[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14616-14618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05588]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Request for Information on Supporting the Reopening and 
Continuing Operation of Schools, Colleges and Universities, and Early 
Childhood Education Providers

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Office of 
Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; Office of Postsecondary 
Education; Department of Education.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the President's Executive order titled 
``Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and 
Early Childhood Education Providers,'' the U.S. Department of Education 
(Department) is requesting information to enable teachers, faculty, 
staff, schools, districts, institutions of higher education (IHEs), 
early childhood education providers, other places of educational 
instruction, and States to share lessons learned and best practices for 
operating safely and supporting all children and students, including 
children and students with disabilities, English learners, racial and 
ethnic minorities, and other underserved children and students, 
teachers, faculty, and staff during the pandemic. We will consider this 
information when populating a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices 
Clearinghouse. Responding to the request for information or undertaking 
any of the lessons learned included in the Clearinghouse are completely 
voluntary activities and are not prerequisites to receipt of any 
Federal funding.

DATES: We will receive submissions on a continuous basis until 
September 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your response to this request for information by 
email to [email protected]. We will not accept 
submissions by postal mail, commercial mail, hand delivery, or fax. To 
ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, please submit each 
lesson learned or best practice only one time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Hammer, Ph.D., Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-7240. Telephone: (202) 213-
9771. Email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Every student in America deserves a high-
quality education in a safe and inclusive environment. The novel 
coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened this promise, which 
was already out of reach for many of this Nation's historically 
underserved students. In the wake of the pandemic, PreK-12 and higher 
education administrators, teachers, faculty, staff, early childhood 
education providers, counselors and advisors, custodians, school bus 
drivers, information technology, housing and food service, and other 
staff, and families have mobilized to go above and beyond to support 
the well-being and safety of all of our children and students during 
this crisis. Students and teaches, faculty, and staff alike have found 
new ways to teach and learn.
    On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 
14000, ``Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools 
and Early Childhood Education Providers.'' The E.O. directs the 
Department to take several actions to support States to safely open 
schools, PreK through IHEs, and ensure that all students receive a 
high-quality education. One of those actions is the development of a 
Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) 
to enable teachers, faculty, staff, schools, districts, IHEs, early 
childhood education providers, other places of educational instruction, 
and States to share lessons learned and best practices for operating 
safely during the pandemic. The Clearinghouse will include a collection 
of lessons learned and best practices submitted by teachers, faculty, 
staff, schools, districts, IHEs, early childhood education providers, 
other places of educational instruction, and States describing 
approaches to operating during the COVID-19 pandemic that the 
submitters believe to have worked well in their contexts. It will also 
include a wide variety of resources that the Department and other 
Federal agencies have published in response to the pandemic. The 
purpose of this information sharing is so that teachers, faculty, 
staff, schools, districts, IHEs, early childhood education providers, 
other places of educational instruction, and States may learn from what 
others are doing around the Nation, and accelerate the return to safe 
in-person teaching and learning.
    Through this request for information (RFI), we seek lessons learned 
and best practices for review and inclusion in the Clearinghouse on 
three topics: Safe and healthy environments; providing support to 
students to meet their social, emotional, mental health, academic, 
financial, and other needs, including access to food and other basic 
needs; and teacher, faculty, and staff well-being, professional 
development, and supports. The submissions should include substantive 
materials such as fact sheets, step-by-step guidance, policies or 
regulations, sample agreements among partners (e.g., between a local 
education agency and a local health agency, or an employee union), 
ready-to-implement resources, videos or other media focused on how to 
implement practices, and descriptions of how strategies have been 
implemented. Generally, submissions from the field should not include 
or reference materials such as commercial advertisements, vendor 
solicitations or products, and editorials. Submitters may include the 
actual materials or links to them.
    Please include the following with each submission:
    (1) Contact information.
    (2) Topic (e.g., safe and healthy environments; providing supports 
for students; teacher, faculty, and staff well-being, professional 
development, and supports).
    (3) Target audience (e.g., early childhood, PreK-12, 
postsecondary).
    (4) A short description (two to three sentences).
    (5) What makes it a lesson learned or best practice (e.g., it is 
based on local data regarding number of cases of COVID in the 
community, State or Federal guidance, research), including a summary of 
the impact and any evidence of positive outcomes and clarification of 
the type of setting the practice has been used in (e.g., rural/urban/
suburban, public/private/proprietary, 2-year or 4-year higher education 
institution, Historically Black College or University/Tribally 
Controlled College or University/Minority Serving Institution; other 
educational settings such as correctional facilities).
    (6) Whether there is a focus on racial equity and/or another equity 
focus, such as a focus on historically underserved populations 
including students with disabilities; English learners; students from 
low-income backgrounds; first-generation college students; students 
experiencing homelessness; students in or formerly in foster care; 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA) 
students; undocumented students; student veterans and military-
connected students; student parents; and international students.

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    The following table provides examples of the content for which we 
seek best practices and lessons learned.

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                     Example content for lessons learned/best practices
       Topic       -----------------------------------------------------
                     Early childhood        K-12          Postsecondary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safe and healthy               Social    Campus
 environments:       Cleaning early    distancing        protocols for
 School and campus   childhood         during class      distancing,
 approaches to       centers.          and in hallways   mask wearing,
 implementing the              between classes.  hand-washing
 Centers for         Ensuring proper             stations,
 Disease Control     mask wearing      Ensuring proper   maximum
 and Prevention's    for early         mask wearing.     occupants, etc.
 (CDC) recommended   childhood         Use of    in classrooms
 mitigation          education         pods with         and other
 strategies and      centers.          educational       campus
 preparing for and                     equity and        locations
 sustaining in-                        staffing          (e.g.,
 person operations                     considerations.   libraries,
 safely. This                                    museums, sports
 includes                              Protocols for     facilities).
 recommendations                       extra-           
 across all grade                      curricular        Institutions as
 and age levels of                     activities.       testing and
 students served,                                        vaccination
 with focus on                                           sites and
 reopening                                               sources of
 buildings for the                                       information for
 first time as                                           campus and
 well as keeping                                         surrounding
 them open safely.                                       communities.
                                                        
                                                         Supporting
                                                         students on and
                                                         off campus who
                                                         are in
                                                         isolation/
                                                         quarantine.
Providing Supports   Helping             Mental
 to Students:        to ensure         Supporting        health and
 School and campus   nutritional       students who      child-/elder
 strategies to       needs are met.    have lost         care supports
 meet student                  relatives or      to students who
 social,             Supporting        whose relatives   are struggling
 emotional, mental   children who      have lost         with issues
 health, academic,   have lost         employment due    such as loss,
 financial, and      relatives or      to the pandemic.  isolation,
 other needs,        whose relatives   Re-       significant
 including access    have lost         engaging          family
 to food and other   employment due    students who      challenges,
 basic needs. This   to the pandemic.  have been         unemployment or
 includes a                            chronically       financial
 specific focus on                     absent during     distress and
 the most                              the pandemic or   serving as the
 vulnerable                            who have had      support system
 learners and                          significant       for others on
 ensuring that                         adverse           campus.
 resources                             experiences.     
 provided by                                     Supporting
 schools and                           Strategies to     students who
 campuses will be                      identify and      are isolated
 able to connect                       mitigate equity   from campus
 with and meet the                     issues (e.g.,     support
 needs of those                        access to         networks.
 disconnected from                     broadband).      
 learning.                                               Ensuring
                                                         students can
                                                         provide for
                                                         basic needs
                                                         such as food,
                                                         housing, and
                                                         health care.
                                                        
                                                         Effective
                                                         course
                                                         management and
                                                         delivery
                                                         strategies.
                                                        
                                                         Creating
                                                         flexibilities
                                                         in the academic
                                                         calendar and
                                                         class schedule.
                                                        
                                                         Creating
                                                         flexibilities
                                                         in admissions
                                                         and enrollment
                                                         (e.g., test
                                                         optional,
                                                         transfer,
                                                         policies,
                                                         forgiving or
                                                         delaying
                                                         collection of
                                                         outstanding
                                                         balances).
                                                        
                                                         Strategies to
                                                         identify and
                                                         mitigate equity
                                                         issues (e.g.,
                                                         access to
                                                         broadband).
                                                         Student
                                                         financial
                                                         support.
Teacher, Faculty,    Mental              Mental
 and Staff Well-     health support    Stabilizing a     health supports
 Being,              for early         qualified and     to faculty and
 Professional        childhood         diverse           staff who are
 Development, and    education         educator          struggling with
 Supports: School    providers.        workforce.        issues such as
 and campus                              loss,
 strategies to       Assistance with   Assisting         isolation,
 address the         child- or elder-  educators in      significant
 social,             care.             providing         family
 emotional,                            effective         challenges,
 health, and other                     virtual or        unemployment or
 needs of                              hybrid            financial
 teachers,                             instruction       distress and
 faculty, and                          (including        serving as the
 staff.                                supporting the    support system
                                       use of            for others on
                                       educational       campus.
                                       technology).     
                                                 Assistance with
                                       Supporting        child- or elder-
                                       emotional well-   care.
                                       being for all    
                                       school            Institutional
                                       personnel.        policy changes
                                                 that allow
                                       Assistance with   faculty and
                                       child- or elder-  staff access to
                                       care.             sick leave or
                                                 other
                                       Accommodating     flexibilities
                                       staff with        if exposed to
                                       health risks.     COVID-19.
                                                        
                                                         Designing and
                                                         delivering
                                                         effective
                                                         remote or
                                                         hybrid
                                                         instruction
                                                         (e.g.,
                                                         synchronous
                                                         versus
                                                         asynchronous).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Each submitter will be notified of the Department's receipt of the 
submission. Note that the Department will not include all submissions 
in the Clearinghouse, and submissions that are included may be 
modified. Further, the Department will not include commercial product 
endorsements, nor any strategies that may lead a user to violate 
Federal law.
    This is a request for information only. This RFI is not a request 
for proposals

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(RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or a notice inviting applications. 
This RFI does not commit the Department to contract for any supply or 
service whatsoever. Further, we are not seeking proposals and will not 
accept unsolicited proposals. The Department will not pay for any 
information or administrative costs that you may incur in responding to 
this RFI. Inclusion of or publishing of any submissions in the 
Clearinghouse does not necessarily equate endorsement from the U.S. 
Department of Education or from the Federal Government, nor is it a 
certification of the effectiveness of the suggestion.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, the Department provides the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections 
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps ensure that the public 
understands the Department's collection instructions, respondents 
provide the requested data in the desired format, reporting burden 
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are 
clearly understood, and the Department can properly assess the impact 
of collection requirements on respondents.
    A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves 
the collection under the PRA and the corresponding information 
collection instrument displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required 
to comply with, or is subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a 
collection of information if the collection instrument does not display 
a currently valid OMB control number.
    The Department requested and was granted an emergency paperwork 
clearance from OMB for the data collection associated with this RFI. 
The Department will publish 60- and 30-day Federal Register notices as 
required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information 
collection.
    We estimate that 300 respondents will submit materials such as fact 
sheets, step-by-step guidance, and ready-to-implement resources in 
response to this RFI. We estimate that it will take each respondent one 
hour and 30 minutes to review instructions, gather submission 
materials, and submit the requested information. This will result in a 
total burden of 300 responses and 450 hours to the public.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Ruth Ryder,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs, Office of 
Elementary and Secondary Education.
Erin McHugh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy 
Development.
Tiwanda Burse,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and Planning, Office of 
Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-05588 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P