[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54637-54638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21509]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2013-ICCD-0114]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; State 
Educational Agency, Local Educational Agency, and School Data 
Collection and Reporting under ESEA, Title I, Part A

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), ED.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 3507(j)), ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a revision to an existing 
information collection.

DATES: Approval by the OMB has been requested by October 1, 2013. A 
regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated. Interested 
persons are invited to submit comments on or before November 4, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2013-ICCD-
0014 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. 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 Information Collection Clearance 
Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, LBJ, 
Room 2E115, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to collection 
activities or burden, please call Tomakie Washington, 202-401-1097 or 
electronically mail [email protected]. Please do not send comments 
here.

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 as they relate to ESEA flexibility 
renewal: (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: State Educational Agency, Local Educational 
Agency, and School Data Collection and Reporting under ESEA, Title I, 
Part A.
    OMB Control Number: 1810-0581.
    Type of Review: a revision to an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 53,198.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,707,785.
    Abstract: Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind 
Act of 2001, and its regulations contain several existing provisions 
that require State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational 
agencies (LEAs), and schools to collect and disseminate information. 
The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) covers these activities, which are 
currently approved by OMB under control number 1810-0581 through July 
2015. In addition, in 2011, ED invited each SEA to request flexibility 
on behalf of itself, its LEAs, and schools, in order to better focus on 
improving student academic achievement and increasing the quality of 
instruction (ESEA flexibility). The opportunity for SEAs to request 
ESEA flexibility also included activities covered by the PRA. Those 
information collection activities consisted of the information an SEA 
must develop and submit to ED to request this flexibility, information 
that an SEA provided in an Accountability Addendum, and the information 
an SEA that receives ESEA flexibility must annually report to ED. 
Approvals of ESEA flexibility requests have occurred in several 
iterations: Window 1, for which SEAs submitted requests in November 
2011; Window 2, for which SEAs submitted requests in February 2012; 
Window 3, for which SEAs submitted requests in September 2012; and 
Window 4, for which SEAs submitted requests in spring 2013. Generally, 
ED approved the requests of SEAs that requested ESEA flexibility in 
Windows 1 and 2 through the end of the 2013-2014 school year. ED is now 
inviting the 35 Window 1 and Window 2 SEAs to request a two-year 
extension of the waivers granted through ESEA flexibility, through the 
end of the 2015-2016 school year. An SEA that requests renewal of ESEA 
flexibility must submit an updated ESEA flexibility request describing 
how it will continue to meet the requirements of ESEA flexibility. The 
purpose of this submission is to obtain approval for the resubmission 
activities covered by the PRA. These activities include an SEA's 
addressing each of the required items described in the ESEA flexibility 
renewal guidance,

[[Page 54638]]

providing narrative responses within its currently approved ESEA 
flexibility request and attaching any new documentation or evidence 
where appropriate, and submitting the amended request to ED. In 
addition, an SEA must submit a completed ESEA flexibility renewal 
request form indicating where changes have been made in its ESEA 
flexibility request. The SEA may also choose, but is not required, to 
amend its request to make changes necessary to improve implementation 
going forward or to reflect more accurately implementation activities 
that have already occurred.

    Dated: August 29, 2013.
Tomakie Washington,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Service, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-21509 Filed 9-4-13; 8:45 am]
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