2014-059271840-0807

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 52 / Tuesday, March 18, 2014 / Proposed Rules
fax to (202) 395–6974. You may also
send a copy of these comments to the
Department contact named in the
ADDRESSES section of this preamble or
submit electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://
www.regulations.gov by selecting
Docket ID number ED–2014–OPE–0037.
Please be advised that the public
comment period for submitting
comments on the notice of proposed
priorities (NPP) is the same for
submitting comments on the
information collection (IC); therefore,
use the NPP Docket number as the
identifier for both sets of comments.
You may, however, submit the NPP
comments and the IC comments
separately in the regulations.gov site.
We have prepared an ICR for this
collection. In preparing your comments
you may want to review the ICR, which
is available at www.reginfo.gov. Click on
Information Collection Review. This
proposed collection is identified as
proposed collection 1840–0808 ED–
2014–OPE–0037.
We consider your comments on this
proposed collection of information in—
• Deciding whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the proper
performance of our functions, including
whether the information will have
practical use;
• Evaluating the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection, including the validity of our
methodology and assumptions;
• Enhancing the quality, usefulness,
and clarity of the Information we
collect; and
• Minimizing the burden on those
who must respond.
This includes exploring the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques.
OMB is required to make a decision
concerning the collection of information
contained in these proposed regulations
between 30 and 60 days after
publication of this document in the
Federal Register. Therefore, to ensure
that OMB gives your comments full
consideration, it is important that OMB
receives your comments by April 17,
2014. This does not affect the deadline
for your comments to us on the
proposed regulations.
Intergovernmental Review: This
program is 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

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:26 Mar 17, 2014

Jkt 232001

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 program 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. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register
and the Code of Federal Regulations is
available via the Federal Digital System
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. 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 Adobe 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.
Dated: March 13, 2014.
Lynn B. Mahaffie,
Senior Director, Policy Coordination,
Development, and Accreditation Service,
delegated the authority to perform the
functions and duties of the Assistant
Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2014–05937 Filed 3–17–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter VI
[Docket No. ED–2014–OPE–0038; CFDA
Number: 84.015A.]

Proposed Priorities—National
Resource Centers Program
Office of Postsecondary
Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Proposed Priorities.
AGENCY:

The Acting Assistant
Secretary for Postsecondary Education
proposes two priorities for the National
Resource Centers (NRC) Program
administered by the International and
Foreign Language Education (IFLE)
Office. The Acting Assistant Secretary
may use these priorities for
competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2014
and later years. We take this action to

SUMMARY:

PO 00000

Frm 00028

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

15077

focus Federal financial assistance on an
identified national need. We intend the
priority to address a gap in the types of
institutions, faculty, and students that
have historically benefitted from the
instruction, training, and outreach
available at national resource centers
and to address a shortage in the number
of teachers entering the teaching
profession with international education
and world language training
certification and credentials.
DATES: We must receive your comments
on or before April 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery,
or hand delivery. We will not accept
comments submitted by fax or by email
or those submitted after the comment
period. To ensure that we do not receive
duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once. In addition, please
include the Docket ID at the top of your
comments.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov to submit your
comments electronically. Information
on using Regulations.gov, including
instructions for accessing agency
documents, submitting comments, and
viewing the docket, is available on the
site under ‘‘Are you new to the site?’’
• Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery,
or Hand Delivery: If you mail or deliver
your comments about these proposed
regulations, address them to Patricia
Barrett, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5142,
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP),
Washington, DC 20202–2700.
Privacy Note: The Department’s
policy is to make all comments received
from members of the public available for
public viewing in their entirety on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
commenters should be careful to
include in their comments only
information that they wish to make
publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cheryl E. Gibbs. Telephone: (202) 502–
7634 or by 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:

Invitation to Comment: We invite you
to submit comments on these proposed
priorities. To ensure that your
comments have maximum effect in
developing the final priorities, we urge
you to identify clearly the specific
priority that each comment addresses.

E:\FR\FM\18MRP1.SGM

18MRP1

15078

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 52 / Tuesday, March 18, 2014 / Proposed Rules

We invite you to assist us in
complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Orders 12866
and 13563 and their overall
requirements of reducing regulatory
burden that might result from these
proposed priorities. Please let us know
of any further ways we could reduce
potential costs or increase potential
benefits while preserving the effective
and efficient administration of the
program.
During and after the comment period,
you may inspect all public comments
about this notice in room 6083, 1990 K
St. NW., Washington, DC, between the
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, Monday through
Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals with
Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request we will
provide an appropriate accommodation
or auxiliary aid to an individual with a
disability who needs assistance to
review the comments or other
documents in the public rulemaking
record for this notice. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of
accommodation or auxiliary aid, please
contact the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Purpose of Program: The NRC
Program provides grants to institutions
of higher education or consortia of such
institutions to establish, strengthen, and
operate comprehensive and
undergraduate foreign language and area
or international studies centers that will
be national resources for: (a) Teaching of
any modern foreign language; (b)
instruction in fields needed to provide
full understanding of areas, regions, or
countries in which the modern language
is commonly used; (c) research and
training in international studies and the
international and foreign language
aspects of professional and other fields
of study; and (d) instruction and
research on issues in world affairs that
concern one or more countries.

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1122.

Applicable Program Regulations: 34
CFR parts 655 and 656.
Proposed Priorities: This notice
contains two proposed priorities.
Background:
The NRC Program is authorized by
section 602 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965, as amended (HEA). Through
this program, the Department makes
awards to institutions of higher
education, or consortia of institutions of
higher education, to establish,
strengthen, or operate nationally
recognized foreign language and area or
international studies centers or

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:26 Mar 17, 2014

Jkt 232001

programs. Grant awards may be used to
support undergraduate centers or
comprehensive centers that provide
training at undergraduate, graduate, and
professional levels.
The objective of the NRC Program is
to increase the national capacity in
world language instruction and
learning, instruction and research on
issues in world affairs, and instruction,
outreach, and teacher training in fields
needed to provide full understanding of
areas, regions, or countries in which the
world languages are used, among other
allowable activities.
We are proposing two priorities to
address a gap in the types of
institutions, faculty, and students that
have historically benefitted from the
instruction, training, and outreach
available at national resource centers
and to address a shortage in the number
of teachers entering the teaching
profession with international education
and world language training
certification and credentials.
We first propose a priority for
applications that propose collaborative
activities with a Minority-Serving
Institution (MSI) or a community
college. Currently the National Resource
Centers collaborate with MSIs and
community colleges only ad hoc. This,
however, limits the extent to which the
instruction, training, and professional
development resources are regularly
available to and accessed by students
and faculty at MSIs and community
colleges. We believe that by requiring
NRC institutions and MSIs and
community colleges to jointly plan,
conduct, and implement activities, the
international programming, student
instruction, career advising, and faculty
development opportunities on all
campuses will be strengthened and
expanded. These collaborations also
enhance institutional capacity to recruit
students into international studies and
foreign language training.
Research data indicate that minority
students are less likely to have access to,
or consider academic programs that
provide the requisite training for careers
in international service, including study
abroad and area studies. (Tillman,
‘‘Diversity in Education Workshop
Summary Report’’, September, 2010.)
Among the barriers preventing these
students from pursuing international
studies are a lack of exposure to
international opportunities, and lack of
access to information, including
information about international careers.
(Belyavina and Bhandari, ‘‘Increasing
Diversity in International Careers:
Economic Challenges and Solutions’’,
International Institute of Education,
November 2011.)

PO 00000

Frm 00029

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

We believe that by specifying the
types of institutional collaborations that
the National Resource Centers must
engage in, and the types of collaborative
activities they must conduct, the
activities are more likely both to have a
meaningful and measurable effect on
students and faculty at MSIs and
community colleges and be
institutionalized and sustained. We also
believe that successful institutional
collaborations of this nature will
increase the access of traditionally
underserved populations to
opportunities for international and
foreign language learning and the
visibility of international and foreign
language programs and activities on the
campuses of MSIs and community
colleges. For this priority, we propose a
definition of ‘‘Minority-Serving
Institution’’ that would include
institutions eligible to receive assistance
under §§ 316 through 320 of part A of
Title III, under part B of Title III, or
under Title V of the HEA.
The Department would use this
definition because both Title III and
Title V programs target college student
populations that are underrepresented
in international education. The
Department would like to increase the
representation of these groups through
collaborations between Title III/Title V
institutions and Title VI institutions.
Title III reflects our national interest
to provide support to those institutions
of higher education that serve lowincome and minority students so that
equality of access and quality of
postsecondary education opportunities
may be enhanced for all students. Under
the Title III, institutions may receive
designation of eligibility depending on
their submitted institutional evidence
documenting their student demographic
data.
Title V targets Hispanic-Serving
Institutions (HSIs) because of the high
percentage of Hispanic Americans who
are at risk of not enrolling in or
graduating from institutions of higher
education. The law was designed to
reduce disparities between the
enrollment of non-Hispanic white
students and Hispanic students in
postsecondary education, which
continue to rise.
Because the purpose of this priority to
extend the reach of NRCs to institutions
that have benefitted less from the
instruction, training, and outreach the
NRCs make available, we propose a
definition of ‘‘community college’’ for
use with this priority that is broader
than the definition in the HEA. The
definition of ‘‘junior or community
college’’ in section 312(f) of the HEA (20
U.S.C. 1058(f)) excludes institutions that

E:\FR\FM\18MRP1.SGM

18MRP1

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 52 / Tuesday, March 18, 2014 / Proposed Rules
award bachelor’s and graduate degrees.
For the purpose of this priority, we
propose to include in the definition of
‘‘community college’’ institutions that
offer bachelor’s or graduate degrees if
more than 50 percent of the degrees and
certificates they award are degrees and
certificates that are not bachelor’s or
graduate degrees. We propose this
definition to include institutions that
serve significant numbers of students
enrolled in programs traditionally
offered by community colleges, such as
associate degree and certificate
programs. We propose a second priority
for applicants that propose to
collaborate with schools or colleges of
education. This priority is designed to
help address the shortage of qualified
teachers who are trained, certified, and
credentialed to teach world languages in
kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12)
schools. The priority also is intended to
contribute to an increase in the number
of prospective teachers who have access
to international courses, training, and
cultural experiences that will help to
enhance their instructional practice. A
study commissioned by the National
Research Council of the National
Academies determined that the lack of
international and global teacher
preparation curricula and advanced
language training programs represent
major hurdles in addressing the current
critical shortage of language teachers.
The committee called for greater
collaboration among schools of
education and language, international,
and area studies departments to provide
better training for language teachers
(International Education and Foreign
Languages: Keys to Securing America’s
Future, The National Academies Press,
2007).
One of the invitational priorities for
the current FY 2010–2013 NRC grant
cycle encourages the NRCs to
collaborate with all professional schools
on their campuses, including schools of
business, law, public health, journalism,
and education. We propose the second
priority to focus specifically on
collaborations with the college or school
of education on the NRC campus. This
targeted collaboration is designed to
help provide future teachers with the
training required to teach world
languages and international studies
courses. This cadre of teachers is vital
to teaching students to live and work in
a world with diverse peoples, languages,
and cultures that are ever more
interconnected.
This priority both supports the
teacher training purpose of the NRC
Program and contributes to the vision
for teaching and leading reflected in the
Department’s Blueprint for Recognizing

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:26 Mar 17, 2014

Jkt 232001

Educational Success, Professional
Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching
(RESPECT), which aims, among other
things, to elevate and transform teaching
and learning so that all students are
prepared to meet the demands of the
21st century. Research compiled during
the preparation of the RESPECT
blueprint concluded that students with
effective teachers perform at higher
levels, and have higher graduation rates,
higher college-going rates, higher levels
of civic participation, and higher
lifetime earnings. The research also
concluded that attracting a highperforming and diverse pool of talented
individuals to become teachers is a
critical priority (http://www2.ed.gov/
documents/respect/blueprint-forrespect.pdf).
This priority would promote the
increased integration of international,
intercultural, and global perspectives in
teacher education and would enhance
the capabilities of teachers to provide
instruction in foreign languages and
international and area studies.
The priorities are: Proposed Priority 1:
Applications that propose significant
and sustained collaborative activities
with a Minority-Serving Institution
(MSI) (as defined in this notice) or a
community college (as defined in this
notice). These activities must be
designed to incorporate international,
intercultural, or global dimensions into
the curriculum of the MSI or
community college, and to improve
foreign language, area, and international
studies or international business
instruction on the MSI or community
college campus.
For the purpose of this priority:
Community college means an
institution that meets the definition in
section 312(f) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1058(f)); or an institution of higher
education (as defined in section 101 of
the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that awards
degrees and certificates, more than 50
percent of which are not bachelor’s
degrees (or an equivalent) or master’s,
professional, or other advanced degrees.
Minority-Serving Institution means an
institution that is eligible to receive
assistance under sections 316 through
320 of part A of Title III, under part B
of Title III, or under Title V of the HEA.
Proposed Priority 2: Applications that
propose collaborative activities with
schools or colleges of education to
support the integration of an
international, intercultural, or global
dimension and world languages into
teacher education and to promote the
preparation and credentialing of more
foreign language teachers in less
commonly taught languages.
Types of Priorities:

PO 00000

Frm 00030

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

15079

When inviting applications for a
competition using one or more
priorities, we designate the type of each
priority as absolute, competitive
preference, or invitational through a
notice in the Federal Register. The
effect of each type of priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute
priority, we consider only applications
that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)
(3)).
Competitive preference priority:
Under a competitive preference priority,
we give competitive preference to an
application by (1) awarding additional
points, depending on the extent to
which the application meets the priority
(34 CFR 75.105(c) (2) (i)); or (2) selecting
an application that meets the priority
over an application of comparable merit
that does not meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c) (2) (ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an
invitational priority, we are particularly
interested in applications that meet the
priority. However, we do not give an
application that meets the priority a
preference over other applications (34
CFR 75.105(c) (1)).
Final Priorities:
We will announce the final priorities
in a notice in the Federal Register. We
will determine the final priorities after
considering responses to this notice and
other information available to the
Department. This notice does not
preclude us from proposing additional
priorities, requirements, definitions, or
selection criteria, subject to meeting
applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit
applications. In any year in which we choose
to use one or more of these priorities we
invite applications through a notice in the
Federal Register.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Regulatory Impact Analysis
Under Executive Order 12866, the
Secretary must determine whether this
proposed 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);

E:\FR\FM\18MRP1.SGM

18MRP1

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

15080

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 52 / Tuesday, March 18, 2014 / Proposed Rules

(2) Create serious inconsistency or
otherwise interfere with an action taken
or planned by another agency;
(3) Materially alter the budgetary
impacts of entitlement 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 proposed regulatory action is not
a significant regulatory action subject to
review by OMB under section 3(f) of
Executive Order 12866.
We have also reviewed this proposed
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
upon 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 these proposed
priorities only on a reasoned
determination that their benefits would
justify their costs. In choosing among

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:26 Mar 17, 2014

Jkt 232001

alternative regulatory approaches, we
selected those approaches that would
maximize net benefits. Based on the
analysis that follows, the Department
believes that this regulatory action is
consistent with the principles in
Executive Order 13563.
We also have determined that this
regulatory action would not unduly
interfere with State, local, and tribal
governments in the exercise of their
governmental functions.
In accordance with both 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.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
As part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burden, the Department provides the
general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on
proposed and continuing collections of
information in accordance with the PRA
(44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). The
Department plans to revise the
information collection for the NRC
Program by including more detailed
guidance to assist applicants in
responding to the Impact and
Evaluation selection criterion in
§§ 656.21 and 656.22 of the NRC
Program regulations and by requiring a
new performance measure form (PMF).
The PMF will require applicants to
identify project goals and projectspecific measures for the NRC Program
project they propose to conduct.
Information will also be provided on
how applicants, should they become
grantees, will meet and report on the
Government Performance and Results
Act (GPRA) measures that have been
developed for the NRC Program.
The IFLE Office developed this PMF
so that applicants may propose projects
with high-quality implementation plans
at the outset and will require them to
lay a stronger foundation for reporting
progress and performance results.
Additionally, the form will provide the
Department information that is more
useful and valid in demonstrating to
Congress and other stakeholders the
impact of NRC projects.
And finally, the PMF is designed to
provide a standardized format that
applicants can use to present
performance information in their
applications. The PMF requests the
following: (a) Project goal statement; (b)
Performance measure; (c) Project

PO 00000

Frm 00031

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

activity; (d) Data/Indices; (e) Frequency
of collection; (f) Data source; and (g)
Baseline and targets.
We will also include in the
information collection detailed
guidance on how applicants can
respond to the ‘‘Impact and Evaluation’’
criterion in a more comprehensive and
compelling manner.
In order to mitigate against a
significant increase in respondent
burden, applicants will be required to
complete only items (a), (b), and (c) on
the PMF when they submit their FY
2014 grant applications. If the
application is recommended for
funding, we will require the submission
of fully completed forms.
We anticipate that the Impact and
Evaluation narrative and the PMFs may
result in some additional time
requirements in the application
preparation, but will reduce the total
burden hours for performance reporting
because the form is designed to facilitate
data collection and reporting. We expect
the new evaluation plan for this
information collection will increase the
applicant burden by an estimated 50
hours per response for a total burden of
450 hours per response. We believe that
this additional time will improve the
quality of the submitted applications
and subsequently improve the
application review, grant making, and
performance reporting processes. When
the awards are made, grantees will
already be fully aware of the reporting
requirements.
If you want to comment on the
proposed information collection
requirements, please send your
comments to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention:
Desk Officer for U.S. Department of
Education. Send these comments by
email to [email protected]
or by fax to (202) 395–6974. You may
also send a copy of these comments to
the Department contact named in the
ADDRESSES section of this preamble or
submit electronically through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://
www.regulations.gov by selecting
Docket ID ED–2014–OPE–0038.
Please be advised that the public
comment period for submitting
comments on the notice of proposed
priorities (NPP) is the same for
submitting comments on the
information collection (IC); therefore,
use the NPP Docket number as the
identifier for both sets of comments.
You may, however, submit the NPP
comments and the IC comments
separately in the regulations.gov site.
We have prepared an ICR for this
collection. In preparing your comments
you may want to review the ICR, which

E:\FR\FM\18MRP1.SGM

18MRP1

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 52 / Tuesday, March 18, 2014 / Proposed Rules
is available at www.reginfo.gov. Click on
Information Collection Review. This
proposed collection is identified as
proposed collection 1840–0807 ED–
2014–OPE–0038.
We consider your comments on this
proposed collection of information in—
• Deciding whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the proper
performance of our functions, including
whether the information will have
practical use;
• Evaluating the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection, including the validity of our
methodology and assumptions;
• Enhancing the quality, usefulness,
and clarity of the Information we
collect; and
• Minimizing the burden on those
who must respond. This includes
exploring the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques.
OMB is required to make a decision
concerning the collection of information
contained in these proposed regulations
between 30 and 60 days after
publication of this document in the
Federal Register. Therefore, to ensure
that OMB gives your comments full
consideration, it is important that OMB
receives your comments by April 17,
2014. This does not affect the deadline
for your comments to us on the
proposed regulations.
Intergovernmental Review: This
program is 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 program 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. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register
and the Code of Federal Regulations is
available via the Federal Digital System
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you
can view this document, as well as all
other documents of this Department
published in the Federal Register, in

VerDate Mar<15>2010

17:26 Mar 17, 2014

Jkt 232001

15081

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

your comments about these proposed
regulations, address them to Patricia
Barrett, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 5142,
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP),
Washington, DC 20202–2700.
Privacy Note: The Department’s
policy is to make all comments received
from members of the public available for
public viewing in their entirety on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
commenters should be careful to
include in their comments only
information that they wish to make
publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate
Maloney. Telephone: (202) 502–7509 or
by 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.

34 CFR Chapter VI

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

text or Adobe 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.
Dated: March 13, 2014.
Lynn B. Mahaffie,
Senior Director, Policy Coordination,
Development, and Accreditation Service,
delegated the authority to perform the
functions and duties of the Assistant
Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2014–05927 Filed 3–17–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

[Docket ID ED–2014–OPE–0035; CFDA
Number: 84.015B.]

Proposed Priority—Foreign Language
and Area Studies Fellowships (FLAS)
Program
Office of Postsecondary
Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Proposed priority.
AGENCY:

The Acting Assistant
Secretary for Postsecondary Education
proposes a priority for the FLAS
Program administered by the
International and Foreign Language
Education (IFLE) Office. The Acting
Assistant Secretary may use this priority
for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2014
and later years.
DATES: We must receive your comments
on or before April 17, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery,
or hand delivery. We will not accept
comments submitted by fax or by email
or those submitted after the comment
period. To ensure that we do not receive
duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once. In addition, please
include the Docket ID at the top of your
comments.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov to submit your
comments electronically. Information
on using Regulations.gov, including
instructions for accessing agency
documents, submitting comments, and
viewing the docket, is available on the
site under ‘‘Are you new to the site?’’
• Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery,
or Hand Delivery: If you mail or deliver
SUMMARY:

PO 00000

Frm 00032

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

Invitation to Comment: We invite you
to submit comments regarding this
notice. To ensure that your comments
have maximum effect in developing the
final priority, we urge you to identify
clearly the part of the priority your
comment addresses.
We invite you to assist us in
complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866
and 13563 and their overall requirement
of reducing regulatory burden that
might result from this proposed priority.
Please let us know of any further ways
we could reduce potential costs or
increase potential benefits while
preserving the effective and efficient
administration of the program.
During and after the comment period,
you may inspect all comments about
this notice in Room 6083, 1990 K St.
NW., Washington, DC, between the
hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,
Washington, DC, time, Monday through
Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals with
Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request we will
provide an appropriate accommodation
or auxiliary aid to an individual with a
disability who needs assistance to
review the comments or other
documents in the public rulemaking
record for this notice. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of
accommodation or auxiliary aid, please
contact the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Purpose of Program: The purpose of
the FLAS Fellowships Program is to
provide allocations of academic year
and summer fellowships to institutions

E:\FR\FM\18MRP1.SGM

18MRP1