80 FR 75077 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; EDFacts Data Collection School Years 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 230 (December 1, 2015)

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

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 230 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75077-75078]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30417]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2015-ICCD-0090]


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.

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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 [email protected]. 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 (202) 502-
7411or by email [email protected].

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

[[Page 75078]]

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.
[FR Doc. 2015-30417 Filed 11-30-15; 8:45 am]
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