[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 146 (Wednesday, July 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45601-45602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16445]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2020-SCC-0124]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Education Stabilization Fund-- Elementary and Secondary School 
Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) Recipient Data Collection Form

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a new information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 28, 2020.

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-2020-SCC-0124. 
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 [email protected]. 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 
Director 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 Gabriella Tanner, 202-453-6129, 
or email [email protected].

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) Recipient Data 
Collection Form.
    OMB Control Number: 1810-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Organizations.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 14,656.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 44,248.
    Abstract: This information collection supports the annual 
collection of data pertaining to the uses of funds under the Elementary 
and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund). The Department 
ESSER awards grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) and analogous 
grants to Outlying Areas for the purpose of providing local educational 
agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, 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. LEAs must provide equitable 
services to students and teachers in non-public schools as required 
under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES 
Act). The information will be reviewed by Department employees to 
ensure that ESSER funds are used in accordance with Sec. 18003(d) of 
the CARES Act and will be shared with the public to promote 
transparency regarding the allocation and uses of funds.
    ESSER Reporting Requirements: Data collected through this 
information

[[Page 45602]]

collection will inform Department monitoring and oversight, and public 
reporting and is in addition to reporting already required under the 
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA), 
Public Law 109-282, as amended by the Digital Accountability and 
Transparency Act (DATA Act), Public Law 113-101.
    ESSER Reporting Timeframe: The anticipated reporting periods and 
associated deadlines for this information collection are as follows:
    The First Annual Report is due on January 29, 2021 and applies to 
the reporting period from March 13, 2020 through September 30, 2020. 
The Second Annual Report is due on January 31, 2022 and applies to the 
reporting period from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. The 
Third Annual Report is due on March 1, 2023 and applies to the 
reporting period from October 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022.
    Directed Questions: The Department requests input from data 
submitters and stakeholders on the following directed questions. Please 
note that in addition to these questions, public comments are 
encouraged on all of the changes proposed. While these questions are 
directed to SEA data submitters, comments from all stakeholders on 
these topics are welcome.
    (1) What data in this form will be difficult to collect or report 
and why? Are there changes that could be made to improve the quality of 
the data or reduce the burden? What are the overall challenges to 
reporting these data on an annual basis?
    (2) The Department is interested in reducing the burden of data 
collection and making use of existing data when at all possible. For 
example, are the proposed data on LEAs available in State data systems? 
If data are not available in the State data system, is it feasible for 
States to collect these data from LEAs that received ESSER funding?
    (3) Are the proposed data on student participation and engagement 
during remote learning currently being tracked by LEAs or SEAs? Are the 
proposed methods to document student participation and engagement 
during remote learning reliable? Are there additional methods used by 
LEAs to document student participation and engagement during remote 
learning?
    (4) Are SEAs and LEAs able determine to what proportion of students 
within the LEA had internet access (school or family provided internet 
access) at home?
    (5) Will the proposed method for collecting the number of FTE 
positions created or retained as a result of ESSER funds awarded to the 
SEA yield accurate data? Is there an alternative methodology that would 
improve the accuracy of the data?
    (6) What changes should be made to the form to accommodate data 
collection from the Outlying Areas of the United States, specifically: 
The US Virgin Islands (VI), Guam (GU), the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands (CNMI), and American Samoa (AS)?

    Dated: July 24, 2020.
Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-16445 Filed 7-28-20; 8:45 am]
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