[Federal Register: December 30, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 250)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 73458-73460]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30de99-25]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter VI
Student Financial Assistance
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of intention to establish negotiated rulemaking
committees on issues under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended.
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SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish two negotiated
rulemaking committees to prepare proposed regulations under Title IV of
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. Each committee will
include representatives of the interests that are significantly
affected by the subject matter of the regulations. We request
nominations for participants from anyone who believes that his or her
organization or group should participate in this negotiated rulemaking
process.
DATES: We will consider all nominations for membership on the
committees that we receive by January 18, 2000. We will also be holding
a meeting on January 18, 2000, at the Department of Education for
interested parties to discuss the procedures for the negotiated
rulemaking sessions.
ADDRESSES: Please send your nomination to Beth Grebeldinger, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW., ROB-3, Washington, DC
20202-5257, or fax to Beth Grebeldinger at (202) 708-7196. You may also
email your nominations to:
beth__grebeldinger@ed.gov
The meeting will be held at the Department of Education at the
address above. Anyone interested in attending the meeting should
contact Beth Grebeldinger at (202) 205-8822.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Grebeldinger, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW., ROB-3, Washington, DC 20202-5257.
Telephone: (202) 205-8822. If you use a
[[Page 73459]]
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) you may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8
p.m.
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: The meeting site is accessible to
individuals with disabilities. If you will need an auxiliary aid or
service to participate in the meeting (e.g. interpreting service,
assistive listening device, or materials in alternate format), notify
the contact person listed in this NPRM in advance of the scheduled
meeting date. Although we will attempt to meet a request we receive, we
may not be able to make available the requested auxiliary aid or
service because of insufficient time to arrange it.
Structure of Committees
We anticipate having two negotiating committees. The ultimate goal
of negotiated rulemaking is to reach a consensus on 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 make
the committees large enough to allow significantly affected parties to
be represented, without making the committees so large as to be
unmanageable and potentially unsuccessful. We therefore encourage
organizations and groups to work together to nominate someone who would
represent a coalition of organizations or groups. The meetings will be
open to the public.
We list below the issues each committee is likely to address. The
list was developed through topic sessions held with representatives of
the participants in the student financial aid programs in Washington,
DC, through listening sessions held in Atlanta, Chicago, and San
Francisco, and through listening sessions conducted by the Office of
Student Financial Assistance's (OSFA's) Customer Service Task Force.
This list of issues is tentative and may be revised as the process
continues.
Note: A comprehensive review of delinquency and default
management (including due diligence) has not been included on the
list of issues for this round of negotiated rulemaking. Because of
the complexity of these issues, we will convene discussions in early
2000 with all interested parties to begin consideration of these
issues and to discuss what issues, if any, should be included in a
future session of negotiated rulemaking.
Committee I: Loan Issues Committee
Cohort Default Rates
* Restructure and revise cohort default rate provisions for
clarity and consistency (34 CFR 668.17).
* Address the effect of changes of ownership on calculation
of cohort default rates and related determinations of eligibility (34
CFR 668.17(g)).
* Remove or modify the list of default reduction measures in
Appendix D to Part 668.
* Develop regulations regarding electronic appeal submission
and processing, including consideration of the functions to be
performed by guaranty agencies, schools, and the Department.
Death and Disability--address evidentiary requirements for death
discharges; standards for granting disability discharges; and processes
for evaluating discharge applications (34 CFR 682.402(b) and (c)).
Delinquency and Default Management--address post-default due
diligence (34 CFR 682.410(b)(6) and (7)).
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
False Certification Discharges--address implications of the
decision in Jordan v. Riley and the existing ability to benefit
standards (34 CFR 682.402(e)).
Federal Perkins Loans--address proof of claim requirements in
bankruptcy (34 CFR 674) and criteria regarding institutions' ability to
maintain an acceptable record of collecting on loans.
Cash Management--address just-in time provisions (34 CFR 668.162
and 668.167).
Committee II: Program and Eligibility Issues Committee
Change of Ownership--(34 CFR 668.12 and 668.13 and 34 CFR 600.20,
600.21, 600.30, and 600.31)
Address changes of ownership of publicly traded
corporations.
Consider changes of control issues that are unique to
public institutions.
Clarify application procedures and information required
for changes of ownership and other situations.
Consolidate and clarify change of ownership provisions,
including application procedures.
Nontraditional Programs
Consider the definitions of standard term, nonstandard
term and non-term (34 CFR 668.2).
Address the application of the 12 hour rule as found in
the academic year and eligible programs definitions (34 CFR 668.2 and
668.8).
Revise notification and approval requirements for
additional locations and new programs (34 CFR 600.10, 600.20, 600.21,
and 600.30).
Consider revisions to regulatory provisions governing
consortium and contractual agreements (34 CFR 600.9).
Special Leveraging Education Assistance Partnerships (SLEAP)
Electronic Authorization and Verification, and Electronic Retention
Address these issues for certain Title IV programs and
purposes.
Each negotiating committee will include representatives of
significantly affected interests, such as students, and/or legal
assistance organizations that represent students, institutions of
higher education, guaranty agencies, lenders, secondary markets, loan
servicers, guaranty agency servicers, and collection agencies.
Schedule for Negotiations
There are expected to be a total of approximately four meetings of
each committee, all of which will be held in the metropolitan
Washington, DC area. The following is the tentative schedule for
negotiations for each of the committees. This schedule is subject to
change.
Committee I
Session 1: February 7-8
Session 2: March 27-29
Session 3: May 1-3
Session 4: May 30-31
Committee II
Session 1: February 17-18
Session 2: March 29-31
Session 3: May 3-5
Session 4: June 1-2
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Note: The official version of this document is the document
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Regulations is available on GPO access at:
[[Page 73460]]
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Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 99-33951 Filed 12-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U