80 FR 52248 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 167 (August 28, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52248-52249]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21286]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Annual Survey of School System Finances.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0700.
    Form Number(s): F-33, F-33-L1, F-33-L2, F-33-L3.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 3,709.
    Average Hours per Response: 1.02 hours.
    Burden Hours: 3,789.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau, on behalf of the U.S. 
Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics 
(NCES), requests an extension of approval for the Annual Survey of 
School System Finances, OMB Number 0607-0700. The Census Bureau's 
collection of school district finance data and associated publications 
are the most comprehensive sources for pre-kindergarten through grade 
12 finance data.
    These data are collected from the universe of school districts 
using uniform definitions and concepts of revenue, expenditure, debt, 
and assets as defined by the Financial Accounting for Local and State 
School Systems. This survey and the Annual Surveys of State and Local 
Government Finances (OMB No. 0607-0585) are conducted as part of the 
Census Bureau's State and Local Government Finance program. Data 
collected from cities, counties, states, and special district 
governments are combined with data collected from local school systems 
to produce state and national totals of government spending. Local 
school system spending comprises a significant portion of total 
government spending. In 2012, public elementary-secondary expenditures 
accounted for 33.6 percent of local government spending.
    This comprehensive and ongoing, time series collection of local 
education agency finances maintains historical continuity in the state 
and local government statistics community. Elementary-secondary 
education related spending is the single largest financial activity of 
state and local governments. Education finance statistics provided by 
the Census Bureau allow for analyses of how public elementary-secondary 
school systems receive and spend funds. Increased focus on education 
has led to a demand for data reflecting student performance, graduation 
rates, and school finance policy--all of which are related to the 
collection of this local education finance data. State legislatures, 
local leaders, university researchers, and parents increasingly rely on 
data to make substantive decisions about education. School district 
finance is a vital sector of the education data spectrum used by 
stakeholders to form policy and to develop new education strategies.
    The Census Bureau uses an announcement letter and form to collect 
state and local government public education finance data. We mail the 
letter electronically to respondents at the beginning of each survey 
period soliciting the assistance of the state education agencies (SEAs) 
in providing data centrally for their public school systems. The letter 
officially announces the opening of the collection period and requests 
administrative data, such as estimated date of submission, changes to 
reporting format from prior year, and updated contact information for 
the state coordinator. Census Bureau staff use the response to this 
letter to plan for the processing of state education agency data 
submissions. The form (F-33) contains the elementary-secondary 
education finance items. In practice, this form serves more as a data 
processing guide rather than as a data collection instrument. The 
Census Bureau relies heavily on collecting this public school system 
finance data centrally from state education agencies. All states 
provide significant amounts of these data centrally to the Census 
Bureau via the Internet using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 
Supplemental forms are sent to school systems in states where the state 
education agency cannot provide information on assets (F-33-L1), 
indebtedness (F-33-L2), or both (F-33-L3).
    The Census Bureau facilitates central collection by accepting 
states' data in one of two formats. Currently, 21 states provide the 
Census Bureau electronic copies of state-specific detailed education 
finance data files. The Census Bureau maintains programs for converting 
these data from the state agency format to the Census Bureau F-33 
format. Thirty states reformat state-specific data files into the 
Census Bureau's format prior to submitting the data electronically to 
the Census Bureau.
    The education finance data collected and processed by the Census 
Bureau are an essential component of the agency's state and local 
government finance collection and provide unique products for users of 
education finance data.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses data from the survey to 
develop figures for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). F-33 data items 
specifically contribute to the estimates for National Income and 
Product Accounts (NIPA), Input-Output accounts (I-O), and gross 
domestic investments. BEA also uses the data to assess other public 
fiscal spending trends and events.
    The Census Bureau's Government Finances program has disseminated 
comprehensive and comparable public fiscal data since 1902. School 
finance data, which comprised 33.6 percent of all local government 
spending in 2012, is currently incorporated into the local government 
statistics reported on the Annual Surveys of State and Local Government 
Finances. The report contains benchmark statistics on public revenue, 
expenditure, debt, and assets. They are widely used by economists, 
legislators, social and political scientists, and government 
administrators.
    The Census Bureau makes available detailed files for all school 
systems from

[[Page 52249]]

its Internet Web site, www.census.gov/govs/school. That Web site 
currently contains data files and statistical tables for the 1992 
through 2012 fiscal year surveys. Historical files and publications 
prior to 1992 are also available upon request for data users engaged in 
longitudinal studies. In addition to numerous academic researchers who 
use F-33 products, staff receive inquiries from state government 
officials, legislatures, public policy analysts, local school 
officials, non-profit organizations, and various Federal agencies.
    The NCES use these annual data as part of the Common Core of Data 
(CCD) program. The education finance data collected by the Census 
Bureau are the sole source of school district fiscal information for 
the CCD. NCES data users utilize electronic tools to search CCD 
databases for detailed fiscal and non-fiscal variables. Additionally, 
NCES uses F-33 education finance files to publish annual reports on the 
fiscal state of education.
    Affected Public: State, local, or Tribal government.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., sections 8(b), 161 and 182; and 
title 20 U.S.C., sections 9543-44.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: August 24, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-21286 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P