2015-30417. Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; EDFacts Data Collection School Years 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19

AGENCY:

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 revised information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 31, 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-0090 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 2E103, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela at [phone]or by email [e-mail].

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: EDFacts Data Collection School Years 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19.

OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.

Type of Review: A revised information collection.

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

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 61.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 126,880.

Abstract: EDFacts is a U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiative to collect, analyze, report on and promote the use of high-quality, pre-kindergarten through grade 12 (pre-K-12) performance data for use in education planning, policymaking, and management and budget decision making to improve outcomes for students. EDFacts enables the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to report on students, schools, staff, services, and education outcomes at the state, district, and school levels, by centralizing data provided by state education agencies, local education agencies, and schools. This centralized approach provides ED users with the ability to efficiently analyze and report on submitted data and has reduced the reporting burden for state and local data producers through the use of streamlined data collection, analysis, and reporting tools. EDFacts collects information on behalf of ED grant and program offices for approximately 180 data groups for all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and seven outlying areas and freely associated states (American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). NCES seeks authorization from OMB to continue its EDFacts data collection and is requesting a new clearance for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 school years in order to continue to provide EDFacts data to Department of Education program offices, as well as SEAs, LEAs, and schools. In response to the 60-day public comment period announced in the Federal Register on July 9, 2015, ED received 52 comments from 49 commenters. A summary of the comments and ED's responses are provided in Attachment F. This notice announces that the revised collection package is now available for a 30-day public comment period. This submission includes a few proposed changes to the EDFacts data collection. In addition to reviewing the proposed changes (detailed in Attachment C and the B Attachments), ED requests that SEAs and other stakeholders respond to the directed questions found in Attachment D.

Dated: November 25, 2015.

Kate Mullan,

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