Summary: Notice of Negotiated Rulemaking for Programs Authorized Under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as Amended
[Federal Register: October 22, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 203)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 59494-59496]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22oc07-12]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter VI
Office of Postsecondary Education; Notice of Negotiated
Rulemaking for Programs Authorized Under Title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as Amended
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of negotiated rulemaking committee.
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SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish one or two negotiated
rulemaking committees to prepare proposed regulations under Title IV of
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). Each committee will
include representatives of organizations or groups with interests that
are significantly affected by the subject matter of the proposed
regulations. We also announce three public hearings where interested
parties can suggest issues that should be considered for action by the
negotiating committees. In addition, we request nominations for
individual negotiators who represent key stakeholder constituencies
that are involved in the student financial assistance programs
authorized under Title IV of the HEA to serve on these committees.
DATES: We must receive your nominations for negotiators to serve on the
committees on or before November 29, 2007. The dates, times, and
locations of the public hearings are listed under the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Please send your nominations for negotiators to Patty Chase,
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 8050,
Washington, DC 20006, or by fax to Patty Chase at (202) 502-7874. You
may also e-mail your nominations to: Patty.Chase@ed.gov. Those
nominated will be notified via letter as to whether or not they have
been selected as a negotiator as soon as the Department's review
process is completed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the hearings and
the nomination submission process, contact: Patty Chase, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 8050, Washington, DC
20006. Telephone: (202) 502-7905. You may also e-mail your questions
about the hearings and the nomination submission process to:
Patty.Chase@ed.gov.
For information about negotiated rulemaking in general, contact:
John Kolotos, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room
8018, Washington, DC 20006. Telephone (202) 502-7762. You may also e-
mail your questions about negotiated rulemaking to:
John.Kolotos@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) by contacting the person responsible for information about
the hearings and the nomination submission process listed in this
section under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 492 of the HEA requires that, before
publishing any proposed regulations to implement programs authorized
under Title IV of the HEA, the Secretary obtain public involvement in
the development of the proposed regulations. After obtaining advice and
recommendations from the public, the Secretary uses a negotiated
rulemaking process to develop the proposed regulations.
We intend to develop proposed regulations by following the
negotiated rulemaking procedures in section 492 of the HEA. We intend
to select participants for the negotiated rulemaking committees that
represent the interests significantly affected by the proposed
regulations. To the extent possible, we will select individual
negotiators who reflect the diversity among program participants, in
accordance with section 492(b)(1) of the HEA.
Regulatory Issues
We intend to conduct negotiated rulemaking to develop proposed
regulations for the new TEACH Grant program, which was added to Title
IV of the HEA by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007
(CCRAA), Pub. L. 110-84. We will also address regulatory changes that
will be needed for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) and
the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program resulting from the enactment of
the CCRAA including, but not limited to: rules for income-based
repayment; changes to the maximum repayment period; reductions to the
lender insurance rates and loan forgiveness for public service
employees; and definitions of terms used in the programs. We will also
consider whether the regulations need to be amended to implement or
reflect Pub. L. 110-93, which made permanent the Secretary's authority
under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of
2003 (HEROES Act).
We note that there is legislation currently pending in Congress to
reauthorize the HEA. If reauthorization of the HEA is completed prior
to the first negotiating session, we may also include on the
negotiating agenda additional changes to the regulations that may be
needed.
We also expect to conduct negotiated rulemaking on other regulatory
issues. These may include issues raised by the public during the
regional hearings. Other issues the Department identifies as necessary
to improve program administration and accountability will also be
negotiated, including potential Federal preemption of State laws that
may conflict with the Department's regulations on improper inducements
and the use of preferred lender lists in the FFEL program.
We may also consider the establishment of competitive preference
priorities within the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program.
[[Page 59495]]
Structure of the Committees
We anticipate having one or two negotiating committees based upon
the nature of the topics to be negotiated. The number of committees and
their organization will be determined as necessary, depending upon the
comments received as a result of this notice. If one negotiating
committee is established, it will address all of the regulatory issues
that we identify. If two negotiating committees are established, one
negotiating committee would address issues related to the Federal
student loan programs authorized by Title IV, Parts B and D of the HEA
and the other committee would focus on TEACH Grants and other issues.
Our goal is to establish committees that will allow significantly
affected parties to be represented while keeping the committees' size
manageable.
We strongly encourage nominations of individuals from coalitions of
individuals and organizations representing the constituencies
identified below. Moreover, the Department encourages nominations of
individuals who are actively involved in administering the Federal
programs that are the subject of these negotiated rulemaking sessions
and who can represent the interests of groups that are significantly
affected by the regulations. The committee or committees can create
subgroups to discuss particular topics, such as TEACH Grants, Income-
Based Repayment, or the definition of a non-profit holder. The subgroup
can also involve in its discussions additional individuals who are not
members of the committees. Individuals who are not selected as members
of a committee can attend committee meetings, access the individuals
representing their constituencies, and participate in informal working
groups on various issues between the meetings. Committee meetings will
be open to the public.
We have identified the following constituencies as having interests
that are significantly affected by the subject matter of the negotiated
rulemaking process. The Department anticipates that individuals
representing each of these constituencies will participate as members
of one or more of the negotiated rulemaking committees. These
constituencies are:
Students.
Legal assistance organizations that represent students.
Financial aid administrators at institutions of higher education.
Business officers and bursars at institutions of higher education.
Institutional servicers (including collection agencies).
Trustees.
State higher education executive officers.
State Attorneys General and other appropriate State officials.
Business and industry.
Institutions of higher education eligible to receive
Federal assistance under Title III, Parts A and B, and Title V of the
HEA, which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities,
Hispanic-Serving Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled
Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving
Institutions, and other institutions with a substantial enrollment of
needy students as defined in Title III of the HEA.
Two-year public institutions of higher education.
Four-year public institutions of higher education.
Private, non-profit institutions of higher education.
Private, for-profit institutions of higher education.
Institutions of higher education that prepare teachers.
Organizations that represent teachers.
Guaranty agencies and guaranty agency servicers (including
collection agencies).
Lenders, secondary markets, and loan servicers.
Accrediting agencies.
While an individual selected to represent a constituency may be an
employee, official, or representative of a specific group, institution,
or industry participant, the individual will be expected to represent
the interests of the entire constituency that the individual has been
designated to represent on the committee and to confer with other
individuals and representatives of groups within that constituency.
Nominations should include the following information:
The name of the nominee, the organization the individual
works for, if any, and a description of the interests that the
individual represents.
Evidence of support from individuals or groups of the
constituency that the nominee will represent.
The nominee's commitment that the nominee will actively
participate in good faith in the development of the proposed
regulations.
The nominee's contact information, including address,
phone number, fax number, and e-mail address.
Schedule for Negotiations
We anticipate that the negotiating committee(s) will meet in the
Washington, DC, area three or more times beginning in January 2008 and
concluding no later than April 2008. The dates and locations of these
meetings will be published in a subsequent notice in the Federal
Register, and will be posted on the Department's Web site at:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2008/index2008.html.
We will post the schedule for negotiations on this same Web site.
Each committee must use electronic mail to exchange documents and
discuss proposals between meetings. We anticipate that the schedule
will allow sufficient time for us to provide the public with a 60-day
comment period for the proposed regulations resulting from the
negotiated rulemaking process and sufficient time to address any issues
raised in the comment period, while meeting the November 1 statutory
deadline for publishing student financial assistance final regulations.
Regional Hearings
We will hold three public regional hearings for interested parties
to discuss the agenda for the negotiated rulemaking sessions. These
hearings will be held on--
November 2, 2007, at the Sheraton New Orleans, 500 Canal Street, in
New Orleans, Louisiana;
November 16, 2007, at the U.S. Department of Education in
Washington, DC; and
November 29, 2007, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, One
Market Place, San Diego, California.
The regional hearings in New Orleans and San Diego will be held
from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., local time. The hearing in Washington, DC will be
held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., local time.
Individuals desiring to present comments at the hearings are
encouraged to do so. It is likely that each participant choosing to
make a statement will be limited to five minutes. Individuals
interested in making oral statements will be able to register to make a
statement beginning at 10 a.m. for the regional hearings and at 8:30
a.m. on the day of the Washington hearing at the Department's on-site
registration table on a first-come, first-served basis. If additional
time slots remain, individuals may be given additional time to speak.
If no time slots remain, the Department has reserved one additional
hour at the end of the day for individuals who were not able to
register to speak. The amount of time available will depend upon the
number of individuals who register to speak. Speakers may also submit
written comments.
[[Page 59496]]
In addition, for anyone unable to attend any of the regional
hearings, the Department will also accept written comments. You should
send your comments to: John Kolotos, U.S. Department of Education, 1990
K Street, NW., room 8018, Washington, DC 20006. All comments must be
received by November 29, 2007.
All of the hearing sites are accessible to individuals with
disabilities. Individuals needing an auxiliary aid or service to
participate in the meeting (e.g., interpreting service, assistive
listening device, or materials in alternative format), should notify
the contact person for information about hearings listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in this notice in advance of the scheduled
meeting date. Although we will attempt to meet any request we receive,
we may not be able to make available the requested auxiliary aid or
service because of insufficient time to arrange it. Further information
on the regional hearing sites is available on
http://www.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2008/index2008.html.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/federalregister.
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.
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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a.
Dated: October 17, 2007.
Diane Auer Jones, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E7-20785 Filed 10-19-07; 8:45 am]
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