[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3048-3049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-810]
[[Page 3047]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part III
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Records Transfer for Mobile Students; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 8 / Thursday, January 12, 1995 /
Notices
[[Page 3048]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Records Transfer for Mobile Students
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Request for comments on records transfer for mobile students.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
requests comments on (1) current methods for transferring educational
and health records and enrolling highly mobile students, especially
migrant students, at the appropriate grade level and documenting their
course completion; and (2) how the Federal Government can best work
with State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies
(LEAs) to improve existing systems and technologies for transferring
records between school districts. The Department will review and
analyze information obtained through this notice and will use it to
consider what, if any, Federal actions might be useful to those who
provide direct services to children.
DATES: Comments are requested by February 27, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Lori__Ahmady, U.S.
Department of Education, 600 Independence Ave., SW, Room 4100 Portals,
Washington, DC 20202-6135. Comments sent by courier should be addressed
to Lori Ahmady, 1250 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 4100, Washington, DC
20024. Comments may also be sent via the Internet to
Lori__Ahmady@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori Ahmady, at the above addresses or
by telephone at 202-260-1391. Individuals who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
time, Monday through Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For purposes of this discussion, ``highly
mobile students'' includes specific groups targeted by programs the
Department administers, i.e., children of migrant agricultural or
fishing workers, homeless children, and military dependents, as well as
other children whose education is adversely affected by frequent moves
(children from poor urban families and children of other itinerant
workers). Also, for purposes of this discussion, a ``student record''
consists of a body of information transferred from one school to
another, electronically, by telephone, or in hard copy, to assist in
the enrollment and appropriate placement of the student in the new
school. These records may include official transcripts, report cards,
cumulative files, health records, and other related information. The
content of a student record may differ substantially between elementary
and secondary schools, between public and private schools, and among
States and localities.
The Department's current interest in records transfer is prompted
by a number of factors, including the high rate of mobility within our
society as a whole, and the effects of that mobility on educating
school-age children. A recent report by the General Accounting Office
(GAO), stated that ``The United States has one of the highest mobility
rates of all developed countries. * * * One in six of the Nation's
children who are third-graders--over a half million--have changed
school frequently, attending at least three different schools since the
beginning of first grade. Unless policymakers focus greater attention
on the needs of children who have changed schools frequently--often
low-income, inner city, migrant, and limited English proficient (LEP)--
these children may continue to be low achieving. * * *'' Studies such
as this one have focused public attention on the need to provide timely
and comparable records to help mobile children, who are less likely to
receive federally funded services than their more stable peers, get the
help they need. This study also questioned the utility and adequacy of
current records transfer efforts on behalf of children who move
frequently from one district (or even one school) to another. The GAO
study reports that ``* * * the most commonly used mode of transferring
student records--by mail--can be cumbersome and time-consuming. In one
State, local officials reported it often takes 2 to 6 weeks before a
new child's records arrive. In a school with a high mobility rate,
teachers rarely used records to place children * * * because these
records usually arrived days or weeks after the children transferred or
not at all. * * *'' These delays may prove particularly limiting for
those subpopulations of students who are highly mobile, such as the
children of migrant agricultural workers, children of other itinerant
workers, homeless children, children from poor urban families, and
military dependents.
In response to recommendations from several groups that the
Department explore the potential of new technologies (e.g., FAX
technology and electronic data interchange (EDI)) to improve records
transfer for all children and particularly for highly mobile student
subpopulations, Department staff have, over the past year, initiated
conversations with the Council of Chief State School Officers about its
SPEEDE/ExPRESS data transfer protocols, commissioned a report of
available data on alternatives to the current Migrant Student Record
Transfer System and convened a Departmental workgroup to study records
transfer issues. The Department has also discussed issues related to
records transfer for mobile students with some SEA and LEA
representatives. These initial efforts have indicated, in part, that
even with new technologies for linking all State educational records
systems and new momentum to expand the automation of SEA and LEA
student data systems, the costs of applying technology to records
transfer, while unknown, are likely to be considerable.
Request for Comments
The Assistant Secretary, in particular, requests comments from
knowledgeable education personnel in LEAs and SEAs, especially from
those teachers, counselors, school administrators, and other school
personnel who are responsible for placement and credit acceptance
decisions in schools and LEAs that have a high mobility rate among
students. Parents of mobile children are also requested to comment.
In order to determine whether and how the Federal Government might
assist States and localities in developing strategies for transferring
records for highly mobile students, the Department is seeking public
comment about current practices and barriers to the transfer of student
records. In addition, information obtained through this notice will
contribute to the preparation of a report of findings and
recommendations on records transfer to be submitted to the Committee on
Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education
and Labor of the House of Representatives as required in section
1308(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by
Pub. L. 103-382. The Department will consider all timely comments
received and does not require commenters to identify themselves. The
information requested in this notice regarding characteristics of the
commenter is needed for analysis only.
Commenter Characteristics
1. Indicate either the type of organization you represent or your
occupation, e.g., parent, teacher, counselor, local program or school
administrator, State educational agency management information systems
specialist, advocacy organization, State [[Page 3049]] or local
educational agency staff, or other.
2. Indicate the nature of the mobility you deal with most
frequently, (e.g., within district, across districts within your State,
or across States), the kind of mobile students you or your organization
deals with the most (e.g., migrant children, homeless children,
military dependents), and the amount of mobility you deal with (e.g.,
the approximate percentage of students in your school, district or
State who move each year).
Questions for Commenters
1. How, in your experience, are students' educational and health
records currently transferred across schools, districts and States
(e.g., by mail, FAX, telephone, electronic transfer)?
2. For newly arriving students, what information do school
personnel and classroom teachers use to enroll students, assign them to
a grade level or class, and grant credit for coursework completed at
previous schools? Where does this information come from (e.g., teacher
observations, the student's cumulative files, migrant student records,
formal or informal needs assessments, or other information obtained
from the student, the student's family, or the students' previous
schools)?
3. To what extent do schools and teachers rely upon records
transferred from other schools to make or confirm enrollment,
placement, programming and other educational or support service
decisions including the transfer of credits for high school graduation?
(Commenters are asked to characterize how much they rely on student
records in making or confirming these decisions, and how comfortable
they are in doing so, as compared to other information sources like
those listed in Question #2.)
4. Are existing methods of transferring student records from school
to school adequate? If not, what problems or barriers exist and what
are their ensuing consequences for highly mobile students, including
migrant students? How prevalent are these problems and their subsequent
effects on mobile students? Are there particular situations in which
problems occur most frequently?
5. What can States, school districts, and individual schools do to
improve the transfer of student records? What can parents do to ensure
that their children's records move from school to school?
6. Should the Federal Government work to advance the development of
more effective State and local methods of transferring student records?
How?
Invitation to Comment
All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available
during and after the comment period in room 4100, Portals Building,
1250 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., between the hours of 8:30
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday, through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Dated: January 6, 1995.
Thomas W. Payzant,
Assistant Secretary, Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 95-810 Filed 1-11-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
