[Federal Register: July 8, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 130)]
[Notices]
[Page 45103-45104]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jy02-39]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Intent to Compromise Claim Against the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico Department of Education
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of intent to compromise claim with request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The United States Department of Education (Department) intends
to compromise a claim against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Department of Education (PRDE) now pending before the Office of
Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), Docket No. 97-52-R. Before
compromising a claim, the Department must publish its intent to do so
in the Federal Register and provide the public an opportunity to
comment on that action (20 U.S.C. 1234a(j)).
DATES: We must receive your comments on the proposed action on or
before August 19, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Kay Rigling, Esq., Office of
the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., Room 6E312, Washington, DC 20202-2110.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kay Rigling, Esq., Telephone 202-401-
8292. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8399.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed action.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments in room 6E312, FB-6, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC,
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through
Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing Comments
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
[[Page 45104]]
Background
The claim in question arose when the Department's Assistant
Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education (Assistant Secretary)
issued a program determination letter (PDL) on March 26, 1997. The PDL
demanded a refund of $1,846,718 of funds provided to the PRDE for
school years 1991-92 and 1992-93 under Chapter 1 of Title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.
(1988)). Specifically, the Assistant Secretary found that the PRDE had
used Chapter 1 funds to assess the educational needs of all public and
private school children in violation of statutory and regulatory
requirements that permitted the use of those funds only for programs
designed to meet the special educational needs of low-achieving
children. Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary disallowed the percent
of the total assessment contract costs for 1991-92 and 1992-93
attributable to non-Chapter 1 students.
The PRDE filed a timely appeal with the OALJ. In response to a
motion for partial summary judgment filed by the PRDE, the OALJ held
that $1,017,440 of the Assistant Secretary's claim was barred from
recovery by the statute of limitations in 20 U.S.C. 1234a(k). As a
result, $829,278, representing costs incurred in school year 1992-93,
remains at issue. The Administrative Law Judge assigned to the appeal
granted the parties' joint motion to stay proceedings pending
settlement negotiations.
During settlement discussions, the PRDE submitted substantial
documentation to demonstrate that additional assessment costs were
allowable Chapter 1 costs. For example, the PRDE demonstrated that
certain fixed costs for in-service workshops and the preparation of
required reports were necessary to meet Chapter 1 requirements,
irrespective of the number of students assessed. Moreover, the PRDE
demonstrated that it had properly assessed additional students no
longer receiving Chapter 1 services in order to meet certain Chapter 1
requirements. After conducting a thorough review of this documentation,
the Assistant Secretary has decided to accept the PRDE's documentation
and withdraw $414,733 from the remaining claim, thereby reducing the
claim to $414,545.
The Department proposes to compromise this remaining claim to
$214,545. Based on litigation risks and costs of proceeding through the
administrative and, possibly, court process for this appeal, the
Department has determined that it would not be practical or in the
public interest to continue this proceeding. In addition, in light of
subsequent changes in the Chapter 1/Title I assessment requirements
that permit testing all students, there is little or no likelihood of a
recurrence of this problem. As a result, under the authority in 20
U.S.C. 1234a(j), the Department has determined that compromise of this
claim for $214,545 is appropriate.
The public is invited to comment on the Department's intent to
compromise this claim. Additional information may be obtained by
calling or writing to Kay Rigling, Esq. at the telephone number and
address listed at the beginning of this notice.
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 the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at 202-512-1530.
You may also view this document in text or PDF at the following
site: http://www.ed.gov.
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.gop.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1234a(j).
Dated: July 2, 2002.
Jack Martin,
Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-16958 Filed 7-5-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P