[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6600-6601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3067]



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Part V





Department of Education





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Submission of Data by State Educational Agencies; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 26 / Friday, February 7, 2003 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Submission of Data by State Educational Agencies

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of dates of submission of State revenue and expenditure 
reports for fiscal year 2002 and of revisions to those reports.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education announces dates for the submission 
by State educational agencies (SEAs) of expenditure and revenue data 
and average daily attendance statistics on ED Form 2447 (the National 
Public Education Financial Survey) for fiscal year (FY) 2002. The 
Secretary sets these dates to ensure that data are available to serve 
as the basis for timely distribution of Federal funds. The U.S. Bureau 
of the Census is the data collection agent for the Department's 
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The data will be 
published by NCES and will be used by the Secretary in the calculation 
of allocations for FY 2004 appropriated funds.

DATES: The date on which submissions will first be accepted is March 
17, 2003. The mandatory deadline for the final submission of all data, 
including any revisions to previously submitted data, is September 2, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: SEAs may mail ED Form 2447 to: Bureau of the Census, 
Attention: Governments Division, Washington, DC 20233-6800.
    SEAs may submit data via the World Wide Web using the interactive 
form at http://www.census.gov/govs/www/nperfs.html. If the web form is 
used, it includes a certification page that can be printed and signed 
by the authorizing official. This signed page must be mailed within 
five business days of web form data submission.
    Alternatively, SEAs may hand deliver submissions by 4 p.m. (eastern 
time) to: Governments Division, Bureau of the Census, 8905 Presidential 
Parkway, Washington Plaza II, Room 508, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.
    If an SEA's submission is received by the Bureau of the Census 
after September 2, 2003, in order for the submission to be accepted, 
the SEA must show one of the following as proof that the submission was 
mailed on or before the mandatory deadline date:
    1. A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    2. A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    3. A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier.
    4. Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary.
    If the SEA mails ED Form 2447 through the U.S. Postal Service, the 
Secretary does not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    1. A private metered postmark.
    2. A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, an SEA should check with 
its local post office.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lawrence R. MacDonald, Chief, 
Bureau of the Census, Attention: Governments Division, Washington, DC 
20233-6800. Telephone: (301) 457-1574. If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to: Frank Johnson, National Center for Education 
Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20208-5651. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7362.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of section 153(a)(1)(I) 
of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-279), 20 
U.S.C. 9543, which authorizes NCES to gather data on the financing of 
education, NCES collects data annually from SEAs through ED Form 2447. 
The report from SEAs includes attendance, revenue, and expenditure data 
from which NCES determines the average State per pupil expenditure 
(SPPE) for elementary and secondary education, as defined in the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (currently 20 
U.S.C. 8801(12)).
    In addition to utilizing the SPPE data as informative information 
on the financing of elementary and secondary education, the Secretary 
uses these data directly in calculating allocations for certain formula 
grant programs, including title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (title 
I), Impact Aid, and Indian Education. Other programs such as the 
Educational Technology State Grants (title II, part D), the Education 
for Homeless Children and Youth Program under title VII of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the Teacher Quality State 
Grants (title II, part A) Program, and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools 
and Communities (title IV, part A) Program make use of SPPE data 
indirectly because their formulas are based, in whole or in part, on 
State title I allocations.
    In January 2003, the Bureau of the Census, acting as the data 
collection agent for NCES, will mail to SEAs ED Form 2447 with 
instructions and request that SEAs submit data to the Bureau of the 
Census on March 17, 2003, or as soon as possible thereafter. SEAs are 
urged to submit accurate and complete data on March 17, or as soon as 
possible thereafter, to facilitate timely processing. Submissions by 
SEAs to the Bureau of the Census will be checked for accuracy and 
returned to each SEA for verification. All data, including any 
revisions, must be submitted to the Bureau of the Census by an SEA not 
later than September 2, 2003.
    Having accurate and consistent information, on time, is critical to 
an efficient and fair allocation process, as well as the NCES 
statistical process. To ensure timely distribution of Federal education 
funds based on the best, most accurate data available, NCES 
establishes, for allocation purposes, September 2, 2003, as the final 
date by which ED Form 2447 must be submitted. However, if an SEA 
submits revised data after the final deadline that results in a lower 
SPPE figure, its allocations may be adjusted downward or the Department 
may request the SEA to return funds. SEAs should be aware that all of 
these data are subject to audit and that, if any inaccuracies are 
discovered in the audit process, the Department may seek recovery of 
overpayments for the applicable programs. If an SEA submits revised 
data after September 2, 2003, the data may also be too late to be 
included in the final NCES published dataset.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9003(a).


[[Page 6601]]


    Dated: February 4, 2003.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 03-3067 Filed 2-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P