**NOVEMBER 2008**

## NO. 1870-0503

# ASSURANCE OF COMPLIANCE -- CIVIL RIGHTS CERTIFICATE

# SUPPORTING STATEMENT

# 

# A. JUSTIFICATION

**[1. Circumstances Making Collection Necessary]{.underline}**

This information collection is required by title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, as amended (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. 2000d, 34 C.F.R. 100.4
(prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin
by any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance);
title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (Title IX), 20
U.S.C. 1681, 34 C.F.R. 106.4 (prohibits discrimination on the basis of
sex in any education program or activity receiving Federal financial
assistance); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
(Section 504), 29 U.S.C. 794, 34 C.F.R. 104.5 (prohibits discrimination
on the basis of disability in any program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance); the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended,
42 U.S.C. 6101, 34 C.F.R. 110.23 (prohibits discrimination on the basis
of age in any program or activity receiving Federal financial
assistance); and the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act of 2001 (Boy
Scouts Act), 20 U.S.C. 7905, 34 C.F.R. 108.8 (requires equal access for
the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups to meet at
public elementary and secondary schools that receive funds made
available through the Department of Education (Department)).

These laws require that applicants for Federal financial assistance from
the Department, as well as certain applicants for funds made available
through the Department, submit an assurance of compliance to the
Department assuring that they will comply with these laws.

**[2. Use of the Information]{.underline}**

OCR uses the signed Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate
forms to enforce Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, the Age Discrimination
Act, and the Boy Scouts Act. Assurances are an efficient and effective
tool for achieving compliance with the laws enforced by OCR. Respondents
only need to sign the Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights
Certificate once; OCR keeps the signed assurances forms on file.

**[3. Use of Technological Collection Techniques]{.underline}**

At this time, OCR is unable to accept electronic signatures.
Accordingly, OCR would collect the signed Assurance of Compliance forms
by traditional (paper) mail.

**[4. Efforts to Identify Duplication]{.underline}**

No other component of the Department collects these particular
assurances of compliance with civil rights laws.

**[5. Methods of Minimizing Burden for Small Entities]{.underline}**

This collection of information will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small businesses or other small
entities.

**[6. Consequences if the Collection is Not Conducted]{.underline}**

If OCR does not collect signed Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights
Certificate forms, OCR's ability to enforce Title VI, Title IX, Section
504, the Age Discrimination Act, and the Boy Scouts Act will be
affected. When entities accept Federal financial assistance from, or
funds made available through, the Department, they are subject to these
civil rights laws. By providing signed Assurance of Compliance -- Civil
Rights Certificate forms, these entities agree to comply with the civil
rights laws and are put on notice that failure to comply with the civil
rights laws could result in the loss of Federal financial assistance or
funds made available through the Department.

**[7. Special Circumstances for Collecting Data in a Unique
Manner]{.underline}**

None of the eight special circumstances apply to the Assurance of
Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate form.

**[8. Federal Register Notice Soliciting Public Comment]{.underline}**

(\* To be completed after publication of Federal Register notice \*)

**[9. Payments or Gifts to Respondents]{.underline}**

No payments or gifts are made or provided to any respondent.

**[10. Assurances of Confidentiality]{.underline}**

There are no confidentiality issues in the Assurance of Compliance --
Civil Rights Certificate form.

**[11. Additional Justification for Questions of a Sensitive
Nature]{.underline}**

There are no questions of a sensitive nature on the Assurance of
Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate form.

**[12. Estimates of the Hour Burden]{.underline}**

Estimating the number of respondents is difficult. Respondents only need
to sign the Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate form
once. OCR keeps the signed Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights
Certificate forms on file, and the signed forms apply to all future
applications by the respondents for Federal financial assistance from,
or funds made available through, the Department. Once OCR has a
completed Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate from a
respondent, OCR does not ask that respondent again for another completed
form.

Occasionally, OCR receives requests for blank Assurance of Compliance --
Civil Rights Certificate forms. These requests could by made by, for
example, a new charter school that has not previously completed the
form. Additionally, if OCR determines, during the course of
investigating a complaint alleging a violation of a civil rights law,
that a particular recipient of Federal financial assistance has not
completed an Assurance of Compliance - Civil Rights Certificate form,
OCR might require that the form be signed as part of a resolution
agreement. In the past OCR has received an average of 50 or so completed
forms a year. Since OMB approval would cover 3 years, our best estimate
for the total number of respondents is (3 years) x (50 respondents per
year) = 150.

Three years ago the Department mailed out Assurance of Compliance --
Civil Rights Certificate forms to approximately 17,000 LEAs and SEAs to
collect assurances in connection with the then-recent publication of the
regulations implementing the Boy Scouts Act. Currently the Department is
in the process of following up with some of those LEAs and SEAs that
have not provided the completed form. That process should be completed
before the February 28, 2009 expiration of the current assurances form,
so the respondents in that follow-up process have not been included in
the number of respondents in item 16 of the Information Collection
Submission Worksheet, Part I.

Because respondents only need to sign the Assurance of Compliance -
Civil Rights Certificate form once, we have calculated a one-time,
rather than an annual, hour burden for each respondent. The one-time
hour burden in order to read and sign the Assurance of Compliance -
Civil Rights Certificate form is estimated to be 20 minutes per
respondent. Thus, the total number of estimated burden hours for
collecting and reporting the information over the three year period for
which the Assurance of Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate would be
approved is estimated to be 50 burden hours: (150 recipients) x (.33
hours per recipient). The total annual hours, for one year of the three
year approval period, is estimated to be 16.67 burden hours: (50
recipients) x (.33 hours per recipient).

**[13. Estimate of the Annual Cost Burden to Respondents]{.underline}**

There are no startup costs.

**[14. Estimates of Cost to Federal Government]{.underline}**

None.

**[15. Reasons for Change in Burden]{.underline}**

This is a one-time collection and there is no need to collect signed
Assurances of Compliance -- Civil Rights Certificate forms from entities
that have already submitted a signed form.

**[16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication]{.underline}**

Signed Assurance of Compliance - Civil Rights Certificate forms will not
be published.

**[17. Seeking Approval for Not Displaying the OMB Expiration
Date]{.underline}**

The Department seeks approval for not displaying an expiration date on
the Assurance of Compliance - Civil Rights Certificate form. The
assurances provided on the Assurance of Compliance - Civil Rights
Certificate form apply to any Federal financial assistance from, or
funds made available through, the Department for which a respondent may
apply. A respondent only has to submit a signed Assurance of
Compliance - Civil Rights Certificate form to OCR once, no matter what
funds or financial assistance it seeks from the Department. The display
of an expiration date on the Assurance of Compliance - Civil Rights
Certificate form will cause confusion concerning the length of time for
which the assurance is valid, in that it will imply that respondents
have to submit new assurances after the expiration date.

**[18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement In Item 19 in OMB Form
83-I.]{.underline}**

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

The Assurance of Compliance - Civil Rights Certificate form does not
employ statistical methods.