Emergency Memo

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

April 19, 2021
MEMORANDUM
TO:

Lindsay Abate
Office of Management and Budget Desk Officer

FROM:

Ian Rosenblum
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs
Delegated the Authority to Perform the
Functions and Duties of the Assistant Secretary
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

RE:

Emergency request for Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) approval

Pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR
1320, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) requests that the following
collection of information to be collected from State educational agencies (SEAs) that
receive funds under the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund be processed in accordance with section 1320.13
Emergency Processing.
In March 2021, each SEA was awarded two-thirds of its total ARP ESSER allocation. The
Department is requiring the submission of an ARP ESSER application before the
remaining one-third of an SEA’s ARP ESSER allocation is awarded. The application
requires submission of information about the SEA’s needs (and the needs of its students,
educators, schools, and school staff), its plans for using ARP ESSER funds to meet those
needs, and its plans for supporting LEAs as they use ARP ESSER funds to meet the needs
of their students, staff, and educators. The application must be submitted by prior to the
expiration of the time periods established under Part 1320.
The Department recognizes that students, schools, LEAs, and SEAs need resources as
quickly as possible to address the evolving nature of the pandemic and meet the needs of
students and staff. However, given the unprecedented amount of funding ($122 billion),
the Department must ensure that SEAs have comprehensive plans in place, that are
developed with the critical input of stakeholders and the public. These plans must describe
how the SEAs will use, and support LEAs’ use of, the ARP ESSER funding to address the
social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students, educators, and school
staff arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with the ARP Act and the final
requirements that will be established in the forthcoming notice of final requirements. For
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The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by
fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

these reasons, the Department is requesting emergency approval for the ARP ESSER
application so that SEAs can demonstrate that they have adequate plans in place to
implement the ARP ESSER program as intended and receive their remaining ARP ESSER
funds to address the immediate needs of their students and schools.
If this emergency collection is not approved, the Department will not be able to carry out
its oversight responsibilities of the $122 billion while also ensuring that SEAs receive the
resources they need to immediately address COVID-19-related needs, such as returning
students and educators to in-person instruction and addressing the impact of interrupted
education on all students and particularly those disproportionately impacted by the
pandemic. In order to reduce the burden on States, the Department has created an
application template States could use to collect the required information. We anticipate that
52 SEAs will respond, and we estimate that the application template will take 100 hours
for each SEA to complete.
We request approval of this submission by April 21, 2021 in order to provide States
adequate time to create their plans. Given the inability to seek public comment for the
time period established under Part 1320 during such a short timeframe, the Department
requests a waiver from the requirement to publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register
seeking public comment.

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