of the scholastic requirements in an
emergency situation. After considering the issues raised in the USMMA
request, the Agency agrees that the unprecedented disruptions caused by
the public health emergency make compliance by prospective candidates
with the regulations as presently styled impracticable and warrant
appropriate regulatory relief. Accordingly, MARAD is revising the
regulations to give the MARAD Administrator the ability to issue a
waiver of the scholastic requirements in the event of a State or
national emergency that significantly limits the ability of applicants
to take either the SAT or ACT. To ensure the proper implementation of
this revision, MARAD is seeking comments on the USMMA request and the
Agency's Interim Final Rule.
II. Background
USMMA operates on a rolling admissions cycle. The cycle for the
future Class of 2025 began on May 1, 2020 when applications were first
accepted. Each candidate must first obtain a Congressional nomination
to receive an appointment to the Academy. The nomination process is
independent from the application process; each member of Congress
decides what requirements they deem appropriate. However, many members
of Congress take into consideration a candidate's standardized test
scores. Therefore, the lack of ACT/SAT standardized testing
[[Page 67300]]
availability could prevent candidates from even receiving a nomination.
An application is considered complete when all required documents
are submitted, the required standardized test scores are received, and
the Candidate Fitness Assessment has been passed. USMMA's current
deadline for applications is February 1, 2021. After February 1, USMMA
will review applications for completeness, evaluate candidates, and
make selections. Only then will candidates be offered an appointment.
The process will end when the candidate submits acceptance of the offer
in late Spring.
As of September 1, 2020, USMMA had received over 700 applications,
with a majority not including ACT or SAT scores. According to the ACT
website, there will be continued limitations in test center capacity
and inevitable cancellations throughout the remainder of the 2020-2021
test dates.\1\ The College Board, which administers the SAT, also
reports that a substantial number students who register have been
unable to take the test as a result of testing center closure or
reduction in capacity due to COVID-19 mitigation measures.\2\ This is
on top of the College Board cancelling SAT administrations from March
through May.\3\ As the USMMA admissions process advances into Fall, it
is unclear whether applicants will be afforded the opportunity to take
the SAT or ACT exam. The deadline for completed applications for USMMA
Class of 2025 candidates is February 1, 2021 and therefore, students
who are unable to take the SAT or ACT until 2021 may not be able to
complete their applications in time for this deadline. Even if the
February 1, 2021 deadline were to be postponed and if the public health
emergency were to wane sufficiently in the Spring of 2021 to allow the
re-opening of test centers, there may still be problems with requiring
SAT and ACT test scores for all applicants in this admissions cycle.
Test sites may be faced with issues of capacity in Spring of 2021, as
they would need to test all students whose testing was postponed due to
COVID-19 plus all future high school graduates who will require scores
for college entrance in 2022.
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\1\ Rescheduled Test Centers. (September 19, 2020). www.ACT.org.
Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-day/rescheduled-test-centers.html.
\2\ What to Know Before the September and October SAT
Administration, (September 22, 2020). www.collegeboard.org. https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2020/what-to-know-sept-oct-sat-admins.
\3\ College Board Cancels May SAT in Response to Coronavirus,
(March 16, 2020), www.collegeboard.org, https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2020/college-board-cancels-may-sat-response-coronavirus.
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III. Agency Response
After considering the information provided in the request,
evaluating the risks posed to maintaining a vibrant and qualified
merchant marine, and assessing the ongoing hardships stemming from the
public health emergency, the Agency has decided that there exists a
need to add flexibility to MARAD's regulations governing USMMA
admissions by giving the MARAD Administrator the ability to waive SAT
and ACT testing requirements in emergency situations.
The College Board states that this year, many schools and test
centers will have reduced capacity because of social distancing
guidelines and may encounter unexpected closures.\4\ ACT rescheduled
its April national and international tests in response to concerns
about the spread of the coronavirus.\5\ All students registered for
April 2020 test dates were notified of the postponement with
instructions for rescheduling to future test dates.\6\ Both the ACT and
SAT websites currently show many postponed/cancelled exams across the
50 States. These exams are conducted in high schools and other public
buildings, some of which are not yet re-opened and many of which when
re-opened have reduced capacity.
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\4\ College Board Asks Colleges to Show Flexibility in
Admissions This Year to Reduce Stress for Students, Citing
Challenges in Providing Universal Access to the SAT During the
Coronavirus Pandemic. (2020, June 2). www.College Board.org.
Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2020/cb-asks-colleges-show-flexibility-admissions-reduce-stress-students-challenges-universal-access-sat-coronavirus-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR3SbHTa4VIKpryc95KqFDeOTnCktwy0q4NOlcd8StS3Wrx1Bj6MOzFkAy0.
\5\ ACT Reschedules April 2020 National ACT Test Date to June.
(2020, March 16). ACT News Room and Blog. Retrieved September 22,
2020 from https://leadershipblog.act.org/2020/03/act-reschedules-april-2020-national-act.html.
\6\ Id.
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The SAT and ACT are typically taken in the Spring, but due to the
COVID-19 public health emergency, Spring test dates in 2020 were
canceled and rescheduled for the Summer or Fall. As of September 2020,
there are continued limitations in test center capacity, and there are
likely to be additional cancellations throughout the remainder of the
2020-2021 test dates. The decision on whether a test center closes
rests largely within a State's own discretion, based on guidelines set
forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Simply stated,
the availability of testing this year is highly unpredictable.
In response, many colleges and universities have now resorted to
making the SAT/ACT test optional for admissions. More than 60% of 4-
year colleges and universities in the U.S. will not require applicants
to submit ACT or SAT scores for Fall 2021 admission.\7\ All of the
Federal service academies are confronted with this situation brought on
by the COVID-19 public health emergency, and none have reached a
conclusive answer on how to address admissions standards and criteria
effectively. United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), United States
Military Academy (USMA) and United States Naval Academy (USNA) are
considering the waiver of their own requirements for standardized tests
from applicants.
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\7\ Three-Fifths of Four-Year Colleges and Universities Are
Test-Optional for Fall 2021 Admission; Total of Schools Not
Requiring ACT/SAT Exceeds 1,450. (2020, August 12). www.fairtest.org
Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://www.fairtest.org/threefifths-fouryear-colleges-and-universities-are.
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Based on the foregoing, MARAD concludes that there is a need to
revise its regulations governing USMMA scholastic requirements by
giving the MARAD Administrator the ability to waive SAT and ACT testing
requirements for USMMA applicants in emergency situations. Due to
forces beyond the control of prospective students, the uniform
availability of standardized testing is not possible, and therefore,
the strict requirement to include such test scores is detrimental to
USMMA's ability to offer admission to worthy student candidates.
IV. Comments and Immediate Effective Date
Because the student application dates are fast approaching, MARAD
finds good cause to issue this interim final rule providing an
exemption to the scholastic requirements. There is good cause to make
this rule effective immediately so as to provide needed relief to
prospective students due to the effects of the COVID-19 public health
emergency. Pursuant to DOT's regulation on rulemaking procedures, 49
CFR 5.13(j)(2), MARAD seeks to replace this interim final rule with a
final rule, which may differ from today's rule in response to comments
received. Accordingly, MARAD is accepting comments on this interim
final rule. The Agency is seeking comments on whether the emergency
waiver for scholastic requirements is appropriate under the
circumstances. In particular, MARAD is interested in information
[[Page 67301]]
concerning whether any other steps could be taken to ensure that all
qualified candidates for admission may overcome any regulatory
obstacles to admission. Given the narrow focus of this rule and its
near-term effects, the Agency has provided an expedited comment period,
which the Agency believes will allow commenters sufficient time to
address the issues in this rule. See ``Public Participation'' section
below.
The Agency is issuing this interim final rule without prior notice
and the opportunity for public comment and the 30-day delayed effective
date ordinarily prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of the APA, general notice and the
opportunity for public comment are not required with respect to a
rulemaking when an ``agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the
finding and a brief statement of reasons therefor in the rules issued)
that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' As discussed above
in this document, the intent of this action is to provide relief to
prospective student candidates for admission to USMMA who, due to the
COVID-19 public health emergency, are finding it either impossible or
impractical to sit for the SAT or ACT standardized tests. Since dates
for submitting admission applications are imminent, the Agency finds it
impracticable to seek public comment prior to the effective date of the
rule. MARAD seeks to issue this rule to provide relief before it is too
late for applicants to be apprised of an emergency waiver to the
scholastic requirements and to take action accordingly.
Though this interim final rule is effective immediately, comments
are solicited from interested members of the public on all aspects of
the interim final rule. These comments must be submitted on or before
the date indicated in the DATES section at the beginning of this
document. MARAD will consider these comments in deciding any next steps
following this interim final rule.
V. Regulatory Analyses and Notices
a. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, 13771 and DOT Rulemaking Procedures
Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, E.O. 13563, and the Department of
Transportation's administrative rulemaking procedures set forth in 49
CFR part 5, subpart B, provide for determining whether a regulatory
action is ``significant'' and therefore subject to Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) review and to the requirements of E.O. 12866.
Today's interim final rule is not significant and has not been
reviewed by OMB under E.O. 12866. This rule is limited to giving the
MARAD Administrator the ability to waive the regulatory requirement to
include SAT or ACT scores for admission to USMMA in emergency
situations. This rule does not actually waive any regulatory
requirements.\8\ Therefore, this rule does not result in any costs or
benefits.
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\8\ MARAD will separately issue the pertinent waiver once this
rule becomes effective.
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Executive Order 13771, titled ``Reducing Regulation and Controlling
Regulatory Costs,'' directs that, unless prohibited by law, whenever an
executive department or agency publicly proposes for notice and comment
or otherwise promulgates a new regulation, it shall identify at least
two existing regulations to be repealed. In addition, any new
incremental costs associated with new regulations shall, to the extent
permitted by law, be offset by the elimination of existing costs. Only
those rules deemed significant under section 3(f) of Executive Order
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' are subject to these
requirements. Per OMB Memo M-17-21, E.O. 13771 applies to a rulemaking
action that is ``a significant regulatory action as defined in Section
3(f) of E.O. 12866 that has been finalized and that imposes total costs
greater than zero.'' As discussed above, this rule adds flexibility to
MARAD's regulations by giving the MARAD Administrator the ability to
waive SAT/ACT testing requirements in emergency situations.
Accordingly, this action is a deregulatory rule under Executive Order
13771. However, this action does not result in any quantified cost
savings because it does not actually waive any regulatory requirements.
b. Executive Order 13924
On May 19, 2020, the President issued E.O. 13924, ``Regulatory
Relief to Support Economic Recovery,'' as part of the country's ongoing
recovery effort to the national COVID-19 public health emergency. The
Order directs agencies to address the current economic emergency by
using to the fullest extent possible any available emergency
authorities to support the economic response to the COVID-19 public
health emergency. It also directs agencies to provide relief through
rescinding, modifying, waiving, or providing exemptions from
regulations and other requirements that may inhibit economic recovery
or by issuing new proposed rules as necessary. This interim final rule
is consistent with E.O. 13924 by providing prospective candidates for
admission to USMMA adversely affected by the inability to take the SAT
or ACT caused by the national health emergency the opportunity to apply
for and to be considered for admission.
c. Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), MARAD has
considered the impacts of this rulemaking action on small entities (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Rules that are exempt from notice and comment are
also exempt from the RFA requirements, including conducting a
regulatory flexibility analysis, when among other things the agency for
good cause finds that notice and public procedure are impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. See 5 U.S.C. 603(a).
Because, as discussed above, this rule is exempt from the APA notice
and comment requirements, MARAD is not required to conduct a regulatory
flexibility analysis.
d. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
MARAD has examined today's interim final rule pursuant to E.O.
13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999) and concluded that no additional
consultation with States, local governments, or their representatives
is mandated beyond the rulemaking process. The Agency has concluded
that the rulemaking would not have sufficient federalism implications
to warrant consultation with State and local officials or the
preparation of a federalism summary impact statement. The interim final
rule will not have ``substantial direct effects on the States, on the
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of
government.''
e. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) requires
agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits, and
other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate
likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than
$100 million annually. This action will not result in additional
expenditures by State, local, or tribal governments or by any members
of the private sector. Therefore, the Agency has not prepared an
economic assessment pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
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f. Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), a person is not
required to respond to a collection of information by a Federal agency
unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. This final
rule includes no new collection of information and will not change any
existing collections of information as it does not actually waive any
regulatory requirements.
g. Privacy Act
Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477-78), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
VII. Public Participation
How long do I have to submit comments?
MARAD is providing a 30-day comment period.
How do I prepare and submit comments?
Your comments must be written in English.
To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket,
please include the Docket Number shown at the beginning of this
document in your comments.
If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe)
File, MARAD asks that the documents be submitted using the Optical
Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing MARAD to search and
copy certain portions of your submissions. Comments may be submitted to
the docket electronically by logging onto the Docket Management System
website at http://www.regulations.gov. Search using the MARAD docket
number and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
You may also submit two copies of your comments, including the
attachments, to Docket Management at the address given above under
ADDRESSES.
Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, for substantive
data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the
information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data Quality
Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines
in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. DOT's guidelines may
be accessed at http://www.bts.gov/programs/statistical_policy_and_research/data_quality_guidelines.
How can I be sure that my comments were received?
If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket
Management will return the postcard by mail.
How do I submit confidential business information?
Confidential business information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
the interim final rule contain commercial or financial information that
is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private,
and that is relevant or responsive to this interim final rule, it is
important that you clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI.
Please mark each page of your submission that constitutes CBI as
``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains proprietary information. MARAD will
treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they
will not be placed in the public docket of this interim final rule.
Submissions containing CBI should be sent to the email address provided
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. In addition, you should
submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential
business information, to Docket Management at the address given above
under ADDRESSES. Any comments MARAD receives which are not specifically
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this
rulemaking.
Will the Agency consider late comments?
We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider
comments that Docket Management receives after that date. If Docket
Management receives a comment too late for us to consider in developing
any follow-on action, we will consider that comment as an informal
suggestion for future rulemaking action.
How can I read the comments submitted by other people?
You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on
the internet. To read the comments on the internet, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
Please note that, even after the comment closing date, we will
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly,
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.
List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 310
Grant programs--education, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Schools, Seamen.
In consideration of the foregoing, MARAD amends 46 CFR part 310 as
follows:
PART 310--MERCHANT MARINE TRAINING
0
1. Revise the authority citation for part 310 to read as follows:
Authority: 46 U.S.C. Chapter 515; 49 U.S.C. 322(a); 49 CFR
1.93.
Subpart C--Admission and Training of Midshipmen at the United
States Merchant Marine Academy
0
2. Amend Sec. 310.55 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 310.55 Scholastic requirements.
* * * * *
(d) Waivers. No waivers of scholastic requirements will be granted,
except in the event of a State or national emergency that significantly
limits the ability of applicants to take either the SAT or ACT, as
determined by the Maritime Administrator.
Dated: October 20, 2020.
By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-23493 Filed 10-20-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P
