2011-5547. Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY:

Department of Education.

ACTION:

Comment request.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before May 9, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be electronically mailed to [e-mail] or mailed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that Federal agencies provide interested parties an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. The Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, publishes this notice containing proposed information collection requests at the beginning of the Departmental review of the information collection. 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.

Dated: March 7, 2011.

Darrin A. King,

Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Type of Review: Revision.

Title of Collection: Annual Progress Report for the Title III Alternative Financing Program Under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998.

OMB Control Number: 1820-0662.

Agency Form Number(s): N/A.

Frequency of Responses: Annually.

Affected Public: Federal Government; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal Government, State Educational Agencies or Local Educational Agencies.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 33.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 891.

Abstract: Title III of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 as in effect prior to the amendments of 2004 (Pub. L. 105-394) (AT Act of 1998) authorized grants to public agencies to support the establishment and maintenance of alternative financing programs (AFPs) that feature one or more alternative financing mechanisms to enable individuals with disabilities and their family members, guardians, advocates, and authorized representatives to purchase assistive technology (AT). Section 307 of title III requires that RSA submit to Congress an annual report on the activities conducted under that title. In order to meet this requirement, states must provide annual progress reports to Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). This annual report is a web-based data collection system developed based upon the instrument submitted for review herein.

The proposed instrument eliminates an entire section of optional information that is not required for submission by the title III AFP grantees, further reducing the burden from approximately 29.5 hours to 27 hours per state. Section C. AFP Optional Data Elements, which are not title III annual reporting requirements for the AFP grantees, has been proposed for removal from the current instrument. The information collected in this optional data section includes: 1. Types of AFP (partnership loans or revolving loans), 2. Interest Rates (lowest and highest interest rates established by policy), 3. Loan Amounts (lowest and highest loan amounts established by policy), 4. Repayment Terms (shortest and longest repayment terms established by policy), and Loan Guarantee Requirement, the percentage of the loans that must be repaid by the AFP to the lender in case of default as established by the agreement with the lender. Since the data reported under C. AFP Optional Data Elements of the current instrument is not required by title III of the AT Act of 1998, grantees did not report this information uniformly across programs. If every grantee doesn't report in this section, then the data can't be reported in aggregate form. In fact, the data in this section is available in the annual report to Congress on the AT Act, as this optional section contains information about program features and descriptions that may or may not change on an annual basis. Since there is no utility to the annual reporting of this optional information, the decision was made to further reduce the burden to all grantees by eliminating this section from the current instrument in the Management Information Systems.

Copies of the proposed information collection request may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov,, by selecting the “Browse Pending Collections” link and by clicking on link number 4540. When you access the information collection, click on “Download Attachments” to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically mailed to [e-mail] or faxed to 202-401-0920. Please specify the complete title of the information collection and OMB Control Number when making your request.

Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.