[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7919-7920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3740]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Submission of Data by State Educational Agencies

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

ACTION: Notice of dates of submission of State revenue and expenditure 
reports for fiscal year 2003 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) 2003. 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 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 
2005 appropriated funds.

DATES: The date on which submissions will first be accepted is March 
15, 2004. The mandatory deadline for the final submission of all data, 
including any revisions to previously submitted data, is September 7, 
2004.

Addresses and Submission Information: 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 
survey form at http://www.census.gov/govs/www/npefs.html. If the Web 
form is used, it includes a digital confirmation page where a pin 
number may be entered. A successful entry of the pin number serves as a 
signature by the authorizing official. A certification form may also be 
printed from the Web site, and signed by the authorizing official and 
mailed to the Governments Division of the Bureau of the Census, at the 
address listed in the previous paragraph. This signed form 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 7, 2004, 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: Ms. Sharon J. Meade, Chief, Bureau of 
the Census, ATTENTION: Governments Division, Washington, DC 20233-6800. 
Telephone: (301) 763-7316. 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, Institute of Education Sciences, 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 (P.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, as amended (ESEA) 
(currently 20 U.S.C. 7801(2)).
    In addition to utilizing the SPPE data as general 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 ESEA, Impact Aid, and Indian 
Education. Other programs such as the Educational Technology State 
Grants program (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 2004, 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 15, 2004, or as soon as possible thereafter. SEAs are 
urged to submit accurate and complete data on March 15, 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 7, 2004.
    Having accurate and consistent information on time is critical to 
an efficient and fair allocation process and to the NCES statistical 
process. To ensure timely distribution of Federal education funds based 
on the best, most accurate data available, NCES

[[Page 7920]]

establishes, for allocation purposes, September 7, 2004, as the final 
date by which the NPEFS web form or 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 7, 2004, 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/news/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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9543.

    Dated: February 13, 2004.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 04-3740 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P