Statewide Family Engagement Centers Program
| Published date | 14 August 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 49642 |
| Record Number | 2020-17872 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Education Department |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 158 (Friday, August 14, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 158 (Friday, August 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49642-49645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17872]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Statewide Family Engagement Centers Program
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Final requirement.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) amends program
requirement (a) in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 notice inviting
applications (NIA) for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC)
program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.310A.
This final requirement provides current grantees the opportunity to
request, on an annual basis, a reduction in their required 15 percent
matching contribution in a project year due to economic circumstances
related to the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
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DATES: August 14, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Beth Yeh, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E335, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 205-5798. 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:
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the SFEC program, authorized
under title IV, part E of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, as amended (ESEA), is to provide financial support to
organizations that provide technical assistance and training to State
educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in
the implementation and enhancement of systemic and effective family
engagement policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements
in student development and academic achievement.
Program Authority: Sections 4501-4506 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C.
7241-46).
Background: Section 4502(c) of the ESEA requires grantees to obtain
non-Federal matching contributions after the first year of the grant.
In the NIA published in the Federal Register on June 28, 2018 (83 FR
30430), we established the specific match percentage in program
requirement (a) under section 437(d)(1) of the General Education
Provisions Act (GEPA). Under that requirement, each grantee must secure
a non-Federal matching contribution of a minimum of 15 percent of its
SFEC grant award in each of years two through five of the grant, which
may be in cash or in-kind. The Department understands that, due to the
national emergency caused by COVID-19, it is now very difficult for
grantees to meet their match requirements. Many nonprofit organizations
have lost funding or have changed their priorities to focus on the
COVID-19 emergency. This could cause difficulties in meeting match
requirements particularly in year two of the grant, possibly in
subsequent years.
The Department is therefore providing flexibility for grantees to
request, on an annual basis, a reduction of the matching requirement in
a project year due to economic circumstances related to the COVID-19
pandemic. Recognizing that, in securing matching contributions,
grantees might continue to experience the economic effects of the
pandemic after it has subsided, the Department will consider requests
for up to one fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the
national emergency declaration concerning the pandemic, issued on March
13, 2020, under the National Emergencies Act, is lifted.
Final Requirement: (a) Matching funds for grant renewal.
Each grantee must contribute non-Federal matching funds or in-kind
donations equal to at least 15 percent of its SFEC grant award in
project years two through five.
At its discretion, in response to a request from the grantee, the
Department may reduce the percentage of the required non-Federal
matching contribution for a grantee for the current project year (e.g.,
for project year two in FY 2020), if requested by the grantee due to
circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grantees interested in
requesting a reduction of the 15 percent match must submit a written
request to the Department.
The request must be addressed to Beth Yeh at [email protected],
identify the new match percentage proposed, and explain why the
reduction is needed, including a discussion of how COVID-19 has
affected the grantee's ability to meet the 15 percent match. In
addition, the grantee must demonstrate that the change in match will
not affect achievement of the scope and objectives in the approved
grant application.
Note: All information in the NIA for this grant program remains
the same, except for the flexibility to request a reduction in the
15 percent matching program requirement.
Waiver of Notice and Comment Rulemaking and Delayed Effective Date
Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to
comment on proposed requirements. However, the APA provides that an
agency is not required to conduct notice and comment rulemaking when
the agency for good cause finds that notice and public comment thereon
are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B). Here, there is good cause to waive notice and comment
rulemaking, because going through the full rulemaking process would
delay the Department's ability to provide relief to grantees requesting
a reduction of their matching requirements in year two and subsequent
years of the grant.
The good cause exception is appropriate ``in emergency situations
or where delay could result in serious harm.'' See Jifry v. FAA, 370
F.3d 1174, 1179 (D.C. Cir. 2004) (internal citations omitted). ``The
public interest prong of the good cause exception to the APA notice and
comment requirement is met only in the rare circumstance when ordinary
procedures--generally presumed to serve the public interest--would in
fact harm that interest.'' Mack Trucks Inc. v. E.P.A., 682 F.3d 87, 95
(D.C. Cir. 2012).
The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated at a rapid pace and scale,
resulting in extraordinary circumstances including widespread school
closures and financial hardship in the nonprofit sector. Some grantees
are having trouble meeting their matching requirements in year two due
to financial difficulties of nonprofit organizations and reprogramming
of nonprofit funds to focus on COVID-19. They may also have
difficulties meeting their matching requirement in subsequent years.
Due to the emergency nature of this situation, there is not time for
notice and comment rulemaking. By allowing grantees to request a lower
matching requirement, they will be able to continue to address the
objectives in their grants, which are especially important during this
difficult time for families, including financial hardship and virtual
learning.
The APA also generally requires that regulations be published at
least 30 days before their effective date but excepts from that
requirement rules that grant or recognize an exemption or relieve a
restriction (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1)). Because this requirement relieves
restrictions on the required matching funds, this exception to the
delayed effective date under the APA applies.
Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 13771
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;
[[Page 49644]]
(3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlements, 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 final regulatory action is not a significant regulatory action
subject to review by OMB under section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order
12866.
Under Executive Order 13771, for each new regulation that the
Department proposes for notice and comment or otherwise promulgates
that is a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866 and
that imposes total costs greater than zero, it must identify two
deregulatory actions. For FY 2020, any new incremental costs associated
with a significant regulatory action must be fully offset by the
elimination of existing costs through deregulatory actions. Because the
final regulatory action is not significant, the requirements of
Executive Order 13771 do not apply. Pursuant to the Congressional
Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs designated this rule as not a ``major rule,'' as
defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
We have also reviewed this final 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 on 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 this final requirement only on a reasoned
determination that its benefits justify its costs. In choosing among
alternative regulatory approaches, we selected those approaches that
maximize net benefits. Based on the analysis that follows, the
Department believes that this final regulatory action is consistent
with the principles in Executive Order 13563.
We also have determined that this regulatory action does not unduly
interfere with State, local, and Tribal governments in the exercise of
their governmental functions.
In accordance with the Executive orders, the Department has
assessed the potential costs and benefits, both quantitative and
qualitative, of this regulatory action. The potential costs are those
resulting from statutory requirements and those we have determined as
necessary for administering the Department's programs and activities.
Discussion of Costs, Benefits, and Need for Regulatory Action
The Department recognizes that SFEC grantees provide resources to
support and improve parent and family engagement in education, which
now more than ever is of critical importance. We also understand that
matching requirements serve the significant purpose of leveraging non-
Federal resources to increase the impact of Federal grantmaking.
However, given the extraordinary economic circumstances surrounding the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Department believes we must provide flexibility
to SFEC grantees to request and implement a reduced matching
contribution where needed. Absent this regulatory action, the
Department would be obligated to take appropriate enforcement action
against a grantee that fails to comply with the 15 percent matching
requirement, which could include reducing the grantee's continuation
award or terminating its grant. Such actions if taken would inflict
greater harm on program beneficiaries than would adjustments to the
provision of project services occasioned by a reduced matching
contribution.
Based on currently available information, the Department estimates
that two of the 12 SFEC grantees will request a match reduction for the
current fiscal year (project year two), to one percent.\1\ Using an
average project year two continuation award of approximately $900,000,
a reduction from 15 percent to one percent would mean that matching
contributions would be reduced from $135,000 to $9,000, or by $126,000,
per grantee, for a total reduction of $252,000 in FY 2020 if each
request is approved. While this estimated reduction in matching
contributions might be considered a cost attributable to this
regulatory action, it is in any case minor relative to program funding
(2.5 percent of $10 million in FY 2020). Moreover, we note that,
consistent with the final requirement, no reduction to a matching
contribution may result in a change to the scope and objectives of a
grantee's project. Lastly, we believe any costs associated with this
action are outweighed by the benefits to stakeholders discussed in the
previous paragraph.
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\1\ Given uncertainty in the persistence of widespread economic
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in FY 2021 and (if applicable)
future years, the Department does not believe it can estimate with
confidence the number of SFEC grantees that will request a match
reduction in those years nor the reduction amounts.
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Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply to this rulemaking
because there is good cause to waive notice and comment under 5 U.S.C.
553.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This final regulatory action does not create any new information
collection requirements.
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.
[[Page 49645]]
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.
Betsy DeVos,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-17872 Filed 8-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
