Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Form for Maintenance of Effort Waiver Requests, 79878 [2022-28265]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 79878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28265]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0131]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Form for Maintenance of Effort Waiver Requests

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), 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 an extension without change of a currently 
approved information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 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 Todd Stephenson, 202-205-1645.

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.
    Title of Collection: Form for Maintenance of Effort Waiver 
Requests.
    OMB Control Number: 1810-0693.
    Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved 
ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 20.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,600.
    Abstract: Section 8521(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) 
provides that a local educational agency (LEA) may receive funds under 
Title I, Part A and other ESEA ``covered programs'' for any fiscal year 
only if the State educational agency (SEA) finds that either the 
combined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of the 
LEA and the State with respect to the provision of free public 
education by the LEA for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 
percent of the combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the 
second preceding fiscal year. This provision is the maintenance of 
effort (MOE) requirements for LEAs under the ESEA. If an LEA fails to 
meet the MOE requirement, under section 8521(b) of the ESEA, the SEA 
must reduce the amount of funds allocated under the programs covered by 
the MOE requirement in any fiscal year in the exact proportion by which 
the LEA fails to maintain effort by falling below 90 percent of either 
the combined fiscal effort per student or aggregate expenditures, if 
the LEA has also failed to maintain effort for 1 or more of the 5 
immediately preceding fiscal years. In reducing an LEA's allocation 
because it failed to meet the MOE requirement, the SEA uses the measure 
most favorable to the LEA. Section 8521(c) gives the U.S. Department of 
Education (ED) the authority to waive the ESEA's MOE requirement for an 
LEA if it would be equitable to grant the waiver due to an exceptional 
or uncontrollable circumstance such as a natural disaster or a change 
in the organizational structure of the LEA or a precipitous decline in 
the LEA's financial resources. If an MOE waiver is granted, the 
reduction required by section 8521(b) does not occur for that year. A 
request for a waiver of the MOE requirement is discretionary. Only an 
LEA that has failed to maintain effort and that believes its failure 
justifies a waiver would request one. To review an MOE waiver request, 
ED relies primarily on expenditure, revenue, and other data relevant to 
an LEA's request provided by the SEA. To assist an SEA with submitting 
this information, ED developed an MOE waiver form as part of the 2009 
Title I, Part A Waiver Guidance, which covered a range of waivers that 
ED invited at that time. The purpose of this request is to renew 
approval for the MOE waiver form. This collection includes burden at 
the SEA level.

    Dated: December 22, 2022.
Kun Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-28265 Filed 12-27-22; 8:45 am]
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