[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58493-58494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20838]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0120]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Common 
Core of Data (CCD) School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) 2022-2024

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education 
(ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 28, 2022.

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-2022-SCC-0120. 
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 Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW,

[[Page 58494]]

LBJ, Room 6W203, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, (202) 245-6347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, 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 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: Common Core of Data (CCD) School-Level Finance 
Survey (SLFS) 2022-2024.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0930.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 306.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,938.
    Abstract: NCES annually publishes comprehensive data on the 
finances of public elementary/secondary schools through the Common Core 
of Data (CCD). For numerous years, these data have been released at the 
state level through the National Public Education Financial Survey 
(NPEFS) (OMB#1850-0067) and at the school district level through the 
Local Education Agency (School District) Finance Survey (F-33). 
(OMB#0607-0700). There is a significant demand for finance data at the 
school level. Policymakers, researchers, and the public have long 
voiced concerns about the equitable distribution of school funding 
within and across school districts. School-level finance data addresses 
the need for reliable and unbiased measures that can be utilized to 
compare how resources are distributed among schools within local 
districts. Education expenditure data are now available at the school 
level through the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS).
    The School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) data collection is conducted 
annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within 
the U.S. Department of Education (ED). In November of 2018, the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) approved changes to the SLFS wherein 
variables have been added to make the SLFS directly analogous to the F-
33 Survey and to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provisions on 
reporting expenditures per-pupil at the local education agency (LEA) 
and school-level. A previous package cleared in October 2021 approved 
data collection for FY 2021, 2022, and 2023 (OMB#1850-0930 v.3). This 
request includes considerable modifications to the previous package and 
will allow NCES to conduct in 2023 through 2025 the SLFS for fiscal 
years 2022 through 2024 (corresponding to school years 2021/22 through 
2023/24) and to continue the collection of data that is analogous to 
the current ESSA expenditures per pupil provision. As an important new 
addition that is part of this request, the Department's Office of Civil 
Rights (OCR) proposes to engage NCES to assist OCR with collecting 
school level finance data as part of the Civil Rights Data Collection 
(CRDC). Pursuant to its authority under the DEOA, as well as its 
regulations, OCR has determined that the CRDC is necessary to ascertain 
or ensure compliance with the civil rights laws within its 
jurisdiction, and therefore established it as a mandatory collection.
    Parts A and B of this submission present the justification for the 
information collection and an explanation of the statistical methods 
employed. Part C describes the SLFS instrument, Appendix A provides the 
SEA communication materials that will be used to conduct the SLFS data 
collection, Appendix B provides the SLFS data collection form and 
instructions, and Appendix C provides the survey of SEA's school-level 
finances fiscal data plan.

    Dated: September 21, 2022.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-20838 Filed 9-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P