Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report

AGENCY:

Department of Education (ED), Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

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

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 4, 2016.

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-2015-ICCD-0128. 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 2E115, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Laura Messenger, (202) 245-7840.

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: Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report.

OMB Control Number: 1830-0574.

Type of Review: An extension of an existing information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 88.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 156.

Abstract: The Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report form and instructions will be used by grantees to meet Department of Education deadline dates for submission of performance and financial reports for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE) discretionary grant programs, as required by the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR 34 CFR 74.51, 74.52, 75.118, 75.253, 75.590, and 80.40). The Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report will be used by OCTAE discretionary grant recipients in lieu of the ED 524B Grant Performance Report and instructions because the ED 524B is not compatible with OCTAE-DATE(TM)s new Perkins Information Management System. Recipients of multi-year discretionary grants must submit interim performance reports, usually annually, for each year funding has been approved in order to receive a continuation award. The annual performance report should demonstrate whether substantial progress has been made toward meeting the approved goals and objectives of the project. OCTAE also requires recipients of `forward funded' grants that are awarded funds for their entire multi-year project up-front in a single grant award to submit an annual performance report. The Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report will be used for interim and final performance reporting. In both the annual and final performance reports, grantees are required to provide data on established performance measures for the grant program (e.g., Government Performance and Results Act measures) and on project performance measures that were included in the grantee(TM)s approved grant application, in order to demonstrate project success, impact and outcomes. The Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report form will also be used by grant recipients for other interim reporting such as quarterly or semi-annual performance and/or financial reporting.