[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 43 (Monday, March 4, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8454-8455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4911]
[[Page 8453]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VIII
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
34 CFR Part 75
Education Department General Administrative Regulations--Direct Grant
Programs; Final Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 1996 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 8454]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 75
RIN 1880-AA68
Education Department General Administrative Regulations--Direct
Grant Programs
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Final Regulations.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) that govern discretionary grant
programs. These regulations clarify that the Secretary may reject
applications that propose project funding levels that exceed the
maximum award amount established in an application notice published in
the Federal Register. The Secretary issues these regulations to clarify
the meaning of existing regulations that govern the application review
process.
EFFECTIVE DATE: These regulations take effect on April 3, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary A. Smith, Office of the General
Counsel, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW.,
Room 5113, FB10, Washington, D.C. 20202-2241. Individuals who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.,
Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary takes this action to implement
a recommendation made by a quality improvement team for improving the
discretionary grant award process.
Under current practice, the Department reviews applications that
exceed the upper dollar limit of the estimated range of grant awards
expected to be made under a competition but, when the awards are made,
in most cases, the Department funds the projects at amounts within the
funding range.
In conducting competitions, the Department generally publishes
application notices that specify the estimated amounts or estimated
ranges of awards. However, because these amounts or ranges are
estimated, applicants often request funding at levels above the
estimated levels. Under most competitions, the practice of the
Department has been to establish grant award amounts for successful
applicants that are at or below the amounts specified in the estimates.
However, in some cases, the Department has made awards that exceeded
the estimates specified in the application notice.
The Department has been guided by the underlying principle that
applicants for discretionary grants must be afforded basic fairness in
the competitive grant award process. Most of the time applicants who
propose projects that exceed the upper limit of the specified range of
awards can propose to do significantly more than applicants who propose
funding consistent with the estimates. In these circumstances,
applicants who request funds that exceed these amounts are likely to
receive better scores from reviewers. If those applicants are then
selected for funding, the Department, in most cases, negotiates with
the applicants to reduce the cost of the projects to bring them within
the estimated funding range. As a result, many of the activities in
these applications have to be significantly modified, reduced, or
eliminated. The result is that the projects negotiated for final award
often differ substantially from the applications that were highly rated
by the reviewers. This practice has the potential of rewarding
applicants who originally request funding above the funding range and
penalizing applicants who follow the estimates.
However, this is not always the case. Sometimes the Department is
unsure what a highly qualified project should cost. This is especially
true when an educational technology is being explored or the Department
is supporting research in a new field. In these situations, the
Department may not have confidence that it has correctly estimated what
the funded projects will cost. Thus, the Secretary would not put a
maximum limitation on the competition to account for the possibility
that applicants might need more funds than specified in the expected
range in order to successfully implement the program's goals.
These regulations would clarify that the Secretary has discretion
to establish funding limits for awards, and provide for the inclusion
of information on maximum funding levels in application notices.
Under Sec. 75.101(a)(2), the Secretary may include in an
application notice the amount of funds available for grants and the
estimated number and amounts of those grants. Some application notices
have included the estimated amount of funds available for each grant,
and some application notices have given an estimated award amount. As
the provision in Sec. 75.101(a)(2) is currently worded, it is unclear
whether the application notice may include a maximum award amount.
These amendments to Sec. 75.101 clarify that the Secretary may include
an estimated amount of funds available for each grant and, if
appropriate, a maximum amount of funds available for each grant.
The Secretary also amends 34 CFR 75.104 to require that if a
maximum award amount is established, the Secretary may reject
applications that propose a budget that would exceed the maximum award
amount.
These amendments will ensure better service to the Department's
customers by permitting the Department to reject applications that
exceed a maximum amount. This process will enable the Department to
make awards more quickly and at less cost.
Executive Order 12866
These regulations have been reviewed in accordance with Executive
Order 12866. Under the terms of the order the Secretary has assessed
the potential costs and benefits of the regulatory action.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--the Secretary has determined that the benefits of the
regulations in clarifying and improving the Department's grant
application review process justify the costs.
The Secretary has also determined that this regulatory action does
not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
Summary of potential costs and benefits: There are no identified
costs associated with these regulations. The potential benefits of
these regulations are discussed elsewhere in this preamble under the
following heading: Supplementary Information.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that these regulations would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The small entities affected would be small local educational agencies,
community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and
institutions of higher education. However, these regulations would have
no economic impact on any of the entities affected and would merely
ensure a fairer application review process.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
These regulations have been examined under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 and have been found to contain no information collection
requirements.
[[Page 8455]]
Waiver of Rulemaking
It is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed regulations in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553). However, because the
Secretary is interpreting existing regulations to allow an application
notice to include an estimated amount of funds available for each grant
or a maximum amount of funds available for each grant and because the
Secretary is establishing a procedural rule necessary for the
Department to conduct grant application review processes, the Secretary
has determined, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), that proposed
rulemaking requirements do not apply.
List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 75
Education Department, Grant programs--education, Grant
administration, Incorporation by reference.
Dated: February 28, 1996.
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)
The Secretary amends Part 75 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
PART 75--DIRECT GRANT PROGRAMS
1. The authority citation for Part 75 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3 and 3474, unless otherwise noted.
2. Section 75.101 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(2) to read
as follows:
Sec. 75.101 Information in the application notice that helps an
applicant apply.
(a) * * *
(2) The amount of funds available for grants, the estimated number
of those grants, the estimated amounts of those grants and, if
appropriate, the maximum award amounts of those grants.
* * * * *
3. Section 75.104 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 75.104 Applicants must meet procedural rules.
(a) The Secretary may make a grant only to an eligible party that
submits an application.
(b) If a maximum award amount is established in a notice published
in the Federal Register, the Secretary may reject without consideration
or evaluation any application that proposes a project funding level
that exceeds the stated maximum award amount.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3 and 3474)
[FR Doc. 96-4911 Filed 3-1-96; 8:45 am]
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