2015-15438. Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; School Climate Surveys (SCLS) Benchmark Study 2016

AGENCY:

Institute of Education Sciences/National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a new information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 24, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2015-ICCD-0081 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at [e-mail]. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted; ED will ONLY accept comments during the comment period in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site is not available. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-2E319, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Kashka, Kubzdela 202-502-7411.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), 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, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 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. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: School Climate Surveys (SCLS) Benchmark Study 2016.

OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.

Type of Review: A new information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 358,649.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 190,665.

Abstract: The School Climate Surveys (SCLS) are a suite of survey instruments being developed for schools, districts, and states by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This national effort extends current activities that measure school climate, including the state-level efforts of the Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) grantees, which were awarded funds in 2010 by the ED's Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) to improve school climate. Through the SCLS, schools nationwide will have access to survey instruments and a survey platform that will allow for the collection and reporting of school climate data across stakeholders at the local level. The surveys can be used to produce school-, district-, and state-level scores on various indicators of school climate from the perspectives of students, teachers, noninstructional school staff and principals, and parents and guardians. This request is to conduct a national SCLS benchmark study, collecting data from a nationally representative sample of schools across the United States, to create a national comparison point for users of SCLS. A nationally representative sample of 500 schools serving students in grades 5-12 will be sampled to participate in the national benchmark study in spring 2016. The data collected from the sampled schools will be used to produce national school climate scores on the various topics covered by SCLS, which will be released in the updated SCLS platform and provide a basis for comparison between data collected by schools and school systems and the national school climate.

Dated: June 18, 2015.

Stephanie Valentine,

Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy Officer. Office of Management.