[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 91 (Thursday, May 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26213-26215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10196]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Public Posting Requirement of Grant Information for 
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Grantees

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) publishes an 
Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Electronic 
Announcement (EA) that describes the public reporting requirements for 
Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the Coronavirus 
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) and 
American Rescue Plan Act, 2021 (ARP) section (a)(1) and (a)(4) 
programs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Epps, U.S. Department of 
Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
Room 250-64, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 377-3711; Email: 
[email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at 1-800-
877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 314(e) of CRRSAA (Pub. L. 116-260) 
directs institutions receiving funds under section 314 to submit (in a 
time and manner required by the Secretary) a report to the Secretary 
describing the use of funds distributed from the HEERF. While ARP does 
not explicitly identify procedures by which institutions submit a 
report to the Secretary, the Department exercises this reporting 
authority under 2 CFR 200.328 and 2 CFR 200.329. The reporting 
requirements are intended to ensure that the statutory requirements 
described below are met for (1) the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) Student Grant 
Programs, and

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(2) CRRSAA and ARP (a)(4) Student Grant Programs.

1. CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) Student Grant Programs

    Section 314(d)(5) of CRRSAA requires that an institution receiving 
funding under section 314(a)(1) provide the same amount in financial 
aid grants to students from the new CRRSAA funds that it was required 
or which it would have been required to provide under its original 
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Student 
Aid Portion award. The ARP, with some changes, is a continuation of the 
CRRSAA programs. Under the ARP (a)(1) program, as authorized under 
section 2003 of the ARP, the amount each institution must use for 
financial aid grants to students is determined by calculating the sum 
of 50 percent of the amount each institution receives under the formula 
factors in CRRSAA section 314(a)(1)(A)-(D); and 100 percent of the 
amount received under the formula factors in CRRSAA section 
314(a)(1)(E)-(F). Student award amounts for both the CRRSAA and ARP 
(a)(1) programs are identified for each institution in their respective 
allocation table.
    Under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) programs, student portion funds 
must be used to provide financial aid grants to students (including 
students exclusively enrolled in distance education) which may be used 
for any component of the student's cost of attendance or for emergency 
costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, 
health care (including mental health care), or child care. In making 
financial aid grants to students, an institution of higher education 
must prioritize grants to students with exceptional need, such as 
students who receive Pell Grants.

2. CRRSAA and ARP (a)(4) Student Grant Programs

    Under both the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(4) programs, allocations for 
eligible proprietary institutions of higher education are calculated on 
the basis of the formula specified under section 314(a)(1)(A)-(F) of 
CRRSAA. For ARP, the total amount of funding allocated to the (a)(4) 
funding stream is determined under ARP section 2003(4).
    Under CRRSAA section 314(d)(7), which continues to apply to ARP 
(a)(4) funds, awards from the Proprietary Institution Grant Funds for 
Students Program may only be used to provide financial aid grants to 
students (including students exclusively enrolled in distance 
education), which may be used for any component of the student's cost 
of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, 
such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health 
care), or child care. In making such financial aid grants to students, 
grantees must prioritize grants to students with exceptional need, such 
as students who receive Pell Grants.
    The Certification and Agreements for the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and 
(a)(4) funds provide that each institution applying for HEERF funds 
must promptly and timely provide a detailed accounting of the use and 
expenditure of the funds in such manner and with such frequency as the 
Secretary may require. Each HEERF participating institution must post 
the information listed below on the institution's primary website, as 
an initial report under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs. 
This report is associated with the approved information collection 
under OMB control number 1801-0005.
    The Department encourages institutions to report as soon as 
possible, but no later than 30 days after the publication of this 
notice or 30 days after the date the Department first obligated funds 
under HEERF I, II, or III to the institution for Emergency Financial 
Aid Grants to Students, whichever comes later.
    The following information must appear in a format and location that 
is easily accessible to the public. This information must also be 
updated no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter 
(September 30, and December 31, March 31, June 30) thereafter, unless 
the Secretary specifies an alternative method of reporting:
    (1) An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to 
the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that 
the institution has used the applicable amount of funds designated 
under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs to provide 
Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
    (2) The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or 
has received from the Department pursuant to the institution's 
Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to 
Students under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs.
    (3) The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed 
to students under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs as of 
the date of submission (i.e., as of the initial report and every 
calendar quarter thereafter).
    (4) The estimated total number of students at the institution that 
are eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students 
under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs.
    (5) The total number of students who have received an Emergency 
Financial Aid Grant to students under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and 
(a)(4) programs.
    (6) The method(s) used by the institution to determine which 
students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would 
receive under the CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) programs.
    (7) Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the 
institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.

    Note:  For the initial report and each report thereafter, 
institutions should use data suppression and other methodologies to 
protect the personally identifiable information from student 
education records consistent with the Family Educational Rights and 
Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR part 99). This means that if 
the total number of eligible students or the total number of 
students who received Emergency Financial Aid Grants is less than 
10, but not 0, then the institution must display the total number of 
students eligible and/or the total number of students who received 
Emergency Financial Aid Grants as less than 10 (``<10'') on the 
publicly available websites controlled by the institution.

    Institutions that the Department determines have not met the 
reporting requirement as described in this notice may, consistent with 
the Department's authority to monitor grantee compliance, be subject to 
appropriate enforcement actions, up to and including being determined 
to be ineligible for certain other HEERF program funding. For other 
subsequent reports for this program and other related HEERF programs, 
the Department will notify participating institutions of the 
Department's preferred reporting method. The Department may choose to 
collect additional information from institutions in accordance with the 
CRRSAA and ARP (a)(1) and (a)(4) program Certification and Agreements.
    For more information on the HEERF, please visit the Department's 
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund page at: www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/arp.html.
    Accessible Format: On request to the 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 another accessible format.

[[Page 26215]]

    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.
    Program Authority: Section 314 of the CRRSAA and 2003 of ARP.

Paperwork Burden Statement

    According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), no persons 
are required to respond to a collection of information unless such 
collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control 
number for this information collection is 1801-0005. Public reporting 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 
minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, 
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data 
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 
Under the PRA, participants are required to respond to this collection 
to obtain or retain benefit. If you have any comments concerning the 
accuracy of the time estimate or suggestions for improving this 
individual collection, or if you have comments or concerns regarding 
the status of your individual form, application, or survey, please 
contact: Karen Epps, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue 
SW, Washington, DC 20202.

Michelle Asha Cooper,
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-10196 Filed 5-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P