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The Department of Education (ED) will soon begin the negotiated rulemaking process for certain parts of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA-Public Law 110-315), as required for the development of all regulations implementing statutory changes to Title IV of the HEA. Within the next several months, ED will begin this process by publishing a notice in the Federal Register announcing public meetings where interested parties can suggest issues related to the HEOA that should be considered for action by the negotiating committees. In addition, it will be accepting written comments for those unable to attend a meeting. The meetings will be held on the following dates:
- September 19, 2008 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
- September 29, 2008 – University of Rhode Island, Providence Campus, Paff Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island
- October 2, 2008 – Pepperdine University, Malibu, California
- October 6, 2008 – Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina
- October 8, 2008 – U.S. Department of Education, 8th Floor Conference Center, 1990 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC
- October 15, 2008 – Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, Ohio
Additional information on these hearings will soon be provided. ED also announced its intent to establish most of the negotiated rulemaking committees by the end of this year, with negotiations beginning in February 2009. The schedule will be expedited for subject areas where implementation must occur more quickly. Typically, ED develops its proposed regulations without public input and then publishes them as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register for comment by the public. Under negotiated rulemaking, the Department works to develop an NPRM in collaboration with representatives of the parties who will be affected significantly by the regulations. This is done through a series of meetings during which these representatives, referred to as negotiators, work with the Department to come to consensus on its proposed regulations. These meetings are facilitated by a neutral third-party.
HEOA was enacted on August 14, 2008 and reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the HEA). For more information, please visit ED's Web site or contact Catherine D. Clarke, ASHA's Director of Education and Regulatory Advocacy, via e-mail at cclarke@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 5611.
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