2022-02405. Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice with comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a proposed and/or continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled the National School COVID-19 Prevention Study. This information collection request is designed to obtain data from a nationally representative sample of K-12 public schools in the United States to describe the prevalence of COVID-19 prevention strategies ( e.g., mask use, physical distancing) that K-12 schools are implementing, including changes over time and differences by school-level characteristics and examine associations between school-level COVID-19 prevention strategies and COVID-19 transmission related outcomes in the school and larger community.

DATES:

CDC must receive written comments on or before April 5, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2022-0016 by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

• Mail: Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to regulations.gov .

Please note: Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal (regulations.gov) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; phone: [phone]; Email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses; and

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

The National School COVID-19 Prevention Study—New—National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

CDC requests a one-year approval for a new information collection titled the National School COVID-19 Prevention Study (NSCPS) for the collection of information using a series of surveys to be administered to school-level designees ( e.g., principals) in a nationally representative sample of K-12 schools. The NSCPS has a longitudinal study design and involves five waves of data collection. This project will gather information on school-level COVID-19 prevention strategies and COVID-19 related outcomes for the last two data waves; the first three waves have been previously approved under the Public Health Emergency PRA Waiver. These data will inform CDC guidance for COVID-19 prevention in school settings.

CDC requests OMB approval for an estimated 900 annual burden hours. There are no costs to respondents other than their time to participate.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of respondent	Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Average hours per response	Total response burden (hours)
School-level Administrator ( e.g. , principal)	NSCPS Wave 4 and 5 Questionnaire	600	2	45/60	900
Total					900

Jeffrey M. Zirger,

Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific Integrity, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.