30-Day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 26, 2020 / Notices
Title: State Approving Agency Reports
and Notices.
OMB Control Number: 2900–0051.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Abstract: Information collected under
38 CFR 21.4154—The SAA reports its
activities to VA quarterly. The SAA
does so electronically by completing a
web-based screen. VA uses the
information in the reports to support the
reimbursement of activities of the SAA.
Information collected under 38 CFR
21.4250(b), 21.4258, and 21.4259—The
SAA prepares notices of approval to
inform educational institutions, training
establishments, and organizations or
entities that their courses, training, or
tests are not approved or the approval
of previously approved courses,
training, or tests is suspended. The SAA
must also send VA a copy of each of
these notices. There are 57 SAAs, each
with its own jurisdiction for approval of
courses, training, or tests. Some States
have more than one SAA because one
internal agency is responsible for
schools, another for workplace training.
Additionally, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
have authorized SAA jurisdictions.
The SAA approves, disapproves, or
suspends program approval based on
the criteria in 38 U.S.C. chapter 36.
Some of the criteria used in these
determinations include site visits; and
review of course materials, training
programs, instructors’ credentials, or
review of tests for licensure and
certification.
VA uses the approval notice
information (or lack thereof) to
determine if payment of educational
assistance is appropriate. Under 38
U.S.C. 3680, VA may not provide
educational assistance to any eligible
veteran or eligible person if his or her
educational program or training
program does not meet the requirements
of 38 U.S.C. 3670 et seq. Without these
notices, VA would not know which
programs the SAA determined met the
criteria in 38 U.S.C. chapter 36. Without
disapproval notices, or notices of
suspended approval, VA would make
inappropriate payments to Veterans and
their dependents. 38 CFR 21.4258(a)
requires the SAA list individual
programs approved in the notice. This
requirement is needed since not all
courses/programs an educational
institution provides are approvable
under 38 U.S.C. chapter 36. For
example, some schools offer courses
that are recreational in nature. Payment
for recreational courses is prohibited
under 38 U.S.C. 3680A. Listing
approved courses in the notice ensures

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VA pays educational assistance for only
those courses/programs approved.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. The Federal Register
Notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting comments on this collection
of information was published at 85 FR
80 on April 24, 2020, page 23139.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Estimated Annual Burden: 68,043
hours.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 15 hours.
Frequency of Response: Once
Quarterly.
Actual Number of Respondents:
4,578.
By direction of the Secretary.
Danny S. Green,
VA Clearance Officer, Office of Quality,
Performance and Risk, Department of
Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020–18694 Filed 8–25–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS
[OMB Control No. 2900–0657]

Agency Information Collection Activity
Under OMB Review: Conflicting
Interests Certification for Proprietary
Schools
Veterans Benefits
Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995
this notice announces that the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA),
Department of Veterans Affairs, will
submit the collection of information
abstracted below to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and comment. The PRA
submission describes the nature of the
information collection and its expected
cost and burden; it includes the actual
data collection instrument.
DATES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Refer to ‘‘OMB Control
No. 2900–0657.’’
SUMMARY:

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Danny S. Green, Enterprise Records
Service (005R1B), Department of
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 421–
1354 or email [email protected].
Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900–
0657’’ in any correspondence.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3683; 38 CFR
21.4200(z); 38 CFR 21.4202(c); 38 CFR
21.5200(c); 38 CFR 21.7122(e)(6); and 38
CFR 21.7622(f)(4)(iv).
Title: Conflicting Interests
Certification for Proprietary Schools.
OMB Control Number: 2900–0657.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Abstract: Schools are required to
submit information necessary to
determine if their programs of training
are approved for the payment of VA
educational assistance. This specified
information is submitted either to VA or
to the State Approving Agency (SAA)
having jurisdiction over that school.
Certain schools are considered
‘‘proprietary’’ schools. A proprietary
educational institution, as defined in 38
CFR 21.4200(z), is a private institution
legally authorized to offer a program of
education in the State where the
institution is physically located. Section
3683 of title 38, U.S.C., and sections of
title 38 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) establish conflict of
interest restrictions related to
proprietary schools. The VA Form 22–
1919 is the instrument VA has
implemented to address these
restrictions.
(a) VA Form 22–1919 is only used to
collect information on two issues:
(i) Section 3683 of title 38, U.S.C.,
prohibits employees of VA and the SAA
from owning any interest in an
educational institution operated forprofit. In addition, the law prohibits VA
or SAA employees from receiving any
wages, salary, dividends, profits, or gifts
from private for-profit schools in which
an eligible person is pursuing a program
of education under an educational
assistance program administered by VA.
In addition, the law prohibits VA
employees from receiving any services
from these schools. These provisions
may be waived if VA determines that no
detriment will result to the government,
or to Veterans or eligible persons
enrolled at that private for-profit school.
Item 1 of VA Form 22–1919 collects the
name and title of affected VA and SAA
employees known by the President (or
Chief Administrative Official) of the
school, as well as a description of these
employees’ association with that school.
(ii) Sections 21.4202(c), 21.5200(c),
21.7122(e)(6), and 21.7622(f)(4)(iv) of

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 166 / Wednesday, August 26, 2020 / Notices

title 38 of the CFR prohibit the approval
of educational assistance from VA for
the enrollment of an eligible person in
any proprietary school where the trainee
is an official authorized to sign
certifications of enrollment. Item 2 of
VA Form 22–1919 collects the following
information for each certifying official,
owner, or officer who receives VA
educational assistance based on an
enrollment in that proprietary school:
The name and title of these employees;
VA file numbers; and dates of
enrollment at the proprietary school.
(b) VA only collects this information
at the time one (or more) of these events
occurs:
(i) The initial approval of a program
or course at a proprietary for-profit
school;
(ii) Any change of ownership of the
school (either reported by the school or
found upon review of a school’s records
during VA’s ‘‘compliance survey’’);
(iii) A change in proprietary status
(from non-proprietary to proprietary, or
from non-profit to profit status).
When the SAA, or VA acting as the
SAA, visits the school in connection
with the school’s request for approval of
its program(s), the representative has

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either the school’s President or chief
administrative official sign VA Form
22–1919. VA’s Education Liaison
Representative (ELR) will associate the
completed VA Form 22–1919 with the
other documentation compiled for
approval of the school’s program(s) and
will retain this information in the
approval folder. The approval folder is
retained until such time as the SAA or
VA withdraws approval of all courses at
the school. All information in the
approval folder is then destroyed
according to established record control
schedules.
(c) The following administrative and
legal requirements affect proprietary
schools as defined in 38 CFR 21.4200(z)
and necessitate the VA Form 22–1919
collection:
i. 38 U.S.C. 3683, Conflicting
Interests. Impacts proprietary for-profit
schools only.
ii. Regulations that reflect the
restrictions applicable to all proprietary
schools:
A. 38 CFR 21.4202(c). Overcharges;
restrictions on enrollments. Restrictions;
proprietary schools.
B. 38 CFR 21.5200(c). Schools.
Overcharges; restrictions on

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enrollments. Restrictions; proprietary
schools.
C. 38 CFR 21.7122(e)(6). Courses
precluded. Other courses.
D. 38 CFR 21.7622(f)(4)(iv). Courses
precluded. Other courses.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. The Federal Register
Notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting comments on this collection
of information was published on 85, FR,
120, June 22, 2020, at pages 37498–
37499.
Affected Public: Institutions of Higher
Learning.
Estimated Annual Burden: 56 hours.
Estimated Average Burden per
Respondent: 10 minutes.
Frequency of Response: Occasionally.
Actual Number of Respondents: 336.
By direction of the Secretary.
Danny S. Green,
VA Clearance Officer, Office of Quality,
Performance and Risk, Department of
Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020–18742 Filed 8–25–20; 8:45 am]
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