[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 134 (Friday, July 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37748-37749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14732]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2021-SCC-0099]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; ESEA 
Fiscal Waiver Requests

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 new information collection.

DATES: The Department requested emergency processing from OMB for this 
information collection request on July 1, 2021. As a result, the 
Department is providing the public with the opportunity to comment 
under the full comment period. Interested persons are invited to submit 
comments on or before September 14, 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-0099. 
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 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Todd Stephenson, 202-205-1645.

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: ESEA Fiscal Waiver Requests.
    OMB Control Number: 1810-0760.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 53.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 53.
    Abstract: Due to the continued extraordinary circumstances created 
by the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented obstacles students, 
educators, and schools are facing during the 2020-2021 school year, the 
U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is offering each State 
educational agency (SEA) the opportunity to request waivers that will 
afford additional fiscal flexibility for certain funds received under 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), pursuant to 
the Department's authority under section 8401 of the ESEA. 
Specifically, the Department is offering a waiver for an SEA to be able 
to approve a local educational agency (LEA) to carry over more than 15 
percent of its fiscal year (FY) 2020 Title I, Part A funds (i.e., the 
Title I, Part A funds that will become carryover funds on October 1, 
2021), even if the LEA has received a waiver from its SEA to exceed 
this limitation for its FY 2018 or FY 2019 Title I, Part A funds. 
Second, we are also offering flexibility to each SEA to be able to

[[Page 37749]]

extend for itself and its subgrantees the period of availability of FY 
2019 funds for programs included in the State's consolidated State plan 
to allow additional time to obligate those funds.
    As the end of the current school year approaches and districts and 
schools continue to plan for the 2021-2022 school year, knowing whether 
their SEA is granted the invited waivers is essential to informing 
their planning because it provides more certainty about the 
availability of Federal funds for ESEA programs. Providing a 
streamlined process for SEA waiver requests will speed the process for 
both the SEA and the Department and help ensure State and local staff 
are able to maintain focus on the pressing needs of students. Any 
additional delay will have a negative impact on schools and students. 
In order to reduce the burden on States, the Department has created an 
optional template for States to collect the information required under 
ESEA section 8401 to request waivers of certain fiscal requirements. 
The optional template requests only information that is required under 
ESEA section 8401. The Department obtained OMB approval through 
emergency processing, and is now offering the public an opportunity to 
comment on this information collection.

    Dated: July 7, 2021.
Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-14732 Filed 7-15-21; 8:45 am]
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