Proposed Requirement American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

Summary

A Department of Education proposed requirement for the ARP ESSER Fund, Docket ID ED-2021-OESE-0116, scheduled for Federal Register publication on January 3, 2022, would have each state educational agency post on its website maintenance of equity information for every applicable local educational agency. It revises an October 5, 2021 proposal after 27 comments from States, LEAs and national organizations and proposes a longer reporting period. The text recalls the August 6, 2021 Dear Colleague Letter and the Appendix A data States submitted. A burden table estimates 52 responses for LEA-level data posting at 8.5 hours each and 20 for updates, for a total of 532 hours and $28,800. Ian Rosenblum, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs, is the named official.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

Note: The official version of this document is the document published
in the Federal Register. This document has been sent to the Office of
the Federal Register and has been scheduled for publication on January
3, 2022.



4000-01-U

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter II

Proposed Requirement--American Rescue Plan Act Elementary

and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

[Docket ID ED-2021-OESE-0116]

AGENCY:     Office of Elementary and Secondary Education,

Department of Education.

ACTION:     Proposed requirement.

SUMMARY:    The Department of Education (Department) proposes

a requirement for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and

Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund, under

the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act).           This

requirement is intended to promote accountability and

transparency by requiring each State educational agency

(SEA) to post on its website maintenance of equity

information for each applicable local educational agency

(LEA).

DATES:    We must receive your comments on or before [INSERT

DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL

REGISTER].
                                   1
ADDRESSES:     Submit your comments through the Federal

eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery,

or hand delivery.    We will not accept comments submitted by

fax or by email or those submitted after the comment

period.    To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies,

please submit your comments only once.      In addition, please

include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.

     •    Federal eRulemaking Portal:   Go to

www.regulations.gov to submit your comments electronically.

Information on using Regulations.gov, including

instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting

comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site

under “FAQ.”

     •    Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery:

If you mail or deliver your comments about the proposed

requirement, address them to U.S. Department of Education,

400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 3W113, Washington, DC 20202.

Privacy Note:     The Department’s policy is to make all

comments received from members of the public available for

public viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking

Portal at www.regulations.gov.      Therefore, commenters

should be careful to include in their comments only

information that they wish to make publicly available.

                                2
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:      Britt Jung, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room

3W113, Washington, DC 20202.      Telephone: (202) 453-

5563.   Email:   ESSERF@ed.gov.

     If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay

Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation to Comment:    We invite you to submit comments

regarding the proposed requirement.      To ensure that your

comments have maximum effect in developing the requirement,

we urge you to clearly identify the specific section of the

proposed requirement that each comment addresses.

     We invite you to assist us in complying with the

specific requirements of Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

and their overall requirement of reducing regulatory burden

that might result from the proposed requirement.

     During and after the comment period, you may inspect

all public comments about the proposed requirement by

accessing Regulations.gov.     You may also inspect the

comments in person.   Please contact the person listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to make arrangements to

inspect the comments in person.


                                  3
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing

the Rulemaking Record:    On request we will provide an

appropriate accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual

with a disability who needs assistance to review the

comments or other documents in the public rulemaking record

for the proposed requirement.       If you want to schedule an

appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary

aid, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.

Purpose of Program:    The ARP ESSER Fund provides nearly

$122 billion to SEAs and LEAs to help them safely reopen

and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the

impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing students’

academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.       As a

condition of receiving the funds, each SEA and LEA must

comply with multiple requirements, including the

maintenance of equity requirements in section 2004 of the

ARP Act.

Program Authority:     ARP Act, Public Law 117-2, March 11,

2021.

PROPOSED REQUIREMENT:    This document contains one proposed

requirement.

Background:


                                4
    The ARP Act provides nearly $122 billion via the ARP

ESSER Fund to SEAs and LEAs to help schools return safely

to in-person instruction; sustain the safe operation of

schools; and address the academic, social, emotional, and

mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the

Nation’s students.     Under section 2004 of the ARP Act, SEAs

and LEAs must meet new maintenance of equity requirements

to receive funds under the ARP ESSER Fund.    These

provisions ensure that LEAs and schools serving a large

share of students from low-income backgrounds do not

experience a disproportionate share of reduced funding in

fiscal years (FYs) 2022 and 2023, and that, for the

highest-poverty LEAs, State funding is not decreased below

their FY 2019 level.    In addition, the maintenance of

equity provisions ensure that each LEA safeguards its high-

poverty schools from disproportionate cuts to funding and

staffing.   On August 6, 2021, the Department issued a Dear

Colleague Letter (DCL) to Chief State School Officers and

District School Superintendents emphasizing the importance

of maintaining equity and addressing specific

implementation challenges for FY 2022.    On August 6, the

Department also issued updated Frequently Asked Questions




                                5
on the Maintenance of Equity Requirements (FAQs)1 providing

detailed guidance on how each SEA and LEA can maintain

equity and comply with the maintenance of equity

provisions.    In that guidance, the Department indicated

that SEAs and LEAs should consider making maintenance of

equity data publicly available.

      In Appendix A to the FAQs issued in June 2021 and

updated on August 6and October 1, 2021, the Department

required each SEA to report to it baseline and initial data

on the State’s high-need and highest-poverty LEAs.            These

data include:     a list of the high-need LEAs; the statewide

per-pupil amount of State funds provided to all LEAs in FYs

2021 and 2022 as well as the per-pupil amount provided to

each high-need LEA in those years; a list of the highest-

poverty LEAs; and the per-pupil amount of State funds

provided to each highest-poverty LEA in FYs 2019 and 2022.

In addition, each SEA was required to submit a list of the

high-poverty schools in each LEA that must maintain equity

in FY 2022.    The Department is posting these data on its

website at: https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-

plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-


1 See https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/08/Maintenance-of-Equity-updated-
FAQs_final_08.06.2021.pdf .


                                   6
emergency-relief/maintenance-of-equity/ and will update the

website as new data become available.         The Department also

intends to collect SEA-level maintenance of equity data

through each State’s annual performance report and will

make those data publicly available.

     Although data on State-level maintenance of equity

will be available on the Department’s website, there are

not publicly available data for LEA-level maintenance of

equity.   Accordingly, on October 5, 2021, the Department

proposed a requirement2 to address this need for

transparency and accountability consistent with the

Department’s policy goals of ensuring that schools serving

large proportions of historically underserved groups of

students--including students from low-income families,

students of color, English learners, students with

disabilities, migratory students, and students experiencing

homelessness--receive an equitable share of State and local

funds as the Nation continues to recover from the impact of

the COVID-19 pandemic on our education system.           To support

these goals, and to ensure public accountability for the

implementation of the LEA-level maintenance of equity



2 www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/05/2021-21764/proposed-
requirement-american-rescue-plan-act-elementary-and-secondary-school-
emergency-relief-fund
                                   7
provisions of the ARP Act, the Department proposed to

require that each SEA make publicly available information

on how each LEA in the State is maintaining fiscal and

staffing equity to meet the requirements of section 2004(c)

of the ARP Act.   Requiring that maintenance of equity data

be publicly available would allow parents, families, and

local communities to access information on how the LEA is

maintaining equity for schools with high concentrations of

students from low-income families.    Additionally, public

posting of data and information on how each LEA in the

State is maintaining equity is an important accountability

tool for SEAs and the Department.

    In response to the proposed requirement, the

Department received 27 comments from States, LEAs, and

national organizations.   After considering those comments

and other stakeholder input, the Department proposes this

significantly revised requirement.

    Many commenters recommended that the Department extend

the reporting deadline to allow more time for SEAs and LEAs

to prepare to meet the data reporting requirements and

ensure more accurate reporting.     The Department recognizes

the concerns of grantees regarding accurate data reporting

on a constricted timeline.   As a result, the Department


                              8
proposes to adjust the deadline to significantly extend the

period for reporting data.

    In addition, multiple commenters strongly recommended

allowing for increased flexibility in the reporting

requirements to accommodate SEAs’ and LEAs’ different

school finance reporting systems.     In response to these

comments, the Department proposes to specify expanded

options available to SEAs for reporting data to allow an

LEA to demonstrate that the LEA maintained equity by

providing applicable per-pupil expenditure data where

appropriate.   Specifically, paragraph (d) of the proposed

requirement permits an SEA and its LEAs, in meeting and

reporting LEA-level maintenance of equity, to rely on the

applicable per-pupil expenditure data required to be

included on the State report card pursuant to section

1111(h)(1)(C)(x) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965 (ESEA).   This paragraph would provide an LEA

additional flexibility in meeting the LEA-level maintenance

of effort requirement by using expenditure data the LEA may

already have available for reporting per-pupil expenditures

under section 1111(h)(1)(C)(x) of the ESEA without

establishing new reporting systems.




                              9
     Finally, commenters expressed concern over the

potential burden that these data reporting requirements

would place on SEAs and LEAs, noting that systems may not

be in place yet to collect and analyze the data and that

developing such systems takes significant amounts of time

and labor.

     The Department acknowledges these concerns and has

addressed them through changes designed to achieve the

benefit of sharing information on State and local funding

in order to support students who have been subject to

longstanding opportunity gaps in our education system.

     Under paragraph (c) of the proposed requirements, each

State would be required to publish, by December 31

following each applicable school year, specific data

regarding compliance with the LEA-level maintenance of

equity requirements.   We are specifically requesting

comment on whether such data elements would be available on

the proposed timeline and, if not, when such data would be

available.   We also solicit comment as to whether, in the

alternative, States would be able to publish data on the

same proposed timeline demonstrating how each LEA met the

fiscal and staffing equity requirements generally, instead

of the specific data elements in proposed paragraph (c),


                              10
and whether it would achieve similar transparency

objectives.   Under this alternative approach, States would

have additional flexibility in the data they use to

demonstrate LEA compliance with the requirements, though

such an approach could limit cross-State data comparability

and provide less certainty for stakeholders regarding the

types of data they may reasonably expect from their SEA on

LEA implementation.

     Finally, given the proposed flexibilities in reporting

on LEA-level maintenance of equity, the Department proposes

in paragraph (b) that each SEA, by March 31, 2022 for FY

2022 which is the 2021-2022 school year and by November 1,

2022 for FY 2023 which is the 2022-2023 school year,

publish on its website a description of how the SEA will

ensure that each LEA that is not excepted from LEA-level

maintenance of equity requirements is ensuring that its

high-poverty schools are protected from any reduction of

per-pupil funding by an amount that exceeds the overall

per-pupil reduction in the LEA, if any, such that the LEA

can make any necessary adjustments in a timely manner.

This provision is designed to ensure an SEA has a process

for determining that its LEAs actually maintain equity and,

if the LEAs do not, are able to make any necessary


                              11
adjustments in a timely manner.

    Several questions in the FAQs on LEA-level maintenance

of equity (see generally Questions 22-32) address the data

an SEA would report under this proposed requirement.      For

example, Question 32 discusses LEAs that may be excepted

under proposed paragraph (a)(1) from meeting the LEA-level

maintenance of equity requirements, including those LEAs

that qualify as having exceptional or uncontrollable

circumstances in FY 2022 due to the pandemic.   (See also

the August 6, 2021, DCL.)    Similarly, Questions 23-25

clarify how to identify high-poverty schools under proposed

paragraph (a)(2).    Question 26 provides information

applicable to proposed paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) and (d) on

how the amount of per-pupil funding aligns with reporting

on per-pupil expenditures under section 1111(h)(1)(C)(x) of

the ESEA.   Questions 28 and 29 clarify how to determine

full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff applicable to proposed

paragraphs (c)(3) and (4).   Finally, Questions 27 and 30

address how to determine if an LEA has maintained equity in

its high-poverty schools for proposed paragraph (c)(5).

Proposed Requirement:

    (a)     By March 31, 2022 for FY 2022 which is the 2021-

2022 school year and by November 1, 2022 for FY 2023 which


                               12
is the 2022-2023 school year, a State educational agency

(SEA) must publish the following LEA-level maintenance of

equity data on its website:

    (1)     The identity of each LEA in the State that is

excepted from LEA-level maintenance of equity requirements

under section 2004(c)(2) of the ARP Act for each of the

following reasons:

    (i)     The LEA has a total enrollment of less than 1,000

students.

    (ii)    The LEA operates a single school.

    (iii)     The LEA serves all students within each grade

span with a single school.

    (iv)     The LEA has notified the SEA that the LEA

demonstrates an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance

under section 2004(c)(2)(D) of the ARP Act and has not

implemented an aggregate reduction in combined State and

local per-pupil funding.

    (v)     The LEA has been granted an exception from LEA-

level maintenance of equity requirements by the Department

due to an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance under

section 2004(c)(2)(D) of the ARP Act and the Department has

informed the SEA of this exception.

    (2)     For each LEA that is not excepted from LEA-level


                               13
maintenance of equity requirements as detailed in paragraph

(a)(1), the schools in the LEA that are identified as

“high-poverty schools” as defined in section 2004(d)(4) of

the ARP Act.

     (b)   By March 31, 2022 for FY 2022 which is the 2021-

2022 school year and by November 1, 2022 for FY 2023 which

is the 2022-2023 school year, each SEA must publish on its

website a description of how the SEA will ensure that each

LEA that is not excepted from LEA-level maintenance of

equity requirements is ensuring that its high-poverty

schools are protected from any reduction of per-pupil

funding by an amount that exceeds the overall per-pupil

reduction in the LEA, if any, such that the LEA can make

any necessary adjustments in a timely manner.

     (c)   By December 31 following each applicable school

year (e.g., December 31, 2022, for FY 2022 which is the

2021-2022 school year) or such other date as the Department

may approve upon request from an SEA due to the SEA’s

specific circumstances, an SEA must publish the following

LEA-level maintenance of equity data on its website for

each LEA in the State that is not excepted from LEA-level

maintenance of equity requirements as detailed in paragraph

(a)(1):


                              14
    (1)   The per-pupil amount of funding for each high-

poverty school in the LEA in FYs 2021, 2022, and 2023, as

applicable for the year for which the data are published.

    (2)   The per-pupil amount of funding in the aggregate

for all schools in the LEA, on a districtwide basis or by

grade span, in FYs 2021, 2022, and 2023, as applicable for

the year for which the data are published.

    (3)   The per-pupil number of full-time-equivalent

(FTE) staff for each high-poverty school in the LEA in FYs

2021, 2022, and 2023, as applicable for the year for which

the data are published, which may also be indicated as the

number of students per FTE staff.

    (4)   The per-pupil number of FTE staff in the

aggregate for all schools in the LEA, on a districtwide

basis or by grade span, in FYs 2021, 2022, and 2023, as

applicable for the year for which the data are published,

which may also be indicated as the number of students per

FTEs.

    (5)   Whether the LEA did not maintain equity for any

high-poverty school in FY 2022 or 2023, as applicable for

the year for which the data are published.

    (d)   For the purpose of the reporting required in

paragraph (c), an SEA and its LEAs may rely on the


                             15
applicable per-pupil expenditure data required to be

included on the State report card pursuant to section

1111(h)(1)(C)(x) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965.

    (e)   All data required to be published under

paragraphs (a)-(d) must be published in a way that is

machine-readable and accessible, in a location accessible

for parents and families.    LEA- and school-level data must

be listed by the applicable National Center for Education

Statistics LEA ID and school ID, where applicable.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

Regulatory Impact Analysis

    Under Executive Order 12866, the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) must determine whether this regulatory

action is “significant” and, therefore, subject to the

requirements of the Executive order and subject to review

by OMB.   Section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 defines a

“significant regulatory action” as an action likely to

result in a rule that may--

    (1)   Have an annual effect on the economy of $100

million or more, or adversely affect a sector of the

economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment,

public health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal


                               16
governments or communities in a material way (also referred

to as an “economically significant” rule);

    (2)   Create serious inconsistency or otherwise

interfere with an action taken or planned by another

agency;

    (3)   Materially alter the budgetary impacts of

entitlement grants, user fees, or loan programs or the

rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or

    (4)   Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of

legal mandates, the President’s priorities, or the

principles stated in the Executive Order.

    This proposed regulatory action is not a significant

regulatory action subject to review by OMB under section

3(f) of Executive Order 12866.

    We have also reviewed this proposed regulatory action

under Executive Order 13563, which supplements and

explicitly reaffirms the principles, structures, and

definitions governing regulatory review established in

Executive Order 12866.   To the extent permitted by law,

Executive Order 13563 requires that an agency--

    (1)   Propose or adopt regulations only on a reasoned

determination that their benefits justify their costs

(recognizing that some benefits and costs are difficult to


                              17
quantify);

    (2)   Tailor its regulations to impose the least burden

on society, consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives

and taking into account--among other things and to the

extent practicable--the costs of cumulative regulations;

    (3)   In choosing among alternative regulatory

approaches, select those approaches that maximize net

benefits (including potential economic, environmental,

public health and safety, and other advantages;

distributive impacts; and equity);

    (4)   To the extent feasible, specify performance

objectives, rather than the behavior or manner of

compliance a regulated entity must adopt; and

    (5)   Identify and assess available alternatives to

direct regulation, including economic incentives--such as

user fees or marketable permits--to encourage the desired

behavior, or provide information that enables the public to

make choices.

    Executive Order 13563 also requires an agency “to use

the best available techniques to quantify anticipated

present and future benefits and costs as accurately as

possible.”   The Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs of OMB has emphasized that these techniques may


                              18
include “identifying changing future compliance costs that

might result from technological innovation or anticipated

behavioral changes.”

    We are issuing the proposed requirement only on a

reasoned determination that its benefits would justify its

costs.    In choosing among alternative regulatory

approaches, we selected the approach that would maximize

net benefits.    Based on an analysis of anticipated costs

and benefits, we believe that the proposed requirement is

consistent with the principles in Executive Order 13563.

    We also have determined that this regulatory action

does not unduly interfere with State, local, and Tribal

governments in the exercise of their governmental

functions.

    In accordance with the Executive orders, the

Department has assessed the potential costs and benefits,

both quantitative and qualitative, of this regulatory

action.    The potential costs are those resulting from

statutory requirements and those we have determined as

necessary for administering the Department’s programs and

activities.

Potential Costs and Benefits

    The Department has analyzed the costs and benefits of


                               19
complying with the proposed requirement.   Due to the

varying capacity and administrative structures of affected

entities, we cannot estimate, with absolute precision, the

likely effects of the proposed requirement.     However, as

discussed below, we estimate that the proposed requirement

would have a net cost of $60,000 over two years.

    As an initial matter, the Department recognizes that

staff at SEAs and LEAs nationwide expend considerable

effort every year on education finance, both in their

general supervisory capacity and as part of their efforts

to comply with the maintenance of equity requirements in

the ARP Act.   The analysis below is not an attempt to

quantify those efforts.   Rather, this analysis is limited

only to the incremental cost of complying with the proposed

requirement (e.g., through public reporting).

    For the purposes of these estimates, the Department

assumes that the proposed requirement does not generate any

additional data collection or retention burdens beyond

those already imposed by the statutory requirement itself.

To the extent that these assumptions are incorrect, actual

costs borne by States could be higher than those outlined

below.

    We assume that a representative from each of the 50


                              20
States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico (hereafter collectively referred to as States)

would review the final requirement.         We assume that such

review would take, on average, one hour per State for a

one-time cost of approximately $2,800.3

        We assume that, for each State, a management analyst

would spend approximately eight hours, on average,

compiling the relevant data and preparing it for posting.

Within this estimate, we assume a management analyst would

employ any necessary data suppression rules, add NCES

identifiers, and make any necessary formatting changes for

posting of the data.      We assume that posting the data

online would take a network administrator ($59.094 per hour)

approximately 30 minutes.       In total, we assume posting data

would cost approximately $23,900 per year.

        Finally, we assume that approximately 20 States would

need to update their data after initial posting.           We assume

the updates would take a management analyst approximately 4


3 The Department assumes a loaded wage rate of $53.79 per hour based on
the average hourly wage rate for management analysts employed in State
governments, excluding schools and hospitals
(https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_999200.htm), which is
multiplied by 1.61 to account for the employer cost for employee
compensation (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf).
4 The Department assumes a loaded wage rate of $59.09 per hour based on

the average hourly wage rate for network and computer systems
administrators employed in State governments, excluding schools and
hospitals (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_999200.htm), which is
multiplied by two to account for overhead and benefits.
                                  21
hours to complete and would require 30 minutes for a

network administrator to post.       In total, we assume posting

corrections would cost approximately $4,900 per year.

    In general, we believe that the costs outlined above

could be offset with funds the States have reserved under

the ARP ESSER grant program.     The benefit of publicly

posting LEA-level maintenance of equity data is to

facilitate public accountability so that parents and

families will be able to access publicly available

information on how each LEA in the State is maintaining

fiscal and staffing equity.     Additionally, public posting

of data and information on how each LEA in the State is

maintaining equity is an important accountability tool for

SEAs and the Department.     As such, we believe the benefit

to the general public would far outweigh any burden on

States.

Clarity of the Regulations

    Executive Order 12866 and the Presidential memorandum

“Plain Language in Government Writing” require each agency

to write regulations that are easy to understand.

    The Secretary invites comments on how to make the

proposed requirement easier to understand, including

answers to questions such as the following:


                                22
    •   Are the requirements in the proposed regulations

clearly stated?

    •   Do the proposed regulations contain technical terms

or other wording that interferes with their clarity?

    •   Would the proposed regulations be difficult to

understand for or to explain to someone with literacy

challenges or limited English proficiency?

    •   Does the format of the proposed regulations

(grouping and order of sections, use of headings,

paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce their clarity?

    •   Would the proposed regulations be easier to

understand if we divided them into more (but shorter)

sections?

    •   Could the description of the proposed regulations in

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this preamble be

more helpful in making the proposed regulations easier to

understand?   If so, how?

    •   What else could we do to make the proposed

regulations easier to understand?

    To send any comments that concern how the Department

could make the proposed requirement easier to understand,

see the instructions in the ADDRESSES section.

Intergovernmental Review:   These programs are not subject
                              23
to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part

79.   Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

      The Secretary certifies that this proposed regulatory

action would not have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.   The U.S. Small

Business Administration Size Standards define proprietary

institutions as small businesses if they are independently

owned and operated, are not dominant in their field of

operation, and have total annual revenue below $7,000,000.

Nonprofit institutions are defined as small entities if

they are independently owned and operated and not dominant

in their field of operation.   Public institutions are

defined as small organizations if they are operated by a

government overseeing a population below 50,000.

      The proposed regulatory action would affect only

States, none of which is a small entity for the purpose of

this analysis.

Paperwork Reduction Act

      As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork

and respondent burden, the Department provides the general

public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment

on proposed and continuing collections of information in

accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA)


                               24
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).   This helps ensure that the

public understands the Department’s collection

instructions, respondents provide the requested data in the

desired format, reporting burden (time and financial

resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly

understood, and the Department can properly assess the

impact of collection requirements on respondents.

    The proposed requirement that an SEA must publish on

its website LEA-level maintenance of equity data for each

LEA in the State contains an information collection

requirement.   Under the PRA, the Department has submitted

this requirement to OMB for its review.

    A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor a

collection of information unless OMB approves the

collection under the PRA and the corresponding information

collection instrument displays a currently valid OMB

control number.   Notwithstanding any other provision of the

law, no person is required to comply with, or is subject to

penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of

information if the collection instrument does not display a

currently valid OMB control number.

    As discussed in the Potential Costs and Benefits

section of the Regulatory Impact Analysis, this proposed


                              25
requirement would create cost and burden hours for SEAs.

In the following paragraphs, we estimate the cost and

burden hours associated with complying with this proposed

requirement.   Differences between the estimates in the

Regulatory Impact Analysis and this section are due to

differences in calculating the net impact and annual impact

of this requirement.

    We assume that, for each SEA, including the District

of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a

management analyst, at an hourly rate of $53.79, will spend

approximately 8 hours compiling the relevant data and

preparing it for publication on the SEA website.     At an

hourly rate of $59.09, we estimate that posting the data

online would take a network administrator approximately 30

minutes.   We estimate that posting the LEA-level

maintenance of equity data would cost each SEA $460 and

result in 8.5 burden hours annually for a total annual cost

of $23,900, and 442 burden hours.

    We estimate that approximately 20 States will need to

update their data after initial posting.     We assume the

updates would take a management analyst approximately 4

hours to complete and would require 30 minutes for a

network administrator to post.     We estimate posting


                              26
corrections will cost each SEA $240 and result in 4.5

burden hours for a total cost of $4,900, and 90 burden

hours.

    Collectively, we estimate that this proposed

requirement would result in a total estimated cost of

$28,800 and a total estimated burden of 532 hours to the

public annually.

    The Department is requesting paperwork clearance on

the OMB 1810-0759 data collection associated with this

proposed requirement.    That request will account for all

burden hours and costs discussed within this section.

Consistent with 5 CFR 1320.8(d), the Department is

soliciting comments on the information collection through

this document.     Between 30 and 60 days after publication of

this document in the Federal Register, OMB is required to

make a decision concerning the collections of information

contained in this proposed requirement.    Therefore, to

ensure that OMB gives your comments full consideration, it

is important that OMB receives your comments on these

Information Collection Requests by [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS

AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

Comments related to the information collection activities

must be submitted electronically through the Federal


                               27
eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov by selecting the

Docket ID number ED-2021-OESE-0116 or via postal mail,

commercial delivery, or hand delivery by referencing the

Docket ID number and the title of the information

collection request at the top of your comment.   Comments

submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to

the PRA Coordinator of the Strategic Collections and

Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. Department

of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 6W208D,

Washington, DC 20202–8240.

Note:   The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and

the Department review all comments related to the

information collection activities posted at

www.regulations.gov.

Collection of Information

                                   Total
Information     Estimated Hours    Estimated
Collection      Number of Per      Burden    Estimated
Activity        Responses Response Hours     Total Cost
LEA-level
Maintenance
of Equity
Data Posting       52        8.5       442       $23,900
LEA-level
Maintenance
of Equity
Data Updates       20        4.5       90        $4,900
Annualized
Total              72                  532       $28,800


                              28
Accessible Format:   On request to the program contact

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 other accessible format.

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 the 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.

Dated:


                              29
_________________________
Ian Rosenblum,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy
and Programs Delegated the authority to
perform the functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and
Secondary Education.




         30


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