E9-8690. Request for Nominations of Members To Serve on the Bureau of Indian Education Advisory Board for Exceptional Children

AGENCY:

Bureau of Indian Education, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of request for nominations.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by Public Law 108-446 (IDEA of 2004), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) requests nominations of individuals to serve on the Advisory Board for Exceptional Children (Advisory Board). The BIE will consider nominations received in response to this Request for Nominations, as well as other sources. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for this notice provides committee and membership criteria.

DATES:

Nomination applications must be received on or before May 15, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Please submit nomination applications to Gloria Yepa, Supervisory Education Specialist, Bureau of Indian Education, Albuquerque Service Center, Division of Performance and Accountability, P.O. Box 1088, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103-1088; telephone [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gloria Yepa, Supervisory Education Specialist, at the above listed address; telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Advisory Board was established in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463. The following provides information about the Advisory Board, the membership and the nomination process.

Objective and Duties

(a) Members of the Advisory Board will provide guidance, advice and recommendations with respect to special education and related services for children with disabilities in BIE-funded schools in accordance with the requirements of IDEA of 2004.

(b) The Advisory Board will:

(1) Provide advice and recommendations for the coordination of services within the BIE and with other local, State and Federal agencies.

(2) Provide advice and recommendations on a broad range of policy issues dealing with the provision of educational services to American Indian children with disabilities.

(3) Serve as advocates for American Indian students with special education needs by providing advice and recommendations regarding best practices, effective program coordination strategies, and recommendations for improved educational programming.

(4) Provide advice and recommendations for the preparation of information required to be submitted to the Secretary of Education under section 611(h)(2)(D).

(5) Provide advice and recommend policies concerning effective inter/intra-agency collaboration, including modifications to regulations, and the elimination of barriers to inter/intra-agency programs and activities.

(6) Report and direct all correspondence to the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs through the Director, BIE with a courtesy copy to the Designated Federal Official (DFO).

Membership

(a) As required by IDEA of 2004, section 611(h)(6), the Advisory Board shall be composed of individuals involved in or concerned with the education and provision of services to Indian infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. The Advisory Board composition will reflect a broad range of viewpoints and will include at least one (1) member representing each of the following interests: Indians with disabilities; teachers of children with disabilities; Indian parents or guardians of children with disabilities; service providers, State Education Officials; Local Education Officials; State Interagency Coordinating Councils (for States having Indian reservations); tribal representatives or tribal organization representatives; and other members representing the various divisions and entities of the BIE.

(b) The Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs may provide the Secretary of the Interior recommendations for the chairperson; however, the chairperson and other Advisory Board members will be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. The Advisory Board members shall serve staggered terms of 2 years or 3 years from the date of their appointment.

Miscellaneous

(a) Members of the Advisory Board will not receive compensation, but will be reimbursed for travel, including subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in Government Service under 5 U.S.C. 5703.

(b) A member may not participate in matters that will directly affect, or appear to affect, the financial interests of the member or the member's spouse or minor children, unless authorized by the DFO. Compensation from employment does not constitute a financial interest of the member so long as the matter before the Advisory Board will not have a special or distinct effect on the member or the member's employer, other than as part of a class. The provisions of this paragraph do not affect any other statutory or regulatory ethical obligations to which a member may be subject.

(c) The Advisory Board meets at least twice a year, budget permitting, but additional meetings may be held as deemed necessary by the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs or DFO.

(d) All Advisory Board meetings are open to the public in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act regulations.

Nomination Information

(a) Nominations are requested from individuals, organizations, and federally recognized tribes, as well as from State Directors of Special Education (within the 23 States in which BIE-funded schools are located) concerned with the education of Indian children with disabilities as described above.

(b) Nominees should have expertise and knowledge of the issues and/or needs of American Indian children with disabilities. Such knowledge and expertise are needed to provide advice and recommendations to the BIE regarding the needs of American Indian children with disabilities.

(c) A summary of the candidate's qualifications (résumé or curriculum vitae) must be included with the nomination application. Nominees must have the ability to attend Advisory Board meetings, carry out Advisory Board assignments, participate in teleconference calls, and work in groups.

(d) The Department of the Interior is committed to equal opportunity in the workplace and seeks diverse Advisory Board membership, which is bound by the Indian Preference Act of 1990 (25 U.S.C. 472).

Dated: March 26, 2009.

George T. Skibine,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development.