Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities

OM B No. 1820

- 0622; 12/12/2013 Page 1 **SPECIAL EDUCATION**

**— INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING ON REGULATORY**  **COMPLIANCE RELA TED TO THE PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT**  **PROGRAM SERVICE OBLIGATION**  **SUPPORTING STATEMENT**

**INTRODUCTION** This submission is a result of regulations which govern the service obligation related to the Personnel Development P rogram in Section 673(h) of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 which requires individuals who receive a scholarship through personnel development projects funded under the Act subsequentl y to provid e earl y intervention, special education or related services to children with disabilities or, for leadership personnel, work in the appropriate field for a period of two ye ars for every year for which assistance was received. Scholarship recipients who do not satisfy their service obligation through service must repay all or part of the cost of their assistance in accordance with the regulations issued by the Secretary . These regulations implement requirements governing, among other things, the service obli gation for scholars, oversight by grantees, repay ment of scholarships, and procedures for obtaining deferrals or exemptions from service or repay

ment obligations. In order for the Federal government to implement these regulations, certain data collections, record keeping and reporting are necessary

. **JUSTIFICATION**
**A1. C**  **ircumstances Making the Collection of Information**  **Necessary** The December 9, 1999 regulations require the institutions of higher education (IHEs) grantees to document scholars’ progress in programs and in their subsequent eligible emplo ym ent. When scholars do not satisfy the requirements of the regulation and are required to repay part or all of their scholarship, IHEs are required to provide the Federal government with the information nece ssary to carryout the Secretary ’s functions. This Paperwork Act submission relates to grants that were awarded in FY2004 and earlier. The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 transferred documentation of scholars’ eligible employ ment from IH Es to the Federal government. A separate Paperwork Act submission (1820

- 0686 expiring 8/31/14 ) was approved on June 5, 2006 for data collected in FY2005 and later

. **A 2.**  **Purpose and Use of the Information** The information gathered by this collection is used to ensure repay ment by obligees to the Federal government of all or part of the scholarship assistance made to those scholars who received scholar ships from personnel development grants awarded inPersonnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities

OM B No. 1820

- 0622; 12/12/2013 Page 2 2004 and earlier but who do not complete programs or satisfy the service obligation through service as required by the regulations. **A 3.**  **Use of Technology to Reduce Burden**

. Grantees establish their data collection s ys tems, and these sy stems vary from institution to institution, including the degree to whi ch they use technology . The grantees send via US mail the necessary information about scholars (approximately 30 each ye ar) who will be required to repay their scholarships to the Department. Grantees will continue to send via US mail information relate d to students who have not completed their program of study or who have not completed their service obligation. **A 4.**  **Efforts to Identify Duplication** Nothing in the regulations duplicates other information requests or requirements. The requested informatio n is not available from other sources. **A 5.**  **Methods to Minimize Burden on Small Entities** The information requested does not involve the collection of information from small businesses. **A 6.**  **Consequences of Not Collecting Data** The regulations require the m inimum amount of data to ensure that IHEs and obligees provide the information necessary to meet the purpose of the Act. To require less frequent collection would result in the inability of the Secretary to assure that grantees and obligees are complying w ith the statutory requirements. **A 7.**  **Special Circumstances** Scholarship recipients are required to maintain their employ ment records until they have satisfied their service obligation as required by ID EA 1997 and 2004. **A 8.**  **Federal Register Comments and Per sons Consulted Outside the Agency**  Since the last Paperwork Act submission , no unfavorable comments about the burden of this requirement have been documented. The Department published a 60

- and 30

- day

Federal Register Notice with no public comments receive d during the 60

- day comment period. **A9**
**. Payments or Gifts**  No pay ments or gifts will be provided to respondents . The grants from FY2004 and earlier have ended. **A10**
**. Assurances of Confidentiality**  No assurance of confidentiality is provided to respo ndents. **A 11.**  **Justification of Sensitive Questions** There are no questions of a sensitive nature contained in the application form.Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities

OM B No. 1820

- 0622; 12/12/2013 Page 3 **A12. Estimates of Hourly Burden**  All of the FY2004 and earlier grants have closed. Therefore, grantees will no longer est ablish Pre

- scholarship Agreements or Exit Certifications with scholars/obligees

. It is estimated that 120 grantees will spend one hour each ye ar collecting and documenting obligee employ ment data for an average of 20 obligees each. Grantees must report to the Secretary any obligees who must repay part or all of the funding received, because they

have not completed their obligation through service. The burden for all grantees for each of the next 3 years equals an estimated 2 , 400 hours.
This burden has decreased because grantees are no longer establishing Pre

scholarship Agreements or Exit Certifications. As more scholars complete their service obligations or repay all or part of the funding received , the burden for grantees will continue to decrease.
It is estimated that 2,400 individual scholarship recipients will take 30 minutes each ye ar to report to the grantee the information necessary for the grantee to maintain scholars’ eligible emplo yment records . The total average annual burden for all scholars during the next three ye ars is 1,200 hours. An estimated half of the time is focused on recordkeeping and the other h alf on reporting to grantees. As scholars complete their service obligations and no longer need to provide the grantee with informatio n, the burden for scholars will dec rease
. Thus, the total annual reporting burden for this collection is estimated at 2,400 hours annually for all grantees and 1,200 hours annuall y for all scholars totaling 3, 600 burden hours. The estimated cost to grantees of maintaining obligee information and providing information to scholars and the Secretary is $ 60,000 . This annual cost is determined by multiplying the annual grantee burden hours ( 2,400 ) by the average hourly

salary ($25). Therefore, the estimated average cost for each grantee is $500.

Grantee Burden Reporting Total Number of

Grantees Avg. Number

of Obligees per Grantee Total Number

of Grantee Burden Hours
1 hour 120 20 2,400Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities

OM B No. 1820

- 0622; 12/12/2013 Page 4 Obligee Burden Time Each Grantee Spends Recording Time E ach

Grantee Spends Reporting Reporting and

Recording Subtotal Number of

Obligees Total Obligee Burden

Hours

15 minutes 15 minutes 30 minutes 2,400 1,200 Total Burden 3,600

**A 13.**  **Estimates of Cost Burden to Respondents** There are no additional costs other than the burden identified in A 12. **A 14.**  **Estimate of annual Cost to the Federal Government** The following outlines the cost to the Federal Government: Based on current experience, it is estimated that there will be approximately 30 obligees ea ch ye ar that will be referred to the Department for collection when an obligee fails to meet the requirements of the regulations and must repay all or part of the scholarship received . It is estimated that it will take 55 hours of staff time to resolve ea ch of 30 cases for a total of 1,650 hours. Therefore, the estimated cost burden to the Federal government is 30 cases x 55 hours x th e average hourly pay rate of $40 . The total annual cost burden is $ 66,000

. **A 15.**  **Program Changes or Adjustments** There is a

- 3150 program change annual burden hour decrease for grantees. This burden has decreased because grantees are no longer establishing Pre

- scholarship Agreements or Exit Certifications. As more scholars complete their service obligations or repay

all or part of the funding received, the burden for grantees will continue to decrease. There is a decrease of

- 2130 scholars, as scholars complete their service obligations and no longer need to provide the grantee with information, the burden for scholars will continue to decrease.

**A 16.**  **Plans for Tabulation and Publication of Results** The information collected will not be published. **A 17.**  **Approval to Not Display the OMB Expiration Date** There is no request for permission not to display the expiration date for OMB approval. **A 18.**  **Explanation of Exceptions** The information collection will not need an exception to the certification statement in OMB Form 83

- 1.Personnel Development to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities

OM B No. 1820

- 0622; 12/12/2013 Page 5 **B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL**  **METHODS** This collection does not employ statistical me thods.