Education Department Plans Negotiated Rule-Making on Student-Aid Regulations

The U.S. Department of Education has published a notice that it plans to enter into negotiated rule-making and conduct four public hearings on regulations governing federal student-aid regulations. Negotiated rule-making permits the public to participate in the development of proposed federal regulations.

The proposed negotiated rule-making would cover the following topics:

• Regulations governing two new federal student-grant programs, the Academic Competitiveness Grant and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant. Although the department has published interim final regulations governing the grant programs for the 2006-2007 award year, the results of negotiated rule-making could result in amendments to those rules for 2007-2008 awards.
• Results of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which is expected to submit its final report to U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings by mid-September.
• Legislation pending in Congress to complete reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

To shape the agenda for the negotiated rule-making sessions, the department plans the following public hearings:

• Sept. 19 at the University of California-Berkeley.
• Oct. 5 at Loyola University in Chicago.
• Nov. 2 in Orlando, Fla.
• Nov. 8 at the Education Department in Washington, D.C.

Subsequently, the rule-making panels would meet beginning in December and wrap up their work by next March.