05-17786. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Department of Education.

SUMMARY:

The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 11, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Rachel Potter, Desk Officer, Department of Education, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or faxed to [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment.

Dated: September 1, 2005.

Angela C. Arrington,

Leader, Information Management Case Services Team, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development

Type of Review: Regular.

Title: Annual Collection of Elementary and Secondary Education Data for the Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN).

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: State, local, or tribal gov't, SEAs or LEAs (primary).

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:

 Responses: 52.

 Burden Hours: 297,060.

Abstract: The Performance Based Data Management Initiative (PBDMI) is in the second phase of a multiple year effort to consolidate the collection of education information about States, Districts, and Schools in a way that improves data quality and reduces paperwork burden for all of the national education partners. To minimize the burden on the data providers, PBDMI seeks the transfer of the proposed data as soon as it has been processed for State, District, and School use. These data will then be stored in EDEN and accessed by federal education program managers and analysts as needed to make decisions. This will eliminate redundant data collections while providing for the timeliness of data submission and use.

Additional Information: The Department of Education (ED) is specifically requesting the data providers in each State Education Agency (SEA) to review the proposed data sets to determine which of these data can be provided for the upcoming 2005-06 school year and which data would be available in later years (2006-07 or 2007-08) and which data, if any, is never expected to be available from the SEA. ED also seeks to know if the SEA data definitions are consistent and compatible with the EDEN definitions and accurately reflect the way data is stored and used for education by the States, Districts, and Schools. Our responses to the public comments that were submitted in June and July are found in Attachment E (covering policy and process issues) and Attachment C (addressing changes in the proposed data requirements). There are some significant changes in this version of Attachment D. In it we describe the EDEN plan to reduce the paperwork burden on the states and districts.

Requests for copies of the information collection submission for OMB review may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the “Browse Pending Collections” link and by clicking on link number 2776. 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., Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20202-4700. Requests may also be electronically mailed to the Internet address [e-mail] or faxed to 202-245-6623. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be directed to Kathy Axt at her e-mail address [e-mail]. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.