Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Grants to Charter Management Organizations for Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools Program

AGENCY:

Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a new information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

To access and review all the documents related to the information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2016-ICCD-0135. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E-349, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Soumya Sathya, 202-260-0819.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 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 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: Grants to Charter Management Organizations for Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools Program.

OMB Control Number: 1855—New.

Type of Review: A new information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 50.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,000.

Abstract: The major purposes of the CSP are to expand opportunities for all students, particularly traditionally underserved students, to attend charter schools and meet challenging State academic standards; provide financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of public charter schools; increase the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the United States; evaluate the impact of charter schools on student achievement, families, and communities; share best practices between charter schools and other public schools; encourage States to provide facilities support to charter schools; and support efforts to strengthen the charter school authorizing process. Through the CSP Grants to Charter Management Organizations for Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools (Charter Management Organization (or CMO)) competition (CFDA number 84.282M), the Department awards grants to charter management organizations (CMOs) to enable them to replicate or expand one or more high-quality charter schools. Grant funds may be used to expand the enrollment of one or more existing high-quality charter schools, or to replicate one or more new charter schools that are based on an existing, high-quality charter school model.

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. Respondents are non-profit Charter Management Organizations interested in applying for funding under the CMO program.