2012-29101. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Early Reading First: Grant Performance Report

AGENCY:

Department of Education (ED), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

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

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 31, 2012.

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-2012-ICCD-0064 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. 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, Room 2E117, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Electronically mail [e-mail]. Please do not send comments here.

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: Early Reading First: Grant Performance Report.

OMB Control Number: 1810-0696.

Type of Review: Extension of an existing information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 60.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,020.

Abstract: In accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title I, Part B, Subpart 2, Early Reading First (ERF), section 1225 states that each eligible applicant receiving a grant under this subpart shall report annually to the Secretary regarding the eligible applicant's progress in addressing the purposes of this subpart. Each report shall include, at a minimum, a description of: (1) The research-based instruction, materials, and activities being used in the programs funded under the grant; and (2) the type of ongoing professional development to staff. This information will be collected from approximately 60 grantees in calendar year 2012 and approximately 30 grantees in calendar year 2013 the ERF statute requires all funded projects to report annually to the Department documenting project's progress towards accomplishing its goals and objectives. The Department has used this information to monitor grantees and examine outcomes across funded projects. See Appendix D for a copy of the data collection instrument we propose to renew.

Dated: November 27, 2012.

Darrin A. King,

Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.