Change Memo

United States Department of Education

January 11, 2021

MEMORANDUM

TO: Lindsay Abate

Office of Management and Budget Desk Officer

FROM: Andrew Brake

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Information Collection Coordinator

RE: Change Request for the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund Application (1810-0741)

On December 27, 2020 Congress passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, (CRRSA Act) Pub. L. No. 116-260. The CRRSA Act, provides $2.75 billion for awards to Governors to provide services or assistance to eligible non-public elementary and secondary schools under the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program. Section 312(d)(1)(B) of the CRRSA Act requires that the Secretary award EANS funds to each Governor who has an approved application. ED requests that OMB consider a change request to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Application that will allow us to collect applications in accordance with Section 312(d) of the CRRSA Act. If this application is not collected, ED will not be able to award funds for the EANS program as required by the CRRSA Act.

On April 14, 2020 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) granted the Department of Education (ED) an emergency approval for the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund Application under procedures established at 5 CFR 1320. Since that time, ED published 60-day and 30-day notices seeking public comment on the collection and on November 11, 2020 was granted a three-year approval for the GEER Fund Application collection. The changes that ED is proposing to the GEER Fund application for the EANS program application are limited to those required by Section 312 of the CRRSA Act. An example of a proposed change is an application requirement for an assurance that services or assistance is provided to any non-public school that is a non-public school as described under Section 312(d)(3)(C). We estimate the proposed changes to the GEER Fund application will result in a reduction of burden hours from 2.5 hours per respondent to 1 hour per respondent. Additionally, the eligible applicants for the GEER Fund and the EANS program are the same; the Governor of each of the 50 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as the Mayor of the District of Columbia. The applicants will be familiar with the application, which will make it less burdensome for applicants and increase the quality of applications submitted to ED.

Section 312(d)(2) of the CRRSA Act states that, “The Sectary shall issue a notice inviting applications for funds reserved under subsection (a)(2) not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act; and (ii) approve or deny an application not later than 15 days after the receipt of the application” in order to provide funds to Governor’s for services or assistance to non-public schools. ED is requesting that this change request is approved no later than January 8, 2021 in order to issue the notice inviting applications and application in accordance with those timelines.

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