Final Waiver and Extension of the Project Periods for Television Access Grants
| Published date | 02 July 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 39833 |
| Record Number | 2020-12954 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Education Department |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 128 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 128 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39833-39834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12954]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter III
[ED-2020-OSERS-0034]
Final Waiver and Extension of the Project Periods for Television
Access Grants
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
(OSERS), Department of Education.
ACTION: Final waiver and extension of project periods.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary waives the requirements in the Education
Department General Administrative Regulations that generally prohibit
project periods exceeding five years and project period extensions
involving the obligation of additional Federal funds. The waiver and
extension enable five projects under Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) number 84.327C to receive funding for an additional
period, not beyond September 30, 2021.
DATES: The waiver and extension of the project periods are effective
July 2, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glinda Hill, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 5173, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-5076. Telephone: 202-245-7376. Email:
[email protected].
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:
Background
On January 14, 2015, the Department of Education (Department)
published in the Federal Register (80 FR 1900) a notice inviting
applications for five video description and captioning projects for
fiscal year (FY) 2015 under the Educational Technology, Media, and
Materials program, authorized under sections 674 and 681(d) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The purpose of the video description and captioning projects is to
improve the learning opportunities for children with disabilities by
providing access to television programming through high-quality video
description and captioning. These projects support access to widely
available television programs that are appropriate for use in the
classroom setting and are not otherwise required to be captioned or
described by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). A table
listing the FY 2015 video description and captioning projects follows:
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FY 2015 awards under CFDA 84.327C Grantee project name
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H327C150001............................ Companion Enterprise, Inc.,
Tulsa, OK. Project: Narrative
Television Network.
H327C150007............................ Bridge Multimedia, Inc., New
York, NY. Project: Video
Description for the Next
Generation.
H327C150008............................ Bridge Multimedia, Inc., New
York, NY. Project: Standards
Aligned Video Description.
H327C150009............................ Closed Caption Latina, Corp.,
Winter Springs, FL. Project:
Captions and Video
Description: Educational Tools
for Hispanic Children with
Disabilities.
H327C170002 (Transferred from Captionmax LLC, Minneapolis,
H327C150003). MN. Project: Television Access
for Preschool and Elementary
School Children.
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The Department also funds one project under CFDA 84.327N,
Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with
Disabilities--Captioned and Described Educational Media, the Center for
the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). The purpose of the
DCMP is to establish and operate an Accessible Learning Center that
oversees the selection, acquisition, captioning, video description, and
distribution of educational media through a free loan service for
eligible users. The video description and captioning projects are
required to use the DCMP's portal as a repository so that eligible
users can easily access the video described and captioned media. The
DCMP's project period started on October 1, 2016, and will end on
September 30, 2021.
On April 2, 2020, the Department published a notice in the Federal
Register (85 FR 18508) proposing an extension of the project period and
a waiver of the requirements in 34 CFR 75.250, which prohibit project
periods exceeding five years, as well as a waiver of the requirements
in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2), which allow the extension of a project
period only if the extension does not involve the obligation of
additional Federal funds. The proposed extension and waivers would
enable the Secretary to provide additional funds to all five projects
currently funded under CFDA number 84.327C for an additional period not
beyond September 30, 2021.
Public Comment
No comments were submitted in response to our invitation in the
notice of proposed waiver and extension of the project periods.
Final Waivers and Extensions
The Department is extending the end dates of the five video
description and captioning projects to align with that of the DCMP,
which ends on September 30, 2021, as it will receive its final year of
funding in FY 2020. The Department does not believe that it is in the
public interest to run a competition for CFDA 84.327C in FY 2020.
Aligning the end dates of these project periods allows the Department
to better coordinate the Description and Captioning program. Aligning
the project periods of the video description and captioning projects
and the DCMP also will improve coordination across projects, allow for
more efficient use of the funding available to support these
activities, and ensure easier access to a wider range and increasing
numbers of captioned
[[Page 39834]]
and described educational media and programming.
For these reasons, the Secretary waives the requirements in 34 CFR
75.250, which prohibit project periods exceeding five years, as well as
the requirements in 34 CFR 75.261(a) and (c)(2), which allow the
extension of a project period only if the extension does not involve
the obligation of additional Federal funds. This waiver allows the
Department to issue a one-time FY 2020 continuation award to each of
the five currently funded 84.327C projects.
Any activities carried out during the year of this continuation
award will be consistent with, or a logical extension of, the scope,
goals, and objectives of the grantees' applications as approved in the
FY 2015 competition. The requirements for continuation awards are set
forth in 34 CFR 75.253.
Waiver of Delayed Effective Date
The Administrative Procedure Act requires that a substantive rule
must be published at least 30 days before its effective date, except as
otherwise provided for good cause (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)). A delayed
effective date would be contrary to public interest by creating a gap
in production of described and captioned educational programming and
delays in the availability of programming for children with
disabilities. Therefore, the Secretary waives the delayed effective
date provision for good cause.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that the waiver and extension of the
project periods will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The only entities that will be
affected by the waiver and extension of the project periods are the
current grantees. Additionally, the extension of an existing project
period imposes minimal compliance costs, and the activities required to
support the additional year of funding will not impose additional
regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal supervision.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This waiver and extension of the project periods does not contain
any information collection requirements.
Intergovernmental Review
These programs are 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: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print,
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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 www.govinfo.gov. 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
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Mark Schultz,
Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration. Delegated the
authority to perform the functions and duties of the Assistant
Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-12954 Filed 7-1-20; 8:45 am]
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