[Federal Register: May 28, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 103)]
[Notices]
[Page 29189-29191]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28my99-143]
[[Page 29189]]
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Part VII
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Final
Funding Priority for Fiscal Year 1999; Notice
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; Inviting
Applications and Pre-Application Meeting for a New Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Project for Fiscal Year 1999; Notice
[[Page 29190]]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research;
Notice of Final Funding Priority for Fiscal Year 1999 for a Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Project
AGENCY: Department of Education.
SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a final funding priority for a
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP) by the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for fiscal
year 1999. The Secretary takes this action to focus research attention
on areas of national need. This priority is intended to improve
rehabilitation services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This priority takes effect on June 28, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of
Education, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3418, Switzer Building,
Washington, DC. 20202-2645. Telephone: (202) 205-5880. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the TDD
number at (202) 205-2742. Internet: Donna__Nangle@ed.gov.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
Waiver of Rulemaking
Pursuant to section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions
Act, the Secretary has determined that this priority is exempt from the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553). Section 437(d)(1) exempts
from rulemaking the first grant competition under a new or
substantially revised program authority. This is NIDRR's first grant
competition under Section 21(b)(2)(A) since that Section was amended by
the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice contains a final priority under
the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program
for a DRRP on Building Research Capacity. There is a reference in the
proposed priority to NIDRR's Long-Range Plan (LRP). The LRP can be
accessed on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/
FedRegister/announcements/1998-4/102698a.html.
This final priority supports the National Education Goal that calls
for every adult American to possess the skills necessary to compete in
a global economy.
The authority for the Secretary to establish research priorities by
reserving funds to support particular research activities is contained
in sections 202(g) and 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended (29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764).
Note: This notice of final priority does not solicit
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition
will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with or
following the publication of the notice of final priority.
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects
Authority for Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects
(DRRPs) is contained in section 204(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 764(a)). DRRPs carry out one or more of the
following types of activities, as specified in 34 CFR 350.13-350.19:
research, development, demonstration, training, dissemination,
utilization, and technical assistance. Disability and Rehabilitation
Research Projects develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation
technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into
society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic
and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities,
especially individuals with the most severe disabilities. In addition,
DRRPs improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary gives an absolute
preference to applications that meet the following priority. The
Secretary will fund under this competition only applications that meet
this priority.
Priority: Building Research Capacity
Introduction
The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 modified Section 21,
Traditionally Underserved Populations. Section 21 is based on
Congressional findings that the demographic profile of the United
States is changing to include higher proportions of individuals from
racial and ethnic minorities and that the prevalence of disability is
disproportionately high among racial and ethnic minorities. At the same
time, there have been documented patterns of inequitable treatment for
minorities in the vocational rehabilitation process; and there is a
need to have more qualified individuals from traditionally underserved
populations working in the field of rehabilitation.
Section 21 provides for a set-aside of one percent of
appropriations for programs under certain Titles of the Act to address
these problems through activities carried out under those programs.
This priority, announced under Section 21(b)(2)(A), is to support an
award to a minority entity or Indian tribe to carry out activities
authorized under Title II of the Act. As defined by the Act in Section
21(b)(5)(B), a minority entity means a Historically Black College or
University (HBCU), a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education,
an American Indian tribal college or university, or another institution
of higher education whose minority student enrollment is at least 50
percent.
Section 204(a)(2)(B)(vi) of Title II authorizes NIDRR to support
``related activities which hold the promise of increasing knowledge and
improving methods in the rehabilitation of individuals with
disabilities . . . particularly individuals . . . who are members of
populations that are unserved or underserved by programs under this
Act.'' Section 202(h)(2)(F) requires that the LRP ``specify plans for
widespread dissemination of the results of covered activities that
concern individuals with disabilities who are members of minority
groups or of populations that are unserved or underserved by programs
carried out under this Act.''
The LRP, published in proposed form in the Federal Register on
October 26, 1998, recognizes the existence of unique issues for
disabled individuals from minority backgrounds, and also commits NIDRR
to implement capacity building activities to address these problems.
The LRP is based on a ``new paradigm of disability'' that defines
disability as a product of the interaction between individual factors
and the characteristics of the natural, built, cultural, and social
environments. Two implications of the new paradigm for research are the
need to understand and assess the contextual variables that, in part,
comprise disability, and the concomitant need to develop the capacity
of the research field to address these factors. These contextual
variables include demographics, culture, income, education, familial
supports, community accessibility, and attitudinal variables, among
other factors.
The LRP also identifies an ``emerging universe of disability,''
defined as an increasingly disproportionate distribution of disability,
and its causes and consequences, among different social and economic
groupings in
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American society. In particular, the increasing importance of poverty,
isolation, and low educational levels--all of which are strongly
correlated with minority status--as both causes and consequences of
disability has important implications for how research is conducted and
for the development of the capacity of researchers to conduct studies
of these factors.
The LRP also commits NIDRR to advance the capacity for rigorous
qualitative and quantitative research and use of state-of-the-art
methodologies by providing advanced training for researchers, including
those with disabilities and those from minority backgrounds; develop
the capacity of researchers to explicate disability as a contextual
phenomenon; and to prepare researchers to conduct disability studies
that incorporate the cultural context of disability. The LRP also
includes a specific provision for increasing the disability research
capacity of institutions of higher education that serve primarily
minority students. NIDRR has a history of and commitment to making
research an inclusive, collaborative, and coordinated undertaking.
Adherence to this principle has resulted in on-going capacity building
efforts that involve training those who participate in all aspects of
the disability and rehabilitation research field.
NIDRR recognizes the need to expand the scope of its capacity
building activities to increase the participation of persons from
minority backgrounds and to increase awareness of minority issues among
all NIDRR researchers. NIDRR believes that the quality and benefits of
research related to minorities with disabilities can be enhanced by
providing information, training, collaborations, and linkages to
expertise for both minority and other researchers in the disability
field.
Priority:
The Secretary will establish a DRRP to improve the quality and
utility of research related to minority individuals with disabilities
by (a) building capacity of researchers, especially those from minority
backgrounds, to conduct disability research, especially related to
rehabilitation of minorities, and (b) enhancing knowledge and awareness
of issues related to minority individuals with disabilities among
disability and rehabilitation researchers generally. The project must:
(1) Identify barriers to collaboration and information exchange
among minority entities, Indian tribes, and other disability
researchers, especially NIDRR-funded projects and centers, and develop
strategies to overcome those barriers;
(2) Facilitate on-going communication, collaboration, and exchange
of expertise between minority entities--including Indian tribes--and
researchers, especially NIDRR grantees, to implement the strategies
identified in paragraph (1); and
(3) Develop and provide training activities, including but not
limited to conferences, workshops, in-service training, and distance
education, that will: (a) expand knowledge about minorities with
disabilities; (b) improve research skills and familiarity with
appropriate methodologies, including the skills of researchers from
minority populations; and (c) enhance the capacity for appropriate
dissemination of information about and to underserved populations with
disabilities.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may review this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html.
To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If
you have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO) at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free at 1-888-293-
6498.
Note: 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 on GPO access at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR Part 350.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 760-762.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.133A, Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Projects)
Dated: May 25, 1999.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 99-13646 Filed 5-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U