Section 148-C - Declined and unclaimed allocations.The following provisions apply to Federal money appropriated or approved by an executive authorization to the Department of Education from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( Public Law 117-2, 135 Stat. 4) or the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( Public Law 116-260, 134 Stat. 1182), respectively, for local education agencies:
(1) Within 30 days of the effective date of this section, the Department of Education shall notify each local education agency to determine whether the local education agency intends to decline money allocated to the local education agency under the American Rescue Plan act of 2021 or the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, or both, as applicable.(2) The notice shall state the amount of money allocated to the local education agency and direct the local education agency to respond, within 60 days of the notice, as to whether the local education agency intends to decline the allocation.(3) If the local education agency fails to respond as directed in the notice, the Department of Education may deem that the money allocated to the local education agency is unclaimed.(4) The Department of Education shall calculate the amount of money declined and unclaimed by all local education agencies and shall report to the Secretary of the Budget the aggregate amount, the appropriations from which the money was appropriated and the amount that needs to be deducted from each appropriation in order to equal the aggregate amount.(5) After receipt of the report, the Secretary of the Budget shall establish a restricted account and transfer to the restricted account a sum equal to the aggregate amount, not to exceed $26,000,000, and shall deduct the proper amount from the appropriations identified under paragraph (4). The money of the restricted account is appropriated on a continuing basis to the Department of Education for the purpose specified in paragraph (6).(6) The Department of Education may use money in the restricted account to provide performance monitoring of grant-funded operations and to ensure compliance with achievement and performance goals as required under 2 CFR Pt. 200 Subpt. D (relating to post Federal award requirements).(7) The Department of Education shall prepare and make a report available on its publicly accessible Internet website. The report shall state the local education agencies that have declined and unclaimed money under this section and the corresponding amounts declined and unclaimed. The report shall be available no later than 30 days after receipt of the responses from local education agencies under paragraph (2).Added by P.L. TBD 2023 No. 34,§ 1, eff. 12/13/2023.