1855-0011_MSAP_Supp Statement A

OMB Number: 1855-0011

Magnet Schools Assistance Program Application for Grants

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

OMB Number: 1855-0011

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a hard copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information, or you may provide a valid URL link or paste the applicable section. Please limit pasted text to no longer than 3 pages. Specify the review type of the collection (new, revision, extension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change). If revised, briefly specify the changes. If a rulemaking is involved, make note of the sections or changed sections, if applicable.

The U.S. Department of Education is requesting to revise this collection with one new form to make awards under the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) using the approved Application for Grants (OMB Control Number 1855-0011). No rulemaking is associated with this request.

The purpose of the Magnet Schools Assistance program, as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Title IV, part D, Section 4401 is to assist eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish and operate magnet schools under court-ordered or federally approved voluntary desegregation plans. Specifically, the program’s purpose is to assist in the desegregation of public schools by supporting the elimination, reduction, and prevention of minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools with substantial numbers of minority group students. Funded projects include the development and implementation of magnet schools that assist LEAs to create more diverse learning environments, as well as to achieve systemic reforms and provide opportunities for all students to meet challenging academic content and student academic achievement standards. MSAP projects support the development and design of innovative education methods and practices in new or existing magnet schools that will promote diversity and increase choices in public education programs. Finally, the program is intended to support the LEA’s capacity development to continue the operation of the magnet schools at a high performance level after funding ends.

The information collected is required in the MSAP authorizing legislation, Section 4405 [20 U.S.C. 7231d] and regulations, 34 CFR Section 280.20 in order to demonstrate eligibility for the MSAP award.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The application package requests programmatic and budgetary information needed to evaluate new applications and make funding decisions based on the authorizing statute, program regulations, and EDGAR. Failure to collect this information would prevent the awarding of appropriated funds; essential information would not be available for evaluating the eligibility of applicants to be considered for funding in accordance with the statute and regulations.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision of adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration given to using technology to reduce burden.

For fiscal year 2022, applications for grants under the MSAP will be submitted electronically via the Grants.gov portal. We estimate that the Department will receive 100 percent of the applications electronically.

The application package will be prepared in a format for easier and faster posting of information on the Web. Prospective applicants will be able to view and download the application through the FIND function on Grants.gov at http://www.Grants.Gov.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

Since the information submitted in the application is unique to each respondent, no duplication exists as far as can be determined. There is no other collection instrument available to collect the information that is being requested.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden. A small entity may be (1) a small business which is deemed to be one that is independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation; (2) a small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field; or (3) a small government jurisdiction, which is a government of a city, county, town, township, school district, or special district with a population of less than 50,000.

This information collection does not involve small businesses or other small entities.

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

If the collection is not conducted or is collected less frequently, the Department cannot meet its grant making responsibilities, including the publication of closing date notices, providing technical assistance to potential applicants, conducting peer reviews of grant applications, transmitting slates with funding recommendations to Department officials for approval, and making grant awards.

The Department needs to make the MSAP notice inviting applications and any required forms available to constituencies as early as possible in order to give applicants time to demonstrate their eligibility for the program and develop and submit applications as early as possible so as to make new fiscal year grant awards in a timely manner.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results than can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or that unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information’s confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

No information will be collected in the manner covered under any of the special circumstances outlined.

8. As applicable, state that the Department has published the 60 and 30 Federal Register notices as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instruction and record keeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years – even if the collection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

The Department is meeting all requirements of public comment periods by publishing a 30-day Federal Register Notice. Informal discussions with current grantees and recent applicants, as well as with stakeholder organizations such as Magnet Schools of America and the National Coalition for School Diversity have added to our internal analysis of the application process, most recently held in FY 2020, in making the recommended revisions and changes. Based on this feedback as well as program staff analyses regarding application errors and data omissions, we believe that changes instituted in conjunction with the previous OMB clearance submission for the MSAP application package will help to remedy frequent misunderstandings we have seen with regards to the data requirements, as well as in the sufficiency of information submitted by applicants demonstrating their eligibility for funding.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees with meaningful justification.

The Department will not provide any payments or gifts to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If personally identifiable information (PII) is being collected, a Privacy Act statement should be included on the instrument. Please provide a citation for the Systems of Record Notice and the date a Privacy Impact Assessment was completed as indicated on the IC Data Form. A confidentiality statement with a legal citation that authorizes the pledge of confidentiality should be provided. Requests for this information are in accordance with the following ED and OMB policies: Privacy Act of 1974, OMB Circular A-108 – Privacy Act Implementation – Guidelines and Responsibilities, OMB Circular A-130 Appendix I – Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals, OMB M-03-22 – OMB Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002, OMB M-06-15 – Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information, OM:6-104 – Privacy Act of 1974 (Collection, Use and Protection of Personally Identifiable Information). If the collection is subject to the Privacy Act, the Privacy Act statement is deemed sufficient with respect to confidentiality. If there is no expectation of confidentiality, simply state that the Department makes no pledge about the confidentially of the data.

There is no assurance of confidentiality.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. The justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

This application does not include questions about sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, or other items that are commonly considered sensitive and private.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents by affected public type (federal government, individuals or households, private sector – businesses or other for-profit, private sector – not-for-profit institutions, farms, state, local or tribal governments), frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated, including identification of burden type: recordkeeping, reporting or third party disclosure. All narrative should be included in item 12. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

• If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in the ROCIS IC Burden Analysis Table. (The table should at minimum include Respondent types, IC activity, Respondent and Responses, Hours/Response, and Total Hours)

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents of the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

The anticipated number of respondents is 125. The average burden per response is estimated at 40.5 hours and the number of responses per applicant is one. The burden, based on 125 responses to the MSAP application package that occurs at an average burden of approximately 40.5 hours/response, is 5,062.5 hours. Because respondents submit applications electronically using the Grants.gov APPLY module, costs to respondents are limited to the costs of preparation of the application. Applicant may apply in any year in which an MSAP competition is held, therefore the annualized costs are the costs of submitting an application for any competition. Based on the estimate that 125 applications will be submitted, costs to respondents are estimated to be the following: 125 apps x 40.5 hours/application x $40/hour = $202,500.

Information Activity or IC (with type of respondent)	Sample Size (if applicable)	Respondent Response Rate (if applicable)	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses	Average Burden Hours per Response	Total Annual Burden Hours	Estimated Respondent Average Hourly Wage	Total Annual Costs (hourly wage x total burden hours)
MSAP Application			125	1	40.5	5,062.5	$40	$202,500
Annualized Totals			125	1	40.5	5,062.5	$40	$202,500

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14.)

• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and acquiring and maintaining record storage facilities.

• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices. Also, these estimates should not include the hourly costs (i.e., the monetization of the hours) captured above in Item 12.

Annual Costs to Respondents (capital/start-up, and operation and maintenance): The total for the capital and start-up cost components for this information collection is zero. This information collection will not require the purchase of any capital equipment nor create any startup costs.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

Annual Cost to Federal Government:

Cost for Federally-supervised review of applications
50 content readers @ $500 each; 25 evidence reviewers @750 each; 25 panel facilitators @ $500; 25 alternates @ $50.	$326,250
Processing applications – staff (5 staff x 40 hours x $48 per hours=$9,) (Overhead cost: $15,360 x 50 percent = $7,680)	$23,040
Contractor logistical support for workshops, achieving prior unfunded applications, application processing, field reading and slate preparation (14 weeks-reading)	$35,000
Staff time for conducting supervised review. (6 weeks x 3 control reviews) (3 staff x 240 hours x $48 per hour=$34,560) (Overhead cost: $34,560 x 50 percent=$17,280)	$51,840
Staff time for generating slate (3 staff x $48 x 16 hours=$2,304) (Overhead cost: $2304 x 50 percent = $1,152)	$3,456
Staff time to review and approve funding recommendations (4 hours per grant award x 40 awards) (40 awards x 4 hours per award x $48 per hour = $7,680 (Overhead cost: $960 x 50 per cent = $3,840)	$11,520
Staff time to generate, approve, and issue grant awards (2 hours per award x 40 awards= 80 hours) ($48 per hr x 80 hours = $3,840) (Overhead cost: $480 x 50 percent = $1,920)	$5,760
Total estimate cost to government (competitive year - annually)	$456,866

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments. Generally, adjustments in burden result from re-estimating burden and/or from economic phenomenon outside of an agency’s control (e.g., correcting a burden estimate or an organic increase in the size of the reporting universe). Program changes result from a deliberate action that materially changes a collection of information and generally are result of new statute or an agency action (e.g., changing a form, revising regulations, redefining the respondent universe, etc.). Burden changes should be disaggregated by type of change (i.e., adjustment, program change due to new statute, and/or program change due to agency discretion), type of collection (new, revision, extension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change) and include totals for changes in burden hours, responses and costs (if applicable).

The MSAP Program Office requests the extension with revision of the currently approved information collection instrument and the addition of one form. This is a program change increase due to the addition of a new form. The additional form will add an estimated 30 minutes per application. This results in an additional 3,862.5 hours of burden. The form is meant to make explicit and consolidate information regarding the LEA’s determination of minority group isolation in their unique school context, in order to enable the Department to ensure the attached Desegregation Plan meets the eligibility requirements outlined in the MSAP regulations at 34 CFR 280.20(b). This information should be included in the Desegregation Plan but is frequently unclear and requires follow-up and further context to understand. The additional form will guide the applicant to provide more fulsome information than they likely would do otherwise, assisting the Department in conducting a more efficient program review and better enabling peer reviewers to determine the quality of the applicant’s plans to meet the goals of the Desegregation Plan with MSAP support. In addition, we estimate that there will be 95 additional applicants based on past competitions.

	Program Change Due to New Statute	Program Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate
Total Burden		3,862.5
Total Responses		95
Total Costs (if applicable)

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Results of collected information will not be published.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The Department will display on the form the expiration date for the OMB approval as required.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in the Certification of Paperwork Reduction Act.

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

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