Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests, 32896-32898 [E9-16298]
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rmajette on DSK29S0YB1 with NOTICES
32896
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 130 / Thursday, July 9, 2009 / Notices
existing wharf to accommodate newer,
larger-class vessels, which together
would allow increased ship calls and
throughput. The wharf extension, new
cranes, and dredging would require a
permit from the Corps. The proposed
project would also increase gate and ondock rail moves. The proposed project
would increase throughput from
approximately 1.3 million Twenty-foot
Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2008 to
approximately 3 million TEUs by 2027.
By 2027, approximately 38 percent of
the 3 million TEUs would travel to and
from the terminal by on-dock rail, 7
percent would travel to and from the
terminal via truck to near-dock rail
yards, and the remaining cargo would
travel by truck to the local market (i.e.,
markets within an approximately 100mile radius from the Port of Los
Angeles).
Although dredge material is expected
to be disposed of at an approved upland
site, there is the potential for disposal of
some dredged material at an established
ocean disposal site, which would
require Corps authorization under
section 103 of the MPRSA. A sampling
and analysis program would be
implemented to approve any offshore
disposal of material.
Through the EIS/EIR process, feasible
environmental mitigation measures will
be developed to reduce potential
environmental impacts. Measures to
reduce operational impacts would be
implemented through lease
amendments and become permit
requirements. Measures to reduce
construction impacts would be
implemented through construction
contract specifications and
requirements. Air Quality measures
would be consistent with or exceed the
San Pedro Bays Clean Air Action Plan
(CAAP) and are likely to include AMP,
low sulfur fuel, Vessel Speed Reduction
Program (VSRP) requirements for new
vessel builds, and terminal equipment
standards.
3. Issues: There are several potential
environmental issues that will be
addressed in the Draft EIS/EIR.
Additional issues may be identified
during the scoping process. Issues
initially identified as potentially
significant include:
1. Aesthetic and visual impacts from
construction and operation;
2. Air quality impacts from
construction and operation of an
expanded container terminal, including
ship and vehicle emissions, and
contributions to global warming and
greenhouse gases;
3. Biological impacts to marine and
terrestrial wildlife;
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15:49 Jul 08, 2009
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4. Geological issues, including
dredging and stabilization of fill areas in
an area of known seismic activity;
5. Hazards and hazardous materials
related to existing and former activities
that have contaminated soil and
groundwater in the Port, or pose
hazardous risks related to ongoing
operations, and hazards and risk of
upset due to terrorism;
6. Hydrology and water quality from
disturbance of sediment, operations,
and runoff from development;
7. Noise from construction, existing
and future operations, and increased
traffic;
8. Traffic and transportation,
including ground transportation; and
9. Cumulative impacts from past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable
future projects.
4. Alternatives: Several alternatives
are being considered for the proposed
action. The Draft EIS/EIR will include a
co-equal analysis of the project
alternatives considered. Alternatives
being considered for the proposed
project include several reduced project
alternatives; the proposed project with
an expanded on-dock rail yard; and a
No Project/No Federal Action
Alternative that would not implement
any of the project elements. For this
project, the No Federal Action
Alternative is the same as the No Project
Alternative and will therefore be
referred to and analyzed as the No
Project/No Federal Action Alternative.
These alternatives will be further
formulated and developed during the
scoping process. Additional alternatives
that may be developed during scoping
will also be considered in the Draft EIS/
EIR.
5. Scoping Process: The Corps and the
LAHD will jointly conduct a public
scoping meeting for the proposed Berths
302–306 [APL] Container Terminal
Project Draft EIS/EIR to receive public
comment and to assess public concerns
regarding the appropriate scope and
preparation of the Draft EIS/EIR.
Participation in the public meeting by
Federal, State, and local agencies and
other interested organizations and
persons is encouraged. This meeting
will be conducted in both English and
Spanish. Members of the public who
wish to communicate and listen entirely
in Spanish are encouraged to attend this
meeting. The meeting will be held on
August 5, 2009 at 6:00 PM (PST) at the
Board Room in the Harbor
Administration Building at 425 South
Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro, CA
90731. Written comment letters will be
accepted until August 24, 2009.
The Corps also anticipates consulting
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
under the Endangered Species Act, and
with the National Marine Fisheries
Service under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act. Additionally, the EIS/EIR will
assess the consistency of the proposed
action with the Coastal Zone
Management Act and potential water
quality impacts pursuant to Section 401
of the Clean Water Act.
6. Availability of the Draft EIS: The
Draft EIS/EIR is expected to be
published and circulated in mid-2010,
and a public meeting will be held after
its publication.
Dated: June 30, 2009.
David J. Castanon,
Chief, Regulatory Division, Corps of
Engineers.
[FR Doc. E9–16231 Filed 7–8–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710–KF–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Proposed Information
Collection Requests
Department of Education.
Notice of Proposed Information
Collection Requests.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Acting Director,
Information Collection Clearance
Division, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of
Management, invites comments on the
proposed information collection
requests as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: An emergency review has been
requested in accordance with the Act
(44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since
public harm is reasonably likely to
result if normal clearance procedures
are followed. Approval by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) has
been requested by July 13, 2009. A
regular clearance process is also
beginning. Interested persons are
invited to submit comments on or before
September 8, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments
regarding the emergency review should
be addressed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Education Desk Officer,
Office of Management and Budget, 725
17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New
Executive Office Building, Washington,
DC 20503 or faxed to (202) 395–6974 or
electronically mailed to OIRA–
Submission@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires
that the Director of OMB provide
interested Federal agencies and the
E:\FR\FM\09JYN1.SGM
09JYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 130 / Thursday, July 9, 2009 / Notices
public an early opportunity to comment
on information collection requests. The
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) may amend or waive the
requirement for public consultation to
the extent that public participation in
the approval process would defeat the
purpose of the information collection,
violate State or Federal law, or
substantially interfere with any agency’s
ability to perform its statutory
obligations. The Acting Director,
Information Collection Clearance
Division, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of
Management, publishes this notice
containing proposed information
collection requests at the beginning of
the Departmental review of the
information collection. Each proposed
information collection, grouped by
office, contains the following: (1) Type
of review requested, e.g., new, revision,
extension, existing or reinstatement; (2)
Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4)
Description of the need for, and
proposed use of, the information; (5)
Respondents and frequency of
collection; and (6) Reporting and/or
recordkeeping burden. ED invites public
comment.
The Department of Education 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 respondents, including
through the use of information
technology.
Dated: July 6, 2009.
James Hyler,
Acting Director, Director, IC Clearance
Official, Regulatory Information Management
Services, Office of Management.
rmajette on DSK29S0YB1 with NOTICES
Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education
Type of Review: New.
Title: Requests for Title I, part A
Waivers.
Abstract: The U.S. Department of
Education (ED) plans to issue guidance
inviting requests for waivers related to
the use of fiscal year (FY) 2009 Title I,
part A funds available through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) and requests for
waivers related to certain Title I, part A
statutory and regulatory provisions. The
guidance will provide information for
State educational agencies (SEAs) on
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15:49 Jul 08, 2009
Jkt 217001
how they may apply to ED for waivers
and information for local educational
agencies (LEAs) on how they may
implement the waivers obtained by their
SEA.
Additional Information: ED is
requesting that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
approve these information requests on
an emergency basis, by July 13, 2009.
Approval of these information requests
will enable ED to consider requests to
waive certain statutory requirements
that relate to the use of Title I, part A
ARRA funds. The information
collections relate to the information that
must be submitted to ED as part of a
waiver request, as required by section
9401 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA).
In addition, the Secretary has
reviewed the Title I, part A regulations
that were issued in October 2008 (73 FR
64436 (Oct. 29, 2008)) and sent a letter
to all Chief State School Officers
discussing those regulations. In that
letter, the Secretary indicates that he
will consider requests for waivers of
certain Title I, part A regulatory
provisions, in accordance with his
authority under section 9401 of the
ESEA. First, as noted in the letter, the
Secretary intends to propose for public
comment in a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) a repeal of the
provision that prohibits a State from
approving as a provider of supplemental
educational services (SES) a school
identified for improvement, corrective
action, or restructuring or a district
identified for improvement or corrective
action (34 CFR 200.47(b)(1)(iv)(A), (B)).
While the rulemaking process is ongoing, the Secretary will consider a
request to waive this requirement for
school year (SY) 2009–10. Such a
waiver would allow a State to approve
as an SES provider a district or school
in improvement. Second, the Secretary
also will consider a request for a oneyear waiver of the requirement to
provide notice of public school choice
at least 14 days before the start of the
school year if districts cannot comply
with that requirement because of their
State’s current assessment timeline or
contract with its assessment vendor.
Third, although not discussed in the
Secretary’s letter to Chief State School
Officers, the Secretary will consider
requests for waivers that would allow an
LEA to provide SES to eligible students
attending schools in the first year of
improvement and to count the funds
providing SES to those students toward
the LEA’s obligation to spend an
amount at least equal to 20 percent of
its Title I, part A allocation on SES and
public school choice-related
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
32897
transportation (20 percent obligation).
Such a waiver would waive the
provisions in section 1116(b)(10) of the
ESEA and 34 CFR 200.48 that limit the
funds spent on SES that an LEA may
count toward its 20 percent obligation to
funds spent providing SES to eligible
students attending schools in the second
year of improvement, in corrective
action, or in restructuring.
Additionally, the Secretary will also
consider requests to waive the
maintenance of effort (MOE)
requirements in sections 1120A(a) and
9521 of the ESEA.
With respect to requests for waivers
related to the Title I, part A ARRA
funds, LEAs are already working with
their SEAs to plan Title I, part A
activities for next year. Planning for a
Title I, part A program typically occurs
in the spring and summer prior to the
next school year. Consequently, in order
to plan effectively and on schedule,
SEAs and LEAs cannot wait until right
before the school year starts to know
how to obtain these waivers. OMB
approval on an emergency basis would
enable ED to provide SEAs and LEAs
with timely information about waivers
of certain Title I, part A requirements—
information that will be necessary as
SEAs and LEAs make crucial decisions
about how they will most effectively use
Title I, part A funds, including those
available under the ARRA, during
summer 2009 and in SY 2009–10. If
emergency clearance is not granted, ED
will not be able to provide the waiver
request information to SEAs and LEAs
in time for them to plan successfully.
And without proper planning, Title I,
part A services to academically at-risk
students, including those supported by
the ARRA, would suffer.
Similarly, now that States have
received the Secretary’s letter regarding
the Title I regulations, as soon as
possible they need to understand the
process for how to request a waiver and
what information will be required to
accompany that request. The Secretary’s
letter indicates that ED will provide
additional information about the
process for submitting a waiver request
and this waiver guidance keeps that
commitment. The waiver process must
begin at this time in order for States and
LEAs to plan for their implementation
of the public school choice notice
requirement for SY 2009–10. In
addition, if a school or LEA in
improvement, corrective action, or
restructuring is going to be able to be
approved as an SES provider for SY
2009–10, a waiver must be granted
before a State completes its process for
approving SES providers, or with
sufficient time for the State to reopen
E:\FR\FM\09JYN1.SGM
09JYN1
rmajette on DSK29S0YB1 with NOTICES
32898
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 130 / Thursday, July 9, 2009 / Notices
that process, if it chooses to do so.
Likewise, the process for requesting
waivers related to the provision of SES
to eligible students attending Title I
schools in the first year of improvement
must begin at this time in order for
LEAs to have sufficient time to
appropriately plan their implementation
of SES. In all three cases, without
emergency approval, States and LEAs
will not be able to take advantage of the
flexibility the Secretary is offering
regarding these provisions for the
upcoming school year because ED
would not be able to provide
information regarding how to apply for
a waiver until it is too late.
Concerning MOE, in accordance with
ED’s MOE regulations for ESEA
programs (including Title I, part A)
covered by the MOE requirements,
States will soon begin identifying those
LEAs that failed to maintain effort in SY
2008–09. Section 9521(c) of the ESEA
gives the Secretary the authority to
waive the MOE requirements if an LEA
experiences an exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstance or
experiences a precipitous decline in its
financial resources. Due to the state of
the economy during SY 2008–09, ED
expects many more LEAs will have
experienced a precipitous decline in
their financial resources or an
exceptional or uncontrollable
circumstance than in prior years,
causing them to miss maintaining effort
and in turn to seek an MOE waiver from
ED. Given these circumstances, the
planned waiver guidance specifies the
process States may use to obtain MOE
waivers from ED for their LEAs. In order
for this process to begin in a timely
fashion, ED needs emergency approval
of the information collection activities
in the guidance associated with MOE
waivers.
Frequency: One time.
Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal
Government.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour
Burden:
Responses: 947.
Burden Hours: 29,640.
Requests for copies of the proposed
information collection request may be
accessed from https://edicsweb.ed.gov,
by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending
Collections’’ link and by clicking on
link number 4002. When you access the
information collection, click on
‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view.
Written requests for information should
be addressed to U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537.
Requests may also be electronically
mailed to the Internet address
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:49 Jul 08, 2009
Jkt 217001
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202–
401–0920. Please specify the complete
title of the information collection when
making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or
the collection activity requirements
should be electronically mailed to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339.
[FR Doc. E9–16298 Filed 7–8–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or
reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of
the collection; (4) Description of the
need for, and proposed use of, the
information; (5) Respondents and
frequency of collection; and (6)
Reporting and/or Recordkeeping
burden. OMB invites public comment.
Dated: July 6, 2009.
James Hyler,
Acting Director, Information Collection
Clearance Division, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of Management.
Federal Student Aid
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
Department of Education.
The Acting Director,
Information Collection Clearance
Division, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of
Management invites comments on the
submission for OMB review as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before August
10, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be addressed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Education Desk Officer,
Office of Management and Budget, 725
17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New
Executive Office Building, Washington,
DC 20503, be faxed to (202) 395–5806 or
send e-mail to
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires
that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) provide interested
Federal agencies and the public an early
opportunity to comment on information
collection requests. OMB may amend or
waive the requirement for public
consultation to the extent that public
participation in the approval process
would defeat the purpose of the
information collection, violate State or
Federal law, or substantially interfere
with any agency’s ability to perform its
statutory obligations. The Acting
Director, Regulatory Information
Management Services, Office of
Management, publishes that notice
containing proposed information
collection requests prior to submission
of these requests to OMB. Each
proposed information collection,
grouped by office, contains the
following: (1) Type of review requested,
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Type of Review: Revision.
Title: William D. Ford Federal Direct
Loan Program General Forbearance
Request.
Frequency: On Occasion.
Affected Public: Individuals or
household.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour
Burden:
Responses: 1,186,120.
Burden Hours: 237,224.
Abstract: Borrowers who receive
loans through the William D. Ford
Federal Direct Loan Program will use
this form to request forbearance on their
loans when they are willing but unable
to make their currently scheduled
monthly payments because of a
temporary financial hardship.
Requests for copies of the information
collection submission for OMB review
may be accessed from https://
edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the
‘‘Browse Pending Collections’’ link and
by clicking on link number 4025. When
you access the information collection,
click on ‘‘Download Attachments ’’ to
view. Written requests for information
should be addressed to U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537.
Requests may also be electronically
mailed to the Internet address
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202–
401–0920. Please specify the complete
title of the information collection when
making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or
the collection activity requirements
should be electronically mailed to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
1–800–877–8339.
[FR Doc. E9–16232 Filed 7–8–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
E:\FR\FM\09JYN1.SGM
09JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 130 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32896-32898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16298]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance
Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of
Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection
requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), since public harm is reasonably
likely to result if normal clearance procedures are followed. Approval
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been requested by July
13, 2009. A regular clearance process is also beginning. Interested
persons are invited to submit comments on or before September 8, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the emergency review should be
addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Attention: Education Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, 725
17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive Office Building,
Washington, DC 20503 or faxed to (202) 395-6974 or electronically
mailed to OIRA-Submission@omb.eop.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Director of OMB
provide interested Federal agencies and the
[[Page 32897]]
public an early opportunity to comment on information collection
requests. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may amend or waive
the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public
participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the
information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially
interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory
obligations. The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance
Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of
Management, publishes this notice containing proposed information
collection requests at the beginning of the Departmental review of the
information collection. Each proposed information collection, grouped
by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g.,
new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3)
Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and
proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of
collection; and (6) Reporting and/or recordkeeping burden. ED invites
public comment.
The Department of Education 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
respondents, including through the use of information technology.
Dated: July 6, 2009.
James Hyler,
Acting Director, Director, IC Clearance Official, Regulatory
Information Management Services, Office of Management.
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Type of Review: New.
Title: Requests for Title I, part A Waivers.
Abstract: The U.S. Department of Education (ED) plans to issue
guidance inviting requests for waivers related to the use of fiscal
year (FY) 2009 Title I, part A funds available through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and requests for waivers
related to certain Title I, part A statutory and regulatory provisions.
The guidance will provide information for State educational agencies
(SEAs) on how they may apply to ED for waivers and information for
local educational agencies (LEAs) on how they may implement the waivers
obtained by their SEA.
Additional Information: ED is requesting that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approve these information requests on an
emergency basis, by July 13, 2009. Approval of these information
requests will enable ED to consider requests to waive certain statutory
requirements that relate to the use of Title I, part A ARRA funds. The
information collections relate to the information that must be
submitted to ED as part of a waiver request, as required by section
9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
In addition, the Secretary has reviewed the Title I, part A
regulations that were issued in October 2008 (73 FR 64436 (Oct. 29,
2008)) and sent a letter to all Chief State School Officers discussing
those regulations. In that letter, the Secretary indicates that he will
consider requests for waivers of certain Title I, part A regulatory
provisions, in accordance with his authority under section 9401 of the
ESEA. First, as noted in the letter, the Secretary intends to propose
for public comment in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) a repeal
of the provision that prohibits a State from approving as a provider of
supplemental educational services (SES) a school identified for
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring or a district
identified for improvement or corrective action (34 CFR
200.47(b)(1)(iv)(A), (B)). While the rulemaking process is on-going,
the Secretary will consider a request to waive this requirement for
school year (SY) 2009-10. Such a waiver would allow a State to approve
as an SES provider a district or school in improvement. Second, the
Secretary also will consider a request for a one-year waiver of the
requirement to provide notice of public school choice at least 14 days
before the start of the school year if districts cannot comply with
that requirement because of their State's current assessment timeline
or contract with its assessment vendor. Third, although not discussed
in the Secretary's letter to Chief State School Officers, the Secretary
will consider requests for waivers that would allow an LEA to provide
SES to eligible students attending schools in the first year of
improvement and to count the funds providing SES to those students
toward the LEA's obligation to spend an amount at least equal to 20
percent of its Title I, part A allocation on SES and public school
choice-related transportation (20 percent obligation). Such a waiver
would waive the provisions in section 1116(b)(10) of the ESEA and 34
CFR 200.48 that limit the funds spent on SES that an LEA may count
toward its 20 percent obligation to funds spent providing SES to
eligible students attending schools in the second year of improvement,
in corrective action, or in restructuring.
Additionally, the Secretary will also consider requests to waive
the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements in sections 1120A(a) and
9521 of the ESEA.
With respect to requests for waivers related to the Title I, part A
ARRA funds, LEAs are already working with their SEAs to plan Title I,
part A activities for next year. Planning for a Title I, part A program
typically occurs in the spring and summer prior to the next school
year. Consequently, in order to plan effectively and on schedule, SEAs
and LEAs cannot wait until right before the school year starts to know
how to obtain these waivers. OMB approval on an emergency basis would
enable ED to provide SEAs and LEAs with timely information about
waivers of certain Title I, part A requirements--information that will
be necessary as SEAs and LEAs make crucial decisions about how they
will most effectively use Title I, part A funds, including those
available under the ARRA, during summer 2009 and in SY 2009-10. If
emergency clearance is not granted, ED will not be able to provide the
waiver request information to SEAs and LEAs in time for them to plan
successfully. And without proper planning, Title I, part A services to
academically at-risk students, including those supported by the ARRA,
would suffer.
Similarly, now that States have received the Secretary's letter
regarding the Title I regulations, as soon as possible they need to
understand the process for how to request a waiver and what information
will be required to accompany that request. The Secretary's letter
indicates that ED will provide additional information about the process
for submitting a waiver request and this waiver guidance keeps that
commitment. The waiver process must begin at this time in order for
States and LEAs to plan for their implementation of the public school
choice notice requirement for SY 2009-10. In addition, if a school or
LEA in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring is going to be
able to be approved as an SES provider for SY 2009-10, a waiver must be
granted before a State completes its process for approving SES
providers, or with sufficient time for the State to reopen
[[Page 32898]]
that process, if it chooses to do so. Likewise, the process for
requesting waivers related to the provision of SES to eligible students
attending Title I schools in the first year of improvement must begin
at this time in order for LEAs to have sufficient time to appropriately
plan their implementation of SES. In all three cases, without emergency
approval, States and LEAs will not be able to take advantage of the
flexibility the Secretary is offering regarding these provisions for
the upcoming school year because ED would not be able to provide
information regarding how to apply for a waiver until it is too late.
Concerning MOE, in accordance with ED's MOE regulations for ESEA
programs (including Title I, part A) covered by the MOE requirements,
States will soon begin identifying those LEAs that failed to maintain
effort in SY 2008-09. Section 9521(c) of the ESEA gives the Secretary
the authority to waive the MOE requirements if an LEA experiences an
exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance or experiences a precipitous
decline in its financial resources. Due to the state of the economy
during SY 2008-09, ED expects many more LEAs will have experienced a
precipitous decline in their financial resources or an exceptional or
uncontrollable circumstance than in prior years, causing them to miss
maintaining effort and in turn to seek an MOE waiver from ED. Given
these circumstances, the planned waiver guidance specifies the process
States may use to obtain MOE waivers from ED for their LEAs. In order
for this process to begin in a timely fashion, ED needs emergency
approval of the information collection activities in the guidance
associated with MOE waivers.
Frequency: One time.
Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:
Responses: 947.
Burden Hours: 29,640.
Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request
may be accessed from https://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse
Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 4002. When
you access the information collection, click on ``Download
Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be
addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically
mailed to the Internet address ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202-401-
0920. Please specify the complete title of the information collection
when making your request.
Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity
requirements should be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
[FR Doc. E9-16298 Filed 7-8-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
