Response to comments received for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Annual Performance Report, Docket ID ED-2021-SCC-0104 during the 60-day public comment period

Response to comments received for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Annual Performance Report, Docket ID ED-2021-SCC-0104 during the 60-day public comment period

21^st Century Community Learning Centers: Comment Received on 21APR Form (October 2021)

Comment from GLSEN:

GLSEN urges the Department to amend its guidance on collecting data on participation in 21APR New GPRA Iterative Implementation Guide v 1.4 to read as follows: “sex” shall refer to the male or female identity assigned at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Gender identity is defined as one’s inner sense of one’s own gender, which may or may not match the sex assigned at birth. Sexual orientation refers to one’s emotional or physical attraction to the same and/or opposite sex. Respondents should report disaggregated data that reflects this definition of sex.” This definition would enable LEAs to report sex data expressly inclusive of LGBTQ+ young people when such data is available (as in Washington). As an interim step, the Department could provide an “X” option for nonbinary and other students who do not identify as male or female and update its explanatory language to clarify that it is requesting the gender marker listed in students’ records, with “M”, “F”, and “X” being responses the Department can accept.

OESE Response:

The Department proposes the following change: add the option “Not Reported in Male or Female.” This proposed change allows a State that collects data for categories in addition to male and female to include this data in the collection. This change is being made to provide States with flexibility but without increasing burden on the States and centers for the data collection. It also provides the ability for States to report on the data as they are currently collecting it. This will not impact the paperwork burden; it may require one additional entry into the 21APR data collection system and one calculation to the program’s internal process with simple modification to the instructions. Footnote 1 on page 10 has been revised to read, “For purposes of reporting sex, students generally are counted consistent with the sex listed in the student’s records at the time the data are reported. In the case of students who are identified as non-binary or another category that is not collected, the student should be reported as “not reported in male or female.”