SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department 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: Charter Online Management and Performance System (COMPS) Developer Grant Profiles.

OMB Control Number: 1810-NEW.

Type of Review: New ICR.

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

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 40.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 320.

Abstract: This request is for a new OMB approval to collect the Grant Profile data from Charter School Programs (CSP) Developer grantees.

The Charter School Programs (CSP) was originally authorized under title V, Part B, subpart 1, sections 5201 through 5211 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. For fiscal year 2017 and thereafter, ESEA has been amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), (20 U.S.C. 7221-7221i), which reserves funds to improve education by supporting innovation in public education and to: (1) provide financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools; (2) increase the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the United States; (3) evaluate the impact of charter schools on student achievement, families, and communities, and share best practices between charter schools and other public schools; (4) encourage States to provide support to charter schools for facilities financing in an amount more nearly commensurate to the amount States typically provide for traditional public schools; (5) expand opportunities for children with disabilities, English learners, and other traditionally underserved students to attend charter ( printed page 80706) schools and meet the challenging State academic standards; (6) support efforts to strengthen the charter school authorizing process to improve performance management, including transparency, oversight and monitoring (including financial audits), and evaluation of such schools; and (7) support quality, accountability, and transparency in the operational performance of all authorized public chartering agencies, including State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and other authorizing entities.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is requesting authorization to collect data from CSP grantees within the Developer program through a new online platform. In 2022, ED began development of a new data collection system, the Charter Online Management and Performance System (COMPS), designed specifically to reduce the burden of reporting for users and increase validity of the overall data. This new collection consists of questions responsive to the actions established in the program's final rule published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2022, as well as the Developer program Notice Inviting Applications (NIA). This collection request is a consolidation of all previously established program data collection efforts and provides a more comprehensive representation of grantee performance.