2011-19525. 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 Acting 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 October 3, 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: July 28, 2011.

James Hyler,

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

Institute of Education Sciences

Type of Review: Revision.

Title of Collection: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) Spring First-Grade and Fall Second-Grade Data Collections.

OMB Control Number: 1850-0750.

Agency Form Number(s): N/A.

Frequency of Responses: Annually.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 143,138.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 49,128.

Abstract: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, is a survey that focuses on children's early school experiences beginning with kindergarten and continuing through the fifth grade. It includes the collection of data from parents, teachers, school administrators, and non-parental care providers, as well as direct child assessments. Like its sister study, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, the ECLS-K:2011 is exceptionally broad in its scope and coverage of child development, early learning, and school progress, drawing together information from multiple sources to provide rich data about the population of children who were kindergartners in the 2010-11 school year. This submission requests OMB's clearance for (1) a spring 2012 first-grade national data collection; (2) a fall 2012 second-grade data collection with the same 30 percent subsample for which data will be collected in the fall 2011 first-grade collection; and (3) a 60-day Federal Register notice waiver for the next OMB clearance package to be submitted in June of 2012 for the spring 2013 second-grade data collection, recruitment for the spring 2014 third-grade data collection, and tracking students for the spring 2014 third-grade and spring 2015 fourth-grade data collection.

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 4677. 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.