[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 36 (Thursday, February 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11421-11422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03716]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Common Core of Data (CCD) School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) 
2022-2024

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of 
Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed 
information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of 
publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request 
(ICR) by selecting ``Department of Education'' under ``Currently Under 
Review,'' then check the ``Only Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox. 
Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this 
information collection request. Information collection forms and 
instructions may be found by clicking on the ``View Information 
Collection (IC) List'' link. Supporting statements and other supporting 
documentation may be found by clicking on the ``View Supporting 
Statement and Other Documents'' link.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.

[[Page 11422]]

    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 ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, local, and Tribal governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 331.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,760.
    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 Department of Education 
Organization Act (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: February 17, 2023.
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. 2023-03716 Filed 2-22-23; 8:45 am]
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