Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4033 

associated with the general health and safety 

of the campus environment related to the 

qualifying emergency, unless a waiver of this 

condition has been requested by Recipient 

and until approved by the Secretary under 

CRRSAA section 314(d)(6)(B), and subject to 

other applicable requirements in section 314. 

Grant Administration: 

6. Recipient acknowledges that consistent 

with 2 CFR 200.305, it must minimize the 

time between drawing down funds from G5 

and paying incurred obligations (liquidation). 

Recipient further acknowledges that if it 

draws down funds and does not pay the 

incurred obligations (liquidates) within 3 

calendar days it may be subject to heightened 

scrutiny by the Department, Recipient’s 

auditors, and/or the Department’s Office of 

the Inspector General (OIG). Recipient further 

acknowledges that returning funds pursuant 

to mistakes in drawing down excessive grant 

funds in advance of need may also be subject 

to heightened scrutiny by the Department, 

Recipient’s auditors, and/or the Department’s 

OIG. Finally, Recipient acknowledges that it 

must maintain drawn down grant funds in an 

interest-bearing account, and any interest 

earned on all Federal grant funds above $500 

(all Federal grants together) during an 

institution’s fiscal year must be returned 

(remitted) to the Federal government via a 

process described here: https://www2.ed.gov/ 

documents/funding-101/g5-returninginterest.pdf. 

7. Recipient may charge indirect costs to 

supplemental funds made available under 

this award consistent with its negotiated 

indirect cost rate agreement. If Recipient does 

not have a current negotiated indirect cost 

rate with its cognizant agency for indirect 

costs, it may appropriately charge the de 

minimis rate of ten percent of Modified Total 

Direct Costs (MTDC). Recipient may also 

charge reasonable direct administrative costs 

to the supplemental funds made available 

under this award. 

8. Recipient acknowledges that any 

obligation under this grant (pre-award costs 

pursuant to 2 CFR 200.458) must have been 

incurred on or after December 27, 2020, the 

date of the enactment of the CRRSAA. 

9. Recipient must promptly and to the 

greatest extent practicable expend all grant 

funds from this award within the one-year 

period of performance (2 CFR 200.77) 

specified in Box 6 of this Grant Award 

Notification (GAN). 

10. Recipient must, to the greatest extent 

practicable, continue to pay its employees 

and contractors during the period of any 

disruptions or closures related to coronavirus 

pursuant to section 315 of the CRRSAA. 

11. Recipient acknowledges that its failure 

to draw down any amount of its 

supplemental grant funds within 90 days of 

the date of this supplemental award will 

constitute nonacceptance of the terms, 

conditions, and requirements of this 

Supplemental Agreement and of these 

supplemental grant funds. In such event, the 

Department, in its sole discretion, may 

choose to deobligate these supplemental 

grant funds or take other appropriate 

administrative action, up to and including 

terminating the grant award pursuant to 2 

CFR 200.340. 

Reporting and Accountability: 

12. Recipient must promptly and timely 

report to the Department on the use of funds 

no later than 6 months after the date of this 

supplemental award in a manner to be 

specified by the Secretary pursuant to section 

314(e) of the CRRSAA. Recipient must also 

promptly and timely provide a detailed 

accounting of the use of funds provided by 

this supplemental award in such manner and 

with such subsequent frequency as the 

Secretary may require. Recipient will comply 

with any other applicable reporting 

requirements including those in Section 

15011(b)(2) of Division B of the CARES Act. 

Recipient acknowledges the Department may 

require additional or more frequent reporting 

to be specified by the Secretary. 

13. Recipient must comply with all 

requirements of the Single Audit Act 

Amendments of 1996, 31 U.S.C. 7501, et seq. 

(Single Audit Act) and all applicable auditing 

standards. Considering that the HEERF grant 

program is a new program not previously 

audited or subjected to Department oversight, 

and the inherent risk that comes with a new 

program, the Department strongly suggests 

that the HEERF grant program be audited as 

a major program in the first fiscal year(s) that 

the institution received a HEERF grant. 

14. Recipient acknowledges it is under a 

continuing affirmative duty to inform the 

Department if Recipient is to close or 

terminate operations as an institution or 

merge with another institution. In such cases, 

Recipient must promptly notify in writing 

the assigned education program officer 

contact in Box 3. Additionally, Recipient 

must promptly notify the assigned education 

program officer if the Recipient’s Authorized 

Representative changes. 

15. Recipient must cooperate with any 

examination of records with respect to the 

advanced funds by making records and 

authorized individuals available when 

requested, whether by (i) the Department 

and/or its OIG; or (ii) any other Federal 

agency, commission, or department in the 

lawful exercise of its jurisdiction and 

authority. Recipient must retain all financial 

records, supporting documents, statistical 

records, and all other non-Federal entity 

records pertinent to a Federal award for a 

period of three years from the date of 

submission of the final expenditure report 

pursuant to 2 CFR 200.334. 

16. Recipient acknowledges that failure to 

comply with this Supplemental Agreement, 

its terms and conditions, and/or all relevant 

provisions and requirements of the CRRSAA 

or any other applicable law may result in 

Recipient’s liability under the False Claims 

Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729, et seq.; OMB Guidelines 

to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment 

and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR 

part 180, as adopted and amended as 

regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 

3485; 18 U.S.C. 1001, as appropriate; and all 

of the laws and regulations referenced in 

Attachment A, which is incorporated by 

reference herein. 

Applicable Law: 

17. Recipient must comply with all 

applicable assurances in OMB Standard 

Forms (SF) SF–424B and SF–424D 

(Assurances for Non-Construction and 

Assurances for Construction Programs), 

including the assurances relating to the legal 

authority to apply for assistance; access to 

records; conflict of interest; 

nondiscrimination; Hatch Act provisions; 

labor standards; Single Audit Act; and the 

general agreement to comply with all 

applicable Federal laws, executive orders, 

and regulations. 

18. Recipient certifies that with respect to 

the certification regarding lobbying in 

Department Form 80–0013, no Federal 

appropriated funds have been paid or will be 

paid to any person for influencing or 

attempting to influence an officer or 

employee of any agency, a Member of 

Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, 

or an employee of a Member of Congress in 

connection with the making or 

supplementing of Federal grants under this 

program; Recipient must complete and 

submit Standard Form-LLL, ‘‘Disclosure 

Form to Report Lobbying,’’ when required 

(34 CFR part 82, Appendix B). 

19. Recipient must comply with the 

provisions of all applicable acts, regulations 

and assurances; the following provisions of 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) 34 CFR 

parts 75, 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99; 

the OMB Guidelines to Agencies on 

Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension 

(Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as 

adopted and amended as regulations of the 

Department in 2 CFR part 3485; and the 

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost 

Principles, and Audit Requirements for 

Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as 

adopted and amended as regulations of the 

Department in 2 CFR part 3474. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00935 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Authorities; 

Innovative Assessment Demonstration 

Authority 

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Education 

is issuing a notice inviting applications 

for new authorities for fiscal year (FY) 

2021 under the Innovative Assessment 

Demonstration Authority (IADA). 

DATES: 

Applications Available: January 15, 

2021. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

February 16, 2021. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: March 16, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for 

obtaining and submitting an 

application, please refer to the 

Application and Submission 

Information section of this notice. 

4034 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donald Peasley, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 

room 3W106, Washington, DC 20202– 

6132. Telephone: (202) 453–7982. 

Email: ESEA.Assessment@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The Secretary 

provides State educational agencies 

(SEAs), including consortia of SEAs, 

with the authority to establish and 

operate an innovative assessment 

system in their public schools under the 

IADA in section 1204 of the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 

as amended (ESEA or the Act). An 

approved State, based on its response to 

this NIA, must be ready to administer 

and use the results from the innovative 

assessments in the 2021–2022 school 

year. During this initial demonstration 

period, no more than seven SEAs may 

participate, including those 

participating in consortia, which may 

include no more than four SEAs. 

Through previous competitions, the 

Department has awarded five States the 

authority. Two additional States may be 

approved for this authority during this 

competition. In FY 2020, the 

Department awarded grants under the 

Competitive Grants for State 

Assessments program (Assistance 

Listing Number 84.368A), including two 

grants to implement IADA for States 

already approved for flexibility and one 

grant to support preparation of an 

application for flexibility under IADA. 

Application Requirements: An SEA or 

consortium of SEAs seeking IADA must 

submit an application to the Secretary 

that demonstrates how the applicant 

meets all application requirements 

under 34 CFR 200.105 and that 

addresses all selection criteria under 34 

CFR 200.106. The following 

requirements are from 34 CFR 200.105. 

An eligible application must include 

the following: 

(a) Consultation. Evidence that the 

SEA or a consortium has developed an 

innovative assessment system in 

collaboration with— 

(1) Experts in the planning, 

development, implementation, and 

evaluation of innovative assessment 

systems, which may include external 

partners; and 

(2) Affected stakeholders in the State, 

or in each State in the consortium, 

including— 

(i) Those representing the interests of 

children with disabilities, English 

learners, and other subgroups of 

students described in section 1111(c)(2) 

of the ESEA; 

(ii) Teachers, principals, and other 

school leaders; 

(iii) Local educational agencies 

(LEAs); 

(iv) Representatives of Indian Tribes 

located in the State; 

(v) Students and parents, including 

parents of children described in 

paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section; and 

(vi) Civil rights organizations. 

(b) Innovative assessment system. A 

demonstration that the innovative 

assessment system does or will— 

(1) Meet the requirements of section 

1111(b)(2)(B) of the ESEA, except that 

an innovative assessment— 

(i) Need not be the same assessment 

administered to all public elementary 

and secondary school students in the 

State during the demonstration 

authority period described in 34 CFR 

200.104(b)(2) or extension period 

described in 34 CFR 200.108 and prior 

to statewide use consistent with 34 CFR 

200.107, if the innovative assessment 

system will be administered initially to 

all students in participating schools 

within a participating LEA, provided 

that the statewide academic assessments 

under 34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section 

1111(b)(2) of the ESEA are administered 

to all students in any non-participating 

LEA or any non-participating school 

within a participating LEA; and 

(ii) Need not be administered 

annually in each of grades 3–8 and at 

least once in grades 9–12 in the case of 

reading/language arts and mathematics 

assessments, and at least once in grades 

3–5, 6–9, and 10–12 in the case of 

science assessments, so long as the 

statewide academic assessments under 

34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section 

1111(b)(2) of the ESEA are administered 

in any required grade and subject under 

34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) in which the SEA 

does not choose to implement an 

innovative assessment; 

(2)(i) Align with the challenging State 

academic content standards under 

section 1111(b)(1) of the ESEA, 

including the depth and breadth of such 

standards, for the grade in which a 

student is enrolled; and 

(ii) May measure a student’s academic 

proficiency and growth using items 

above or below the student’s grade level 

so long as, for purposes of meeting the 

requirements for reporting and school 

accountability under sections 1111(c) 

and 1111(h) of the ESEA and paragraphs 

(b)(3) and (b)(7)–(9) of this section, the 

State measures each student’s academic 

proficiency based on the challenging 

State academic standards for the grade 

in which the student is enrolled; 

(3) Express student results or 

competencies consistent with the 

challenging State academic achievement 

standards under section 1111(b)(1) of 

the ESEA and identify which students 

are not making sufficient progress 

toward, and attaining, grade-level 

proficiency on such standards; 

(4)(i) Generate results, including 

annual summative determinations as 

defined in paragraph (b)(7) of this 

section, that are valid, reliable, and 

comparable for all students and for each 

subgroup of students described in 34 

CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and sections 

1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of 

the ESEA, to the results generated by the 

State academic assessments described in 

34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and section 

1111(b)(2) of the ESEA for such 

students. Consistent with the SEA’s or 

consortium’s evaluation plan under 34 

CFR 200.106(e), the SEA must plan to 

annually determine comparability 

during each year of its demonstration 

authority period in one of the following 

ways: 

(A) Administer full assessments from 

both the innovative and statewide 

assessment systems to all students 

enrolled in participating schools, such 

that at least once in any grade span (i.e., 

3–5, 6–8, or 9–12) and subject for which 

there is an innovative assessment, a 

statewide assessment in the same 

subject would also be administered to 

all such students. As part of this 

determination, the innovative 

assessment and statewide assessment 

need not be administered to an 

individual student in the same school 

year. 

(B) Administer full assessments from 

both the innovative and statewide 

assessment systems to a 

demographically representative sample 

of all students and subgroups of 

students described in section 1111(c)(2) 

of the ESEA, from among those students 

enrolled in participating schools, such 

that at least once in any grade span (i.e., 

3–5, 6–8, or 9–12) and subject for which 

there is an innovative assessment, a 

statewide assessment in the same 

subject would also be administered in 

the same school year to all students 

included in the sample. 

(C) Include, as a significant portion of 

the innovative assessment system in 

each required grade and subject in 

which both an innovative and statewide 

assessment are administered, items or 

performance tasks from the statewide 

assessment system that, at a minimum, 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4035 

have been previously pilot-tested or 

field-tested for use in the statewide 

assessment system. 

(D) Include, as a significant portion of 

the statewide assessment system in each 

required grade and subject in which 

both an innovative and statewide 

assessment are administered, items or 

performance tasks from the innovative 

assessment system that, at a minimum, 

have been previously pilot-tested or 

field-tested for use in the innovative 

assessment system. 

(E) Use an alternative method for 

demonstrating comparability that an 

SEA can demonstrate will provide for 

an equally rigorous and statistically 

valid comparison between student 

performance on the innovative 

assessment and the statewide 

assessment, including for each subgroup 

of students described in 34 CFR 

200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and sections 

1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of 

the ESEA; and 

(ii) Generate results, including annual 

summative determinations as defined in 

paragraph (b)(7) of this section, that are 

valid, reliable, and comparable, for all 

students and for each subgroup of 

students described in 34 CFR 

200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and sections 

1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of 

the ESEA, among participating schools 

and LEAs in the IADA. Consistent with 

the SEA’s or consortium’s evaluation 

plan under 34 CFR 200.106(e), the SEA 

must plan to annually determine 

comparability during each year of its 

demonstration authority period; 

(5)(i) Provide for the participation of 

all students, including children with 

disabilities and English learners; 

(ii) Be accessible to all students by 

incorporating the principles of universal 

design for learning, to the extent 

practicable, consistent with 34 CFR 

200.2(b)(2)(ii); and 

(iii) Provide appropriate 

accommodations consistent with 34 

CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section 

1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the ESEA; 

(6) For purposes of the State 

accountability system consistent with 

section 1111(c)(4)(E) of the ESEA, 

annually measure in each participating 

school progress on the Academic 

Achievement indicator under section 

1111(c)(4)(B) of the ESEA of at least 95 

percent of all students, and 95 percent 

of students in each subgroup of students 

described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 

ESEA, who are required to take such 

assessments consistent with paragraph 

(b)(1)(ii) of this section; 

(7) Generate an annual summative 

determination of achievement, using the 

annual data from the innovative 

assessment, for each student in a 

participating school in the 

demonstration authority that 

describes— 

(i) The student’s mastery of the 

challenging State academic standards 

under section 1111(b)(1) of the ESEA for 

the grade in which the student is 

enrolled; or 

(ii) In the case of a student with the 

most significant cognitive disabilities 

assessed with an alternate assessment 

aligned with alternate academic 

achievement standards under section 

1111(b)(1)(E) of the ESEA, the student’s 

mastery of those standards; 

(8) Provide disaggregated results by 

each subgroup of students described in 

34 CFR 200.2(b)(11)(i)(A)–(I) and 

sections 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) and 

1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) of the ESEA, including 

timely data for teachers, principals and 

other school leaders, students, and 

parents consistent with 34 CFR 200.8 

and section 1111(b)(2)(B)(x) and (xii) 

and section 1111(h) of the ESEA, and 

provide results to parents in a manner 

consistent with paragraph (b)(4)(i) of 

this section and 34 CFR 200.2(e); and 

(9) Provide an unbiased, rational, and 

consistent determination of progress 

toward the State’s long-term goals for 

academic achievement under section 

1111(c)(4)(A) of the ESEA for all 

students and each subgroup of students 

described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 

ESEA and a comparable measure of 

student performance on the Academic 

Achievement indicator under section 

1111(c)(4)(B) of the ESEA for 

participating schools relative to nonparticipating schools so that the SEA 

may validly and reliably aggregate data 

from the system for purposes of meeting 

requirements for— 

(i) Accountability under sections 1003 

and 1111(c) and (d) of the ESEA, 

including how the SEA will identify 

participating and non-participating 

schools in a consistent manner for 

comprehensive and targeted support 

and improvement under section 

1111(c)(4)(D) of the ESEA; and 

(ii) Reporting on State and LEA report 

cards under section 1111(h) of the 

ESEA. 

(c) Selection Criteria. Information that 

addresses each of the selection criteria 

under 34 CFR 200.106. 

(d) Assurances. Assurances that the 

SEA, or each SEA in a consortium, 

will— 

(1) Continue use of the statewide 

academic assessments in reading/ 

language arts, mathematics, and science 

required under 34 CFR 200.2(a)(1) and 

section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA— 

(i) In all non-participating schools; 

and 

(ii) In all participating schools for 

which such assessments will be used in 

addition to innovative assessments for 

accountability purposes under section 

1111(c) of the ESEA consistent with 

paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section or for 

evaluation purposes consistent with 34 

CFR 200.106(e) during the 

demonstration authority period; 

(2) Ensure that all students and each 

subgroup of students described in 

section 1111(c)(2) of the ESEA in 

participating schools are held to the 

same challenging State academic 

standards under section 1111(b)(1) of 

the ESEA as all other students, except 

that students with the most significant 

cognitive disabilities may be assessed 

with alternate assessments aligned with 

alternate academic achievement 

standards consistent with 34 CFR 200.6 

and section 1111(b)(1)(E) and (b)(2)(D) 

of the ESEA, and receive the 

instructional support needed to meet 

such standards; 

(3) Report the following annually to 

the Secretary, at such time and in such 

manner as the Secretary may reasonably 

require: 

(i) An update on implementation of 

the IADA, including— 

(A) The SEA’s progress against its 

timeline under 34 CFR 200.106(c) and 

any outcomes or results from its 

evaluation and continuous 

improvement process under 34 CFR 

200.106(e); and 

(B) If the innovative assessment 

system is not yet implemented 

statewide consistent with 34 CFR 

200.104(a)(2), a description of the SEA’s 

progress in scaling up the system to 

additional LEAs or schools consistent 

with its strategies under 34 CFR 

200.106(a)(3)(i), including updated 

assurances from participating LEAs 

consistent with paragraph (e)(2) of this 

section. 

(ii) The performance of students in 

participating schools at the State, LEA, 

and school level, for all students and 

disaggregated for each subgroup of 

students described in section 1111(c)(2) 

of the ESEA, on the innovative 

assessment, including academic 

achievement and participation data 

required to be reported consistent with 

section 1111(h) of the ESEA, except that 

such data may not reveal any personally 

identifiable information. 

(iii) If the innovative assessment 

system is not yet implemented 

statewide, school demographic 

information, including enrollment and 

student achievement information, for 

the subgroups of students described in 

section 1111(c)(2) of the ESEA, among 

participating schools and LEAs and for 

any schools or LEAs that will 

4036 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

participate for the first time in the 

following year, and a description of how 

the participation of any additional 

schools or LEAs in that year contributed 

to progress toward achieving highquality and consistent implementation 

across demographically diverse LEAs in 

the State consistent with the SEA’s 

benchmarks described in 34 CFR 

200.106(a)(3)(iii). 

(iv) Feedback from teachers, 

principals and other school leaders, and 

other stakeholders consulted under 

paragraph (a)(2) of this section, 

including parents and students, from 

participating schools and LEAs about 

their satisfaction with the innovative 

assessment system. 

(4) Ensure that each participating LEA 

informs parents of all students in 

participating schools about the 

innovative assessment, including the 

grades and subjects in which the 

innovative assessment will be 

administered, and, consistent with 

section 1112(e)(2)(B) of the ESEA, at the 

beginning of each school year during 

which an innovative assessment will be 

implemented. Such information must 

be— 

(i) In an understandable and uniform 

format; 

(ii) To the extent practicable, written 

in a language that parents can 

understand or, if it is not practicable to 

provide written translations to a parent 

with limited English proficiency, be 

orally translated for such parent; and 

(iii) Upon request by a parent who is 

an individual with a disability as 

defined by the Americans with 

Disabilities Act, provided in an 

alternative format accessible to that 

parent; and 

(5) Coordinate with and provide 

information to, as applicable, the 

Institute of Education Sciences for 

purposes of the progress report 

described in section 1204(c) of the ESEA 

and ongoing dissemination of 

information under section 1204(m) of 

the ESEA. 

(e) Initial implementation in a subset 

of LEAs or schools. If the innovative 

assessment system will initially be 

administered in a subset of LEAs or 

schools in a State— 

(1) A description of each LEA, and 

each of its participating schools, that 

will initially participate, including 

demographic information and its most 

recent LEA report card under section 

1111(h)(2) of the ESEA; and 

(2) An assurance from each 

participating LEA, for each year that the 

LEA is participating, that the LEA will 

comply with all requirements of this 

section. 

(f) Application from a consortium of 

SEAs. If an application for the IADA is 

submitted by a consortium of SEAs— 

(1) A description of the governance 

structure of the consortium, including— 

(i) The roles and responsibilities of 

each member SEA, which may include 

a description of affiliate members, if 

applicable, and must include a 

description of financial responsibilities 

of member SEAs; 

(ii) How the member SEAs will 

manage and, at their discretion, share 

intellectual property developed by the 

consortium as a group; and 

(iii) How the member SEAs will 

consider requests from SEAs to join or 

leave the consortium and ensure that 

changes in membership do not affect the 

consortium’s ability to implement the 

IADA consistent with the requirements 

and selection criteria in this section and 

34 CFR 200.106. 

(2) While the terms of the association 

with affiliate members are defined by 

each consortium, consistent with 34 

CFR 200.104(b)(1) and paragraph (f)(1)(i) 

of this section, for an affiliate member 

to become a full member of the 

consortium and to use the consortium’s 

innovative assessment system under the 

demonstration authority, the consortium 

must submit a revised application to the 

Secretary for approval, consistent with 

the requirements of this section and 34 

CFR 200.106 and subject to the 

limitation under 34 CFR 200.104(d). 

Definitions: For FY 2021 and any 

subsequent year in which we award the 

IADA, the following definitions will 

apply. These definitions are from 34 

CFR 200.104(b). 

(1) Affiliate member of a consortium 

means an SEA that is formally 

associated with a consortium of SEAs 

that is implementing the IADA, but is 

not yet a full member of the consortium 

because it is not proposing to use the 

consortium’s innovative assessment 

system under the demonstration 

authority, instead of, or in addition to, 

its statewide assessment under section 

1111(b)(2) of the ESEA for purposes of 

accountability and reporting under 

sections 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the 

ESEA. 

(2) Demonstration authority period 

refers to the period of time over which 

an SEA, or consortium of SEAs, is 

authorized to implement the IADA, 

which may not exceed five years and 

does not include the extension or 

waiver period under 34 CFR 200.108. 

An SEA must use its innovative 

assessment system in all participating 

schools instead of, or in addition to, the 

statewide assessment under section 

1111(b)(2) of the ESEA for purposes of 

accountability and reporting under 

section 1111(c) and 1111(h) of the ESEA 

in each year of the demonstration 

authority period. 

(3) Innovative assessment system 

means a system of assessments, which 

may include any combination of general 

assessments or alternate assessments 

aligned with alternate academic 

achievement standards, in reading/ 

language arts, mathematics, or science 

administered in at least one required 

grade under 34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) and 

section 1111(b)(2)(B)(v) of the ESEA 

that— 

(i) Produces— 

(A) An annual summative 

determination of each student’s mastery 

of grade-level content standards aligned 

to the challenging State academic 

standards under section 1111(b)(1) of 

the ESEA; or 

(B) In the case of a student with the 

most significant cognitive disabilities 

assessed with an alternate assessment 

aligned with alternate academic 

achievement standards under section 

1111(b)(1)(E) of the ESEA and aligned 

with the State’s academic content 

standards for the grade in which the 

student is enrolled, an annual 

summative determination relative to 

such alternate academic achievement 

standards for each such student; and 

(ii) May, in any required grade or 

subject, include one or more of the 

following types of assessments: 

(A) Cumulative year-end assessments. 

(B) Competency-based assessments. 

(C) Instructionally embedded 

assessments. 

(D) Interim assessments. 

(E) Performance-based assessments. 

(F) Another innovative assessment 

design that meets the requirements 

under 34 CFR 200.105(b). 

(4) Participating LEA means an LEA 

in the State with at least one school 

participating in the IADA. 

(5) Participating school means a 

public school in the State in which the 

innovative assessment system is 

administered under the IADA instead 

of, or in addition to, the statewide 

assessment under section 1111(b)(2) of 

the ESEA and where the results of the 

school’s students on the innovative 

assessment system are used by its State 

and LEA for purposes of accountability 

and reporting under section 1111(c) and 

1111(h) of the ESEA. 

Program Authority: Section 1204 of 

the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6364); 34 CFR 

200.104 through 200.108. 

Note: Projects must be awarded and 

operated in a manner consistent with 

the nondiscrimination requirements 

contained in the U.S. Constitution and 

the Federal civil rights laws. 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4037 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Innovation authority. 

Estimated Available Funds: No funds 

are authorized to be appropriated for the 

IADA. However, an SEA may use funds 

it receives under Grants for State 

Assessments and Related Activities (see 

section 1201 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 

6361)) to implement its innovative 

assessment system. 

Estimated Number of Awards: Up to 

two States may be approved for this 

authority in this competition because 

five States have previously received the 

authority. For the initial demonstration 

period, no more than seven States, 

including States that are part of a 

consortium (which may include no 

more than four States), may participate. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: SEAs (as 

defined in section 8101(49) of the ESEA) 

and consortia of SEAs that include no 

more than four SEAs. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not require cost sharing or 

matching. 

3. Other: An application from a 

consortium of SEAs must designate one 

SEA as the lead State for project 

management. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: Donald Peasley, Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education, 

U.S. Department of Education, 400 

Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W106, 

Washington, DC 20202–6132. 

Telephone: (202) 453–7982. Email: 

ESEA.Assessment@ed.gov. 

To obtain a copy via the internet, use 

the following address: https://

oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formulagrants/school-support-andaccountability/iada/. 

If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the 

FRS, toll free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content and form of an application, 

together with the forms you must 

submit, are in the application package 

for this program, which can be found at 

https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-offormula-grants/school-support-andaccountability/iada/. 

3. Notice of Intent to Apply: We will 

be able to develop a more efficient 

process for reviewing applications if we 

have a better understanding of the 

number of applicants that intend to 

apply for selection under this program. 

Therefore, we strongly encourage each 

potential applicant to notify us of their 

intent to submit an application by 

February 16, 2021. This notification 

should be brief, and identify the SEA 

applicant, and, if part of a consortium, 

the SEA that is the fiscal agent for the 

consortium. Submit this notification by 

email to ESEA.Assessment@ed.gov with 

‘‘Intent to Apply’’ in the email subject 

line or by mail to Donald Peasley, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue SW, Room 3W106, Washington, 

DC 20202–6132. Applicants that do not 

provide this notification may still apply 

for the authority. 

4. Submission of Proprietary 

Information: Given the types of projects 

that may be proposed in applications for 

the IADA, your application may include 

business information that you consider 

proprietary. In 34 CFR 5.11 we define 

‘‘business information’’ and describe the 

process we use in determining whether 

any of that information is proprietary 

and, thus, protected from disclosure 

under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as 

amended). Because we plan to make 

successful applications available to the 

public, you may wish to request 

confidentiality of business information. 

Consistent with Executive Order 

12600, please designate in your 

application any information that you 

believe is exempt from disclosure under 

Exemption 4. In the appropriate 

Appendix section of your application, 

under ‘‘Other Attachments Form,’’ 

please list the page number or numbers 

on which we can find this information. 

For additional information, please see 

34 CFR 5.11(c). 

5. Intergovernmental Review: This 

competition is not subject to Executive 

Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 

CFR part 79. 

6. Application Submission 

Instructions: 

Applications under this program must 

be submitted electronically using the 

Department’s application portal at 

www.Max.gov. For directions on how to 

access and use the application portal, 

please contact Donald Peasley at 

ESEA.Assessment@ed.gov. For 

information (including dates and times) 

about how to submit your application 

electronically, please refer to Other 

Submission Requirements in section IV 

of this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. If the Department provides an 

accommodation or auxiliary aid to an 

individual with a disability in 

connection with the application 

process, the individual’s application 

remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

7. Other Submission Requirements: 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications under this program must 

be submitted electronically using the 

Department’s application portal at 

www.Max.gov by 5:00:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on March 16, 2021. For directions 

on how to access and use the 

application portal, please contact 

Donald Peasley at ESEA.Assessment@

ed.gov. 

You may access the electronic 

application for this program at https:// 

oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formulagrants/school-support-andaccountability/iada/. You must submit 

all documents electronically. 

• You must upload any narrative 

sections and all other attachments to 

your application as files in a read-only, 

flattened Portable Document Format 

(PDF), meaning any fillable PDF 

documents must be saved as flattened 

non-fillable files. Do not upload an 

interactive or fillable PDF file. If you 

upload a file type other than a readonly, flattened PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, 

WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a passwordprotected file, we will not review that 

material. Please note that this could 

result in your application not being 

considered because the material in 

question—for example, the project 

narrative—is critical to a meaningful 

review of your proposal. For that reason 

it is important to allow yourself 

adequate time to upload all material as 

PDF files. The Department will not 

convert material from other formats to 

PDF. 

• Your application must also meet the 

Department’s application requirements 

as specified in this notice and in the 

application instructions. Disqualifying 

errors could include, for instance, 

failure to upload attachments in a readonly, flattened PDF; failure to submit a 

required part of the application; or 

failure to meet applicant eligibility 

requirements. It is your responsibility to 

ensure that your submitted application 

has met all of the Department’s 

requirements. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on forms at a later 

date. 

b. Submission of Application in Case 

of Technical Issues. 

If you are prevented from 

electronically submitting your 

application on the application deadline 

date because of technical problems with 

4038 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

the Max.gov system, you may email 

your application to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT and provide an explanation of 

the technical problem you experienced. 

We will contact you after we determine 

whether your application will be 

accepted. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

200.106. We will award a maximum of 

up to 120 points to an application under 

the selection criteria; the total possible 

points for addressing each selection 

criterion are noted in parentheses. 

(a) Project narrative. (Up to 40 points) 

The quality of the SEA’s or 

consortium’s plan for implementing the 

IADA. In determining the quality of the 

plan, the Secretary considers— 

(1) The rationale for developing or 

selecting the particular innovative 

assessment system to be implemented 

under the demonstration authority, 

including— 

(i) The distinct purpose of each 

assessment that is part of the innovative 

assessment system and how the system 

will advance the design and delivery of 

large-scale, statewide academic 

assessments in innovative ways; and 

(ii) The extent to which the 

innovative assessment system as a 

whole will promote high-quality 

instruction, mastery of challenging State 

academic standards, and improved 

student outcomes, including for each 

subgroup of students described in 

section 1111(c)(2) of the ESEA; (5 points 

if factor (3) is applicable; 10 points if 

factor (3) is inapplicable); 

(2) The plan the SEA or consortium, 

in consultation with any external 

partners, if applicable, has to— 

(i) Develop and use standardized and 

calibrated tools, rubrics, methods, or 

other strategies for scoring innovative 

assessments throughout the 

demonstration authority period, 

consistent with relevant nationally 

recognized professional and technical 

standards, to ensure inter-rater 

reliability and comparability of 

innovative assessment results consistent 

with 34 CFR 200.105(b)(4)(ii), which 

may include evidence of inter-rater 

reliability; and 

(ii) Train evaluators to use such 

strategies, if applicable; (25 points if 

factor (3) is applicable; 30 points if 

factor (3) is inapplicable); and 

(3) If the system will initially be 

administered in a subset of schools or 

LEAs in a State— 

(i) The strategies the SEA, including 

each SEA in a consortium, will use to 

scale the innovative assessment to all 

schools statewide, with a rationale for 

selecting those strategies; 

(ii) The strength of the SEA’s or 

consortium’s criteria that will be used to 

determine LEAs and schools that will 

initially participate and when to 

approve additional LEAs and schools, if 

applicable, to participate during the 

requested demonstration authority 

period; and 

(iii) The SEA’s plan, including each 

SEA in a consortium, for how it will 

ensure that, during the demonstration 

authority period, the inclusion of 

additional LEAs and schools continues 

to reflect high-quality and consistent 

implementation across demographically 

diverse LEAs and schools, or 

contributes to progress toward achieving 

such implementation across 

demographically diverse LEAs and 

schools, including diversity based on 

enrollment of subgroups of students 

described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 

ESEA and student achievement. The 

plan must also include annual 

benchmarks toward achieving highquality and consistent implementation 

across participating schools that are, as 

a group, demographically similar to the 

State as a whole during the 

demonstration authority period, using 

the demographics of initially 

participating schools as a baseline. (10 

points, if applicable) 

(b) Prior experience, capacity, and 

stakeholder support. (Up to 20 points) 

(1) The extent and depth of prior 

experience that the SEA, including each 

SEA in a consortium, and its LEAs have 

in developing and implementing the 

components of the innovative 

assessment system. An SEA may also 

describe the prior experience of any 

external partners that will be 

participating in or supporting its 

demonstration authority in 

implementing those components. In 

evaluating the extent and depth of prior 

experience, the Secretary considers— 

(i) The success and track record of 

efforts to implement innovative 

assessments or innovative assessment 

items aligned to the challenging State 

academic standards under section 

1111(b)(1) of the ESEA in LEAs 

planning to participate; and 

(ii) The SEA’s or LEA’s development 

or use of— 

(A) Effective supports and appropriate 

accommodations consistent with 34 

CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and section 

1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the ESEA for 

administering innovative assessments to 

all students, including English learners 

and children with disabilities, which 

must include professional development 

for school staff on providing such 

accommodations; 

(B) Effective and high-quality 

supports for school staff to implement 

innovative assessments and innovative 

assessment items, including 

professional development; and 

(C) Standardized and calibrated tools, 

rubrics, methods, or other strategies for 

scoring innovative assessments, with 

documented evidence of the validity, 

reliability, and comparability of annual 

summative determinations of 

achievement, consistent with 34 CFR 

200.105(b)(4) and (7). (5 points) 

(2) The extent and depth of the SEA, 

including each SEA in a consortium, 

and LEA capacity to implement the 

innovative assessment system 

considering the availability of 

technological infrastructure; State and 

local laws; dedicated and sufficient 

staff, expertise, and resources; and other 

relevant factors. An SEA or consortium 

may also describe how it plans to 

enhance its capacity by collaborating 

with external partners that will be 

participating in or supporting its 

demonstration authority. In evaluating 

the extent and depth of capacity, the 

Secretary considers— 

(i) The SEA’s analysis of how capacity 

influenced the success of prior efforts to 

develop and implement innovative 

assessments or innovative assessment 

items; and 

(ii) The strategies the SEA is using, or 

will use, to mitigate risks, including 

those identified in its analysis, and 

support successful implementation of 

the innovative assessment. (5 points) 

(3) The extent and depth of State and 

local support for the application for 

demonstration authority in each SEA, 

including each SEA in a consortium, as 

demonstrated by signatures from the 

following: 

(i) Superintendents (or equivalent) of 

LEAs, including participating LEAs in 

the first year of the demonstration 

authority period. 

(ii) Presidents of local school boards 

(or equivalent, where applicable), 

including within participating LEAs in 

the first year of the demonstration 

authority. 

(iii) Local teacher organizations 

(including labor organizations, where 

applicable), including within 

participating LEAs in the first year of 

the demonstration authority. 

(iv) Other affected stakeholders, such 

as parent organizations, civil rights 

organizations, and business 

organizations. (10 points) 

(c) Timeline and budget. (Up to 15 

points) 

The quality of the SEA’s or 

consortium’s timeline and budget for 

implementing the IADA. In determining 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4039 

the quality of the timeline and budget, 

the Secretary considers— 

(1) The extent to which the timeline 

reasonably demonstrates that each SEA 

will implement the system statewide by 

the end of the requested demonstration 

authority period, including a 

description of— 

(i) The activities to occur in each year 

of the requested demonstration 

authority period; 

(ii) The parties responsible for each 

activity; and 

(iii) If applicable, how a consortium’s 

member SEAs will implement activities 

at different paces and how the 

consortium will implement 

interdependent activities, so long as 

each non-affiliate member SEA begins 

using the innovative assessment in the 

same school year consistent with 34 

CFR part 200.104(b)(2); (5 points) and 

(2) The adequacy of the project budget 

for the duration of the requested 

demonstration authority period, 

including Federal, State, local, and nonpublic sources of funds to support and 

sustain, as applicable, the activities in 

the timeline under paragraph (c)(1) of 

this section, including— 

(i) How the budget will be sufficient 

to meet the expected costs at each phase 

of the SEA’s planned expansion of its 

innovative assessment system; and 

(ii) The degree to which funding in 

the project budget is contingent upon 

future appropriations at the State or 

local level or additional commitments 

from non-public sources of funds. (10 

points) 

(d) Supports for educators, students, 

and parents. (Up to 25 points) 

The quality of the SEA or 

consortium’s plan to provide supports 

that can be delivered consistently at 

scale to educators, students, and parents 

to enable successful implementation of 

the innovative assessment system and 

improve instruction and student 

outcomes. In determining the quality of 

supports, the Secretary considers— 

(1) The extent to which the SEA or 

consortium has developed, provided, 

and will continue to provide training to 

LEA and school staff, including 

teachers, principals, and other school 

leaders, that will familiarize them with 

the innovative assessment system and 

develop teacher capacity to implement 

instruction that is informed by the 

innovative assessment system and its 

results; (5 points if factor (4) is 

applicable; 9 points if factor (4) is 

inapplicable) 

(2) The strategies the SEA or 

consortium has developed and will use 

to familiarize students and parents with 

the innovative assessment system; (5 

points if factor (4) is applicable; 8 points 

if factor (4) is inapplicable) 

(3) The strategies the SEA will use to 

ensure that all students and each 

subgroup of students under section 

1111(c)(2) of the Act in participating 

schools receive the support, including 

appropriate accommodations consistent 

with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and 

section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the ESEA, 

needed to meet the challenging State 

academic standards under section 

1111(b)(1) of the ESEA; (5 points if 

factor (4) is applicable; 8 points if factor 

(4) is inapplicable) and 

(4) If the system includes assessment 

items that are locally developed or 

locally scored, the strategies and 

safeguards (e.g., test blueprints, item 

and task specifications, rubrics, scoring 

tools, documentation of quality control 

procedures, inter-rater reliability 

checks, audit plans) the SEA or 

consortium has developed, or plans to 

develop, to validly and reliably score 

such items, including how the strategies 

engage and support teachers and other 

staff in designing, developing, 

implementing, and validly and reliably 

scoring high-quality assessments; how 

the safeguards are sufficient to ensure 

unbiased, objective scoring of 

assessment items; and how the SEA will 

use effective professional development 

to aid in these efforts. (10 points if 

applicable) 

(e) Evaluation and continuous 

improvement. (Up to 20 points) 

The quality of the SEA’s or 

consortium’s plan to annually evaluate 

its implementation of IADA. In 

determining the quality of the 

evaluation, the Secretary considers— 

(1) The strength of the proposed 

evaluation of the innovative assessment 

system included in the application, 

including whether the evaluation will 

be conducted by an independent, 

experienced third party, and the 

likelihood that the evaluation will 

sufficiently determine the system’s 

validity, reliability, and comparability 

to the statewide assessment system 

consistent with the requirements of 34 

CFR 200.105(b)(4) and (9); (12 points) 

and 

(2) The SEA’s or consortium’s plan for 

continuous improvement of the 

innovative assessment system, 

including its process for— 

(i) Using data, feedback, evaluation 

results, and other information from 

participating LEAs and schools to make 

changes to improve the quality of the 

innovative assessment; and 

(ii) Evaluating and monitoring 

implementation of the innovative 

assessment system in participating LEAs 

and schools annually. (8 points) 

2. Risk Assessment and Specific 

Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 

200.205(c) and 200.207, before 

approving a project under this authority, 

the Department may conduct a review of 

the risks posed by the applicant and 

impose specific conditions as needed. 

3. Additional Review and Selection 

Process Factors: 

(a) The Secretary uses a peer review 

process, including a review of the SEA’s 

application to determine that it meets or 

will meet each of the requirements 

under 34 CFR 200.105 and sufficiently 

addresses each of the selection criteria 

under 34 CFR 200.106, to inform the 

Secretary’s decision of whether to award 

the IADA to an SEA or consortium of 

SEAs. Peer review teams consist of 

experts and State and local practitioners 

who are knowledgeable about 

innovative assessment systems, 

including— 

(i) Individuals with past experience 

developing innovative assessment and 

accountability systems that support all 

students and subgroups of students 

described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 

ESEA (e.g., psychometricians, 

measurement experts, researchers); and 

(ii) Individuals with experience 

implementing such innovative 

assessment and accountability systems 

(e.g., State and local assessment 

directors, educators). 

VI. Administration Information 

1. Approval Notices: If your 

application is approved, we notify your 

U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators 

and send you a letter or email approving 

your project. 

If your application is not selected, we 

notify you. 

2. Programmatic Requirements: Your 

application must address the 

programmatic requirements in section 

1204 of the ESEA and 34 CFR 200.104 

through 200.108. 

3. Reporting: (a) If you apply under 

this program, you must ensure that you 

have in place the necessary processes 

and systems to comply with the 

reporting requirements should your 

application be approved. 

(b) You must submit, at the end of 

each year of your project period, an 

annual update on program activity 

according to the requirements of 34 CFR 

200.105(d)(3). 

4. Transition to Statewide Use: 

Pursuant to 34 CFR 200.107— 

(a)(1) After an SEA has scaled its 

innovative assessment system to operate 

statewide in all schools and LEAs in the 

State, the SEA must submit evidence for 

peer review under section 1111(a)(4) of 

the ESEA and 34 CFR 200.2(d) to 

determine whether the system may be 

4040 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

used for purposes of both academic 

assessments and the State accountability 

system under sections 1111(b)(2), (c), 

and (d) and 1003 of the ESEA. 

(2) An SEA may only use the 

innovative assessment system for the 

purposes described in paragraph (a)(1) 

of this section if the Secretary 

determines that the system is of high 

quality consistent with paragraph (b) of 

this section. 

(b) Through the peer review process 

of State assessments and accountability 

systems under section 1111(a)(4) of the 

ESEA and 34 CFR 200.2(d), the 

Secretary determines that the innovative 

assessment system is of high quality if— 

(1) An innovative assessment 

developed in any grade or subject under 

34 CFR 200.5(a)(1) and section 

1111(b)(2)(B)(v) of the ESEA— 

(i) Meets all of the requirements under 

section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA and 34 

CFR 200.105(b) and (c); 

(ii) Provides coherent and timely 

information about student achievement 

based on the challenging State academic 

standards under section 1111(b)(1) of 

the ESEA; 

(iii) Includes objective measurements 

of academic achievement, knowledge, 

and skills; and 

(iv) Is valid, reliable, and consistent 

with relevant, nationally recognized 

professional and technical standards; 

(2) The SEA provides satisfactory 

evidence that it has examined the 

statistical relationship between student 

performance on the innovative 

assessment in each subject area and 

student performance on other measures 

of success, including the measures used 

for each relevant grade-span within the 

remaining indicators (i.e., indicators 

besides Academic Achievement) in the 

statewide accountability system under 

section 1111(c)(4)(B)(ii)–(v) of the ESEA, 

and how the inclusion of the innovative 

assessment in its Academic 

Achievement indicator under section 

1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the ESEA affects the 

annual meaningful differentiation of 

schools under section 1111(c)(4)(C) of 

the ESEA; 

(3) The SEA has solicited information, 

consistent with the requirements under 

34 CFR 200.105(d)(3)(iv), and taken into 

account feedback from teachers, 

principals, other school leaders, parents, 

and other stakeholders under 34 CFR 

200.105(a)(2) about their satisfaction 

with the innovative assessment system; 

and 

(4) The SEA has demonstrated that 

the same innovative assessment system 

was used to measure— 

(i) The achievement of all students 

and each subgroup of students 

described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 

ESEA, and that appropriate 

accommodations were provided 

consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and 

(f)(1)(i) under section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) 

of the ESEA; and 

(ii) For purposes of the State 

accountability system consistent with 

section 1111(c)(4)(E) of the ESEA, 

progress on the Academic Achievement 

indicator under section 1111(c)(4)(B)(i) 

of the ESEA of at least 95 percent of all 

students, and 95 percent of students in 

each subgroup of students described in 

section 1111(c)(2) of the ESEA. 

(c) With respect to the evidence 

submitted to the Secretary to make the 

determination described in paragraph 

(b)(2) of this section, the baseline year 

for any evaluation is the first year that 

a participating LEA in the State 

administered the innovative assessment 

system under the demonstration 

authority. 

(d) In the case of a consortium of 

SEAs, evidence may be submitted for 

the consortium as a whole so long as the 

evidence demonstrates how each 

member SEA meets each requirement of 

paragraph (b) of this section applicable 

to an SEA. 

5. Continuation of Authority: 

Pursuant to 34 CFR 200.108— 

(a) The Secretary may extend an 

SEA’s demonstration authority period 

for no more than two years if the SEA 

submits to the Secretary— 

(1) Evidence that its innovative 

assessment system continues to meet 

the requirements under 34 CFR 200.105 

and the SEA continues to implement the 

plan described in its application in 

response to the selection criteria in 34 

CFR 200.106 in all participating schools 

and LEAs; 

(2) A high-quality plan, including 

input from stakeholders under 34 CFR 

200.105(a)(2), for transitioning to 

statewide use of the innovative 

assessment system by the end of the 

extension period; and 

(3) A demonstration that the SEA and 

all LEAs that are not yet fully 

implementing the innovative 

assessment system have sufficient 

capacity to support use of the system 

statewide by the end of the extension 

period. 

(b) In the case of a consortium of 

SEAs, the Secretary may extend the 

demonstration authority period for the 

consortium as a whole or for an 

individual member SEA. 

6. Withdrawal of Demonstration 

Authority. (a) The Secretary may 

withdraw the IADA provided to an SEA, 

including an individual SEA member of 

a consortium, if at any time during the 

approved demonstration authority 

period or extension period, the 

Secretary requests, and the SEA does 

not present in a timely manner— 

(1) A high-quality plan, including 

input from stakeholders under 34 CFR 

200.105(a)(2), to transition to full 

statewide use of the innovative 

assessment system by the end of its 

approved demonstration authority 

period or extension period, as 

applicable; or 

(2) Evidence that— 

(i) The innovative assessment system 

meets all requirements under 34 CFR 

200.105, including a demonstration that 

the innovative assessment system has 

met the requirements under 34 CFR 

200.105(b); 

(ii) The SEA continues to implement 

the plan described in its application in 

response to the selection criteria in 34 

CFR 200.106; 

(iii) The innovative assessment 

system includes and is used to assess all 

students attending participating schools 

in the demonstration authority, 

consistent with the requirements under 

section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA to 

provide for participation in State 

assessments, including among each 

subgroup of students described in 

section 1111(c)(2) of the ESEA, and for 

appropriate accommodations consistent 

with 34 CFR 200.6(b) and (f)(1)(i) and 

section 1111(b)(2)(B)(vii) of the ESEA; 

(iv) The innovative assessment system 

provides an unbiased, rational, and 

consistent determination of progress 

toward the State’s long-term goals and 

measurements of interim progress for 

academic achievement under section 

1111(c)(4)(A) of the ESEA for all 

students and subgroups of students 

described in section 1111(c)(2) of the 

ESEA and a comparable measure of 

student performance on the Academic 

Achievement indicator under section 

1111(c)(4)(B)(i) of the ESEA for 

participating schools relative to nonparticipating schools; or 

(v) The innovative assessment system 

demonstrates comparability to the 

statewide assessments under section 

1111(b)(2) of the ESEA in content 

coverage, difficulty, and quality. 

(b)(1) In the case of a consortium of 

SEAs, the Secretary may withdraw 

IADA for the consortium as a whole at 

any time during its demonstration 

authority period or extension period if 

the Secretary requests, and no member 

of the consortium provides, the 

information under paragraph (a)(1) or 

(2) of this section. 

(2) If IADA for one or more SEAs in 

a consortium is withdrawn, the 

consortium may continue to implement 

the authority if it can demonstrate, in an 

amended application to the Secretary 

that, as a group, the remaining SEAs 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 4041 

continue to meet all requirements and 

selection criteria in 34 CFR 200.105 and 

200.106. 

7. Waiver authority. (a) At the end of 

the extension period, an SEA that is not 

yet approved consistent with 34 CFR 

200.107 to implement its innovative 

assessment system statewide may 

request a waiver from the Secretary 

consistent with section 8401 of the 

ESEA to delay the withdrawal of 

authority under paragraph (6) of this 

section for the purpose of providing the 

SEA with the time necessary to receive 

approval to transition to use of the 

innovative assessment system statewide 

under 34 CFR 200.107(b). 

(b) The Secretary may grant an SEA a 

one-year waiver to continue the IADA, 

if the SEA submits, in its request under 

paragraph (7)(a) of this section, evidence 

satisfactory to the Secretary that it— 

(1) Has met all of the requirements 

under paragraph (6)(a) of this section 

and of 34 CFR 200.105 and 200.106; and 

(2) Has a high-quality plan, including 

input from stakeholders under 34 CFR 

200.105(a)(2), for transition to statewide 

use of the innovative assessment 

system, including peer review 

consistent with 34 CFR 200.107, in a 

reasonable period of time. 

(c) In the case of a consortium of 

SEAs, the Secretary may grant a oneyear waiver consistent with paragraph 

(7)(a) of this section for the consortium 

as a whole or for individual member 

SEAs, as necessary. 

8. Return to the Statewide Assessment 

System. If the Secretary withdraws 

IADA consistent with paragraph (6) of 

this section, or if an SEA voluntarily 

terminates use of its innovative 

assessment system prior to the end of its 

demonstration authority, extension, or 

waiver period under paragraph (7) of 

this section, as applicable, the SEA 

must— 

(a) Return to using, in all LEAs and 

schools in the State, a statewide 

assessment that meets the requirements 

of section 1111(b)(2) of the Act; and 

(b) Provide timely notice to all 

participating LEAs and schools of the 

withdrawal of authority and the SEA’s 

plan for transition back to use of a 

statewide assessment. 

VII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document and a copy of the 

application package in an accessible 

format. The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or PDF. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. 

You may also access documents of the 

Department published in the Federal 

Register by using the article search 

feature at www.federalregister.gov. 

Specifically, through the advanced 

search feature at this site, you can limit 

your search to documents published by 

the Department. 

Frank T. Brogan, 

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and 

Secondary Education. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00882 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2021–SCC–0008] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Comment Request; Trends 

in International Mathematics and 

Science Study (TIMSS 2023) Field Test 

Sampling and Recruitment 

AGENCY: Institute of Educational 

Sciences (IES), Department of Education 

(ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing revision of a currently 

approved information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before March 

16, 2021. 

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– 

2021–SCC–0008. 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. 

If the Regulations.gov site is not 

available to the public for any reason, 

ED will temporarily accept comments at 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please include the 

docket ID number and the title of the 

information collection request when 

requesting documents or submitting 

comments. 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 PRA Coordinator of the 

Strategic Collections and Clearance 

Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W208B, 

Washington, DC 20202–8240. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 

202–245–6347. 

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 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: Trends in 

International Mathematics and Science 

Study (TIMSS 2023) Field Test 

Sampling and Recruitment. 

OMB Control Number: 1850–0695. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals and Households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 3,199. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 1,040.