[Federal Register: June 30, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 125)] [Proposed Rules] [Page 35105-35106] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30jn99-40] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 34 CFR Part 694 Office of Postsecondary Education; Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs; Negotiated Rulemaking Committee AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice of negotiated rulemaking on GEAR UP. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee to draft proposed regulations to implement chapter 2 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), ``Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs'' (GEAR UP). The committee will be balanced and representative of the significantly affected interests. We request nominations for participants from anyone who believes that his or her organization or group should participate in the negotiated rulemaking process for the development of the GEAR UP proposed regulations. DATES: We will consider all nominations for membership on the committee received by Friday, July 9, 1999. ADDRESSES: Please send your nomination to Philip Schulz, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 4020, ROB-3, Washington D.C. 20202-5243, or fax to Philip Schulz at (202) 260-5872. You may also email your nominations to: philip__schulz@ed.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip Schulz, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 4020, ROB-3, Washington, DC 20202-5243. Telephone: (202) 708-8429. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. 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. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 492 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) requires that, before publishing any proposed regulations to implement programs under Title IV of the HEA, the Secretary obtain public involvement in the development of the proposed regulations. After obtaining advice and recommendations, the Secretary must conduct a negotiated rulemaking process to develop the proposed regulations. On March 2, 1999, we published in the Federal Register (64 FR 10184) final regulations (applicable only to the fiscal year 1999 competition) to implement GEAR UP. Section 437(d) of the General Education Provisions Act exempts from the rulemaking requirements in the Administrative Procedure Act regulations governing the first grant competition under a new or substantially revised program authority (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1)). In order to make awards on a timely basis, we published the regulations for the fiscal year 1999 competition in final under the authority of section 437(d). Further, we determined that, to make grants under the competition before the funds expired, the use of negotiated rulemaking for the fiscal year 1999 competition would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest under section 492(b)(2) of the HEA. We will develop the regulations that will apply to subsequent competitions for GEAR UP funding by following the negotiated rulemaking procedures in section 492 of the HEA. We intend to select participants for the negotiated rulemaking process from nominees of the organizations or groups that represent the interests significantly affected by the proposed regulations. To the extent possible, we will select from the nominations individuals reflecting the diversity in the industry, representing both large and small participants, as well as individuals serving local areas and national markets, in accordance with section 492(b)(1) of the HEA. Structure of Committees The ultimate goal of negotiated rulemaking is to reach a consensus on the proposed regulations through discussion and negotiation among interested and affected parties, including the Department of Education. With this in mind, we will conduct these negotiations within a structure that is designed to meet this goal fairly and efficiently. We expect to keep the committee to somewhere between 15-18 members. We believe this is an appropriate number to allow significantly affected parties to be represented, without making the committee so large as to be unmanageable and potentially unsuccessful. We therefore encourage organizations and groups to work together to nominate someone that would represent a coalition of organizations or groups. The meetings will be open to the public. Electronic Access to This Document You may view 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 previous sites. If you have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, D.C. area, at (202) 512-1530. 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. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply.) Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1090a. [[Page 35106]] Dated: June 25, 1999. Claudio R. Prieto, Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. [FR Doc. 99-16656 Filed 6-29-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P