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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 233 / Wednesday, December 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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student loan discharges; income-driven repayment; Public Service Loan Forgiveness; pre-dispute arbitration and required class action waivers; interest capitalization; and Pell Grants for people who are enrolled in prison education programs.
On October 4, 2021, we published an announcement in the Federal Register 86 FR 54666 of our intent to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee under section 492 of the HEA to develop proposed regulations related to the 90/
10 rule. Section 2013 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ARP amended HEA section 487a24 to make changes to the statutory provision that requires a proprietary institution to derive at least 10 percent of its revenues from sources that are not Federal education assistance funds. Federal education assistance funds are Federal funds that are disbursed or delivered to or on behalf of a student to be used to attend such institution. We then held two additional public hearings on the topic of 90/10 on October 26 and October 27, 2021. We invited parties to comment in writing as well. Recordings and transcripts from the public hearings are available at https www2.ed.gov/policy/
highered/reg/hearulemaking/2021/
index.html.
You may view written comments submitted in response to the aforementioned Federal Register notices through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Instructions for finding comments are available on the site under FAQ. Enter Docket ID ED
2021OPE0077 in the search box to locate the appropriate docket.
Committee Topics After considering the information received at the public hearings and the written comments, we have decided to establish the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee to address the following topics:
1 90/10 under 34 CFR 668.28;
2 Ability to benefit under 34 CFR
668.156;
3 Certification procedures for participation in title IV, HEA programs under 34 CFR 668.13;
4 Change of ownership and change in control of institutions of higher education under 34 CFR 600.31;
5 Financial responsibility for participating institutions of higher education under 34 CFR 668.15 and 34
CFR part 668, subpart L, such as events that indicate heightened financial risk;
6 Gainful employment formerly located in 34 CFR part 668, subpart Q;
and 7 Standards of administrative capability under 34 CFR 668.16.

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We intend to select negotiators for the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee who represent the interests of those significantly affected by the topics proposed for negotiation.
In so doing, we will comply with the requirement in section 492b1 of the HEA that the individuals selected must have demonstrated expertise or experience in the relevant topics proposed for negotiations. We will also select individual negotiators who reflect the diversity among program participants, in accordance with section 492b1 of the HEA. Our goal is to establish a committee that will allow significantly affected parties to be represented while keeping the committee size manageable.
We generally select a primary and alternate negotiator for each constituency represented on a committee. The primary negotiator participates for the purpose of determining consensus. The alternate participates for the purpose of determining consensus in the absence of the primary negotiator. The Department will provide more detailed information to both primary and alternate negotiators selected to participate on the committee about the logistics and protocols of the meetings.
Members of the public may observe the committee meetings, will have access to individuals representing their constituencies, and may be able to participate in informal working groups on issues between the meetings.
Constituencies for Negotiator Nominations We have identified the following constituencies as having interests that are significantly affected by the topics proposed for negotiation. We plan to include as negotiators individuals from organizations or groups representing these constituencies and/or individuals who are a part of the constituency. We particularly encourage organizations representing the interests of historically underserved and/or low-income communities to submit their nominations. We also encourage nominations for individuals who have expertise in formal or State-approved career pathways programs. Nominations should include evidence of the nominees specific knowledge in these areas, citing specific topics outlined in the Committee Topics section. The Department strongly encourages nominees to list all constituencies under which they would like to be considered.
The Department reserves the discretion to place a nominee in a constituency based upon their background and experience even if the individual was
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not nominated for that specific category.
Constituencies for the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee are:
1 Students and student loan borrowers.
2 U.S. military service members, veterans, or groups representing them.
3 Legal assistance organizations that represent students and/or borrowers.
4 Civil rights organizations and consumer advocacy organizations.
5 State Attorneys General.
6 State higher education executive officers, State authorizing agencies, and/
or State regulators of institutions of higher education and/or loan servicers.
7 Financial aid administrators at postsecondary institutions.
8 Two-year public institutions of higher education.
9 Four-year public institutions of higher education.
10 Private nonprofit institutions of higher education.
11 Proprietary institutions.
12 Minority-serving institutions institutions of higher education eligible to receive Federal assistance under title III, parts A, B, and F, and title V of the HEA, which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HispanicServing Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific IslanderServing Institutions.
13 Accrediting agencies.
The goal of the committee is to develop proposed regulations that reflect a final consensus of the committee. Consensus means that there is no dissent by any member of a negotiating committee, including the committee member representing the Department.
An individual selected as a negotiator is expected to represent the interests of their organization or group and to participate in the negotiations in a manner consistent with the goal of developing proposed regulations on which the committee will reach consensus. If consensus is reached, all members of the organization or group represented by a negotiator are bound by the consensus and are prohibited from commenting negatively on the resulting proposed regulations. The Department will not consider any such negative comments on the proposed regulations that are submitted by a member of such an organization.
Advisors The Department also invites nominations for two advisors who will
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