Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Education Stabilization Fund-Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER I/ESSER II/ARP ESSER Fund)[...]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Education Stabilization Fund-Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER I/ESSER II/ARP ESSER Fund) Recipient Data Collection Form

Dates

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 7, 2024.

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. The Department 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: Education Stabilization Fund-Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER I/ESSER II/ARP ESSER Fund) Recipient Data Collection Form.

OMB Control Number: 1810-0749.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 14,652.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,051,280.

Abstract: Under the COVID national health emergency, the legislative and executive branches of government came together to offer relief to those individuals and industries affected by the COVID-19 virus under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Pub. L. 116-136) authorized on March 27, 2020, and expanded through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund awards grants to SEAs and for the purpose of providing local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the Nation.

This information collection requests approval for a revision to a previously approved collection that includes annual reporting requirements to comply with the requirements of the ESSER program and obtain information on how the funds were used by State and Local Education Agencies. This revision includes updates to the reporting dates minor language updates that do not impact the burden of the collection. No new questions are being added.

The information will be reviewed by U.S. Department of Education (Department) employees to ensure that ESSER funds are used in accordance with applicable requirements under the CARES, CRRSA, and ARP Acts and will be shared with the public to promote transparency regarding the allocation and uses of funds. Furthermore, the information collected will be analyzed to provide aggregate statistics on SEA and LEA use of Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) funds to address the impacts of the COVID-19 virus on students and schools. The collection was used for a similar purpose in the first three years of its administration, with reporting made public in 2021, 2022, and 2024.