4000-01-U
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Chapter VI
[ED-2024- OPE-0073]
Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education
Program
AGENCY:

Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of

Education.
ACTION:

Proposed priority and definition.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Education (Department) proposes

a priority and definition for use in the Transitioning
Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education Program, Assistance
Listing Number 84.116Y.

The Department may use the

priority and definition for competitions in fiscal year
(FY) 2024 and later years.

We intend for this priority and

definition to support projects for organizations that work
directly with gang-involved youth to help such youth pursue
higher education opportunities that will lead to
postsecondary certification or credentials.
DATES:

We must receive your comments on or before [INSERT

DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL
REGISTER].
ADDRESSES:

Comments must be submitted via the Federal

eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.

However, if you

require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your
comments via www.regulations.gov, please contact the

program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.

The Department will not accept comments submitted

by fax or by email, or comments submitted after the comment
period closes.

To ensure the Department does not receive

duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once.
In addition, please include the Docket ID at the top of
your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal:

Go to www.regulations.gov to

submit your comments electronically.

Information on using

Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing
agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the
docket, is available on the site under “FAQ.”
Note:

The Department’s policy is generally to make

comments received from members of the public available for
public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at www.regulations.gov.

Therefore, commenters

should be careful to include in their comments only
information that they wish to make publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jymece Seward, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room
5C113, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
6138.

Email:

Telephone:

202-453-

Jymece.Seward@ed.gov.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech
disability and wish to access telecommunications relay
services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation to Comment:

We invite you to submit comments

regarding the proposed priority and definition.

To ensure

that your comments have maximum effect in developing the
final priority and definition, we urge you to identify
clearly the specific section of the proposed priority and
definition that each comment addresses.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the
specific requirements of Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and
14094 and their overall requirement of reducing regulatory
burden that might result from this proposed priority and
definition.

Please let us know of any further ways we

could reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits
while preserving the effective and efficient administration
of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect
public comments about the proposed priority and definition
by accessing Regulations.gov.

To inspect comments in

person, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing
the Rulemaking Record:

On request we will provide an

appropriate accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual
with a disability who needs assistance to review the
comments or other documents in the public rulemaking record
for this proposed priority and definition.

If you want to

schedule an appointment for this type of accommodation or

auxiliary aid, please contact the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Purpose of Program:

The purpose of the Transitioning Gang-

Involved Youth to Higher Education Program (TGIY) is to
provide a funding opportunity for organizations that work
directly with gang-involved youth to help such youth pursue
higher education opportunities that will lead to
postsecondary certification or credentials.
Program Authority:

20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d; Explanatory

Statement accompanying Division D of the Further
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-47).

PROPOSED PRIORITY:
Background:

TGIY is funded under the Fund for the

Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) authority
and was first authorized in FY 2021.

Congress has directed

the Department within the explanatory statement
accompanying Division D of the Further Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-47) to provide
continued funding for this program.

In order to fully

implement this program in the manner that Congress has

directed, and to ensure that the intended population is
served, the Department is proposing a priority for
organizations that work directly with gang-involved youth
to help such youth pursue higher education opportunities.
Proposed Priority:
Projects for Organizations to Work Directly with GangInvolved Youth to Help Such Youth Pursue Higher Education
Opportunities.
To meet this priority, an eligible applicant must
demonstrate that the project will work directly with ganginvolved youth to help such youth pursue higher education
opportunities.

Types of Priorities
When inviting applications for a competition using one
or more priorities, we designate the type of each priority
as absolute, competitive preference, or invitational
through a notice in the Federal Register.

The effect of

each type of priority follows:
Absolute priority:

Under an absolute priority, we

consider only applications that meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(3)).

Competitive preference priority:

Under a competitive

preference priority, we give competitive preference to an
application by (1) awarding additional points, depending on
the extent to which the application meets the priority (34
CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that
meets the priority over an application of comparable merit
that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority:

Under an invitational

priority, we are particularly interested in applications
that meet the priority.

However, we do not give an

application that meets the priority a preference over other
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

PROPOSED DEFINITION:

The Department proposes the following

definition of “gang-involved youth” for this program.

We

may apply this definition in any year in which this program
is in effect.

While there is no single definition of

“gang,” we base the proposed definition on the commonly
used criteria for classifying groups as “gangs” identified
by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Gang Center.
Because this program is focused on preparing youth for
postsecondary opportunities, we propose to address youth
between the ages of 14 to 24.

This age range aligns with

the age range in the definition of “disconnected youth”--a
population that may overlap with gang-involved youth--

established by the Department for use in its discretionary
grant programs.1

Aligning these definitions would promote

consistency in the administration of the Department's
discretionary grant programs.
Gang-involved youth means an individual, between the
ages 14 and 24, who is or was involved in a group that
meets the following criteria:

the group has three or more

members who share an identity, typically linked to a name
and often other symbols; members view themselves as a gang
and are recognized by others as a gang; the group has some
permanence and a degree of organization; and the group is
involved in an elevated level of criminal activity.
Final Priority and Definition
We will announce the final priority and definition in
a document in the Federal Register.

We will determine the

final priority and definition after considering public
comments on the proposed priority and definition and other
information available to the Department.

This document

does not preclude us from proposing additional priorities,
requirements, definition, or selection criteria, subject to
meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note:

This document does not solicit applications.

In any

year in which we choose to use this priority and

See the Secretary's Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for
Discretionary Grants Programs published in the Federal Register on
December 10, 2021 (86 FR 70612).

definition, we invite applications through a notice in the
Federal Register.
Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094
Regulatory Impact Analysis
Under Executive Order 12866, the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) determines whether this regulatory action
is “significant” and, therefore, subject to the
requirements of the Executive order and subject to
review by OMB.

Section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as

amended by Executive Order 14094, defines a “significant
regulatory action” as an action likely to result in a rule
that may—
(1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $200
million or more (adjusted every three years by the
Administrator of Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA) for changes in gross domestic product); or
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of
the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health or safety, or State, local,
territorial, or Tribal governments or communities;
(2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise
interfere with an action taken or planned by another
agency;
(3) Materially alter the budgetary impacts of
entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the
rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or

(4) Raise legal or policy issues for which centralized
review would meaningfully further the President’s
priorities, or the principles set forth in this Executive
order, as specifically authorized in a timely manner by the
Administrator of OIRA in each case.
This proposed regulatory action is not a significant
regulatory action subject to review by OMB under section
3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive
Order 14094.
We have also reviewed this proposed regulatory action
under Executive Order 13563, which supplements and
explicitly reaffirms the principles, structures, and
definition governing regulatory review established in
Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094.
To the extent permitted by law, Executive Order 13563
requires that an agency—
(1) Propose or adopt regulations only upon a reasoned
determination that their benefits justify their costs
(recognizing that some benefits and costs are difficult to
quantify);
(2) Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden
on society, consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives
and taking into account—among other things and to the
extent practicable—the costs of cumulative regulations;
(3) In choosing among alternative regulatory
approaches, select those approaches that maximize net

benefits (including potential economic, environmental,
public health and safety, and other advantages;
distributive impacts; and equity);
(4) To the extent feasible, specify performance
objectives, rather than the behavior or manner of
compliance a regulated entity must adopt; and
(5) Identify and assess available alternatives to
direct regulation, including economic incentives—such as
user fees or marketable permits—to encourage the desired
behavior, or provide information that enables the
public to make choices.
Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency “to use
the best available techniques to quantify anticipated
present and future benefits and costs as accurately as
possible.”

The Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these techniques may
include “identifying changing future compliance costs that
might result from technological innovation or anticipated
behavioral changes.”
We are issuing this proposed priority and definition
only on a reasoned determination that their benefits would
justify their costs.

In choosing among alternative

regulatory approaches, we selected those approaches that
would maximize net benefits.

Based on the analysis that

follows, the Department believes that this regulatory

action is consistent with the principles in Executive Order
13563.
The potential costs associated with this priority and
definition would be minimal, while the potential benefits
are significant.

The Department believes that this

proposed regulatory action would not impose significant
costs on eligible entities.

Participation in this program

is voluntary, and the costs imposed on applicants by this
regulatory action would be limited to paperwork burden
related to preparing an application.

The potential

benefits of implementing the program would outweigh the
costs incurred by applicants, and the costs of carrying out
activities associated with the application would be paid
for with program funds.

For these reasons, we have

determined that the costs of implementation would not be
burdensome for eligible applicants, including small
entities.
We also have determined that this regulatory action
would not unduly interfere with State, local, and Tribal
governments in the exercise of their governmental
functions.
In accordance with these Executive orders, the
Department has assessed the potential costs and benefits,
both quantitative and qualitative, of this regulatory
action.

The potential costs are those resulting from

statutory requirements and those we have determined as

necessary for administering the Department’s programs and
activities.
Clarity of the Regulations
Executive Order 12866 and the Presidential memorandum
“Plain Language in Government Writing” require each agency
to write regulations that are easy to understand.

The

Secretary invites comments on how to make this proposed
priority and definition easier to understand, including
answers to questions such as the following:
• Are the requirements in the proposed priority and
definition clearly stated?
• Does the proposed priority and definition contain
technical terms or other wording that interferes with their
clarity?
• Does the format of the proposed priority and
definition (grouping and order of sections, use of
headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce their clarity?
• Would the proposed priority and definition be easier
to understand if we divided them into
more (but shorter) sections?
• Could the description of the proposed priority and
definition in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this preamble be more helpful in
making the proposed priority and definition easier to
understand? If so, how?

• What else could we do to make the proposed priority
and definition easier to understand?
To send any comments that concern how the Department
could make this proposed priority and definition easier to
understand, see the instructions in the ADDRESSES section.
Intergovernmental Review:

This program is subject to

Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part
79.

One of the objectives of the Executive order is to

foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened
federalism.

The Executive order relies on processes

developed by State and local governments for coordination
and review of proposed Federal financial assistance.
This document provides early notification of our
specific plans and actions for this program.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this proposed priority
and definition would not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
The small entities that this proposed regulatory
action would affect are institutions of higher education
(IHEs) that meet the eligibility requirements in section
241(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and
public and private nonprofit organizations and agencies
that partner with IHEs.

The Secretary believes that the

costs imposed on applicants by the proposed priority and
definition would be limited to paperwork burden related to

preparing an application and that the benefits would
outweigh any costs incurred by applicants.
Participation in this program is voluntary.

For this

reason, the proposed priority and definition would impose
no burden on small entities unless they applied for funding
under the program.

We expect that in determining whether

to apply for TGIY funds, an eligible applicant would
evaluate the requirements of preparing an application and
any associated costs, and weigh them against the benefits
likely to be achieved by receiving a TGIY grant.

Eligible

applicants most likely would apply only if they determine
that the likely benefits exceed the costs of preparing an
application.

The likely benefits include the potential

receipt of a grant as well as other benefits that may
accrue to an entity through its development of an
application, such as the use of that application to seek
funding from other sources to work directly with ganginvolved youth to help them pursue higher education
opportunities that will lead to postsecondary certification
or credentials.
This proposed regulatory action would not have a
significant economic impact on a small entity once it
receives a grant because it would be able to meet the costs
of compliance using the funds provided under this program.
We invite comments from eligible small entities as to
whether they believe this proposed regulatory action would

have a significant economic impact on them and, if so,
request evidence to support that belief.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
This proposed priority and definition do not contain
any information collection requirements.
Accessible Format:

On request to the program contact

person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT,
individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in
an accessible format.

The Department will provide the

requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an
MP3 file, braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc,
or other accessible format.
Electronic Access to This Document:

The official version

of this document is the document published in the Federal
Register.

You may access the official edition of the

Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations at
www.govinfo.gov.

At this site you can view this document,

as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document
Format (PDF).

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat

Reader, which is available free at the site.
You may also access documents of the Department
published in the Federal Register by using the article
search feature at www.federalregister.gov.

Specifically,

through the advanced search feature at this site, you can
limit your search to documents published by
the Department.


Nasser Paydar,
Assistant Secretary for
Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2024-12445 Filed: 6/5/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/6/2024]