2022-00149. Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Education Stabilization Fund-Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER I/ESSER II/ARP ESSER Fund) Recipient Data Collection Form

AGENCY:

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a revision of a currently approved collection.

DATES:

The Department is requesting emergency processing and OMB approval for this information collection by January 26, 2022; and therefore, the Department is requesting public comments no later than January 25, 2022. A regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated to provide the public with the opportunity to comment under the full comment period. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before March 11, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

To access and review all the documents related to the information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2022-SCC-0002. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at [e-mail]. Please include the docket ID number and the title of the information collection request when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the PRA Coordinator of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W208D, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Gloria Tanner, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Education Stabilization Fund—Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER I/ESSER II/ARP ESSER Fund) Recipient Data Collection Form.

OMB Control Number: 1810-0749.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 14,652.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,051,943.

Abstract: Under the current unprecedented national health emergency, the legislative and executive branches of government have come together to offer relief to those individuals and industries affected by the COVID-19 virus under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Pub. L. 116-136) authorized on March 27, 2020, and expanded through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. The ESSER Fund awards grants to SEAs and for the purpose of providing local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, as well as Outlying Areas, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the Nation. This information collection requests emergency approval for a revision to a previously approved collection that includes annual reporting requirements to comply with the requirements of the ESSER program and obtain information on how the funds were used by State and Local Education Agencies. Emergency processing is necessary to provide states with sufficient time to collect the required data regarding the use of SEA reserve funds. Retrospectively creating this data after the activities have concluded is much more burdensome than prospectively collecting the data as the activities occur. The form currently collects information regarding the use of SEA reserve funds at the LEA level. However, questions addressing SEA use of Reserve Funds were not included in the forms submitted for 60- and 30-day public comment.

The Department addressed all public comments from the recently approved information collection. The only change to the approved collection is the additional three questions to address the use of SEA reserve funds. When considering your comments, please refer to Attachment A, which outlines the additional 3 questions.

Dated: January 4, 2022.

Kate Mullan,

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.