Notice2026-01876
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Form for Maintenance of Effort Waiver Requests
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 30, 2026
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing an extension without change of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 20 (Friday, January 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4071-4072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01876]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED-2025-SCC-0943]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Form for Maintenance of Effort Waiver Requests
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Department
of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995,
the Department is proposing an extension without change of a currently
approved information collection request (ICR).
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
March 2, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed
information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of
publication of this notice. Click on this link <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a> to access the site. Find this information collection request
(ICR) by selecting ``Department of Education'' under ``Currently Under
Review,'' then check the ``Only Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox.
<a href="http://Reginfo.gov">Reginfo.gov</a> provides two links to view documents related to this
information collection request. Information collection forms and
instructions may be found by clicking on the ``View Information
Collection (IC) List'' link. Supporting statements and other supporting
documentation may be found by clicking on the ``View Supporting
Statement and Other Documents'' link.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to
collection activities, please contact Todd Stephenson, 202-205-1645.
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: Form for Maintenance of Effort Waiver
Requests.
OMB Control Number: 1810-0693.
Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved
ICR.
Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 20.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,600.
Abstract: Section 8521(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA)
provides that a local educational agency (LEA) may receive funds under
Title I, Part A and other ESEA ``covered programs'' for any fiscal year
only if the State educational agency (SEA) finds that either the
combined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of the
LEA and the State with respect to the provision of free public
education by the LEA for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90
percent of the combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the
second preceding fiscal year. This provision is the maintenance of
effort (MOE) requirements for LEAs under the ESEA. If an LEA fails to
meet the MOE requirement, under section 8521(b) of the ESEA, the SEA
must reduce the amount of funds allocated under the programs covered by
the MOE requirement in any fiscal year in the exact proportion by which
the LEA fails to maintain effort by falling below 90 percent of either
the combined fiscal effort per student or aggregate expenditures, if
the LEA has also failed to maintain effort for 1 or more of the 5
immediately preceding fiscal years. In reducing an LEA's allocation
because it failed to meet the MOE requirement, the SEA uses the measure
most favorable to the LEA. Section 8521(c) gives the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) the authority to waive the ESEA's MOE requirement for an
LEA if it would be equitable to grant the waiver due to an exceptional
or uncontrollable circumstance such as a natural disaster or a change
in the organizational structure of the LEA or a precipitous decline in
the LEA's financial resources.
[[Page 4072]]
If an MOE waiver is granted, the reduction required by section 8521(b)
does not occur for that year. A request for a waiver of the MOE
requirement is discretionary. Only an LEA that has failed to maintain
effort and that believes its failure justifies a waiver would request
one. To review an MOE waiver request, ED relies primarily on
expenditure, revenue, and other data relevant to an LEA's request
provided by the SEA. To assist an SEA with submitting this information,
ED developed an MOE waiver form as part of the 2009 Title I, Part A
Waiver Guidance, which covered a range of waivers that ED invited at
that time. The purpose of this request is to renew approval for the MOE
waiver form. This collection includes burden at the SEA level.
Ross Santy,
Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy
Development.
[FR Doc. 2026-01876 Filed 1-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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