[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25846-25847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09953]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2021-SCC-0072]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Maintenance-of-Effort Requirements and Waiver Requests Under the 
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund and the 
Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund

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 
requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an 
emergency review of a revision of a currently approved collection.

DATES: OMB approved this information collection under emergency 
processing on April 19, 2021. A regular clearance process is also 
hereby being initiated. Interested persons are invited to submit 
comments on or before July 12, 2021.

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-2021-SCC-0072. 
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 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 Britt Jung, 202-453-6046.

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

[[Page 25847]]

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: Maintenance-of-Effort Requirements and Waiver 
Requests under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 
(ESSER) Fund and the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund.
    OMB Control Number: 1810-0745.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments 
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 81.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 358.
    Abstract: The Department is requesting an emergency approval for a 
revision of the OMB approved CARES Act Maintenance of Effort (MOE) 
collection under OMB control number 1810-0745. In recognition of the 
immense challenges facing students, educators, staff, schools, LEAs, 
and SEAs right now, Congress has made additional ESSER and GEER funds 
available to SEAs and LEAs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to 
COVID-19 through the CRRSA Act and, most recently and significantly, 
the ARP Act. It is critical that States and Governors receive clear 
guidance on the MOE requirements under the CRRSA Act and the ARP Act to 
inform their spending decisions and implementation plans for the GEER 
and ESSER programs as SEAs and LEAs prepare to help schools return 
safely to in-person instruction, maximize in-person instructional time, 
sustain the safe operation of schools, and address the academic, 
social, emotional, and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
This guidance and the associated collection provide States and 
Governors clear guidance they need to fully implement their GEER and 
ESSER programs. States and Governors have delayed distributing and 
spending funds due to the absence of guidance on the process for 
requesting waivers of MOE. Additionally, the Department will not be 
able to properly monitor GEER and ESSER recipients or provide technical 
assistance without collecting the MOE data and, when requested by 
States, grant MOE waiver requests.
    Additional Information: If this collection is not allowed to 
proceed, States and Governors will not have the clear guidance they 
need to fully implement their GEER and ESSER programs. States and 
Governors have delayed distributing and spending funds due to the 
absence of guidance on the process for requesting waivers of MOE. 
Additionally, the Department will not be able to properly monitor GEER 
and ESSER recipients or provide technical assistance without collecting 
the MOE data and, when requested by States, grant MOE waiver requests.

    Dated: May 6, 2021.
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. 2021-09953 Filed 5-10-21; 8:45 am]
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