94-12788. State-Administered Programs and Federal, State, and Local Partnership for Educational Improvement; Proposed Rule DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12788]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 26, 1994]


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Part III





Department of Education





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34 CFR Parts 76 and 298




State-Administered Programs and Federal, State, and Local Partnership 
for Educational Improvement; Proposed Rule
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Parts 76 and 298

 
State-Administered Programs and Federal, State, and Local 
Partnership for Educational Improvement

AGENCY: Education.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary has decided to issue the final regulations 
amending part 76 of the Education Department General Administrative 
Regulations (EDGAR) this summer and to defer for one year their 
application. Once issued, the final regulations amending part 76 would 
require a State to submit its State plan and other related documents 
under a given program by a date certain or face deferral of the date on 
which the State may begin to obligate funds under the program. The 
Secretary also defers until the final regulations become effective the 
decision not to grant pre-award costs before the date a State may begin 
to obligate funds. The Secretary takes these actions to assist States 
in the transition to full implementation of the Cash Management 
Improvement Act of 1990.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Wathen-Dunn, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., room 4091, Washington, DC 20202-
2243. Telephone: [phone]. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 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: On December 16, 1993 the Secretary published 
a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (58 FR 65856) that proposed to 
amend 34 CFR 76.703 to delay the date a State may begin to obligate 
funds under a State administered program if certain circumstances 
existed involving late submission of a State plan. The Secretary also 
stated his intention not to authorize pre-award costs to any State that 
was late in submitting its State plan. The proposed amendment and the 
decision about pre-award costs were made necessary by the passage of 
the Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 (CMIA). The effect of the 
CMIA and the proposed rule are described in the NPRM.
    The Secretary received 60 comments in response to the NPRM from 
State educational agencies, State fiscal offices, a trust territory, 
the Treasury Department, and three national organizations. Most States 
asked the Department to defer the proposed rule so that it would not 
apply to funds made available for obligation this calendar year. The 
commenters also asked that the Secretary not apply the decision not to 
grant pre-award costs this year if a State is late in submitting its 
State plan. In addition to asking for the deferrals, the commenters 
raised many questions that must be answered before the rule can be 
issued and become effective. The Secretary has decided to issue the 
final rule this summer and defer its application to the submission of 
state plans made in the spring and summer of 1995. The Secretary also 
has decided to defer the decision not to grant pre-award costs. These 
decisions are intended to give States additional time to adjust their 
State plan development processes to the timelines envisioned for the 
submission of state plans in 1995. This deferral will also give the 
Department the time needed to fully answer all of the questions raised 
by the commenters and to make any changes to the proposed rule that may 
be appropriate in the light of the comments. However, for this 
transitional year, the Secretary encourages States to submit plans on a 
timely basis, as proposed in the NPRM.
    The Secretary plans to publish a final rulemaking document this 
summer that will apply to State plan submissions made in the spring or 
summer of 1995. That final rulemaking document will amend 34 CFR 76.703 
and implement the decision not to grant pre-award costs to a State that 
is late in submitting a State plan.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)

    Dated: May 19, 1994.

Richard Riley,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 94-12788 Filed 5-25-94; 8:45 am]
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